My name is Patty O'Brien Kelly. Ellen Welch and William Graney were my great-great grandparents. They did indeed settle in Piedmont, WVA. Their daughter, Bridget Graney, married John O'Brien, who worked on the B&O Railroad out of Westernport, MD. He was from King's County (County Laois). My grandfather, their son Patrick J. O'Brien, was one of the founders of the West Virgina Pulp and Paper Mill, now Meade-Westvaco. He was extremely successful. There are some of our family still up in the area, but most of us have scattered...not too far, MD, VA, PA...one in IL...but we are still around! I was always told that our ancestors were from County Cork (I'm thinking that that's where they sailed from?), but when my husband and I honeymooned in Ireland I felt a strong pull to County Galway. Now I know why! If you receive this my email is kelly01associates@comcast.net. Btw...Mary Welch was beautiful...and lived a long life, as did Ellen. I read Ellen's obit online. Little is known about William Graney though!
Mary Welch is said to have been born somewhere in County Galway in 1828. Her father may have been named Henry Welch. She had a sister named Ellen Welch. Ellen Welch is believed to have married William Graney in Ireland. She emigrated and settled in Piedmont, West Virginia. Mary Welch arrived in America between 1853 and 1855, probably through Baltimore. By 1861, she was married to Thomas Collins and lived in Hendricks County, Indiana. It is not known if she was married in Ireland or America. Her daughter, Catherine Collins, was born in August of 1861 after the drowning death of Thomas Collins. It is not known where the drowning took place. Mary remarried in 1865 to John Casserly. John was from Claregalway, Galway. He was a successful farmer and stockman in Hendricks County. They went on to have four more children, Julia, Mary, Thomas and Margaret. Mary's only descendants were through her daughter, Catherine Collins who married Martin Grady who's father, John Grady, came from County Clare.
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 1st Jul 1828 | |
| Date of Death | 1st Oct 1915 | |
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Friday 23rd March 2018 08:06PM
