Maggie Murphy was born in 1809 in County Wexford, Ireland. Her husband Richard Donnelly was born in the same county in the town of Ardinagh Little in 1799. They were married October 7, 1829 in the parish of Taghmon, County Wexford, Ireland. Richard operated a brick yard and owned a home. He did not appear to own other land according to the Griffith's Valuation of Tenements.
Richard and Margaret Murphy Donnelly were Catholics. They had eight children-all born in Taghmon parish. The children were Patrick, James, Bridget, William, Denis, Mary, John, and Margaret. One son, also named Denis, died as a baby. The father Richard died in 1848 in Ardinagh Little, County Wexford, Ireland. He was kicked in the head by a horse. Maggie and the children all went to Walkerton, Ontario, Canada. Patrick and James left in 1849 and worked to earn the money for the rest of the families' passage. They landed at New York and walked to Niagara. They worked for a time near Cayuga on the Grand River. The 1851 census of Ontario, Canada shows Patrick (23) and James (19) Donnelly working as servants in Cayuga, Oneida Township, Haldimand County. They spent three years in Haldimand county. From there the two brothers made their way north to the Queen's Bush (as Bruce County, Canada was then called).
Meanwhile the two brothers accumulated sufficient money to send back to Ireland to enable their mother and six younger siblings to travel to Canada (1954). James built a small house on his property for his mother, Margaret Murphy Donnelly. She lived there with her unmarried daughter Bridget until her death. Maggie died May 8 1895, aged 86 years. She is buried in the Chepstow Cemetery, Greenock Township, Ontario, Canada.
Submitted By DRD
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 1st Jan 1809 | |
| Date of Death | 8th May 1895 | |
