A to Z April Challenge: V is for V-72½ - John Donovan

Genealogists always want to know where their ancestors are buried. It’s not just to see what else they might learn from their gravesites. It’s more than that. It’s a need to connect with them, to know they’re ‘at peace’. Many countless hours are spent seeking out their final resting place, so to help ensure they're not forgotten again, I'm creating a virtual graveyard, incorporating a memorial for each one. V is for V-72½, the grave coordinates for John Donovan, my paternal great-great-grandfather.

John Donovan

Birth:	Abt. 1826
	Great Strand Street, Dublin, Ireland
Death:	20 August 1875 (aged about 49 years)
	Hospital, North Dublin Union Workhouse, Dublin, Ireland
Burial:	23 August 1875
	Glasnevin Cemetery
	Finglas Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 11, Ireland
Plot:	Garden Section V-72½

Graveyard:

There is no surviving grave marker on grave V-72½, in the Garden Section of Glasnevin Cemetery.

Burial register:

Date of interment:	23 August 1875
Sexton's Number:	87755
Registrar's Number:	88440
Name:	John Donovan
Age:	49 years
Residence:	North Union Workhouse, Dublin
Mark of grave:	V-77½
Date of death:	20 August 1875
Sex:	Male
Religious persuasion	Catholic
Rank or Occupation	Upholsterer
Condition:	Widower
Alleged disease or cause of death:	Chest disease
Name and residence of informant:	Michael Weddick, North Union Workhouse, Dublin
Date of issuing order for interment:	22 August 1875
Source:	Dublin Cemeteries Trust

Links to memorials of immediate family members:

Spouse:	Mary Anne (Coyle) Donovan (c. 1828-1873, m. 1851)
Daughter:	Mary Agnes (Donovan, O'Neill) Ellis (c. 1853-1941)
Son:	John Donovan (1855-Unknown)
Daughter	Teresa (Donovan) Corless (1862-1944)

Father:	Thomas Donovan (c. 1789-1875)
Mother:	Catherine (Flood) Donovan (c. 1787-1873)
Brother:	Thomas Donovan (1828-Unknown)
Sister:	Alice Donovan (c. 1827-1877)

My intention is to create a virtual graveyard with a memorial for each of my ancestors. The category 'Theme: Virtual Graveyard', seen on the right, is the graveyard gate. Clicking here, you enter my graveyard. You can visit each grave, irrespective of where in the world they are physically located.

Links for my direct ancestors above are, or will be, to their memorial in the 'virtual graveyard' at Black Raven Genealogy. Links for members of their immediate family are to a memorial at Find A Grave, if one has been created. Find A Grave is an online collection of gravesites and memorials from around the world.



The 'A to Z April Challenge' - 26 blog posts, in 26 days, with 26 letters of the alphabet, and one post dedicated to each letter.

A to Z April Challenge: E is for Mary Agnes (Donovan, O'Neill) Ellis

Genealogists always want to know where their ancestors are buried. It’s not just to see what else they might learn from their gravesites. It’s more than that. It’s a need to connect with them, to know they’re ‘at peace’. Many countless hours are spent seeking out their final resting place, so to help ensure they're not forgotten again, I'm creating a virtual graveyard, incorporating a memorial for each one. E is for Ellis - Mary Agnes (Donovan, O'Neill) Ellis, my paternal great-grandmother.

Mary Agnes (Donovan, O'Neill) Ellis

Birth:	Abt. 1853
	Ireland
Death:	15 October 1941 (aged about 88 years)
	19 O'Neachtain Road, Dublin, Ireland
Burial:	? October 1941
	Glasnevin Cemetery
	Finglas Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 11, Ireland
Plot:	Garden Section JE-133½
Linked to:	Memorial at Find a Grave

Graveyard:

There is no surviving grave marker on grave JE-133½, in the Garden Section of Glasnevin Cemetery.

Burial register:

Name:	Mary Ellis
Age:	80 years
Residence:	19 O'Neachtain Rd, Dublin
Mark of grave:	Garden, JE-133½
Date of death:	15 October 1941
Sex:	Female
Rank or Occupation	Labourer's widow
Condition:	Widow
Source:	Dublin Cemeteries Trust

Mary Agnes shares her grave with four apparent strangers - Patrick Hynes who died in 1901, Mary Connolly who died in 1867, Peter Kane who died in 1853, and Anne Kane who died in 1847.

Links to memorials of immediate family members:

Spouse 1:	Charles Francis O'Neill (1849-1895, m. 1874)
Spouse 2:	Thomas Augustus Ellis (Abt. 1860-1916, m. 1896)
Son:	Charles Joseph O'Neill (1875-?)
Daughter:	Catherine Mary O'Neill (1876-1879)
Son:	Robert Joseph O'Neill (1878-1957)
Son:	John Michael O'Neill (1879-1956)
Daughter:	Teresa O'Neill (1886-1951)
Son:	Arthur Francis O'Neill (1885-1965)
Daughter:	Mary Agnes O'Neill (1881-1960)
Daughter:	Johanna Mary O'Neill (1892-1951)
Daughter:	Helena Mary O'Neill (1895-1956)

Father:	John Donovan (c. 1826-1875)
Mother:	Mary Anne (Coyle) Donovan (c. 1828-1873)
Brother:	John Donovan (1855-?)
Sister:	Teresa (Donovan) Corless (1862-1944)

My intention is to create a virtual graveyard with a memorial for each ancestor. The category 'Theme: Virtual Graveyard', seen on the right, is the graveyard gate. Clicking here, you enter my graveyard. You can visit each grave, irrespective of where in the world they are physically located.

Links for my direct ancestors above are, or will be, to their memorial in the 'virtual graveyard' at Black Raven Genealogy. Links for members of their immediate family are to a memorial at Find A Grave, if one has been created. Find A Grave is an online collection of gravesites and memorials from around the world.



The 'A to Z April Challenge' - 26 blog posts, in 26 days, with 26 letters of the alphabet, and one post dedicated to each letter.

Two newly discovered granduncles - two little dotes

It always gives me great pleasure to rediscover the long-forgotten infants of the family, the ones who died way too young. This was a good week for that. In preparation for my A-Z Challenge in April, while searching for my great-grandfather’s funeral notice, I instead came across these previously unseen birth announcements for two of his children.

Cork Examiner, 4 November 1886, p. 1

O'NEILL - October 27th, at 60, Irishtown road, Dublin, the wife of Charles F. O'Neill, of a daughter.

The first relates to Teresa Annie O'Neill, my Dad's Aunt Tess, who we already know was born on 27 October 1886, in Irishtown Road. She married Richard Greer on 5 August 1928. They had no children together and Teresa died on 1 August 1951.

However, the second birth announcement was for an unidentified son.

Freeman's Journal, 15 January 1889, p. 1

O'NEILL - At 27 Bath avenue, Beggarsbush, Dublin, the wife of Charles F. O'Neill of a son.

His birth register shows Daniel Charles O'Neill was born on 9 January 1889, to Charles Francis O'Neill and Mary Anne Merrins. Charles worked as a clerk, like my great-grandfather, but my great-grandmother's name was Mary Agnes Donovan - not Mary Anne Merrins. It was presumably an error, right?

To confirm, I found his baptism register. And, when Daniel Carolus (Latin for Daniel Charles) was baptised on 21 January 1889, his mother's name was given as Mariae Donovan, which was more in line with my truth. Ellen Day, the mid-wife who registered his birth, similarly made a mistake registering the birth of my grandaunt Johanna O'Neill in 1892, then saying Mary Agnes' maiden name was Donaldson, not Donovan. Obviously, Ellen Day wasn't good with names.

Daniel Charles O'Neill, my newly discovered granduncle, the son of a solicitor's clerk, died of 'measles pneumonia' on 10 January 1890, aged one year and one day. His father registered his death. I'm delighted to now include him in our family tree, so he won't be forgotten again.

Then, I found a baptism dated 10 November 1890 for Franciscus P. (Latin for Francis P.) O'Neill of the same address, 27 Bath Avenue. He was said to have been born on 31 October 1890, to Caroli O'Neill and Mariae Donohoe - again not Donovan - and presumably yet another error. What is it about Mary Agnes's name that makes it so difficult to remember?

Francis's Godmother was Francesca Rice. I've no idea if she was related to my family, or just a neighbour bringing the child down to be baptised. Maybe she had forgotten Mary Agnes's maiden name by the time she got to the church.

But when Ellen Day registered Francis's birth, she agreed with all aspects of the baptism record, apart from his mother's maiden name. She named Francis Patrick O'Neill as the son of my great-grandparents, Charles Francis O'Neill, a clerk, and Mary Agnes Donovan, getting the name right on this occasion. So Francis Patrick O'Neill was also my granduncle.

Sadly, he died of bronchitis at home barely two months later, on 3 January 1891. His mother registered his death. He passed away one week before his brother Daniel Charles - not a great start to 1891 for my O'Neill family. Still, now we can honour little Francis's memory too.

On another note, my great-grandfather, Charles Francis O'Neill, is my biggest, longest-standing genealogy brick-wall. I wonder if Teresa Annie's birth announcement in a Co. Cork newspaper offers any hint as to his origins? 

Sources:

1. Newspapers online at $ Irish Newspaper Archives.
2. Copy birth register, Daniel Charles O'Neill, 1889, Group Registration ID 10473018, Civil records, Irishgenealogy.ie.
3. Baptism register, Daniel Carolus O'Neill, 1889, St Mary's Haddington Road, Church records, Irishgenealogy.ie.
4. Copy death register, Daniel Charles O'Neill, 1891, Group Registration ID 6666307, Civil records, Irishgenealogy.ie.
5. Copy birth register, Francis Patrick O'Neill, 1890, Group Registration ID 10380081, Civil records, Irishgenealogy.ie.
6. Baptism register, Franciscus P. O'Neill, 1890, St Mary's Haddington Road, Church records, Irishgenealogy.ie.
7. Copy death register, Francis Patrick O'Neill, 1891, Group Registration ID 3698883, Civil records, Irishgenealogy.ie.

John James Donovan, upholsterer

Recently, I recommenced the search for Dad’s granduncle, John James Donovan, the second son of John Donovan and Maryanne Coyle, from Dublin city. John was probably the only boy in his family to reach adulthood. His siblings, excluding the youngest Teresa Anne, and my great-grandmother, Mary Agnes, all died in infancy and were interred in the family plot at Glasnevin Cemetery. 

John James Donovan was born on 18 November 1855 in Great Britain Street, now Parnell Street, in Dublin city. He was christened five days later at St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, on Marlboro Street. It’s quite possible his Godparents, Thomas Donovan and Bridget Coyle, were also his grandparents - they shared their names, at least. His baptism register is the only document so far found directly linking John with my family.[1] 

John's father, my great-great-grandfather, was an upholsterer, and although there is no corroborating evidence, when he was young, John probably worked with him and trained as an upholsterer too. The surname Donovan is predominantly a Co. Cork name, so his birth in Dublin city, together with this relatively uncommon occupation, might render him somewhat recognisable in future records, should any ever arise.

Which is why I was particularly drawn to the following census extract, enumerated in 1881, in Birkenhead, near Liverpool, in England:

John J. Donovan, 1881 Census, Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, FamilySearch

It shows John J. Donovan, a single man, aged twenty-five years, lodging in a house at 25 White Street. John J. was born in Dublin about 1855-56 and worked as a ‘practical upholsterer’. He fits exactly the expected description of my great-granduncle. His move to England would also explain why no further trace of him was found in Dublin.

Except, this is the only mention of John J. Donovan found in England, too.

The U.S. City Directories make reference to several upholsterers called John J. Donovan, as you might expect. These men lived in places like New York, Massachusetts, and San Francisco - all places Irish immigrants might make their home – but none of them have panned out so far.

I hoped our DNA results might contain the answer and introduce us to a living descendant of John himself. It’s practically a given such a close cousin would share DNA with us, especially with Dad, but nothing has turned up on that front, either. There are Donovan matches all right, but they seemingly stem from much earlier ancestors, far earlier than our Donovan brick wall. 

My Donovan brick wall

So, if you think you may be related to John J. Donovan, born in Dublin, in 1855, please send me an email or leave a comment. I’d love to know what happened to him.

[1] Baptism register, St. Mary's, Dublin city (20 Jun. 1853 to 2 Jan. 1858), line 4400, NLI.

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© Black Raven Genealogy

Teresa Corless – Death from Misadventure

Last week, I discovered my grandmother’s Aunt Teresa in the 1911 census, in Manchester, England. She lived there with her husband William, a tailor, and their nine-year-old daughter, Mary Teresa. The curious thing is they were all listed under Teresa’s maiden name ‘Donovan’ and not under William’s surname ‘Corless’. 

The reason for their charade has not yet come to light. There’s a chance it never will. But, whatever the reason, it seems to have been a temporary gambit. When Teresa died on 10 February 1944, she was back using the Corless surname.

Teresa Corless spent the remainder of her days in Manchester. In fact, she lived at 8 Craig Street in Miles Platting right up until her admittance to the hospital. The ‘Donovan’ family had lived in this same house in 1911, eliminating any doubt they were my relatives.

Teresa was nearly eighty-two years old when she died, though her death certificate claims she was only seventy-six. Her husband William predeceased her.

A most unfortunate occurrence led to her death. In December 1943, something lodged under the thumbnail of her left hand. It doesn’t say what – presumably a splinter of some sort. Her finger became infected, leading to cellulitis in her left arm, which resulted in renal failure and caused her death.  How tragic is it that a minor wound could instigate the sudden death of an otherwise physically fit woman. The Manchester coroner held an inquest and ruled her death from misadventure.

Source: Copy death register for Teresa Corless, 1944, Manchester, General Register Office.

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© Black Raven Genealogy

A new cousin for Granny Lena and a surname puzzle

It has been over a year since I first found Teresa (Donovan) Corless and last tried to find out where she ended up. Teresa was my grandmother Lena’s maternal aunt, not that we'd ever heard of her. She married William Corless in Dublin in June 1900 and showed up in Manchester, England, in time for the 1901 census. William worked in Manchester as a ‘journeyman tailor’. After this, their trail went cold. There was no sign of them in the 1911 census, either in England or in Ireland.

But, new records are being released online all the time. This month, the General Register Office provided a new index to the historic birth and death registers for England and Wales. I wondered if they would shed any light on what happened to my great-grandaunt post-1901.

Teresa Anne Donovan was born on 18 May 1862. She was thirty-eight years old when she married William - not twenty-five like she told the census enumerators just six months later. Her child-bearing years were limited. She turned fifty in 1912. But, with the mother’s maiden name now included on births registered in the relevant period, if Teresa and William did have children, they should be easily identified.

The new index revealed only one potential child. Mary Teresa Corless was born in 1902, in Manchester. Her mother’s maiden name was Donovan. With both these unusual surnames - Corless and Donovan - showing on this one document, it certainly looked like a match. Was Mary Teresa my granny’s cousin? 

There was only one way to find out for sure – order her birth certificate. And, here it is:–

Copy Birth Register, Mary Teresa Corless, 1902, Manchester

So, Lena had a first cousin, Mary Teresa, born on 20 March 1902, at 25 Monsall Street, Manchester.

With that, I found the family in the 1911 census, in Manchester… I think. They were all listed under Teresa’s maiden name Donovan – not Corless. But, it has to have been them.

William Donovan was the head of the household, a tailor, born in Co. Galway. His wife, Teresa, was born in Dublin city, supposedly in about 1874 - she was never ‘good’ at estimating her age. William and Teresa were ten years married, with one child. Their daughter, Mary Teresa Donovan, aged nine, lived with them. And a fifty-six-year-old widow named Elizabeth Corless, maybe William’s older sister, was visiting with them on census night.

It was no mix-up. William signed the census schedule ‘William Donovan.’

Signature of William Donovan, a.k.a. William Corless, 1911, Manchester

What do you make of that? Why would they have changed their name?

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© Black Raven Genealogy

Update here: Teresa Corless – Death from Misadventure

Potential new ancestors hiding in our DNA results

I started out with such high expectations, but I have to admit, my DNA test results have not yielded any genealogical breakthroughs. We have hundreds of matches, most of them in the U.S. or Australia, but few have so much as a surname in common with us. Even among the top twenty or so people listed, there is no one with a paper trail to a mutual ancestor - other than my already known relatives, that is. It’s a little disappointing, though I’ve not given up all hope, yet.

So, when I received an email from a lady on my mother’s list, I decided to investigate it further. Our matching segment is not that big – for those ‘in the know’, it is 13 cMs over 1,965 SNPs. GEDmatch predicts our most recent common ancestor as being 5.1 generations ago. Thus, we could share my mother’s third great-grandparents with this match, though there's no way of knowing which ones. These ancestors are in the upper echelons of my documented family tree, or probably just beyond. They’re exactly the ones I’m hoping to discover.

The match looked promising, initially. First, this lady has already identified who she believes are her ancestors in Ireland. Second, her nineteenth-century ancestors were in Dublin, where many of my mother’s people also lived. Third, she has identified a match with a probable third cousin, and my mother shares the same matching segment with him too - i.e. it’s a triangulated match. So, if we all share the same DNA, and they inherited it from a suspected common ancestor, then there’s a good chance we received it via the same person, or from someone closely related to them at least. Or, so the theory goes.

And, both these matches claim descent from James and Alice Fitzgerald, one via a son William born in 1835 and the other via a daughter Eliza born in 1828. James and Alice lived in Coles Lane in Dublin in the 1820s. James worked as a cabinet maker. The couple had a large family, all baptised in St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral. There is a suggestion too that Alice was originally born in Dublin, in 1796. She was supposedly the daughter of Anthony and Mary Hicks, from across the Liffey in the parish of St Nicholas. They all lived close to where my mother’s family were hanging out when I pick them up in the early 1800s.

Sadly, though, try as I might, I could not find a single connection between the Fitzgerald family and my mother’s known ancestors.

But, if the account of the Fitzgeralds sounds vaguely familiar to some of you, it may be from when I wrote about Laurence Coyle. Laurence was a wood turner, running his business from Coles Lane, and was probably my third great-grandfather. BUT, the Coyles were on my Dad’s side. Laurence operated from Coles Lane from the mid-1830s onwards, next door to Denis Newport who was also a cabinet maker. In 1851, Denis Newport witnessed the marriage of my second great-grandparents, John Donovan and Maryanne Coyle. And, James Fitzgerald’s daughter Alice married Denis Newport’s son Robert in 1858.

So, I’ve found a connection to James Fitzgerald, except it’s on the wrong side of the family. Perhaps, when more of our more recent cousins take a DNA test, I might be able to hone in further on which line these matches occur.

Have you found any new ancestors hiding in your DNA test results? 

River Liffey, Dublin

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© Black Raven Genealogy

Genealogy Saturday: Examining the possibility…

When I first began my quest to untangle the records relating to my paternal great-great-grandparents, John and Maryanne Donovan, I would happily have concluded upon finally confirming Maryanne’s maiden name was Coyle. But now that I know that, as is the want of all genealogists the world over, I need to know Maryanne’s parent’s names as well.

So, I thought I would fill you in on the candidates currently deemed best fitting the role.  They were Laurence and Bridget (Corcoran) Coyle, with a one-time address in Cole's Lane, Dublin. Cole's Lane was part of a labyrinth of little streets and laneways in the Henry Street area of the city. It ran parallel to Moore Street, between Henry Street and Parnell Street. Sadly, the whole area was levelled in the 1970s to facilitate the construction of the Ilac Shopping Centre.

Laurence and Bridget Coyle first appeared in the church records for St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in November 1823 when their son Joseph was baptised. Twins Michael and Mathew were born in Great Strand Street in that parish in 1826, followed by Mary in 1828, Anne in 1829, Catherine in 1832 and George in 1835.  The first baby Anastatia, who was born in 1837, died when she was only two years old and the Coyles used the name again when their next little girl, Anastasia Mary, was christened in 1843.

Anastatia Coyle acted as Godmother for John and Maryanne’s son Thomas Laurence, baptised in 1857. This is surely significant; first, their selection of the name Laurence for their son’s middle name and secondly their association with Anastatia, both suggest the Donovans were related to Laurence and Bridget Coyle.  You can be sure there weren’t too many girls named Anastatia Coyle running around Dublin city at that time.

But, these were not the only connections joining this Coyle family with my John and Maryanne.

Laurence Coyle worked as a wood turner, running his business from Cole's Lane. The trade and street directories list him at this address, consistently, between the years 1836 and 1863. From 1845, Robert and Denis Newport, perhaps another father and son affair, operated as a cabinet-maker right next door to Laurence Coyle. Denis Newport was a witness at John and Maryanne’s wedding in February 1851. It’s great when these little things start falling into place!

Cole’s Lane, Pettigrew & Oulton's

Dublin Street Directory, 1845

John Donovan was an upholsterer and likely worked for a cabinet maker. So, if he worked for Denis Newport and if Denis was a neighbour of our Coyle family, this may be how he came to marry Maryanne. Likely, if I have the right Coyle family, John and Maryanne knew each other already anyway as John was born in Great Strand Street, around the same time the Coyles lived there. Now, maybe that’s a lot of ‘ifs’, but I’m starting to think this is a valid connection.

In 1852, Joseph Coyle, Laurence and Bridget’s eldest son, married Elizabeth Weldon. He also worked as a wood turner and began to appear in the Dublin street directories, at Abbey Street, from 1854. Maryanne Donovan was Godmother to their son James in December 1859 and in March the following year Elizabeth Coyle was Godmother to the Donovans' daughter, Catherine. Joseph Coyle's two daughters were named Maryanne and Anastatia. There is no doubt the families were connected somehow.

The bigger question remains, though, was Maryanne the daughter of Laurence and Bridget Coyle? And if so, where exactly did she fit in?  When she died in May 1873 Maryanne was said to have been forty years of age, so born about 1832-33, making her about the right age to have been born into this family.

Was she the Mary Coyle baptised in 1828?  From the time of her marriage, I’ve only ever seen her referred to as Maryanne, or a version thereof, never as just Mary. Perhaps her baptism was not recorded. If that was the case, it is potentially also feasible Mary and Anne, the children born in 1828 and 1829, also died as infants, only for both their names to be used again when Maryanne was born.
  

Genealogy Quick Tip:

Irish naming patterns are well known and often provide clues to those attempting to identify an earlier generation. But, bear in mind, naming conventions were not always followed and if they were, parents rarely stuck to the suggested order. Taking into account the lack of variety in first names in Ireland in the past, it is often far more suggestive of a familial relationship when an unusual given name connects the generations.

Sources: Church baptism and marriage registers on IrishGenealogy.ie; Pettigrew and Oulton's Dublin Almanac and Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory, accessed on Findmypast.

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© Black Raven Genealogy

Origin of our surnames

The documented ancestral trail in Ireland often goes cold around the end of the eighteenth century, but, on many of my lines, I don’t even get back that far. Surely, I could squeeze out another generation, or two, if I knew where to look. The trick is finding out where to look.

So, for starters, I thought I’d check out what the Irish surname expert, Edward MacLysaght, had to say about the surnames of my eight great-grandparents. Maybe, his insights can provide a few pointers on where to pick up my lost lineages.

Byrne, Mahon, O’Neill, Donovan, Wynne, Carroll, Byrne (again) and Devine

(O) BYRNE, Ó Broin in Irish, from bran, meaning raven. This was a leading sept in east Leinster. It is now one of the most common names in Ireland, especially in Co. Wicklow.

Recent successes traced Dad’s line back to my third great-grandfather, Andrew Byrne, who married Anne Clinch in Suncroft, Co. Kildare, in November 1833, and far more speculatively to Andrew’s baptism, as the son of Edward and Elenor Byrne, in that parish, in 1805. I’ve more work to do on this line, though I doubt it will lead all the way back to Co. Wicklow and the Kings of Leinster.

My mother’s documented Byrne lineage has been traced only as far as Francis Byrne, who married Jane Daly, in St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, in October 1846. Francis worked as a stoker, probably in the engine rooms of a steam-ship. Was he born in Co. Wicklow?

(Mac) MAHON, Mac Mathghamhna in Irish, from mathghamhan, meaning bear. This surname cropped up in numerous places in Ireland at various times. One sept, related to the Irish king Brian Ború, originated in Co. Clare and another in what is now Co. Monaghan. The name remains common in these counties. Two other unrelated septs of the name Mohan, or Ó Mócháin in Irish, also adopted Mahon as their surname, and are common in Galway and Sligo. 

The earliest record of my Mahon family was found in Swords, Co. Dublin, in September 1819, with the marriage of my third great-grandparents, Patt Mahon and Jane Cavanagh. They lived nearby at Yellow Walls, Malahide in Co. Dublin, but left no clue as to where they originated.

My family tree on Ancestry

O’NEILL, Ó Néill in Irish. This is another surname with more than one origin. The prominent sept descended from the legendary Niall of the Nine Hostages, originating in Co. Tyrone. The surname is now common all over Ireland, especially in counties Tyrone, Antrim, Down, Carlow and Waterford. 

My great-grandfather, Charles O’Neill, remains my most persistent genealogy brick wall. The earliest record found was his marriage to Mary Agnes Donovan in April 1874. Here, his parents were named as John and Margaret O’Neil, with an address in Lower Dominick Street, in Dublin city.

I don’t think the surname origins will help with this one.

(O) DONOVAN, Ó Donnabháin in Irish. Originating in Co. Limerick, the sept became prominent in south-west Cork. A branch also settled in Co. Kilkenny, but today remains most common in Cork.

Our Donovan family has been traced back to the marriage of Thomas Donovan and Catherine Flood, in Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral, in November 1821. This couple also sponsored the baptism of Joanna Flood in that parish in 1816 and Elizabeth Donovan in 1817. Ok, so we now know where they originated, but I wonder how many generations lived in Dublin city. 

WYNNE, as a Gaelic surname, is a synonym of numerous names containing the sound ‘gee’, from gaoithe, meaning of wind.

First found living in Dublin city in 1848, John Wynne said he was born in the city about 1820. I investigated the origins of the name previously, here, and concluded, although it might have originated anywhere in Ireland, DNA clues suggest east-Leinster.

(O) CARROLL, Ó Ceirbhaill in Irish. Again, this was the name of several Irish septs originating throughout Ireland. The most prominent were of Ely O’Carroll in Munster (Offaly and Tipperary) and the O'Carrolls of Oriel (Dundalk), as well as two lessor septs in Kerry and Leitrim. 

I’ve recently traced my Carroll family roots as far as Coolmoyne, near Fethard, in Co. Tipperary, in the 1840s, suggesting we descend from the Kings of Munster or, more likely, their servants. 

(O) DEVINE, Ó Daimhin in Irish, from damh meaning stag. The Devines were a branch of the MacGuires, who rose to power in Co. Fermanagh in the fifteenth century. The name is now found mainly in Co. Tyrone. 

My great-great-grandfather John Devine married Maryanne Keogh, on 18 September 1859, in St Laurence O’Toole’s parish in Dublin city. His parents are fully named in the copy marriage register. Sadly, it’s illegible. L L Their address reads Longford, I think. 

Excerpt from St Laurence O’Toole’s parish register

If anyone wishes to see if they can make out their names (I’d be so happy), the record is on the NLI website, second marriage down, on page 8 (link to register). Christian names are given in Latin. Maryanne’s parents, known from other sources, are Darby Keogh and Joanna Crosby.

Sources: Edward MacLysaght, The Surnames of Ireland, 6^th ed. (Dublin, 2012); ‘Catholic Parish Registers’, St Laurence O'Toole's, Dublin city, microfilm 06611/03, p. 8, l. 67, National Library Ireland.

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© Black Raven Genealogy

Genealogy Saturday: Yet another dreaded ‘Brick Wall’

Unluckily for me, both my paternal great-grandfathers have me stumped. They show up, at the time of their marriage to my great-grandmothers, leaving no clue as to where they came from. Or, more to the point, any clues they left behind lead nowhere.

This week the spotlight is on Charles O’Neill, again. He was my granny Lena's father, a law clerk by occupation. He died in April 1895 when Lena was only three months old. Given everything uncovered during my recent foray into Lena's maternal line, I'm hoping to spot something new specific to the O’Neill genealogy. So, I started with a review of everything already discovered about Charles.

And, the earliest record of Charles O’Neill found previously was dated 1874 - his marriage to Lena's mother, Agnes Donovan. He was then living in Lower Dominick Street, Dublin and working as a clerk. Their marriage was witnessed by George Turley of Cullenswood, which is near Rathmines in Dublin, and Mary Newport of Cole’s Lane.

By now I'm familiar with the Newports, who were recently confirmed as being friends on the Donovan side, so there's a chance George Turley was connected to Charles. Plus, in August 1876, when daughter Catherine O’Neill was born at 26 Denzille Street, Dublin, Thomas Turley acted as her Godfather. Maybe this was a family connection worth pursuing.

There were few people named Turley living in Dublin at this time, so the family were easily found in the church records available online. On 6 February 1870, in Westland Row, George Turley married Katherine Kavanagh, the daughter of Patrick and Mary Kavanagh. But, this was not a match made in heaven. Their daughter Edith was born the following day, so perhaps the marriage was forced upon the couple. In any event, four years later, George published a notice in the newspapers, disclaiming all responsibility for his wife's debts.

George Turley, Cullenswood, Dublin, 1874

Divorce - Irish style!

The search for the second Turley, Thomas, found him marrying Elizabeth, daughter of George Brandon and Elizabeth Fleming, in September 1877. At the time of their marriage, Elizabeth lived at 28 Denzille Street, just two doors up from where Catherine O’Neill was born the year previously. Maybe Thomas met his future bride at the Catherine’s baptism celebration.

Further back, George and Thomas were baptised in Rathmines Roman Catholic parish – George in 1841 and Thomas in 1845. Their parents, John Turley and Margaret Bourke married in St Peter's Church of Ireland parish, in 1833, presumably a mixed marriage with the children brought up as Catholic.

There's no sign of any familial relationship between Charles and the Turley brothers here, although, given we do not yet know Charles' mother’s maiden name, it's hard to say for sure.

Like Charles, who died at the young age of forty-nine years, George was only forty-seven when he died in 1887. An entry in the ‘Calendar of Wills’ that year contains the first real clue as to the probable connection between the Turley lads and my great-grandfather and it seems less likely they were blood-related. All three were law clerks by profession, so chances are they were just friends through work.

As law clerks working for a firm of solicitors, they probably performed the same work as a qualified solicitor, but for a lesser salary. Nevertheless, they were likely far better off than the average worker in Dublin, at the time.

Charles died before the 1901 census was enumerated, but Thomas Turley was still living at the time. Thomas, his wife and two children, plus his son-in-law and granddaughter, were all together in Belmont Avenue, near Donnybrook, in what was then determined as being a first class house. The house had nine rooms, far more than the rest of my ancestors enjoyed in Dublin at that time.

At the very least, this gives us a glimpse into the standard of living possibly enjoyed by our O’Neill family, prior to my great-grandfather's untimely demise.

Sources: Church records on IrishGenealogy.ie; Freeman's Journal,2 March 1874, p.1, Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1858-1920, National Archives of Ireland; 1901 Census, Ireland, Same.