Migration

Migration, Queries

William McKelvey, Killyleagh, Co. Down, Northern Ireland to Canada

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A reader is looking for information about his great-uncle William McKelvey (Mckelvy/McKelvie/Mckelvie), who emigrated to Canada in 1924.

William McKelvey, son of James McKelvey and Sarah Adams, was born in Killyleagh, County Down, Northern Ireland about 1894. On 28 January 1915, he enlisted with the 16th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles, and served throughout the First World War. In religion he was a Presbyterian; and his last known occupation was that of Farm Labourer.

mckelvey william canada arrival mar1924

Arrival of William McKelvey, 14 March 1924

On 14 March 1924, William McKelvey landed at Halifax, Nova Scotia, having sailed as a third class passenger on the S.S. Regina.1 His passage was paid by the Ontario Government; and he presumably came to Canada under a settlement scheme of the Empire Settlement Act of 1922. In the declaration that he made upon arrival in Canada, he gave his destination as “Ontario Government Party of A. Macdonnell 172 Front St. West Toronto.” 172 Front Street West, Toronto was the address for an employment bureau run by the Ontario Department of Immigration and Colonization. But whether William McKelvey ultimately settled at or near Toronto is not known.

For a number of years after his emigration to Canada, William McKelvey would send Christmas and birthday cards to his sister (the grandmother of the reader who is searching for his missing great-uncle). And then one year (possibly in the 1950s?), the cards stopped; and the family never heard from William McKelvey again.

A younger brother Alexander McKelvey, born about 1903, also left home and lost contact with his family.

Any information of William McKelvey and/or of Alexander McKelvey, originally of Killyleagh, County Down, would be much appreciated.

 

 

  1. Library and Archives Canada; Form 30A Ocean Arrivals (Individual Manifests), 1919-1924; Rolls: T-14939 – T-15248; database online: Ancestry.com. Canada, Ocean Arrivals (Form 30A), 1919-1924 . Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. ↩

Migration, Photographs

The Children of John Vallely and Anna Lillian Moran

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John J. Vallely (1861-1935), son of Michael Vallely and Mary Ryan, was born 21 January 1861, in Lanark Co., Ontario, Canada. He emigrated to Grand Forks, North Dakota about 1882.

Anna Lillian (“Lila”) Moran (1861-1915), daughter of Alexander (“Sandy”) Michael Moran and Mary Ann Leavy, was born 17 May 1861, at Huntley township, Carleton Co., Ontario, Canada. She emigrated to Grand Forks, North Dakota about 1888 (and here she joined several Moran siblings who already emigrated to Grand Forks).

On 28 November 1889, at Grand Forks, North Dakota, John Vallely married Lila Moran.

The couple had four known children:

  • Mary Lillilan Vallely (1896-1982)
  • Margaret Irene Vallely (1898-1970)
  • Alonzo Joseph (“Jack”) Vallely (1900-1983)
  • Michael Alexander Vallely (1903-1947)

And here, with permission from the owner of the photograph, are the four Vallely-Moran children. This photograph is not a casual snapshot: it is a highly stylized studio portrait. It was probably taken about 1905:

Children of John J. Vallely and Anna Lillian ("Lila") Moran

Children of John J. Vallely and Anna Lillian (“Lila”) Moran

Irish Records, Migration

Samuel Morrison: from Northern Ireland to Ottawa, Canada

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A reader is looking for more information about his grandfather, Samuel Morrison.

Samuel Morrison was born about 1882 in Northern Ireland, presumably Co. Down, the son of Samuel Morrison and Elizabeth (maiden name unknown). In the 1901 and 1911 Irish census returns, he can be found at Shore Street, Killyleagh, Co. Down, with his parents and siblings. His occupation is listed as “Draper’s assistant,” and his religion as Presbyterian.

On 26 December 1913, Samuel Morrison married Annie Boyd at Belfast. The couple must have had at least one child before Samuel Morrison emigrated (alone?) to Canada. In June 1926, Samuel Morrison sailed from Belfast to Montreal on the Aurania, arriving at Montreal on 27 June 1926. He gave his occupation as Draper, and the name of his nearest relation as his wife, Mrs. Morrison, Shore Street, Killyleagh, Co. Down.

On 13 November 1948, Samuel Morrison died of pulmonary tuberculosis at the Royal Ottawa Sanatorium. He was buried at Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa.

Any information on Samuel Morrison and his family would be greatly appreciated.

Death and Burial, Medical Records, Migration, Newspapers

Cause of Death: Pulmonary tuberculosis

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The Family of Hugh Walsh and Mary Catherine McGlade

I’ve written about tuberculosis before. See, for example, Tuberculosis in Ontario; and also see a list of those who Died of Tuberculosis in the Ottawa Valley Irish database.

Here’s a family that was hit hard by the scourge of tuberculosis in a five-year period from 1915 to 1920: the family of Hugh Walsh and Mary Catherine McGlade. Two parents; eight grown children:1 and no fewer than four of these ten people died of pulmonary tuberculosis between March 1915 and December 1920.

Mary Catherine McGlade was the daughter of Michael McGlade and Bridget McNulty. She was born in the (civil) parish of Forkill, Co. Armagh in 1864; and she emigrated to Pennsylvania with her parents and four of her siblings in the early 1880s.2 While her parents and four living siblings would head north to Perth (Lanark Co., Ontario, Canada) by 1883 or 1884,3 Mary Catherine McGlade stayed in the United States, where she married a Hugh Walsh in Leetonia, Ohio in 1883.

Hugh Walsh was born in Ireland about 1856, the son of an unknown Walsh and of an Elizabeth Lee, and emigrated to the States about 1864. He appears to have been an iron worker for many decades, first in Leetonia, Ohio, and then in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; several records describe him as a “puddler.” For a brief account of the family’s move from Leetonia to Pittsburgh in pursuit of employment in the iron and steel industry, see this obituary for daughter Sister Mary Hugh Walsh, MM (born Elizabeth Irene Walsh), a Maryknoll Sister.

Hugh Walsh and Mary Catherine McGlade had nine known children, all born in Leetonia, Ohio between 1884 and 1889, with the youngest, Hugh, dying in 1905 at the age of six before the family moved to Pittsburgh.4 So: eight children moved with their parents from Leetonia, Ohio to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania between 1905 and 1910; and of these eight, three would die of pulmonary tuberculosis within the next decade or so.

Here’s the ‘died of pulmonary tuberculosis’ death toll for this family:

  • Thomas Walsh, died of pulmonary tuberculosis 9 October 1910
  • Patrick J. Walsh, died of pulmonary tuberculosis 14 March 1915
  • Alice Walsh, died of pulmonary tuberculosis 23 June 1918 (Alice, who died at a sanatorium at the age of 22, was listed as a Telephone Operator in her death record: for some reason, I find this detail unbearably poignant)
  • Hugh Walsh, died of pulmonary tuberculosis 9 December 1920

So there we have it: 40 percent of a family wiped out by an airborne infectious disease (tuberculosis) that is now treatable, in the space of 5 short, and sorrow-ridden, years.

Folks, modern medicine is our friend: and if you don’t believe me, please take a closer look at your family’s tree: all those little Johns and little Marys who were carried off before the age of 5 by childhood diseases that are now almost entirely preventable. And please, please, please, inoculate your children against any and all preventable diseases. (End of pro-vaccination earnestness.)

Btw, I first learned of the existence Mary Catherine McGlade through her father Michael McGlade’s obituary in the Perth Courier (20 January 1905), which listed a surviving daughter as a “Mrs. Hugh Walsh, Latonia, Ohio.” Yes, the name of the town (Leetonia) was misspelled; but the information was basically sound, and verifiable. Never ignore unexpected or seemingly random details in an obituary (those details may be a bit muddled, but they’re not random!): always follow up and follow through.

  1.  The ninth, and youngest known child, Hugh Walsh (born 7 July 1899), died on 15 October 1905, at the age of 6. ↩
  2. According to Michael McGlade’s obituary in the Perth Courier, four other siblings died and were buried in Armagh. ↩
  3.  Michael McGlade’s brother John had been living in Perth since about 1851. ↩
  4.  The family can be found in Pittsburgh by 1910. ↩

Canadian Records, Catholic Records, Census Substitutes, Irish Records, Migration

From Ballymacegan, Lorrha, Tipperary to March Township, Carleton, Ontario

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My Lahey ancestors came from Killycross Upper, Ballymacegan, Lorrha, Co. Tipperary, Ireland;1 and emigrated to March Township, Carleton Co., Ontario, Canada from the mid-1820s to the early 1830s.

And the reason why we have their townland of origin is that John Lahey, sometimes known as John Lahy the Elder, signed the McCabe List, where he gave the family’s origins as Kilnacross [Killycross], Lurrough [Lorrha], Tipperary.2

mccabe ancestry lahy john

From Ballymacegan to March: Who Else?

Who else emigrated from the townland of Ballymacegan (Lorrha, Tipperary, Ireland) to the township of March (Carleton, Ontario, Canada)? As always, the lack of Irish census records and of Irish church records (the register for the RC parish of Lorrha and Dorrha does not begin until 1829) makes it very difficult (and in many cases, unfortunately, well nigh impossible) to trace backward from Canada (or the United States, England, Australia, New Zealand, and so on), and to reconstruct early nineteenth-century Irish families. But the McCabe List, the Tithe Applotment Books, and the Canadian RC parish records (specifically, the register for Notre Dame Basilica, Ottawa) suggest (and I do mean suggest: the following should not be taken as a set of well-established facts that can be confidently added to an Ancestry family tree, or anything like that) that the Laheys were not the only family to emigrate from Ballymacegan to March.

SOMERVILLE

Anthony Somerville also signed (or rather, marked with an X) the McCabe List, where he gave his townland of origin as Ballinriken, Lurrugh [Lorrha], Tipperary.3

mccabe ancestry sommervile anthony image 133

“Ballinriken” (a phonetic spelling of the place name that Anthony Somerville reported but did not himself write) might be a rendering of Ballymacegan; or it might refer to an older place name that was officially obselete by the nineteenth century, but which local people still used. For example, in the Hearth Money Rolls for the parish of Lurha [Lorrha], Tipperary (1666-7), there is a townland called Carigin which is not found in either the Tithe Applotment Books or in Griffith’s Valuation: might Anthony Somerville’s “Ballinriken” (as heard and recorded by someone else) refer to Carigin?4

In any case, the Tithe Applotment Book for Ballymacegan, Lorrha, Tipperary (1824) records the presence of an Anthony Summerill (and also a Richard Summerill). Note that in his McCabe List petition, Anthony Somerville reports that his brothers-in-law Matthew Dayly and John Daily (yes: two different spellings for what is surely the same surname) “are known to Jonathan Harding.” There is a Jonathan Harding listed in the Tithe Applotment Book for Ballymacegan, Lorrha, Tipperary (1824), as well as an Anthony Summerill:5

Anthony Somerville (of the McCabe List, but probably also of the above Tithe Applotment Book listing) married a Mary McDonnell; and the couple had two known children born in Ireland (presumably Ballymacegan, Lorrha, Tipperary), and two known children born in March township. The children’s birth dates indicate that the family emigrated to Canada in the mid- to late-1820s.

The names Daly and Sommervile turn up in the baptismal record for Margaret Jane Killeen, daughter of Denis Killeen and Mary Ahearn. From the parish register of Notre Dame Basilica, Ottawa:6

 

Baptism of Margaret Jane Killeen (1835-1913)

Baptism of Margaret Jane Killeen, 22 October 1836

The above record reads:

October 22d 1836, baptized in Bytown Margaret Jane 13 months old, lawful child of Denis Keleine & Mary Herain Sponsors Matthew Daly & Mary Sommerville. W. Cannon, pte.

This Mary Somerville is almost certainly Mary McDonnell, wife of Anthony Somerville. Margaret Jane Killeen later served as godmother to one of the grandchildren of Anthony Somerville and Mary McDonnell: when Mary Somerville, daughter of Thomas Somerville and Elizabeth Little, was baptized on 1 October 1849, her sponsors were Patrick Burns and Margaret Jane Killeen.

And what of Margaret Jane Killeen’s godfather Matthew Daly? Is this the brother-in-law Matthew Dayly that Anthony Sommerville referenced in his McCabe list petition? Or perhaps a son or nephew of that brother-in-law?

Well, of course, Margaret Jane Killeen’s godfather might be another Matthew Daly, from another parish and county altogether. But interestingly enough, just nine days after Margaret Jane Killeen was baptized, her eldest known sibling Ellen Killeen (abt. 1818-1882) married a Matthew Daly in the presence of two Somervilles (here Summervilles):7

Marriage of Matthew Daly and Ellen Killeen, 31 October 1836

Marriage of Matthew Daly and Ellen Killeen, 31 October 1836

The above record reads:

October 31 1836, Married by me after three Publications at the Parochial Mass at Bytown, Matthew Daly of Huntly, to Ellen Keileine of March, and gave them the nuptial benediction in presence of Samuel Summerville, Mary Summerville & several others. W. Cannon.

Samuel was the eldest known son of Anthony Somerville and Mary McDonnell. The Mary Somerville listed here presumably refers to Mary McDonnell, wife of Anthony Somerville and godmother to Margaret Jane Killeen.

FAHEY

John Lahey’s sister Margaret Lahey married a John Fahey. The couple had five known children born in Ireland (presumably at or near Ballymacegan, Lorrha, Tipperary), and two known children born in Canada (March township, Carleton Co., Ontario). The name Fahy appears in the Tithe Applotment Book for Ballymacegan.

KENNEDY

John Lahey’s brother William Lahey married an Ann Kennedy. The couple had two known children born in Ireland (presumably at or near Ballymacegan, Lorrha, Tipperary). William Lahey died in March township in 1827, shortly after arriving in Canada. His widow Ann Kennedy then married the above-named John Fahey, widower of the above-named Margaret Lahey. John Fahey and Ann Kennedy had a son Michael Fahey, whose Fahey-Lahey half-siblings were first cousins to his Lahey-Kennedy half-siblings. And Bob’s yer uncle. The name Kennedy appears in the Tithe Applotment Book for Ballymacegan.

LOUGHNANE

Much more speculatively (as in, if the above is conjectural, the following is downright speculation), there is a Jas. [James] Loughnane listed in the Tithe Applotment Book for Ballymacegan; and a Loughnane/Lochnan did emigrate from Ireland (probably Co. Tipperary, possibly Ballymacegan?) to March Township. Simon Loughnane/Lochnan (abt. 1811-1903) was in March township by 1834, when he married Margaret Hickey (on 23 November 1834). On 28 September 1852, Mary Lochnan, daughter of Simon Lochnan and Margaret Hickey, married James Fahey, son of John Fahey and Margaret Lahey (and half-brother of the above-named Michael Fahey, son of John Fahey and Ann Kennedy).

  1. Killycross Upper and Killycross Lower were sub-townland denominations within the townland of Ballymacegan. ↩
  2. Emigration, Original Correspondence, 1817–1857 and 1872–1896, CO 384, War and Colonial Department and Colonial Office: Emigration Original Correspondence, The National Archives of the United Kingdom, Kew, Surrey, England; database, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca/: accessed 16 April 2015), Canada, Immigration and Settlement Correspondence and Lists, 1817-1896, 1817-1851, Volume 22: North American Emigration Societies; Individuals, 1829, John Lahy, Ireland, Fulnaerass (Kilnacross), Sipperary (Tipperary), image 90 of 135. ↩
  3.  Emigration, Original Correspondence, 1817–1857 and 1872–1896, CO 384, War and Colonial Department and Colonial Office: Emigration Original Correspondence, The National Archives of the United Kingdom, Kew, Surrey, England; database, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca/: accessed 16 April 2015), Canada, Immigration and Settlement Correspondence and Lists, 1817-1896, 1817-1851, Volume 22: North American Emigration Societies; Individuals, 1829, Anthony Somnserirlle (Sommerville), Ireland, Ballinriken, Sipperary (Tipperary), image 133 of 135. ↩
  4.  Thomas Laffan, Tipperary’s Families: Being the Hearth Money Records for 1665-6-7 (Dublin: James Duffy & Co., 1911), p. 189. ↩
  5. Tithe Applotment Book for Ballymacegan, Lorrha, Tipperary, The Tithe Applotment Books, 1823-1837, database, National Library of Ireland (http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp/: accessed 16 April 2015). ↩

  6. Notre Dame d’Ottawa (Ottawa, Carleton), Baptisms, marriages, burials 1836-1840, p. 15, B. Margaret Jane Keleine (Killeen), database: FamilySearch.org (http://www.familysearch.org/: accessed 13 April 2015), Ontario, Roman Catholic Church Records, 1760-1923. ↩

  7.  Notre Dame d’Ottawa (Ottawa, Carleton), Baptisms, marriages, burials 1836-1840, p. 16, M. Matthew Daly-Ellen Kelleine (Killeen) marriage, database: FamilySearch.org (http://www.familysearch.org/: accessed 13 April 2015), Ontario, Roman Catholic Church Records, 1760-1923. ↩

Catholic Records, Migration

Married twice (to the same spouse)

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Except that, in the eyes of the Catholic Church (and, perhaps just as importantly, in the eyes of the bridegrooms’ Catholic parents), the first marriage ceremonies did not count, because the brides had not been baptized.

Yes, that’s brides and bridegrooms in the plural, because:

Two Gaffney brothers, the sons of Bernard Gaffney and Catherine Killeen, did the same thing: married a non-Catholic American woman in the United States; and then married the same woman again in Canada, in a Catholic ceremony held at Notre Dame Basilica, Ottawa. In both cases, the brides were baptized as Catholics on the same day as their second marriage ceremonies. And in both cases, the godparents to these newly-converted daughters-in-law were the bridegrooms’ parents, Bernard Gaffney and Catherine Killeen.

(Another example of a mother-in-law serving as godmother to an adult convert to Catholicism: when Elizabeth Malcomson, wife of John Moran, converted to Catholicism in 1892, her mother-in-law Mary Leavy served as sponsor).

Gaffney-Palmer Marriage

Edward Arthur Gaffney married Johanna Gertrude Palmer, daughter of John Palmer and Esther Toles, about 1887, in the United States, presumably in Michigan. And on 2 August 1891, he married her again in Ottawa. But only after Johanna Gertrude Palmer had been baptized into the Catholic Church:1

gaffney palmer baptism marriage notre dame ottawa 1891

The above record does not give an exact date or place for the initial marriage: the priest records that the couple “declared that they have already contracted marriage about four years ago in the United States.”

Gaffney-Randall Marriage

James Gaffney married Mary Florence Randall, daughter of John Randall and Salome Hoyt and widow of George W. Dickson/Dixson, on 10 September 1891, in Saginaw, Michigan. And on 26 August 1892, he married her again in Ottawa. But only after Mary Florence Randall had been baptized into the Catholic Church:2

gaffney randall baptism marriage notre dame ottawa 1892

The above record does give an exact date (and place) for the initial marriage: the priest notes that the couple “declared to have contracted marriage in Saginaw Michigan on the 9th September 1891” (but the Michigian marriage records have 10th September 1891 as the date).

Note that in both cases, the couple made a declaration that they had been previously married in the United States. But in both cases, the American (and non-Catholic) marriage was “found null” because the bride had not been baptized. That is, “found null” by one or more Roman Catholic officials in Ottawa, not by any civil authority in the state of Michigan: the marriage of James Gaffney and Mary Florence Randall on 10 September 1891 in Saginaw, Michigan was perfectly legal and valid, but it was not a Catholic sacrament.

Needless to say, we’re not talking “consciously recoupling” here, or holding a recommitment ceremony (“I still do!”), or anything hip and contemporary like that. This was Ottawa in the early 1890s; and the Gaffneys were Roman Catholics. And when it came to marriage as a Catholic sacrament, there was a canon law to be obeyed. There were impediments to be overcome. There were immortal souls at stake.

And there was a pair of Irish Catholic parents — Bernard Gaffney and Catherine Killeen — who served as godparents to their Catholic convert daughters-in-law, and who also served as witnesses to the second (but first one to really count), Catholic marriages of their two sons. I can only imagine the family pressures that were brought to bear upon the two couples; and especially, I would guess, upon Edward Gaffney and Johanna Gertrude Palmer, since this couple had a son, Edward B. [Bernard?] Gaffney, born December 1890 in Michigan — born after his parents’ first marriage ceremony of 1887, but born outside the boundaries of a Catholic marriage, nevertheless. I bet Catherine Killeen couldn’t wait to sign that register, to bear witness to things having been set right, not only for her sons but also for her grandchildren.

Neither couple lived in Ottawa at the time of their second (but first to really count) marriages, by the way: both couples lived in Roscommon Co., Michigan, and were presumably just visiting the Gaffney parents in Ottawa when they found themselves at the altar for a second time.

And if I find evidence of a third Gaffney brother having done this, I think I’m going to call it a trend!

  1. Basilique Notre Dame d’Ottawa (Ottawa, Ontario), Register of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1891-1893, image 39 of 158, B. 198, Johanna Gertrude Palmer baptism, and M. 45, Edward A. Gaffney-Johanna G. Palmer  marriage, database, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca/: accessed 9 April 2015), Ontario, Canada, Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1747-1967. ↩

  2. Basilique Notre Dame d’Ottawa (Ottawa, Ontario), Register of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1891-1893, image 103 of 158, B. 212, Mary Florence Randall baptism, and M. 36, James Gaffney-Mary Florence Randall marriage, database, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca/: accessed 9 April 2015), Ontario, Canada, Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1747-1967. ↩

Migration, Newspapers

“Missing Friends” advertisements

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Are you looking for someone who emigrated from Ireland to North America in the nineteenth century? Welcome to the club! The booming business of Irish genealogy indicates that we are not alone.

And their early twenty-first-century descendants are not the first to have searched for some of these emigrants. In the nineteenth century, the friends and relations of Irish emigrants (in both Ireland and the New World) often lost contact with those who had emigrated to North America, and who had then gone “missing.” Sometimes these anxious relatives placed advertisements in the local and regional newspapers — as did the friends and relations of emigrants from many different places, not just from Ireland. But in addition to local and regional papers, the Irish also had The Pilot, which bills itself “America’s Oldest Catholic Newspaper.”

From October 1831 to October 1921, the Boston Pilot ran a “Missing Friends” column, where Irish connections placed advertisements for missing sons and daughters, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces, and so on. The column makes for a fascinating, and compelling, read. “She left home three years ago, and sailed for New York, and has not been heard from since,” for example. Or: “Any information concerning his whereabouts will be thankfully received by his wife.” To read the advertisements in the “Missing Friends” column is to encounter a chronicle of equal parts hope, anxiety, and despair.

Here’s one that caught my eye — an advertisement, dated 30 June 1855, placed by a John Benton, formerly of Cappawhite, Co. Tipperary, now of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, who was looking for his brother Thomas:

OF THOMAS BENTON, parish of Cappawhite, Co. Tipperary; when last heard from he was in Edgar co., Ill. Information of him will be received by his brother John, care of David Shiels, Pewaukie, Wis.1

Is this Thomas Benton, son of Thomas Benton and Catherine Dwyer, born in Cappawhite, Co. Tipperary in 1826, died in Arnprior, Renfrew Co., Ontario in 1890?

Possibly.

Certainly, this is the first I’ve heard of Thomas Benton possibly being in Edgar County, Illinois in the early 1850s (railway labour?). Then again, Thomas Benton has already surprised me, with a marriage record in the register for St. John the Evangelist, Gananoque, Leeds Co., Ontario (this discovered after I had searched every available Catholic register for Carleton, Lanark, and Renfrew Counties, and had all but given up). But Gananoque is a lot closer to Pakenham, Lanark Co. (where Thomas Benton can be found in 1861) and to Arnprior, Renfrew Co. (where Thomas Benton lived from the mid-1860s to his death in 1890) than to Edgar Co., Illinois. And do I have any other evidence to suggest that Thomas Benton ever lived in the United States at all? I do not. Still, given the name and the parish (Cappawhite, Co. Tipperary), I’m not ruling out the above Boston Pilot advertisement. Especially since there was also a William Benton in Pewaukee, Wisconsin from the mid-1860s, and Thomas Benton certainly had a younger brother William, born in Cappawhite in 1832.

(The next logical step, of course, is to search for all available records pertaining to John Benton, who died at Pewaukee, Waukesha Co., Wisconsin on 6 March 1882, and who is buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Pewaukee, in the hope of finding a record which names his parents. And also to search for all available records pertaining to William Benton of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, in the same hope.)

The Boston Pilot’s  “Missing Friends” advertisements are available online at two sites:

  1. Boston College has an online database, Information Wanted: A Database of Advertisements for Irish Immigrants Published in the Boston Pilot
  2. Ancestry.com has an online database, Searching for Missing Friends: Irish Immigrant Advertisements Placed in “The Boston Pilot,” 1831–1920

Those searching for Ireland-to-Canada emigrants should not overlook this collection. While the collection is often described in terms of Irish emigration to the United States, there are many advertisements which reference Canadian locations (and, of course, Canadian ports of landing).

Another Canadian connection: Thomas D’Arcy McGee was an editor of the The Pilot in 1844-45.

  1.  Ancestry.com. Searching for Missing Friends: Irish Immigrant Advertisements Placed in “The Boston Pilot,” 1831–1920 (database on-line). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Harris, Ruth-Ann M., Donald M. Jacobs, and B. Emer O’Keeffe, editors. Searching for Missing Friends: Irish Immigrant Advertisements Placed in “The Boston Pilot 1831–1920”. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1989. ↩

Catholic Records, Migration

Irish Origins in Canadian Roman Catholic Marriage Records: St. John the Evangelist, Gananoque, Leeds Co., Ontario, Part 2

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18 February 1855 -- 18 November 1856

For marriages from 4 January 1850 to 6 February 1855, please see Part One.

Part 3 to follow.

DateGroomSon of [Parents], of [Place]BrideDaughter of [Parents], of [Place]Witnesses
DateGroomSon of [Parents], of [Place]BrideDaughter of [Parents], of [Place]Witnesses
18 Feb 1855Patrick CummingsThomas Cummings and Mary Stanton, of the parish of Tintern Co. WexfordMaryanne CushenMartin Cushen and Mary Gorman of this mission (from the Co. Wexford)Robert Anderson and Mary Ravey
18 May 1855Peter TetreauWilliam Tetreau and Marie Scott (formerly from Laprairie, C.E.)Sarah MarlowOwen Marlow and Mary Mullen (from the Co. Tyrone Ireland)Peter William and Mary Jane Moyner
22 Aug 1855John WoodsJohn Woods and Bridget Casey (from Manchester England)Margaret O'NeilNicholas O'Neil and Mary McCormick from Co. Wexford IrelandThos. Ferguson and Margaret Blake
4 Oct 1855Thos. Clark of Brockville missionBernard Clark and Catherine Kelly from Co. Cavan IrelandBridget O'ShayPatrick O'Shay and Catherine ________ from the Co. Limerick IrelandMichael Clark and Eleanor Fenton
4 Nov 1855Michael DwyerJohn Dwyer and Catherine Ryan, Cappagh White, Tipperary, IrelandAnn BrazilMichael Brazil and Catherine Gleeson, Co. Tipperary, IrelandPatrick Shanly and Eleanor Rossiter
18 Nov 1855Thos. GriffinJohn Griffin and Margaret Bolan, Co. Limerick, IrelandMargaret ManeyOwen Maney and Margaret Rowlan from the Co. Clare, IrelandCon Regan and Margaret Hannon
8 Jan 1856William KennedyPatk. Kennedy and Mary Hunt from the Co. Clare IrelandBridget McMahonPeter McMahon and Ellen Connors, also from the Co. Clare, IrelandMartin Hogan and Mary McMahon
27 Jan 1856Patrick MaddenJames Madden and Eleanor Fitzgerald from the parish of Robertstown, Co. LimerickMary CoxStephen Cox and Susan Armstrong from the Co. Cavan, IrelandJames Shortell and Christianna Madden
28 Jan 1856Laurence BoyleJohn Boyle and Mary Dunn from the Co. Kildare, IrelandCatherine O'BrienTerence O'Brien and Mary McGovern from the Co. Fermanagh IrelandJohn Gavin and Julia Shortell
31 Jan 1856Patrick EnglishJohn English and ________ Lawlor from the parish of Tintern, Co. Wexford, IrelandMargaret FoxPeter Fox and Ann Cameron from the Co. Carlow IrelandJames Turbin and Eleanor Littleton
4 Feb 1856Dominique LeBoufPierre Lebouf and Josette Tessier from St. Ann B.C.Nancy DriscollMichael Driscoll and Margaret Hayes parish of Skibereen, Co. Cork, IrelandPeter Cassedy and Ann Kelly
23 Mar 1856Patrick Boylejohn Boyle and Mary Dunn from the Co. Kildare, IrelandJudith ShortellThomas Shortell and Bridget Swift from the Co. Kilkenny, IrelandDenis Brophy and Mary O'Brien
14 Apr 1856Isidore Isreal GreffeFrancois Grreffe and Rosalie Turcotte of St. John Chrysostom in C.E., now of this missionLatitia FinmoreThos. Finmore and Julia McCann from the Co. Westmeath, IrelandHugh Gusta and Maryanne Stanfield
4 Apr 1856John Beamish (widower of Mary Hurly)Thos. Beamish and Mary Ford, parish of Kinsale, Co. Cork, IrelandJohannah ShayMaurice Shay and Margaret Noonan from the parish of Bantry, Co. Cork, IrelandJeremiah Mahony and Catherine Mahony
14 Apr 1856Thos. BentonThos. Benton and Catherine Dwyer, from the parish of Cappagh White, Tipperary, IrelandHonor RyanMichael Ryan and Bridget Lahey, parish of Kilcommon, Co. Limerick, IrelandPatrick Dwyer and Bridget Conway
14 Apr 1856John RedmondPatrick Redmond and Elizabeth Grammen from New Town Barry, Co. Wexford, IrelandAnn O'BrienCharles O'Brien and Mary Devereux, from the parish of Clonegal, Co. Wexford, Ireland Thos. McGeoghegan and Catherine O'Brien
5 May 1856Denis SantryJohn Santry and Honora Driscoll from the Co. Cork IrelandMary Clifford (widow of dec. John Clifford)Danl. Hogan and Catherine Holohan, from the City of Limerick IrelandJohn Hunt and Mary McGrath
4 Jun 1856Michael QuinnFrancis Quinn and Nancy Macken from the Co. Armagh, IrelandAllice NugentMichl. Nugent and Mary Dunn from the Co. Dublin, IrelandJohn Kennedy and Eleanor McCormick
14 Jul 1856John Spellane, widower of dec. Mary BrophyJohn Spellane and Catherine Daughten from the Queen's Co., IrelandHonor TobinNicholas Tobin and Mary Vardy from the parish of Balingarry, Co. Wexford James Guttery and Bridget Copeland
17 Jul 1856*Daniel W. Daniels (protestant) John Daniels and Elizabeth Smith, from Canton St. Laurence Co. N.Y. U.S.Bridget Daley (catholic), from BeauharnoisPatrick Daley and Mary Morrison from the parish of Fermoy, Co. Cork, IrelandMichael Dunn and Mary Daley
5 Aug 1856Jeremiah O'NeilJeremiah O'Neil and Julia Sullivan, from the Parish of Bantry, Co. Cork IrelandRose McGarveyThos. McGarvey and Rose McNeirny from the parish of Authy, Co. Tyrone IrelandPatrick Ward and Ann Ward
26 Aug 1856Edward HennessyPatrick Hennessy and Eleanor Bulger from the parish of Bagglinstown Co. Carlow, IrelandEleanor BradshawJohn Bradshaw and Bridget Dwyer from the Co. TipperaryJames McDonicle and Rose O'Neil
20 Oct 1856Matthew MurphyLaurence Murphy and Ann Redmond, Co. WexfordEleanor ClarkMichael Clark and Mary Burns from the parish of Baltinglass, Co. WicklowNicholas Roach and Margaret Clark
20 Oct 1856John O'BrienCharles O'Brien and Mary Devereux from the parish of Clonegal, Co. WexfordBridget KarmuddyMichael Karmuddy and Bridget Mack from the Co. Clare, IrelandJames McNamara and Margaret Connors
24 Oct 1856John Joyce, widower of decd. Mary Boyne John Joyce and Mary Hanlon from the parish of Ballykillen, Co. Carlow, IrelandJohannah KehoeJohn Kehoe and Johannah Quinlan parish of Adamstown, Co. Wexford IrelandJohn Dunden and Bridget O'Brien
4 Nov 1856Cornelius Harrington of the Rail Road in this missionTimothy Harrington and Julia Fahey of the parish of Kilcastle, Co. Cork IrelandMargaret RyanMichael Ryan and Bridget Lahey from the parish of Kilcommon, Co. LimerickJames Moran and Ann Dunden
10 Nov 1856Thomas Elligot of the Gr. T. R. Road in this missionJohn Elligot and Margaret Collins of the parish of Grane, Co. LimerickBridget ConwayThomas Conway and Margaret Kennedy from the parish of Kilcommon, Co. Tipperary IrelandJohn Elligot and Allice Kennedy
18 Nov 1856Denis Doyle of the Gr. T. R. Road in this missionDenis Doyle and Eleanor Ryan from the parish of Cappa White Co. Tipperary IrelandBridget McGrathThos. McGrath and Margaret Wilkinson, from the parish of Castletown, Co. Tipperary IrelandThos. Conway and Margaret Karmuddy

*This marriage, which required a dispensation from the impediment of a mixed marriage, was later crossed out in the register.

Catholic Records, Migration

Marriage of Michael Dwyer and Honora Benton

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Honora Benton was born in Cappawhite, Co. Tipperary in 1818 (baptized 13 December 1818), the daughter of Thomas Benton and Catherine Dwyer. A couple of years earlier, her father Thomas Benton had served as sponsor/godfather to Mary Dwyer, baptized 17 April 1816, the daughter of Timothy Dwyer and Honora Benton.

So here we have a couple of Benton-Dwyer couples in Cappawhite in the early nineteenth century: Thomas Benton and Catherine Dwyer (married 11 March 1809); and Timothy Dwyer and Honora Benton (married before April 1816). Were Thomas Benton and Honora Benton (wife of Timothy Dwyer) siblings or cousins or otherwise related? Were Catherine Dwyer (wife of Thomas Benton) and Timothy Dwyer (husband of Honora Benton) siblings or cousins or otherwise related?

If You’re the Daughter of a Benton and a Dwyer …

… why not marry a Dwyer?

Don’t let your emigration to Canada stop you! You can surely find a Dwyer in Montreal.

And that is exactly what Honora Benton, daughter of Thomas Benton and Catherine Dwyer, did:1

Marriage of Michael Dwyer and Honora Benton, 9 October 1843

Marriage of Michael Dwyer and Honora Benton, 9 October 1843

The above record, from the register for Notre Dame Basilica, Montreal, identifies the marriage partners as Michael Dwyer, “domicilié en cette Paroisse fils majeur de John Dwyer fermier et d’Ellen McGrath du Comté de Limerick en Irlande” (domiciled in this parish son of age of John Dwyer, farmer, and of Ellen McGrath of the County Limerick, Ireland); and Hanora Benton “domicilié en cette Paroisse fille majeure de Thomas Benton fermier et de Catherine Dwyer du Comté de Tipperary en Irlande” (domiciled in this parish daughter of age of Thomas Benton, farmer, and of Catherine Dwyer of the County Tipperary, Ireland). Apparently neither Michael Dwyer nor Honora Benton could sign the register. The witnesses, however, did sign as Timothy Bourke and Edmond Reardon.

Michael Dwyer and Honora Benton had two daughters baptized at Notre Dame Basilica, Montreal: Ellen, born 2 July 1844; and Mary, born 23 March 1846. What happened to this family after March 1846? I have not yet found them in the (Canadian or American) census records.

  1. Basilique Notre-Dame (Montréal, Québec), Register of Births, Marriages and Burials, 1843, M. 143, Michael Dwyer-Hanora Benton marriage: database, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca/: accessed 23 March 2015), Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967. ↩

Catholic Records, Migration

Irish Origins in Canadian Roman Catholic Marriage Records: St. John the Evangelist, Gananoque, Leeds Co., Ontario, Part I

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4 January 1850 -- 6 February 1855

From the register of St. John the Evangelist, Gananoque, Leeds Co., Ontario,1 a list of Irish-emigrant marriages from 4 January 1850 to 6 February 1855.

I have only included marriages where the record supplies information about Irish origins (where at least an Irish county is named, in other words). To put it another way, I have excluded marriages between parties with Irish names, where the record does not name at least a county in Ireland.

As always, I have attempted to transcribe what I read, and have resisted the (sometimes all-but-overwhelming) temptation to “correct” the priest’s spelling. The surname “Rennolds” would be standardized as “Reynolds,” for example; and the parish of “Bax” in Co. Mayo would generally be spelled “Backs.” But I have recorded my interpretation of the spelling that is actually found in the register. The priests who recorded this information were the Rev. John Foley (to January 1851) and the Rev. James R. Rossiter (from 1851).

Part II to follow.

DateGroomSon of [Parents], of [Place]BrideDaughter of [Parents], of [Place]Witnesses
DateGroomSon of [Parents], of [Place]BrideDaughter of [Parents], of [Place]Witnesses
4 Jan 1850Garret RennoldsOwen Rennolds and Margaret Curley of the Parish of Mohill Co. LeitrimEliza, widow of John ManleyWilliam Donahue and Catherine Ryan of Leeds
5 Aug 1850John DaleyMichael Daley and Ann Hadden of the County TipperaryMary BoyleJohn Boyle and Mary Dusin of Leeds County CanadaMich McMullen and Margaret Kennedy of Gananoque
2 Sep 1850John ButterfieldSimon Butterfield and Margaret McClare of Cashel, Co. TipperaryAnn JesmahFrancis JesmahJohn Dundon and Catherine Dundon of Gananoque
14 Jan 1851John HuntWilliam Hunt and Catherine Donohue of Cappawhite, Co. TipperaryCatherine BurkeLaurence Burke and Johanna Barry of Cappawhite, Co. TipperaryJohn Dundon and Catherine Dundon
9 Nov 1851Patrick CosgriveThos. Cosgrive and Margaret Degnigne of Galvery, Co. LimerickMargaret HydePatrick Hyde and Catherine Spelane of [Leeds?]Michael Dunnevan and Bridget Clark
9 Nov 1851Patrick O'CallehanPatrick O'Callihan and Margaret Callihan of the parish of Ballymons Co. CorkEleanor BarretHenry Barret and Sally Burk of Bax Co. MayoMichael Docheral and Maria Forester
19 Jan 1852Edward O'Briendeceased Patk O'Brien and Rose Gallaher of the Co. TyroneAnn DunnMoses Dunn and Mary Donaghue of the Co. WexfordJames Dunn and Nancy Murphy
22 Feb 1852Edward O'BrienJohn O'Brien and Catherine Morrisen of the Co. TyroneMary Dunn (widow of decd. Thomas Dunn)Andrew Kinsela and Honor Summers of the Co. WexfordBernard O'Neil and Bridget Dunn
17 Oct 1852Matthew Ryan, widower of Honora MurrayRody Ryan and Eleanor Walsh of the parish of Holy Cross, Co. TipperaryMary Pew, widow of James DaleyGeorge Pew and Jane Walsh of the parish of Bax Co. Mayo Ireland Michael Tierney and Mary Lyons
8 Feb 1853John KennedyMichael Kennedy and Sarah Cunningham of the Co. Armagh, IrelandElizabeth DaughertyEdward Daugherty and Honorah Dillon of the Co. Limerick, IrelandMichael Kennedy and Mary Jane Sidley
9 May 1853Patrick NeelanPatrick Neelan and Honora Hanlon of the parish of Brough Co. Limerick, IrelandMary Jane DavisRichd Davis and Mary Hill Co. Cork IrelandPatrick Neelan and Mary Jane Sidley
9 May 1853Michael McGivernPatrick McGivern and Catherine Quinn Co. Armagh IrelandCatherine O'KeefeJohn O'Keefe and Johanna Ross of the parish of Shanagolden Co. Limerick, IrelandFrancis McGivern and Margaret Kennedy
13 May 1853Edward McGrathEdward McGrath and Bridget Ryan of the parish of Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny, IrelandMary Daugherty, widow of deceased William DaughertyThos. Helpon and Catherine Eagan of the parish of Kilcommon, Tipperary, IrelandJohn Hunt and Margaret Kennedy
27 Jun 1853Michel TetreauGuillaume Tetreau and Marie Scott of the parish of Acadie, Diocese of MontrealJohanna NoonanJohn Noonan and Jane Taylor Co. Clare, IrelandPeter Tetreau and Ann Donaghue
26 Jul 1853John HorohanMatthew Horohan and Bridget Nolan of the parish of Ballyragget Co. Kilkenny, IrelandMary Jane McMullenJames McMullen and Catherine McKenny Co. Tyrone IrelandMichael McMullen and Ann McMullen
20 Nov 1853Bernard ShielsJohn Shiels and Catherine McMahon from the County Armagh IrelandAnn BrophyAndrew Brophy and Catherine Brophy of the Co. KilkennyJames Bulger and Jane Shiels
20 Nov 1853James BulgerJames Bulger and Eleanor Kirwin of the Co. Kilkenny IrelandJane ShielsJohn Shiels and Catherine McMahon of the Co. Armagh, IrelandBernard Shiels and Ann Brophy
9 Jan 1854James QuinnMartin Quinn and Eleanor Terry of the Co. WaterfordNancy Melvina HavensDaniel Havens and Tremor Allen, both of Howe IslandMichael Rogen and Mary Ann Havens
9 Jan 1854John O'Mullen [of Howe Island]Robert O'Mullen and Elizabeth Keatley from the To of Mountain Co. of DundasMary Driscoll [of Howe Island]James Driscoll and Elizabeth Doran from the parish of New Town Co. Cork Ireland Joseph Preville and Allice Webster
12 Feb 1854Patrick KeysJohn Keys and Mary Corrigan from the King's Co. Ireland Catherine McKinty (late Cath McCarey widow)Hugh McKinty and Nancy Murphy Co. Antrim IrelandBernard McCarey and Mary McKinty
21 Feb 1854Michael WebbPatrick Webb and Ann Martin Co. Kildare IrelandMaria ForesterCharles Forester and Bridget Barret Co. Mayo IrelandThomas Cummings and Bridget Moyne
20 Aug 1854William HanlonJeremiah Hanlon and Ann Hanlon, from the Co. GalwayCatherine Dogheral (widow of decd John Dogheral)Michael O'Leary and Johannah Kennedy Thurles, Tipperary John Fitzgerald and Margaret Mullen
26 Nov 1854Eustache Bisson (widower of deceased Rose Guenette and Margarite Allaire)Toussaint Bisson and Marie Bordineau Mary SherryPeter Sherry and Mary Burns Co. Carlow IrelandJames McDonnell and Eleanor Rossiter
2 Dec 1854James Curtis (widower of Catherine Riordan from King's Co. Ireland)Patrick Curtis and Catherine Carroll from the Co. Tipperary, IrelandEleanor Murphy (widow of deceased Garret Reynolds and of John Manley)James Murphy and Nancy Cogger, from Co. Mayo, IrelandPatrick Cummings and Christianna Madden
2 Dec 1854Patrick Webb (widower of Ann Martin from the Queen's Co. Ireland)Michael Webb and Nancy Brophy from the Queen's Co. IrelandHonor Karney (widow of William Lynch from Castlebar)Dominic Karney and Catherine HemmleyAlexander Mullen and Margaret Mullen
4 Jan 1855Bernard McCarey (widower of ______ )Hugh McCarey and Margaret McBride from the Co. Antrim, IrelandBridget Rolan (widow of dec. Patrick Glenn)Michael Rolan and Bridget Taylor from Co. Mayo, Ireland -- now of this missionJohn Fitzgerald and Eleanor Curtis
8 Jan 1855Patrick RapeThomas Rape and Mary Hogan (from the Co. Mayo Ireland) of the parish of Smith's FallsRose LappinJames Lappin and Nancy Thompson from the Co. Armagh IrelandJohn Rape and Mary Jane McDonnell
6 Feb 1855John MaddenJames Madden and Eleanor Fitzgerald from the parish of [Askeaton?] Co. LimerickCatherine LyonsHugh Lyons and Margaret Kenny, from the parish of the parish of Aghrim Co. Galway, IrelandThomas McGrath and Louisa Millan

  1. “Ontario, Roman Catholic Church Records, 1760-1923,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/): Leeds > Gananoque > St John the Evangelist > Marriages 1846-1863. ↩