Tag Archive for Harrington

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

“Of the Rail Road in this mission”

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Thomas Benton (1826-1890) was born in Cappawhite, Co. Tipperary, Ireland, the son of Thomas Benton and Catherine (“Kitty”) Dwyer. Of these facts I am now reasonably certain (which is to say, as certain as one can ever be when it comes to 19th-century Irish genealogy).

But for the longest time, I had only “Thomas Benton, born about 1830 in Ireland, of parents unknown” in my database. I suspected that he had been born in the parish of Doon (Limerick or Tipperary?); and from about last May, I had reason to suspect that he was born in Cappawhite, Co. Tipperary, the son of Thomas Benton and Catherine Dwyer. But until very recently, I had no documented evidence to confirm or refute my suspicions.

It’s Always in the Last Place You Look

And the main reason why I had no evidence is that I could not find a record of Thomas Benton’s marriage to Honora Ryan, daughter of Michael Ryan and Bridget Lahey.

Given that all nine of their known children were born in Canada, I suspected (rightly, as it turns out) that Thomas Benton and Honora Ryan had married in Canada, not in Ireland. And I knew that Thomas Benton and Honora Ryan could be found in Pakenham, Lanark Co., Ontario in 1861, and that they shortly afterwards moved to Arnprior, Renfrew Co., Ontario, where Honora Ryan died in 1879, and where Thomas Benton died in 1890. But I searched the Catholic parish registers of Lanark and Renfrew Counties, and searched in vain, for a marriage record for Thomas Benton and Honora Ryan. And because the baptismal record for their daughter Bridget Benton is found in the register for the Catholic mission at Fitzroy Harbour (Carleton Co.), I also searched surrounding parishes in Carleton County. I also briefly considered, and searched for, a Protestant marriage record, though without really expecting to find one, given the overwhelming evidence of staunch Roman Catholicism for this family.1

I finally found their marriage record in the register for St. John the Evangelist, Gananoque, Leeds Co. — a place I had not thought to look, because I was so focused on Lanark and Renfrew Counties.

‘Of the Grand Trunk Rail Road in this mission’

And what were they doing in the Gananoque area in the 1850s?

It looks like the men were working for the Grand Trunk Railway, perhaps on the construction of the line which ran from Montreal to Brockville, which opened in 1859.

When Honora Ryan’s sister Margaret married Cornelius Harrington on 4 November 1856,2 the priest, the Rev. James R. Rossiter, identified Cornelius Harrington as a railroad worker:

Marriage of Cornelius Harrington and Margaret Ryan, 4 November 1856

Marriage of Cornelius Harrington and Margaret Ryan, 4 November 1856

The above record lists “Cornelius Harrington of the Rail Road in this mission, son of age of Timothy Harrington and Julia Falvey of the parish of Kilcastle [Kilcaskan?], Co. Cork Ireland,” along with “Margaret Ryan, also of this mission, daughter minor of Michael Ryan and Bridget Lahey from the parish of Kilcommon, Co. Limerick.”

And in the marriage record which immediately follows, that of Thomas Elligot and Bridget Conway (10 November 1856),3 we have Thomas Elligot identified with the Grand Trunk Railway in particular:

Marriage of Thomas Elligot and Bridget Conway, 10 November 1856

Marriage of Thomas Elligot and Bridget Conway, 10 November 1856

The above records lists “Thomas Elligot of the Gr. T. R. Road in this mission, son of age of John Elligot and Margaret Collins of the parish of [Grane?] Co. Limerick Ireland,” along with “Bridget Conway, daughter minor of Thomas Conway and Margaret Kennedy from the parish of Kilcommon Co. Tipperary Ireland.”

gananoque mission marriagesIndeed, for the mid- to  late-1850s, a number of men in this register are identified as railroad workers in their marriage records. Which is to say, in other words, that the Rev. James R. Rossiter took the time to add that extra detail about the men’s occupation (and in one record, he also identifies a woman as being “of the Rail Road”). Given the difficulties of locating Irish emigrants who worked on the construction of canals and railroads, the register for St. John the Evangelist, Leeds Co., Ontario therefore strikes me as an unusually valuable source (I consider any Catholic parish register to be a valuable source, but for at least a few families [probably more than “a few,” I haven’t yet counted] this one has that little something extra). Moreover, the priest’s tendency to record counties, and sometimes parishes, of origin in Ireland also makes this register extremely valuable.

By the way, I would expect that many of the people found in this register did not remain in the Gananoque region for very long. Like my own Benton and Ryan ancestors, they had probably moved on by the 1860s — to other parts of Canada, and also to the United States.

Thomas Benton is not identified as a railroad worker in the record of his marriage to Honora Ryan. But given the occupational listing for other men (including his brother-in-law Cornelius Harrington) in the same mission, for now I am filing him under “Possibly Working for the Grand Trunk Railway” in the late 1850s. Thomas Benton’s future son-in-law, Alexander Michael Moran (husband of Anna [“Annie”] Maria Benton), did certainly work, as a machinist, for the Grand Trunk Railway. And Thomas Benton’s grandson, my paternal grandfather Allan Jerome Moran, also worked for the GTR, and later for the CN (Canadian National Railway).

I am currently compiling a table of marriages from the register for St. John the Evangelist, which identify Irish parishes and counties (similar to my Irish Counties in Fitzroy Harbour Mission Marriage Records). To be posted within the next few days.

  1. In the early Ottawa Valley, where conditions were harsh and clerics were scarce, members of various Protestant denominations sometimes crossed denominational lines to baptize an infant or to marry: in the absence of a Presbyterian minister, a pair of Presbyterian parents might have their infant baptized by an Anglican minister, for example. For the most part, however, Roman Catholics resisted this pioneer-era ecumenicalism: to be baptized or married by a non-Catholic, as Catholics understood it, was scarcely to be baptized or married at all. ↩

  2. St. John the Evangelist (Gananoque, Leeds), Marriages 1846-1863, Cornelius Harrington-Margaret Ryan marriage, image 22 of 41: database, FamilySearch.org (http://www.familysearch.org/: accessed 9 March 2015), Ontario, Roman Catholic Church Recors, 1760-1923. ↩

  3.  St. John the Evangelist (Gananoque, Leeds), Marriages 1846-1863, Thomas Elligot-Bridget Conway marriage, image 22 of 41: database, FamilySearch.org (http://www.familysearch.org/: accessed 9 March 2015), Ontario, Roman Catholic Church Records, 1760-1923. ↩

Photographs

Patrick Ryan (1842-1920)

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I found this photograph attached to a family tree at ancestry.ca, and contacted the owner for permission to post at my site. The owner, who must be a distant cousin of mine, kindly granted my request.

This is Patrick Ryan, with perhaps one of his daughters, Bridget (“Jette”), Catherine (“Cate”), or Honora (“Annie”). The photograph was probably taken at their home, outside Killaloe Station, Renfrew Co., Ontario.

Patrick Ryan (1842-1920)

Patrick Ryan (1842-1920)

Patrick Ryan was born in 1842 at Curraghafoil, Doon,1 Co. Limerick, Ireland, the son of Michael Ryan and Bridget Lahey, and the brother of my 2x-great-grandmother Honora (“Annie”) Ryan, who married Thomas Benton. I am not sure when Patrick Ryan emigrated to Canada. His parents and sisters were in Canada by 1856; and his youngest sibling Hannah, born about 1854, may have been born in the United States (perhaps Ogdensburg, New York?), which would suggest an early 1850s Ireland-to-North-America emigration for Michael Ryan and Bridget Lahey and their daughters. But Patrick and his brother John Ryan may have come later (late-1860s?).2 In any case, Patrick Ryan was in Canada by 1871, as was his brother John.

On 17 August 1874, Patrick Ryan married Bridget Devine, daughter of Michael Devine and of Catherine (maiden name unknown to me). The couple had nine known children, six sons and three daughters. Bridget Devine died on 24 April 1891, and the cause of her death, as recorded in her Ontario civil death registration, indicates a ghastly death from childbirth complications: she apparently died, at the age of 38, of “Haemorrhage of the womb. 2 days’ duration.”3

On 13 November 1893, the widower Patrick Ryan married Ellen Harrington, daughter of John Harrington and Julia Sullivan (of Co. Cork, Ireland? I have not looked into the records here, but my first guess would be Co. Cork). The couple had four known children, all sons. Their third son, the Rev. Stephen Joseph Ryan, was a Catholic priest who died in New York City in 1930.

Patrick Ryan died on 14 August 1920, and is buried at St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic Cemetery, Killaloe, Renfrew Co., Ontario. His headstone identifies him as a “Native of Co. Limerick Ireland.”

  1. Doon is the civil parish. The Roman Catholic parish is that of Kilcommon, a North Tipperary RC parish which extended into Co. Limerick. ↩
  2. The 1901 and 1911 Canadian census returns, along with their Ontario civil death registrations, suggest that Patrick Ryan and John Ryan did not come to Canada until the mid- to late-1860s. While their parents and sisters were certainly in Canada by the 1861 census enumeration, I have not found Patrick or John in the 1861 Canadian census returns. ↩
  3. Two days!? O, the horror. Nineteenth-century death records are the main reason why I’m pro-modern medicine, and also the reason why I’m a bit of a proselytizer on the necessity of childhood vaccination. Whenever I encounter a proponent of the anti-vaccination position, I want to take that person on a tour of the nearest graveyard, to show him or her the headstones for all the little Johns and little Marys who did not make it to age 5, who were carried off at a tender age by childhood diseases against which we now have the solution: and that solution is vaccination. ↩

Catholic Records

When a Ryan Marries a Ryan

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Sorting through Ryans in Renfrew County is an exercise in patience and perseverance. Ryan is, in Carol McCuaig’s words, “one of the most popular surnames” in the county.1

When one Ryan marries another (let’s hope reasonably distant if not completely unrelated!) Ryan, the opportunity for confusion is multiplied to the nth degree of Ryan.
For example, on 16 June 1884, Stephen Ryan married Hannah Ryan at St. James the Less, Eganville. Stephen was the son of John Ryan and Sarah Gallagher, and the widower of Ellen Behan (who had died “in childbed” a year earlier, on 14 June 1883). Hannah was the daughter of Michael Ryan and Bridget Lahey. The witnesses to the marriage of Stephen Ryan and Hannah Ryan were Jeremiah Ryan and Bridget Harrington, whose mother was a Ryan (Margaret Ryan, older sister of Hannah, and wife of Cornelius Harrington).
That’s a lot of Ryans.

1 Carol Bennett McCuaig, The Kerry Chain, the Limerick Link (Juniper Books Ltd: 2003), p. 134.