Patrick Galligan was born about 1807 in the townland of Loughaconnick, parish of Kilmore, Co. Cavan, Ireland, the eldest known child of Denis Galligan (c. 1782-1846) and Anne Kelly (c. 1785-1866). Three generations of Galligans emigrated to Fitzroy Township, Carleton County, Ontario in the 1830s and 1840s. The first to arrive in Canada was probably … Continue reading Last Will and Testament of Patrick Galligan
Category: Death and Burial
Deathbed Wills
Deathbed wills are documents that were dictated orally by a testator who was in imminent peril of death, who did not expect to make it through the night, who did not hope to see another day. There is a more technical name for them -- noncupative wills[1. See, for example, Sharon DeBartolo Carmack, Where There's … Continue reading Deathbed Wills
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“Did an operation precede death”? (Ontario civil death records)
Death records often supply interesting (and occasionally rather gruesome) details about an ancestor's cause of death. And while the information found in early Ontario civil death records is a bit scanty, once we get into the twentieth century, the records become much more detailed, and therefore much more valuable to the family historian. Resist the … Continue reading “Did an operation precede death”? (Ontario civil death records)
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“Now comes Thos. L. Ryan…”
Where did Michael James McGlade Reside? Sometimes you can't find a person, no matter how carefully and thoroughly you look. And sometimes you find the same person at more than one address (and in more than one census return) at roughly the same time. Such is the case with Michael James McGlade, son of John … Continue reading “Now comes Thos. L. Ryan…”
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Obituary for Thomas and Alexander Moran
While it may seem a glaringly obvious point, it's a point worth keeping in mind when you discover an ancestor's obituary. That obituary or death notice[1. There's no bright line, no hard and fast rule for distinguishing, between a death (or mortuary) notice and an obituary. In general, a death notice was very brief, perhaps … Continue reading Obituary for Thomas and Alexander Moran
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17 Years of Cheers, and No Green Beers
Meant to post this on the 6 September (my Dad's birthday), but got busy and distracted.... My dad spent the last few months of his life at an assisted living facility above a brew pub. Yes, only Johnny Moran would agree to not go gentle into that good night above a damn brew pub. It … Continue reading 17 Years of Cheers, and No Green Beers
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Cause of Death: Pulmonary tuberculosis
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 … Continue reading Cause of Death: Pulmonary tuberculosis
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The hazards of early settler life
As I've mentioned before, 19th-century Roman Catholic burial records did not generally record a cause of death for the deceased, but there were exceptions to this general rule. In cases where a death was considered unusually tragic, dramatic, or violent, the priest might note the cause of death in the parish register. Here's an interesting … Continue reading The hazards of early settler life
