Sometimes the records just don't add up. Oh, I don't mean numerically or arithmetically: genealogical research is not double-entry bookkeeping, after all. What I mean is that sometimes the information found in one record will directly contradict the information that is found in another record. A case in point: Here are George Vallely and his … Continue reading Death of George Vallely
... and those 10 children the offspring of 3 separate (but related!) marital pairs. I've written about this before (see, for example, "Blended Families"): the blended family is nothing new. When a widower married a widow, and one or both parties to the marriage had children from a previous marriage, the resulting new household might … Continue reading One Household: 2 Adults, 10 Children …
The 1842 Census of Canada East (Quebec) is available at ancestry.ca (subscription-only), but also at FamilySearch (free of charge). At FamilySearch, the database is titled Canada, Lower Canada Census, 1842. At both sites (and it appears that FamilySearch is the source of ancestry's census database), the census is searchable by name, and the search engine seems … Continue reading 1842 Census of Canada East (Quebec)
As I've mentioned before (e.g., in Spelling Doesn't Count! [in Genealogy]), it’s extremely unlikely that an ancestor had a strong attachment to a certain spelling of his surname, if that ancestor never had occasion to personally spell his own name. If my ancestor James Moran, for example, was not literate (and I'm pretty sure he was … Continue reading Strange Surname Spellings: Hohanlan for O’Hanlon
in Canada by 1832 This is not the first time that I've found an early recordin the register for Notre Dame Basilica, Montreal for a family who emigrated from Ireland and settled in the Ottawa Valley. Until I came across the following record of the burial of daughter Catherine Vallely in 1832, the baptismal record … Continue reading George Vallely and Anne O’Hanlon
Like most people who get hooked on genealogy, I'm attracted to the detective work aspect of the enterprise. A clue here; a detail there; another hint here, which, combined with a few previously discovered clues and details, finally provides a solid lead; and then: bingo! a nice little nugget of documented and verifiable information, which … Continue reading Details, Details (Cause of Death Uncovered, or at least Strongly Inferred)
On 15 November 1841, in the parish of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours at Montebello, Papineau Co., Québec, Thomas McTeague married Bridget O'Hanlon. The names of the couple and of their parents were written as follows (with my translation/interpretation in italics): Thomas McTeague, fils majeur de Joseph McTeague et de Brigitte Scerloc, du Township de Grenville, d'une part; et Brigitte … Continue reading Bridget O’Hanlon = Sister of Ann O’Hanlon Vallely?
