Ireland Highlights, #3: It Takes A Village

PHOTO RIGHT: Paddy C (cousin), me, Tomas C (from Mountbellew) and Tony M. (Manchester, England)

The nerd in me wants family history research to be about mining online databases—teasing the gold out of the dragon's vault. But I also know that the richest family history comes from human connections.

Here's a story: I posted what I knew about an uncle, Michael Martin. Tony Martyn, from England, found them and took issue—Michael Martyn (aka Martin) was his beloved grandfather. We dug into our facts and discovered two different Martin families in the same little townland of Rushestown. But there was still some mystery about an aunt Honoria who married into a Crehan family (we each had one). I told this Tony that I was headed for Mountbellew to see Rushestown for myself. He said he would join me and introduce me to his local cousin Tomás Crehan. Sure. I mentioned this to our cousin Carmel G. She was horrified that I'd attracted a stalker on the internet. But, seriously, who would travel from England just to talk family history? Well, about 10 minutes after we checked into St. Anne's Guesthouse, in Mountbellew, Tony was knocking on our door, books, photos and papers in hand.

I had to put him off, since we were running out to see Maureen Collins. So Tony connected with his cousin and they went off on a search for anyone who knew anything. Funny, the next day their quest landed them at my cousin Paddy Collins' house. At that very moment, Paddy and I were sitting at Maureen's dining room table telling stories and exchanging information. When Josephine called with the news, Maureen invited Tomás and Tony to join us.

We spent a delightful couple of hours talking about the old families of the area. A lot of it was lost on me as the names flew by so quickly. And then there was the advice on how to find out more. A fellow named Gerry Ward could usually be found drinking in the afternoon at Henry's Lounge in Mountbellew. And St Anne's Guesthouse hosted a lunch every day for all the old bachelor or widowed farmers in the area—surely they would have information to share. Too bad I had no time to follow these leads.

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Tony Martyn is just one of a few passionate family historians I've met as a result of posting family histories online. There is Tony Bush and Robert Stephens with their giant map of Stephens connections, whose family hails from Ballaghduff, as mine does. And Eileen Romney from St. Louis who wondered how her grandmother got there and how Julia McKee and Thomas Dunne figured into the plot—our families both have roots in or near Rushestown. Julia McKee turns out to be a Stephens. And Thomas Dunne married my grandmother's heretofore unknown Aunt Delia.

My great-uncle Mike Martin might have been granted a plot of land to farm by the Congested Districts Board around 1905. He and his Rushestown neighbor Matt Dunne were going to be neighbors on their new acreage in Cooloo. But in 1907, Mike found himself on the boat to America with a group of emigrants from Kilkerrin. His American contact was Matt's brother Thomas in St. Louis. It appears that Julia Stephens McKee was already there, perhaps also assisted by Thomas Dunne. Mike Martin took his niece Ellen Dunne with him. In 1914, Ellen sent for her sister Bridget... who became my grandmother.

These stories reinforce my growing belief that doing Irish family history is as much about studying ecosystems as it is about lineage. Certain families stay close to their villages, even if they migrate thousands of miles away. "Clannish" people know who they can trust and cluster together. The Irish practiced "chain migration"—someone emigrates, then raises enough money for the next person to emigrate, usually a sibling, but often enough a neighbor. Or maybe they didn't send money but provided a landing spot and knew who had jobs.

By the way, Tony's great aunt Honoria married Matt Crehan and mine married Mark Crehan.

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May 28, 2012 (rev. Apr. 19, 2024)