My great-great-grandfather, Michael Henry Donlan, was born in Loughrea in 1847. He was the son of Peter Donlan and Katherine Kervick (listed on his death certificate and family notes).
Family stories say he was fighting for Ireland's freedom and involved with the Finnians and the constable came to the house in 1866 and warned him he was ordered to bring him in the next day dead or alive. (We understand stories can get changed over years but putting this out there just in case someone knows a way to verify this). Apparently after this warning he left immediately and immigrated to the US sometime in 1866 where he was in Brooklyn and Staten Island, briefly in Kentucky but returned in NY. He married his wife Ann Murray, apparently a neighbor from Loughrea while in Staten Island and later they moved to Lockport, New York, and even later briefly in San Francisco then eventually settled with his family in Issaquah, in Washington State. The only siblings we know of were his sister Mary who was also in New York in Staten Island and married a John Dolan.
We would like to find some record of his baptism or his parents who stayed behind or determine where in Loughrea he was from. One family note says he was from the city of Loughrea but another that his wife Ann Murray's family had a neighboring farm in Loughrea. (Her parents were Andrew Murray and Bridget (O'Donnell or Lord/Ford- two conflicting family accounts).
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 1st Jan 1847 | VIEW SOURCE |
| Date of Death | 1st Aug 1914 | |
Index to baptisms in Loughrea in 1840 include baptisms of Anna Donnellan, parents Peter & Ann and of Pat Ford. Index is arranged in alphabetical order of child's first name (Latin version). I don't see index for other years. www.from-ireland.net/tag/loughrea
Have you posted an enquiry on message board under Loughrea parish, County Galway?
The Emigrant Savings Bank record attached to the post gives Michael's mother's surname as KERWICK. A look at Surnames of Ireland shows that Kerwick and Kervick are variations of KIRBY.
It's not clear what census and other records have been examined. For instance, the 1900 census indicates that Ann had given birth to 9 children, with 9 still living.
The 1880 census shows the couple with five children, born between 1870 and 1879. All were born in New York.
Please feel free to contact me directly at Glanvil3@aol.com.
It occurred to me that Anne, baptised 1840 may have been an elder half-sister of Michael, with a different mother and a variant spelling of surname. Mention of the Ford baptism was to show that Ford was a surname in Loughrea. You mentioned uncertainty re Ford and Lord. Since publishing my post I've discovered that the order of the baptism index can be changed to surname.I don't know how to edit posts in this section so couldn't change it.
I was unable to view the source attached to the original post as I do not have a sub.
Have you looked at newspapers to see what Fenian activity was going on/suspected in the area at the time? Loughrea was a barracks town as were many in Ireland.
I don't know what the rule on this site is about publishing personal email address. Other FH sites I use disallow it to prevent scamming.
If you haven't already posted a request on the Galway message board for information about Michael Donlan and Ann Murray I suggest that you do so.
I see in the New York Emigrant Savings Bank Book Record in a tree on Ancestry that he came to the US on the St Andrew ship and arrived in 1866. You could look for other family members who may have come with him by searching New York Passenger and Crew Lists 1820-1957 for the ST Andrew Ship arriving in 1866. (use exact check for the name of the ship) Just another idea.
Good Luck
Marge Gillis
Michael Henry Donlan was my great grandfather. My mother collected quite a bit of family history stuff that I am just starting to explore. She states he was from "Lockray" area of Galway, which I guess is a misspelling of Longhrea? I still live about 100 miles away from where he homesteaded in Issaquah, Washington, USA. I have lots of info on his children, grandchildren and beyond, but not much about his life while in Ireland other than he left to escape troubles there related to his work with the Finnians. I'm happy to share anything I have reenie54@live.com. Maureen Donlan McKinney.
