Unlike my previous posts, I have no photos of John to share. As far as I know there are no photos of him in existence any more, if there were any at all.
In the year of John's birth, 1813, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was published anonymously in the U.K.; Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Austrians in the Battle of Dresden; Westminster Bridge in London was lit by gas lighting from the world's first public gasworks; and in Australia, William Wentworth, William Lawson and Gregor Blaxland successfully led an expedition westward from Sydney to cross the Blue Mountains.
John O'Donnell (Daniel) was born in April 1813, in the townland of Ballyhenebry in the Owning Parish, County Kilkenny, Ireland. When he was born, his father Patrick O'Donnell (Daniel) was aged 33 and his mother Margaret Rafter was 34.
One of the sponsors at his baptism appears to have been an uncle. John Rafter was most likely a brother of baby John's mother, Margaret Rafter. Johanna was not a common O'Donnell name up to that point, so it's likely the other sponsor was also a relative of baby John's mother.
At that time, there had been a very long history of the anglicization of Irish surnames. Ireland had constitutionally been made part of the British state in 1800, but England had claimed Ireland back in the 15th century.
Legislation under English rule had led to the anglicization of many Irish names and the adoption of English names. English law, for a period of time, even forbade the use of 'Mac' or 'O' in Irish surnames.
Hence the O'Donnells were known by the surname of Daniel in the 1800s.
There were already four children born to Patrick and Margaret by the time John came along.
Margaret was born in 1805.
The twins, Mary and John, were born in 1806.
Michael was born in 1810.
After John, Brigid was born in 1815, when John was 2 years old.
His brother William was born in 1820, when John was 6.
John and his six siblings grew up on a small farmholding in Ballyhenebry, in the parish of Owning, which would have been just a village of farmholdings at the time. No doubt the village was a tight-knit community and the families would have worked hard on the farmholdings they were renting.
Between the year of his birth and the year of his marriage, I have found little evidence of what happened in the life of my Great Great Grandfather John. I imagine life would have revolved around eking out a living on the family farm, although that would have been difficult as the years passed, given that there were six offspring growing into adulthood, no doubt wanting to have families of their own.
I suppose most of the siblings moved away from the family farm and established lives elsewhere. By the time of the Great Famine of 1845-1850, John would have been in his early 30s. I wonder how he, his siblings and his parents made ends meet at this time? John obviously stayed in the area because there is a marriage record for him in 1853 where it was recorded he was now living in Killonerry, which was quite close to Ballyhenebry, his childhood home.
On the 23rd of May, 1853 John married Catherine (known as Kate) Joy when he was 40 years old. His bride was much younger. They moved onto quite a substantial 30-acre farm in Killonerry, that had a house with stone walls and a slate tile roof.
John and Kate had 13 children over the next 18 years.
Patrick was born in 1854, when John was aged 40.
Richard was born in 1855. John was 41.
Margaret was born in 1856.
Michael was born in 1857.
William was born in 1859,
John was born in 1861,
Edmond (my Great Grandfather) came along in 1862,
Peter was born in 1864,
Ellen was born in 1865,
James was born in 1867,
Thomas was born in July of 1870, but died the same year.
Catherine or Kathleen was born in 1871,
Mary was born in 1872.
John lost his middle daughter, Ellen, in mid-1880. She died aged just 14. Information shared from family in Ireland tells that Ellen died of tuberculosis, which was apparently rampant in Ireland at the time. John's eldest son emigrated to the U.S. that same year.
John lost his wife Catherine just a couple of years later, February of 1882, when he was aged 68. They had been married for 28 years. Catherine had spent the first 18 of those years giving birth to children, but then there was a period of 10 years grace, after the birth of their last child in 1872. Unfortunately John's wife, Catherine, also died of tuberculosis.
For much of the late 19th century in Ireland, tuberculosis (TB, or consumption, as it was commonly known) was a scourge that ravaged the country.
For many, including John's young daughter and wife, it was left untreated and the victims would die a terrible death with their bodies literally being "consumed" by weight loss and breathlessness.
It was known as 'the White Plague'.
John O'Donnell was left a widower with 10 children, although most of them were now adults. At the time of their mother's death (February) Richard was 26, Margaret 25, Michael 24, William 23, John 20, Edmond 19, Peter 17, James was 14, Catherine 10 and Mary was 9 years old.
Their mother's death seems to have acted as a catalyst for most of the siblings to decide to leave Ireland and emigrate. By that time in Irish history, over 3 million Irish had emigrated in the 40-year period between 1841 and 1881. Most of John's offspring were destined to become part of the Irish diaspora.
Richard left the year his mother died, 1882. Edmond left the following year, 1883. Michael left 3 years later in 1885. William left around the same time.
I'm not entirely sure when Peter left Ireland, but it seems James, Kathleen and Mary all emigrated in the late 1890s. So, over the 8 year period after his wife died, 8 more of John's children left the family farm.
Only Margaret and John Jnr. stayed at home with their father.
John O'Donnell died on March 16th, 1896 aged 82. He was buried in the old burial ground of the Owning Catholic Church.
He was survived by nine of his children. My Great Grandfather had died just three years before.
By about 1901, William had returned from the United States and had moved back home onto the family farm. He had married and had a family of three children by that time. His sister Margaret remained living at the home with him. Brother John had by now moved out and into his own home at nearby Carrick-Upon-Suir, with his own wife and son, along with his sister-in-law.
Full Circle: There is an amazing twist to this story.
Up until I began researching my family tree about eight years ago using Ancestry.com, I had no idea who any of my Great Grandparents were, let along my Great Great Grandparents. I spent a number of years trying to break down those brick walls, purchasing birth and death certificates for the information.
Then Lady Luck stepped in with one of those serendipitous emails from someone in the U.S. back in 2013, who had spotted the start of my O'Donnell research and thought we might be connected because of one of the names included in my family tree - the name of my Great Grandfather Edmond. She had recognised it from family information that had been passed down over many, many years.
It was an amazing event in my life. It turned out that we were indeed related, and her extensive family research led me to a second cousin, once removed, in Ireland who still owns the ancestral family farm in Killonerry that John had established back in 1853.
John's sons who had headed off to Australia (my Great Grandfather Edmond and his brother Richard) had not kept in contact with their family in either Ireland or America it seems. The other O'Donnell family members had little to no idea of what had happened to either of them, or indeed any of their offspring, and had no idea about the existence of any of Edmond's descendants, including me!
The family story came around full circle in 2014, when I had the opportunity to visit the ancestral family farm 132 years after my Great Grandfather Edmond had left. My youngest son, who was living in Ireland at the time, accompanied me during that visit which meant John O'Donnell's great great granddaughter (me) and his great great great grandson (my youngest son) from Australia were able to stay at the family farm he had established.
I was lucky enough to meet second cousins from the O'Donnell clan, from the Bourke clan (my Great Grandmother's family), as well as a member of the Joy family (my Great Grandfather's mother's family)! I was also able to visit the Bourke ancestral family farm as well! It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The connection to Ireland was no longer intangible!
Now ... to the prompt for this week's 52 Ancestors In 52 Weeks Challenge. It's 'Heirloom'.
I don't have many heirlooms at all I'm afraid. There wasn't really any object that was passed down the generations in my family. I do however have something now that can become an heirloom, passed on down to younger generations.
During my last visit to the ancestral family farm, just two years ago, my wonderful second cousin presented me with something very special. It's one of the original roof tiles from the ancestral farmhouse. The farmhouse was renovated quite extensively many years ago, but thankfully many original bits and pieces, like some of the roof tiles, were kept.
My little piece of the ancestral family farm is now proudly displayed in my home, and has become quite the conversation piece with visitors. I'm so very honoured to be able to share the story that goes with it.
Special Note to any family members: If you have memories to add, photos or information to share, can I graciously ask that you do so. Please use the comments box below or email me. It may prove to be invaluable to the story and provide future generations with something to truly treasure.
In the year of John's birth, 1813, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was published anonymously in the U.K.; Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Austrians in the Battle of Dresden; Westminster Bridge in London was lit by gas lighting from the world's first public gasworks; and in Australia, William Wentworth, William Lawson and Gregor Blaxland successfully led an expedition westward from Sydney to cross the Blue Mountains.
One of the sponsors at his baptism appears to have been an uncle. John Rafter was most likely a brother of baby John's mother, Margaret Rafter. Johanna was not a common O'Donnell name up to that point, so it's likely the other sponsor was also a relative of baby John's mother.
 |
| County Kilkenny, Ireland |
At that time, there had been a very long history of the anglicization of Irish surnames. Ireland had constitutionally been made part of the British state in 1800, but England had claimed Ireland back in the 15th century.
Legislation under English rule had led to the anglicization of many Irish names and the adoption of English names. English law, for a period of time, even forbade the use of 'Mac' or 'O' in Irish surnames.
Hence the O'Donnells were known by the surname of Daniel in the 1800s.
There were already four children born to Patrick and Margaret by the time John came along.
Margaret was born in 1805.
The twins, Mary and John, were born in 1806.
Michael was born in 1810.
After John, Brigid was born in 1815, when John was 2 years old.
His brother William was born in 1820, when John was 6.
John and his six siblings grew up on a small farmholding in Ballyhenebry, in the parish of Owning, which would have been just a village of farmholdings at the time. No doubt the village was a tight-knit community and the families would have worked hard on the farmholdings they were renting.
Between the year of his birth and the year of his marriage, I have found little evidence of what happened in the life of my Great Great Grandfather John. I imagine life would have revolved around eking out a living on the family farm, although that would have been difficult as the years passed, given that there were six offspring growing into adulthood, no doubt wanting to have families of their own.
I suppose most of the siblings moved away from the family farm and established lives elsewhere. By the time of the Great Famine of 1845-1850, John would have been in his early 30s. I wonder how he, his siblings and his parents made ends meet at this time? John obviously stayed in the area because there is a marriage record for him in 1853 where it was recorded he was now living in Killonerry, which was quite close to Ballyhenebry, his childhood home.
On the 23rd of May, 1853 John married Catherine (known as Kate) Joy when he was 40 years old. His bride was much younger. They moved onto quite a substantial 30-acre farm in Killonerry, that had a house with stone walls and a slate tile roof.
John and Kate had 13 children over the next 18 years.
Patrick was born in 1854, when John was aged 40.
Richard was born in 1855. John was 41.
Margaret was born in 1856.
Michael was born in 1857.
William was born in 1859,
John was born in 1861,
Edmond (my Great Grandfather) came along in 1862,
Peter was born in 1864,
Ellen was born in 1865,
James was born in 1867,
Thomas was born in July of 1870, but died the same year.
Catherine or Kathleen was born in 1871,
Mary was born in 1872.
John lost his middle daughter, Ellen, in mid-1880. She died aged just 14. Information shared from family in Ireland tells that Ellen died of tuberculosis, which was apparently rampant in Ireland at the time. John's eldest son emigrated to the U.S. that same year.
John lost his wife Catherine just a couple of years later, February of 1882, when he was aged 68. They had been married for 28 years. Catherine had spent the first 18 of those years giving birth to children, but then there was a period of 10 years grace, after the birth of their last child in 1872. Unfortunately John's wife, Catherine, also died of tuberculosis.
 |
| “The Sick Child”, Edvard Munch, 1907 |
For much of the late 19th century in Ireland, tuberculosis (TB, or consumption, as it was commonly known) was a scourge that ravaged the country.
For many, including John's young daughter and wife, it was left untreated and the victims would die a terrible death with their bodies literally being "consumed" by weight loss and breathlessness.
It was known as 'the White Plague'.
John O'Donnell was left a widower with 10 children, although most of them were now adults. At the time of their mother's death (February) Richard was 26, Margaret 25, Michael 24, William 23, John 20, Edmond 19, Peter 17, James was 14, Catherine 10 and Mary was 9 years old.
Their mother's death seems to have acted as a catalyst for most of the siblings to decide to leave Ireland and emigrate. By that time in Irish history, over 3 million Irish had emigrated in the 40-year period between 1841 and 1881. Most of John's offspring were destined to become part of the Irish diaspora.
Richard left the year his mother died, 1882. Edmond left the following year, 1883. Michael left 3 years later in 1885. William left around the same time.
I'm not entirely sure when Peter left Ireland, but it seems James, Kathleen and Mary all emigrated in the late 1890s. So, over the 8 year period after his wife died, 8 more of John's children left the family farm.
Only Margaret and John Jnr. stayed at home with their father.
John O'Donnell died on March 16th, 1896 aged 82. He was buried in the old burial ground of the Owning Catholic Church.
He was survived by nine of his children. My Great Grandfather had died just three years before.
By about 1901, William had returned from the United States and had moved back home onto the family farm. He had married and had a family of three children by that time. His sister Margaret remained living at the home with him. Brother John had by now moved out and into his own home at nearby Carrick-Upon-Suir, with his own wife and son, along with his sister-in-law.
Full Circle: There is an amazing twist to this story.
Up until I began researching my family tree about eight years ago using Ancestry.com, I had no idea who any of my Great Grandparents were, let along my Great Great Grandparents. I spent a number of years trying to break down those brick walls, purchasing birth and death certificates for the information.
Then Lady Luck stepped in with one of those serendipitous emails from someone in the U.S. back in 2013, who had spotted the start of my O'Donnell research and thought we might be connected because of one of the names included in my family tree - the name of my Great Grandfather Edmond. She had recognised it from family information that had been passed down over many, many years.
It was an amazing event in my life. It turned out that we were indeed related, and her extensive family research led me to a second cousin, once removed, in Ireland who still owns the ancestral family farm in Killonerry that John had established back in 1853.
John's sons who had headed off to Australia (my Great Grandfather Edmond and his brother Richard) had not kept in contact with their family in either Ireland or America it seems. The other O'Donnell family members had little to no idea of what had happened to either of them, or indeed any of their offspring, and had no idea about the existence of any of Edmond's descendants, including me!
The family story came around full circle in 2014, when I had the opportunity to visit the ancestral family farm 132 years after my Great Grandfather Edmond had left. My youngest son, who was living in Ireland at the time, accompanied me during that visit which meant John O'Donnell's great great granddaughter (me) and his great great great grandson (my youngest son) from Australia were able to stay at the family farm he had established.
I was lucky enough to meet second cousins from the O'Donnell clan, from the Bourke clan (my Great Grandmother's family), as well as a member of the Joy family (my Great Grandfather's mother's family)! I was also able to visit the Bourke ancestral family farm as well! It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The connection to Ireland was no longer intangible!
Now ... to the prompt for this week's 52 Ancestors In 52 Weeks Challenge. It's 'Heirloom'.
I don't have many heirlooms at all I'm afraid. There wasn't really any object that was passed down the generations in my family. I do however have something now that can become an heirloom, passed on down to younger generations.
During my last visit to the ancestral family farm, just two years ago, my wonderful second cousin presented me with something very special. It's one of the original roof tiles from the ancestral farmhouse. The farmhouse was renovated quite extensively many years ago, but thankfully many original bits and pieces, like some of the roof tiles, were kept.
My little piece of the ancestral family farm is now proudly displayed in my home, and has become quite the conversation piece with visitors. I'm so very honoured to be able to share the story that goes with it.
Special Note to any family members: If you have memories to add, photos or information to share, can I graciously ask that you do so. Please use the comments box below or email me. It may prove to be invaluable to the story and provide future generations with something to truly treasure.
What an amazing story and wonderful "new" heirloom.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed John's story Linda. The heirloom is now a precious family item.
DeleteI have included your blog in INTERESTING BLOGS in FRIDAY FOSSICKING at
ReplyDeletehttps://thatmomentintime-crissouli.blogspot.com/2018/03/friday-fossicking-2nd-march-2018-bumper.html
Thanks, Chris
I love your heirloom, simply wonderful.
Thanks Chris for sharing my post. The heirloom is a little out of the ordinary, but valuable to me.
DeleteWhat an absolutely fabulous heirloom. Wonderful story and how fabulous you were able to visit the family home.
ReplyDeleteChiara, visiting the ancestral family home was a truly precious experience.
Delete