A Mother and Her Daughters - Lillian Brown, Lorna Connors, Lillian O'Donnell

Some family stories arrive like whispers from the past, pieced together not through memories or passed-down tales, but through many quiet hours spent perusing and reflecting on records, certificates, and newspaper items.  Such is the story about my paternal grandmother's sister, Lillian Ruth Brown (1887-1911) and her two daughters Lorna Mary Grace Connors (1907-1975) and Lillian Madge O'Donnell (1911-1997).

Though I never met them nor heard their names woven into family conversations, research has revealed a narrative of love, loss, and resilience across generations.  While I have no photographs of my grand aunt Lillian or her eldest daughter Lorna, and only one photo of Lillian Madge, I'm hoping my words will paint a vivid and touching portrait of these women.

I have to acknowledge that there are wheels within wheels in this family story and I still don't really know all that went on and have not yet unravelled all the details.  There were obviously a number of influences, reasons and actions which made my great grand aunt's situation quite complicated, and it's something that I still don't fully understand.

Love and Loss in Quick Succession

Lillian Ruth Connors / O'Donnell nee Brown 

Born the second of four daughters to my paternal great grandparents Richard Brown and Ellen Cusack, Lillian Ruth Brown grew up alongside her older sister Grace - my grandmother - and two younger sisters - Elsie and Marcella - in Lismore, New South Wales.

Childhood bonds strengthened into adulthood when Grace and Lillian married Connors brothers just months apart in 1906.  Lillian wed James Alfred Connors in September, already expecting their daughter.

Tragedy struck swiftly.  Barely six months after the birth of a little girl named Lorna Mary Grace Connors in 1907, Lillian was widowed when James died in a horrific workplace accident.  At only 20, Lillian face the unimaginable task of raising a baby alone, likely leaning heavily on the Brown family circle for support.  She worked as a dressmaker, possibly while living with her parents and younger sisters.

Possibly in an effort to seek stability, Lillian remarried at 21 to Jeremiah (a.k.a. Gerald) O'Donnell, an Irish immigrant from County Cork.  While this Irish man had been baptised in Ireland as Jeremiah O'Donnell, he married under the name Gerald O'Donnell, and as it turned out, Jeremiah / Gerald was an interesting character!

This new chapter held both joy and sorrow for Lillian.  Her son Roger died a mere seven hours after his birth in 1909, and then in 1911, Lillian gave birth to her second daughter, Lillian Madge.  In a tragic turn of events, my grand aunt Lillian passed away just two weeks after giving birth.  

Her confinement was described as "normal" on the private hospital record until August the 27th.  The hospital record goes on to say "Then pneumonia set in and patient became weaker until death on the 31st".  The infant, at the time of delivery, was described as "delicate".  

Lillian's second daughter had been born at a maternity hospital known as Nurse Atkins' Private Hospital run by Nurse Eleanor Atkin.  That is a fact that will become quite significant as this story unfolds further.

When my grandaunt died at the age of 24, she was survived by her second husband, her daughter Lorna aged 4, and her newborn daughter Lillian.  

It is heartbreaking to know that my grand aunt, who had experienced quite a lot of grief and trauma in her short life, never got to see her two daughters grow up.

The question I've always pondered is - what happened to these two girls after the death of their mother?

The Path Of Two Sisters

Eldest Daughter - Lorna Mary Grace Everson nee Connors

Lillian's eldest daughter, Lorna Mary Grace Connors had turned four years old just a few months before the death of her mother.  The question of who cared for Lorna after her mother's death has long puzzled me.  She did not go into the care of her stepfather, Jeremiah, and while many relatives were nearby, it is unclear which family member took her in.  Who raised Lorna has remained a mystery for me.

Both Lorna's paternal grandparents (Thomas and Susan Connors) had passed away in 1910.  Her maternal grandparents (Richard and Ellen Brown) were both still living and were aged 50 and 49 respectively, in 1911.  Did Richard and Ellen took Lorna into their care?

Perhaps she passed into the care of one of her aunts. Marcella May (known as Marcy) Brown was still living in Lismore, but was only 19 years old at the time of her sister's death.  It's unlikely that she would have taken on the responsibility of her four-year old niece.

Lorna's other aunt, my grandmother Grace, was living with her husband and three children at Mullumbimby, nearly 50 miles away.  Grace and her husband George were moving around quite a lot around this time in their marriage, following opportunities for work as George was a dairyman and continually looking for work on dairy farms.

Lorna's aunt Elsie, aged 21, had married by the time her sister Lillian died, and had a one-year old daughter.  She was still living in Lismore, so perhaps she was the one who stepped in.

Alternatively, perhaps Lorna became part of the Connors family, her father's family.  As previously mentioned, Lorna's paternal grandparents were no longer alive at this point, so they are ruled out.

Lorna's paternal aunt, her father's oldest sister, Mary Ellen Bates (nee Connors) was 36 at the time, married with three children and pregnant with her fourth. They were all still living in Lismore, so could they have taken on the responsibility of raising Lorna?

I've not found any evidence during my research that can help me answer the question of what happened to Lorna during her childhood years.

I do however know something of Lorna's adult years.  

By 1926, Lorna had married Frederick James Everson in Annandale, New South Wales.  Motherhood, however, brought grief mirroring her mother's story.  Lorna gave birth to twin daughters, Florence and Sheila, in 1928.  Tragically, Florence died the day after she was born, and Sheila passed away two years later. 

Lorna's later years were spent near Broadwater, where her aunt Marcella May Tyler nee Brown lived, suggesting family ties may have quietly persisted.

Lorna passed away in 1975, aged 68.

She was buried at the Evans Head Cemetery, near Broadwater, in New South Wales.

Youngest daughter - Lillian Madge Rapmund / Robertson nee O'Donnell

Of the two sisters, Lillian Madge's story is perhaps the most astonishing.  

Records have led me to discover who cared for Lillian Madge after the passing of her mother.  Many, many years later, in 1934, Lillian Madge, appeared in Sydney's Probate Court to 'apply for leave to swear to the death of her father, Jeremiah O'Donnell.'  She pleaded her case and the leave to swear to her father's death was granted.

During this probate court hearing Lillian Madge Rapmund nee O'Donnell shared some heartbreaking information about her life and her relationship with her father.  Details of the probate application were published in several newspapers at the time, and here is an example:

"The applicant (Lilian Madge Rapmund) had no memory of having seen her father, but identified herself as his daughter from particulars shown upon the marriage certificate of her mother and the certificate given at her mother's death.

It appeared that O'Donnell (Jeremiah, her father) was born at Murwillumbah in 1883 (This detail was not correct as proven by the details Jeremiah supplied when he enlisted).  In 1908 he married at Lismore, his wife's maiden name being Brown.

In 1911, a child (the applicant) was born at a maternity hospital in Lismore.  The mother died 14 days later and from then onward (until marriage in 1931) the child remained with the matron of the hospital (Mrs. Atkin).

O'Donnell made no attempt to support his child and eventually left Lismore and enlisted in the A.I.F.  While on sick leave from France he went from England to Ireland.  He never rejoined his regiment, and was recorded as a deserter."

So it was that Lillian Madge grew up in the care of Eleanor Atkin nee Jones - Nurse Atkin - the matron of the maternity hospital where she was born.  Obviously, the father of the baby never turned up at the hospital to take his daughter home, and what is also rather strikingly obvious is that this little baby girl did not go home with any of the Brown family (my grandaunt's sisters or parents).  This was such a shock to me!   

My great grandparents, my grandmother and my other grandaunts, apparently left this infant to the care of the woman who ran the maternity hospital.  My incredulity about this situation led me to dig deeper.  Who was this Nurse Atkin?  

She was in fact a relative of my grand aunt Lillian Ruth and her daughter Lillian Madge. Nurse Atkin was Eleanor Atkin nee Jones, and was my grand aunt Lillian Ruth's 1st cousin once removed. 

 

They were both descendants of Susannah Exton nee Lancaster.  

Eleanor Jane Atkin nee Jones (Nurse Atkin) was the daughter of Susannah's eldest daughter Harriett. 

Lillian Ruth Brown was the granddaughter of Susannah's daughter Eliza (my 3x great grandmother).

Eleanor Atkin nee Jones had taken over her parent's home, and had established a maternity hospital in the building known as 'Lochiel', following in the footsteps of her mother Harriet, who had acted as midwife to all the families in the district for many years in the late 1800s.

So it came about that Lillian Madge, "remained" with Mrs. Eleanor Atkin until the day of her marriage.  Did any of her close Brown or Connors relatives have contact with her during these twenty years?  I'm unsure about that, but Lillian Madge lived in Lismore for her entire lifetime, and there would have been extended Brown and Connors family living in the same town that entire time! 

The knowledge that Lillian Madge's father appears to have abandoned her from birth, having no contact with her at all from then on, caused me some consternation.  I felt compelled to do some further research into the life of this man, Jeremiah / Gerald O'Donnell.

He was the son of Rodger O'Donnell and Margaret Molan, born in 1880 in Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ireland.  He had been baptised in the Parish of Brigown and Marshalstown in the Cloyne Diocese.  At some point (I'm still researching this) it appears he emigrated to Australia, where Jeremiah sometimes used the name Gerald.

At the age of 28, he married Lillian Ruth Connors nee Brown, under the name of Gerald O'Donnell.  Six years after the death of his wife and the birth of his daughter, he enlisted with the AIF under the name of Jeremiah O'Donnell.

The attestation paper he completed in January of 1917 indicated that he was born in Mitchellstown, County Cork, Ireland.  

He stated he was a widower and that his next of kin was his daughter Lillian Madge O'Donnell.  

Jeremiah recorded the address for his daughter as:  c/- Nurse Atkin, North Lismore, Richmond River, N.S.W.

After enlisting with the 9 / 54th Battalion, Jeremiah served in France from September 1917 to February 1918.  He went on leave at the end of February and went to England.  Jeremiah's war service record however indicates he did not stay in England for his leave, but travelled home to stay with his brother William O'Donnell in Carragnane, Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ireland.

He failed to return from his leave, could not be tracked down in Ireland, and was declared an illegal absentee in March of 1918.   In July of 1920, Jeremiah was discharged from the A.I.F. in consequence of being an illegal absentee. 

In Jeremiah's war service record, I found a copy of a letter written by Eleanor Atkin (Nurse Atkin) in 1923, concerning Lillian Madge, although Eleanor refers to her as Madge Lilian:

She was writing in answer to a letter that had been sent to Lillian, but obviously the Australian Army was unaware of Lillian's age.  Eleanor stated she had not heard from Lillian's father since 1918 and mentioned that she had "adopted" Lillian.  It was made clear that Eleanor (and therefore Lillian) had not heard anything about the fate of Jeremiah during and after the war.  

While he had listed Lillian as the beneficiary on the will he made before shipping out from Australia, he did not send any of his army pay back home to provide support for her.  He had to all intents and purposes, abandoned her and was never heard from again.

I have found evidence that Lillian Madge had indeed been adopted by Eleanor and Joseph Atkin.  

When Joseph passed away in 1941, Lillian is mentioned in his obituary as his "adopted daughter", but mentioned as Mrs. H. Rapmund.

Lillian Madge had married Henry David Rapmund in 1931 when she was 20 years old.  They went on to have three children, but their married life was to be cut short after eleven years.  Lillian's husband enlisted for service in January of 1942 and never returned home.  He served in New Guinea, where he was killed in action in December of 1942.  

Lillian was 31 years old when she became a widow with three young children to support.  She re-married five years later, in 1947, to a Scottish immigrant named James Brown Robertson.  She was 36 years old.

I stumbled upon a newspaper item with a photo showing Lillian on the day of her second wedding.

She is the lady standing on the right wearing "a blue crepe street-length frock trimmed with sequins at the neckline and featuring a full skirt".   The description continues, she "carried a white handbag and a posy of cream roses".

Interestingly, the newspaper item states that Lillian was "attended by Mrs. Adrian Rix" and she was "given away by Mr. Rix."

Adrian Rix was the son of Irene Eliza Atkin - yes, Atkin - the niece of Eleanor Atkin (Nurse Atkin).   

Eleanor had married Joseph Atkin, while her sister Hannah had married Thomas Atkin (Joseph's brother).

So, it seems Lillian did end up with family, but a totally different branch of the family.  While I feel somewhat comforted to know Lillian was amongst her own, I am still left wondering whether or not she ever had interactions with closer relatives of her mother.

Lillian passed away in 1997 at the age of 85.

She was buried at the Northern Rivers Memorial Park Cemetery in Lismore, New South Wales. where her story began.

The intertwined lives of Lillian Ruth Brown and her daughters reflect a lineage marked by grief but also perseverance and resilience.  From Lillian's brief yet eventful life to Lorna's quiet endurance and Lillian Madge's remarkable independence and fortitude, their journeys remind us how love, loss and kinship - sometimes from the most unexpected corners of a family tree - shape the generations that follow.

While gaps remain in their stories - especially about childhood years and family connections - I share what I have pieced together with care and respect.  These women now take their rightful place in our family's ongoing story.

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.  If there are events that are not quite correct, do please let me know.  You can use the comments box below or use the 'Contact Form' at the top of the sidebar on the right side of my blog post.  All contributions are invaluable and will provide future generations with a story to truly treasure.

I'm joining Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge.  The prompt for this week's challenge is:  Wheels.

For anyone wishing to join the challenge, please click on this link:  Generations Cafe (Facebook Group)

Spotlight On ... In The Beginning!

Lately, I've been deeply invested in uncovering the exact birthplaces of my ancestors and extended family.  This pursuit has been spurred by the realisation that familial accounts of birthplaces were often misleading or outright incorrect.  

Though verifying these details has sometimes required purchasing official birth records - an expensive endeavour - I find immense satisfaction in knowing I am uncovering and preserving the truth about precisely where my ancestors' and relatives' stories actually began.

The Start of My 'Beginnings' Quest

I started this recent journey of discovery with the exact beginnings of my parents and their siblings.  

In this post however, I will only share some of the interesting details uncovered in relation to the births and birthplaces of my mother and a couple of her siblings, because it led to a further discovery - an intriguing story about someone who is not a relative, but who's impressive story I'd love to share.

Accessing birth records through the Queensland Registry of Births, Marriages and Deaths has been a valuable resource, albeit with limitations.  Currently, only birth records up to 1925 are available, so I've only been able to locate records for three of my maternal grandmother's eight children:  my uncle Edmond James O'Donnell, my mother Margaret Brigid Connors nee O'Donnell, and my uncle Maurice Owen O'Donnell. 

Upon initially receiving these records a few years ago, I really only gave them cursory glances.  Recent deeper dives, however, have revealed fascinating insights.

Birthplaces and Surprising Details

The birth record of Edmond, my grandmother Sarah O'Donnell nee McCane's first child, lists his birthplace as "Kyburra, Bowen-Ayr Railway."  

At first glance, this might sound as though he was born at a railway station!  Not so.  Edmond was born at home on his parents' farm near the Kyburra siding, along the Bowen-Ayr railway line.   

This entry highlights how rural life during the 1920s shaped the recording of important events in my grandparents lives.  They didn't live in a town.  They lived in a farming community that was recognised and named according to the nearest important landmark - the railway siding where the farmers loaded their produce onto trains for shipment to markets elsewhere in the state.

So this home birth provided me with a very interesting insight into how a fact like "where born" was completed by my grandparents on their child's birth record.  An interesting aside is what's recorded in the 'witnesses' column further along on the record.  

There are three possibles for an entry in this column.  

1. is for the name of a medical attendant (usually a doctor).  

2. is for the name of a nurse attending the birth.   

3.  is for the name or names of any other witnesses (such as family members - husbands, aunts, grandmothers etc.)

Immediately I noted that my maternal great grandmother, Margaret McCane nee Farrell, was listed as the attending 'nurse'.  

This indicates she acted as a midwife during the birth of her own grandchild.   This role within families would have been quite common for women in her era.  Many would have gained hands-on experience assisting relatives and neighbours in childbirth.  My great grandmother Margaret had first-hand knowledge, having witnessed her mother giving birth to her siblings when she was 14 and 21 years old, and having given birth to seven children herself.

In addition, Margaret lived on a farm that was located quite close to daughter Sarah's home.  This proximity to her daughter and son-in-law's farm further cemented her role as a supportive presence during childbirth. 

Along with all of that, the tradition of midwifery appears to have run in the family.  My great grandmother's sister, Helen Ann Davies nee Farrell, had made a career of it, operating as a midwife after her husband's death in 1911.  No doubt, Margaret and her sister Helen would have had long conversations about childbirth over the years, and this combined wisdom would have comforted my grandmother Sarah during the delivery of her first-born.

When Sarah gave birth to her second child, my mother Margaret O'Donnell, in 1923, the birth record lists her birthplace as "Broadlands, Ayr-Bowen Railway", which essentially means that she was also born at home on the family farm, just like her older brother Edmond.   Instead of using 'Kyburra' as the recognisable local landmark, my grandparents used the name often used for the area around the Kyburra siding.

 

The role my great grandmother Margaret played in the birth of this grandchild of hers was once again listed as 'nurse'.  By this time, my great grandmother was aged 56, supporting her daughter (my grandmother) Sarah once again with the birth of a child.

Shifting Traditions

When my grandmother Sarah gave birth to her third child however, things had changed.

It was 1925 by then and the birth record for my uncle, Maurice Owen O'Donnell, lists his birthplace as "Palm Cottage, Poole Street, Bowen".  This means that my grandmother Sarah had travelled almost 70 kilometres / 43 miles to the nearby town of Bowen to give birth.

The name "Palm Cottage" intrigued me and I wondered what sort of place this was!  I also noticed that the witness listed for this birth was not my grandmother Sarah's mother (my great grandmother Margaret) as before, but someone named Nurse Amy Field.

I realised in that instance that my grandmother had travelled to what was called a "lying-in hospital" run by a midwife named Nurse Field.

Uncovering Nurse Amy Field's Legacy

My previous research into the history of the midwifery career of my maternal great-grandaunt, Helen Ann Davies nee Farrell (mentioned before as the sister of my great grandmother Margaret and therefore the aunt of my grandmother Sarah) had uncovered the fact that she had been running her "lying-in hospital" for around 23 years by this stage.  

(Her story can be found here:  The Story of Helen Ann Farrell )

It was not common practice for women to give birth in hospitals back in the early 1900s.  The beginning of many babies' lives happened in a "lying-in hospital", which was a facility run by a private midwife in her own home.  Pregnant women would go there just before the birth of their baby and remain there throughout labour and for several days afterwards, supported by the midwife.

It would seem highly likely that my grandmother Sarah had received advice from her aunt Helen about the benefits of giving birth at a highly regarded establishment like Nurse Field's 'Palm Cottage'.

My interest had been piqued!  I was curious about Palm Cottage and I embarked on a research journey to learn about Nurse Amy field.

Immediately, I found that she had been mentioned in a blog post written by Trisha Fielding, a professional historian and writer who has worked at my local university, James Cook University.  Trisha Fielding is a Special Collections Library Officer there, and is a published author of quite a number of books about aspects of North Queensland history.

The post from Trisha's blog North Queensland History is titled NQ Midwives - "Invisible Heroines" and there is a great photo of Nurse Field at the top.

The author of this post, Trisha Fielding, goes on to say:

"Born in Bowen in 1879, Amy Louisa Wilcox Field trained as a nurse in Warwick for three years under Matron McNamara and later nursed in private homes in Bowen and Proserpine. ....  In 1908 she opened a private hospital in Bowen called Palm Cottage, where, by the time of her retirement in 1936, more than 2,000 children had been born. .... Nurse Field died in August 1939, at the age of 68, only three years after retiring from nursing."

There was an excerpt from a newspaper obituary included in this post as well, so I went off to Trove (Australia's free online research portal located at the National Library of Australia) to see what I could find in the newspaper archive.

In the Bowen Independent, dated Friday 28th of July 1939, this obituary appeared:

It was followed by this "Mother's Tribute":

An article published in the Townsville Daily Bulletin, dated Monday the 24th of July 1939, mentioned that from Bowen's early years in the late 1860s, up until 1922, there had been around 948 successful births in the town, but by 1936 (when Nurse Field had retired), the number had passed 2000!

That particular article also stated that "She had a marvellous record.  Her patients always returned".  

Historian Trisha Fielding had described Nurse Field as one of the "invisible heroines" of North Queensland's history, and this sentiment was echoed in contemporary newspaper articles, praising her exceptional record and the loyalty of her patients.

A Broader Perspective

The shift from home births on rural farms to seeking care at facilities like Palm Cottage highlights the evolving practices of childbirth in the early 20th century.  Discovering these details has enriched my understanding of not only my family's history, but also the broader context of maternal care in rural northern Australia.  It has also connected me to remarkable individuals like Amy Field, whose contributions deserve to be remembered and celebrated.

I now wonder if Palm Cottage might appear on the birth records of my other maternal aunts and uncles.  Did my grandmother Sarah return to Nurse Field's care for the birth of her subsequent children?  This question is a tantalising thread I intend to follow in my ongoing beginnings research.

I'm joining Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge.

The prompt for this week's challenge is:  In The Beginning.

Anyone who wishes to join the challenge, please click on this link:  Generations Cafe (Facebook Group)

The Legacy of the Name 'Erice'.

As I delved into my family tree, certain Christian names appeared frequently across generations on both my maternal and paternal sides.

Names such as Ann / Anne, Bridget / Brigid, Catherine / Katherine, Elizabeth, Ellen, Margaret, Mary and Sarah for women, and Charles, Edward, George, Henry, James, John, Michael, Patrick, Robert, Thomas and William for men, were staples in my lineage.

However, there were other names that did not occur often at all and one stood out as rare and intriguing.

Until about six years ago, I had never heard of my paternal grand uncle, Erice Sylvester Connors.  His name was a revelation in my research, capturing my interest immediately.

My great grandparents, Thomas Edgar Connor (Connors) and Susannah Fullagar Hukins had named all their other sons with fairly common names for the time, with all sons born from 1876 to 1892.  There was John Edgar, William Adolphus (a family name), George Thomas, James Alfred, Percy Jerome, Cyril Ernest, Frederick Augustus, and then .... there was the baby of the family, Erice Sylvester.

Why this unique name was chosen for the youngest son remains a mystery, and I had been left wondering whether or not this name was been passed down in the following generations.

Yes, is the answer, but only a few times.  Erice Sylvester's life was tragically brief.  In 1915, at the age of 23, he enlisted to serve in World War 1.  Less than a year after being sent to France, he was killed in action in December of 1916.  Unmarried and without children, his name might have faded into history if not for the decision of some family members to name their children Erice, either as a first name or a middle name.  

(If anyone is interested in finding out more about Erice Slyvester's story, please click on this link:  The Story Of Erice Sylvester Connors).

The brother closest in age to Erice Sylvester was Frederick Augustus Connors.   Frederick and his wife Florence welcomed their first born into the world in September of 1917, just a couple of months before the death of Erice.  

They named their son Erice Alfred (my paternal 1st cousin once removed).  Did Frederick share this tribute with his younger brother before his passing?  I may never know.

Erice Alfred later served in World War 11, enlisting at the same age as his namesake, 23.  Unlike his uncle however, he returned home safely after serving in Australia, Morotai, and the Torres Strait Islands.

Before the birth of Erice Alfred Connors however, there was another instance where a child was named Erice.

Erice Sylvester was very close to his oldest sister, Mary Ellen.  He was living with her and her husband in Brisbane before he enlisted for service in WW1.   Mary Ellen and husband John George Bates had welcomed their third son into the world in January of 1909.  They named him James Erice Bates (my paternal 1st cousin once removed).  

Erice Sylvester would have been 17 years old at the time, likely playing a role in his young nephew's life.

James Erice Bates also went on to enlist for war service, but this was in World War 11.  He enlisted in 1942 at the age of 33, and thankfully, returned home safely in 1945.

The name then continued on into another generation, through Mary Ellen's firstborn son, George Thomas Bates (the eldest brother of James Erice).  

George Thomas and his wife Dorothy welcomed their third child into the world in 1931.  

They named this son Erice James (my paternal second cousin).

This marks the last known instance of the name "Erice" in my family tree.  Though the name Erice has appeared sparingly, its presence speaks volumes about the bond between family members and their desire to keep a memory alive.

I regard each occurrence as a poignant tribute to Erice Sylvester Connors, ensuring his name and legacy remain part of our family's story.  While I don't have personal knowledge of Erice Alfred, James Erice or Erice James, or whether the name has been carried forward with their own children, it's heartening to see how this unique name has been cherished across generations.

I'm joining Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge.  The prompt for this week's challenge is:  Handed Down.

For anyone wishing to join the challenge, please click on this link:  Generations Cafe (Facebook Group)

The Story of James O'Donnell (Daniel) / Memories ... October 18

This is the story of my maternal Great Grand Uncle, James O'Donnell (Daniel)  1867 - 1908.

Our common ancestors are:   John O'Donnell (Daniel) and Catherine (Kitty) Joy.

I'm publishing this rather brief story on the anniversary of James's passing.

In Remembrance

(For my 'Family Anniversaries' page)

Photo shared by my maternal 2nd cousin Brigid McGrath

• James was born in August 1867 at the family farm in Killonerry, County Kilkenny, Ireland.  He had entered the world at a time of transition for his family.  The O'Donnells had seen their Gaelic surname "anglicized" to Daniel, reflecting the broader cultural shifts under British rule.

• James was baptised the very next day.  The record shows the family name "Daniel", though a clerical error recorded his mother's maiden name as "Fay" instead of "Joy."  Such mistakes are not uncommon, as the handwriting on the old original documents could be hard to read.

• James was the tenth of thirteen children born to John and Catherine (known as Kitty), so he grew up in a bustling household of siblings.

• He was known as 'Jim' to his family and friends throughout his lifetime. 

• James's large family experienced its share of sorrow.  Tragically, when James was only 3 years old, his younger brother Thomas died in infancy.  Then, when James was 12, his older sister Ellen also died,  at the tender age of 14.  These early experiences of grief would have shaped James's understanding of life's fragility and uncertainty.

• As the O'Donnell (Daniel) children matured, life on the family farm would have become increasingly difficult.  The farm, though providing a basic livelihood, would not have been able to support the growing household indefinitely.  Like so many families in rural Ireland during that period, emigration became a necessity rather than a choice.

• James, along with several of his siblings, left Ireland in search of better opportunities abroad. 

• I have found it very difficult to pinpoint the exact year that James left Ireland, but I do know for certain he emigrated to the U.S.A.  

• It does seem that the O'Donnell (Daniel) children who did leave Ireland, did so after the death of their mother in 1882.  James was only aged 14 at that time however, so it seems likely he left in the late 1880s, when he was in his early 20s.  

The mass exodus of Irish immigrants to the U.S. during this time makes it very difficult to trace specific individuals, particularly with the name James O'Donnell (or Daniel), which appeared frequently in emigration records.

I have spent considerable time scouring through U.S. Irish passenger lists and naturalization records but have found these sources to be scant on details other than - name, country of origin and port of departure.  These few details can in no way pinpoint the exact person you are researching, especially given the huge numbers of people who have exactly the same name.  

• There is one record however that shows my particular James O'Donnell was definitely living in New York in 1905.

• According to the 1905 New York State census, James was living as a boarder with his sister Mary (known affectionately as Minnie) and her husband James although their surname was recorded as 'Londrigan' when it should have read 'Lonergan'.  They resided at No. 59 Vandam Street in Lower Manhattan, a bustling immigrant neighbourhood.
• The census record includes information about the number of years in the U.S. and in that column it had been recorded that James had been in that states for 18 years.  That indicates (if the information is correct) that he had arrived around 1887.

• By then, James was aged 38.  His occupation was listed as "Day Labourer."  Life as a labourer in New York at that time was reputedly very tough, with meagre wages.  Day labourers often lived on the edge of poverty, relying on daily work to survive.

• Family lore tells of very different circumstances in the early years of James's life in New York, during his 20s.  He apparently did very well in the U.S. initially.  He worked as a carpenter and carpenters were in big demand.  At some point after his arrival in New York, James sent a beautiful gold watch back to his family in Ireland.  This gesture of love and connection speaks to his generosity and desire to stay linked to his roots.  Remarkably, this watch remains in the possession of a family member to this day, a treasured keepsake that represents both James's success and his sacrifices.

According to my second cousin:  "James did not just send the gold watch, but also a gold ring to the family in Killonerry.  He is also credited with paying for the erection of the Celtic Cross O'Donnell family headstone in the old Owning Cemetery, where his mother and father and other family members are buried." 

• Sadly it seems, James's fortunes did not hold steady.  By his late 30s, he was living with his sister and her family, perhaps an indication that work had become scarce or that his health had begun to decline.  Life in New York could be unforgiving, and it seems that whatever initial success James may have had was fleeting.

• Unfortunately, James's life came to an untimely end in 1908 when he passed away at the age of 41.  

• I did find a record for my James O'Donnell on the Extracted Death Index for New York, 1862-1948, (with the names of his parents John O'Donnell and Catherine Joy) which then led me to his death certificate.

• Details on James's death certificate tell that he had been ill for some time and had been a patient at Belleview (correctly spelling is Bellevue) Hospital in Manhattan for nearly a month.  His previous address was listed as 776 Greenwich Street in New York, which was different to the address listed in the 1905 census.  Perhaps he had moved out of his sister's home or had they all moved elsewhere together?   James's occupation was listed as labourer.  

• There was a section on the death certificate that recorded the length of time he had been in the U.S. and whoever completed the record listed 20 years as that period of time.  That indicates an arrival year as 1888, close to the year indicated on that 1905 census.  I think it's probably correct to say James arrived in the U.S. in either 1887 or 1888, when he would have been aged either 20 or 21. 

• A death notice for James appeared in local newspapers, but there were no details other than his name.

Photo shared by my maternal 2nd cousin Doreen Powers

• James was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, Queens, New York, where his sister Minnie, her husband and other Lonergan relatives would later be laid to rest.  Their shared burial plot is marked only by a modest headstone inscribed with the Lonergan surname, a simple and quiet tribute to their lives.

• Though much of James's life remains a mystery, his story is one of resilience.  He was part of a generation of Irish emigrants who left behind everything familiar to seek new lives in foreign lands.  His legacy, although modest, lives on through the stories passed down by family, the small headstone in Queens, and the gold watch that still holds the echoes of a life's journey from Killonerry to New York.

The Story of Catherine O'Donnell / Memories ... September 25

This post tells the poignant and rather short story of my maternal Grand Aunt, Catherine O'Donnell  (1884 - 1898). 

Our common ancestors are:  Edmond O'Donnell and Bridget Burke.

I'm publishing this post on the anniversary of her birth.

Anniversary of a Birthday

(For my 'Family Anniversaries' page) 

Catherine was born in September of 1884 in a small community known as 'Irish Town', situated just outside Toowoomba, in the southern reaches of Queensland, Australia.  Her birth marked the arrival of the first-born child to Edmond O'Donnell and Bridget Burke.

Edmond and Bridget were two Irish immigrants who had arrived in Australia just the year before, seeking opportunity and a fresh start in a distant land.  Their arrival in February of 1883 was followed shortly by their marriage in July of the same year, in the township of Toowoomba.

Catherine's birth certificate has her first name recorded as "Kate".  This information was provided by her mother, and was likely the name used affectionately by her family.  Later in life however, she would be formally known as "Catherine", a name her mother also provided when Catherine passed away.  I shall refer to my grand aunt as Catherine throughout this post.

View of Irish Town c.1884

At the time of Catherine's birth, her father Edmond was a young man of 22, working as a farm hand in the local area; while her mother Bridget, a decade older at 33, had secured work on a dairy farm outside Toowoomba.

Irish Town would have provided a supportive network of fellow Irish immigrants for this family, but Catherine's mother also had the support of her much older brother William, who had emigrated from Ireland in 1865 and had established a life for himself and his family in Toowoomba.

As a baby, Catherine would have heard the lilting accents of her Irish heritage daily in Irish Town, but about a year after her birth, in 1885, the family left Irish Town and moved into Toowoomba proper, likely seeking better opportunities in the growing township.

When Catherine was just 1 year old, her brother John Patrick was born in early 1886.

When Catherine was 3, her brother James (my grandfather) was born in October of 1887.

Life for the young family was about to be marked by loss for the first time.  Tragically, in early 1888, just as Catherine was approaching her fourth birthday, her brother John passed away.  The loss of John would have left a sorrowful mark on her parents, but it's unlikely that Catherine herself would have carried memories of John.

Catherine's only sister, Mary Margaret, was born in November of 1890, when Catherine was 6 years old.

Since the family had moved into the township of Toowoomba they had faced constant economic challenges.  Despite both parents working - Edmond as a carter for the local brewery and Bridget as a dairy keeper - there was little income, and the family lived in temporary shelter at the Showgrounds, where the constant struggle for food and warmth would have been a daily reality.  

Milking cows in a milking shed
Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria
Photographer: Gabriel Knight 
Photo taken c. 1903

The children were no doubt by their mother's side from very early in the morning to the early evening, as she milked cows and maintained the diary sheds.  

Catherine would likely have spent her time caring for her siblings throughout the day and assisting her mother in whatever way she could. 

By the time brother Maurice Patrick came along in late 1892, when Catherine was 7, the family had finally moved into a house on James Street, where they would have experienced a little more comfort, privacy and protection from the elements.

Tragically, when Catherine was just 8 years old, she experienced the devastating loss of her father Edmond, who died in 1893.  His death left Catherine's mother a widow with four young children to support and raise alone in a world where options for widows were limited.  

Penniless and facing an uncertain future, Catherine's mother made a bold decision to apply for a license to run the Free Selectors' Hotel, a modest establishment on the corner of James Street and Ruthven Street that provided meals and lodging, along with a bar that served alcohol to patrons.  The family would have also used a couple of the rooms upstairs as their home.

This grainy old photo holds the only image of Catherine that I've been able to find.  The photo shows B. O'Donnell's Free Selectors' Hotel and standing in front of the sign is mother Bridget with Catherine to the right and James (my grandfather) to the left.

  

Did you notice the ladder lying on the ground?  The thought that came immediately to my mind was it's likely that Catherine's mother used the ladder to climb up and add the sign "B. O'Donnell's" - her name, Bridget O'Donnell!  This photo was taken in 1894 after Bridget had become the licensed victualler of the establishment and Catherine at the time would have been 9 years old.

The death of her father and then the change in lifestyle when her mother became a businesswoman would have been huge turning points for young Catherine.  Suddenly the family was thrust into the world of running a hotel.  With her mother working long hours, Catherine, as the eldest child, would have taken on many new responsibilities.  She would have helped her mother from early morning until late at night, cleaning rooms, preparing meals and Catherine would also have been expected to shoulder significant responsibility for the care of her younger siblings.

Catherine's childhood would have been cut short.  Life at the hotel meant a constant bustle of guests and patrons, and as she took on the roles of caregiver and household manager in the midst of the busy, often rough atmosphere of this working-class hotel, Catherine was shouldering very heavy responsibilities for someone so young. 

Just two years after her father's death, life changed once again when Catherine's mother re-married in 1895.  With a new stepfather in the household, Catherine faced the challenge of adapting to a new family dynamic, which was soon followed by the birth of another brother in 1896.

By 1898, when Catherine was only 13, she had fallen gravely ill.    

Over the course of six months, Catherine's health worsened as she suffered from dropsy (now known as edema), which caused swelling in her body due to fluid retention.  In her final days, she slipped into a coma and passed away at the family's residence in the Free Selectors' Hotel on Ruthven Street, surrounded by her loved ones.

The primary cause of death, as recorded on her death certificate was 'Bright's Disease'.  It's a term that's no longer used in the medical world, and refers to kidney disease.  

A funeral notice appeared in the local newspaper on April the 5th indicating that the funeral service was held at the Free Selectors' Hotel and then the mourners moved onto the cemetery from there.  The death certificate lists Reverend Thomas Lane, a Roman Catholic priest, as the person who conducted the service.

Catherine's death marked a heartbreaking end to a short life filled with hardship, loss, poverty and responsibility. She was buried alongside her father Edmond at the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery. 

The inscription on her headstone reads:  "Hark they whisper, Angels say, Sister Spirit come away."  This is an excerpt from a poem written by Alexander Pope named "The Dying Christian To His Soul" and specifically refers to the call of angels for her soul to go to heaven.   To her family, death was not the end for Catherine, but a passage to a spiritual existence.  It's quite moving!