Person:Honora Kane (2)

!"Ancestors," Barbara Mabel (Sullivan) Erickson; Dec 1972; copy in possession of Sidnie Merrill Wilson Stone.

   "A. P. Sullivan's parents came from Ireland. His mother was Honora Kane, a tall beautiful woman--she married young. She had 9 children and died at age 38. She had all boys except her last girl, Mary Ellen--but lived only 18 months to enjoy her longed-for daughter. She was a devout Catholic.
  I am not sure I can name all of her children--Dan, John, Morris, Timothy (Tade), Edward, Albert P., and William Mike--Mary. Some of them did not come west. Uncle Dan farmed in Wyoming near Green River. The brothers brought their sister to Baker and boarded her in St. Francis Academy. At age 18 she married James Chord. Marie Haycox was her child...."

! Honora had auburn hair according to family tradition. She died when her son, A.P., was only 4 years old, and there were 7 other children as well.

   The name HONORA is a derivative of latin--HONOR--meaning "reputation" and "beauty." It was carried to Ireland by the Normans and became a favorite name there, giving rise to the common form, NORA.

! At the time of christening of Honora's 1st child (Daniel) and 3rd child (Morris), the church records her name as Catherine and Eleone. At son Daniel's marriage, her name is recorded as Leonora. [The french speaking leader of this parish had a hard time with the Irish brogue it would appear. SMS] Daniel's godparents were Daniel Kane and Maria Kane. They are undoubtedly related to Honora. [This Daniel could be her brother. Maria is probably Mary, her mother.] The christenings of these two children are the only church records located. Since the family was supposed to be staunch catholic, searches in these records (especially Honora's death and Timothy and Honora's marriage, if it occurred in the USA, may yet reveal an exact town or parish in Ireland where they were born. (Correspondance with the Watseka County Historical Society stated that there were no additional Catholic Church records available for the area. An obituary did not exist in either paper of the time to give that information.) An exact parish or town in Ireland is needed before research can continue on the families in Ireland.

   The names of the first few of Timothy and Honora's children followed an old naming custom. The old world custom was to name the first son after the father's father, and the second son after the mother's father. The third son was often named after the father of the child. Likewise, the first girl was named after the mother's mother, the second girl was named after the father's mother. We know that Timothy and Honora did indeed name their first son Daniel and that Timothy's father was Daniel. Honora's father was John and they named their second son John. Timothy and Honora's 3rd son was named Morris, presumably after Honora's brother, Morris. The fourth son was named Timothy, after the child's father, Timothy, we might assume. The couple named their ninth child and first daughter, Mary, after Honora's mother, Mary. Timothy and Honora followed the old naming custom quite closely.

! Prairie Dell Cemetery, where Honora was buried, was not Catholic. This was a little surprising for this staunch Catholic. Perhaps a factor was that her brother, Morris Kane, helped build the foundation on the Prairie Dell Church in 1870. This is where both he and Honora are buried. In fact, their parents are buried in between them. The complete burial information for the whole family follows.

    Iroquois County Historical Society; Prairie Dell Cemetery; Transcription; received through correspondance from the society.

[It appears that the stones are recorded in the order that they lie in the cemetery.] "24S1. [Row 24, stone 1???],. Cassie Riley Kane; Oct. 17, 1858-June 6, 1933.

24S2.  Morris Kane; Father; Died Apr. 23, 1890: Aged 48 years, 1 month, 23 days; "At Rest"
24S3.Mary Kane; wife of Morris Kane; Died Mar 1873.
24S4. Wilehelmina Kane; Dau. of Morris and Nell Kane; Died May 18, 1873; Age 4 years, 7 months, and 22 days.
24S5.John D. Kane; Died May 29, 1886; Aged 71 years, 1 month, 25 days; "All is Well"
         Mary Flynn Kane; Died May 19, 1899; 84 years, 6 months, 4 days; "Asleep in  Jesus"
24S6.Honora Sullivan; Wife of Timothy Sullivan; Died 11 Dec 1878; Aged 28 years [sic]; "______ have a world of care and everlasting bliss to share"
24S7. Small stone with no markings  [Might this be a child of Honora or of Rosa A. Kane Wright Travis?]
24S8. Rosa A. Kane Wright Travis; May 30, 1876- Mar 10, 1937
24S9. Charles J. Wright; Feb 17, 1870-June 30, 1903"

1. ↑ Death Certificate.

   Iroquois Co. Death Records; FHL # 1321,549 Item #2, p. 16.
   " Honorah Sullivan, married, born in Ireland, died in Iroquois Township of uremia, buried in Prairie Dell on 11 Dec, died age 38 years, 3 months, 23 days. Undertaker: Bishop Laroche whose place of business was Watseka, Illinois."

   This is where the birth date for Honora was calculated from. In the census, her birth years range from 1842-45.

2. ↑ Cemetery.

   Buried at Prairie Dell Cemetery.