Person:James O'Donnell (4)

MARRIAGE: Witnesses were Wiliam Bowler and Maurice O'Donnell BIOGRAPH Y: He was from Slieve in Anascall. Described as a farmer. James Thomas O'DONNELL 13 Jan 1860 - 10 Feb 1935 * OCCUPATION: 9 Oct 1907, Brewery Worker * CENSUS: 31 Mar 1901, Slieve West, Kerry, Ireland * BIRTH: 13 Jan 1860, Slieve, Ireland * DEATH: 10 Feb 1935, Slieve, Ireland * CENSUS: 2 Apr 1 911, Slieve West, Kerry, Ireland * AFN: 569 Married on 21 FEB 1867 Married at Annascaul, Co. Kerry

Mike Cleary - 04/29/99 06:07:54My Email:«u»mcleary@@cts.com <mailto:mcleary@@cts.com>«/u» Surnames: Cleary,O'Donnell,McKenna Townlands: Dingle Years: 1830-1912 Comments:My grandfather PATRICK FRANCIS CLEARY was born 20 Feb 1866 in Dingle,Kerry Co. Father: Thomas Cleary Mother: Ellen O'Donnell. That is all I know of my grandfathers roots there- except that later after coming to Butte, Montana and becoming a fireman He went to Burlington,Vermont on 17 Oct,1901 to be married to MARYANN O'DONNELL (b. 20 Feb,1871)of Main Street , Dingle,Kerry Co. Father: Maurice P. O"Donnell (shopkeeper on Main Street) b.22 July 1838 Mother: Catherine McKenna. We assumed that they somehow knew each other in Ireland or had relatives (Mc Kennas or ODonnel)l in the US. My grandmother MaryAnn (O'Donnell)Cleary died on a visit back to Ireland in late October 1912. She wrote a letter to her uncle John O'Donnell,Bridge Street,Dingle,Co Kerry from Dublin, while she thought she was recovering from a boat accident and had her bags sent ahead to him. She did not recover and died there around 27 Oct,1912. My grandfather, Patrick F. Cleary and my father, Joseph Patrick Cleary (5yrs.old)returned heartsick and alone to Butte,Montana without her. None of his grand children know if she was returned to her uncle John in Dingle and buried there or not? Both my father and grandfather are now died. Can anyone tells us the names of the parishes around Dingle where she may be listed in church or cemetery buriel records? We'd like to find her resting place. We also would like any information on Patrick Francis Cleary or relations?? You have been most patient. Thanks, Joseph Michael Cleary mcleary@@cts.com Notes The 1911 census states that they had 10 children born alive, 9 still living. So 2 children were unaccounted for in the Annascaul Parish records. The oldest child listed in 1911 is John, age 16, who would have been born in 1884 or 1885. I had great difficulty finding a record of this marriage; it does not appear in the Annascaul Church records index, and I searched the civil records for the 5 years preceding the birth of the oldest child in the 1901 census, i.e., from 1879-1884. There were 3 James O'Donnells married in those years from Tralee, but none married a Mary. I widened the search to the surrounding districts and found 25 James O'Donnells married between 1880 and 1884. Too many to chase! Widening the search to earlier dates was the solution. I gave it one more try and found it in the records for 1878! This solved the mystery of Mary's maiden name, which was O'Donnell; she was, in fact a cousin. It raised a puzzle, tho. Why would a good Catholic Irish couple wait seven years to have a child? First, these were very hard times in Ireland, particularly in the West. Famine approaching that of the 1845 Famine was being endured. For example, his brother Terence O'Donnell, my grandfather, chose 1881 to leave for America. Searching the death records for Tralee and Dingle provided the answer. Forty-nine O'Donnells died in the years 1879 to 1883 in the Tralee or Dingle districts. Of those, ten were infants: nine were age 0 and one was age 1. Two had no names: Male O'Donnell died in 1879 in Tralee, Female O'Donnell died in Dingle in 1880. "Male" was from Slieve, father James; a lost child in the first year of marriage. That accounts for at least some of the gap until the birth of John, whose age 16 in the March, 1901 census implies a birth in 1884 or 1885. (I didn't have time to pursue the 1880 death. it remains to be investigated.) The rest of the gap disappears when the Church records at Annascaul are consulted. They show that James and Mary understated their children's ages by about 1-2 years in 1901. For example, the parish records show "Ellena" born on 29-Nov-1884, making her 16 in March of 1901, but the census lists her as only 14. (This was corrected in 1911, where she is listed as age 26.) So if son John is two years older as stated in the census, he was more likely to be 17 or 18 in March 1901, with a birthdate of about 1882 or 1883. The *index* to the church records show no John born to this couple. It does show a "Joanna" born 7-Jan-1882. A naturalization record for John James O'Donnell, which says he was born in Slieve, 17 July 1883, and emigrated from Queenstown, Ireland (now re-named Cobh) to Boston in 20 April 1903. John's sponsor for the naturalization was his uncle, (and my grandfather), Terence O'Donnell. The immigration date fits the fact he was in the 1901 Irish census, but missing in 1911. Sandwiching the missing John in between Joanna and Ellena implies birth spacing of only 13.5 and 12.5 months respectively. Difficult, but not impossible. I have written to the parish priest to check the original records, not the index. The parish index also shows a Maria, born to this couple 19-July-1885, less than 8 months after Ellie. This daughter is not in the 1901 or 1911 census. I am doubtful of this and have written to the parish priest for

(Research):Notes The 1911 census states that they had 10 children born alive, 9 still living. So 2 children were unaccounted for in the Annascaul Parish records. The oldest child listed in 1911 is John, age 16, who would have been born in 1884 or 1885. I had great difficulty finding a record of this marriage; it does not appear in the Annascaul Church records index, and I searched the civil records for the 5 years preceding the birth of the oldest child in the 1901 census, i.e., from 1879-1884. There were 3 James O'Donnells married in those years from Tralee, but none married a Mary. I widened the search to the surrounding districts and found 25 James O'Donnells married between 1880 and 1884. Too many to chase! Widening the search to earlier dates was the solution. I gave it one more try and found it in the records for 1878! This solved the mystery of Mary's maiden name, which was O'Donnell; she was, in fact a cousin. It raised a puzzle, tho. Why would a good Catholic Irish couple wait seven years to have a child? First, these were very hard times in Ireland, particularly in the West. Famine approaching that of the 1845 Famine was being endured. For example, his brother Terence O'Donnell, my grandfather, chose 1881 to leave for America. Searching the death records for Tralee and Dingle provided the answer. Forty-nine O'Donnells died in the years 1879 to 1883 in the Tralee or Dingle districts. Of those, ten were infants: nine were age 0 and one was age 1. Two had no names: Male O'Donnell died in 1879 in Tralee, Female O'Donnell died in Dingle in 1880. "Male" was from Slieve, father James; a lost child in the first year of marriage. That accounts for at least some of the gap until the birth of John, whose age 16 in the March, 1901 census implies a birth in 1884 or 1885. (I didn't have time to pursue the 1880 death. it remains to be investigated.) The rest of the gap disappears when the Church records at Annascaul are consulted. They show that James and Mary understated their children's ages by about 1-2 years in 1901. For example, the parish records show "Ellena" born on 29-Nov-1884, making her 16 in March of 1901, but the census lists her as only 14. (This was corrected in 1911, where she is listed as age 26.) So if son John is two years older as stated in the census, he was more likely to be 17 or 18 in March 1901, with a birthdate of about 1882 or 1883. The *index* to the church records show no John born to this couple. It does show a "Joanna" born 7-Jan-1882. A naturalization record for John James O'Donnell, which says he was born in Slieve, 17 July 1883, and emigrated from Queenstown, Ireland (now re-named Cobh) to Boston in 20 April 1903. John's sponsor for the naturalization was his uncle, (and my grandfather), Terence O'Donnell. The immigration date fits the fact he was in the 1901 Irish census, but missing in 1911. Sandwiching the missing John in between Joanna and Ellena implies birth spacing of only 13.5 and 12.5 months respectively. Difficult, but not impossible. I have written to the parish priest to check the original records, not the index. The parish index also shows a Maria, born to this couple 19-July-1885, less than 8 months after Ellie. This daughter is not in the 1901 or 1911 census. I am doubtful of this and have written to the parish priest for

1. ↑ GenCircles: Waller Family.
2. ↑ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. International Genealogical Index(R). (Copyright (c) 1980, 2002)
   citing microfilm 0255926 (1875) for batch C701587, downloaded 4 Nov 2006.
3.   WALLER Family. Family Web Site
   James Thomas O'Donnell, 28 AUG 2007.

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