John Lahiff and Eliza Fitzgerald

Dear browjan:

Thanks for your post to the Ireland Reaching Out message board.

The parish register for Carron is held within the Diocese of Galway.  It is available online for free under the National Library of Ireland athough, it only begins in 1853.  Here is the link:  https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0617

I see that the baptism register has been transcribed through the Clare Library website and here is the link:  

http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/genealogy/don_tran/bmd/carron_parish_baptism_records_father.htm

You may already be aware of this.  You might look to see where this family resided before they left for the U.S. and/or Australia.  If there were other family members in the same area, they may have remained.  You can then trace them forward through the 1901 and 1911 Censuses.  

Please let me know if you have any questions and I will try to assist you.  If you have not looked at the Clare Library website, you should definitely take a look at it.

The very best of luck with your research,

Kind regards,

Jane

Thank you Jane, I took your advise and found many records! I appreciate your help!

Hi browjan:  

That's wonderful!  I'm glad that you were able to make progress.  

Please keep me updated and if you are planning on visiting County Clare, please let me know.  

Stay safe and well.  

All the best,  

Jane

Im coming into this discussion very late, inexperienced in ancestry research, and many milkes away.  I THINK these Lahiffs were my great great great ancestors - Kathleen Lahiff (1869-1934) married Bernard O'Toole and migrated to Jamaica (he became Director of Prisons in Jamaica) where they both died.  If anyone can provide me with additional links, i would be so appreciative

Hi Marlene:

That's very interesting information if you are indeed related to this family and your ancestors went to Jamaica. If you would like to create an Ancestor profile, please do so at the XOChronicles tab located at the top of the page. 

Any problems, please let me know.

All the best,

Jane

Hi,

To my knowledge John and Eliza never went to Jamaica, but I recently (within this past year) have made a great deal of progress with information on their lives and travel.  This is what I have been able to document.

1. John and Eliza were married in County Clare, Catholic Church at Carran on April 30, 1864.  

2. In February of 1865, they boarded the ship Berar for New Zealand arriving in NZ in May, 1865.  I was able to get a journal of this trip entitled A Diary on the Ship Berar by Alexander Jones a smith from Scotland.  This diary actually records 3 births and one of these was the first daughter of John and Eliza, "Bridget".  Our family stories had said that one of the first 2 children born had been on board ship.  The diary of Alexander Jones confirmed this for me.  I was able to transcribe the diary and gave it back to the library so that it can be freely shared.  The original copy is available as a photo copy if you pay for the copying.  I also put the transcribed copy up on Ancestry.com linked to John Lahiff (Flahy) Lahive as well as to Alexander Jones.  The original handwritten copy of the Diary of a Voyage on the Ship Berar by Alexander Jones is available at the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington, NZ.

3. Once in New Zealand (Wellington) they stayed until Feb of 1867 and returned on the ship Dover Castle to London. There was also a journal or "newspaper" account of this voyage that did not contain as much detail but gave an overall account of the journey in a newspaper style that was shared on board the ship.  This trip was more tumultuous, so much so that one passenger put a note in a bottle stating that they would soon perish.  The note was found later, but of course the ship did not go down.  Upon their return on the Dover Castle to London, they went back to County Clare and the Burren continuing to utilize St Columba Catholic Church in Carran as their home church.  Their next two children were all baptized at Carran with the exception of Mary Ellen who was born in Rhode Island, America. (Thomas, Patrick)

4. After being in County Clare and John working as a herd from 1867-1872 they traveled by ship "City of Antwerp" (accompanied by John's mother Bridget) to America.  During this voyage their youngest child Patrick became ill.  Once to America he died a few weeks later in Providence, Rhode Island of spinal meningitis.  In 1873, their daugher Mary Ellen was born and baptized in Providence and not long after this (circa 1874, 1875) they traveled back to Ireland once again.  

5.  They remained once again in the Burren with St Columba Catholic Church in Carran as their home church.  The remaining 4 of their children were baptized there (Peter (April, 1875), Honora (1878), Michael John, 1879), William (1882), and James (1888).  All of the children with the exception of young Patrick lived into adulthood.

6. On the 16th of April 1891, the entire family (minus Bridget and Catherine the oldest two children) returned for the final time to America on board the "City of Chester". They settled in Newport, Rhode Island.  Eliza died in Newport, Rhode Island in 1899 and is buried at Saint Columba Catholic Cemetery Middletown Newport County Rhode Island.  John died in 1919 and is buried in the same cemetery.  I was able to visit this cemetery last year and found their grave. 

One of the children, Catherine, married Bernard O'Toole and migrated to Jamaica. He was in the police services and went on to become Director of Prisons in Jamaica. They both died in Jamaica 

Many thanks for sharing, brojan. Very much appreciated 

Hi brojan & Marlene:

Your family history is very interesting with all of that travel that was done.  Please feel free to create Ancestor profiles for any of the above individuals that you have mentioned on the XOChronicles.  The feature is located at the top of the page.  

If there is anything further that I can do for you, please let me know as I do live in County Clare.

All the best

Jane