O'Hara family of Crossmolina/Ballina

Hi Ali,

 

My name  is Lucia Dailey and my grandmother was Helen Maloney who married Daniel Dailey in Scranton, PA. Her mother was Catherine O'Hara Maloney, married Peter Maloney in Scranton. Catherine O'Hara Maloney is my great-grandmother.

Thanks for the information. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best,

Lucia

Hello Lucia, 

Nice to hear from you.  My husband is the grandson of Mary Ann O'Hara, the youngest sibling of your great-grandmother Catherine O'Hara. 

I am not sure if you have seen the information on Find-A-Grave.com? 

I have tried to connect as many of the burial locations as possible of these siblings and their descendents. Here is a link to your great-grandmother's profile, just in case you have not seen it: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/200828020/catherine-maloney. 

I have tried to find more information about the Irish history, but other than the birth records for some of the siblings that I found here on Roots Ireland, (including your great-grandmother Catherine), I have not been able to trace further back in Ireland. 

I would love to hear more about your great-grandmother Catherine, if you knew her well. My husband's grandmother Mary Ann O'Hara was not raised with the family, she was raised by other relatives in Scranton,  and we are not sure if she had any contact with her family after she moved to Canada, but we do not think she did. None of her 12 children knew anything about her childhood. The ones who were still living only found out their mother had siblings once I did my research. They had all assumed she was an only child.

Best regards, 

Alison

Hi Ali,

Good to hear from you. How wonderful to meet  relatives of my great-grandmother, Catherine.  She died before I was born but I have heard stories of her and have at least one picture of her as a young woman with her husband Peter.  I will be happy to send you more information.

 

I did interviews in the 1990s with some older relatives in Scranton and published a   book, "Mine Seed"  roughly based on the lives of my great-grandparents who all had emmigrated from county Mayo in the 19th century to Scranton where they became coal miners. The book is fictionalized but is based on historical events  and oral histories I gathered. I will send you a copy if you like.  Did you know Scranton's official "sister city" is Ballina. Many people from County Mayo settled in northeast Pennsylvania during the 1800s.

 

I am scheduled for surgery May 4 so there may be a delay in communication but I'll keep in touch.

Thanks for reaching out, Allison.

Lucia

 

Hello Lucia!

Thank you for all of that information. I would love a copy of your book!  The family here in Canada will find all of this very interesting.  I have been learning a lot about Scranton Mining history as I have been reading up on it since starting this research. I have shared links to the museums and heritage sites in the area (including the musuem that takes you underground in a "mine cart") with the Canadian cousins suggesting these might be interesting sites to visit on vacation some day to learn more about the life their ancestors lived in Scranton in the late 1800's early 1900's. I was hoping to locate all the graves in Cathedral Cemetery so that they could be visited on a future trip also, but I have had no luck hearing back from the diocese, likely due to Covid, etc. 

I am glad to connect with you -  finding your great-grandmother's wonderful obituary (which included a photo!) in a Scranton newspaper on Newspapers.com was the first clue that I had found a sister for Mary Ann O'Hara, and I was always hoping to connect with one of her descendents. 

Since we are currently using a public messaging board, maybe you could message me through Find-A-Grave and I could send you my email address?  

If you go to this link, which is the memorial for your great-great-grandfather, William O'Hara (Catherine's father): https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/208382364/william-o'hara

- Next to "Memorial ID" click on the link "View Source"

- Next to "Created By" click on the link to my name "Ali"

If you have an ancestry account, you could also 

- click on "Send message"

When you send me a message I will reply and send you my email address. 

For now, I wish you all the best for your surgery and I look forward to hearing from you when you feel well enough after your recovery. 

Best Wishes and thank you again,

Alison

 

 

Hi again Lucia,

I googled your book and found the links to purchase it on several websites. I have shared this with the family so you may find you notice a few sales from Canadian buyers :). It looks like a great read! Thanks for letting me know about it.

Alison

Hello again Lucia, I noticed that some of my original information about the O'Hara family  posted on this page was not up to date. I have added a bit more information that I discovered since my original posting, and it is now up to date.

Thanks,

Alison

I'm totally new to Irelandxo.com and these message boards, but would hope someone could point me in the right direction to track down distant family of my O'Hara ancestors, supposedly from Balina, who emigrated to America during the last of the Famine in 1848. My great grandfather is Henry O'Hara, born March 17, 1818, who married Mary Anne Langan of Parish Kilfian (Born in 1832). His mother (my great-great Grandmother), was Bridget Cavanaugh. After Henry O'Hara came to America in 1848, met and married Mary Langan, they had a son, born August 12, 1852, named Michael O'Hara (my great-grandfather), in Constableville, New York. Michael O'Hara's son, Thomas Guy O'Hara (my Grandfather) was born March 10, 1885, in Park River, North Dakota (USA). Thomas O'Hara's son, Duane Leo O'Hara (my father) was born March 20, 1913 in West Hope, North Dakota (USA), and died January 16, 1954. Somehow, my entire male lineage remained married to Irish, because my DNA is 93% County Mayo; 6% Scottish and 1% English; so I would like to know if their lineage can be traced back to before the Great Famine and at least through the 18th century; including my Langan and Cavanaugh ancestry. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated (25 December 2022). James Michael O'Hara.

Hello Jamikel,

I am sorry that I cannot assist with your family (Henry O'Hara and Mary Anne Langan). From all the records I have found for our O'Hara family, none of the names you mention have come up. I am sure a volunteer from Ireland XO may be able to respond and help you out.

Best wishes in your research,

Alison