News from Ireland - letters from Ballylee and Peterswell

Hi Molly:

The letter file did upload successfully. I will add this link to your original message thread.

Roger McDonnell

Thanks, Roger!

Hello,

Thank you for adding these wonderful letters. My 2nd Great Grandfather was Michael Connell who was a Tailor by trade and is listed in Lissatunny in Griffith's Valuation. He lived from 1827 to 1894 and died in the Gort Workhouse. My family research has lead me to believe that his brother was Patrick Connell of Ballylee. I believe that it is this Patrick that wrote the letter here. Patrick Connell lived from 1818 to 1908. He was a Brithish Soldier and later returned to Ballylee. He can be found in later life in the 1901 census in Lissatunny living next door to John Connell who also was a tailor and was a son of Michael Connell my 2nd Great Grandfather. Michael Connell had another son named Patrick (1849-1916) who was also a Tailor. He was my Great Grandfather and moved 7 miles west to Tarrea (above Kinvara) in 1881. I have found at least one Connell record with a member of the Swift family as a God parent. I need to again locate this. There was also an Anne Connell who married John McNevin and lived in Gort. These letters take the mundane out of this research and put life back into these wonderful people of Kiltartan for me.  Regards, Kevin Flynn

Hi, Kevin,

How exciting to read your message! I have hesitated responding until I had a chance to look at the information I have about the Connell family(ies). I agree with you that the letter dated 15 May 1880 was probably written by Patrick Connell (not "Bert Connell" as was transcribed. The original letters have been misplaced, so unfortunately I cannot look at the handwriting to see if it could have been "Pat," but the mention of his daughter, "Mrs. Mary Malone" is convincing to me since I have other records that confirm Mary Connell emigrated to the U.S. and married Patrick Malone.) The Patrick Connell who wrote this letter was an uncle to my great-grandfather, John Connell Swift, who emigrated in 1850 at the age of about 18 years old. Before he left Ireland, he and his sister Mary Swift lived with their Uncle Paddy and his wife Mary Hynes at Ballyee. (John C. and Mary's parents were Thomas Swift and Mary Connell. Mary died and Thomas remarried to Bridget Fahy.) You mention a Patrick Connell who appears in the 1901 census at Lissatunna, but I believe that may be a different Patrick Connell (one who married to Margaret O'Brien.) At least this is the information that Sister Delourdes Fahy has shared with me from her knowledge of the census and other records. Sister believes that the Connells of Lissatunna are somehow related to the Connells of Dromore/Ballylee, but she has not yet found records to document that. I would pleased to know what more information you have about the Connell branches -- your Michael and his line as well as what you have found on the Patrick Connell of Lissatuna (1818-1908.) I do have a record that Patrick of Lissatuna had a daughter, Bridget, who married a John Cooney, the good friend of my great-grandfather who is mentioned in these letters. Perhaps what you have will help us understand and connect the Connells.

best regards,
Molly

Hi Molly,Let me first say that regardless as to whether a member of my extended family  wrote any of these letters or not, they are fantastic and really shed some light on the life and times of the parish of Kiltartan. Secondly, the work that Sister de Lourdes has done has been overwhelming and her book on Kiltartan is one of my treasures.

I will share what I know and how I know it so it will be here for anyone to piece it together someday. I began researching the family in 1999 and I am now at my brick wall. I can make some assumptions but I try not to. Documents are hard to come by pre 1860 around Kiltartan.

So here it goes... I always knew through my family that my Great Grandfather was Patrick Connell from Kiltartan and he was a Tailor. He could sew a blind stitch and he took a curragh out to the Aran Islands to make clothing. I also knew he had a brother named John. In 1881 he married in Ballindereen Church to Kate Hughes and they lived in her father James Hughes' house in Tarrea which is just north of Kinvara. So he moved 7 miles west out of Kiltartan to spend the remainder of his life in Tarrea. He and Kate had 10 children including Tom who was my Grandfather. Five of the 10 children came to America and settled around Flushing in New York City. Tom Connell married Kate Clasby  of Toureen West and had nine children including my Mother, Mary and that is how I'm connected.

My parents, both from Ireland, had me but brought me out to NYC when I was a baby. I lost both of them when I was very young but in my adulthood I developed a very strong interest in the Irish family history. I had two wonderful Aunts who brought me to Galway often when I was young and in the last 20 years I have visted Kiltartan many times on my own.

There is a family story that we were friends with W.B.Yeats. I have always heard it but who knows? I presume through the great writer's years in Ballylee.   

My Research;

On Patrick Connell's (the Tailor) marriage cert in 1881 he is listed as being from Kiltartan and that his father is Michael Connell who is listed as a Tailor from Kiltartan. The witness is listed as John Connell 

Patrick is listed with his family in both the 1901 and 1911 census living in Tarrea. He is a Tailor. His birth year from these census place him about 1849 which pre dates Kiltartan records.  My research led me to Patrick's father Michael who was one of four people in Gort/ Kiltartan records named Michael Connell. Our Michael Connell is a Tailor from Lissatunny. He can be found in Griffith's valuation in Lissatunny and his death record shows him dying in the Gort workhouse in 1894 at the age of 67 (putting his birth at 1827).  Sister de Lourdes cites the Connell family in her book in Lissatunny as a family of Tailors and notes that an Anne Connell married a John McNevin from Gort. I believe her to also be a daughter of Michael Connell.  John Connell is  found in the census in Lissatunny as a Tailor. He married Kate Forde and they had 8 children. In 1923 John and family immigrated to Waltham Massachusetts to join his older daughters who had previously came to America. In 2013 I visited Mr Martin Tannien (sp?) at his home on the main road out of Gort in Lissatunny. Martin told me that his own father purchased their home from John Connell when he left for America. John also left them their dog named "snowball". Martin also said the Connell family in Lissatunny was connected to Ballylee.I have a WW II era letter from one of John's daughters to one of Patrick Connell's daughters which indicates they are cousins.  John Connell and Patrick Connell both name their oldest sons Michael which is a strong indicator that their father was Michael Connell the Tailor from Lissatunny.   Finally... how do I connect the Connell's in Ballylee to Lissatunny. Sadly there are few records but what I see is that the two townlands are a mile apart. Records show that the Connells are in Ballylee in the Tithe Applotment book in 1826. They are not in Lissatunny in 1826. The Kiltartan Cemetery shows that Connells are in the area as early as 1725. Peter Connell (1725-1795) is buried there with his wife Anne Kenny. The next grave over is Margaret Greny (1701-1775) who is Peter's mother. Patrick Connell (1818-1908) lived in Ballylee (or could it have been your Patrick Connell?) I need to check all this again! Anyway Patrick married a Margaret O'Brien and he can be found in the census in 1901 in Lissatunny as a neighbor to John Connell the Tailor. Patrick's daughter Bridget marries John Cooney. I do believe that Patrick Connell (1818-1908) and Michael Connell (1827-1894) are brothers but documents don't exist. I would like to know more about the author of the letter. This can be such a challenge but I have already discovered so many things over the years that I never though I would know. Sorry for the length of this God Bless! Regards, Kevin Flynn-Washington DC

Hi, Kevin,

It is tantalizing, isn't it?! The lack of records and the repetition of names really makes this a puzzle. Here is what I can tell you about the authors of the letters (and some of this I have figured out only recently, so I will try not to mess it up):

Letter dated 18 March 1877 is written by Mary Cusack. Mary is actually of no blood relation to John C. Swift, but she is the daughter of John's stepmother, Bridget Fahy Swift Cusack. John's parents were Thomas Swift and Mary Connell. Mary Connell died, and Thomas remarried to Bridget Fahy. Then Thomas died, and Bridget remarried to John Cusack. Mary is the daughter of this latter marriage. Though he had no blood relation to the Cusacks, John C. Swift paid for passage to America for Mary and two of her siblings -- Winifred and Patrick. Mary returned to Ireland, and possibly also Winifred. I cannot find a definitive record for Patrick, but he spent some time in America. He went to Iowa where John C. Swift was living at the time to thank him for his kindness. In Mary Cusack's letter, she mentions "your Uncle Patrick" and this is referring to John's uncle Patrick Connell. She also mentions Patrick's daughters Mary Malone and Catherine. Mary's letter thanks John on behalf of her mother (Bridget Fahy Swift Cusack) for letting her know about Thomas's death. This refers to Thomas Swift, half-brother to John C. Swift (being a son of Bridget Fahy and Thomas Swift.) Thomas (Jr.) traveled to America, married and settled in Iowa not far from his half-brother. He worked for the railroad and was murdered by one of his employees who felt that Thomas had shorted him 75 cents on the payroll. He left two sons, and there may be living descendants.

The letter dated 15 May 1880 written by "Bert" Connell is almost certainly written by Patrick Connell. He writes thanking John for money that was sent because it helps him stay on the land. The letter mentions the writer's daughter, Mrs. Mary Malone. We know from family stories that John C. Swift was close to his uncle Patrick and lived with him and his wife prior to emigrating. I have understood that this was partially due to John not getting along well with his father, but it is hard to know the substance of that because John was a teenager at the time he lived with Patrick and Mary, and it is not unheard of that a teenager does not see eye-to-eye with his father. (I believe that John's mother had died when he was young, but I do not think that his father's remarriage was cause for any hard feelings since John maintained contact with Bridget Fahy Swift even after his father had died.)

The letter dated 6 Mar 1909 written by Mary Larkin is from a daughter of John's first cousin, Bridget Connell Larkin. (Bridget was a daughter of Patrick Connell and Mary Hynes. She married Michael Larkin. They lived in Dromore.) In the letter, Mary says that she never got well since she was in America and that she is "real sorry for her soul trouble." Those are intriguing remarks, but I don't have anymore detail about what they refer to. Mary also asks after John's sister, Mary, and Mrs. Quinn (also John's sister -- Bridget Swift married Thomas Quinn and lived in Iowa.) John's sister Mary, whom the family always called "Little Aunt Mary" because she was a tiny woman, did not marry. She lived in Iowa and supported herself with work as a seamstress, housekeeping or caring for others.

The letter dated 3 July 1911 is from Bridget Larkin (and her daughter Mary). Bridget was a daughter of Patrick Connell and Mary Hynes so a first cousin to John C. Swift. She states that her husband (Michael Larkin) had died recently, mentions some of her children though not by name, and also refers to her sister, Mary Malone, and her sons Will and James. She tells John that "your friend John Cusack" is not well. I believe this would be the John Cusack who is the son of John's stepmother Bridget Fahy Swift and her second husband John Cusack (John Cusack Sr. died 1902.)

The letter dated 24 March 1908 is from William E. Malone, son of Mary Connell Malone and Patrick Malone (and grandson of Patrick Connell and Mary Hynes.) He is writing from Massachusetts, and mentions that his father has died. He also mentions his brother James. Records show that William and James were both born in Washington, Iowa, the same place where John C. Swift lived, so I believe that Mary and Patrick Malone settled briefly there but then moved to the East Coast. I have only recently made contact with living descendants of William Malone. Our familes have not been in touch for 100 years, but ironically they live only hours from my location here in Illinois. We plan to meet in person soon.

Other than this, the information I have about the names of the people in the letters comes from the documents that Sister DeLourdes has recently helped me with, i.e., the limited census records, the Griffith Valuation, limited birth records (but all much later than I would really like!) My great aunt Martina, the youngest daughter of John C. Swift, wrote all that she could remember about what her father had told her about family relations, and from her memoirs, I have names that are helpful in connecting some of the family relations, but not any more on the Connells, unfortunately. For many years, we mistakenly believed the name was "O'Connell," and some family trees in Ancestry.com still represent the name of John C. Swift's mother with that spelling. But I am fairly confident that Connell is correct not only because of the many other records using that name but also because John's wife, tiring of a dispute between John and his brother Martin about the exact year of John's birth, wrote a letter to the priest in Gort to ask for a record. The priest replied with a statement in Latin and English, "relying upon credible witnesses" (because the birth year was 1831 and there were no church records as yet.) His statement clearly uses the name Connell and not O'Connell.

This is a long reply, but like you, I think it could be helpful to others to have what little information I know. 

I hope this is helpful, and perhaps we can keep digging for more. I would have said that I had hit a brick wall until recently, and suddenly various pieces, names and dates are starting to make more sense.

best regards,
Molly

P.S. I am envious of your having experienced your homeland early and frequently. I have traveled to Gort three times (each time too briefly) and am going to be making a fourth trip in a few weeks with my sisters and my mother. Mother will celebrate her 93rd birthday while we are there. She has traveled there twice before, and this trip is something she very much wants to do again while her health allows it. 

Kevin,

if you are interested, my great aunt's memoirs are available in a hard-bound book. This work is due to the dedication of two cousins - one, Sister Joan Bailey, who made it her life's work to collect the family stories, and two, her niece's husband Ralph Roesler, who worked to get the typewritten copy into a book and adding some photos. Sister Joan was the author's (Martina Swift Bailey)'s daughter.

The book can be purchased from an on-demand print service. See this link:
http://www.rr-roesler.com/genealogy.html

Molly

Kevin & Molly

My name is Rachel Gaffney. I am a native Irish woman living in Dallas, Texas. I am working on a trip to Ireland for clients of min ehere in Dallas and Boston. They are going over to visit Galway, among other places and I have been digging around for them for a few months now to help locate as many family locations as possible. TODAY is teh 1st time that something has really resonated........ Here goes... I wonder of there is a connection !

John Connell (Tailor) married to Kate (Catherine) Forde Connell. Lisatunny, Galway. Parish: Kiltartan. Kids listed in 1901 census are Delia, Maryanne,Kate (Catherine) and Michael. I believe there may have been more after that. Kate emigrated to the United States and married Michael J Maguire. They had a daughter named Ann Maguire, now Ann O'Shaughnessy. 

I wonder of there is a connection here? I would love to connect them. I hope someone sees this and can reply. 

Kind Regards

Rachel Gaffney...  Dallas, Texas (Fromerly from Cork, Ireland) 

Hi, Rachel,

how exciting that you will soon be returning to Ireland -- and taking others with you! I believe the names that you mention in the Connell family would relate more to the information that Kevin shared about the Lisatunny Connells. If you are wanting to connect with the Kate Forde-John Connell descendents, then Kevin would possibly have more information than I. The only information I have on that John Connell is what Kevin cites above. I am not sure how (of if) he fits into the tree for the Ballylee Connells that are tied to the old letters I shared.

It is confusing because there is a proliferation of the name "Patrick Connell" among both the Lisatunny and Ballylee families, and it is possible that the two branches are related, but if there is a common link, it is probably before 1800, and the lack of documents in those times for those places makes it difficult to be confident about the relationship.

I hope you have an enjoyable trip.

Molly

Hello Rachel, I am Kevin Flynn and John Connell of Lissatunny County Galway is a brother to my Great Grandfather Patrick. They both were Tailors as was their father, Michael (1827-1894). He married Kate Ford and they had many children(all girls and one boy , Michael, pronounced “me hall”. The two oldest girls immigrated to Boston and the remainder of the family came in 1923 including John (age 66). They lived in Newton MA. I visited there last year. My mother was Mary Connell of Toureen. She was the daughter of Tom Connell who was one of ten belonging to Patrick Connell the Tailor. I have been to John”s home in Lissatunny. It is a redone house on the main road from Gort to Ardrahan. It is owned now by the Tannian Family who bought it from John in 1923. My ancestor Peter Connell ( 1725-1795) is buried in a marked grave in Kiltartan Cemetery. He is my 5th Great Grandfather. I live in DC now but am traveling this week. I can fill you in on more of John Connell’s daughters when I get home. One was a Maguire. I have DNA matches to at least one of their descendants. My email is flynnkevin@bellsouth.net

Hi Molly,

I hope you are well. Have you done an Ancestry DNA test?        I feel pretty comfortable that the Patrick Connell in Ballylee and Patrick Connell, the retired soldier in Lissatunny and my 2nd Great Grandfather Michael Connell are all connected. I had a DNA connection from a descendant of the Patrick Connell of Lissatunny. It was a great grandson off the Cooney line. That solidified my belief the Michael Connell, the Tailor in Lissatunny and Patrick Connell, the soldier of Lissatunny were brothers. I would think Patrick Connell in Ballylee was their cousin. Ballylee and Lissatunny  are in walking distance to one another.   

Take care,

Kevin                          

Hi, Kevin,

I am well, thanks. Hope the same is true for you. Yes, I have done a DNA test, and I also requested that my mother have one. Our results are in Ancestry.com. My information will be found under the member name MaryDaniel89 and will show in my tree as Mary Daniel. Mother will show as Roberta Clark. For a distant cousin who was descended from an uncle of my great-grandfather, only Mother's results showed that a match existed, so for someone as far back in our tree as a common ancestor of our two Patrick Connells, there may be only a remote match. 

Are your results in Ancestry or somewhere else online? How can I search for them?

Molly