Matthew Snoddy : Short Biography

My great-great-grandfather Matthew (Mathew?) Snoddy was born in Larne on June 12, 1821, in Larne, County Antrim.  He emigrated to Canada in 1845 or 1846 and married Catherine Jane Duncan on June 27, 1946, at Christ Church (now known as Christ Church Cathedral) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.  Catherine Jane Duncan was born in Ireland around 1925-1928, possibly in County Leitrim.

Matthew and Catherine Jane (at times referred to as Catherine and at others as Jane) had 12 children, all born in the Ottawa area (some in the province of Québec and some in the province of Ontario):  Mary Ann, William (my great-grandfather), Andrew, Eliza Jane, John Charles, Robert, Elinore, Adeline, Agnes and Caroline.

Matthew died on June 22, 1891, in Old Chelsea, Québec, Canada and is buried in the Protestant cemetery in Old Chelsea, Québec, Canada.  Catherine Jane Duncan died on December 15, 1903, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and is buried with her husband in Old Chelsea, Québec, Canada.

We believe that Matthew may have had a brother James who may have been a school teacher (because of his ability to write which was not always common in those days) as we have a copy of a long, rambling, gossipy letter from James to Matthew written around 1855.  In the letter he also mentions a sister Mary who came to "America" (Canada? or the US? as both countries were referred to, sometimes still are) and whose mother wished to have news of.