Brown or Browne from Cappanageeragh

[Kurt in S.A.]

Sharon -

I was not aware that woman of the time might have used younger dates in this way. I'll have to keep that in mind.

Re: the Michael Brown entries...it was my impression that Michael came over by himself, preceded by his sister, Bridget, a year or two earlier...her arrival is in her obit. I think I have both Michael and Bridget living on a farm in the local area in the 1850 census. I don't recall the date of the 1850 census for this small town, whose name escapes me at the moment, but if this was him on the census then he must have arrived earlier.

Kurt

[Kurt in S.A.]

The 1850 has two men of the right age and name, although Michael is spelled Mial and Michel, one in Pepperell and one in Littleton. That same year an Ellen Brown stated her age as 40, and she has a 10-year-old Mary A. with her, in Lowell.

Sharon -

I got a chance to look into your findings. I agree with most of what you found, and have most of those documents. I have generally settled on my Michael being in Littleton in 1850 living with the Hartwells. In that same listing, there appears to be his sister, Bridget, on the same farm. Littleton is only 5 miles from where the families finally settled, Ayer.

As to the listing for Ellen, I had not seen that before. I suppose that could be her. Using the existing dates, she would have been 13 when having her first child, Michael, was born. Michael's birthdate was early in 1823 as shown on his headstone. But as you say, she could have used a younger birth year. I'm not sure who the Mary A. would have been. Born in MA it says around 1840. Lowell is pretty far from the rest of the MA family. I don't have anyone named that born around that time. There was a daughter Mary born more like 1830. That said, I do have a Mary A. Brown b 1835 d 1885 in western New York but I haven't been able to place where she fits in, if at all. Some of the Browns settled there. This Mary could have married into the family but doesn't make sense with the listing for Ellen in Lowell for 1850.

The search goes on! I will have to look into the Waltham NARA source.

Kurt

[Kurt in S.A.]

A cousin of mine has run across a letter from one of our distant relatives that provides a few more clues about our family and where they might have lived in Ireland. I've mentioned Cappanageeragh and possibly a place called Anfield Park. The letter, as it was told to me, mentions Cattegara, "now known as Anfield Park". Is Cattegara an alternate name for the other townland?

Edit: the more I think about this, I think this relative may have just misremembered the Irish name. It makes more sense that she would remember Anfield (or Annefield) Park, which is an area in Clondagad.

Thanks...Kurt