McNamara of Craggaknock East

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pwaldron
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McNamara of Craggaknock East

Post by pwaldron » Fri Feb 24, 2012 12:27 pm

I've been looking again at the papers in the Talty Millions case, already discussed on this forum (http://www.ourlibrary.ca/phpbb2/viewtop ... f=1&t=3654 and http://www.ourlibrary.ca/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=669).

The heirs included a family of six McNamara siblings from Craggaknock East townland, first cousins once removed to T. J. Talty and my second cousins twice removed. As far as I know, their Irish relatives have lost all contact with this family, so in case any of their descendants are looking for their Clare roots, I thought I should post the details here.

The parents were Margaret née Gorman and her first husband Michael McNamara (1859-1898). Michael was killed when hit on the head by a stone during a faction fight at Craggaknock while returning home from the Miltown Malbay races. Newspaper reports of the killing of Michael MacNamara described him as a father of eight children; only six were at home for the 1901 census and only six lived to claim shares in the Talty Millions, five of them emigrants to England (x2), Canada, the U.S. and Australia:

1. John (chr. 5 Apr 1892, born 1 May 1892, in the reverse of the usual order!). He married Mary (maiden name unknown). Addresses: Birch House, Hersham Rd., Walton on Thames, Surrey, England; (Jan 1928) Rosedale, King's Road, Walton on Thames, Surrey; (Aug 1928) c/o Mrs O'Dowd, 73 Victoria Road, Kilburn, London.

2. Michael J. McNamara (b. 27 Aug 1893 or 12 Oct 1893). He married Edith Goodwin at St. Pancras, London on the 26th June 1922. Addresses: Apt 12 88 Stanley St. Montreal, Quebec, Canada; (May 1927) 23 Mansfield St., Montreal.

3. Patrick McNamara (b. 22 Sep 1894 or 26 Oct 1894). He married Norah Hehir. Addresses: c/o Mrs Christie, 23 Regent St., Liverpool; (May 1928) 25 Regent St. Liverpool. There were several McNamara-Hehir children born in Liverpool between 1927 and 1937, probably all children of Patrick and Norah. I believe from a note dated 1965 that Patrick jr. (b.1930 Q2) became a priest. There was obviously some contact between Liverpool and Clare up to that time.

4. Martin (b. 13 Nov 1895 or 11 Dec 1895). Not married as of 1927. Address: c/o Don [Daniel] Clancy Miltown Malbay.

5. Bridget (b. 20 Dec 1896). Said to have emigrated to Denniston, Connecticut. Subject of an interesting exchange between the New York and Kilrush lawyers. On 5 May 1927, John J. Dwyer wrote to Michael Killeen that there was no such place as Denniston in CT. On 20 May 1927, Michael Killeen wrote to John J Dwyer `I am rather inclined to think that this girl Bridget never wrote to her mother since she went out, and I should not be surprised if she is dead. At least a neighbour has just told me that they heard she got ill and died in hospital outside.' On 14 Mar 1928, John J Dwyer wrote to Michael Killeen: `I located the daughter Bridget McNamara. She does not wish to have her whereabouts made known to other members of her family; she intimated that they had not treated her justly.' This sort of excuse would be a novel way for a lawyer or heir hunter to pocket a share of an estate for himself or herself!

6. Honor/Honour/Nora (b. 19 Apr 1898). Addresses: c/o F. Brew, 108 Percy St. Bowler City - W.A.; Metropole Hotel, Boulder City, West Australia; (Apr 1927) c/o F. Gould, 100 Percy Street, Bolder City, West Australia. Not married as of 1927.

If there are any descendants of this family reading this forum, I would be happy to share further information with them. Although their mother was said to be `badly off living on a few perches of bog', the children's letters suggest that they were very well educated.

Paddy

pwaldron
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Re: McNamara of Craggaknock East

Post by pwaldron » Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:18 am

I now have some additional information on Child #3 above, Patrick McNamara, from his marriage and death certificates. He married Nora Hehir (daughter of John) at the Pro-Cathedral in Ennis on 24 Nov 1926 and died at Mossley Hill Hospital in Liverpool on 2 Nov 1986. His son Patrick Joseph McNamara of 10 Eton Court, Hornby Lane, Liverpool was the informant.

The son, Patrick Joseph McNamara (b. 1930, Q2) was ordained a priest in 1956 and had the following appointments:
St Columba, Huyton (1956-1964)
St Hugh, Wavertree (1964-1970)
Holy Ghost, Ford (1970-1973)
Cardinal Allen Grammar School (1973-1981)
His name does not appear in the 1982 Liverpool church directory, or subsequent editions, and there is no obituary. The presumption must be that he left the active ministry at that time and may still be living.

I would still like to make contact with living descendants of this family.

smcarberry
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Re: McNamara of Craggaknock East

Post by smcarberry » Sun Feb 10, 2013 3:17 pm

pwaldron wrote:5. Bridget (b. 20 Dec 1896). Said to have emigrated to Denniston, Connecticut. Subject of an interesting exchange between the New York and Kilrush lawyers. On 5 May 1927, John J. Dwyer wrote to Michael Killeen that there was no such place as Denniston in CT. On 20 May 1927, Michael Killeen wrote to John J Dwyer `I am rather inclined to think that this girl Bridget never wrote to her mother since she went out, and I should not be surprised if she is dead. At least a neighbour has just told me that they heard she got ill and died in hospital outside.' On 14 Mar 1928, John J Dwyer wrote to Michael Killeen: `I located the daughter Bridget McNamara. She does not wish to have her whereabouts made known to other members of her family; she intimated that they had not treated her justly.'
I feel I should add what little I have, to indicate a possible direction to take regarding this Bridget. I reviewed some U.S. databases and saw in federal and state censuses of New York City a likely single woman of the right age, working as a servant in a private family in Manhattan: Bridget, 1920; Bridge, 1925; Delia, 1930. There is no such person in the 1940 federal census for any NYC borough. I don't see a likely candidate for her in the any NYC marriage index of a likely time period. There definitely is no death record on file for a Bridget McNamara born any time near the year 1896.

On the other hand, I have had on hand in my McNamara file two items of interest, that I cannot connect to any other family in the involved areas. There is the bare death record listing in Connecticut: Bridget McNamara d. 11 Dec 1928, LDS film 3168. This or a different Bridget may be involved in the attached newspaper reference to an ongoing probate in 1932 for which there is an administrator residing in a Massachusetts town very close to the border of that state with Connecticut, on the end of the state where families frequently moved between the two states while pursuing work opportunities. Censuses show that the administrator is from an old family of the area and was a school administrator, thus able to handle estate matters. It is not necessary that an estate administrator live where the decedent's property was located, and the actual probate could have been filed in a court of any state, such as New York or Connecticut, wherever Bridget had lived upon her demise.

In the same small town as the administrator there lived the apparent beneficiary, Katherine Doyle, husband grocer John, and children. There remain a handful of Doyle residents with telephone listings in that town, Palmer, although it may be that there are some cousins who moved there after 1940. The 1940 census shows Katherine's son William (who died Sep 1969) and his son William Jr. (who died 15 Jul 1995) plus his children, all still in Palmer. It shouldn't be too difficult to locate an obituary for one of those Williams and to connect that family to a local Doyle willing to discuss old family connections between the family and the Bridget McNamara who left them something from her estate. Locating the actual probate file would be a do-able goal.

Lastly, it seems to me that "Denniston" sounds similar to the actual little Connecticut town of Danielson, which is within easy traveling distance of Palmer MA. However, this locality has always been so small and rural that there would be no records except BDMs and federal censuses -- no city directories. I think there would be a Catholic church there now but I can't guarantee that it existed back in the early 1900s. I don't know of its ever being a vacation spot for NYC city residents, but perhaps Bridget found her way there somehow for work purposes. It also has not been the site of any public institution caring for the infirm. That was located in Middletown, a good distance away.

My next posting will show a McNamara family re-settled in Western Massachusetts in a large town, Holyoke, just north of Springfield, which is the city serving as a hub for both Palmer to the east and Holyoke. However, it is said that that McNamara is from Tulla, although the surnames and personal names shown for family members are the type associated with West Clare.

Sharon Carberry, USA
Brid McN estate 1932 W MA.jpg
Brid McN estate 1932 W MA.jpg (19.2 KiB) Viewed 9709 times

pwaldron
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Re: McNamara of Craggaknock East

Post by pwaldron » Sun Feb 10, 2013 7:43 pm

Thanks, Sharon.

I will follow up on those leads when I get a chance.

\pw

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