John Purcell Born 1856

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Barryt17
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Re: John Purcell Born 1856

Post by Barryt17 » Wed Jun 19, 2013 7:26 pm

marymp wrote:Through an amazing coincidence I just happened to find your post yesterday and immediately felt that I must contribute as I realized that I was in a position to clear up some misconceptions and provide some answers. To begin John Purcell son of Edward and Ellen Moloney is the incorrect John Purcell. Dr. John Purcell Silsden was my grandfather’s brother. He qualified as a doctor at Royal College of surgeons in Edinburgh in 1876. When I was a child I remember meeting his son also called John at various social events in Co. Clare. Dr. Denis McDonnell was a relative but from the previous generation.
Thanks for that Mary, i have Dr John Purcells parents as Matthew and Anne Maloney, Johns parents are Jack and Mary (Redden) and Ellen`s parents Matt and Marjory Maloney .

Was your Grandfather called Michael, Johns Brother, who had a son called Mattie who had a son called Michael who is 70 odd and lives by the coast in the North east of England.

I now know your granddads parents were farmers and was your granddad.

Denis McDonnell`s mum was christened Catherine Purcell, she dies in 1904 aged 94. She was the sister of Johns father, Jack and so Johns Aunt.

Have you any other info or photos?

I can be contacted at silsdenafc@hotmail.com but will keep this thread going until the end.
Last edited by Barryt17 on Tue Jul 16, 2013 5:31 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Lucille
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Re: John Purcell Born 1856

Post by Lucille » Wed Jun 19, 2013 8:40 pm

Hi Barry

No luck with the Royal College of Physicians today - nothing beyond the Medical Registers which Paddy W listed.

Sharon - I mentioned a possible O'Connell paper to Harriet Wheelock - she just smiled!

Lucille

smcarberry
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Re: John Purcell Born 1856

Post by smcarberry » Fri Jun 21, 2013 10:21 am

Barryt17 wrote:I mentioned a possible O'Connell paper to Harriet Wheelock - she just smiled!
Thank you, Lucille ! I'll take that smile as a possible indication that Harriet has already considered the project or is amenable to thinking about doing it. You have to understand that, going back to the era of the Liberator's birth in the 1770s, his O'Connells were having 20 children in one family, repeatedly using the same names (lots of Daniels and Maurices) and some were marrying other O'Connells of the same lineage. To attempt an authoritative chart is to risk putting one's self on the path to insanity. So, you were in effect suggesting to Harriet that she spend endless hours of research with an uncertain result. That she didn't frown or look startled that you brought to her that thankless task -- that's good ! Now she knows the broader gen. public would like to have the benefit of such research. She is in just the right place to do it.

S.C.

marymp
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Re: John Purcell Born 1856

Post by marymp » Sun Jun 23, 2013 5:19 pm

I joined familysearch.org in the last few days but without much success to date
The parents of Dr.John Purcell were Matthew Purcell and Mary Molony /Moloney (words tended to be spelt phonetically at that time.)
They had eight children four boys and four girls. Their family home was called Bauroe House and they were into farming.

My brother has a copy of the Register of Medical doctors of GB 1904 and the following entry mentions him

John Purcell Edinburgh Royal College of Physicians 1878 and Edinburgh Royal College of Surgeons 1878.
His brother Matthew also has an entry in the same publication
Matthew Purcell M.D Master Surgery 1887 R. University of Ireland. At that time he was in Elliot Eastern Cape, South Africa where he died a short time later.

My grandfather was called William and was the father of Mattie.

The Catherine Purcell that you refer to was the aunt of John Purcell and sister of Matthew Purcell my great grand father.

Barryt17
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Re: John Purcell Born 1856

Post by Barryt17 » Sun Jun 23, 2013 5:26 pm

Hello Mary, we now know the names of Johns parents were Matthew and Anne and Matthews parents were Jack and Mary (Redden).

Any other family details from your granddads family, dates etc.

Barry
Last edited by Barryt17 on Tue Jul 16, 2013 5:14 pm, edited 3 times in total.

marymp
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Re: John Purcell Born 1856

Post by marymp » Sun Jun 23, 2013 5:42 pm

My late father was very interested in history and was very knowledgeable on family records and most of my information came from him.
John and Matthew were the exception as a hundred years most people settled down in close proximity to their place of birth.
Their other two brothers were Denis and my grandfather William. I was always aware of the Silsden connection and one of my cousins visited Mattie Purcell in the early seventies.

pwaldron
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Re: John Purcell Born 1856

Post by pwaldron » Sun Jun 23, 2013 7:13 pm

marymp, I've sent you a private message, which you can read by following the link at the top left hand corner of this window.

pwaldron
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Re: John Purcell Born 1856

Post by pwaldron » Sun Jun 23, 2013 7:30 pm

Barryt17, so far on this thread we have about four different names for the father of Dr. John Purcell of Silsden: John the miner, Matthew the farmer, Neil the mistranscription and Edward.

As I said before, if you scan or photograph the doctor's marriage certificate, which you said some time ago that you have, and attach the image to your next message here, then we will all know for certain which of these four names are correct, and then perhaps some of us will be able to give you some assistance.

If you leave us all in the dark, then none of us will be able to help.

We know that there were several John Purcells in Feakle. Were there possibly also two or more different John Purcells in Silsden?

The Mayors of Bradford in 1917 were Abram Peel and John Bland according to
http://www.bradford.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres ... Mlist2.pdf
Was one of them married to Anne Purcell?

Barryt17
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Re: John Purcell Born 1856

Post by Barryt17 » Sun Jun 23, 2013 8:59 pm

The marriage certificate is now 3 weeks overdue and i will let you see a copy for sure.

One thing is for sure, John Bland was the sister of Dr. Johns wife, Alice Bland, who was born in Skipton in 1864.

Mary has put me straight on his parentage, my only gap is his DoB, which i had as 1865.

Everything i have from Johns university in Scotland, onward ties in.

Thanks for the interest.
Last edited by Barryt17 on Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

pwaldron
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Re: John Purcell Born 1856

Post by pwaldron » Mon Jun 24, 2013 6:32 pm

Thanks, Barry.

Who then are the "John and Mary Ellen" whose marriage certificate you referred to in your message of May 20 above?

Paddy

Barryt17
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Re: John Purcell Born 1856

Post by Barryt17 » Mon Jun 24, 2013 7:32 pm

John and Mary Ellen were the parents of John Purcell, the only problem was it was the wrong John Purcell.

Mary put me straight regarding the correct one, and i have also located the Dr. John Purcell i was looking for, great nephew.

I have sent off about 3 weeks ago for Johns marriage cert but it has still not come yet, when it does i will send you a copy, if i can work out how to do it.

Thanks Paddy

Linda Klassen-Brown
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Re: John Purcell Born 1856

Post by Linda Klassen-Brown » Tue Jun 25, 2013 8:49 am

Hi all

So sorry for the delay in responding to this thread – so annoying when life gets in the way of research!!

Yes, Paddy Waldron is right I do have a Catherine Purcell (my husbands gg grandmother) whose father is John (or Jack or perhaps John but known as Jack?) Purcell. I have been fortunate that much of the info I have has been supported by ‘proof’ but not all. With regard to Catherine Purcell, research was done on behalf of one of the McDonnell cousins by Clare Heritage Centre and they found the following information:

No birth or marriage records of a George McDonnell & Catherine Purcell in church records (both events were too early records were not kept) BUT an entry in the Clare Journal Newspaper of the time had the following details:

George McDonnell of Broadford was shown to have married Catherine Purcell of Baurroe, Feakle on 7th February 1842. While there was no information given in relation to George McDonnell’s parents, Catherine Purcell was shown to have been the daughter of John Purcell of Baurroe Feakle.

In addition, Uncle George McDonnell of Dublin has also been doing some research and I was sent (via a McDonnell cousin who visited him in 2012) a handwritten document detailing his information on the Purcell connection. What I do not know is what, if any, proof he has for what he has documented. (I have attempted to attach this document)

An extract from the cousin’s email is below:

[He (Uncle George McDonnell) was working on making a connection through Katherine Purcell, daughter of Jack Purcell who was born in Caher in 1759 and married Mary Redden of Tuamgraney. It seems Jack Purcell was the grand nephew of General David Purcell (sometimes referred to as Major General) who fought in the battle of the Boyne in with King James and also the siege of Limerick of 1651 and was executed along with Bishop O'Brien. The Bishop was beatified in 1992. Uncle George feels of course that the General should also be beatified and then said "Imagine ... descended from a saint!! "

Unfortunately we don't have any genealogically acceptable proof but it is definitely intriguing! I have attached what Uncle George gave me but I haven't been able to prove any of this. The writing at the top left corner is a little difficult so I've "translated" it below ...

"General David Purcell born in Normandy France. Served in wars of Germany. Fought in the battle of the Boyne & Aughrim with King James - He was executed with Bishop O'Brien at the Siege of Limerick 1651! - Jack Purcell - his Grand Nephew!"]

Now in my mind, this raises more questions than it actually answered! I am hoping to travel to Ireland sometime this year time permitting and will (amongst many other things) speak to Uncle George to find out more about John/Jack Purcell.

If anyone wants to get a link to my family tree website I will need your name and email address.

Linda
Attachments
Possible Link to General Purcell.pdf
(22.97 KiB) Downloaded 517 times

Barryt17
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Re: John Purcell Born 1856

Post by Barryt17 » Tue Jun 25, 2013 10:48 am

Many thanks for all that Linda, i do hope it opens a can of worms and the relationship with Major General Jack Purcell can be proven, it would then make the John i am researching a second or third cousin possibly twice removed, but hey, related all the same. :lol:
Catherine Purcell was the sister of Matthew Purcell the father of Dr John Purcell and his 7 brothers and sisters, also from Bauroe House, Bauroe, Feakle.

Paddy Casey
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Re: John Purcell Born 1856

Post by Paddy Casey » Tue Jun 25, 2013 11:28 am

Linda Klassen-Brown wrote:......"General David Purcell born in Normandy France. Served in wars of Germany. Fought in the battle of the Boyne & Aughrim with King James - He was executed with Bishop O'Brien at the Siege of Limerick 1651! - Jack Purcell - his Grand Nephew!"

Now in my mind, this raises more questions than it actually answered!

Linda
Indeed, Linda, indeed ! To fight at the Battle of the Boyne (1690) after being executed at the Siege of Limerick in 1651 is quite an achievement. There were at least five sieges of Limerick (1642, 1650, 1690, 1691, and 1922). Maybe he or his ghost turned up at the wrong siege. :-))

Paddy

Barryt17
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Re: John Purcell Born 1856

Post by Barryt17 » Mon Jul 08, 2013 8:02 am

[quote="pwaldron"].
As I said before, if you scan or photograph the doctor's marriage certificate,

As requested Paddy a copy of the marriage certificate.
Two things strike me from the certicicate, one, his birth year which would now be around 1861 and not the 1865 i had in my mind, still no details at all on his 4 sisters, names etc.

Secondly he married in a Church of England Church and with his strong Roman Catholic views must have meant he had great love for Alice.

The only saving grace is the church of St. Andrews he married in has the longest Saxon aisle in England and dates back to the year 1,000, one can imagine him swaggering down the aisle with his new bride on his arm for all to see.
Attachments
Scan0005.jpg
Marriage Certificate of Dr. John Purcell & Alice Bland 1882
Scan0005.jpg (582.81 KiB) Viewed 26274 times

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