James O'Connell, Cappalaheen, Kilkishen, East Clare

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smcarberry
Posts: 1281
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 4:31 pm
Location: USA

James O'Connell, Cappalaheen, Kilkishen, East Clare

Post by smcarberry » Tue Jun 26, 2007 12:57 pm

Joan Williams has posted on another list:
"Margaret O'HALLORAN married to James O'CONNELL - daughter Ellen born Cappalaheen, Co. Clare c. 1833 - Ellen travelled in 1854 on the Almora with other govt. immigrant and was employed by John Joyce of Tower Hill, then near Belfast, later named Port Fairy. Ellen married Patrick Sheedy in Victoria, Aust. 1855."

My posting today--

I have spent the last 15 years pursuing my Clare family except for the Connell part, since I knew so little about my Ann Connell who married Michael Donnellan of Clashduff, had three children with known birth years, and was last reported alive as widow Donnellan during a Dec 1849 eviction. Now, thanks to Bill O'Connell of Glastonbury CT, I have a classic diaspora story of James O'Connell of Cappalaheen, who I suppose is Ann's brother or first cousin. Some of the family stayed on the Cappalaheen farm at least through the early 1900s. When I visited Kilkishen in 1998, I wrote down the gravestone inscriptions which match the names and dates in Bill O'Connell's 18-page handwritten account preserved in his family, which he sent to me today in a pdf. Below is some of that, which confirms that James O'Connell's first wife, not named but who was Margaret O'Halloran, never left Kilkishen. Unfortunately when I was at the GRO in Dublin, although I spent a full day copying out Connell deaths, the earliest book available that day was 1874, too late for James's death in about 1869.

Sharon Carberry
USA

An account by Kate Dooling O'Connell:

"The home of the O'Connell family for over a century is a town land called Cappalahine, Kilkishen...The head of this family was James O'Connell, he having received a lease of this land from the Great Daniel O'Connell...He was married twice. His first family were two boys and two girls, one of the boys dying in early manhood. His name was John.

The other boy, Patrick, was in San Francisco in the late 60's with a [half] brother named Thomas [the son of Johanna Maroney O'Connell]. Patrick went out in the country to work in the harvest fields during the summer and was never heard of after. It was supposed he got sick and died after a few days sickness, as it was through he would have communicated with his brother Tom if it were possible, as he always had Tom's address.

Ellen went to Australia in the year 1855. She married a Mr. Sheedy and had a family of twelve children. Her address was Warmambole, Victoria, Australia. She had a daughter married to a man by the name Kane.

Mary when last heard from was somewhere in Canada.

These were his children by his first wife, she dying while these children were quite young.

....

James, the eldest son [of the second wife], as the custom is in Ireland, got the estate. He married Kate Cotter, had quite a family, but all remained in Ireland."

Another part of the account says about a brother of James:

"John O'Connell...was born on the old homestead Cappalaheen...on the 16th of July, 1855...His father died when he was about 14 years old...His sister Catherine married Maurice O'Connell, nephew of the great Daniel O'Connell. Maurice got his fortune, something like $25,000 so they came to the U.S. and John came with them, about the year '71 They settled in New haven, where their brother [Michael, Bill's great-grandfather] was."

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