DNA Update--Shea genes

     Last summer I mentioned DNA results linking our family to Patricia Lindquist.  After some research I found out that she is deceased.
     A while later, I received an email from Patricia's sister, Mary Hayden Carlson with the following information:

I have been working on the family history for years, where you write or call relatives to get their information...I am related to Monsignor Ambrose Hayden.  My father's sister Marie Hayden McGinnis, daughter of Michael T. Hayden and Mary Ann Voegele, told me Hanorah's mother was Mary O'Shea Reardon.  She said some believe that her name was Mary Sullivan Reardon--then said to me "Do not believe it!"

 She further supplied info from her Aunt Marie:

     My grandmother Hannorah O'Reardon (Riordan) Hayden, had 6 cousins from County Cork--2 girls and 4 boys by the name of Shea (Shay).  They came to Minnesota and lived around Le Sueur, St. Thomas, and Le Center.  Apparently they lived in the same area as the O'Reardons in Millstreet and it is said they were all so close and more like brothers and sisters than cousins to the O'Reardons. 
      One of the girls, Mary married Moses Murphy.  They were grandparents of Sister Mary Kilduff and Hazel Green who went to St. Joseph's Academy when I did.  Hazel Green's (married name Trumper) mother, Lizzie Murphy was Sister Mary Kilduff's aunt.
    Timonty Reardon (Riordan) married Mary Shay (born 1811, died 18 May 1871, Le Sueur MN.  She is buried in the Mike Feeney lot in Calvary Cemetery. They had at least eight children:1. Mary2. Johanna3. Hannorah4. Ellen5. Katherine6. John7. Jeremiah8. Denis

So, I was one of those that surmised Mary Riordan's maiden name may have been Sullivan.  It is great to get some info much closer to the source!!

It has not been much of a Genealogical Summer...

There hasn't been much genealogical activity on my part this summer.  There was an occasional flurry of activity on Ancestry, but not much other research getting done.

Moses Murphy

On the DNA front, I upgraded the O'Connell DNA and there were more mismatches with Daniel O'Connell that makes us now unrelated.  Not sure how that works.  I'm going to have to talk to somebody who knows more about it. The other fun in the DNA word is that I upgraded the Burns DNA to Family Finder and there have been a few hits.  Family Finder looks at both sides-maternal and paternal.  So far, only one hit seems to go anywhere in terms knowing how we may be related.  A woman in Australia is a Murphy descendant from County Wexford and it is possible that her ancestor is a relative of Moses Murphy! Another woman, Patricia Lindkvist, is a 2nd-3rd cousin possibility. I emailed this woman, but no response.  Doing a little digging, there is a possible Patricia Lindkvist, who died last year, that is a possible distant relative. In fact this was interesting, because I traced her back to the Haydens.  In our family, there has always been the "we are related to" Monsignor Ambrose Hayden.  It is known that Hanorah Reardon married Michael Hayden. For a while, there was a working theory that Mary Riordan/Reardon, mother of Hanorah may have been a sister of  Ellen Sullivan Shea, who was the mother of Mary Shea, wife of Moses. Since this post was originally written, contact with Patricia's family has clarified that Mary Riordan's maiden name was Shea. (correction, 8 Nov 2014--also see this blog on 23 Feb 2012)  Anyway, Patricia shares a lot of DNA with Tom--more than I would expect from this distant of a relationship.  More avenues to follow!

Moses Murphy was born about 1831 in County Wexford according to his gravestone.  He was in New York State by approximately 1856 or '57 because it is presumed that he married Mary Shea about that time.  He does appear in the 1860 NY Federal Census in Easton Township, Washington County.  At that time, Mary his wife, Mary Ellen and Hannah (daughters) also appear.  Ellen "Shoo" as it was spelled on the census was living with them--Ellen Shea--Mary's mother.

By the 1865 Minnesota Census, the Moses Murphy family was living in Derrynane. Their children were Mary Ellen (Kilduff), Hannah (Burns), Elizabeth (Green), Catherine (Cullen), Bridget (Hickey), John & Thomas (never married),Agnes (O'Neill) and Cecelia (Weldon).

Moses died in 1887.

Moses also had 2 brothers who lived in Le Sueur County.  Michael Murphy married Mary Ellen Thornton. Their children were John, Thomas, Moses, James and Mary Ann.  Michael died fairly young in 1878 and his wife married Michael Lavery.  Only Thomas had a biological child that I can find.  James adopted the daughter of Christopher Shea after Christopher's wife died.

His other brother was Martin Murphy.  When he died, he was described as Moses Murphy's youngest brother.  Martin was born about 1845, so I'm sure there must have been more children in between besides Michael.  Martin married Mary McCourtney in 1870.  Mary died in 1875.  Martin died in 1889.

"I have called you by name, you are Mine." Isaiah 43

     The Irish often followed a naming pattern when giving their children names. You can see this play out in Ma's family. The children in the family are Mary Alice, Ann Mary (Ma), John, James and Dorothy.

The pattern is:
Sons
1st son was named after the father's father
2nd son was named after the mother's father
3rd son was named after the father
4th son was named after the father's eldest brother
5th son was named after the mother's eldest brother

Daughters
1st daughter was named after the mother's mother
2nd daughter was named after the father's mother
3rd daughter was named after the mother
4th daughter was named after the mother's sister
5th daughter was names after the father's sister

Ma's parents were David O'Connell and Margaret Doherty. David's parents were John G. O'Connell and Mary Ann Pyles. Margaret's parents were James Doherty and Ann Heatherston. Now, when you get to Dorothy, by tradition, she should have been named Margaret. The mother has the option of giving this daughter another name she likes. Colette Keniry used this option. When she got to the third daughter, she named her Fidelma. 

The pattern isn't exact in the James Doherty family. His parents were Hugh Doherty and Sarah Evans. Ann's parents were Richard Heatherston and Roseann Lynch. The children in this family were Sarah, Richard, Rose, Margaret, Hugh, Mary, Matthew, Samuel and Michael. It would be understandable that the name Richard preempted Hugh because Ann's father died about 1867, so it the first son may have been named after him. The next son is named after James' dad. Matthew is a brother of Ann. Both Ann and James have a brother Michael. Margaret is an older sister of Ann. At least the names are mostly in the family. The name that is puzzling is Samuel Henry.

Of course, this was not set in stone. If a child dies, you will often find another child given the same name in order for there to be a living namesake. Sometimes the pattern wasn't followed at all. If someone in the family died, a child could be named after that person, altering the pattern.

I remember Mom saying that her father wanted to name her Bridget. This would have followed the pattern for his mother's name was Bridget Whalen Hogan. None of the children were named according to the pattern, though Catherine had her mother's name and Uncle Jimmy had his father's first name.

One of my favorite stories is about all the Timothys in the Burns family. There were a lot of Tims. They were given nick names like "Old Tim", "Big Tim" and Timothy Q.

To differentiate people, names were often combined. There was a woman called Ceily Dick. Her name was Cecelia Kilduff Byrne. Her husband was Richard Byrne--thus her identifier. In Ireland, sometimes the nicknames would indicate the father. There is a Timmy Patsy Herlihy--his father is Patrick. There is a Jehr Billy--his father is William Herlihy. There is also Thad Jack--you guessed it--his father is John Herlihy.