This St. Patrick's Day blog post is dedicated to the Irish ancestors who lived in Maidstone, Essex, Kent (Ontario) and Detroit, Michigan.
Below is an excerpt from the book, "Detroit is my home town" written by Malcolm W. Bingay (editorial director and columnist at the Detroit Free Press) in 1946 and found on the Internet Archive.
In the book are tales from Corktown Detroit and the song below is presented as follows:
Essex County Irish
Some Essex county (Ontario) Irish surnames
compiled here by Victoria Penner
https://alifeinessexcounty.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/essex-county-irish-part-1/ and some of my Irish ancestor's surnames added. The source for some of the surnames is
"Commemorative biographical record of the county of Essex, Ontario : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and many of the early settled families"
Askin – came to Sandwich in the late 1700s
Atkin – originally English but fled to Ireland during the time of Cromwell. Came to Essex County in 1840 from County Wexford.
Beacom – County Fermanagh. Came to Mersea Township in 1853 after several years in Quebec (the family arrived in Canada in 1841)
Brett - County Sligo,
Ireland in 1826 and came to North America
Brien – Fermanagh, Ireland. Came to Essex in 1846.
Burke – Mary Ann (came from Montreal and married John LaMarsh).
Brennan - County Kerry arrived in 1853
Broderick - County Clare - came across the Atlantic 1843
Catherwood – first came to Peel County, then bought land in Colchester North in 1887.
Cleary – County Fermanagh – came to Montreal first, then to Windsor in 1841.
Cowan – Northern Ireland, County unknown – came to Mersea about 1842
Curry – Northern Ireland – came to Windsor in 1838.
Gardiner – came from Ireland in the early 1800s and
originally settled in New York State. Son James Gardiner moved to
Canada, eventually settling in Chatham in 1870.
Golden – County Sligo, Ireland. The Goldens of
Ireland were originally English but were forced to flee to Ireland
during the time of Cromwell. Came to Anderdon in approximately 1850.
Hanna – first came to Lanark County from Ireland in 1820. Came to Essex County in 1884.
Henderson – Ernest – came to Canada in 1883 from Ireland where he worked for the Great Northern Railroad of Ireland.
Hincks (Rev. John Perrot Hincks) – Dublin and
Belfast. Came to Canada in 1860 and to Windsor in 1880 as rector of All
Saints Anglican.
Kenning – came to Canada in 1834, didn’t move to Essex County until 1887.
McCarthy – County Cork. Came to Sandwich South about 1839.
McHugh – from County Cavan, Ireland. Came to Maidstone in 1840.
McKeough – from Ballymackeough, Tipperary. Came to
Paris Ontario in 1829, settled in Chatham sometime thereafter (the
source book includes some Kent county settlers too so I will include
them here)
McCormick – County Down and Belfast. Originally the
McCormicks came to the British American colonies back in the early
1700s. Came to Colchester South in 1795. There have also been
McCormicks on Pelee Island.
McNamara – Mary – born in 1822 in Ireland — Married Leonard Scratch (Kratz) of Gosfield.
Miller – Louise – married into the Vermette family.
Mooney – came to Sandwich South in 1836 after 15 years living in Valcartier Quebec. Home county in Ireland unknown.
Moynahan - County Kerry arrived in 1828, first staying in Pennsylvania for three years
O’Connor – originally came to Boston in 1824, settling up in Canada in Maidstone in the 1830s.
Osborn – Jane – Dublin – married to Walter Atkin, came with him in 1840.
Wilkinson – County Tyrone, originally, then Virginia. Came to Malden in 1801. (likely a loyalist)
The Maidstone Cross was erected in the year 2000 to commemorate the the 150th anniversary of the devastating famine in Ireland 1845-1852. The Irish family surnames engraved on the Maidstone Cross helped build St. Mary's Parish.
Surnames Appearing on the Maidstone Cross
ALLEN, AUSTIN, BARRETT, BARRY, BATTERSBY, BEAHAN,
BRADY, BRAZILL, BRENNAN, BRODERICK, BROWN, BURKE,
BUTLER, BRYNEE, CAHILL, CARROLL, CASEY, CHITTLE,
CLANCY, COLE, COLLINS, CONNELLY,CONROY,CONWAY,
COSTIGAN, CRONIN, CUNNINGHAM,CURNEYN, DALY, DANIBER,
DAUGHTERY, DAWSON, DEEHAN, DELANEY, DENNISON, DEVLIN,
DILLON, DIXON, DOLAN, DONAGHUE, DONNELLY, DONOVAN,
DOOLEY, DORAN, DOWNING,DOYLE,DRISCOLL, DUNN, FAHEY,
FALLON, FARRELL, FERRY, FIELDS, FITZGERALD,
FITZPATRICK, FLANAGAN, FLANNERY, FURLONG, GALLAGHER,
GAUGHAN, GEARY, GRAHAM, GRANT, GREEN, GREENAWAY,
HALEY, HALFORD, HAMILTON, HAUGH, HAYES,
HEALY, HENCHEY, HENNESSEY, HENRY, HICKEY, HIGGINS,
HOGAN, HOULIBAN, HUGHES, HURLEY, JONES, KANE,
KAVANAGH, KEANE, KEATING, KELLY, KENNY, KILROY,
KIRBY, LANE, LARKIN, LAVIN, LENNON, LYNCH, LYONS,
MAHER, MAHON, MAHONEY, MARKHAM,MARTIN, McAULIFFE,
McCANN, McCARTHY, McCLOSKEY, McCOY, McDONALD,
McGUIGAN, McGUIRE, McHUGH, McINTYRE, McKEON,
McLAUGHLIN, McLEAN, McMAHON, McNALLY, McNAMARA,
McPHARLIN, MITCHEL, MOONEY, MORAN, MORTIN,
MOYNAHAN, MULLINS,MURPHY, NANGLE, NOLAN,
O'BRIEN, O'CALLAGHAN, O'CONNELL, O'CONNOR,
O'DONNELL, O'FLYNN, O'GORMAN, O'HALLORAN, O'KEEFE,
O'NEIL, O'RILEY, O'SULLIVAN, POWERS, QUINLAN,
REYNOLDS, ROBINSON, RUDDEN, RYAN, SAVAGE,
SCULLEY, SEXTON, SHANAHAN, SHEEHAN, SHEENAN,
SHERIDAN, SLATTERY, SMITH, SMYTHE, SWEENY, TIERNAN,
TWOMEY, WALSH, WARD
As the song says,
"A great many of them,
As you know, passed away,
But we reverence their memory
On their Patron's Saint's Day.
Each day of the year,
when the bell tolls,
Just say a few prayers,
For the repose of their souls."
