There were the Brennans, the Downings, the Mahoneys, the Moynahans, the O'Connells, the O'Connors, the O'Falveys, the O'Sullivans and the Shuells to name a few of the Kerry Irish families who ALL chose Maidstone (aka "The Irish Settlement") for their new home in the early 1800s.
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| Source: The Windsor Star; July 10, 1982 |
"In 1823, the settlers cleared an area,
built a log church and called it St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church"
(Source: The Windsor Star; July 10, 1982)
A Kerry Woman
Welcomes Weary Travelers To Essex County
I love the story of the Kerry woman (born O'Sullivan "at the "Cross Roads " in County Kerry") who lived with her second husband Dr. John O'Falvey at Lot 5 on the Middle Road in Maidstone next to my 3rd great-grandfather Denis Moynahan who lived on Lot 6.
She died in 1884 and here is her obituary:
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| The Amherstburg Echo; 12 Dec 1884 |
"Maidstone: The wife of Dr. John P. O'Falvey of Maidstone departed this life on Wednesday morning 3rd inst. after a residence in Maidstone of fifty-nine years.
She was born at Cross Roads, County Kerry, Ireland on the 3rd day of March 1808 and was eighty-nine years and nine months old.
She was the sister of Captain Eugene O'Sullivan who was lost in the ill-fated ship Maria Joseph in 1844 while conveying colonists from St. Malo, France to the Pacific coast whose estate deceased has been claiming and to which she is legal heiress.
She was also first cousin to the Hon. Judge John O'Connor and was a descendant of a very highly respected family in Kerry.
She was universally respected by all her friends and neighbours and many weary travelers hungry and footsore she relieved in those days when Maidstone was nothing but a wild forest when she settled there with her first husband in 1825. Her house was always open to the wayfarer and the traveler. She leaves a large family to mourn her loss."
The Amherstburg Echo obituary (above) does not indicate her name but we know she was born Sullivan because she was "sister of Captain Eugene O'Sullivan".
I did a quick search of ancestry.ca for O'Falvey 1884 and found a photograph of her beautiful headstone at St. Mary's cemetery (Maidstone, Ontario) where I learned that her name was Margret.
The last census that she would have appeared on (1881) confirms that
her name was Margaret and that her husband Dr. John O'Falvey who was the coroner and 25 years her junior!. There is also a Lawrence Costigan (born 1846) living with them.
Margaret lived in Maidstone, Ontario for fifty-nine years (1825-1884)
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| Photo taken by J.Meloche for CanadaGenWeb; St. Mary's Cemetery, Maidstone, Ontario |
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Source Citation: Diocese of London (Ontario); London, Ontario; Ancestry.com. Ontario, Canada, Roman Catholic Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1760-1923 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017. |
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| Source: Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1881 Census of Canada [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.; 1881; Census Place: Maidstone, Essex, Ontario; Roll: C_13281; Page: 85; Family No: 391 |
There are so many other details contained in this one obituary that would be wonderful to research in more detail. For now, I picture a smiling Kerry woman, welcoming weary travelers with a warm cup of tea and a soft seat near a warm fire.
It seems almost poetic that Margaret left the Cross Roads in Kerry to live her life at Maidstone Cross in Essex county, Ontario.
From the Cross Road Village of Kerry Ireland
to the
Maidstone Cross, Ontario
I was delighted to locate an historic photo of Margaret's "Cross Road Village, Kenmare, Kerry" that is part of the Lawrence Collection, which holds 40,000 glass-plate negatives taken between 1870 and 1910.
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| Source: Ancestry.com. Ireland, Lawrence Collection of photographs, 1870 - 1910 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. |
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| Source: http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000322734 |
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| Source: "The History of Maidstone Cross" (page 5/26); author unknown |
Maidstone Cross
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| Source: SC Rewind |
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| Source: SC Rewind: An artist's rendering of the old Maidstone General Store and Post Office by Harold Burton |
In my next post on "The Kerry Folk of Maidstone" I hope to learn more about Mararet's husband Dr. J.P.W, O'Falvey
His name is mentioned as coroner on some interesting cases in Essex county and, based on the Detroit Free Press article below, he may have a little of the Kerryman sense of humour that would make for some interesting stories.
Stay Tuned.
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| Source: The Detroit Free Press; 19 Oct 1858; Page 1 |
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| Source: The Detroit Free Press; 3 Dec 1882; Page6 |
My Great Great Grandfather came from County Kerry. His name was Dennis Downing (Downey when he was in Ireland) He was granted land in Oldcastle, lot 302 and was one of the early founders of St. Mary's Church in Maidstone. We live on the original 100 acres.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful - I thought that I had responded earlier to your comments but it looks as thought the comments did not appear!
DeleteMy grandfather was James O'Connor descended from Jeremiah O'Connor of Cork Ireland. James and his family lived in Pickering, Ontario but one of Jeremiah's children was Fr. John O'Connor who was parish priest at Maidstone, Essex County. He died comparatively young in 1890. i got this info from a book, Past Years Of Pickering.
ReplyDeleteFather O’Connor was well known and loved. Thanks so much for sharing!
DeleteI came across an article discussing the death of Maurice Butler Feb 18, 1857 while he was felling trees on the south side of lot 5, south middle road, Maidstone. Same land as the doctor? He left behind a wife and several children. I found a Maidstone record for Honora Butler who married Patrick Sullivan in 1860. Honora was the daughter of Maurice Butler and Ellen Fitzgerald. Do you show Maurice Butler in any of your maps or records? I would love info on him because he’s a Maidstone Butler we didn’t know about.
ReplyDeleteI do come across Butlers frequently and will pay closer attention. Thanks so much for directing my attention and sharing the story of Maurice’s tragic death.
Delete