The Thomas of Cork - Found At Last!

In 1900, eighty-seven year-old Timothy Moynahan (1813-1902) sat on his Mercer St. (Windsor, Essex, Ontario) porch for a Detroit Free Press photographer to take his photograph. Speaking with a "bit of the brogue - just enough of the rippling dialect of the Kerry man" Timothy described his journey from Ireland to the Americas when he "was 9 years of age" in the 1820s.

 Detroit Free Press Detroit, Michigan 25 Nov 1900, Sun  •  Page 37

I first located this news article in the 1980s in the Detroit Public Library - Burton Collection and I was delighted to learn of the details of the voyage,  

"The Thomas of Cork, Captain Bamfield , master, was the ship upon which we sailed. She was an old war remnant, as slow as molasses in January and the trip occupied six weeks and three days."

"A lonely voyage it would have been too if it had not been for the fact that there were sixty-two women, a flute player and a piper aboard. The women were wives of soldiers that were serving the crown in this country, and they were coming over to join their husbands."

"Between the women and the musicians, the time passed pleasantly. The piper was an untiring Highlander, and he succeeded in driving all the rats from the old schooner. The music of the Scotch bagpipes will do that same you know.” 

For over thirty years I have searched every emigrant index in the hope of finding the ship "The Thomas of Cork" or the Captain "Bamfield" to no avail until this week when I found this advertisement on "Find My Past - Irish Newspapers"

 

Moynahan Bowling Stories

One of my favourite parts of family history research is collecting stories from family members. 

Recently I came across a newspaper clipping about my grandmother Rhea (Coughlin) Moynahan (1902-1992) bowling in 1952. (The newspaper refers to her as Mrs. Ernest Moynahan as was the practice in the 1950s)

The next time I spoke with my father on the phone, I said, "I didn't know Grandma Moynahan was bowling when she was fifty years old, and that she won trophies and was the Vice-President of her bowling League!" (In the final paragraph, it is reported that she was elected President at the banquet!)

CLIPPED FROM The Windsor Star  Windsor, Ontario, Canada 06 Jun 1952, Fri  •  Page 35

My father said, "Yes, she was very involved in the Catholic Women's League at Immaculate Conception parish and they organized a 5-pin women's bowling league at the Wyandotte Bowling Alley." 

He added, "And I bet you didn't know that my brother John and I worked as pin-boys at the St Angela Merici bowling alley that was in the basement of the church and that John organized a pin-boy strike there for higher wages."

I wanted to learn more about the Moynahans and bowling in Windsor, Ontario in the 1940s and 1950s.

September 2021 Conference

The BRITISH ISLES FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY OF GREATER OTTAWA will be hosting a virtual conference “Irish Lines and Female Finds” exploring Irish records, female ancestors and genetic genealogy. (Only $45 for the week) September 19-26, 2021 Link: https://bifhsgo2021.ca

I am pleased to announce that I will be participating in one of several virtual breakout rooms (under “Conference Connect”) Tuesday afternoon and Thursday night to discuss “Female Ancestors”.

Link: https://bifhsgo2021.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Conference-Connect-program-12-Sept.pdf

National Grandparents Day 2021

Grandparents Day is celebrated in various countries and on various dates around the world. In North America it is celebrated on the first Sunday in September following Labour Day. 

The official flower for Grandparents Day is the Forget-Me-Not which echoes the work of genealogists and family historians who aim to record, preserve and share our ancestors stories. Grandparents are key in helping genealogists build family trees and understanding cousin relationships.

“Grandparenthood” is a universal status that has changed throughout human history. These days, grandparents are likely to be healthier, wealthier and longer-lived than ever before. In some cultures, grandparents live with grandchildren and play an active and direct role while in other cultures, grandparents step in when needed and called upon.

I was lucky to have known all four of my beloved grandparents:

1. Rhea (Coughlin) Moynahan (1902-1992) who made the best date squares, sewed summer tops for her grandchildren, wrote each of her grandchildren's names on vintage metal drinking glasses, and had cousins play penny and dice games on her kitchen table, etc
   
2. Ernest Joseph Moynahan (1900-1974) who had strong hands, smoked a sweet-smelling tobacco, would give the grandchildren pocket change to go to the corner store and would listen to Detroit baseball games on his transistor radio sitting on his Marentette Avenue veranda, etc
   
3. Dorothy (Moreland) Creighton (1909-2000) who told us about our England connection, stories about Halifax, crocheted and knitted slippers, scarves, mitts and doilies, made the best English trifle, etc
   
4. Frederick Douglas Creighton (1907-1996) who worked at the Halifax shipyards, loved playing cards (especially cribbage), quizzed his grandchildren with questions about life, etc

Below is a vintage movie taken on a visit to our Moynahan grandparents home in Windsor, Ontario. These visits were always filled with much happiness, love, laughter and so many good memories. (YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaqEVyq2NAQ ) 

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By sharing family stories, grandparents can be key in building resilience in their grandchildren ... especially when they share " the stories about the hard stuff endured by our ancestors (like "we came here with nothing"). Hearing about our ancestor's setbacks and losses (and how they got through them) can be a "secret super power" for children when they have to overcome some inevitable obstacle in their life." (Source: "Telling My Settler Stories")