Kerry Chronicles: Nohoval Cemetery

In 2019, our brother Patrick Moynahan sponsored our very first trip to Ireland so that we could walk in the footsteps of our ancestors. Back home in Canada, our research has continued and the stories we find are being shared under the banner "The Kerry Chronicles".

My brother Patrick at the Rathmore cemetery in Kerry, Ireland in spring of 2019

Our visit to three cemeteries in Kerry, Ireland was unplanned. Nohoval Cemetery was the third cemetery we visited, wildly overgrown and extremely difficult to walk through. 

 

The three cemeteries in Ireland that we visited in 2019

 

We found many more Moynihans / "Moynahans" on that 2019 visit.

Since then, I have learned some new facts that I wished that I would have known before our visit ... and that I want to share now.

My brother inspects the headstone of Daniel D. Moynihan of Shinnagh Aged 92 (1816-1908) and his beloved wife Annie (Buckley) Moynihan (1826-1900)

I have pulled from many sources to write this Nohoval cemetery blog post: photographs from our 2019 Ireland trip; the Casey Collection known as “O'Kief, Coshe Mang, Slieve Lougher and the Upper Blackwater"; The Irish National Folklore Collection; Ancestry Trees and information from paternal atDNA and Y-DNA  testing results.

Remember Them November 11

My genealogical research has provided me with many details about the role that many of my ancestors played in the two world wars as well as wars prior to the First World War. I try to imagine the impact this military service had on the ancestors as well as their families at home.

• A widow in Windsor awaits word after being notified that her only son, Leo Joseph Martin Broderick, is missing in action after his plane was shot down over Germany. He never made it home to Windsor, Ontario and is buried in Durnbach War Cemetery, Germany.
  
• A young man, James Coveny, enlists at eighteen years of age naming his sixteen year old sister as his only next of kin. Probably due to his skill with horses, he is assigned to the 5th Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles. He arrived in England in May 1916 and while riding through Remy Wood on his horse August 1918 he was "severely wounded by shell fire", was evacuated by No.4 Field Ambulance where he died. He never made it home to Tilbury, Ontario and is buried in Achicourt Road Cemetery, France.
  

When November 11 comes every year, I remember them. The ancestors who never made it home and those who made it home and were changed forever by their experience.

This is part of Leo Joseph Martin Broderick's file that I was given for review when I visited the Library and Archives of Canada in 2014.

"Knowing about an ancestor who served (in the military) and learning about the role they played and how war impacted their life can be an emotional experience that brings relevance to Remembrance commemorations." (Lesley Anderson, spokesperson for Ancestry)

In November, the Canadian War Museum offered "Researching Family Military History: How to Start" with tips for research in each of the following four categories.

• Pre-First World War (PFWW)
  
• First World War: 1914 - 1918 (FWW)
  
• Second World War: 1939-1945 (SWW)
• Post Second World War (PSWW)
  

Do you know the names of any of your ancestors who served in any of those periods? Would you like to learn more?

A One-Name Study: The Annal Family

My Wallaceburg, Ontario Annal Family (Left to right: Back: Joe Hess, John Annal, William Annal, Gabriel Hess; Front: Mary Jane Annal, Mary (Hess) Annal, James Henry Allan Annal, unknown, Elizabeth Annal)

Lifelines Research (aka David Annal) tweeted that his "Great Aunt, Margaret Sinclair ANNAL, was born on 3 November 1904. She became the keeper of the family stories and I was always told when I asked questions about the family that Aunty Margaret would have known. Unfortunately she had died in 1973." to which I tweeted back (replied),  "I have Annals and Sinclairs in my family as well ...." 

This casual twitter exchange continued and eventually led me to David's website:  "The Annals of the Annals" which David writes: 

"Welcome to The Annals of the Annals, a website dedicated to research into the Annal surname. The site was first launched in 2002 and was relaunched in October 2017 as an 84th birthday present for my father, Eric Annal.

The aim of the site is to provide a home for the research that I’ve carried out over the past 40 years but also to act as a focal point for all researchers who have a shared interest in the name and its origins."

After looking quickly at David's website, I immediately learned that my Annal family tree is found in David's Group G of his Annal family groupings from A to P.

Today's blog post looks at what I learned today and the benefits of doing a one name (or one-surname) study such as the one David has done for the past forty years.

Creighton Trivia: Which Ancestor Played The Trumpet ?

My cousins are organizing another Creighton (Crichton) - Moreland - Melhuish family reunion for 2022 to be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia. 

I am trying to think of ways that I could contribute and I recently stumbled across the Family Search "In-Home" Activities aimed to connect younger ones with their family history and ancestors using a "Trivia Game".

This is one of the prototypes I have developed for my 2nd great-grandfather Charles Douglas Crichton who was born on the 2nd of October 1846 at South Sea Castle, Southampton, England and who died the 4th of August 1910 Halifax, Nova Scotia following a work related accident in the shipyards.

My Visit to the Wellington Archives

In October 2021 I finally visited (with my daughter) the Wellington County Museum and Archives, a trip that I was obliged to postpone for two years due to the COVID pandemic and the resultant restrictions on public activities in Ontario. On this trip, we also visited the Drayton, Ontario cemetery where ancestor William Foreman (1820-1900) is buried.

Photo taken on drive through Wellington county, Ontario (October 2021)

The beautiful drive to 0536 Wellington Rd 18, Fergus, Ontario from my daughter's Toronto apartment took close to two hours which made me wonder about the Foreman family and the conditions they must have endured traveling in the early 1800s when they chose to settle on the 11th Concession Lot 6, Township of Peel, Wellington County ( not to be confused with Peel, the County).

Reviewing Wellington County Maps at the Wellington County Museum and Archives (Oct 2021)

This report of my trip to the Wellington county archives,museums, libraries and cemeteries is in three parts:

1. The research you must do BEFORE you visit any archive or cemetery
2. The research you do while you are at the archive and/or cemetery.
3. The research you do to follow up after you’re home.

Essex County Midwife - Mary (Brennan) Moynahan

My 2nd great-grandmother Mary (Brennan) Moynahan (1841-1926) was a midwife in Essex county, Ontario according to the oral history passed down to me by my first cousins (twice removed) Bernard Broderick (1916-1992), Evelyn (Lennon) Janice (1916-2009) and Genevieve (Broderick) Wheeler (1908-2003).

Mary (Brennan) Moynahan (on the right) with unidentified woman

In a letter dated the 23rd of April 1985 to her cousin Joe Finn, Evelyn (Lennon) Janice said that she had heard from her other cousin Genevieve (Broderick) Wheeler (in California) who had lived with Jeremiah and Mary (Brennan) Moynahan (and Aunt Nellie Moynahan) for four years (likely following the death of her mother in 1919). Genvieve told Evelyn that, "grandma acted as the local midwife".

Source: Letter from Evelyn (Lennon) Janice to Joseph Finn dated 1985

This blog post describes my search for proof that the stories handed down were true and that 2nd GG Mary (Brennan) Moynahan was an Essex county midwife in the 1800s

On This Day: Frederick Dixon Foreman Was Born In 1880

I thought a lot about my husband's great grandfather Frederick Dixon Foreman (1880-1951) this month. F.D. Foreman was born on this day the 20th of October 1880 in Wellington, Ontario the first-born son of blacksmith William H. Foreman and his wife Martha (Moore).

The Foreman Family: Great-grandfather Fredrick Dixon, great-grandmother Hannah (Hegna), and four of their six children. Left Geraldine, Lola, Shirley and Don (Grandfather Donald Jennings Foreman) (Photo Source: With permission from Susan Morris granddaughter of Geraldine Foreman (1908-1974))

Also in the month of October 2021, I visited the Wellington County Museum and Archives to research my husband's 3rd great grandfather William Foreman (1820-1900) and to visit his final resting place in Drayton, Ontario's Victoria Cemetery. I will report on my findings in a separate blog post ( I am awaiting permissions to post photos).

Wellington County Museum and Archives, in Fergus, Ontario, Canada.  RR#1 Fergus, ON N1M 2W3 0536 County Road 18 (GFDL/CC-by-SA 3.0)

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 ) 

) 

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")

Four Moreland Children - Three Continents

I often refer to the four Moreland children (Jemima, Catherine, John and Mary Jane) as "orphans" but that is not entirely true.

The children's mother, (my 2nd great grandmother) Agnes Bell (Hind) Moreland died at thirty-three years-of-age in 1888 in Springburn, Glasgow, Scotland. The children's father Charles Moreland was a steam ship fireman sailing between England and Australia and away at the time of his wife's death. Agnes' aunt Mary (Bell) Weir (1825-1893) was the informant on their mother's death registration and took charge of the children in the father's absence.

Springburn, Glasgow as seen from Breeze Tower (Source: Lost Glasgow FaceBook)

Grandaunt Mary (Bell) Weir (1825-1893) would also ultimately decide the fates of the four children Jemima (11 years), Catherine "Kate" (9 years), John (7 years) and Mary Jane (5 years) and by 1914, these children would be located on three continents: North America (Canada), Europe (Scotland) and Australia.

What follows is their story of separation, reunion and many unknowns.

NEWSFLASH: British Newspaper Archive FREE

Yesterday, one million pages on the British Newspaper Archive site have become free and DO NOT require any subscription payment to view. There are 158 titles currently on offer, ranging from 1720 to 1880.

Image source: https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2021/08/09/introducing-free-to-view-pages-on-the-british-newspaper-archive/

 

Final Resting Place: John Miller Moreland (1882-1940)

   In July 2021, returning home to Ottawa from Toronto, I decided to stop and visit the Cataraqui Cemetery in Kingston, Ontario for the very first time to pay my respects to my great grandfather John Miller Moreland.

The Olympics: "Faster, Higher, Stronger"

Congratulations to Canada’s Andre De Grasse who won GOLD yesterday in the Men’s 200m with a time of 19.62 seconds making him the first Canadian to win gold in the 200m since Percy Williams in 1928!!

 

Joseph Foreman at the 1956 Olympics.

 

Most Foreman descendants are unaware that Joseph Foreman (1933-1999) also competed in the Olympics in the 200m race in 1956!

Colorizing and Animating Ancestor Photos

I recently shared an animation on social media of my 2nd great-grandmother (2nd GG) Mary (Brennan) Moynahan (1841-1926) (based on the photograph below) using MyHeritage Deep Nostalgia™, video reenactment technology

2nd GG Mary (Brennan) Moynahan (1841-1926) pictured on the right with unidentified woman. Photo Source: Frank Lyon Photo Collection

I enjoy exploring and sharing new Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications and technologies to use with my old photographs, however, nothing could prepare me for the mix of reactions I received when I animated and posted my 2nd great-grandmother Mary (Brennan) Moynahan's photo online! 

 "Not liking it.", wrote one woman. "This is awesome", wrote another. What could explain these contradictory reactions?

Black Forty-Seven: The Brodericks Atlantic Crossing

I didn't want to get my hopes up when I learned new details about my 3rd great-grandfather Michael Broderick's (1801-1889) emigration from Ireland to Canada. 

After all, Michael Broderick's obituary said that the family sailed from Ireland to Quebec in 1847. Over 400 ships sailed to Quebec in that year referred to as "a black page in the annals of the sea"! 

Rev John A Gallagher  (who wrote "The Irish Emigration of 1847 and Its Canadian Consequences") said that "The Irish themselves have written this year (1847) down as "Black Forty-Seven" -- a year black with Famine, Disease, Death and Exile from the land of their birth." Gallagher added, "The manner of transporting the Irish emigrant of '47 fills a black page in the annals of the Sea. Anything that could float or hold a sail was used to carry the emigrant across the sea. ... Dr. Douglas, the medical Superintendent of Grosse Île, estimated that 8,000 died at sea in 1847.

What could I learn about Irish emigration to Canada in 1847? What kinds of records exist that could help me piece together the Broderick family's journey?

Ontario Township Papers For Matthew Moynahan (1770-1860)

Piecing together the story of our ancestors has become increasingly more convenient as many records are digitized and made available online.

The Archives of Ontario's most popular collections have been digitized by Family Search International and made available for free.

Thanks to the Kent Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, when I reviewed the Ontario Township Papers for Sandwich, Ontario, I discovered 23 pages of correspondence dated 1835 to 1848 from my 4th Great Grandfather Matthew Moynahan (1770-1860)

Ancestry Adds The Casey Collection

In October 2020, I blogged about a wonderful presentation by the Olde Sandwich South and Area Historical Society OSSAHS regarding the Irish settlement in Sandwich South, Ontario and how it was connected to the Blackwater area of Cork and Kerry, Ireland.

Screen Capture of Essex OGS Pesentation (21:27)

When Obituaries Get It Right (And Sometimes Wrong)

In building my Broderick family tree, I have relied upon obituaries to fill in many of the blanks. Recently, with the discovery of my 3rd Great Grandfather Michael Broderick's obituary, I contacted my fellow Broderick researchers (and DNA matches) to ask them a question:

Is it possible that Marcus ("Mark") Broderick (1838-1912) pictured below with his son Marcus (1868-1945), was not my 3rd great-grandfather Michael Broderick's nephew, but rather his son?

Photo source: American cousin T.S.: Broderick Father and Son: Marcus Sr. and Marcus Jr Taken about 1895 in Holland, Ottawa Co., Michigan, USA