52 Ancestors No.31 Meeting Distant Cousins from the Annal-Hess Clan

For Week 31 (July 30-August 5), Amy Crow has suggested the theme "Easy" to begin August with.

For me, with thanks to distant cousin genealogists Vicky Hess and Kim Simpson, my Annal-Hess clan research has progressed easily.  Through Vicky's and Kim's hard work and generosity I have filled in huge gaps in my knowledge of the Annal-Hess families of Wallaceburg, Ontario.

Vicky and Kim have passed on birth and death certificate, obituaries, news clippings and photographs etc. My Annal research had been truly enriched through meeting them.

All of the recent pictures and information below came from distant cousins Vicky and Kim. I am so grateful! (At the bottom of the page there are links to all my previous posts on the Annal-Hess ancestors)

The Annal-Hess Clan
Photo credit: Vicky Hess family archive photos

The Annal-Hess Men
Photo credit: Vicky Hess family archive photos

The Annal-Hess Men Identified

Photo credit: Vicky Hess family archive photos

Newspaper clipping with Mrs. John Annal (nee Martha Wood) in the front row (left)
Photo credit: Vicky Hess family archive photos

James Annal on the right and possibly William Annal on the left?
Photo credit: Vicky Hess family archive photos

James Henry Allen Annal
Photo credit: Private collection of Graydon Douglas Simpson (son of Nellie Annal)

Mary (Hess) Annal
Photo credit: Private collection of Graydon Douglas Simpson (son of Nellie Annal)

Postcard: "John Annal out west"
Photo credit: Vicky Hess family archive photos

Hess & Annal Feather Renovator
Joe Hess (pictured in the derby hat) with James Hess and other unidentified men
Photo credit: Vicky Hess family archive photos

The Annal "Crystal Ice" Wagon
Photo credit: Private collection of Graydon Douglas Simpson (son of Nellie Annal)

James, daughter Nellie and Margaret (Wright) Annal
Photo credit: Private collection of Graydon Douglas Simpson (son of Nellie Annal)

James, daughter Nellie and Margaret (Wright) Annal
Photo credit: Private collection of Graydon Douglas Simpson (son of Nellie Annal)

James, daughter Nellie and Margaret (Wright) Annal
Photo credit: Private collection of Graydon Douglas Simpson (son of Nellie Annal)

James Annal
Photo credit: Private collection of Graydon Douglas Simpson (son of Nellie Annal)

James Annal Funeral Card
Photo credit: Private collection of Graydon Douglas Simpson (son of Nellie Annal)

Nellie (Annal) Simpson and children (names witheld for privacy)
Photo credit: Private collection of Graydon Douglas Simpson (son of Nellie Annal)

1896 Methodist Church Women (Wallaceburg, Ontario)
Photo credit: Private collection of Graydon Douglas Simpson (son of Nellie Annal)

Nellie Annal's School, (Wallaceburg, Ontario)
Photo credit: Private collection of Graydon Douglas Simpson (son of Nellie Annal)

Links to my previous Annal-Hess blog posts:

1. ANNAL: Family Photograph Mysteries
2. ANNAL: Orkney Sailor James Annal (1849-1930)
3. ANNAL: Fire Chief and Ice Dealer James Annal 
4. ANNAL: Great Grandmother Elizabeth's Brother John  Annal
5. HESS - ANNAL: Hess & Annal : Feather Renovators (1906)
6. HESS - ANNAL Historical Ontario Vital Statistics Records Available Online for FREE
7. HESS - ANNAL: Annal-Hess

52 Ancestors No. 29: Mary (Moynahan) Moynahan of Corktown, Detroit

Sometimes genealogical research has you going in circles and sometimes on the second or third time around in the same circle you discover something new.

Such is the case with my first cousin (4x removed) Mary Moynahan of Essex county who married Mathew J. Moynahan of Ireland.

When I was researching the beautiful zinc Moynahan headstones at Mt Elliott cemetry, I had no idea I would eventually return to Timothy Moynahan (1813-1902) of Maidstone, Essex county. I also had no idea that this research would take me into Corktown, Detroit and connecting with researcher Paul Szewczyk and learning about 19th century Corktown's tradition of female home ownership.

Mary Moynahan 1847-1905

Mary Moynahan was born in Maidstone, Essex co., Ontario on the 15th of October 1847 the daughter of Timothy and Margaret (Cronyn) Moynahan

Mary's father Timothy Moynahan (1813-1902)

When Mary's father Timothy died in London, Ontario in 1902, his obituary stated that of his nine children from both marriages, only two were living: Enos and Mary (who is the subject of this post).

The obituary failed to mention another living child Timothy who was at the London Asylum at the time. I suspect that Timothy died in London, Ontario beccause he was visiting with Timothy Jr in the London asylum and died there. I have no proof of this but I also have no idea why Timothy would travel to London, Ontario at 89 years of age?

I also have no explanation regarding the omission of Timothy Jr from Timothy Sr's obituary?

Timothy Moynahan's 1902 obituary
Source: Windsor Evening Record. October 21, 1902 - Page: 1 of 8

Mary's mother Margaret (Cronyn) Moynahan (b 1811) died in 1859 when Mary was twelve years old and her father remarried Archange Parent. Mary had four step-brothers from her father's second marriage (Enos, James, Timothy and Joseph).

Matthew James (M.J.) Moynahan of Detroit was born in Ireland in 1836 the son of Jeremiah Moynahan and Catherine Hearlihy.

He was married to Hannah O'Connor who died November 1870 after giving birth to twins Margaret and Emma (who also died May 1870 and June 1970 respectively)

M.J. (41 years of age) later married Mary Moynahan (30 years of age) on the 27th of May 1877 at Maidstone Cross, Ontario

Marriage record M.J. Moynahan and Mary Moynahan
Source: Archives of Ontario; Series: MS932; Reel: 23

Their Children

Catherine ("Kitty") was the only surviving child from M.J. first marriage. On the 20 Jan 1879 Margaret (Maggie) was born.

I have not had any luck finding the family on the census returns 1870-1910.

Corktown Detroit

Corktown, Detroit is located just west of Downtown Detroit, and is the oldest extant neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan

I discovered on Paul Szewczyk's excellent Corktown Blog that he had a great deal of information on Mary Moynahan's house at 11 Baker St in Corktown (now 1221 Bagley)

 11 Baker St in Corktown (now 1221 Bagley)

According to Paul Szewczyk

"Rose Lane sold 11 Baker street to Mary Moynahan for $3,350 in July of 1882. This is an example of 19th century Corktown's tradition of female home ownership. In Irish households at the time, wives were in charge of the domestic finances, and property was often held in their names."

11 Baker St. in 1884.
"The front part of the house had two stories and was attached to several one-story additions.
The house would have had a very different appearance at the time.
Source:  Paul Szewczyk

 "The home's new owner, Mary Moynahan, was a first-generation Irish-Canadian, born in Ontario in 1846. Her husband, Matthew J. Moynahan, was an Irish immigrant. The couple married around 1876 and had two children. Two years after moving into the home, Matthew Moynahan passed away. Mrs. Moynahan was listed at 11 Baker Street through 1887, after which she rented the house to Martha Fessenden, a widow. One of Mrs. Fessenden's son's, Mark, died at the home on February 15, 1889, at the age of 26. 

 Other boarders listed at this address in 1887 and 1888 included Thomas W. Richardson, a porter for Thorp, Hawley & Co.; Walter Parrish, a lineman for the Brush Electric Co.; and Frank Hutchinson, a clerk."

"On June 5, 1889, Mrs. Moynahan sold 11 Baker Street to Daniel and Isabelle Donovan for $4,000."

Mt. Elliott Cemetery

This brings me back, full circle, to the beautiful Moynahan zinc marker that I wrote about in July 2014.

The beautiful zinc Moynahan marker at Mt Elliott cemetery, Detroit, Michigan

Mary was interred here on the 11th of April 1905 with M.J and his first wife Hannah and all of their children.

Internments at the Moynahan plot - Mt Elliott cemetery, Detroit, Michigan

The last person buried in this plot was Kitty Moynahan (1858-1938) a retired school principle who was daughter of M.J. Moynahan and the only surviving child of his first marriage.

Sources:

• Marriage M.J. Moynahan and Mary Moynahan; Archives of Ontario; Series: MS932; Reel: 23
• Special thanks to Paul Szewczyk for granting me permission to use his Corktown material in my blog post.

Links

• Paul Szewczyk's excellent Corktown Blog
• Paul Szewczyk's flickr Corktown history pictures
• A Guide to Researching Your Corktown Home
• The Historian Of Detroit's Most Historic Neighborhood Digs Up Amazing Stories
• Hathi Trust
• Detroits Corktown
• Family Search: Michigan Census

52 Ancestors No. 30: Department Commander James Moynahan 1917

I found new information and a new photograph of my ancestor (1st cousin 4x removed) James Moynahan (1842-1919) while searching through the Hathi Trust holdings for the surname "Moynahan"

Grand Army of the Republic

Information was found in the recorded texts of the Annual Encampments of the Wyoming and Colorado Department of the Grand Army of the Republic.

1917 - James Moynahan - Department Commmander -
38th Annual Encampments of the
Wyomimg and Colorado Department
of the Grand Army of the Republic 

"Let Him Have The Palm, Who Merits It"

In reading the texts of the Annual Encampments I learned that James Moynahan was nominated for position of Department Commander on many occassions and lost. He was successful in 1916 and served to June 1917 two years before he died.

In reading tanscripts, it was inferred that his religion and/or politics were being held against him? (see final paragraph in composite screen shot below)

Nominations transcript

James Moynahan was absent from the Fortieth Annual Encampment in June 1919. He died shortly thereafter.

Click here to read:

Journals of the Annual Encampments 

(35th to 40th)

of the Department of Colorado and Wyoming

Grand Army of the Republic

52 Ancestors No.28: The Irish Brogue and French Priests

The Moynahans of Essex county arrived in North America in the late 1820s (first in Pennsylvania) and settled in Ontario and Michigan in the 1830s.

Finding records of the Moynahans in Ireland has been difficult for two reasons:

1. Record keeping: My Moynahan ancestor's arrival in America classifies them as "early immigrants" or "Pre Great Famine" (before 1845) and these records are more difficult to locate. The Catholic records in Ireland prior to the mid 1800s are equally hard to locate.
2. Literacy and language: When my Moynahan ancestors arrived in Ontario and Michigan, they were unable to read or write and they spoke gaelic with a strong irish brogue. They were reporting to largely french speaking record keepers. There were obviously going to be communication  misunderstandings.

The French Churches of Detroit

"Before the Irish immigrants had their own church in Detroit they were invited to celebrate Catholic Mass at St. Anne's on early Sunday mornings before the French service began at midday." (Source: Detroit News: "The Irish Helped Form Detroit For Centuries")

In the handwritten french marriage record (below) for Denis Moynahan and Catherine Roach (Roche) (29 April 1833) it says "de Matthew Moynahan & de Mary Lery ne dans la parisse de Himiguaney conte de Cary en Irelande"

Written record #1
29 April 1833 Marriage record, Ste. Annes, Detroit, Michigan
Denis Moynahan & Catherine Roach

Enlargement
Translation: "Parish of  Himigueney, County Kerry, Ireland"

Written record #2
Note "Hinneguenay"

In the translated record below, it becomes "parish of Kilcrohane Kerry, Ireland"?

Transcribed parish records
Ste. Annes, Detroit, Michigan

Ireland's Catholic Parish Records

Clairifying "Kilcrohane", "Himiguenay" or "Hinneguenay" became important with the historic July 2015 release of 300 years of records by the National Library of Ireland (NLI). There are 370,000 digital images from 1,086 parishes ! Which parish was I going to enter?

I left a comment on the Blog 'Kerry Catholic Parish Registers' and the blog owner wrote to me "I am not sure that the Moynihans are from Kerry. You mention 'Kilcrohane' and that is County Cork. However some of the Cork parishes are located in the Diocese of Kerry."

This was helpful. I thought I should start with Kilcrohane records. I started with Kilcrohane (though not in County Kerry) which I learned was a variant of Muintervarra and was happy to find some Moynahans there!

RC Parish Kilcrohane, Cork

• Marriage: 14 February 1829: Jeremiah Monahan to Margaret Cochlan; Daniel Harrington, Jeremiah Cochlan

RC Parish Kilquane, Kerry

Kilquane, Kerry at NLI

The problem was that although the parish record names changed in the early french records that I located, the county name NEVER changed and was always County Kerry!? I thought I would look at County Kerry parishes. Could "Kilcrohane" be "Kilquane"? I searched 1807-1808 (Microfilm 04274 / 09) and 1808 - 1828 ( Microfilm 04274 / 10)

Civil Parish: Kilcrohane, Kerry

There is also a civil parish called Kilcrohane in Kerry that is the RC parish of Ballybog

When I checked the records for Ballybog, there were baptisms 1845-1848; and 1857-1880 and marriages 1858-1881. These records cover events after my Moynahan ancestors left.

My instincts tell me that County Kerry is where I need to be looking. The "looking" part is a "bit of a slog" but worth it. I will keep going!

Sources

• Written Record #1:Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1695-1954 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.
• Written Record #2: Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1695-1954 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.

Links

• A rose by any other name : a guide to Irish christian names
• Latin Genealogical Word List
• Griffith's Valuation
• To locate the correct Catholic parish: SWilson.Info 

52 Ancestors No. 27 - Ottawa Photographs of Moynahan Kin?

I posess a number of family photographs that were taken at various locations on Sparks Street in Ottawa.

Sparks Street, Ottawa photographs

Pittaway & Jarvis Photographer
117 Sparks St., Ottawa

John Moynahan (1866-1933)

Of these nine Ottawa photographs, I have identified only one person, my great grandfather John Moynahan (1866-1933) pictured above.

This photo of John definitely precedes his serving on the first Sandwich South Council in 1893 and his marriage on May 10, 1898 (aged 32 years) to Mary Broderick (1869-1960).

I would date the photo between 1880-1890 and this correlates with the information I located about the Pittaway and Jarvis Photography Studio.

"When Samuel J. Jarvis completed his apprenticeship in 1882 he went into business first with A.G. Pittaway (opened on 15 February, 1882) at 117 Sparks Street "(From “Early Ottawa Photo Studios” (Alfred George) Pittaway& (Samuel James) Jarvis , 117 Sparks St. [1882-1890] "

I wondered if the Pittaway and Jarvis series of photos were fellow teachers with John Moynahan in the 1880s? But why would they be saved and passed down through the family? Or were they photographs of Moynahan kin who travelled to Ottawa for a visit together from Windsor, Ontario?

Cabinet Card - J.D. Wallis Photographer 

61 Sparks St., Ottawa

That brings me to this"cabinet card" taken at J.D. Wallis Photographer in Ottawa.

By the early 1870s, cartes de visite's were supplanted by "cabinet cards," which were also usually albumen prints, mounted on cardboard backs measuring 4.5 by 6.5 inches. Cabinet cards remained popular into the early twentieth century.

J.D. Wallis Photographer had three locations on Sparks St: at 56 Sparks St., [1873-1874] (1st of 3 locations: photos); 24 Sparks St. [1874-1875] (2nd of 3 locations, photo) and 61 Sparks St., [1875 - 1895] (3rd of 3 locations: photos)  Source: Early Photographers and Photography Studios in Ottawa, Ontario.

We know this photo was taken at 61 Sparks therefore at some time between 1875 and 1895. But who could it be?

The Bowler

The cane

 Jarvis Photographer
141 Sparks St., Ottawa

Samuel Jarvis operated a photo shop at different loactions on Sparks St.: 140 Sparks St (1875-1879) and 141 Sparks st. (1879-1892) Source: Early Photographers and Photography Studios in Ottawa, Ontario.

Only one photo was taken at Jarvis

Interesting tie

If you read this post and notice any other clues in these family photographs or if you have any information about Windsor, Ontario ancestors being photographed in Ottawa, Ontario in the late 1800s, please add a comment below.

I would love to solve these photographic mysteries.

52 Ancestors No. 20 - The Schofields

This week's blog post is about Arthur ("Art") and Margaret (Coughlin) Schofield

Arthur ("Art") and Margaret (Coughlin) Schofield

Margaret Loretta Coughlin was born the 13th of July 1904 in Wallaceburg, Ontario daughter of William and Lizzie (Annal) Coughlin.

Left to Right: Viola and Margaret Coughlin (c 1920)

Margaret Coughlin married Arthur Joseph Schofield on the 12th of November 1924. ON the marriage certificate it says that Arthur was working as an auto inspector.

My grandparents, Ernest and Rhea (Coughlin) Moynahan, were the witnesses at the marriage.

1924 wedding picture: Art and Margaret (Coughlin) Schofield

Marriage Certificate 1924

Undated photo

Arthur Joseph Schofield was born the 24th of August 1901 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. His parents were Thomas Schofield and Marie Cheron.

Art Schofield 1956

Art died on the 21st of  November 1981 in Warren, Macomb, Michigan
Margaret died  on the 7th  of  June 1984 in Warren, Macomb, Michigan

They are both buried at Resurrection Cemetery, 8201 Clinton River Rd Clinton Township Macomb County Michigan