66. John and Esther's Children Four to Seven

Section 1D: John1 O’Neill

John, born January 5, 1763   Died in infancy

           The family Bible says that John1, “Departed this life at a Quarter old.” I figure this means a quarter of an hour. Jeff O’Neill in Canberra substantiates that John1 died the day of his birth. Our chances of finding out anything further on an infant death in rural Ireland during this time period are slim to none, so we will just note John1’s existence and move on.

Section 1E: John2 O’Neill

John (2^nd), born March 13, 1764

            The family Bible says John2 was born “at 5 o’clock a Thursday morning.”

This birth date would give John2 a projected marriage range of 1782-1800. I did find several John’s in Carlow who might fit our profile.

            A John O’Neill married Mary Salter in 1792 [his age 28?]; another John married Jane Wheatley in 1794 [his age 30?]; a third John married Bridget Murphy in 1804 [his age 40?]; and finally a John married Mary Alford in 1832 [his age 68?]. Our source, “The O’Neills of Leinster,” does not mention which of these are Catholic ceremonies and which are not. The O’Neill’s that we have found so far are all non-Catholic families, so we will presume that this John is also.

            These may be all different John O’Neill’s, or some of them may be the same one after the death of a spouse. To date I have found no family groups for any of these, nor have I found any death records or gravestones.

            On the Tithe Applotment Books of 1825 (see below), there is one John listed in Carrigbeg, where a William and a “Morrogan” are also listed. His property was a “House and Garden.” This is probably our John O’Neill, listed at the age of 61.         

 In the Index to the 1850 Griffith’s Valuation, three Johns are listed. A John is listed in Lorum at Ballykillin; one John is in Dunleckny on Market Street in Bagenalstown; and one John in Tullowphelin on Bridge Street in the town of Tullow.

All of these men would have had to be 86 years old or so, to be “our” John.

            The Dunleckny John is our mostly likely prospect, with the Lorum next closest and the Tullow John furthest away. A strong possibility is that these are sons or nephews.

Section 1F: Morgan O’Neill

Morgan, born June 17, 1767

           

In 1998 I was able to contact genealogist Jeffrey O’Neill of Canberra, Australia, who is a descendant of Morgan, and he provided me with much of the following information about his branch of the family.

            In 1795 Morgan O’Neill, aged 28, married Eleanor Burrowes in County Carlow, Ireland. Morgan and Eleanor had five children: Esther (Nessy), born April 5, 1804 in the Parish of Dunleckny; Morgan (Mortimer), born October 5, 1810; Ellen, born March 15, 1812; Anne, born September 2, 1814; and a second Anne, born July 16, 1817. The first Anne probably died shortly before the second Anne was born.

            The Parish of Dunleckny, with Bagnalstown as the major community, is south of Leighlinbridge, on the river Barrow.

            Oldest daughter Esther at age 27 married John Grace in 1831 and presumably continued to reside in County Carlow.

            To date, nothing further is known of second daughter Ellen; third daughter Anne probably only lived until 1815-16, because in 1817 a fourth daughter was given the name Anne. This second Anne grew up and married Samuel McMurty in 1844. She was 27.

            On the Tithe Applotment Books of 1825, I found two Morgans, one in Garryhill with 31 acres of land and one in Carrigbeg with 32 acres. These are undoubtedly Morgan the father and Morgan the son. I have found nothing further on Eleanor, or the daughters.  There was no Morgan or Mortimer listed in the CD index of the 1850 Griffith’s Valuation for Carlow. By that time the older Morgan is probably dead, and the younger one has emigrated from Ireland to Australia.

Morgan’s only son, named Morgan also, but called Mortimer, was married in County Carlow in 1844 to Harriett Tracy. Mortimer and Harriett had four children: Ann, born 1846; William Duke, born 1848; Harriett, born 1851; and Maria, born 1853.

Harriett possibly died in childbirth following the birth of Maria, for, according to Jeff O’Neill, Mortimer moved to Australia about 1853 with his son William Duke. Jeff is not clear as to what happened to the three girls.

In Australia, Mortimer married Eliza Burns in 1859, and the couple had seven additional children: Louisa Jane, born 1860; Helen, born 1862; Kate, born 1864; Elizabeth Mary, born 1867; another Elizabeth Jane, born 1868 [The first E. M. evidently having died within the year.]; Esther Ann, born 1871; and Lucy Lillian, born 1873.

Mortimer died in 1896; Eliza’s fate we do not know. Oddly enough, Mortimer only had one son out of eleven children, so Jeff is fortunate to be named O’Neill!

William Duke O’Neill, at the age of 40, married Ada Jane Atkinson in 1888, and the couple had four children; Raymond, born 1889; Kenneth, born 12 Jan 1892; Frank, born 16 Oct 1893; and Bessie E., born 1896.

There are numerous descendants of William Duke O’Neill in Australia, according to Jeffrey O’Neill of Canberra, N.S.W.  He did not send me any information on the families of William Duke’s sisters.

Section 1G: Luke O’Neill

Luke, born December 22, 1769

           

            Luke would have been 29 years old when the ’98 took place, and 35 when his father died. In all probability he would have been married by this time.

            In Sean O’Neill [Ibid.] I found only one entry that may fit this Luke. On page 65 is the marriage notation of “Luke O’Neail and Elizabeth Ransford, 1792.” Luke would have been 23 at this time.

            The only other Luke notation in Carlow was a marriage in 1832 to Mary Colclaugh. Our Luke would have been 63 at the time, which is possible as a late age second marriage, I suppose, but it may be another Luke, even a son or grandson.

            The Tithe Applotment Book of 1825 for Carlow lists two Lukes [See below], both in Ballaghaderneen, one with 34 acres of land and one with one acre. Our Luke would have been 56 by this time, so these entries may indicate a father and son. Possibly the son has taken over the farm and his father is living on a small parcel close by.           

            In the CD index to the 1850 Griffith’s Valuation, one Luke is listed at Ballybannon in the Parish of  Killerrig. This is in the far north of the county, so it is improbable that it is “our” Luke at the age of 81. Perhaps the son has moved further away.