Sharing Hubby's Irish Roots with Younger Generation

My husband has a number of Irish ancestors, as reflected in his latest DNA results update (above)!  They are far back in the family tree, but we have some names and some dates, plus a few places.

Every year I remind the younger generation of these roots and encourage them to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with pride.

1.    Brice Smith was born in Pennsylvania in 1756. His immigrant parents, William and Jean Smith, were from Limerick. Brice and his wife, Eleanor Kenny Smith, were the 4th great-grandparents of my husband. Two descendants born much later were named Brice in honor of this ancestor.

2.    About 1740, Robert Larimer boarded a ship to sail across the Atlantic in search of a new life, age 21. Unfortunately, he was shipwrecked and forced to serve as an indentured servant to work off the cost of his rescue. After years of hard work, Robert ran away, married Irish-born Mary Gallagher, and farmed in Pennsylvania. Later, the couple and their family moved to Rush Creek, Ohio. Robert and Mary were the 5th great grandparents of my husband.

3.    Thomas McKibbin was born in County Down, Ireland, and married his wife Jane Irvine in Ireland before traveling to Pennsylvania about 1812. Later, Thomas and Jane moved west to pioneer in Indiana, where both were buried. In-laws of hubby’s Larimer family.

4. Halbert McClure and his wife, Agnes, were both born in Donegal, although the McClure family is originally from Isle of Skye in Scotland. Halbert, his wife, their children, and some of Halbert’s brothers sailed to Philadelphia and then walked together to Virginia. Their descendants became farmers in Ohio and then in Indiana. Halbert and Agnes were the 4th great grandparents of my husband.

5.     John and Mary Shehen, both born in Ireland but transplanted to England by 1840s. Their descendant married into the Slatter family, which ultimately left London to settle in North America during the early 1900s. Still researching their Irish roots.

6.     The Short family, apparently Scots-Irish. In-laws of our Larimer family, with intermarriage in several generations. Many doctors, dentists, other professionals in this line of the family tree.

7.     The Work family, originally from County Antrim, Ireland. In-laws of our Larimer family, intermarried in several generations. This branch did a lot of genealogical digging to trace the family's origins in early 1900s through mid-1900s.

8.    David O’Killia or O’Kelly, possibly born in Galway, married Jane Powell in Massachusetts in 1670. 7th great-grandparents of my husband. Still researching this ancestor, a challenge for sure.

I'm keeping these ancestors' names and memories alive by putting them in the spotlight as St. Patrick's Day rolls around.

Word Cloud of Hubby's Irish Ancestors

For St. Patrick's Day, I created a lucky four-leaf clover of surnames and places from my husband's Irish ancestry. The free site I used is WordArt.com. 

As always, I sent "Erin Go Bragh" greeting cards to the grandkids. This year I included a four-question quiz about a few of the Irish ancestors I've been telling them about for years.

1. Who was the first Brice in our family to be born in America, and where in Ireland did his parents come from?
2. What happened to our ancestor Robert Larimer after he set sail from Northern Ireland bound for America in the 1740s?
3. Where in Ireland were Larimer in-laws Thomas McKibbin and Jane Irvine McKibbin born before moving to Turkeytrot, Pennsylvania?
4. Which Scots-Irish ancestors, born in Donegal, paid for passage to sail to Philadelphia and then walked to Virginia to buy farm land?

Answers:

1. Brice Smith was the Brice in our family to be born in America, in Pennsylvania in 1756. His parents, William and Jean Smith, were from Limerick. Brice and his wife Eleanor Kenny Smith were hubby's 4th great-grandparents. There is also a Brice in my husband's generation.
2. Robert Larimer boarded a ship about 1740 to sail across the Atlantic in search of a new life, age 21. Unfortunately, he was shipwrecked and forced to serve as an indentured servant to work off the cost of his rescue. After years of hard work, Robert ran away, married Mary Gallagher, and farmed in Pennsylvania. Later, the couple and their family moved to Rush Creek, Ohio. Robert and Mary were hubby's 5th great-grandparents.
3. Thomas McKibbin was born in County Down, Ireland, and married his wife Jane Irvine in Ireland before traveling to Pennsylvania about 1812. Later, Thomas and Jane moved west to pioneer in Indiana, where both are buried. Thomas and Jane were in-laws of hubby's Larimer family.
4. Halbert McClure and his wife, Agnes, were both born in Donegal, although the McClure family is originally from Scotland. Halbert, his wife, their children, and some of Halbert’s brothers sailed to Philadelphia and then walked together to Virginia in the 1700s. Their descendants became farmers in Ohio and then in Indiana. Halbert and Agnes were 5th great-grandparents of my husband.

"Lucky" is the 52 Ancestors theme for this week, from Amy Johnson Crow. 

Remembering Hubby's Emerald Isle Ancestors

Happy St. Patrick's Day! My wonderful husband has a number of ancestors born on the Emerald Isle. And of course I've been keeping their memory alive by reminding descendants every year on March 17th. Let me introduce you to:

• William Smith and his wife, Jean, both immigrants from Limerick, were hubby's 5th great-grandparents. Their son Brice Smith (1756-1828) was an “Ohio fever” pioneer, leaving his birthplace in Pennsylvania to settle the forested frontier of Ohio.
• Robert Larimer and his wife, Mary O’Gallagher, both from the North of Ireland, were hubby's 5th great-grandparents. Robert was shipwrecked sailing to America, worked off the cost of his rescue, ran away, married Mary, and farmed in Pennsylvania until they died about 1803. Their descendants were pioneers in Ohio and Indiana.
• John Shehen and his wife, Mary, from somewhere in Ireland, were hubby's 2d great-grandparents. They were born early in the 1800s in Ireland but had moved to London by the 1830s. Their daughter Mary Shehen married John Slatter in London in 1859. Her youngest daughter (Mary Slatter, 1869-1925) left London for Ohio, married James Edgar Wood and was a loving mother until her unexpected death from heart problems.
• Halbert McClure and his wife, Agnes, were born in County Donegal, Ireland, although the McClure family is originally from Isle of Skye. They were hubby's 5th great-grandparents. In the 1740s, this family sailed as a group to Philadelphia, walked to Virginia, and bought farmland. Their descendants became early pioneers in Indiana and other states.

Erin Go Bragh!

St. Paddy's Day FAN Club Census Page

1850 Census for Clinton township, Elkhart county, Indiana - showing Larimer FAN club

For St. Patrick's Day, I looked at some of hubby's ancestors who told U.S. Census enumerators that they were born in Ireland. No counties listed, just country of origin, unfortunately.

My husband's Larimer family, originally from the north of Ireland, intermarried in America with cousins from the Work, Short, and McKibbin families--families that were also originally from Ireland.

These families are part of the Larimer FAN club (meaning Friends, Associates, Neighbors).

FAN Club in Clinton Township, Indiana

The FAN club is very visible in this excerpt from the 1850 U.S. Census for Clinton township, Elkhart county, Indiana. Just on one page are neighbors who are actually related by cousinship and/or marriage.

For example, the second full household from top of page is headed by William McKibbin a farmer born in PA, wife born in PA, all children born in Indiana. He's part of the Larimer cousin collection.

Next household down is headed by Alexander McKibbin, a farmer born in PA whose wife was born in Ireland. Yes, part of the McKibbin cousins.

Next-to-last household is headed by James Larimer, a Larimer cousin who's also a farmer. Born in VA, wife from Ohio.

Bottom household is headed by Edward Murray, a farmer born in Ireland, married to Jane McKibbin, also born in Ireland. Yes, this McKibbin is part of the cousin collection.

On other pages of this Census are several other Larimer FAN club members living (and mostly farming) in Clinton township, Indiana in 1850.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Fáilte to Ancestors from the Emerald Isle

It's that time of year again, when I send younger relatives St. Patrick's Day cards, along with my updated list of their Irish ancestors. In the past, I've noted Larimer, O'Gallagher, Smith, Shehen, and McClure (lived in Donegal area for several generations, but family originally from Isle of Skye).

This year, I'm saying fáilte to a new Irish ancestor in the long list I send with my cards. "New" means "new to me" now that I've extended the Wood family tree far back enough to find the clue, thanks to a hint from Ancestry's new ThruLines feature.

Zerviah Wood Senior's Mother-in-Law

Hubby's 4th great-grandma was Rhoda Eldridge (1730-1799), married to Zerviah Wood (1731-1817). ThruLines suggested that Rhoda's mother--Zerviah's mom-in-law--was Hannah O'Kelley or Killey (1703-1734). Several records indicated that connection and I added her to the tree, continuing to research for more confirmation.

Judging by her name, Hannah O'Kelley was most likely descended from a family from the Emerald Isle.

Jeremiah O'Kelly, Son of David "The Irishman"

Records were admittedly sketchy back in the 1600s, but two compiled family histories mention that Hannah's father, Jeremiah O'Kelley (16??-1728) was the son of an immigrant, David O'Kelley or O'Killia (1645?-1697). David's nickname in the Cape Cod area where he lived was "the Irishman."

David "the Irishman" O'Kelley was probably my husband's 7th great-grandpa. More research is in my future to confirm the details!

For St. Patrick's Day, I'm saying fáilte to this newest on the list of Wood ancestors from Ireland.