Archives: Trees

Descendants of Thomas Donohoe (1844-1925) in Australia

This Group has been set up to facilitate the collection and sharing of information on the DONOHOE lineage in Australia, started by the immigration of Thomas DONOHOE (1844-1925) during the early 1870’s.

Apart from the recording and publishing of statistical information such as Birth, Deaths and Marriages, the major goal of the facility is to record information on the individual lives of the people that make up this lineage.

Photographs, anecdotal stories and facts about the lives of individuals will help to bring this Group to life, and in some way pay homage to the men and women that helped pioneer this great country.

I would urge all that are interested in preserving the triumphs and tribulations of ourselves and our ancestor’s lives, for future generations to ponder, is to immediately sit down with either yourself or with the oldest members of your family and document life-stories. It doesn’t have to be a manuscript – just a simply précis of the highs and lows; of special interest should be those anecdotal stories that that one tends to retell, over and over again. The ones that make you laugh – the ones that make you cry.

Upload these stories and/or titbits of information together with any photographic images you would like to share with the Group. They will be like gold nuggets to future generations.

The intention is to collate the information uploaded by members, and publish it via this web site for all interested parties to browse and ponder.

The O’Donoghues of Limerick and South Africa

THE O’DONOGHUES OF LIMERICK AND SOUTH AFRICA

The majority of the O’Donoghue families in South Africa are the descendents of two lines of 19th century immigrants.

They are James Michael O’Donoghue (1838-1894) from Limerick, County Limerick and Henry O’Donoghue (1836-1904) from Nenagh, County Tipperary. The latter can be read about in “O’DONOGHUE, People and Places” by Rod O’Donoghue.

Origins

My line of O’Donoghues originated from Limerick.
The parents of James Michael O’Donoghue (1838-1894), the first immigrant to South Africa, were Michael Donohugh and Bridget Landrigan. This is as it appears on the baptism certificate with James and Ellen Donohugh being the sponsors.
The name of Landrigan seems to be an uncommon name and difficult to trace at the moment.

If one looks at the family tree of my direct links one can see the names of James, Michael, Bridget and Ellen appearing through the generations. This is even more evident when one looks at a comprehensive family tree that I am busy compiling.

First Generation

James Michael O’Donoghue arrived in Table Bay (Cape Town) aboard the Maria Somes which left Southampton on 22nd November 1859 as part of the British Government emigration scheme from 1857 to 1861. He arrived here on 18th February 1860 and is recorded as being a Blacksmith and aged 21. It indicates that he went to a Mr Clerk of Cape Town.

Very little is known about him during the gap of fourteen years from the time he arrived and the time he got married in 1874. He settled in the Langkloof area of the Cape Province, South Africa. The coincidence is that Limerick and the Langkloof are known for their apple orchards. A certain Mr Baldi however established the apple orchards after he arrived in the Langkloof. His Death Notice shows him as being that of a shopkeeper.

He married Dirkje Margaretha Aletta Strijdom in 1874. She was born on the 9th September 1848 at Baviaanspoort in the Langkloof area of the Cape Province and was a descendant of a Dutch family that landed in the Cape in 1674.

Second Generation

They had ten children during the twenty-year period, 1875-1894.

Michael John Heyns O’D 8 children
Mathew Johannes O’D 8 children
John James Michael O’D 6 children
Martha Maria Magdalena O’D (married Oosthuizen) 3 children
Bridget Elllen O’D (married Van Rooyen) –
James Patrick O’D 3 children
Mary Leonie O’D (married Tait/Pearce/Lesley) 3 children
Margaret Ellen O’D (married Greenaway) 4 children
Johanna Petronella O’D (married Hale) 3 children
George Edward O’D 2 children

James Michael O’Donoghue died in April 1894 and the death certificate only reflects nine children as being dependents. The tenth child was born in December, 1894.
When the five older children were old enough to start work they left home and the five youngest children were raised by the mother and of course with the Dutch influence.

This was very evident in that today it will be found that those that stayed in the Langkloof area with their mother, reared their children under the Dutch influence and those that trekked to Natal, reared their children under the English influence. This has continued until today.

The story goes that one brother fought for the British and the other for the Boers during the Anglo-Boer War. This I still have to confirm.

James Michael O’Donoghue’s one son was my grandfather, John James Michael O’Donoghue (1880 – 1936). He also married a girl of Dutch descendency.
Margaretha Sophia Castelyn (1897 – 1965 )

Third Generation

Here I document only my direct line to the ancestry. The more comprehensive tree will be found as an addendum later.

John James Michael O’Donoghue had six children as follows:

Gladys Ellen (married Allchin)(1913 –1996) 2 children
James Thomas (my father) (1915-1984) 3 children
John Patrick (1917-1983) 3 children
George Douglas Haig (1918-2004) 2 children
Donald Charles (1920-2000) 4 children
Michael Basil (1928-) 5 children

My father was James Thomas O’Donoghue
James Thomas O’Donoghue also married a girl from Dutch descendents. Her name was Wilhelmina Hendrina Boshoff (1919-1972) and in her family line there was a J.N.Boshoff who was the President of the Orange Free State Republic in 1855-1859.
Because of the depression years, three brothers joined the railways in different capacities and eventually landed up being train drivers until their retirement.

April 2006
South Africa
e-mail:o_donoghue@mweb.co.za

Mary O’Donoughue – immigrated from Dublin, Ireland mid 1800’s

My great Grandmother Mary O’Donoughue immigrated from Ireland via Dublin to England. She settled in Lacanshire. Married Richard Tootell in 1854 in Chorley, Lancashire. She had two children Mary (my grandmother) and Richard. Husband died young and she remarried a Robert Marsden in 1872, also in Chorley. Do not know where she was born in Ireland, but marriage certificate shows her father’s name as Charles Donoghoe from Ballina, Co Kildare. Her name was spelled Donahue on the marriage certificate.

Patrick Donohoe/Donahue of Marlborough, MA.

I am the 6th generation descendant of Patrick Donohoe(Changed in 1868 when naturalized to a US Citizen to Donahue) who came to the USA from Ireland, County Galway June of 1857. Patrick arrived in the Port of NY. (New York, Ellis Island). Patrick settled in Malborough Ma. in (?) year to work in a shoe factory.

It was one of Patrick’s sons, Edward “William” Donahue, that came to reside in Lynn, MA. from Marlborough, MA. (Date unknown)
Patrick and Betsy had many children and I am still researching those names at this time.
Edward “William” Donahue married Annie Madden and they had John (my G-grandfather) in 1904 who lived his whole life in Lynn, MA just outside of Boston, MA. USA. Again I don’t have all the information on all of William and Annie’s Children. Just my G-Grandfather for now.

John went on to marry Florence Samuelson in 1920 or so, and they had John "Jack" Donahue, my grandfather in 1923. My Grandfather was the eldest of 4, his siblings names Richard Donahue, Kenneth Donahue, and Phyllis Donahue Samuelson. My G-Grandmother Florence, died at the young age of 31 or 32 from pneumonia. My Grandfather Jack was left as the head of the house at the age of 13 after my G-Grandfather John had a nervous breakdown and left the family to fend for themselves.

My Ancestors, Patrick Donahue/Donohoe and Betsy Donahue are buried in an Irish cemetary in Malborough, MA.

Please contact me if anyone has any further information about this Patrick, thanks.

Tim Donahue
Tkd4673@comcast.net

Donahoos of Maryland

THE DONAHOOS OF MARYLAND

My family has its roots in 17th century Maryland but we do not know where we originated in Ireland. In 1985, ten years after my father died, I sat down with my mother to learn as much of our family’s history as she could give me. Her memories were very sketchy and of a recent nature. I set out to find more and what I show below is the result of an extensive research program. Unlike many other families the spelling of our name has remained consistent for over three hundred years.

Origins

Henry Donahoo’s birth details are not known, but his wife, Honor(a), was reportedly born in Maryland in 1683. They were married in Baltimore County in 1704 and their known children were Henry, John, Eleanor and Roger. Henry Donahoo, the father, died before May 9, 1722 in Balto.

Second generation

Their first known child, Henry, was born in 1705 in Balto, Maryland. He married Rachel Smithson (born Joppa, Maryland in 1706) at St John’s Parish in Baltimore County on August 11, 1731. They moved to Surry, NC and Henry died there after September 21, 1775.

John was born in Maryland in 1707 and Eleanor in 1709.

Roger was born in Baltimore in 1711. He married Elizabeth Gilbert (born Maryland in 1708) in 1734 in Balto and died in 1748 in Baltimore.

Third generation

Roger’s children were in age order Hannah, Elizabeth, Gilbert, Daniel and Sarah.

Daniel was born in Maryland in about 1742. His wife’s name is unknown. He had several children but one son, John, was born in about 1786. Another child William Henry was born in 1790

Fourth generation

He fought in the War of 1812 and rose to the rank of captain. John went on to become a lighthouse builder and filled many roles of town leadership. He built twelve lighthouses around the Chesapeake Bay. John spent his entire life in and around Havre de Grace, Maryland and died in March 1858.

John married Elizabeth Wood in Harford County, Maryland in February 1812 and one child, John, is known.

Fifth generation

John (John Henry or Henry) fathered at least two children, Henry K and Henry (Harry) Alexander.

Henry K was born in 1834 in Maryland and fought in the Civil War in Alexander’s Battery of Light Artillery, 1st US Infantry for the Union (North), Maryland Brigade, part of the 8th Army Corps.

He raised his younger brother, Henry Alexander who was born in 1868 in Maryland.

Sixth generation

Henry Alexander’s son, Laurence Edward Donahoo, was my father. He was born in December 1899 in Baltimore and died there in April 1975.

Lauren Donahoo
August 2004

Donohoe and related families (1)

DONOHOE AND RELATED FAMILIES

The research, and the records that I have obtained on my family and related families, has taken over fourteen years and fourteen trips to Ireland. The information was obtained by visiting churches, local historians, and court records offices.

A lot of the information was obtained before research information was popular on the internet, but I have to admit that personal meetings with various people was fun.

In the process, I discovered eight major families related to my family, all starting in Ireland.

My main pursuit was for the parents on my great-grandfather, and his wife Margaret O’Donnell. Local memories tell me that Thomas was originally from near Killarney; his wife Margaret, Cloncannon, County Offaly. Thomas and Margaret were married in Edenderry, Co. Offaly. Margaret was born in 1831; Thomas between 1838 and 1840. They were married in St. Mary’s Church, Edenderry in 1862. Two sons, James E. and Patrick Michael (“Mic”) and one daughter, Catherine.

James E. came to America at the age of 13, with a family named Mulligan, but before the opening of Ellis Island. James headed for West Virginia, where work was abundant, due to the railroads building tunnels through the mountains. He first married Julie O’Donnell (cousin of Margaret) who died from tuberculosis after having two sons, Eugene and William. His second marriage was to Mary Ellen Giblin, County Mayo.

On the marriage of my great-grand father Thomas, Margaret and he moved on the O’Donnell farm in Cloncannon. There were two brothers in residence on the farm, Michael and Thomas. The last survivor on the farm was Margaret who died in 1898. This information was from county records.

Other families who are related are, Burke, Boyle(three separate unrelated families) Nash, Giblin, Kearns.

The computer listing enclosed with my records are for the O’Donaghues. I experienced difficulty in getting information on this group and it wasn’t until my last trip that i learned that the name O’Donaghue, was originally donohoe. It was changed in 1940 so “to make the name more irish”. I chased the wrong name for all that time but there is no doubt that we are related; they farmed formerly the farm of Margaret and one other piece of land. Many recalled my grandfather James E. And a few of the O’Donnells. We had a re-union in Milwaukee in 1998, and some came from Ireland for that affair. I have asked for some of the information of dates etc. But even though they say it will be forthcoming, i’ll still waiting. The information i have on this group was provided by their families, so there doesn’t appear to be any problem with the information.

An interesting point is that with my grandfather, James E.
Page 1 of 2

Working on the railroad, he eventually became a foreman. In Ireland, all of the families lived within about a sixty mile radius of each other. As these families came to America, about the same radius exists her in America, again for the same families. He was apparently hiring relatives for the railroad work.

Some families (Nash) settled in Western Pennslyvania; Boyles, Mt. Savage, Maryland; Boyle, Parkersburg , West Virginia; Giblin, Terra Alta, West Virginia; the Giblins got to America via Roscommon, Stokestown, Co. Mayo, Rowlesburg, West Virginia; and finally Terra Alta, West Virginia. The Kearns settled in Ashland, Kentucky.

While there are donohoes in Cavan, north of Offaly, I have not been able to connect these two groups, and the O’Donaghues maintain that there isn’t any connection.

Vincent j. Donohoe
Wauwatosa, wisconsin
May 13, 2003

PAGE 2 OF 2

Cart
Checkout - £0.00
  • 0
  • 1