Daniel and Ellen (Nellie) Brien Hurley lived in Coolnagarrane in 1901. He was a dairyman according to that year's census.
Was this Daniel related to my ancestral Hurleys in Coolnagarrane? While I don't have a definitive answer, at least I was able to compile some data on the family. Nellie was a complete unknown.
The census shows a daughter Mary (Mary Ellen), aged 28, along with a niece also named Mary Hurley, aged 25. So here was an opportunity to link this family to another family.
Daniel and Nellie were not in Coolnagarrane in the 1911 census. So they either moved or they died. I found a death record for Daniel on 18 Feb 1910. He was 85 years old, a widower, and living on Mardyke Street in Skibbereen. His married daughter Ellen Leary was present at death.
Nellie's death was recorded as 03 Nov 1906, on North Street, which runs straight into Coolnagarrane. She was 68 years old, a dairy man's wife. The occupation sounded right. However, the age seemed a little young according to the subsequent records I found. In the 1901 census she was supposedly 67.
Further research turned up daughter Ellen's marriage record. She wed Denis Leary, a coachman residing in Bunalun, 11 Feb 1893. Further research found Ellen Leary widowed on Mardyke Street in the 1911 census. She was 50 years old according to that census. Now it was time to find an Ellen Hurley, born about 1861. I started with daughter Ellen rather than Mary, thinking an Ellen might be easier to find.
My prior research of dairymen revealed that they moved around a bit, and Daniel Hurley was no exception. These records turned up. The family lived in Derrylugga, Milleenahorna, and Cullenagh, and ended up in Coolnagarrane.
1852 Oct 29 Honora godparents Patrick Herlihy, Mary Mahony Derrylugga
1852 Oct 29 John godparents James Gallagher, Johanna McCarthy Derrylugga
1858 Apr 11 Michael godparents Thomas Donovan, Honora Hurley Derrylugga
1860 Jul 30 Ellen godparents Denis Sullivan, Mary Driscoll Milleennahorna
1860 Jul 30 Susan godparents Morty Mahony, Margaret Collins Milleennahorna
1864 May 22 Charles godparents Patrick Driscoll, Anne Regan Cullenagh (Castlehaven)
1866 Aug 14 Mary godparents Timothy Donovan, Kate Sullivan Cullenagh
The marriage has not turned up in the church records.
A possible related family that would have accounted for Daniel's niece Mary in the 1901 census, was that of John Hurley and Ellen Donovan, located in Derrylugga:
1872 Oct 29 Daniel godparents Daniel Donovan, Ellen Brien
1874 Aug 2 Mary godparents Daniel Hurley, Ellen Donovan
1875 Nov 2 Ellen godparents James Gallagher, Mary Donovan
1877 Mar 29 Michael godparents Michael Hurley, Kate Brien
1878 Oct 20 Honora godparents Dan Hurley, Ellen Hurley
The 1901 census shows additional children:
Kate Ann born about 1883
Maggie born about 1885
Julia born about 1888
The 1901 Ireland census for Derrylugga states John's age as 47 and the 1911 census states it as 58. That census indicates that 9 children were born to the Derrylugga family and I've only found 8.
Ellen was several years older in each census. John would have been quite young at the time of the 1871 marriage.
A marriage record for John Hurley and Ellen Donovan cannot be found in the online church records. However there may be a marriage in civil registration: Marriage record Matching marriage record
The marriage record will give the name of John's father.
The Godfather of John (1852), son of Daniel Hurley and Ellen Brien, was James Gallagher. It is interesting that James Gallagher was the Godfather of Ellen (1875), daughter of John Hurley and Ellen Donovan. If John married to Ellen Donovan was Daniel Hurley's and Ellen Brien's son, then the "niece" in the 1901 Coolnagarrane record for Daniel Hurley and Nellie Brien could have been a granddaughter. Unless there was another brother of Daniel's who had a daughter Mary.
Are there any other possible local Hurley families who could have accounted for niece Mary Hurley, aged 25 in 1901? Do I have to rethink the Daniel Hurley, married to Honora McCarthy, as the uncle of my great-grandmother Ellen Hurley and her sister Mary, born 1876? That Mary is not listed with her family in 1901.
Great-grandmother's sister Mary was around in 1904 to witness a marriage, then went to England and married there. Some further research would be to look for marriage records for Mary Hurleys in the 1900's and 1910's.
So I think the family of Daniel and Nellie is constructed, and perhaps even the family of Daniel's son John. What is still unknown is if they were related to the families of Michael Hurley and Bridget Cahalane, and Daniel Hurley and Honora McCarthy of Coolnagarrane.
