Followup on Donovan women from Lissalohorig

In a previous post I described the family of Denis Donovan of Lissalohorig and Catherine Collins, who was from Lower Lissane. That post suggested that Catherine was the daughter of Humphrey Collins of Lower Lissane and Johanna Barnane. Johanna was probably from Drinagh.

The known Donovan family consisted of six daughters and one son. So far, I have not been able to follow up on daughters Julia, Johanna, and Catherine and son Cornelius. Some information has been found about the remaining daughters.

The Bohanes of Killadery

Mary Donovan of Lissalohorig (b 1852) married John Bohane  26 Feb 1884. In addition to Killaderry, Castlehaven, it appears the family spent some time in Callaros Oughter, Goleen. Among their known children were:

Jeremiah (1885), born in Killaderry.

Patrick (about 1886, haven't found birth rec)

Norah, or Hanora (about 1887, haven't found birth rec)

Mary (1889), was born in Callaros Oughter.

The McCarthys of Mohanagh

Hanora Bohane (bc 1887) married John McCarthy 09 Feb 1922. The family lived in Mohanagh, Aghadown.

The McCarthys of Lissalohorig

Mary Bohane (1889) married Daniel McCarthy 13 Apr 1920. They were in Lissalohorig at the time. Their daughter Mary Philomena went on to marry Patrick Caverly of Cooranuller.

The Hegartys of Bluid West

Hanora Donovan of Lissalohorig (1855) married Daniel Hegarty of Bluid 10 Feb 1891.They had a son John (bc 1892, haven't found birth rec) and a daughter Maria (b 1895). This family was in the 1901 census.

By 1911, Daniel Hegarty was a widower.

Daughter Maria Hegarty married Denis McCarthy 24 Nov 1927.  They may have lived in Angram and had a number of children, but this line of investigation has not yet been pursued.

The Lordans of Drishanebeg

Ellen Donovan of Lissalohorig (1864) married Cornelius Lordan of Drishanebeg 29 Jan 1898. As far as is known, they had one son, Patrick John, about 1901.

Patrick Collins and Catherine Collins of Bawnnahow South

Patrick and Catherine both came from Collins families outside Drimoleague, one of the *many* Collins families I am investigating in the area.

I think Catherine was the daughter of Michael Collins and Mary Donovan of Lower Lissane. The 1911 census says she was 78, which would fit with an 1833 birth year. (Her age seems way off in the 1901 census.)

In a prior post I "assigned" a Catherine Collins, born 1820 in Lissane, to a Donovan family in Lissalohorig. Now I am assigning another Catherine Collins, born 1833, to this Bawnnahow family. Their fertility windows are being taken into account, with an assumption that women stopped having babies somewhere between 45 and 50. Beyond 50 is starting to push the limit.

There was a 13 year span for the births of the Lissalohirig children: 1852 - 1865.

There was a 15 year span for the Bawnnahow family: 1860 - 1875. It is considerably more difficult fitting 1820 Catherine in this scenario, having nine children between the ages of 40 and 55. 1833 Catherine is a much better candidate.

Anyway...

Patrick's original family is a bit harder to pin down, but since this family lived in Bawnnahow South that's where I have started to look. The godparents of Pat's and Catherine's second child Mary (1861), were Simon Collins and Johanna Driscoll. Simon and Johanna had a son Patrick baptized in 1834. Patrick's and Catherine's first child, Johanna (1860), could have been named after Johanna Driscoll. But they didn't have a known son named Simon. So maybe Simon Collins and Johanna Driscoll were a related family.

There was another family, Patrick Collins and Mary Cadogan, who also had a son Patrick in 1834. Since Patrick's and Catherine's first son was Patrick, this appears to be a better fit. But if Patrick and Catherine both had mothers named Mary, it doesn't explain how their first child was named Johanna. If these are the correct families for Patrick and Catherine, there must have been another reason for how Johanna came to be named.

The Bawnnahow children were: Johanna (1860), Mary (1861), Catherine (1862), Patrick (1867), James (1868), Honora (1871), John (1873), Patrick again (1874), and Humphrey (1875). I will have to verify the two Patricks when I have a chance to look at the civil registration records.

The witnesses to the church events of the Bawnnahow family were: Michael Collins (her father?) and Catherine Collins; William Harnedy and Ellen Neill; Simon Collins and Johanna Driscoll; James Collins and Mary Collins; Pat Donovan and Honora Collins; James Collins and Ellen Hurley; Patrick Donovan and Johanna Mahony; John Sullivan and Hannah Collins; William Harnedy and Eliza Hourihan; and Daniel Harnedy and Honora Sullivan. (Notice there are no Cadogan witnesses.)

A sticking point is the presence of son Humphrey in 1875 (who, incidentally, is grossly mistranscribed as "Helen" in the online church records). If I have found the correct Catherine as the mother, she had an older brother (a rather mysterious character) and probably an uncle named Humphrey (deceased by the the time his grand-nephew was born), and so her son could have been their namesake. Why didn't Patrick and Catherine use the name Michael, after her father, prior to using the name Humphrey ? Maybe they thought there were too many Michaels running around - but Humphrey would stand out.

Humphrey became a priest and taught at Niagara University in the United States. He died during the flu epidemic in 1919.

Son James married one Mary McCarthy before 1901. The family is in both Ireland censuses. Son Humphrey (1910) became a local Drimoleague creamery manager, married Ellen McCarthy, and died in 1975.

The Family Search ID of Catherine Collins is KCDY-BC8. She and her original Lissane family are in Family Search Family Tree. No family data for Patrick Collins has been entered yet as his family is still being researched.

Collinses of Baunnahow, Lower Lissane and Russagh

I think I have identified in the baptism records better candidates for the James Collins who married Catherine Driscoll and lived in Russagh, south of Skibbereen.

The details of this couple are in a previous posting. A summary of the family is here:

Marriage:  4-Mar-1862 Skibbereen & Rath.
Witnesses:  Humphrey Collins, Jeremiah Driscoll

Johanna bap. 20-Aug-1863 Skibbereen Creagh & Sullon
Godparents:  Michael Hegarty, Catherine Driscoll

Nancy bap. 11-Apr-1865 Skibbereen.
Godparents: Jeremiah Driscoll, Margaret Driscoll

Mary bap. 19-Feb-1867 Skibbereen
Godparents: John Collins, Julia Donovan

Hanora bap. 14-May-1869 Skibbereen
Godparents: Laurence Hourihane, Ellen McCarthy

Michael bap. 9-Oct-1871 Skibbereen
Godparents: Michael Collins, Mary Hourihane

Patrick bap. 19-Mar-1874 Skibbereen
Godparents: Michael Driscoll, Hanora Donovan

Catherine (mother recorded as Cadogan) 22-Dec-1876 Skibbereen
Godparents: Patrick Cadogan, Mary Donovan

Denis bap. 14-May-1879 Skibbereen
Godparents: Humphrey Collins, Mary Donovan

There was also a son John in the 1901 census, age 14, placing his birth around 1886. By 1911 both parents are shown gone (James died in 1907), and son Michael subsequently married one Maria Driscoll and had children.

According to his death record, in 1907, James was 67, putting his birth year about 1840. In the 1901 census he was 63, possibly pushing his birth year back to 1838.  The oldest son of James and Catherine was named Michael, and the known remaining sons were named Patrick (born around St. Patrick's Day), Denis, and John. No known son was named Humphrey.

Among their family's event witnesses were Humphrey Collins and Laurence Hourihane, names that are nearly unique to the area around Lower Lissane.

I tried to place James either in the family of Humphrey Collins and Johanna Barnane, or in the family of Michael Collins and Mary Donovan. Based on the evidence, neither are a good fit.

In the Lissane family of Humphrey and Johanna, son James was born 1833. In the Lissane family of Michael Collins and Mary Donovan, son James was born 1829. From a naming tradition view, James of Russagh would have fit better with Michael Collins and Mary Donovan, but the age is nearly a decade off. From an age standpoint, he would have fit better with Humphrey Collins and Johanna Barnane, but no son was named Humphrey.

I have found two possible babies named James, both from Baunnahow, a location that is emerging as a place of great importance in my research.

1. James, son of Michael Collins and Ellen McCarthy, was baptized 30-Dec-1838. His godparents were Jerry Kedagon (Cadogan) and Nelly McCarthy.  I cannot find any other children for this couple, who were married in Drimoleague & Drinagh RC Parish 5-Feb-1837. Witnesses were Simon Collins and Jeremiah McCarthy.

This one is my preferred working model for now, for several reasons - the age fits, the name of the father fits in that the first son was named after his paternal grandfather, and both the names Michael Collins and Ellen McCarthy show up as godparents to the Russagh Collins children.

What isn't explained is why there aren't more children for Michael Collins and Ellen McCarthy. Also, those two names - Michael Collins, Ellen McCarthy - could easily have been plucked from elsewhere to fill in as godparents.

It is tempting to think the name "Jerry Cadogan" would qualify as a possible future father-in-law to James. However, searching for Jerry Cadogan in the Drimoleague records does not turn up a daughter Catherine in the right age range, or son Michael (my theory being that Michael Driscoll Cadogan of Currabeg was her sibling).

2. James, son of Simon Collins and Johanna Driscoll, was baptized 5-Jul-1840. Godparents were Bat (Bartholomew) Collins and Joan Driscoll.  There isn't anything particularly remarkable about this family, except that they had a daughter Norry, bap. 18-Jun-1837, who is a contender for the Honora Collins who married James Collins and lived in Lower Lissane. I'm still working on her.

I would prefer to think that James, son of Michael Collins and Mary Donovan, married Honora Collins and stayed put in Lower Lissane because it is simpler. The marriage took place 24-Jan-1861 in Drimoleague & Drinagh and the marriage record notes James was from Caheragh parish. I believe my grandfather's family had ties to this family.

A move from Baunahow to Russagh is a complication, however from the church record evidence the family in Russagh knew people from the Lower Lissane area, so there was a move.

I am very interested in finding descendants of this family.