Thomas Lawler and Catharina Sweeney

Olmsted County Democrat
Friday 20 January 1898 p3 c7

Mary Lawler left no records that named her parents, however, her brother John's death gives us the name of his father. When she died in 1909 her age is listed as ninety, giving an approximate birth date of 1819.  This would most likely make her the oldest child of Thomas Lawlor.

John's  obituary names all of his living siblings and lists where they live. Mary is the only one still living in Ireland, two are living in New York and the rest are in Minnesota.

The Olmsted County Death Register (Book D Page 151 Line 16 Jan 18, 1898) 
names his father, Thomas but, unfortunately, not his mother.  So it was a wonderful surprise to find an entry in the Lawlor Mortuary Book Bk 6 page 256 that named his mother 

Kath Sweeney.  She is named in the christening records of three children, Bridget, Margaret and Catherine.  The information was provided by John's brother Thomas, so is likely to be correct.  No christening records have been found for the six older children or for the youngest, Hannah.   

One problem with trying to identify Kath as the mother of all the children lay in the mistakes in the contemporary records.  The first was the immigration record for the family in 1851 which gives her age as 25 and then lists all her children except Mary who already married stayed in Ireland.

It is unknown whether Thomas had died or perhaps had emigrated earlier and had now sent for his family.  Either way no record after 1850 has been found for Thomas. There is a burial listed on Find-A-Grave in Holy Cross Cemetery in Ellicottville, New York for a Thomas Lawler with no dates.  This is the cemetery where his son William and his family are buried.  Might it be our Thomas Lawler.

The search is on for Thomas emigrating prior to May of 1851. We know the family was in Buffalo for a time as that is where William married in 1854.  If Thomas is buried in Ellicottville, that might put his death before 1855.  It is possible that he had acquired land and actually died before or during the time the rest of the family was in Buffalo. 

The 1855 NY shows Catherine living with her newly married son William and the rest of her children.  Her age is shown as 70. 1860 Census record for Catharine Lawler shows her living with son John and daughter Hannah in Great Valley, Cattaraugus, New York. An age of seventy would make her old enough to be the mother of all the known children of Thomas Lawler.  There is no doubt that this is the correct Hannah and John, the ages are correct, both were born in Ireland and neither is found in New York in 1870. John's obituary states that he lived for a time in New York, and the eldest son William is also living in Cattaraugus County, New York.

Katharine died in 1867 but we are unsure whether she died in New York or Minnesota.  No record was found.  However, she is listed on the tombstone in St. Bridget's cemetery, Olmsted County MN with her daughter Honnorah (Hannah) who died in 1918. Adding to the age confusion, the had been indexed as  1887 in a book of St. Bridget burials.  The stone does say 1867 and age 74 which puts Catharine's birth about 1793.

The Children of Thomas and Catharina  

Note all birth years except Bridgit, Margaret and Catherine are in question.  Only those three were found in the christening records. No two records found for any child gave the same birth information.  

Mary 1819-1909

William 1820 -1911

Thomas 1828-1917

John 1833-1898

Julia 1835-1912

Johanna 1835-1927

Bridget 1836-1908

Margaret 1839-1898

Catherine 1843

Honnorah 1846
 

Edmund (Ned) English

No date of birth or exact death date has been found for Edward English.  His parentage is assumed by the fact he is one of the four English men who at the time Griffith's Valuations were taken in 1852 was living on the land that had been the home of Thomas English when the Tithe Applotments were taken.  This well founded assumption and records of his known siblings led to a supposed mother as well.  As it is unlikely he was under twenty at the time of his marriage to Mary Lawler on 29 Nov 1845,he most likely was born before 1825.

Ballybunion Parish Register pg 298

  

Thomas English used the 1851 census to apply for a pension.  The following extract shows he is the son of Ned and Mary Lawler who were married in 1845 and living in Gullane in 1851.

In 1852 Edmond English was leasing three properties from George Gun in Gullane East.  One property was a house, offices (out buildings) and approximately 27.5 acres of land with a net annual value of £9.0 shillings for the land and £1 for the building.  The second parcel was a garden with a net annual value of 3 shillings.  The third parcel of 88 acres was held jointly with Thomas, John and Jeremiah English with an annual value of £3.15 shillings for each lot. 

Griffith's Valuations - Kilconly Parish, Kerry 1852

It seems possible that Edmund is the eldest son as the lands in the possession of the brothers that are leased to others are listed in the name of Edmund English and others. If the naming patterns hold true here that might make the father of Thomas English, Edmund. The home of  Edward English and Mary Lawlor, was Ireland's characteristic grey, rectangular, sod house with a thatched roof.  The home was still standing in 1967 when Dolores English Young visited.

 The death date of Edmund is assumed from the cancelled valuation books.  He was crossed off in the 1860/61 listing and Mary inserted in his place.  As this is before civil registration of deaths, and no burial record has been found, this is the closest to a date we are likely to find.  As his daughter Mary was born in 1860/1 the death could not have been before 1860.

Valuation Books - Listowel Rural District, Gullane Electoral Division v.15 p.9-11

Ned and Mary had six known children:

• Catherine - christened 7 Apr 1847 thought to have emigrated in 1875 but no documentation found to date
• John bn about 1851 m 17 Apr 1874 to Margaret Flahavin
• Thomas bn abt 1852 m 24 Feb 1875 to Mary Moloney d. 1940 in Gullane
• William christened 3 May 1855, nothing more known
• Mary (Minnie) bn abt 1855 m Michael O'Connor
• Edmund (12 Oct 1856 - 23 Dec 1920)

Thomas English of Gullane East

We do not know the birth or death dates of Thomas English, yet we can estimate within a couple of decades. As daughter Margaret was born about 1807 using a date of 1780 as an approximate birth date seems reasonable.  We know that he had probably passed away by 1852 when Griffith's valuations were taken as his supposed four sons were in possession of the land.  There is the remote possibility that he was living with one of them or with a daughter, but it seems unlikely.  We do know that he was living in Gullane East in 1837 when the Tithe Applotments were taken for the area.

This record was supplied by the Kerry Family History Center in 1998.  This record is not among those now available on the National Archives website.  It appears to have been lost. Hopefully it will be found and a better copy made available in the future.

At that time, Thomas was the sole resident listed in Gullane East, although the OSI Name Book implied there were many on small lots. In fact each of the townlands we find in the district lists only one leaseholder. It seems probable that only those with sizable leaseholds were assessed at the time.  Also of note is the fact that Thomas has 113 acres of bog land out of 932 in the parish, while Lewis' Topographical Dictionary, written about the same time states there are only 114 acres of bog in the entire parish of Kilconly.

Griffith's valuations lists 407 acres of land in the townland, using that as a guideline Thomas's holding of 235 acres was over half the available land.

Although we do not know that all the children of Thomas had the same mother, we do know that Margaret, who was born about 1807 has parents Thomas and Catherine recorded on her death certificate.

 (Minnesota District Court Olmsted County, Death Records 1871-1997, Book A page 151 No 2 March 1 1887) 

Her sister Deborah (Gobnet) who was born about 1815, married Dermot (Jerry) Scanlon and also emigrated to Minnesota.  Her death certificate also lists Thomas and Catherine as her parents.

Minnesota District Court Olmsted County, Death Records 1871-1997,
book A, page 116 4 Oct 1884

Unfortunately, the death records for their male siblings in Ireland, if they do exist, do not name parents, we can only use the assumption of relationship based on the land they lived, the many interlinking family relationships, and sponsors on available documents to link them to Margaret and Gobnet.

The children of Thomas and most likely Catherine are

• Dermot (Darby) abt 1810 to abt 1876
• Margaret (1807-1887) m. Jeremiah Lawler
• Gobnet (Deborah) (1815-1883) m. Dermot (Jerry) Scanlon
• Thomas (1817- 1884) m. Margaret Costelloe
• Edmund
• John (1820? - ?) m. Margaret Carroll

Gullane East, Kerry, Ireland

When Colonel Thomas Colby was was placed in charge of the newly commissioned Ordnance Survey Office in 1824, the goals was to map the entire country using a scale of 6" to the mile. Additionally they were tasked with examining and standardizing place names and recording the information in a series of volumes known as Name Books. these books contain information details about ownership of the land, archaeological objects, monuments and more. 

The following is a copy of the listing for Gullane East:

Ask About Ireland - Name Book
This is a very interesting

 In 1837 Samuel Lewis described the parish of Kilconly in his Topographical Dictionary.

KILCONLY, a parish, in the barony of IRAGHTICONNOR, county of KERRY, and province of MUNSTER, 10 ½ miles (W. by S.) from Tarbert, on the southern shore of the estuary or mouth of the Shannon; containing 1660 inhabitants. Near the shore are the ruins of the ancient castles of Beale and Lick, the former of which (designated "Beau-lieu" in the Pacata Hibernia) was once a residence of the Earls of Kerry. In 1600 its fortifications were demolished by Patrick, the then earl: in the same year, however, the brave Maurice Stack, one of Queen Elizabeth's officers in the desultory war then carried on, was invited here by the earl's lady and treacherously murdered by her attendants. A dangerous bar, or quicksand, extends about a mile north from Beale Point, and nearly opposite Carrigaholt bay. The parish comprises 2942 statute acres, of which 188 are coarse pasture, 114 bog, and the remainder arable land, for manuring which sea-weed and sand are generally used. The mountain of Knockanure, 665 feet above the level of the sea, is partly in this parish; from its summit an extensive view of the Shannon is obtained, the shores of which are in this vicinity extremely pleasing.

Litter House is the residence of G. Wren, Esq. The parish is in the diocese of Ardfert and Aghadoe; it is a rectory and vicarage, forming part of the corps of the treasurership of Ardfert. The tithes amount to £83. 1. 5 ¾., and there are two glebes, containing together about four acres. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Lisseltin. About 100 children are educated in a public school, and there are two private schools, in which are about 130 children. Near the ruins of Lick castle is a columnar cliff, called by the peasantry the "Devil's Castle," inaccessible except to sea fowl: its summit is sometimes frequented by eagles. In the vicinity are several caves, formed by the dashing of the waves against the cliffs.

Ordnance Survey 6" Map circa 1840-1860
Townland of Gullane East

Kilconly Parish Records in Cath's Dropbox (Griffith's, Cancelled Valuation Books, Tenure Book, Census Records, etc.)
Gullane East Townland
A List of Untenanted Lands 1906 - Gullane East 
Ballybunnion Parish Registers - Library of Ireland
Church Records County Kerry  (use as an index to Parish registers, also burial registers)