Peter Conole
- Born
- 1 Jan 1833
- Died
- 20 Jul 1915
- Gender
- Male
- Place of migration
- Migrated to/Born in USA
Peter Conole was my great great grandfather on my mother's side of the family. I don't have the names of his parents nor do I have a date of birth. However, I believe he was born between 1833 and 1838 in County Clare - possibly in the Miltown Malbay area or in the Liscannor area. His wife was Bridget Conway who was presumably born in County Clare as well. Peter Conole was a tailor by trade. They emigrated to England sometime before 1860, initially living in Wigan England where their first child (that I'm aware of) was born - John Conole born in Wigan on June 8, 1860. Shortly after the birth of John, they moved to Bolton England where they settled until the late 1870s or early 1880s. Their son Thomas was born on September 11, 1861 in Bolton. Their first son - John - died in Bolton at the age of 2 on July 17, 1862. A daughter, Mary Ann, was born in Bolton on February 9, 1863 but died later that year - on December 31, 1863. Another daughter, Catherine, was born in Bolton on November 3, 1865. A son, Richard, was born in Bolton on April 26, 1867. A son, Patrick was born sometime between 1867 and 1871, but I haven't found a birth record for him. I have a theory about his birth, but will get to that later.
The next child (my great grandmother) - Mary Margaret Conole - was born in Miltown Malbay Ireland on March 15, 1871 and she was baptized at St. Joseph's church (I have the parish record for this). A son, Peter was born in Liscannor on December 19, 1872 and was baptized at St. Brigid's church (I also have the parish record for this). The baptismal record for Peter indicates that the family lived on the Birchfield estate. I'm not certain why or when they returned to Ireland, but their stay was short-lived as this latest son - Peter - died on March 13, 1873 back in Bolton England.
Their daughter, Catherine, died of "brain fever" in Bolton on April 2,1874 at the age of 8. A few months later, on July 31, 1874, another daughter was born in Bolton and they named her Catherine Agnes. A daughter, Bridget (Breta Meria) was born in Bolton on June 28, 1876 and the final child, Ellen, was born in Bolton on March 4, 1878. Ellen died about a year later, in Bolton, on March 2, 1879.
Shortly after giving birth to Ellen, Bridget Conway Conole, died in Bolton on April 18, 1878. The cause of death is listed as apoplexy. She is buried in the Tonge Cemetery in Bolton as are those of her children who died in Bolton.
In September of 1879, with the exception of the oldest (Thomas) the surviving children (Richard, Patrick, Mary Margaret, Catherine Agnes, and Bridget) were admitted to the Bolton Union Workhouse at Fishpool with the reason given as "father's neglect". I did find a Bolton newspaper article from February of 1879 that reports that their father was arrested and tried for "obtaining charitable contributions under false pretenses". A link to that article is here: https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/42887725?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a2268636c304d4d344d70677556544e336668755243677057316d2b675332712f5446476769564371693244453d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d
I don't know when Peter emigrated to the U.S. - I haven't been able to find a passenger list for his voyage or for the two older sons - Thomas and Richard. I assume that Peter (and possibly the oldest son Thomas) came to the U.S. first to get established before sending for the other children and that may be why the other children were ultimately admitted to the workhouse. Three of the remaining children - Patrick, Mary Margaret, and Bridget arrived in the U.S. (Boston) on October 25, 1883 on the ship Kansas. Catherine Agnes didn't arrive until September 2, 1885 on the ship Iowa (Boston). Catherine was only 11 years old at the time and I think she may have been accompanied by an older relative or family friend named Bridget Clancy. I'll attach a Word document theorizing about the "Clancy Connection" below. I would love to understand why Catherine was left behind for two years - lack of funds? illness? I'd also like to know whether the workhouse board might have funded some of the childrens' passages. The family initially settled in Providence, RI. Eventually, Peter, Patrick, and Bridget moved on to Binghamton, NY. Mary Margaret and Catherine Agnes stayed in the Providence area. Thomas ultimatedly lived in New York City until his death and Richard moved to Bellingham, WA, but died in Orange Park, FL.
I have found birth and death records for all of Peter and Bridget's children with the exception of Patrick. Given that all other births and deaths were registered, I find it odd that there is no record for Patrick. I did find a birth record for a Patrick Conole who was born in the Ennistymon Workhouse on March 31, 1872 (see attached file). The mother is listed as Bridget Conole (with no maiden name provided) and there is no father listed. This would have been during the period when Peter and Bridget were in Ireland. I'm wondering if Peter may have had a sister named Bridget who was an unwed mother and maybe Peter and Bridget adopted her son Patrick as their own. Is this a possiblity??
I have recently found some information about a John Conole (Connell) who lived in Wigan (but was also born in County Clare) during the same period that Peter lived there and John was a tailor as well. I'm theorizing that John may be a brother or cousin to Peter but have no difinitive proof. I have created a document showing my rationale for thinking Peter and John might be related. If anyone has any information that would confirm or refute this, please let me know. Links to this 8 page document follow:
I would love to find out who the parents of both Peter Conole and Bridget Conway were. I'd also like to find more information about any Conoles in Ireland who might be related to me.
I did make a trip to both England and Ireland. I visited Bolton and went to both St. Joseph's church and St. Brigid's church in Ireland. I also met with the Clare Genealogical Society and they helped me with some of my findings.
