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Denis and Margaret Gleeson Family

I have no paper trail to my Gleeson roots in Ireland. My great great grandmother Catharine Gleeson was born in Ireland around 1835. The first record I have for her is her marriage to Michael Roarke (who later went by O’Rourke) in August 1854 in Philadelphia. Her 1914 death certificate stated that her father’s name was Denis, but I couldn’t find any record of him in the US. Her mother Margaret, born about 1795, lived with the family in South Philly until her death in 1883. Her death certificate didn’t mention a maiden name or parents’ names. Catherine’s brother John Michael (about 1832-1877) lived across the street. He has no living descendants.

I just joined the Gleeson DNA project on GEDMatch. My kit # is AY6345474. In looking at the matches with trees, the ones that had ancestors’ specific birthplaces in Ireland were all in County Tipperary.

Some other interesting points:

Catharine’s granddaughter married a Donoghue who was the son of an immigrant and a prominent attorney in Philadelphia. I read in the recent article this website recently sent out that this is a common name in Tipperary. They had a daughter Marion Caher Donoghue. Marion somehow ended up in England marrying Theobald Butler, the 8th earl of Carrick, whose family is also referenced in the Tipperary article. (It didn’t last long because he cheated, but she married a baron after that and was a legislator in Tanganyika after his death - but that should be a separate book.)

Catharine and her husband were witnesses/godparents for a Richard Gleeson and vice versa at weddings and baptisms in Philadelphia. In tracing Richard’s family, I have DNA matches, so I believe he is a cousin. He was born in Ireland and died in Philly (1832-1906). His death certificate says his parents were Richard and Margaret. I found an article about his 50th wedding anniversary that said he and his wife Catharine Walsh were childhood friends in County Kilkenny. I was able to find a baptism record on Find My Past for her at Callan and Holy Cross, Kilkenny near the county line, but not for the Gleesons.

I have a few Gleeson matches who have O’Rourkes in their tree. According to my aunt, our O’Rourkes were from Leitrim, but I can’t prove that either.

So, does anything sound familiar to anyone? Is anyone a DNA match? Can anyone find additional info for my people in Ireland? I appreciate any help.

Joandrum@hotmail.com

1 reply

Hi,

I searched Roots Ireland (pay site) for a baptism record of Catherine Gleeson with parents Denis and Margaret. The only record I found was for Catherine baptised in 1847 in Templederry, Co. Tipperary. Her parents were Denis Gleeson and Margaret Beevans and one of the sponsors was Hannah Gleeson. There were also John baptised in 1850, William in 1844, Patrick in 1853 and Michael in 1860. There may also have been Michael in 1856 but as the mother’s name was given as Margaret Gleeson it is difficult to say. Maybe the first Michael died and the child baptised in 1860 was also given the name Michael – it was common to give a second child the same name as a child that died.

I am aware that this family is a little out with birth dates that you have but this is the only family in Tipperary that I could find with the names you have. The recording of church records was very variable in Ireland. It is possible that your family were from a parish where the records were not kept.

I then checked for Richard Gleeson with parents Richard and Margaret. The only one I found (in Ireland) was in Callan Co. Kilkenny where Richard Gleeson with parents Richard Gleeson and Margaret McGrath was baptised in 1825. He had siblings John 1823, Michael 1827, Catherine 1833 and Honor 1837. The same applies here that the records may not have been kept in the parish of interest.

This is all I could find on Roots Ireland, which is a good database of Irish church records. I hope it is of some help, even in ruling things out!

Best wishes, Kieran

Kieran Jordan, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

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