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Dora Desmond

Cork

i am searching for imformation about my grandmother Dora Desmond and her parents John Desmond and Mary (Duggan) Desmond. She was born in Macroom or perhapsClonmoyle between 1879 and1885. There is a Honoria Desmond born to John and Mary in the records but Dora never used that name. Thereis no Dora in the records.She emigrated to Boston in the early 1900s and after a hard life died destitute in the 1940s. Id like to learn anything I can about the family in Ireland, then and today if it exists.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Bob Sherman

sherm

6 replies

Bob:

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

The subscription site Roots Ireland has six baptismal records for children with parents of John Desmond and Mary Duggan: John 1866 Margaret 1868 Denis 1870 Jeremiah 1873 Patrick 1876 Honora 1879. The children were all baptized in Coachford RC parish and the townland in 1879 was Clonmoyle which you mention in your note. Clonmoyle East and West townlands are in Aghabulloge civil parish and an alternative name for Coachford RC is Aghabulloge. 

My hunch is that Honora born in 1879 is your Dora.

Did the family stay in Ireland?

Roger McDonnell

Name:Honora DesmondDate of Birth:
Date of Baptism:11-Jul-1879Address:ClonmoyleParish/District:COACHFORDGender:FemaleCountyCo. Cork
Denomination:Roman Catholic
Father:John DesmondMother:Mary DugganOccupation:
Sponsor 1 /
Informant 1:John Geary Sponsor 2 /
Informant 2:Ann Murphy 

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Bob,

I agree with Roger that Hanora is probably your Dora. In Ireland, the name Hanora is normally shortened to Nora. So I think Nora got “refined” to Dora for some reason.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

 

 

 

 

Roger and Ellwyn

First, thank you so much for your quick work. I had seen some of these records but could not piece it together.

My grandmother is a mystery on both sides of the Atlantic. She had a hard life. My grandfather John Molloy, who emigrated from Duleek with his entire family, died of pneumonia in Boston in 1914. Dora had two kids with John and three more with a second husband who also died. She was declared an unfit mother by the Boston courts and the kids were removed and scattered through New England. She worked as a domestic but lost touch with her kids completely and died in an Almshouse.

My mother never spoke of this. So Dora is a mystery.

Sad story, but not uncommon. The diaspora was not great for a lot of emigrees. In fact, I believe my generation has benefited the most from their sacrifice.

I d like to figure out if all or some  of the family stayed in Ireland and  If there are decendents there today. If I could find relatives there perhaps I can learn about the fMily’s life there in the late 1800s.

 

 

Thanks again

 

Bob

 

 

 

sherm

Bob:

By 1901, there were no Desmonds from your family still in Clonmoyle. You can scan the civil marriage records at the free site www.irishgenealogy.ie from maybe 1890 on in the Macroom registration district and see if you can find one of Dora's siblings listed. The father's names are shown on the records so you would need a John Desmond as father. You can also look for the civil death records for John and Mary.

Roger

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Bob I think we may be related. I believe Dora Desmond is my grandmother as well as yours. I would be her granddaughter from her 2nd marriage to Patrick Mahoney (my grandfather). My dad's death certificate listed her as Dora Molloy, but I learned of her maiden name thru another website. I never met either of my grandparents on my dad's side of the family, as they had already passed. My dad never spoke of them, and all I knew was that his father had died or left and his mom had placed him in an orphange. From the postings above, you know a lot more about her than I. I'm not sure, but I believe my dad was the only child Dora and Patrick had together. I think Patrick was previously married and had children from that marriage, and, unfortunately, his first wife passed.

I hope this is a match for you and helps you in your research...... Good luck ~ Anne Mahoney

 

 

 

 

Anne

 

 

Wow! I have been looking for anyone who might have been linked to Dora for years. My mother refused to talk about it. Her story is quite sad actually. I will pull out my files and send you a proper history after I refresh my memory.

I can tell you this right away. There were three Mahoney children and for a while there were five as my mother Mary and her brother Chris were Mahoneys for a couple of years. 

it is a complicated, tortured story and I need get it sorted in my head before I tell it.

If you are up for it lets communicate through email. I am bobsherman515@gmail.com

best

bob

 

 

 

sherm

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