Dear Roger McDonnell:
Thank you for your diligent work and prompt reply. In spite of my very Anglo surname,(Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire), my mother's family are the Meagers, the Whelans, the Hogans ,and the Corcorans. My grandmother was Mary Agnes Hogan (nee Meagher) (1875 - 1965). The Catherine Meagher in question is my maternal great great grandmother - just wanted you to know that I qualify as a legitimate inquirer, at least on one side if the ledger.
Here are my sources of information:
1. The descendants of Patrick Meagher, elder son of Catherine, are resolute in declaring Catherine and Patrick Meagher to have been married in Thurles in 1828 - no proof but a firmly held and oft repeated belief;
2. The U.S. death certificate for James Meagher (wherein my grandmother Mary Hogan, James' daughter, was informant) lists his birthdate as Nov 13, 1844, (d/death - 30 April,1832) his father as Patrick Meagher, and his mother as Catherine Pennefeather (not Pennefather), their respective places of birth as Ireland;
3. The 1870 U.S. census for New Brunswick , N.J. show Catherine Meagher (spelled Maher - a common error) as age 63, ergo born in 1807, living with her younger son, James , my ancestor, ,age 23. ergo born in 1847. ( James became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1871).
4. Now the part that is hard to believe. Catherine does not appear in the 1880 U. S. census so we conclude she died circa mid 1870s. We are absolutely certain Catherine was buried "old St Peters" Cemetery , the traditional Irish Catholic burying ground in New Brunswick. In 1889 " old St Peters" cemetery was sold to the newly created Sacred Heart Church. Bit by bit the cemetery was covered over and destroyed by a new church, school, convent and other parish buildings. St Peters Church claims to have kept meticulous records of the displaced graves but the records are in St Peters Archives and although I have been trying for two years, I have been unable to gain access to the archives. Recently the archivist told me by phone that she doubts they have any records predating 1900 which is directly at variance with their public statements and representations. As you can tell this is a source of greatest irritation to me.
Sadly .I think we are forced to conclude that although the names you found are very similar to the people we seek, they are not the ones. There has never been a hint of anyone named Patrick Treacy in the family line. (The family mantra has always been "the Hogans came from Kilkenny - the Meaghers came from Tipperary" ). Our internal informatiom as to James. especially. is in conflict.
Never the less I very much appreciate your kind efforts on our behalf and would be glad if the information I have provided will shed any light on what sometimes seems to be a never ending search.
Cordially yours,
Robert Hornby (assisted by daughter, Catharine Hornby)
