Kia ora, Roger.
Thank you for your swift reply to my query and apologies for taking so long to get back in touch. I’ve been going through my records to see if any of it fits with what you have found. I have not made any progress on that.
The last name, Giveran vs McGiveran or variant: My Great Great Grandmother came over as McGivern as did her daughters as McGiveran and McGiverin – possibly written as heard by the relevant ‘official’. I understand these three women were literate. It’s so strange that the name hardly exists now in Athlone.
The info about the death of John McG was from a Keogh ‘cousin’ who I was writing to in the 90s. Her name is P. Keogh who lived in Tavanagh, Athlone. This lovely woman wrote that the last of the McGivern name owned land about a a mile from where she and her family lived in Tavanagh around the 1930-40s. She said the article about the McGivern death caused by being gored by his bull was published in the Westmeath Independent in 1870.
The Giverans you mention are intriguing. John would have been born circa 1800 and Michael circa 1836. The Christian names are so exact and these dates are so similar to the births of Mary Ann’s father (b.c. late 1790s) and herself (b.c.1833 -1837). Her father was Denis James Keogh who was living in Feacle House between 1814 and 1837.
We think we descend from Denis James second wife, Catherine Sharkey. They married late-ish 1832 in St. Peters & Pauls. Catherine Sharkey d. 1842 at age 40 and she and her son, John Peter, are buried in the Athlone Abbey cemetery!
Mary Ann came to NZ in 1870, followed by her daughters, Mary and Jane, in 1875. The birth dates for the sisters have remained fairly consistent in the official records, not including shipping. When Mary died in 1924, the ages of her two sons were noted. We are quuite sure the older, aged 68, was Michael b.c. 1856. The name Michael has come down to us via the offspring of both of his sisters.
The marriage and other records of Mary Ann and her brother (probably 1/2 brother), Patrick, are very consistent with the info her granddaughters and niece passed to us. Also, Keogh relations in Athlone knew of the brother and sister and wondered what had happened to them. They were delighted to receive my letters out of the blue.
By the way, Roger, one of my Scottish lines is MacDonnell of the Highland Glengarry branch.
I have my fingers crossed that my great great grandfather will allow us to find his records. It might be that he was, in fact, Giverin or variant spelling. One of the MacDonnells was also very elusive. I finally found him as MacDonald in marriage records of the early 1800s. I recognised him by his wife’s name!
I look forward to hearing from you again.
Thank you, Roger.
He mihi nui (Warm regards).
Anne
