Patrick Ponsonby, cooper, b. Ireland 1818, d. Illinois 1897, said he lived in Limerick
Patrick Ponsonby, a cooper, was born in Ireland about 1818. We do not know the names of his parents and need to find them. We have no record of his christening, but he was a Roman Catholic later in life, so we assume he was christened in a Catholic church. He married Mary O’Brien; again we have no record of this. His son Patrick was born about 1839, in Limerick, Limerick, Ireland; this information comes from the younger Patrick’s enlistment papers in the US Army. He had two daughters; Mary was born in 1840 in Ireland and Katy was born in 1846 in Ireland, as recorded in the US Federal Census. Patrick sailed on the ship A.Z. from Liverpool to New York City, arriving on 16 May 1848. He did not travel with his wife and children, but with 2 Ponsonby women who may have been his sisters. We have no passenger list showing Mary and the 3 children. Two years later Patrick, Mary and the children show up on the 1850 US Federal Census in St. Charles, Kane County, Illinois. This was a very small frontier town founded in 1834, and another Ponsonby family was there as well. We assume Patrick went to St. Charles because he knew his relative Michael (1802-1872) was there. We can find no documentary evidence on the relationship, but DNA tests on descendants show they may have been brothers. Patrick lived in St. Charles until at least 1855, perhaps 1860. He then moved to Chicago where he lived the rest of his life. He continued to work as a cooper and apprenticed his son and grandsons in the trade. His son John E. passed away on June 23, 1885, in Cook County, Illinois. Patrick’s wife Mary passed away on June 3, 1891, in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of 76. Patrick Ponsonby died on June 2, 1897, in Cook County, Illinois, when he was 79 years old. At the time of his death he owned 4 small houses in Chicago.
We have recently found baptism records at St. John's Limerick that appear to be for his son Patrick(1839) and daughter Mary Anne(1840) but the surname is Punch. Would like to determine if this is the right family. I am aware of Punchaby being a surname variant. Also aware of 2 sisters, Dora Punch O'Shaughnessy (1830-1913) and Margaret Ponsonby Ennis, who wrote letters to "dear sister" including one that said "father died and is buried here." We do not know why they used different surnames, or, for that matter, that they are related to Patrick Ponsonby. Dora's descendants, who still have the letters, are certain that the two were sisters. This case may argue for the baptism records being for Patrick's children. If so, they are the first records we have found in Ireland, and confirmation that the family lived in Limerick for some years. Dora was born in Lurriga and married from St. Mungret, by the way.
If we could find any occupational record for Patrick Punch, cooper, in Limerick between about 1835 and 1848, that would be helpful. If we could find a ship's manifest for Mary Punch traveling to the United States or Canada with children Patrick, Mary Anne, and Katy between about 1843 and 1848, that would also be helpful. Then perhaps searching for Patrick's baptism or marriage in Ireland under the surname Punch would yield results where Ponsonby has not.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.