Hi Wilf-Gains – I have some information on your Bartholomew Hartnett which you might find interesting and which I came across while researching the family of my g-g grandparents William Harris and Ellen Foley.
William and Ellen emigrated from County Cork to Canboro Township, Haldimand Co., Ontario in about 1842. They were married in the parish of Schull West and their son John "Haris" was baptised there in 1840. I found the baptism of their daughter Catherine in L’Orignal, Ontario (on the Quebec border) in April 1843 among some Roman Catholic records. The sponsors were Daniel “Barrey” and Mary Collins (FYI, female sponsors in Roman Catholic records were usually listed by their maiden, and not their married, name). The name Barry seemed familiar and when I checked the 1851 Ontario census I discovered that William and Ellen’s neighbours in Canboro township were Daniel and Mary Barry.
I also found that other immediate neighbours were Jeremiah Collins and wife Mary, and Bartholomew “Harnet” and his wife Joanna and that like William and Ellen they were all Roman Catholics from Ireland.
I did some research on the Harnet, Collins and Barry families to see if in fact they came from the same area in Cork as William and Ellen, and it appears they did. I found the following baptism at Irishgenealogy.ie (go to the tab at the top for "church records" and use their search engine to look at the records):
- John Barry, baptised April 31, 1841 in Schull East parish, parents Daniel Barry and Mary Collins, sponsors Bartholomew “Hodnett” and Johanna Collins.
It appears the name Harnet or Hartnett was often spelled “Hodnett” in Irish records. When I researched the name “Hodnett”, I came up with the following baptisms:
- John Hodnett, baptised June 19, 1837 in Schull East parish, parents “Bartholmew” Hodnett and Johanna Collins, sponsors Jeremiah Collins and Mary Collins
- Thomas Hodnett, baptised July 22, 1842 in Schull East parish, parents Bartholomew Hodnett and Johanna Collins, sponsors Patrick Collins and Elizabeth Hodnett
- Elizabeth Hodnett, baptised March 11, 1840 in Schull East parish, parents “Bartholomeus” Hodnett and “Joanna” Collins, sponsors Timothy Driscoll and Mary Driscoll
- Ellen Hodnett, baptised March 26, 1845 in Schull East parish, parents Bartholomew Hodnett and Joanna Collins, sponsors Daniel Collins and Catherine Hurly
I also found a marriage between Bartholomew “Hartnell” and Joanna Collins on January 17, 1832 in Schull East parish, witnesses Jeremiah Collins and John Salter.
You mentioned that Bartholomew and wife Joanna came from the town of Skibbereen – this may be, but Skibbereen is not in the parish of Schull East but somewhat east of it. Also, you indicated that the Barry family emigrated with Bartholomew to Ontario in 1847, but given that Daniel Barry and Mary Collins appear as sponsors in Ontario 1843, this may not be correct.
A few other items of interest: Griffith's Valuation shows that in 1853 there was a Thomas Hodnett living in the townland of Letter, in Cork County. Letter townland is in the Roman Catholic parish of Schull West, near the village of Ballydehob, Cork. What is interesting is that living next to Thomas Hodnett was one John Salter. You will note that one of the witnesses to Bartholomew and Joanna's marriage was a John Salter. Bartholomew had a son named Thomas, and I would suggest that the Thomas Hodnett referred to in Griffith's Valuation may have either been a brother or the father of your Bartholomew. Griffith's Valuation also shows a Richard Hodnett living in Ballydehob townland, a William Hodnett living in Dunmanus West townland and a Francis Hodnett living in Skull townland, all of which were in the Roman Catholic parish of Schull West.
Also, I found a record of a Bartholomew Hodnett who was the school master of a Roman Catholic school in the village of Crookhaven, County Cork in 1826. The record lists Crookhaven as being in the parish of Kilmoe - which is another name for the parish of Schull West.
Kerry Johnston
kjohnston@bigelowhendy.com
