Michael Callahan & Bridget McGinley Family - Ballymichael, Fanad

Thank you both so much! Yes, Seamus, that is my GGGrandmothers death certificate from Arizona (not Pennsylvania). I think her birth year is listed incorrectly on the Arizona death record. She died in 1939. That is also the baptismal record I saw that I thought was her. Notice that the baptismal record does not have her birthdate, so the fact that I have March seems feasible, although baptising at 9 months old, in December, seems a little late to me.

Cousin (?) Seamus, an easy way to see if that is the correct Michael is to see if we share any DNA. I wonder...have you had your DNA checked and is it on ancestry.com? Or, maybe on GEDCOM? I put mine on both. I will go check. :)

Roger, thank you so much for your information, too. I know that a lot of records from Ireland are gone for that time period, which is why I am a little leery about assuming I have the right family on Callaghans. The only other thing that makes it seem like this might be the right family is that Michael/Bridget's children were Mary, Francis, James and Eleanor. Mary Callahan Meehan had 9 children and among them was a Mary, Ellen/Ella, and Francis -- but no Michael, no James and no Bridget. The only living boys name was Thomas, which I am pretty sure was the name of John Meehan's father.

It's difficult to figure it out, but fun!

Marianna

Great work gentlemen, thanks very much!

Clare Doyle

Genealogy Support 

Thank you again. I am hopeful this is the right person, but I would be interested in touching base with Rosemary to see what she thinks. My Mary Callahan Meehan and her husband John lived in Nevada and Arizona on the West coast of the US, never in Pennsylvania. There may be two couples with the same name around the same time. I think this may be my Mary in the records you have given me because the names of the parents are correct. I am thinking the East coast Mary may be someone different?

I hope to hear from Rosemary. You may give her my email if you like.

Marianna

Well, Mary first went to Pennsylvania, but didn't stay long and came out to California before marrying John. John  was never in Pennsylvania.

Just to clarify, :)

Marianna

You are so helpful! I am grateful that you have taken an interest in this. :) I will email you. I was a little confused. I thought maybe there were two families, one in the west and one in the east USA. It is sad that the family died out in Ireland, but I can tell you that Mary and John have many descendents here in the US. :) I believe that this family may have been characters, like you said. I know that Mary lived a very long and adventurous life. Her family was all quite intelligent, by the way, so I think these Callaghans were smart and resourceful. I became more interested in them when I did my DNA and it showed I was 26% Irish, which for an American is quite a bit of Irish. I have a long story that was told by one of Mary's daughters on a tape when the daughter was about 80 years old. It is a fun tape and has been transcribed. I will send it to you.

I'm emailing you now,

Thank you again, Marianna

PS I am descended from Mary's daughter Katharine Josephine (Meehan) Drew.

That photo of the homestead is fantastic! So beautiful!

Marianna

Hello Marianna,

Your GGGrandmother is certainly an interesting person!  Her story would be fascinating to me even without a family history connection.  

I agree with Seamus that it is very possible that she is the Mary Josephine born in Clondavaddog to Bridget McGinley and Michael Callahan in about 1848. I also have Callaghan roots in Fanad, but I haven't caught up with all of the connections that Seamus has made among the historical Callahan families.

I wonder if a marriage record for MJ and John might exist in San Francisco.  And if it did, would it give any greater detail about their hometowns.  Maybe the Catholic diocese or parish in San Francisco has archival records for 1873.  Its something to consider.

But MJ is still a family connection to me even if she is not a Fanad Callahan.  The connection is through her daughter Viola who married Mark, and Mark is my husband's great-uncle.  

After emigrating from Germany as a child in 1886, Mark left the U.S. east coast between 1900 and 1910 to live in the dry Arizona climate to help manage his asthma.  Mark and Viola married in 1912 and they had a daughter Pauline in 1914.  After Viola died in 1916, it appears that MJ helped raise Pauline because Mark, Pauline, and MJ are together in the same household in both the 1920 and 1930 census records.

As far as the Meehan side is concerned, I haven't gone there!  I know there are some good resources in Mayo because I've used them for another branch of my family, but I haven't stumbled across anything for John.

Please feel free to email me at famhist33@gmail.com.

Rosemary

Thank you Rosemary. :) I know all about Viola. I have her death certificate even (so sad). I will email you.

Marianna

Woo Hoo! You are definitely related!! Which means I have the correct Michael and Bridget. You share DNA with CMBenefield. I also share DNA with him. Benefield is descended from Bridget and Michael Callahan through Mary Callahan, Eleanor's sister. So do I. The only difference is he is descended from Mary's daughter Ethel and I am descended through Mary's daughter Katharine. So, you and I are cousins, too. I also have a DNA match with Danielle Zoe Garrett who is descended from your Eleanor. So you see, it all fits. When I check shared matches Garrett and I share Benefield. Check if you are a match to Danielle Zoe Garrett for fun. :) She is descended from Eleanor. Ancestry might show you and I as matches in a few weeks. They constantly update, but because this was several generations back we may only share a little DNA. Still, Hello cousin. :)

Thank you so much for the wonderful photographs. :) It is really great to have the DNA confirmation, especially when there are so many similar names.

I reread this whole thread and looked at all the documents again. :) The only thing I wonder is why a young woman would have left Ireland for the US back then, but I guess I won't know that answer.

Marianna

PS I did contact the archdiose in San Fancisco and they did have a marriage record of Meehan and Callaghan for 1873, but I think it was a different couple because the Callaghan was Ellen, but it's all in Latin, so will need to get it translated to be sure.

Wow, that's great!  Was it from St Mary's Church?  I wonder if "Ellen" could be a witness instead of the bride.  - Rosemary

Hello Shamus and Marianne.

I am related to you both through Mary Josephine and John Meehan's daughter Ethel (Meehan) Benefield.

My Grandmother Ethel spoke of her mother fondly and relayed the story of how her mother Mary left Philadelphia on a ship to the isthmus of Panama in the late 1860s. She travelled with two girl friends. When they arrived in Panama, they took the Panama Railroad to the west coast. From there they boarded a Banana Boat to San Francisco. Her two girl friends found employment in San Francisco and the Sacramento Valley as maids/nannies. Mary found work as a maid in San Francisco. Mary met John Meehan, who was a laborer in San Francisco and they were married. They moved to Gold Hill, Nevada, where John worked in the mines. I created a YouTube video about my Grandmother Ethel, using a recording that was taped back in 1967 along with family photos. It can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0_3b_nLcU4

Mary Josephine was a resident of the Arizona Pioneers Home during the last years of her life. She lived with other pioneers like Doc Holiday's (of Wyatt Erp fame) girl friend Big Nose Kate.

I have attached my DNA Relatives...

1870 Census for San Francisco shows a Meehan family featuring a 25 year old John (the youngest of brothers?)

The dates seem to fit.

Mike

Thank you, Seamus. :) It has been a lot of fun to do this!

Mike, I'm outwest6112 on ancestry. You are a strong DNA match to me and we are both DNA matches to 'Garrett' and Seamus is a DNA match to Garrett, which means we do have the right Bridget and Michael. :) Now, who is Jed0814, I wonder? I'll have to go figure that one out!

PS I do think that is likely the right John on the San Francisco census.

Thanks Marianna and Seamus!

I believe that there are still Meehans in San Francisco who are related to us. I believe that one of John's older brothers was a policeman there. Marianna I believe that you are related to a Drew who I made contact with long ago, who was related to Edwin Drew and Kate Meehan. Finding Seamus has been quite the break through for me.  Best wishes and I will be in touch. Mike

Seamus-

Attached is what I have for Liam.

Mike

Hello all,

I come late to the conversation.... However, my Great Grandmother was Elaine Meehan.

Thank you for all of the fascinating research!

The video-interview of Ethel Meehan (who, as it turns out, was my Great Aunt) was so interesting. I shared it with my parents. Ethel mentions my Great Grandmother marrying my Great Grandfather, George Jay, in Arizona.

As children, we had heard about our Great Great Grandparents marrying in the Old St. Mary's Church in San Francisco.  

Thank you for all of this

Anthony Corcoran 

Hello everyone! My great grandmother is Ella Meehan, daughter of John and Mary meehan, she married William Paul Voita in Phoenix Arizona. John Meehan was born in Kildasser, a small town north of Swinford. He went to England in his youth to study glass blowing, but ended up going to America i think when he was 19. Im not sure if he travelled overland or made the ocean passage to California, he married Mary there. After several mining jobs in CA and Nevada, and Bisbee AZ he was offered the job of foreman at the Silver King mine north of phoenix. He was 6'5 and would often participate in bareknuckle boxing matches. By all acounts he was a respected and feared man among miners, who were hard men in their own right. I managed to get over to Ireland last year and go to Swinford and Ballymichael. If this chat is still active id love to share what ive found and get to know some of my cousins! Ive attached a picture of Mary, theres one photo my parents have of John Meehan looking terrifying that i will try to locate. 

Hello Kenneth - 

Its very nice to hear from yet another branch of the John & Mary Josephine Callahan Meehan clan, and thank you for the lovely picture of Mary as a young woman!

From Mike Benefield, I knew John was from Mayo but I had not heard it was Killasser and Swinford.  I would be very interested in that further background if you have any.  

My connection is multi-threaded:

My father's mother was Anna Carrabine (1891-1962) from Swinford, Mayo.  Anna's mother was Margaret Rowley from Killasser.  

My father's father was James Callahan (1878-1981) from Balloor, Fanad, Donegal. The DNA test results for my father's brother Thomas show the connections to Seamus and Mike B discussed here previously.  Anna and James met and married in Philadelphia.

My late husband was a great-nephew of Mark Heinze who married Viola, the youngest child of John & Mary Meehan.

Hope to hear from you again!

Rosemary