Kavanagh/Hyland Ardsallagh
My great-great-grandfather Michael Kavanagh & his family were listed as living in the Townland of Ardsallagh on the 1821 Census. He was a 30 year old gardener & his wife was 35 year old Rose Ellen Hyland. They had 4 children – Mary (7), Bridget (5), Catherine (3) & Peter (1). The family immigrated to Utica, NY around 1850, with Mary & Catherine remaining in Ireland. Additional family members that were born after the Census were – Ellen, John, Elizabeth (1828) & Rose (1833). Rose married a Patrick Day & Elizabeth married my great-grandfather Patrick FitzSimons from Saul, County Down. Elizabeth & Patrick were married in the Chicago area in about 1855.
On the Census there were 15 occupied homes & occupations were listed as blacksmith, flax spinner, labourer, carpenter, house servant, gardner & one farmer of 16 acres. In-as-much as the Townland of Ardsallagh was 665 acres it is probable that Ardsallagh was the demesne of the 3rd Earl Ludlow & those that lived there were employed by the ‘Big House’.
