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- I have found no records of John’s sisters after their arrival in NYC
or when Bridget, Ann and Mary arrived. I found a record of a Mary McMenamin, ‘age 30,
spinster,’ with a John, ‘age 9,’ and a girl, Eliza, ‘age 6,’
arriving in NYC on the "Thaetus," 18 November 1847, but I don’t know if
that Mary is John's sister Mary.
- I don't know the married names of John's sisters and so can't trace them
in the U.S.
- I don't know how my great grandfather John
was related to Patrick, the father of the child John whom John, Susan and
their mother brought to New York in April 1847 on the "Marion." John and
Patrick were not brothers because in the 1853 bank record, my great grandfther said that
he had no brothers.
- I have not been able to find any old or current city or townland in
Donegal named Duisk. The only Duisk I could find in Ireland was an ancient monastery in
Kilkenny, Duiske Abbey, named for a stream, Duiske - dubh uisce or ‘black
water,’ which flows into the river Barrow, far from Donegal. The only record I
have of Duisk is in John's NYC bank record in 1853. John couldn't write so a bank
clerk wrote down what he thought he heard John say.
- Several people think John’s Duisk might have been the current
townland of ‘Dooish,’ which is 2-3 miles west of Ballybofey which in turn is 4-5
miles west of Killygordon (total about 7 miles!). But Ballybofey and its twin city of
Stranorlar are, and probably were, bigger than Killygordon so why would John reference
Duisk to Killygordon?
- Others think Duisk might have been the townland of Roosky, 3-4 miles
northeast of Killygordon, or the townland of Trusk, 5-6 miles southwest of Killygordon and
2-3 miles south of Ballybofey.
- Joseph Crawford, an expert amateur genealogist from Killygordon, thinks
Duisk may be not a townland but a small section of a townland. We have not yet
begun a search based on that idea.
- Fr. Grant of St. Patrick's at "The Crossroads," just south of
Killygordon, said that anyone in Donaghmore Parish, i.e. including Belalt, Corraffrin or
Trusk, would have been buried in the cemetery at St. Patrick's. I searched there and found
no Owen but the grave could have since lost its marker and gone unclaimed as many have. I
have not yet searched the cemeteries in Stranorlar Parish (Dooish) or Convoy Parish
(Roosky). There are also other small graveyards in the area, such as Sessiagh
O'Neill, that I have not searched. However, none of the Catholic graveyards in the
area have records that go back much before the mid-1800's.
- I don't know the maiden name of Mary, my great grandfather John's wife.
- I don't know if my uncle Peter married and, if so, whether he had
children. My uncle Joseph was often ill and may not have married.
Questions/Comments let me know at
rjcollins1@earthlink.net |
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