O'Brians/Cannons of Beltony

[ndiem]

 I'm trying to research the family (both ancestors and descendents) of my grandmother, Bridget O'Brian, born October 6, 1888 in Beltony to Charles and Mary (Cannon) O'Brian. Birth registration also lists District of Crossroads, Registrar's District of Dunfanaghy in County Donegal. I know of two older brothers, John (b. 8/18/1877) and Patrick (b. 12/26/1880), but there are supposedly 7 or 8 other younger siblings. Any help or guidance would be very much appreciated.

[GaryOB]

Ni ndiem
Can I throw a "long shot" at you.  I am researching my fathers family and the earliest known member is my Grandfather Alexander OBrien who was born in 1906 in Coleraine.
He had cousins in Canada but I have no names etc at this time.  Basically he appeared in Coleraine possibly from Canada possibly anywhere.
His father was called John and was a Blacksmith.  Your date of 1877 for your John would make him approx 29 when my Grandfather was born.
Any connection?

By coincidence, we had many family holidays at Dunfanaghy maybe there was something "in the blood."

Gary

[ndiem]

Hi Gary,
Let's try this again. (I sent you a long reply earlier today and I think it got lost in cyberspace somewhere!)
Glad to hear from you. It would be a hoot if we were long-lost relatives (whom I'm hoping to find as one result of this research.) Unfortunately, I've only just begun visiting the Ireland sites, so don't have a whole lot to offer you.
I did hear from a very nice guy in Australia who offered the following O'Briens/O'Brians in the Tullaghobegley area as listed in Griffith's Valuation from the mid-1800s: Daniel, Denis, Edward, Harry/Henry, James, John, Michael, Patrick and Roger. He also found three women listed as heads of households---Honoria, Mary and Susan---whom he assumed were widows.
Anyhow, I will continue to try and dig up more on these people, and of course will share anything I find.
Where are you anyhow? And where is Coleraine? I'm in the U.S.

Nancy

[GaryOB]

Hi Nancy
Just a quick reply because I will need to dig out some old notes to answer properly, because apart from the details regarding Coleraine mentioned previously I am chasing another possible link to a researcher in Canada.
I will be able to check the names mentioned in that regard and remind myself of the "cousins" who were from the Buffalo area.
Gary

[GaryOB]

Hi Nancy

Have come across a researcher who may be connected to Mary Cannon. This person is descended from Sarah Griffith (see thread below) who emigrated to Australia on board the Caribou in 1859.  Her mother was Mary Cannon. 
Mary Cannon is described as coming from Carrowcannon House, Co Donegal which is in the same area that you are looking.
There is a strong possibility that Sarah Griffith and Mary Cannon could be sisters or cousins!! both linked to Mary Cannon.

Check out Carrowcannon House and farm at (http://loughrey.ie/Rur112.htm) which was bought by Daniel Sweeney (Mac Sweeney) in 1876.

Check out the Griffiths valuation for Co Donegal 1857 (Raymunterdoney) at (http://www.failteromhat.com/griffiths.php) and you will find many Cannon's and the "District of Crossroads" you mention and Carrowcannon.  This shows all these Cannons were from the same parish of Raymunterdoney thus likely to be related in some way.  I didn't check any nearby parish's for other Cannons or O'Brians yet.

Gary

[GaryOB]

Hi Nancy

Got a couple of nice pages for you to consult.

The first is the Tithe Applotment for Tullaghobigly (1830) which is the parish you are researching and you will see lots of O'Briens including a Charles at Meenaclady.(http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/%7Edonegal/tulltithes.htm).

The second is a description of the general area and you will find all the places described (http://www.roarty.com/r630_tullaghobigley.htm).  It shows that all these Cannons / O'Briens / Griffith families lived in quite close proximity.

Gary

[ndiem]

Thanks for looking our for me, Gary.
I must admit I'm getting confused by all these different names of Irish places, as well as terms like parish (some relative to religion, some not.) I'll gladly take your word for it that these place names, whatever they represent, are the locations I'm looking for. Regarding 1830 document, I don't have a clue when my great-grandfather Charles was born. I'm thinking the 1850s (as the earliest child I've found is John in 1877), but another Charles could be a great-great-grandfather.
I've also e-mailed the Catholic diocese of Raphoe (which I'm fairly sure is the right one) to see if it maintains records; no response yet.
Now, onto those Web sites!

[GaryOB]

Hi Nancy

I have the advantage of coming from Ireland thus am familiar with all these terms and many of these places (we had several holidays in this very area when I was growing up).  Here is a link to a map of the parish's of donegal, you will see that numbers 45 & 50 are the key areas.
http://www.ancestryireland.co.uk/index.php?filename=map_donegal

As it happens I have tacked down another researcher looking for O'Brians from Donegal, in particular Katie born 1890-95.  At the moment I don't have any further details but will let you know when I find out more. Seems to be the right time-frame but I have asked them for a location or other siblings to try and establish a firm link.

Have you any more names?

Gary

[ndiem]

I'm going home to Cleveland (Ohio) this weekend to spend a week or so puttering around with my parents. (We live about eight or nine hours away.) While there, my mom and I are going to lunch with her cousin to see if the two of them can't nail down all the names they remember.

Supposedly Charles and Mary (Cannon) O'Brian had about 12 children. Mike in Australia sent me info on two sons, John (b. 1877) and Patrick (b. 1880). All my grandmother, Bridget (called Delia) ever said about brothers was that they all "died in the mines." At present I have no other male names.

Bridget joined two younger sisters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvanie in the teens: Sarah and Julia. There was also Mary and Annie, who I believe stayed behind in Ireland. My mom also remembers a sister who died of TB and another who died in childbirth. At least one sister was "on sticks," as my grandmother called crutches, and one was a nun.

That's all I've got this week; I'm hopeful lunch will turn up more. Gramma's been dead since 1970, and I didn't think to ask her all the pertinent questions when I was a teenager.