Michael Doona & Ellen Griffin and Other Doona Families -This Information was given to me by William D. Romanski.
Unfortunately the Killorglin Roman Catholic parish registers do not record a marriage for a Timothy Doona to Bridget O’Sullivan, nor do they record a baptism for a child Michael of theirs. As the records were complete to 1851 for baptisms and 1850 for marriages I feel confident that the family was not there. This is the wrong parish—the word coming errantly down through the generations—or Michael was not baptized and the parents not married. Perhaps they fled the country for reasons apart from the famine. A check of the Glenbeigh records did not reveal Michael’s baptism either, although I am compelled now to try again.
The problem of proving Michael Doona’s parents isn’t easily addressed. Two things support the claim that Timothy Doona was the father of Michael: the family legend passed on by Kitty Horgan and the civil birth record of Michael and Ellen’s first child Timothy coupled with the traditional Irish Catholic naming patterns. Yet there is contradiction to this. At the time of his marriage Michael told the registrar that his father was James Doona. Also, the baptismal record of Michael and Ellen’s first child refers to that child as James. If one is to assume that Michael’s first son had the same name as Michael’s father (which is a fair assumption) then one can say that that name was James, Timothy, or perhaps James Timothy or Timothy James. Either way it is likely Michael never knew his father and was even only told about him.
So was Michael Doona really from Killorglin? It’s hard to say. The records could be incomplete or he may not have been baptized there. A check of the Glenbeigh records did not reveal Michael’s baptism either, although I am compelled now to try again. At this time it is hard to say where he was from, but nevertheless it can’t be too far from Coolroe.
In the record of his marriage to Ellen Griffin, Michael Doona is said to have resided in a place called Dromglass. The first child of Michael and Ellen was baptized in Glenbeigh and the Roman Catholic parish register says that the family resided in Dromglass. The only other mention of this place that I have found is in the civil death record of a Patrick Griffin who died in 1868 (see below). Where is Dromglass? I studied every map of Kerry that could get my hands on in search of the elusive Dromglass. I knew it existed and it was not just one of those names that were misheard. It truly appeared in records recorded by officials who were no doubt Kerrymen themselves. Asking around and posting messages on various message boards hoping that someone else might have heard of it or seen it I still got no response. Until I perchance had a correspondence with a man whose father-in-law was an old man from Ireland. In fact the old man who was a Griffin who was born in Drombrane and still spoke Irish. Yes, he knew Dromglass, and “(Dromglass) is (or was) between Glenbeigh and Rossbeigh.” This rather precise description leads to the now obvious conclusion that the townland known as Drom in other records is called Dromglass in others.
So what is the story? This description puts the place so close to both Coolroe Lower and Ballynakilly Lower that Uncle Jack Griffin’s farm might have been in a spot called Dromglass. Michael was residing there at the time of his marriage in 1872 and by the Glenbeigh Roman Catholic records, his son Timothy was born there. Complicating the matter the civil record of Timothy’s birth says he was born in Coolroe. An explanation may be determined by a translation: Drom means hill or ridge and glass means green. So Dromglass is the Green Hill. The townlands of Drom and Drom West do include a ridgelike hill that is no doubt green. Furthermore the hill seems to straddle that intersection of the boundaries of Drom, Coolroe Upper and Ballynakilly Lower. Perhaps those who lived on the ridge itself were said to be at Dromglass, and Jack Griffin’s farm was in Coolroe Upper and on the ridge. I, for one, am quite happy with that explanation with the exception that the Doona family was in Coolroe Lower in the census of 1901. In nearby Shannera, Killorglin there lived another Doona family, that of John Doona and Ellen Doona. Their children, as recorded in Irish civil records which commenced in 1864, were Timothy, Mary, Ellen, and Julia. Timothy was born in Glenbeigh and Julia in Shannera. It seems that John and Ellen may have been children of the either or each of Michael or John Doona, who were recorded in the 1852 Valuation. And Michael and/or John may have been closely related to Timothy (James?) Doona, father of Michael.
In the same time frame in Killorglin (not sure which townland) were other Doona families, any of which could be related to ours. Thomas Doona and Catherine Geran had at least four children: Mary, Johanna, Catherine, and Julia. Timothy Doona and Honora McGillicuddy had at least two children: Mary and Honora. Michael Doona and Helen Sweeney had at least one child James. Michael Doona and Bridget Sullivan had at least two children: Michael and Patrick. Michael Doona and Honora Kelleher had at least two children Mary and Michael. John Doona and Catherine McKenna had at least two children Catherine and Honora. John Doona and Johanna Grady had at least three children: Catherine, Ellen, and Jeremiah. James Doona and Mary Fenaghty had at least five children: Margaret, Ellen, John, Julia, and James. Florence Doona and Margaret Sullivan had at least one child Patrick.
Killorglin was most assuredly a place of many Doona families. Whether our Michael’s family came from there is certainly open to question. It may be that Doonas are historically from Killorglin, so for that to trickle into family history is not an oddity. Nevertheless, the names Michael, Ellen, Mary, and Timothy are often repeated in the foregoing families, which may belie a Michael and/or Timothy who may have been an ancestor to all of these, perhaps just a couple of generations back.
The valuation of land of the 1830s taken for the Tithes showed only four landholders in Coolroe Lower: James Shea, Michael Keane, William Keane and Thomas Keane, any of these could be the brother or father of the mythical Joanne Keane. By the Valuation of 1852 there were no longer any Keanes, although Griffins had moved in. Of course they could have been there in the 1830s not holding land. But that there were Griffin landholders in Coolroe at all adds credence to the story told by Kitty.
It could very well be the land that the Keanes were on in the 1830s was the same as uncle Jack Griffin’s farm. In 1852 Cornelius and John Griffin are on Plot 3 which encompasses a total of 89 acres. Cornelius had a house on Plot 3a and John one on 3b. Map 1 is the detail of a collage of two Ordnance Survey maps, showing Coolroe and Ballynakilly. The houses on 3a and 3b, located just north of the John Griffin land in Ballynakilly Lower, are outlined in red. According to the valuation records books, Cornelius Griffin seems to pass the land to his children Daniel and James. Michael Doona replaces John Griffin in 1890. So John Griffin is no doubt Uncle Jack. And if Jack Griffin is indeed an uncle, then the other Griffins in Coolroe Lower were cousins to Michael Doona.
Michael is shown to be on Plot 7a in 1911 and owns the land outright by 1915. I believe that he is at the same spot, but the original plot was merely divided. Michael passed the land to his son Maurice, who was on the spot in the 1945, holding 37 acres. He is later replaced by Daniel Sullivan.
The Doona farmhouse was located quite near to a gallaun or standing stone. These ancient monoliths were set down by pre-Christian people. An everyday occurrence for the Kerry people, for me it is a testament to the fact that people have lived at that spot for millennia. And that we are no doubt descendants of some of those people.
The history of Michael and Ellen’s family is, as far as I can determine, just as Kitty had described it, with a few clarifications. Michael and Ellen were married in 1872 at the Glenbeigh Roman Catholic chapel. They had 13 children, all of whom were born at Coolroe Lower. Michael died in 1936 in Coolroe at the age of 88 years. Ellen died in 1940 apparently at the home of her daughter Julia in Shonareemore.
Timothy James (b. 27 July 1873, Coolroe or Dromglass) was born a couple of years earlier than Kitty thought. He was not living with the family in Coolroe in the 1901 or 1911 census. At the time of his marriage in 1904 he was living in Falkirk, Scotland. He took the surname Downey after he left Ireland. He married Ann Norah Farnass in the Roman Catholic Church on 24 September of that year. They had four children: Michael, Daniel, James, and Ann. Timothy died in Falkirk in 1927. A James Dunan, son of Michael and Ellen Griffin was recorded as being baptized in the Glenbeigh Roman Catholic Church 30 July 1873. This is certainly Timothy. The difference in name is discussed below.
Mary (b. 15 August 1875) never married, according to Kitty. She was living with the family in 1901 but was absent from the 1911 census. If she was still living, she may have been working apart from the family.
There is a bit of a discrepancy in the birth date of Bridget. The civil record shows a Bridget Doona born to Michael Doona and Ellen Griffin 21 December 1877 (Coolroe). The 1901 census of Ireland shows Bridget aged 20 years. Further census records in the US put Bridget’s birth as late as 1888. Her death certificate says she was born 17 March 1886. At first blush one would tend to trust the civil record. But it may be a possibility that the first Bridget (1877) died and the next daughter was named Bridget. We know this happened with daughters Ellen. Until a thorough search of civil record for that decade span is completed it cannot be said for sure when Bridget was born.
Bridget “Delia” left Ireland in 1901 from Queenstown on the ship Cymric, traveling with Nellie Shea of Ballynakilly. [More on Nellie Shea below.] They arrived at Ellis Island 23 April 1901. Bridget was bound to meet her cousin Bridget Griffin Sweeney in Waterbury, Nellie her family on South Street. Bridget married James Joseph Sullivan in 1906 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury. They lived on Bridge Street and later Williams Street and Wolcott streets. They had eight children. James, Michael, Bridget, Daniel, Helen, Joseph, Mary, Alice, and Arthur. Bridget’s husband James died in 1944 and then her son James in 1946. These two events devastated her. She died shortly after her son James in 1946. (See below for more information regarding Bridget and James’s descendants.)
John (b. 14 February 1882) was living in Skipton, Yorkshire, England in 1901. He married sometime after that (his wife’s name is unknown).
Patrick (b. 1884) was living in Grangemouth, Scotland in 1902, not far from where his brother Timothy settled. He left Scotland in 1902 from Liverpool for New York. He was to meet his sister Bridget in Waterbury. Bridget was still living with Bridget Griffin Sweeney and family at 228 Baldwin Street (quite a full house it seems). Patrick quickly took work as a shop hand in that city. But not sooner did he settle than he came down with meningitis which promptly killed him 20 August 1902, three months after his arrival. He was buried in the Calvary Cemetery in Waterbury.
Patrick’s death greatly affected Bridget (Downey). She vowed not to bring any more of her siblings to America, for fear of the same happening. Nonetheless, sister Ellen (Helen) arrived 11 years later.
Ellen (b. 1 November 1885) died at the age of three as a result of an accident. The next daughter was named after her.
Ellen “Helen” (b. 7 May 1890) left Queenstown Harbor on the ship Cedric 25 April 1913 and arrived at Ellis Island on the third of May. She seemed to be traveling with a John Lyon who was also from Glenbeigh; John was bound for New York City. Ellen was to meet her sister Bridget in Waterbury. Ellen does not appear in the 1920 or 1930 census. She married Lawrence Griffin, probably in Springfield, some time after 1930. Lawrence was a bartender at the Waverly Café and worked for the city water works. Lawrence and Ellen never had any children. Lawrence died in 1966 and Ellen in 1981.
Aunt Mary Sullivan Ryan relates about Aunt Nellie: “Aunt Nellie (Helen Downey Griffin) came to live with my Mother and Father [James Joseph Sullivan and Bridget Downey/Doona] after they were married about 1909.” This is obviously not quite accurate but it shows that she did indeed head for Waterbury to meet her sister and lived with them for a time.
Julia (b. 2 September 1891) remained in Ireland. She married Patrick O’Conner about 1936 and had one daughter Catherine, born 1937. Patrick died young leaving his wife and young daughter. Julia died in 1974. Catherine “Kitty” married John Horgan and remained in Coolroe. Kitty and John had two daughters Eileen and Julie.
Maurice (b. 9 November 1898) also remained in Ireland where he married Anne O’Shea in 1932 and had nine children: Eileen, Brendie, Mary, Annie, Margaret, Sheila, Michael Maurice, and Patrick. Maurice is the son who acquired the Doona farm after his father Michael.
Four of Michael and Ellen sons went eventually to Australia for prospect of work as cane cutters. These were Michael (b. 10 November 1883), Daniel (b. 17 December 1887), James (b. 16 June 1893), and Joseph (b. 9 April 1896). Michael “Mick” was absent from the 1911 census so perhaps had left for Australia by that time. James, Joseph “Joe,” and Daniel “Dan” left after that time. John Downey, son of Mick provides this recollection of their times:
In the early days…cane cutting was one of the main jobs at the time, it was hard dirty work the pay wasn’t too bad and most of them would send some of their pay back to their folks in Ireland. Most were single men. Dad [Mick] worked in Mackay—that’s in north Queensland. Uncle Joe worked at a place called Tully, further north of Mackay. I don’t know where Uncle Dan worked; I guess it would have been a cane field up north. The work was only seasonal. The weather was hot and muggy up there. I guess they always liked their many beers after work. Dad never drank or smoked in his life. I guess his sons made up for it…After getting married Dad got a job with Queensland Railways and worked there until he retired. He was also a voluntary Ambulance Officer in Brisbane for many years.
What became of Timothy (James) and his wife Bridget? Kitty’s version of the family history asserts that they “left Killorglin, went to Queenstown Harbour and boarded a ship to take them to America but alas no news was ever heard of Timothy and Bridget Doona again.” I assume that America is merely the US and not North America, which would include Canada, another place of emigration. They were certainly enumerated the 1860 census if they were in the US and still living. I haven’t found any pair that is possible of being ours except a Timothy and Bridget Downey who had a family in Stamford, Connecticut. Further investigation revealed that the family was indeed Roman Catholic, but the wife’s maiden name was Door. So if this is our family then the legend of the family is wrong in naming Bridget as an O’Sullivan.
A record of passage exists which indicates that a James Downey, aged 22 years and born in Ireland, and a Bridget Downey, aged 22 years and born in Ireland, arrived in New York on the David Cannon from Liverpool. James and Bridget from the David Cannon are about the right age to be both our own James and Bridget and the James and Bridget from Stamford. Just food for thought.
This Information was given to me by William D. Romanski. Thank you William
If you have more information you would like to share or need some information please contact me
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