A visit to Turlough, Co. Mayo

Our last family history stop was the graveyard in Turlough, Co. Mayo. According to the 1929 obituary of my 3x great-grandfather, Martin Gillan, both he and his brother were buried there.

"With regret we record the death of above esteemed gentleman, which took place at his residence, Tawnykinaffe, on 30th January, at the ripe old age of 104 years. Deceased, notwithstanding his great age, was hale and hearty up to the time of his death, and was the possessor of a wonderful memory. It was a treat to listen to him recite legends which he heard from his father of the Irish rebellion of 1798, at which his father and two or three of his uncles joined the French forces to strike a blow for Irish freedom. He would also thrill you with tales of black ’47 (the year of the famine), when he was then a young man of 22. Hundreds of the people around his native place, and whom he knew well, died from starvation by the roadside, and in several cases were buried where they fell, there not being even a shroud or coffin to cover them. This was a time when disease and starvation were rampant in our country. But, as a lover of his native land, and its ancient language, he would tell of Castlebar a hundred years ago, which it was then a stronghold of the British and their sympathizers, and the change that has been wrought to-day, when there is not a vestige of the foreigner left. He was an ardent Catholic and died fortified by the consolations of our holy religion. His funeral took place to Turlough burial ground on Friday last, and his remains were laid to rest beside that of his late brother Thomas Gillen, Thomas Street, Castlebar, who also attained the great age of 99 years, and beneath the shadows of the ancient round tower. [emphasis added] The chief mourners were: Michael Gillen (son); Mrs. O’Donnell (daughter); Mrs. Gillen (daughter-in-law); Michael Gillen, Bridgie Gillen, Terrence O’Donnell (grand-children); Mrs. F. Chambers, Castlebar; Mrs. J. Hopkins, Crimlin; and Mrs. T. Staunton, Tawnykinaffe (nieces). The funeral was large and very representative, Rev. Fr. Neary, P.P., Parke, officiating at the graveside."

When we met my Gillan cousins, they were able to tell me that more recent generations had been buried in the cemetery, but couldn't verify that the first (known) Martin Gillan was there, too. Regardless, we took the trip out there on our last day in County Mayo, the day before our flight home. We got a smidge lost on the way, but were able to ask a nice couple for directions and discovered we were actually very close.

The graveyard itself is unmistakeable, thanks to the presence of the "ancient round tower."
It's not small, and my husband and I split up to cover more ground. We came across several relevant family names, but most were very recent burials, and our extensive searching did not turn up any of the older Gillan graves.

 
The graveyard was not overgrown, but was apparently one of those places that only gets mowed a couple of times per year - and it had been a few months. It was a bit of an adventure, with uneven ground and damp, ankle-deep grass, but it was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed a pleasant hour or two looking at each stone.

Ben in the Turlough Cemetery

 It was only after that, as we were leaving, that we noticed the sign on the fence that had a history as well as an index of all the graves that had been legible as of the Irish Graveyards Survey several years earlier. 

The Martins Gillan

When we were recently in Ireland, we visited with several of my Gillan cousins, who showed me the family's old homestead in Tawnykinaffe, Co. Mayo. They were kind enough to give me a copy of a photograph of my 3x great-grandfather Martin Gillan:

Martin Gillan and Martin Gillan, c. 1912
Castlebar, Co. Mayo, Ireland

Standing next to Martin Gillan (seated) is his grandson, Martin Gillan, son of the elder Martin's son Michael. The younger Martin was born c. 1900, and the best estimate of the date of the picture is around 1912, based on the belief that he looks to be about 12 here. I'm told that the photo was taken at the studio of a professional photographer in Castlebar.

This makes two photographs I have of Martin Gillan, which is two more than I have of any of my other 3x great-grandparents. He lived nearly another 20 years after this picture was taken, and the other photo, which was sent to me by another Gillan cousin a couple of years ago, was clearly taken much closer to the end of his life.

As far as I'm aware, there are no extant photographs of Martin's wife Honor Grimes Gillan. I don't know exactly when she died, but she was alive when the 1911 Census was enumerated, so she lived well into the age of photography, and I continue to hold out hope that a picture of her will show up eventually.

A Picture of my 3x Greatgrandfather

This is my great-great-great-grandfather, Martin Gillan:

(I want to say he's the family patriarch, from whom are descended all of the Gillans I've encountered since I started doing research, but that's not entirely accurate. I was once contacted by a descendant of his brother, so really, I have to find Martin's parents - my 4x great-grandparents - to find the ancestors from whom we all descend.) 

A few months ago, I was contacted by a second cousin thrice removed who sent me this photograph of his great-grandfather, my 3x great-grandfather Martin Gillan. He was born c. 1825, but lived, according to his obituary, an astounding 104 years, and died in 1929, which is why I'm lucky enough to have a photograph of him. 

My cousin told me that it was a photograph of "Daddy Moore," which left me a little nervous that we had a case of misidentification. I forwarded the picture to our mutual cousin Mary, who never knew Martin Gillan but grew up in the same town he had lived in and knew a little more about him. Probably sounding like an American boob who wouldn't recognize a word of Irish if it bit me on the nose, I asked her about the name "Daddy Moore." Why would they be calling this guy Moore if his name is Gillan? Patiently, Mary explained to me that Martin Gillan was known by his many grandchildren as Dada Mór, Irish for Granddad. A great family picture and an Irish language lesson all at once - now that's a success!

1901 Irish Census - Gillen Family

A little before the holidays, I was contacted by a 2nd cousin twice removed on the Gillan side of the family. In composing my much-belated response to him, I realized that he had probably come across our ancestors on the 1911 Irish Census when he visited this blog, but that he hadn't found them on the 1901 Irish Census. For some reason, I never posted it, back when I was posting all of the other information about this family. 

It shows Martin Gillen, age 70 (born c. 1831), a farmer, with his wife Honor Gillen, age 60 (born c. 1841). Living in their house are their sons Michael Gillen, age 31 (born c. 1870) and his wife, daughter-in-law "Eliza," age 28 (born c. 1873), as well as their two grandchildren, Mary, age 3, and Martin, age 1. All of the adults speak both Irish and English, and all can read, but Honor cannot write.

The household appears on line 14 of Form B1. A glance upward tells me that I need to explore more of the census forms for Tawnykinaff, Co. Mayo, Ireland. There's another Gillen family, a couple Grimes families (Honor's maiden name was Grimes), a few O'Donnells (Martin had a daughter who married an O'Donnell, and her children Nora and Hugh lived with their aunt, Mary Gillen Quinn, in Brooklyn), and some Stauntons (Martin's obituary mentions a Mrs. T. Staunton, his niece).

According to this form, the Gillens had 2 "out-offices and farm steadings." Their house had walls of "stone, brick, or concrete;" a roof of "thatch, wood, or other perishable material;" "2, 3, or 4 rooms;" and 2 windows at the front.

According to the next form, Form B2 (which I'm having trouble downloading at the moment, or I'd include it), the Gillen's two out-buildings are a calf-house and a barn.

Gillen family, 1911 Census

This is the 1911 Irish Census return of the Gillen family in Tawnykinaffe, Pontoon, Castlebar, Co. Mayo. The head of household is Martin Gillen, 83 (b. c. 1828) and his wife, Honor Gillen, 75 (b. c. 1836). I think that Honor Gillen is Mary Nora Grimes, but no evidence on that one, yet. I'll have to look into whether Honor and Nora were related names, but it seems highly likely, don't you think? Both were born in Co. Mayo, and both are bilingual, speaking Irish and English. Martin is a retired farmer. Honor has given birth to 9 children, all still living. They've been married 54 years, meaning they were married around 1857.

Also on the returns are their son, Michael Gillen, 41, a farmer - he's probably tending the family farm from which Martin had retired; his wife, Elisa., 40, who's given birth to 8 children, all still living. They've been married 16 years. They were born, then, in 1870 and 1871, respectively, and were married around 1895. (Elisa is listed as Martin Gillen's granddaughter, but she's almost certainly actually his daughter-in-law.)

Listed as Martin's grandchildren, and so probably Michael and Elisa's children, are Mary Anne, 13 (b. 1898); Martin, 12 (b. 1899); Celia, 9 (b. 1902); Mark, 8 (b. 1903); Honor, 7 (b. 1904); Bridget, 6 (b. 1905); Ellen, 3 (b. 1908); Michael, 1 (b. 1910). Everyone from Honor up to Mary Anne are "scholars," while Bridget, Ellen, and Michael are too young to be at school.

The Mary Anne, Celia, Bridget, and Honor are certainly the Gillen girls - Mary, Celia, Bridgie, and Nora - who were being discussed on the Gillen family message board thread I've mentioned, some of whom lived with the Quinns in 1920, and Michael and Bridgie are among the "chief mourners" from Martin Gillen's death notice. That Ellen has never come up as being listed among the sisters of Mary, Celia, Bridgie, and Nora leads me to suspect she may not have lived to adulthood.

At least, that was my original reading of the return. After typing of this post, though, I looked once more at the image, and saw something I hadn't seen before. Take a close look at Line 10, Bridget's line. Is it me, or does her last name, difficult to read though it may be, seem to resemble "Grimes" more closely than "Gillen"? Grimes would have been her grandmother's maiden name, and I'm hard-pressed to figure out how it could also be her last name, if I'm reading the word correctly. Take a look and tell me what you think!

This guy just keeps getting better. . .

Uncle Ray tells me that Martin Gillen "was famous for going to bed for the winter."


I love it.

"Death of Mr. Martin Gillen, Tawnykinaffe, Castlebar"

"With regret we record the death of above esteemed gentleman, which took place at his residence, Tawnykinaffe, on 30th January, at the ripe old age of 104 years. Deceased, notwithstanding his great age, was hale and hearty up to the time of his death, and was the possessor of a wonderful memory. It was a treat to listen to him recite legends which he heard from his father of the Irish rebellion of 1798, at which his father and two or three of his uncles joined the French forces to strike a blow for Irish freedom. He would also thrill you with tales of black ’47 (the year of the famine), when he was then a young man of 22. Hundreds of the people around his native place, and whom he knew well, died from starvation by the roadside, and in several cases were buried where they fell, there not being even a shroud or coffin to cover them. This was a time when disease and starvation were rampant in our country. But, as a lover of his native land, and its ancient language, he would tell of Castlebar a hundred years ago, which it was then a stronghold of the British and their sympathizers, and the change that has been wrought to-day, when there is not a vestige of the foreigner left. He was an ardent Catholic and died fortified by the consolations of our holy religion. His funeral took place to Turlough burial ground on Friday last, and his remains were laid to rest beside that of his late brother Thomas Gillen, Thomas Street, Castlebar, who also attained the great age of 99 years, and beneath the shadows of the ancient round tower. The chief mourners were: Michael Gillen (son); Mrs. O’Donnell (daughter); Mrs. Gillen (daughter-in-law); Michael Gillen, Bridgie Gillen, Terrence O’Donnell (grand-children); Mrs. F. Chambers, Castlebar; Mrs. J. Hopkins, Crimlin; and Mrs. T. Staunton, Tawnykinaffe (nieces). The funeral was large and very representative, Rev. Fr. Neary, P.P., Parke, officiating at the graveside."

The above is the text of a death notice that Uncle Jack sent me last week, which announces the death of Martin Gillen, Mary Gillen Quinn's father. It's not dated, but the date can be determined from the fact that Martin is said to have been 22 during the famine of '47. That means he would have been born in or around 1825, and been 104 around 1929. We can probably assume that even if the birth date is not accurate, the death date is, as the people writing the notice could surely add as well as you and I can. (Probably better, their brains not being atrophied by calculators.)

Now, how much amazing information does this include? Lots! According to the article, at least, my great-great-great-great-grandfather, Martin's father, whatever his name might have been, fought against the British during the Irish Rebellion of 1798! (That's Wolfe Tone's rebellion! Encountering these names again, years after my most recent Irish history class, is thrilling!) In all likelihood, he and his brothers fought at the Battle of Castlebar - one of the battles in which the Franco-Irish side was successful!

And a - albeit brief - personal, familial account of the Famine!

And then there are the names! Oh, the names! The usefulness of the names is diminished by the fact that only the "chief mourners" are listed, rather than all of his children and grandchildren, and thus connections to those who had immigrated to America are harder to draw. However, a very quick google brought up immensely helpful message board posts from several other people researching the Gillans (note different spelling) of Tawnykinaffe, Pontoon, Castlebar, and with the addition of this obituary, we were able to determine that we're talking about the same Gillen/Gillan family. I was familiar with Mary and Mark, who had immigrated to the US, and one of these posters was descended from Michael, listed a chief mourner, and could list others among the siblings, as well. "Mrs. O'Donnell," though we have yet to determine her first name, is very likely the mother of the Hugh O'Donnell who lived with the Quinns in 1910 and the Nora O'Donnell Loftus who was living at their address in 1916. Terrence was probably their brother. "Chief Mourner" Bridgie Gillen, according to these message board posters, had sisters Mary, Celia, and Nora - yes, that's right, the Celia and Mary who lived with the Quinns in 1920! Apparently, transatlantic distances did little to diminish the strong family ties of the Gillens!

The list of names I was given for the children of Martin Gillen include:
Mary
Mark
Martin
(all moved to America)

Michael
(stayed in Ireland)

Ellen
Terrence
(unknown)

My friendly new second cousin twice removed, though, doesn't think Ellen is "Mrs. O'Donnell," so we're still trying to figure out another sister. (I have a suspicion she might be a Bridget, but neither evidence nor hearsay has born that out yet.)

Like I said, I've been up to my eyeballs in Gillens lately! More to come!

Mary Gillen Qinn's Death Certificate, 2/8/1941

Earlier this week, I finally had the opportunity to scan some documents I'd had laying around. I tend to transcribe rather than scan, although it would be better, of course, to eventually scan everything I have. The morning I chose to scan, however, was a beautiful sunny Saturday, and so I allotted myself 45 minutes, and decided that after that, I'd put away my genealogy and technology and go outside. I started with the documents I hadn't yet transcribed, or for which my transcriptions seemed particularly inadequate. Below are the scanned images of Mary Gillen Quinn's death certificate:

She died at Kings County Hospital on February 8, 1941, at 11:56 PM, at the age, according to this, of 75 years, 11 months, and 11 days. If that's entirely accurate, her birthday was either February 25, 1865 or February 28, 1865. I used this handy date subtraction tool to figure that out, before realizing that her birthday was recorded on the death certificate, too, according to which she was, in fact, born February 28, 1865. She lived at 524 Fifth St., which is also listed as the address of her son Terrence, who filled out the death certificate. Her profession was keeping her own house. She's said to have been in this country for 50 years, which, if accurate, would mean she immigrated in 1891 at the age of about 26. Her parents' names are given as Martin Gillen (also the name of her first son) Mary Nora Grimes. Certainly that gives to meaning to the fact that her first two daughters were Nora and Mary - perhaps Nora/Agnes was Nora Agnes or Agnes Nora? She'd been in the hospital 10 days, and the doctor was with her when she died (note that he says he last saw her alive the minute before her time of death). She died of Diabetes Mellitus and Gangrene of the left foot, contributed to be Arteriosclerotic Heart Disease. She was buried February 11, 1941 at Holy Cross. The second page simply certifies that her death was not found to be suspicious.