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It is my intention to use this blog to find my mother.
I was born in Saint Patrick’s Home, Navan Road Dublin 5.11.1954, according to my birth certificate my mother’s name is Anastasia O’Leary and on the certificate it states that my mother originally came from Cron Nacole, Kiltegan,Wicklow. On her birth certificate her name is Anastasia Mary O’Leary
I searched Irish Births on Ancestry for Anastasia O’Leary, there were only five possible mothers, all of whom were born in the Wicklow / Wexford area. Four were registered in Enniscorthy and one was in Gorey.
As Gorey is the nearest to Kiltegan my first thoughts are that my mother was born in 1936 in Gorey and her mother’s name was Mary Donahoe or Donahue. I have recently obtained information from the nuns at the home that my mother was the oldest of a large family. I have found birth details of some of her siblings, Aiden, b 1937, Thomas b 1938, Patrick b 1941 and William b 1945.
Research was carried out and in the 1901 and 1911 census I came across an O’Leary family from Upper Clonee in Wexford, the father was Aiden O’Leary and mother was Anastasia O’Leary (Sinnott).
It is my belief that all of the possible mothers are related to this family, I think they are all named after the Anastasia in that family tree. There were five sons and I think it is possible that each of the sons named a daughter after their mother.
With regard to them, my birth family, I have no axe to grind with anyone, I honestly don’t, I have no ill feeling to anyone, I just want to know who I am, who I look like and where and whom I get my nature from. These are things that people take for granted, I have wondered about these ”little things” all of my adult life. These ”little things” are massive when you don’t have a clue as to what the answers are.
I was adopted by loving Irish originally who came from Mayo and settled Cleveland, Ohio, I have had a great life. I still have my Irish passport, I have no hang ups about this, life’s been good.
My adoptive parents came from Mulranny, Co Mayo and I have cousins who I keep in touch with and have visited, they still live there, they are part of my family.
After years of contemplation I know that the only way I can find the answers to my questions is to reach out to the public especially to the people of Wexford and Wicklow.
I honestly bare no malice or ill will to anyone!
If you have any idea or information that could help, please contact me at
mickmcnulty1138@hotmail.com
Since this first post a family tree has been done and birth certificate has been obtained.
A DNA test has been taken. The results of the DNA test supports our theory very very strongly. The birth certificate and The DNA results match up.
Maria has found three DNA relatives with very high DNA amounts of DNA, one Andrew Doherty, tests as a first cousin to Maria’s mother. We have not managed to contact him but the DNA is solid.
There are two second cousins both are related to the same kind of level as they are to Maria, and they also related highly with Andrew Doherty. Both ”cousins were unknown to each other prior to DNA testing. We have made contact and compared both DNA and family trees. Everything points to the O’Leary Sinnott families as being the source of Maria’s maternal DNA.
The main families involved are that of Aiden O’Leary and Anastasia Sinnott, of Clonee
Michael O’Leary married Mary Donahoe the evidence we have from the adoption society and the Irish records and DNA points to their daughter Anastasia as being Maria’s mother.
Michael O’Leary’s sister Anastasia, married James Gahan their daughter Anastasia Gahan married Patrick Curran Snr they are the parents of Patrick Curran one of our second cousin matches. his daughter Zenda is a second cousin x 1 removed.
Zenda also matches as a second cousin x 1 removed and that is exactly as it should be.
Patrick Curran Snr’s brother Thomas, had a child to an unknown woman it was rumoured it was Anastasia’s (Gahan) sister Ann the DNA backs this up and that would give us all similar DNA profile.
What bothered me initially was we have three counties involved in this, when I looked at the map the area was on the border of the three counties all within a 6 mile radius.
All the legal registrations for all families were in the town of Gorey. Having established that I expanded the tree and I looked closer at the census.
The O’Learys lived in Clonee Upper I looked at the the enumerators forms and noted that a Sinnott family lived in Clonee Lower I have no doubt if this wasn’t Anastasia’s brother’s family it was probably her cousins. I was also picking up on Sinnott DNA from a family in Liverpool and some lower level Sinnott DNA in America. I am more than happy with the way this is shaping up but there is a lack of DNA for the O’Leary’s and Sinnotts.
This is a link to a site with all the records for the area. click the link.
If you click on Clonee Upper and Clonee lower and click map views
the O’Leary land is area 8 , zoom in to view it.
The Sinnott land’s are in Clonee Lower plots 6, 6a & 6b these records are circa 1835.
The census returns can also be viewed.
This is the land on google earth
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Here are one or two stories about the O’Leary’s and the Sinnotts
In my family we had a similar tradition, that my great-great-grandfather James Doyle was evicted from Clonee Upper ca 1864 or so. I never once doubted the “story”, as it was evident that they lost the farm, and had to move elsewhere. Isn’t the same true for your family?
For the record, I thought of looking in the local Wexford newspapers, and may do so, but it would be an an enormous effort for little return – I don’t believe the local newspapers are indexed, so would have to read through every issue for years! However, I did verify the family tradition in another way. Back in 1998 or so I visited the site of the farm from which my great-great-grandparents were evicted. The adjacent farm was still owned by the direct descendants of their neighbours back in the 1860s. The O’Leary’s were very hospitable, in the traditional Irish rural way, and gave my father and myself tea and cake. They confirmed the eviction on what had been the Doyle farm, and told us the same story of the eviction itself as was handed down in my family! I thought that was astounding – remember, it was not their family, and we were talking of the events of nigh on 140 years earlier – but they had the exact same story!
I then found this about the Sinnott’s of Clonee Lower I have no doubt this is the Land of Maria’s forefathers.
Edward Sinnott 1700s County Wexford, parents William Sinnott and Jane O’Neil County Wexford
Hoping to hear from someone who has a connection
Hi
Excellent. My gggrandfather was the brother of Myles Sinnott. Myles was the grand father of Anna Jane Sinnott who married Leonard Carty. Patricia’s grandmother Sarah was a Carty before her marriage, Patricia’s Grand mother and great grand mother Bridget Nolan nee Rooney were next door neighbours to Myles and his family. They had farms in Lower Clonee across the road from one another. I am a distant relation of the Brownes In Lower Clonee. Myles Sinnott had a son John Francis Sinnott and he married Nell McDonald their daughter Cecelia married Tommy Browne and had 9 children who still live scattered throughout the area.
So in some complicated way we might be connected. I am actually trying to find out where my Sinnotts may have originated. I know my gggreat grand father George Sinnott who married Bridget Doran was born in about 1770 in Lower Clonee but I do not know if his parents were from this area of perhaps Ferns or Ballybeg or Enniscorthy or somewhere completely different.
I know there were Sinnotts in Scarwalshe in 1649 families of the “Sinnotts of the Rahine,” David and Edward descendents. David and Edward were both killed by Cromwell and their lands confiscated but relatives of theirs would have stilled remained in the area perhaps in hiding or perhaps they had nothing to do with the 1641 rebellion and their lands were of no consequence or perhaps they were agricultural labourers anyway, so were left alone. These Sinnotts were from around Toome, Ferns and Enniscorthy originally and would have spread out from there. I visited Ferns in 2001 and searched the RC cemetery but did not really know if any of the relatives were connected to my family tree.
I am so interested in your family connection. If you would care to email me on sue_alderton@hotmail.com I would be delighted to go into more depth with you. I will tell Patricia we have met up on line, she will be surprised.
Anyhow what is your connection to the posting about “Edward Sinnott 1700s parents William Sinnott and Jane O’Neill?”
Bye for now
Sue
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If you have any information or any questions please contact me.
mickmcnulty1138@hotmail.com
In Search of Anastasia 