My Old Ohio Home - Cunningham

Ann Ellen (Sloan) O'Leary, Kilkeel to Cleveland

2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00

Introduction

When my mother's cousin Nan (Gallagher) Fleming researched our family history, she included a note next to her grandmother Anna Cunningham's sister Bridget saying that Bridget married a Sloan and that she was "Ellen O'Leary's mother." Nan Gallagher evidently knew Ellen O'Leary and expected the rest of her family to know as well, since she didn't include any further explanation. So I looked for someone by that name living in Cleveland.

Anna O'Leary in Cleveland

I found an Anna E. Sloan marrying a Dennis O'Leary in September 1882, most likely at St Augustine's Parish, Cleveland. That church is located on West 14th, but by 1883 when their first daughter was born, they were living on Broadway on the Southeast side, not far from the Rodgers clan in Newburgh. They later moved to Newman Avenue, off East 65th Street where they remained at least until Dennis' death on February 11, 1920. Ann was living around the corner on East 65th when she died, July 15, 1939.

On the 1910 Census Ann is called "Ann Ellen," in 1920 she was "Anna L," and in 1930 "Helen". Her death record called her Ann Ellen. So I am sure this is the person Nan Gallagher was referring to.

But Ann (Sloan) O'Leary's records consistently said she was born in Canada. How could she be the daughter of Bridget Cunningham, who was from either Ballymadeerfy or Ballygowan Townland, Kilkeel, County Down, Ireland?

The Canada Connection

Some years ago, on Ros Davies' County Down Website, I found a listing for a Bridget "Biddy" Cunningham of Kilkeel who married James Sloan on May 20, 1846, at the Catholic church in Kilkeel and was the mother of Bridget, born 1868, and Sarah, born 1871. (Since then, I have found the marriage in the Kilkeel parish records at Catholic Parish Records, Kilkeel and the births in the civil records at IrishGenealogy.ie.) What I should have noticed at the time was the long gap between the marriage date and the two births.

A few months ago I started working on this family again. Either more databases have come on line since I looked at them last, or I was a little more diligent in searching. Whatever the case, I found two of their children baptized in Kilkeel in 1849 and 1851, filling in the gap between their marriage and the birth of Bridget a bit.

More important, I found a James Sloan and Bridget Cunningham in London, Ontario, in the mid to late 1850's. They had three children baptized at St Peter's Cathedral between 1854 and 1859, but none before or after those dates. One was a son named Henry, born September 18, 1855 and baptized November 18. Then in the Irish civil records, I found a Henry Sloan, age 9, who died in Glenloughan, Kilkeel, on November 18, 1864, son of James and Bridget Sloan.

Since I have a lot of confidence in Nan Gallagher's research, young Henry's birth and death records were enough for me to conclude that Henry's parents, James and Bridget "Biddy" (Cunningham) Sloan, began their marriage in Ireland and then spent some years between 1851 and 1863 in Canada before returning to Ireland. Making it quite possible for them to have a daughter Ann Ellen, born in Canada, yet from a family in Kilkeel.

Conclusion

I never found the baptism record for Ann Ellen Sloan herself, despite browsing every page of the St Peter's Cathedral parish registers from 1855 to 1863. Perhaps her parents moved out of that parish and into another whose records are not online. Still, Nan Gallagher seems to have been a very careful researcher and her information has always proved true, so there is no reason for me to doubt that the lady in Cleveland belongs to the family in Ireland.

James and Thomas Cunningham, Ballygowan Townland

2023-06-12T00:00:00-04:00

Earlier Cunninghams

Flaxgrowers' List, County Down, 1796

in Kilbroney and Kilkeel

Cunegan Patrick Kilkeel Down
Cunigan Arthur Kilkeel Down
Cunigan Catherine Kilkeel Down
Cunigan Christopher Kilkeel Down
Cunigan Daniel Kilkeel Down
Cunigan James Kilkeel Down
Cunigan John Kilkeel Down
Cunigan Patrick Kilkeel Down
Cunigan Peter Kilkeel Down
Cunigan Phelemy Kilbroney Down
Cunigan Shane Kilkeel Down
Cunigan Thomas Kilkeel Down
Cunnigan George Kilkeel Down
Cunnigan Henry Kilkeel Down
Cunnigan Peter Kilkeel Down

Freeholders List, 1820

no Cunigans (or Colgans) anywhere in Kilkeel
one Divine: Divine, James Lurganreagh Same James & John Divine & W, Thompson

Tithes Applotment List, 1830

Cunigan Bernard Ballygowan
Cunigan James Jr. Ballygowan
Cunigan James Sr. Ballygowan
Cunigan John Ballygowan
Cunigan Patrick Ballygowan
Cunigan Peter More Ballygowan
Cunigan Peter Ballygowan
Cunigan Thomas Ballygowan
Cunigan William Ballygowan

only one Divine: Mary in Lurganreagh
(many Colgans)

James Cunningham

Possible children's baptisms:

Ann Cunningham baptism 1843
Kilkeel Parish Register, baptisms:
November 2, 1843, Ann Cunningham.
no parents, location, or sponsors in this section of the register
https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000633230#page/12/mode/1up

Thomas Cunningham baptism 1846
Kilkeel Parish Records, Baptisms
23 August 1846
Thomas, [son] of Jas Cunningham and Cath. ___
sponsors: Bernard and Mary Cunningham
findmypast transcribed her name as Doran
other possibilities are Feran, Toner, Teer?, or maybe Trainor or Divine if the name is cut off.
https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000633230#page/22/mode/1up

Thomas Cunningham

Children's Births

Kilkeel Catholic Parish Records

baptism: 17 December 1873 Catherine, of Thomas and Mary Ann Cunningham
baptism 5 January 1876, Mary Margaret, of Thomas and Maria Ann Cunningham
[note: found if you look for 1877]

Civil Records

Catherine Cunningham, 14 January 1874, Ballygowan, Kilkeel, daughter of Thomas and Maria, formerly Cunningham. informant: James Cunningham, his mark, occupier, Ballygowan, Kilkeel. This means James was the occupier of the house in which the child was born. OED: occupier = a person living in a dwelling as its owner or tenant
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_returns/births_1874/03165/2161005.pdf

Mary Margaret Cunningham, 31 January 1876, Ballygowan, daughter of Thomas and Maria, formerly Cunningham. informant: the father
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_returns/births_1876/03073/2126436.pdf

James Cunningham, 22 May 1880, Ballygowan, son of Thomas and Maria, formerly Cunningham. informant: Sarah Cunningham of Ballygowan, her mark, present at birth
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/cert_amends/cert_1880/2054272a.pdf

Thomas Cunningham, 21 August 1883, Benagh, son of Thomas and Maria, formerly Cunningham. informant: the father
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_returns/births_1883/02728/2003329.pdf

Note: Thomas, the father, is not in the Valuation Revision Books for Benagh for 1880 to 1883 or 1884 to 1898

Sarah Ann Cunningham, 6 November 1885, Ballygowan, dau of Thomas and Maria, formerly Cunningham. informant: the father
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_returns/births_1886/02618/1966378.pdf

Elizabeth Cunningham, 15 November 1889, Ballygowan, dau of Thomas and Maria, formerly Cunningham. informant: the father
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_returns/births_1889/02457/1912898.pdf

Censuses

Census of Ireland 31 March 1901

house 7 in Ballygowan
Thomas Cunningham, 53, head, farmer
Maria Cunningham, 50
Thomas Cunningham, 17
Sarah A Cunningham, 14
Lizzie Cunningham, 11
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Down/Greencastle/Ballygowan/1235766/

Note: I didn't find a marriage record for Sarah Cunningham in Kilkeel from 1901 to 1911

Census of Ireland 2 April 1911

house 8 in Ballygowan
Thomas Cunningham, 65, farmer, house 8
Maria Cunningham, 63, married 37 years, 6 children, 6 alive
Thomas Cunningham, 27
Lizzie Cunningham, 20
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Down/Greencastle/Ballygowan/245022/

James and Thomas Cunningham - Land Records

    Griffith's Valuation and Valuation Revision Books  
    parcel year name                acreage  
     4     1864 James Cunningham, senior    4 acres, 2 rods, 30 perches  
           1879    
           1883  James Cunningham, senior  
           1885  Thomas Cunningham  
           1913 Thomas Cunningham       in fee  
           1915  parcel 5B from Charles Cull to Thomas Cunningham  
           1924  Maria Cunningham. and 5B to Maria Cunningham  

NI will calendar index: d 12 Feb 1922, grant of administration 8 Nov 1922  
       Full Abstract: Administration of the Estate of Thomas Cunningham late
       of 12 Ballygowan County Down Farmer who died 12 February 1922 granted
       at Belfast to Maria Cunningham the Widow Effects £47 D.B.N. P.R. 05/08/1937  
       also 5 Aug 1937 Cunningham Thomas of Ballygowan county Down farmer died
       12 February 1922 Administration (d.b.n.) Belfast 5 August to Thomas
       Cunningham junior farmer. Unadministered effects £2. Former Grant Belfast
       8 November 1922.

not found

There are no other baptisms for children of James Cunningham and Cath in the index to the parish registers.
There is no marriage for a James Cunningham and Cath early enough in the parish registers to be Thomas' parents.

to do

Catherine (Devine) Cunningham's death, 1865 to 1901,

she is not

3rd Qtr 1868, age 70 - received June 27, 2023
Returns Year 1868
Returns Quarter 3
Returns Volume No 11
Returns Page No 360

That woman died in Drummondlane, Kilkeel, and was a widow.

request this

3rd Qtr 1866, age 61
Returns Year 1866
Returns Quarter 3
Returns Volume No 11
Returns Page No 353

Some other Cunninghams in Ballygowan

Land Records

    parcel year    name                                    acreage  
    13    1864  James Cunningham, publican                  3, 1, 0  
          1878  reevaluated, increased rates, noted: public house in holdings  
          1883  James Cunningham, publican  
          1892  William Cunningham  
          1906  Henry Nicholson  
    12a,b 1891  William Cunningham  "Ho[use?]corn mill laboress", office, land  
          1895  William Cunningham      flax mill  
          1904  Henry Nicholson

Census of Ireland 31 March 1901

John Cunningham, 55, farmer, not married Mary Cunningham, 62, sister, not married

William Cunningham, 52, head Serah Cunningham, wife, 42
Patrick, 22
Ellen 18
Tessia 16
Fredrick 13
Edmond 11
Dorothy 9
Minnie 7
Nellie Cahalane, 2, grand daughter

Anna (Cunningham) Rodgers, of Kilkeel and Cleveland

2018-10-10T00:00:00-04:00

Anna Rodgers (right) with
daughter Nell and granddaughter
Kathryn, 1915

Anna Cunningham was born 3 Oct 1845, possibly in Ballymadeerfy Townland, County Down, Ireland, the daughter of James Cunningham and Catherine Devine. The exact date of her birth comes from her granddaughter Nan (Gallagher) Fleming's research. The year matches all of Anna's censuses, including the 1900 census which said August 1845. I was unable to find a baptism record for Ann in the Kilkeel Parish Records, but they are incomplete.

On her marriage record Anna was residing in Ballygowan Townland, but she was working at the time. Her father was listed as a farmer, and there is a James Cunningham in Ballymadeerfy on Griffith's Valuation who was farming. The James Cunningham in Ballygowan was a publican.

James and Catherine (Devine) Cunningham were said to have had a daughter Bridget born in 1837, who married a man named Sloan. In turn the Sloans had a daughter Ellen who married a man named O'Leary. Bridget may be this person found on the list at Ros Davies County Down Website:

Miss Bridget CUNNINGHAM . Kilkeel wife of James Sloane;
mother of Bridget b. 1868 & Sarah b. 1871 CR

The Cunninghams were also said to have had seven sons including their youngest child James. On the 1901 Cenusus of Kilkeel there are a Patrick Cunningham (b. 1866) and a James Cunningham (b. 1857) in Ballymadeerfy, who may be Anna's brothers.

*******

One story that came down in the family about Anna was that prior to marrying Ned, she had been engaged to marry a man named Brennan. That man, or his son, went on to become a Catholic bishop in Cleveland. Wikipedia has a list of all past bishops and associate bishops in Cleveland and there is no Brennan. But enough of the Rodgers' oral tradition has proved true for me to say that there must be something to this story. Maybe Mr Brennan or his son became a monsignor in Cleveland, or a bishop elsewhere.

*******

Anna was working as a "sewer" or seamstress when she was married. She was no slouch at the trade. My mother recalled that Anna could 'go downtown and see a dress in the store window. Then she would go inside and buy the material, go home, and make the dress from scratch, without a pattern.' I have a picture of three of Anna's granddaughters making their First Communion together, about 1923. I don't know if Anna was still sewing, but each of the girls is wearing a different style of dress, so someone probably was.

*******

We started this series on the Rodgers by talking about the reliability of the family's oral tradition, including the story that Anna was a dressmaker. So that seems like a good note to end on as well. I've tried to stitch together their story and retell it as well as I heard it, but something is lost in the written word. I hope you can enliven it in your imagination and that you will pass it on.

Sources
Nan (Gallagher) Fleming's research
Transcription of marriage record for Edward Rodgers and Anna Cunningham
1900 Census of Cleveland
Ohio Births and Christenings, familysearch.org
Ohio Deaths and Burials, familysearch.org

For this complete series of articles, see:

Part one: Edward "Ned" Rodgers of Kilkeel and Cleveland

Part two: Edward and Anna Rodgers: the Outbound Journey

Part three: Edward and Anna Rodgers: the Cleveland Years

Part four: Ned Rodgers and the Blind Pig

Part five: Anna (Cunningham) Rodgers, of Kilkeel and Cleveland

Edward and Anna Rodgers: the Cleveland Years

2018-10-10T00:00:00-04:00

There are enough railroad tracks on the southeast side of Cleveland that the train from New York could have dropped the Rodgers off at their doorstep, but they probably had to find their way to their new address on their own. Fittingly, in the 1874 Cleveland City Directory there is a listing for an Edward Rogers living on the south side of Railroad, near Walnut, in Newburgh. This would be the City of Newburgh, which was independent from Cleveland at the time.

This could be our Edward Rodgers. If so, that might be where their daughter Ann was born, on March 3, 1873, their first child born in the United States.

The Rodgers stayed in Newburgh or the Newburgh section of Cleveland for the rest of their lives. In 1877 they were on 'Meech between Angeline and Rollo,' which matches the information on their daughter Helen's birth record (August 9, 1878). Angeline became E 99th St SE after the Cleveland street reorganization in 1906.

Other addresses for the family are on Harvard, Cannon, and Sawyer (East 91st). Finally in 1895 they are listed on Elmo which became East 89th St., where the Rodgers remained, at 4025 East 89th, until their deaths.

Cleveland Rolling Mill

Putting his census information together, it looks like Ned worked in an iron mill. The 1878 and 1880 Directories have entries for a Edward Rodgers, laborer at the Cleveland Rolling Mill, but do not provide his address. "The Cleveland Rolling Mills Company was formed in 1863 from the merger of several older firms, and was later incorporated into the U.S. Steel Corp." It was located near the present Jones Road and Broadway, in Newburgh. There were strikes there in 1882 and 1885, pitting skilled British workers against unskilled Polish and Czech. I wonder if Ned Rodgers had a dog in that fight.

For this complete series of articles, see:

Part one: Edward "Ned" Rodgers of Kilkeel and Cleveland

Part two: Edward and Anna Rodgers: the Outbound Journey

Part three: Edward and Anna Rodgers: the Cleveland Years

Part four: Ned Rodgers and the Blind Pig

Part five: Anna (Cunningham) Rodgers, of Kilkeel and Cleveland

Footnotes

Sources

The general history of the Cleveland Rolling Mill came from the Cleveland State University Department of History at one time. The link to the information is dead as of December 2022, and searching the site for "Cleveland Rolling Mill" did not turn up anything. The photo of the mill also came from their site.

The information about the strikes came from The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=CRMS.

Edward and Anna Rodgers: the Outbound Journey

2018-10-10T00:00:00-04:00

Anna & Ned Rodgers, 1915

As mentioned earlier, the Rodgers descendants believed that Ned fled Ireland for England and then went back to get his wife. We know that Anna was in Kilkeel until their son Hugh was christened in January 1868, but had Ned left before then?

Whatever the case, they were in Liverpool by August 12, 1869. That was the day their son Hugh died at 48 Stanhope Street, Toxteth Park, Liverpool. And at least Anna was in 11 Court, Stanhope Street, on July 29, 1870, when their son William was born.

Well to be completely accurate, there is no proof that Ned Rodgers was anywhere. On Hugh's death record, he is listed as a laborer, but it is Anna, "of 48 Stanhope Street", who provided the information. And on Will's birth record, Ned is working as a fireman on a steamer, but it doesn't actually give his residence. But 48 Stanhope Street was near the docks, so I think we can assume that both Rodgers parents were living there.

When did they leave for the United States?

We find the following information for Anna in the New York Passengers List at ancestry.com¹:

Arrival: 15 Apr 1872
Port of Departure: Liverpool, England and Queenstown, Ireland
Port of Arrival: New York
Ship Name: City of New York

Place of Origin: Ireland
Ethnicity/Race/Nationality: Irish

65. Ann Rogers, 28, female, wife, Origin: Ireland
66. Mary " , 5, child, youngster
67. William " , 1, child, youngster

Note that Ann is listed as "wife" but there is no Edward on the manifest. I have not yet found him on any passenger lists, so I don't know when he emigrated. Was he keeping a low profile until he arrived in America?

Still it is likely that they arrived together or shortly after one another. According to their granddaughter Ellen (O'Rourke) Guarnieri, when Ned and Ann were riding the train from New York to Ohio, Ned wanted to get off in Scranton, Pennsylvania, because the other immigrants on the train were talking about how easy it was to get work in the mines. Ann said, 'I didn't come all this way to have you spend your life underground. We're staying on this train untill it gets to Ohio.' This seems to imply that they arrived together, or that one waited in New York for the other to make the voyage.

For this complete series of articles, see:

Part one: Edward "Ned" Rodgers of Kilkeel and Cleveland

Part two: Edward and Anna Rodgers: the Outbound Journey

Part three: Edward and Anna Rodgers: the Cleveland Years

Part four: Ned Rodgers and the Blind Pig

Part five: Anna (Cunningham) Rodgers, of Kilkeel and Cleveland

Footnotes

1. New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, at ancestry.com. Microfilm roll: M237_355; Line: 25; List number: 288, with thanks to Steve Morse at http://stevemorse.org/index.php.

Richard Cunningham, probably Kilkeel to Cleveland

2018-10-09T00:00:00-04:00

While working on the article Mary Raimer of Newburgh, Cleveland, I noticed that Mary's cousin Bertha Raimer married a Cunningham. That got my attention, since my great grandmother's maiden name was Cunningham, and they lived in the same part of Cleveland as the Raimers. As it turned out, Bertha's daughter married one of my second cousins. But let's begin at the beginning.

Richard Cunningham was born May 4, 1858, in Northern Ireland, ^1,2 and arrived in the United States on December 16, 1879, aboart the SS Gallia which sailed from Liverpool.³ In 1880 he was rooming at 2054 Marble, in the Newburgh neighborhood of Cleveland. Also rooming at the same address was a Matt Sloane, age 38.⁴

About now, bells should go off and red flags should go up. We've got a guy named Cunningham, from Northern Ireland, living in Newburgh, along with someone named Sloane. Where else could he be from but ...? And in 1882, Richard married ... Ellen McKeon, daughter of William McKeon and Ellen Herron.⁵ Are the Killowen and Kilkeel names starting to add up or what?

Oh, I forgot to say that on his naturalization papers, Richard said he was born in Ireland in the village of "Moren".¹ Since there isn't any place in Ireland named Moren, and since Kilkeel was in the barony of Mourne, and since we have more South Down names in his associates and family than I knew existed, I think we can guess that he came from Kilkeel.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a baptism record for Richard, although the Kilkeel parish records are included in the Catholic Parish Registers at the National Library of Ireland. The closest I came was a Richard Cunningham, baptized October 19, 1857, son of Patrick Cunningham and Rosy McKay of Ballygowen. Assuming that people usually get at least the month of their birth correct, I don't think this is him. I'm starting to rethink even that assumption though, after the family I'm working on now, but that's a story for another day.

Getting back to Richard Cunningham, he and Ellen McKeon had seven children, including William A, who married Bertha Raimer. William and Bertha's daughter Mary Ellen Cunningham married my second cousin Martin Stringer. They were almost a generation older than I am and have died, but they had a large family and—since an interest in family history runs in the Rodgers family—at least one of their children will probably be interested in learning more about the Cunninghams and Raimers.

A brief list of sources is below. The complete information and a lot more on the family can be found in the Ohio Families tree on this site.

Sources

His naturalization papers.
His daughter Mary's 1930 Census.
Manifest of the SS Gallia.
1880 John Graham household.
1900 Richard Cunningham household.

Some Children of Michael Rourke and Alice Cunningham

2018-10-09T00:00:00-04:00

Continued from Charles and Margaret (O'Rourke) McNally, of Cleveland, Ohio.

Michael Rourke and Alice Cunningham of Killowen, County Down, Ireland, had at least seven children. Three of their daughters emigrated to Cleveland, Ohio. Let's discuss them first, since we have referred to them earlier in this series of articles.

Annie O'Rourke was baptized in Kilbroney in October 1849. The sponsors at her baptism were John and Sarah O'Rorke.¹ By 1880 she was married to Thomas Feran, a teamster, who had been in Cleveland by 1874 and was living on Everett Street.^2,3 Thomas died in 1890.⁴ Annie remained at 24 Everett until at least 1904.³ In 1910 she was living with her sister Margaret McNally at 1759 East 33rd.⁵ She died there in November of that year and is buried in St. Joseph Cemetery.⁶ She had no children.

Elizabeth "Bessie" O'Rourke was baptized in Kilbroney on Oct 30, 1851. The sponsors were James and Ellen Feran.¹ She was living with the McNallys in 1920⁷ She died Jan 30, 1924, at the Home of the Little Sisters of the Poor, but her listed residence was the McNally's. She is buried in Calvary Cemetery.⁸ She never married.

Margaret O'Rourke is not mentioned in the baptismal records of Rourkes in Kilbroney, but her death record states that she was born 18 Aug 1863, the daughter of Michael O'Rourke and Alice Cunningham. Since she is so closely associated with Annie, Bessie, and Michael J. O'Rourke, we can say that this is her family. Margaret died at home on April 26, 1927, and is buried in Calvary Cemetery.⁹ Margaret's family was discussed in the previous article in this series, referred to above.

Another child of Michael Rourke and Alice Cunningham, a son, Francis, settled in Peoria, Illinois. This is why the Peoria papers were asked to copy the death notice of Michael J. O'Rourke in 1919. See the first article, Michael O'Rourke, Killowen to Cleveland.

Francis was baptized August 5, 1843, in Kilbroney. The sponsors at his baptism were William Rorke and Ann Cunningham.¹ By 1880 Francis was married and living in Peoria.¹⁰ His wife was Margaret Mary McDonough, born in County Mayo, the daughter of James Mcdonough and Ellen Day.¹¹ There were four children listed on their censuses: Frank, William, Mary, and James. Francis died in Peoria on May 7, 1924.¹²

Michael Rourke and Alice Cunningham had a son William who apparently didn't emigrate. We will discuss him and his children next, as we find the ‘Chicago connection.'

Continued in Christina O'Rourke, Killowen to Chicago.

Footnotes

Kilbroney Church Records, transcription of Rourkes.
"United States Census, 1880," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MZ1B-PFG : accessed 22 Nov 2013), Thomas Farson, Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States; citing sheet 319B, family 0, NARA microfilm publication T9-1006.
Cleveland City Directories at ancestry.com
Cleveland Necrology File at http://dxsrv4.cpl.org/
Annie is family 382. This is the source for family 381, the McNallys: "United States Census, 1910," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MLD5-9GQ : accessed 22 Nov 2013), Charles Mcnalley, Cleveland Ward 12, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States; citing sheet , family 381, NARA microfilm publication T624, FHL microfilm 1375183.
Note: Indexed as "Tarren" not "Farren/Feran, etc." "Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X88K-T26 : accessed 15 Nov 2013), Anna Tarren, 23 Nov 1910; citing Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, reference fn 59874; FHL microfilm 1952610.
"United States Census, 1920," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MD1J-6CR : accessed 14 Nov 2013), Chas Mc Nally, Cleveland Ward 21, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States; citing sheet , family 56, NARA microfilm publication T625, FHL microfilm 1821370.
Note: indexed as "Gessie Rourke." "Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X8Y9-C4V : accessed 18 Nov 2013), Gessie Rourke, 27 Jan 1924; citing Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, reference fn 1631; FHL microfilm 1992399.
"Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X8LS-DLF : accessed 14 Nov 2013), Charles Mcnally in entry for Margaret Mcnally, 26 Apr 1927; citing Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, reference fn 21585; FHL microfilm 1984846.
"United States Census, 1880," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MXKS-1J3 : accessed 15 Nov 2013), Francis Ororke, Peoria, Peoria, Illinois, United States; citing sheet 46B, family 0, NARA microfilm publication T9-0240
"Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NQ34-WMV : accessed 15 Nov 2013), Margaret Mary O'Rourke, 01 Aug 1934.
"Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NQFG-1B5 : accessed 15 Nov 2013), Francis Henry O'Rourke, 07 May 1924.m

The Cunninghams and the O'Rourke DNA

2018-10-08T00:00:00-04:00

Continued from The Carsons and the O'Rourke DNA.

My cousin and I have a great-grandmother named Anna Cunningham so I wrote to two different Cunningham contacts about the DNA matches. The odd thing is that their DNA matched ours but didn't match each other, at least not when I ran the "in common with" test at familytreeDNA.

The first contact person seemed to be handling three related people who all had been tested. We shared approximately 44, 54, and 59 centiMorgans with each of them. Their oldest known Cunningham was a Thomas Cunningham, born in Portadown, County Armagh, in 1854, the son of James Cunningham.

Portadown became a textile manufacturing center in the 1800′s. It seems like a place you would move to when you left home. So their family might have moved there from Ballymadeerfy, near Kilkeel, where our great-grandmother was from. Her father's name was James and she had a brother named James, so their James Cunningham might have been a cousin or so to our great-grandmother.

The second Cunningham match was on a family whose oldest known ancestor was John Cunningham who was born in Ireland and living in Hartford, Connecticut, by 1854. He married a woman named Ann Kelly. Their children were named Jane, John, Mary Ellen, Daniel, Thomas, Anna, and Maria.

Somehow this just doesn't sound like a Kilkeel Cunningham. If he is in Hartford by 1854 doing manual labor, not farming, it sounds more like either he came to America because of the Famine or had enough money to emigrate earlier. And the fact that his DNA isn't a common match with the man from Portadown doesn't help any. It might be that my cousin matched them from one of his families in Connecticut or western New York state.

So as far as the Cunningham part of the test goes, I think the other families can learn more from our research than the other way around. Our Ballymadeerfy townland home gives the first family a "destination" when working backward in their tree.

I said we would save the best for last, so next are the Colgans.

Continued in The Colgans and the O'Rourke DNA.

Credits

The image of a DNA strand comes from Wikipedia:File:DNA orbit animated static thumb.png.