Cousins in Canajoharie -- another Kilcooley connection

Another discovery made by newspaper stories is Ellen's connection to the Mahars of Canajoharie. In one article, the gossip column has her children visiting with their cousins from Canajoharie, and in another Ellen and her daughter Kit (Catherine) and son-in-law are "motoring" to visit the Mahars in Canajoharie. (mention in the lower right-hand corner)

In Ireland, the name Maher is pronounced like Mar or Mahar. In fact, my own father pronounced his grandmother's name as Ellen Mahar. So, you will see both spellings in the USA--sometime Maher and sometime Mahar. In Ireland, you will pretty much only find the spelling as Maher.

The family they were visiting was Patrick J Maher and Anastasia Maher's.  Patrick worked on the railroad. 

He, like Patrick Murphy, had been employed by the New York Central Railroad. You will note from his obituary that his birthday is given as 15 Nov 1857. His full name was Patrick James Maher. He was married to Anna Stacia Maher. Yes, they had the same names. And, according to his death certificate, his parents were James Maher and Margaret Maher. Yes, they too were both Mahers. Patrick James died from liver cancer in 1923. 

A search for all Irish records with the name Patrick in 1857, results in only one entry: a Patrick born in Ballinastick in June. A search of all Irish records for County Tipperary reveal only two possibilities for his parents by first names only: James Maher and Margaret Cormack baptized 23 June 1857 in Gortnahoe (Ballinastick) or James Maher and Margaret Maher baptized 4 May 1855 in Gortnahoe (Glengoole). In fact, this Patrick is the only one born to a James Maher and a Margaret Maher. The sponsors for the 1855 Patrick were a Pat Kelly (though the name is not clear) and Ellen Cormack. Either way, it appears he was baptized in Gortnahoe. 

But, what about his wife Anna. She died July 17th, 1925 from diabetes. She was the daughter of Michael Maher and Mary Laffan. Her birthday is given on he death certificate as 28 April 1855--meaning that they assumed she was 2 years older than Patrick (if he was born in 1857) A search of all baptismal records in County Tipperary for 1855 + 2 years with parents Michael and Mary (no maiden name in the search terms), reveals no results. A new search using + 5 years, and only Michael and Mary as parents (no maiden name supplied in the search) reveals only 4 births that begin with A.

Only one with the name Anastasia, and that is in Gortnahoe. That baptism took place 25 April 1852 Kilcooly to Michael Maher and Mary Laffan. There was only one sponsor: Anastasia Laffan.

This "correct month"/"wrong year" is a phenomena I've read other Irish genealogists have encountered, which is why we often check the US Federal Census of 1900. On that census the birth month as well as the year is recorded.  For some reason, the birth year seems to be a mystery for many of the Irish immigrants.

I have found DNA matches to Patrick and Anastasia's descendants, but of course it doesn't tell me if both Patrick and Anastasia were related to Ellen, or if only one of them was.