Info about Pennefeathers and Meaghers

Robert:

The subscription site Roots Ireland has an April 9 1805 baptismal record for a Catherine Pennefather at the Moycarkey RC parish. Moycarkey is the RC parish just south of Thurles. Father Edmund Pennefather and mother Catherine Martin.

I was unable to find a marriage record for Catherine Pennefeather and Patrick Meagher. Also did not find any Meagher baptismal records where the mother was a Pennefeather.

However, in searching for records, I found a marriage record for a Catherine Pennefeather to a Patrick Treacy in Drom RC parish and six baptismal records for chidlren including a Patrick and a James.

Patrick Treacy/Catherine Pennefeather January 18 1837 Drom RC church

Children---Patrick 1838 John 1839 Anne 1841 Mary 1843 Margaret 1845 James 1848

Any possibility that Patrick Treacy is the name of Catherine's husband?

Roger McDonnell

Dear Roger McDonnell:

Thank you for your diligent work and prompt reply. In spite of my very Anglo surname,(Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire), my mother's family are the Meagers, the Whelans, the Hogans ,and the Corcorans. My grandmother was Mary Agnes Hogan (nee Meagher) (1875 - 1965). The Catherine Meagher in question is my maternal great great grandmother - just wanted you to know that I qualify as a legitimate inquirer, at least on one side if the ledger.

Here are my sources of information:

1. The descendants of Patrick Meagher, elder son of Catherine, are resolute in declaring Catherine and Patrick Meagher to have been married in Thurles in 1828 - no proof but a firmly held  and oft repeated belief;

2. The U.S. death certificate for James Meagher  (wherein my grandmother Mary Hogan, James' daughter, was informant) lists his birthdate as Nov 13, 1844, (d/death - 30 April,1832) his father as Patrick Meagher, and his mother as Catherine Pennefeather (not Pennefather), their respective places of birth as Ireland;

3. The 1870 U.S. census for  New Brunswick , N.J. show Catherine Meagher (spelled Maher - a common error) as age 63, ergo born in 1807, living with her  younger son, James , my ancestor, ,age 23. ergo born in 1847. ( James became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1871).

4.  Now the part that is hard to believe. Catherine does not appear in the 1880 U. S. census so we conclude she died circa mid 1870s. We are absolutely certain Catherine was buried "old St Peters" Cemetery , the traditional Irish Catholic burying ground in New Brunswick. In 1889 " old St Peters" cemetery was sold to the newly created Sacred Heart Church. Bit by bit the cemetery was covered over and destroyed by a new church, school, convent and other parish buildings. St Peters Church claims to have kept meticulous records of the displaced graves but the records are in St Peters Archives and although I have been trying for two years, I have been unable to gain access to the archives. Recently the archivist told me by phone that she doubts they have any records predating 1900 which is directly at variance with their public statements and representations.  As you can tell this is a source of greatest irritation to me.

Sadly .I think we are forced to conclude that although the names you found are very similar to the people we seek, they are not the ones.  There has never been a hint of anyone named Patrick Treacy in the family line. (The family mantra has always been "the Hogans came from Kilkenny - the Meaghers came from Tipperary" ). Our internal informatiom as to James. especially. is in conflict. 

Never the less I very much appreciate your kind efforts on our behalf and would be glad if the information I have provided will shed any light on what sometimes seems to be a never ending search.

Cordially yours,

Robert Hornby (assisted by daughter, Catharine Hornby)

Hi Robert and Catherine!

The NLI (National Library of Ireland) site has the Thurles parish register from 1795 to 1870. https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0280

The legibility of the entries is not the best. This link should take you to January 1828 marriages.  You may want to scroll thru the pages and see if you can find the Meagher/Pennefeather marriage.  https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000632768#page/161/mode/1up

Let me know if you have further questions.

Roger

Thank you very much!

On further reflection, we may have jumped too fast in our first reply.  The 1805 baptismal record of Catherine Pennefather  at Moycarkey is close to a fit. "Pennefather" is the accepted spelling in England and Ireland;  1807 would be the birthyear using U.S.census data; Moycarkey is near Thurles, the 1828 marriage site.  Only negative I can see is that there are no known Edmunds in the family line.

The husband’s name, Treacy, is still a bit of a mystery.
 

Thanks again for the Thurles parish records!  We have, perhaps, a further clue:

There is a small burying ground by the side of the public road near Inch that contains a grave stone with the following inscription:

" In loving memory of

  James Meagher

  Ballypatrick

  Died Feb 22, 1893

  Aged 85 years

  Also His Wife

  Margt Meagher, nee Egan 

  Died March 25, 1893

   Aged 85 Years

  Also Agnes Meagher

   88 Frankfort Avenue, Dublin

   Died 25 February, 1918

    Aged 72 Years"

Is there any way to find out more about this James Meagher?  Specifically, might this James  Meagher be brother to Patrick Meagher, Catherine's  presumed husband? It would be about the right time span((James - b. 1808) from what we estimate to be Catherine' s birthdate of 1804.- 1807. The younger of of Catherine's two sons who came with her to U.S. was named James and  one of her grandsons was James.

Thanks again for any insight you can offer-