52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 11 - Lucky - Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The 52 Ancestors prompt for this week is "Lucky". Do you have an ancestor who was lucky at something? Lucky to be alive? Lucky at cards? Lucky in love? Maybe you have an ancestor with a name that reminds you of luck or fortune. There's always "luck of the Irish." Maybe you have a story of how luck played a role in finding an ancestor. Write about that this week. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Luck of the Irish is what comes to mind for me for this prompt and the lucky person was me! I've had the good fortune to visit Ireland three times (so far!) and two of the trips were as a contest winner. The first trip was with my parents and two aunts and uncles. We were celebrating my father's retirement and he had always wanted to see Ireland. He took this shot looking away from the Cliffs of Moher.

Looking away from the Cliffs of Moher

When we went through the town of Macroom, my father remembered his grandfather mentioning that name and sure enough, we saw quite a bit of the Creedon name there. Years later, I finally found records to prove that our Creeden family came from Clondrohid, just a few miles away from Macroom.

My uncle in front of Macroom Castle

In 2001, my sister and I won a trip to Ireland through a contest on the Guinness website. The trip included airfare, hotel, and daily tours. We were able to add my brother-in-law for a very small fee and they gave us two hotel rooms at the 5 star Fitzwilliam Hotel in Dublin. One of the highlights was a VIP tour and dinner at the Guinness brewery at St. Jame's Gate. Another site we toured was Malahide Castle, located north of Dublin. We had one free day and decided to take a trip to the beautiful Wicklow Mountains south of Dublin. On the way out of town, we passed the Windmill Lane studio where U2 recorded their early albums and went past Bono's and Enya's houses in Killiney.

Malahide Castle

In 2009, I got an email saying I'd won a trip to Ireland through Diageo. I almost deleted it thinking it was spam, but as I read it, I realized it looked legit. It turned out Diageo was now the owner of Guinness, so I had somehow managed to win a Guinness contest again! This trip was in celebration of the 250th anniversary of St. Jame's Gate and included a pass for the bus tours of Dublin and tickets to the 250th anniversary celebration with headliner Tom Jones.

Actors from The Tudors outside Christ's Church Cathedral, Dublin

We used the free bus pass to see St. Patrick's Cathedral, Merrion Square with a beautiful park and the famous Georgian doors, and we saw remnants of a Creedon harp at the Ireland National Museum of Decorative Arts and History. We also had the luck to see the actors for The Tudors series outside of Christ's Church Cathedral where they were filming an episode.

Merrion Square Park

All three trips were fantastic and I hope to have the good fortune to visit Ireland again.

#52Ancestors is a series of weekly family history prompts developed by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 10 - Strong Woman

The 52 Ancestors prompt for this week is "Strong Woman". What female in your family tree has shown remarkable strength (either physical or emotional)? Tell her story. 

My great-great-grandmother Mary Ann Matson was born in Clinton County, Ohio on Sept. 11, 1851. She was the youngest of the 13 children of Asa Matson and Dorothy “Dolly” Clevenger. Mary's parents were born in Virginia and migrated to Clinton County, Ohio in the early 1800's. Four of Mary's brothers served in the Civil War and two died in the war while another was wounded.

On December 10, 1868, Mary was married to Timothy Creeden in Clinton County. She was 17 and Timothy was 22. Timothy was an Irish immigrant, born in 1846 in County Cork. Mary and Timothy had ten children, but two of them died young. Their first child Patrick died in Clinton County in 1872 at the age of 3. Their next son James died in Mercer County at the age of 17.

 

Mary Ann Matson Creeden (left) at her boarding house in Celina, OH

Mary was widowed in 1899 at the age of 48 and still had six children at home. She mortgaged part of the family farmland and bought a house in town in Celina, OH to run as a boarding house. The 1900 census showed that 2 of the grown children worked while the younger ones went to school. Mary made money by renting out rooms in the house. Renters were provided room and board including meals and laundry. The sign on the house above Mary's head says Ice, 7c a day, so it looks like she was resourceful on finding ways to make extra money.

From 1910 US Census for Mercer County, Ohio

In 1910, Mary was still running the boarding house. In the 1910 census, she had three boarders and three of her children were living at home. By that time, the three children were old enough to work, although her youngest son Joshua was only 16. Joshua and the three boarders all worked at the Mersman furniture factory. Her daughter Julia worked as a servant in a private home and her daughter Ida Belle was a dressmaker. By 1920, Mary had retired and was still living with her son Joshua in the same house.

Mary died at her home in 1925 at the age of 74. Her obituary contained this line: "Mrs. Creeden has been suffering with a complication of diseases for the past year, but bearing her suffering with great fortitude, never wishing to alarm her family at any time." While I don't know too much about her personality, she must have been a strong woman to run a business and raise six children on her own.

 #52Ancestors is a series of weekly family history prompts developed by Amy Johnson Crow.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 9 - Where There's a Will

The 52 Ancestors prompt for this week is "Where There's a Will". Use this prompt however you are inspired to. Maybe you've come across an interesting will. Explain it like you would to a non-genealogist. What story does it reveal? You could write about an ancestor who was determined to do something. (Or maybe you have an ancestor named Will!) 

Wills often contain valuable clues for tracing your ancestors. If you're lucky, they'll list the children's names and sometimes even grandchildren. If the inheritance involves land, they may give details on the name and location of the property. You may find additional probate records with the will that pinpoint the date of death and other details about the estate.

I'm choosing Patrick Creedan's will for this prompt for the unique clues it provided. I originally transcribed the will in 2012 when I found it in the Clinton County, Ohio Probate Records on FamilySearch.org.  It's really important to note a lot of the probate records on FamilySearch are not indexed and don't show up when you search their records! I have a post here with tips on finding these records. In this case, the record has since been indexed at Ancestry.com, but there are still many records that are not searchable.

Patrick Creedan's Will, Clinton County, Ohio, 1883

Patrick Creedan's will was executed after Patrick's death in June 1883 in Clinton County, Ohio. The will designates $200 for funeral expenses and masses for Patrick and his daughter Phoebe Catherine. After the funeral expenses were paid, the estate was to be divided into eight equal portions with the recipients as follows:

1. Patrick's son Timothy
2. Patrick's daughter Julia - This share actually goes to Timothy on account of Julia being a "religious" in the Sisters of Charity. Timothy is named as Julia's "full brother".
3. Patrick's son John
4. Patrick's daughter Hanna Jane
5. Patrick's son Patrick William
6 and 7. Patrick's daughter Rosanna receives two shares due to her "feeble mental condition"
8. Patrick's grandson Elija Bernard the son Patrick's deceased daughter Johanna

The witnesses to the will were Bridget Keefe and Michael O'Donaghue. The executor was Timothy Keefe.

So, what story does it reveal without looking at any other records?

Patrick Creedan, a resident of Clinton County, Ohio, died in June 1883. His daughters Phoebe and Johanna preceded him in death. Masses were to be held for him and his deceased family members.

Patrick was survived by his children Timothy, Julia, John, Hanna Jane, Patrick William, Rosanna, and a grandson Elija Bernard. Elija was the son of Patrick's daughter Johanna. Timothy and Julia are called out as "full" siblings, so the other children probably had a different mother and Patrick probably had at least two wives. The wives aren't mentioned in the will, so probably died before 1883.

Patrick's daughter Rosanna needs additional care to be provided for by receiving an extra share of his estate. Patrick was most likely a Catholic since he designates some of his estate to be used to pay for masses for him and his deceased family and his daughter Julia is in the Sisters of Charity. Patrick is acquainted with the Keefe family and Michael O'Donaghue.

Further research on the clues in the will led to the following discoveries:

Patrick's son Timothy became guardian of Rosanna. Guardianship bonds showed that Rosanna moved with Timothy's family to Mercer County, Ohio. This was important in helping to establish that the Timothy Creeden in Mercer County was the same person as the one in Clinton County.

The Sisters of Charity in Cincinnati, Ohio had records for Julia that showed she entered their convent in Cincinnati in 1870. She took her vows in 1872 and received the name of Sister Mary Felix. With that information, I was able to find her death certificate which named her parents as Patrick Creedon and Mary Coakley. That led to her baptism record in Ireland which gave her address as Carrigapooka in Clondrohid, County Cork, Ireland. Since the will stated Timothy was her full brother, I finally had names for my 2x great-grandfather Timothy's parents and a specific location in Ireland!

Timothy Keefe's mother was Johanna Creedon. The Keefes were from the same area of County Cork and an article about Julia Creedon states that she was related to the Keefe family of Clinton County. I haven't found any records showing the relationship of Johanna to Patrick, but it does look like they were related.

Michael  O'Donaghue was the priest at St. Columbkill church in Clinton County from 1882-1905/1906. According to a newspaper article Patrick Creedan was at the first mass held in Clinton County in 1852, along with members of the Keefe and Coakley families.

This will really helped me break down my brick wall on Timothy Creeden! For the full transcription, see my original post on Patrick Creedan's will.

#52Ancestors is a series of weekly family history prompts developed by Amy Johnson Crow.