Surname Saturday - Coakley family of County Cork, Ireland

According to Irish Names and Surnames by Patrick Woulfe, Coakley is an old West Cork name that means son of the blind hero or possibly son of the blind poet. There are many variations on the spellings and origins of the name, but the only one I've seen for my family is Coakley or Cokley.

 

My 3x great-grandparents were Patrick Creedan and Mary Coakley of Clondrohid, County Cork, Ireland. Patrick and Mary had three children shown below. I haven't been able to find a marriage record for Patrick and Mary or a baptism record for Mary, so I don't have a date of birth for her.

Julia Creedan was born in 1842 and baptized in Clondrohid. Her baptism sponsors were Daniel Cokley and Hanora Creeden and the townland was Carrigapooca. Timothy Creedan was born in March 1846. I've never been able to find a baptism record for Timothy, but his birth year is confirmed on census records, his tombstone and his obituary. Hanora Creedan was born in August 1848. Baptism sponsors were John Keeffee and Johanna Toomy and the location was Carrigapooca.

Timothy is my 2x great-grandfather and the only child of Patrick and Mary to have children. From Timothy's obituary written in 1899, Patrick came to Clinton County, Ohio in 1849 to make a home for the family. Shortly after he arrived, he got word that Mary had died. He sent for Timothy and Julia and they came to New Orleans and up the river to Ohio. Patrick remarried in 1851 and had several more children with Hannah Hoover in Clinton County. Julia entered the Sisters of Charity convent in Ohio around 1870 and took the name Sister Mary Felix. Her death certificate in 1918 named her parents as Patrick Creedon and Mary Coakley. I haven't found any further mention of Hanora, so most likely she died in Ireland.

So far, Mary's Coakley family is a brick wall. The Daniel Coakley named as a sponsor on Julia's baptism was probably a relative and possibly a sibling. I've turned up a couple of families that had both a Mary and Daniel in that time period, but haven't found any other info on them yet. 

On the same page as Patrick Creedan's baptism record in 1814, there is a Daniel Coakley born to Timothy Coakley and Honora Crowly in the Rahallusk township of Clondrohid. Daniel's birth is marked as illegitimate and the sponsors are Michael Buckley and Catharine Coakley. I couldn't find a daughter named Mary with a father named Timothy in this location though. 

 

A Daniel Coakley and July Leary had four children baptized in Inchigeelagh, shown below. July's name is given as Julian in some of the baptism records. I haven't been able to find any other records for this Mary. Baptism sponsors are as follows:
Daniel - ? Leary and Julian Coakley
Mary -   ? Leary and Cath P?
Denis -  ? Leary and Narry Henissey?
Narry -  Joh or Jer Leary and Mary Leary  

  

There was a Coakley family in Clinton County, Ohio that had close ties to my Creeden family, but that hasn't turned up any leads on Mary's family either. There are a lot of descendants of this Coakley family, but I haven't identified any DNA matches to my family or any connections in the records in Ohio or Ireland. 

I also have several DNA matches to a Coakley family in Ireland, but haven't found a possibility for my Mary in that family. Other possible Coakley DNA matches are through my direct line from Mary's son Timothy, but most of those seem to be on the Creeden side so far.

I'd love to hear from anyone else researching the Coakleys!

Sunday's Obituary - Timothy Coakley

Timothy Coakley was born in Ireland and lived in Clinton County, Ohio by 1852. He was one of the oldest Irish residents in the county when he died on October 22, 1912. I found three obituaries for Timothy with different dates and stories on his immigration to the US. Details on the obituaries for Timothy Coakley are below.

Clinton County Democrat, October 24, 1912

From the Clinton County Democrat obituary, Timothy was 83 years old at his death placing his year of birth around 1829. This obituary states that he came to the US with his father Jerry, but it appears that they didn't know exactly when since the year is given as 18--! I don't think I've seen that before, but it's repeated in one of the other obituaries. This obituary mentions Timothy being present at the first mass celebrated in Clinton County and says he is survived by three daughters and two sons.

 

The Wilmington Journal, October 30, 1912

The Wilmington Journal, October 30, 1912  part 2

The second obituary is from the Wilmington Journal and states that Timothy was 82 years old at the time of his death. This obituary states that he came to Ireland at the age of 18 which would've been around 1848. It gives some details on his work history at Patrick Denver's farm and the railroad. It says he married Catherine Powers on January 3, 1853 and that they had ten children, five that were still living. It also gives Catherine's year of death as 1909 and says that Mrs. John Burke is the only surviving member of the older family. Timothy's sister Mary was married to John Burke. 

An interesting difference between the obituaries is that this one says Timothy's parents and sisters didn't come over until later, but says the family arrived in the early 40s. That doesn't add up with Timothy's age at death and arrival in the US at the age of 18.

The third obituary was published in the Clinton Republican on October 24, 1912 and is available on the Ohio History Connection website. This obituary states that Timothy was 82 when he died at his home in Wilmington. It adds some new details about Timothy being from Cork, Ireland and that "with other of his people he came to this country about the year ----". So, this time the year is a complete blank! A few more facts are added including that he worked in New Orleans for some time before coming to Wilmington and that he was Street Commissioner and a fireman after his work on the railroad ended. This obituary names his surviving children as Mary, John, Timothy and Elizabeth living at home and Mrs. Katherine Murphy of Cincinnati. 

I often can't find even one obituary, so finding three is a bit unusual. They agree roughly on Timothy's age, work history and surviving relatives, although some provided more detail than others. They disagree on when he came to the US and whether or not he came with other family members.

The 1900 census says Timothy's year of immigration was 1860 and the 1910 census says 1836. Nether of those years seem correct based on the other information about Timothy. I wasn't able to find a Timothy Coakley in the 1850 census for Ohio or New Orleans and haven't found Timothy in any passenger lists so far. Based on the information I have, my guess is Timothy came over between 1847-1852.  I know he was in Clinton County by 1852 when the first mass was celebrated and also that he was married in Ohio in 1853.

Sunday's Obituary is a prompt developed by Leslie Ann at Ancestors Live Here.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 38 - Unusual Source - Sisters of Charity Email

The 52 Ancestors prompt for this week is "Unusual Source". The prompt had the following questions:

What is the most unusual source you've ever used? An email from a nun working at the Sisters of Charity Archives in Mount St. Joseph, Ohio.

What did it tell you? The email told me that Julia Creedan entered the Sisters of Charity convent in Cincinnati in 1870. She took her vows in 1872 and received the name of Sister Mary Felix. The email also gave some of Julia's work history with the Sisters and gave her date of death as February 18, 1918. A big surprise was that the email included a picture of Julia. It's the only picture of her that I've seen and she showed a resemblance to her brother Timothy, my 2x great-grandfather.

What question were you trying to answer when you found it? I was trying to find the names of Timothy and Julia Creedan's parents and where they came from in Ireland. Timothy was one of my biggest brick walls and I'd been unable to find any records for him that showed his parents' nsmes or his place of birth in Ireland.

With Julia's new name, I was able to find Julia's Ohio 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 Patrick Creedan's 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!

Timeline for Julia Creedan/Sister Mary Felix

Before receiving the information from the Sister, my only information on Julia was from the 1860 census and a clue in her father Patrick's will stating that she was a "religious" in the Sisters of Charity. With the Sister's information, I was able to fill in the timeline above. (Click on the image for a larger picture.) Since then, I've located Timothy's obituary which told the story of their mother dying in Ireland and their immigration to the Port of New Orleans sometime between 1849-1850.

I thought this was a long shot when I sent the email to the Sisters requesting information on Julia and I'm still amazed that it unlocked so much information!

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

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 4 - Invite to Dinner

This week's 52 Ancestors prompt is "Invite to Dinner." Which ancestor would you most want to invite to dinner? Do you have a story of a memorable dinner with an ancestor? Is there a special recipe that's been handed down? 

I remembered doing a similar prompt back in 2011 for the Fearless Females series, so I took a look back to see what I said then: "While we're fantasizing, the special guest of honor would be my gg-grandfather's mother from Ireland so that she could tell us where she comes from, her and her husband's names and if Timothy had any siblings!"

I still think my 3x great-grandmother would be an interesting dinner guest since I know so little about her and her family. She's not the complete mystery that she was in 2011 though. I know now that she was Mary Coakley and she was married to my 3x great-grandfather Patrick Creedan. She had at least three children with Patrick: Julia, born in 1842, my 2x great-grandfather Timothy, born in 1846, and Hanora, born in 1848.

From Timothy's obituary, Mary died when Timothy was only 3 years old, so sometime between March 1849 and March 1850. Patrick had already come to Ohio and was working on a farm. He sent for Timothy and Julia, but there was no mention of Hanora.

Julia and Hanora were both baptized in Clondrohid, County Cork, Ireland and their address was given as Carrigapooka. So, I can answer most of the questions from my 2011 post, but now of course I'd like the same questions answered for Mary and Patrick!

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

Sunday's Obituary - Kate Coakley Egan

The following obituary for Kate Coakley was published in The Wilmington Journal of Clinton, Ohio on September 26, 1906. I suspect that the Coakley family in Wilmington, Ohio was related to my Creeden family. Both families came to the US from County Cork, Ireland somewhere between 1849-1852. Patrick Creedan and Jeremiah Coakley were both present at the first Catholic mass held in Wilmington and Patrick's first wife was Mary Coakley.

Mrs. Kate Egan, wife of Patrick Egan, who for many years conducted a saloon at the corner of South street, adjoining the C.&M.V. Railroad, was found dead in the hallway of her home Tuesday morning at 9:30 o'clock. The obituary goes on to describe details of Kate being found several hours after falling down the stairs in her home.

The deceased was born in County Cork, Ireland, about seventy-two years ago, and came to Wilmington with her parents, Jeremiah and Mary Coakley, about 1852, since which time she has made her home here. Funeral services were held in St. Columbkille Catholic Church on Thursday morning. The rest of the obituary describes her estate, valued at $6,348.44. Her brother Timothy Coakley was appointed as administrator and Edward J. West was the attorney for the administrator.

Kate's first name was spelled Catharine in her marriage license. She was married to Patrick Egan on September 12, 1868.

Church Record Sunday - Clondrohid Parish, Ireland

My 3x great-grandfather Patrick Creedan was from County Cork, Ireland. He had at least two children baptized in Clondrohid Parish in County Cork with his wife Mary Coakley. Patrick's daughter Julia was baptized there in 1842 and his daughter Honora in 1848. His son Timothy was born in 1846, but those records seem to be missing.

Patrick was born on March 17, 1814 according to his tombstone. I found a couple of possibilities for baptism records for him on the National Library of Ireland site. On Page 37 of Microfilm 5002/05, there were two Patricks baptized in March 1814 in Clondrohid.

The first Patrick was baptized on March 8, 1814 to parents Tim and Julian Creedan in Clondrohid, County Cork. The address given was Carigapuca and the sponsors were Michael Buckley and Johanna Creedan. The second Patrick was baptized on March 14, 1814 to parents Dennis and Mary Creedan. The address was Baurthanaknuck and sponsors were Timothy Murphy and Johanna Creedan. No maiden names were given for the mothers. The Creedan spelling seems to be the most common in this area, but I've seen Creeden and Creedon in some of the other locations.

Since my Patrick had children named Timothy and Julia, the first one seems like the best possibility. The first one also has the same address as that given when Patrick's daughters Julia and Hanora were baptized. If his tombstone is correct, neither of these is quite a match for a baptism date, but I didn't see any other good matches for the months following March. Also of interest on this page, there are several Coakleys. Patrick married Mary Coakley sometime before July 1842, but I haven't found a marriage record for them so far.

Church Record Sunday - Honora Creedan Baptism in Clondrohid Parish, Ireland

I've been searching for my 2x great-grandfather Timothy Creeden's baptism record in the registers available on the National Library of Ireland site. From other records, I believe that Timothy was born in early 1846 and records for his siblings showed that they were baptized in Clondrohid Parish. Unfortunately, the NLI site shows that it only has 1846 records for November and December for Clondrohid. I've been searching through the nearby parishes, but so far haven't had any luck finding Timothy.

I decided to search for Timothy's siblings and quickly found a record for his older sister Julia. Finding his younger sister Hanora took a little more searching. I have a transcribed record that gives Honora's baptism date as August 6, 1848 in Clondrohid Parish, so started my search with August, 1848.

The first page that came up for August didn't have any trace for Hanora. In looking at the date, I wonder if this could be one of the missing pages for August 1846.

The next page for September also looked like it could be for 1846, as well as the page that followed for June.

Compare this to the second page tagged for September 1848, where the last number is definitely an 8.

Another page for August 1848 appeared a couple of pages down and this one looked like 1848. This is one of the harder to read pages, but I was able to make out the entry for Honora on August 6, 1848.

Hanora Creedan on Page 20, Microfilm 05003/01, Clondrohid Parish

The entry says that Hanora's parents were Pat Creedan and Mary Coakley. Witnesses were John Keeffee and Johanna Toomy and the location was Carrigapooca. Interesting to see John Keefe there, since a John Keefe and his wife Johanna Creedon were one of the other families that wound up in Clinton County, Ohio where my Creedens settled.

There are a few other Creedans on this page. At the bottom of the same page, I can't make out the date or child's name, but it also has the location of Carrgapooca. The parents are Daniel Riordan and Kate Creedan and one of the witnesses is Mary Creedan. The date above it is August 25.

Child of Daniel Riordan and Kate Creedan, August 1848, Clondrohid Parish

I'm finding that the Creedan spelling was used quite often in the Clondrohid records. Creedan also appears in the earlier records in Clinton County, Ohio, but most of them had changed the spelling to Creeden or Creedon by the 1880s.

Sunday's Obituary - Mary Coakley

This short notice appeared in the Wilmington Journal on December 28, 1887.

  The widow of the late Jerry Coakley died at the residence of her son-in-law, Patrick Egan, in Wilmington, on last Friday, at the age of eighty-four years.

Mary Ryan Coakley was born in County Cork, Ireland and came to Wilmington, Ohio with her husband Jerry Coakley. According to her tombstone on FindAGrave, Mary died on December 23, 1887 at the age of 81 years. Her son-in-law Patrick Egan was married to Catherine Coakley on September 13, 1868. Mary is buried in Sugar Grove Cemetery in Wilmington, Ohio.

I've been researching this Coakley family since my 3x great-grandfather Patrick Creedan was married to a Mary Coakley. Patrick Creedan and Jerry Coakley were both present at the first Catholic mass held in Wilmington in 1852 and the two families seemed close. I'd love to hear from anyone with information on the Clinton County Coakleys.

Sunday's Obituary - Jeremiah Coakley

The following obituary was published in the Wilmington Clinton County Democrat on January 5, 1887. Jerry Coakley was very active in establishing the Catholic Church in Wilmington, Ohio and was present at the first mass said there in 1852. I posted a shorter obituary for him from the Clinton County Republican earlier this month.

JERRY COAKLEY, one of the old residents of the place, died last Friday at his home on Locust street, after an illness of several months, of no especial disease, but a general wearing out. Mr. Coakley was nearly eighty-seven years old and was born in Ireland. He left County Cork thirty years ago and came directly to Wilmington, where he has since resided. He was a hard-working, peaceable man and a good citizen. Funeral services were held in the Catholic Church on Sunday, and deceased was buried in Sugar Grove Cemetery.

It's interesting that the obituary states that Jerry came directly to Wilmington around 1857. I believe that my 3x great-grandfather Patrick Creedan arrived in Wilmington in 1849 and had been married to a Mary Coakley, so it's possible that they were related. Both Jerry and Patrick were present at the first mass in Wilmington in 1852, so they definitely knew each other. I'm still looking for that definite link between the families.

Sunday's Obituary - Jeremiah Coakley

This entry appeared in the Clinton Republican in Wilmington, Ohio on January 5, 1887:

Jeremiah (Jerry) Coakley died Friday, December 31, 1886, at almost 87 years of age. He was born in Ireland and was of the Catholic faith. He was buried in Sugar Grove Cemetery.

In the 1880 census, Jerry was living with his wife Mary and their son Timothy and his family in Clinton County, Ohio.

According to FindAGrave, Jerry's wife Mary Ryan Coakley died almost a year later in December, 1887. There is a nice picture of their gravestone on FindAGrave with the following inscription:

Natives of County Cork Ireland.
Merciful God grant unto them eternal rest and may the perpetual light shine upon them,
Amen

The 1915 history of Clinton County, Ohio by Albert J. Brown states that Jerry Coakley was one of the attendees at the first Catholic mass in Clinton County in August 1852, along with Patrick Creedan. In 1864, Jerry was one of the organizers behind the effort to build a Catholic Church in Clinton County. I suspect there might be a link between Patrick Creedan's first wife Mary Coakley and Jerry's family, but haven't found anything definite yet.

Updating to add that I found a second obituary with more information on Jerry in the Clinton County Democrat. The second obituary is posted here.

Church Record Sunday - Founding of Catholic Church in Clinton County, Ohio

A 1915 history of Clinton County, Ohio by Albert J. Brown says that the first Roman Catholic mass celebrated in Clinton County, Ohio in August 1852 had ten attendees: Michael Devaney, wife, and daughter, Timothy Coakley, Patrick Creedon, Jeremiah Coakley and wife, Catherine Knaughton, and two young men whose names were not recorded.

Fourteen years later, it appears that some of the same people petitioned the people of Clinton County for donations to build a church there. This excerpt is from a long article published in the Wilmington Clinton Republican on April 15, 1864. It lists the names of those making the appeal as Michael Divany, J. Coakly, James Monaghan, W. Maher, Jno. Kiefe, James Doyle, J. Miller, P. Credin, John Durkin, I. Egan, Jos. Strotman, B. Senton.

My guess is that this is the same Michael Devaney, Jeremiah Coakley, and Patrick Creedan that were at the first mass in Clinton County in 1852. Patrick was my 3x great-grandfather and my Creedan family had ties to the Coakley and Keefe families.

This gives me a few more names to investigate in Clinton County. I believe my Creedan/Creeden family may be related to the Coakley and Keefe families, but haven't found definite proof yet. So far, I know that Patrick Creedan was married to a Mary Coakley and that Timothy Keefe was the trustee for Patrick's estate. Timothy was the son of Johannah Creedon.

Sunday's Obituary - Dennis Coakley of the 79th Ohio Volunteer Infantry

I posted earlier about an entry in an abstract for the Wilmington Clinton Republican newspaper that stated: DIED, Dennis Coakley, of the 79th Reg. Ohio Vol. Leaves wife and 2 small children. The abstract for Dennis Coakley was taken from the April 7, 1865 edition of the Clinton Republican newspaper published in Wilmington, Ohio.

I believe the Coakley families of Clinton County, Ohio are connected to my Creeden family. My 3x great-grandfather Patrick Creedan was married to Mary Coakley. Both Patrick and the early Coakley families were present at the first mass held in Clinton County in 1851.

I took advantage of a special offer from Geneabloggers for a one month subscription to FindMyPast and much to my surprise they have the Clinton Republican newspaper online. The page containing the notice for Dennis Coakley was full of information on the 79th regiment and provided more details on Dennis' death. Following are some small excerpts from the newspaper page.

A list of casualties for the 79th OVI from January 18, 1865 to March 25th was provided to the Clinton Republican. According to the notice, the casualties occurred on the campaign from Savannah, Ga., to Goldsboro, N.C. Dennis Coakley was a private in Company G.

A special note was added about Dennis stating that he "fell bravely in advance of the front rank. He was struck in the breast, dying instantly. By his death another widow is added to the list of mourners".

Another article on the same page provided a few more details. "Amongst the killed we are pained to find the name of our former townsman, Dennis Coakly, who fell at the battle of Smithsville, bravely leading in the advance of a charging column, on the 16th of March. He has left a widow, now almost frantic with grief, and two little orphan girls, in this place."

I'm hoping to follow up with more information on Dennis and his family through military and probate records. 

Census Sunday - Coakley Families in Clinton County, Ohio

I've just started investigating my possible link to the Coakley families in Clinton County, Ohio, so decided to see what I could find out from the census records. My Coakley-Creeden link is through Julia Creedan's parents listed on her baptismal record and death certificate. Her parents were given on both records as Patrick Creedan and Mary Coakley. Julia is the sister of my great-great-grandfather Timothy Creeden.

A 1915 history of Clinton County, Ohio says that the first Roman Catholic mass celebrated in Clinton County, Ohio was in August 1852 and had ten attendees: Michael Devaney, wife, and daughter, Timothy Coakley, Patrick Creedon, Jeremiah Coakley and wife, Catherine Knaughton, and two young men whose names were not recorded.

I didn't have any luck finding Coakleys in the 1850 census for Clinton County, so went on to the 1860 census.

1860 Census - Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio

Both Coakley families are living together or next to each other. Tim and Catharine are from Ireland, while their children were all born in Ohio. Jerry, Mary, and their daughter Mary were all born in Ireland. They are living in Wilmington in Clinton County. There is also a Dennis Coakley with wife Mary, daughter Mary and infant son Dennis. A Catherine Coakley was living with a Fisher family.

1870 Census - Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio - Timothy Coakley and family

By 1870, the families were no longer living together and Timothy and Catherine had three more children. Jerry and Mary are living nearby and both families are still in Wilmington. I couldn't find their daughter Mary in this census.

1870 Census - Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio - Jerry and Mary Coakley

In the 1880 census, the families are back together. Timothy and Catherine have had two more children, John and Thomas.

1880 Census - Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio

In the 1890 census, I found a Mary Burns, listed as the former widow of Dennis Coakley. Dennis was killed in battle on March 16, 1865 in Avarysboro, NC. This abstract was taken from a notice in The Clinton Republican on April 7, 1865: DIED, Dennis Coakley, of the 79th Reg. Ohio Vol. Leaves wife and 2 small children. Dennis' widow Mary was in Xenia, Greene County, Ohio in this census.

1890 Veteran's Schedule - Xenia, Ohio

1890 Veteran's Schedule - Xenia, Ohio

In 1900, I found Timothy Coakley with his family and a Timothy Coakley that was living alone. They were all still in Wilmington.

1900 census - Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio

1900 census - Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio

Of interest in the 1900 census was the immigration year which was given as 1860 for Timothy. His wife Katherine didn't list a year, but said she had been in the US for 27 years or since about 1873.

1900 census - Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio

In the 1910 census, Timothy Jr. is living with his father who is now a widower. John and Elizabeth are also living with their father.

1910 census - Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio

This time Timothy's immigration year is given as 1836! Well, it wouldn't be a typical census record without some discrepancies.

In the 1920 census I found four of the brothers and sisters living together. Interesting that none of them are married! While I think this is the same family, their ages are off by at least a decade.

1920 census - Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio

By the 1930 census, Elizabeth has married John Ford and her two brothers are living with them. Elizabeth's age at her first marriage is given as 43 and John's is 26, so he has been married before.

1930 census - Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio

In the 1940 census, John Coakley is living with Amelia Murphy, a widow. The Ancestry.com index listed his relationship to her as "boarder", but it looks more like "brother" to me. John and Elizabeth Ford are listed on the same page of this census in Wilmington.

1940 census - Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio

As usual, once I find some answers, I have more questions! Who was Amelia Murphy? What happened to the children of Dennis Coakley and what information would his Civil War records provide? Are there any Irish or immigration records available for these families? My next step will be to see what records I can find beyond the census records.

Sources:

• Ancestry.com. 1860-1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]
• History of Clinton County, Ohio by Albert J. Brown, published in 1915 by B.F. Bowen & Co.

Church Record Sunday - History of the Sisters of Charity on Google Books

Volume 1 and Volume 2 of The History of Mother Seton's Daughters are available for free on Google Books. The books contain a detailed history of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, Ohio. Volume 2 has a listing of members of the Sisters of Charity from 1852 - 1870. Volume 3 is available for browsing online through the DePaul University Libraries Digital Collections and it lists members from 1871-1897.

My 2x great-grandfather's sister Julia Creeden entered the Sisters of Charity convent on March 25, 1870.

Julia took the name Sister Mary Felix when she took her religious vows. Knowing her religious name helped me find her death certificate which listed her parents' names as Patrick Creedon and Mary Coakley.

Dennis Coakley - Sunday's Obituary

This is from the Clinton County Ohio Newspapers Death and Obituary Abstracts, 1838 to 1867 by Larry D. Mart. The abstract for Dennis Coakley was taken from The Clinton Republican on April 7, 1865.

(Click for larger image.)

DIED, Dennis Coakley, of the 79th Reg. Ohio Vol. Leaves wife and 2 small children.

I'm just starting to investigate the Coakley families in Clinton County, so I am not sure yet how or if Dennis fits into my family. From the US Registers of Deaths of Volunteers, Dennis died in battle on March 16, 1865 in Avarysboro, NC.

Sister Mary Felix/Creeden Death Certificate - Amanuensis Monday

Julia Creeden was born in County Cork, Ireland in 1842 and lived in Clinton County, Ohio with her family by 1860. She entered the Sisters of Charity convent in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1870 and took her vows in 1872 when she received the name of Sister Mary Felix. She died in 1918 and is buried at the Sisters of Charity cemetery in Mount St. Joseph, Ohio. The death certificate pictured below was listed on the FamilySearch site under "Mary Creedon or Felix".

Name: Sister Mary Felix (Creedon)
County of: Hamilton
Township: Delphi
Ward: Sisters of Charity Mother House
Event date: 22 Feb 1918
Event place: Delhi, Hamilton, Ohio
Residence: Delhi, Hamilton, Ohio
Gender: Female
Death age: 75y
Marital status: Single
Race: White
Occupation: Nurse
Birth date: 01 Jul 1842
Birthplace: Ireland
Burial date: 25 Feb 1918
Burial place: Mt. St. Joseph, O.
Father: Patrick Creedon
Father's birthplace: Ireland
Mother: Mary Coakley
Mother's birthplace: Ireland
Informant: Sister Ernestine(?)
Cause of death: Lobar pneumonia
Undertaker: Geo. Engles, Mt. St. Joseph, O.

The source given on FamilySearch is: "Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953," index and images, Mary Creedon Or Felix, 22 Feb 1918; citing Delhi, Hamilton, Ohio, reference fn 10432; FHL microfilm 1984229.