Unusual Occupations: Architects, Including a Brady

As far as I know, none of my direct ancestors were professional architects, though I am sure many of them planned and built their own modest vernacular houses before the modern era. It is a challenging and highly respected calling, which is why “George Costanza” always wanted to be one, or more realistically, pretend to be one.

There are only three architects in my entire family tree of over 10,000 people, which generally extends to first or second cousins and their spouses:

William John Marsden (1847-aft. 1901) descends from a family long established in Sheffield, Yorkshire. Most of the Marsden men made their living as highly skilled metalworkers from at least the middle of the 18th century, producing scythes, knives, razors and other items. William’s father however was an ivory cutter and dealer, ivory being used for the handles of knives and razors.

Today an architect must undergo a lengthy program of formal education and then be certified by a licensing board before establishing a practice, but in William’s time one became an architect in the same way that one became a cutler or razor-maker: Through an apprenticeship.

This is why we find William in the 1861 census, age 14, living in Sheffield with his parents, but with his occupation given as “Architect (articled).” This means that Articles of Apprenticeship had been signed between a Master Architect and probably William’s father, spelling out the terms under which William would work for him, and thereby learn his trade. I wonder if following this profession was William’s idea or his parents’?

William John Marsden with his family in the 1861 census, found on Ancestry.com.

In 1871 William was still single and living with his parents but was a full-fledged architect. He must have also learned surveying skills at some point, because in 1881 his occupation is listed as “Architect & Surveyor to the Corporation of Sheffield.” The 1891 census finds him in Broughton, Lancashire, where he worked as an “Engineer & architect” assisted by his son James, age 19. In 1901, the last census in which I can find him, he lived in Blackpool, Lancashire and gave his occupation as “Civil Engineer.” Unfortunately, I do not know of any buildings he designed or other projects he worked on.

John Joseph Brady (1829-1904) was an Irish architect and contractor who married my husband’s cousin Elizabeth (Willis) Glynn in 1877. (Elizabeth was the widow of Michael Glynn, Esq. of Caltra House, Claremorris, County Mayo.) John seems to have lived in Galway City, County Galway, Ireland for the whole of his life, though extant Irish records are so sparse it is hard to tell.

Interior of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Glencorrib, from the National Built Heritage Service website.

I cannot find anything about his training, but at least one building he designed still stands today. This is the Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception in Glencorrib, County Mayo. He had completed the plans by 12 May 1875, when the laying of the foundation stone was announced in the Freeman’s Journal. Ireland’s National Built Heritage Service describes the building as a “stolid Georgian Gothic” style church, with a “restrained interior” and an exterior that makes a “pleasing visual statement.”

Arthur Hemsworth Byrd (1849-1902) is a cousin via the Linley and Hemsworth families. Born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, where his father worked as a draper, he moved with his parents to a farm in Staffordshire before the 1861 census. He was listed as an architect in both the 1871 and the 1881 census, though he was only age 21 in the earlier count. Using the British newspapers searchable at FindMyPast.com, I was able to find out that he designed a school in Coventry, Warwickshire in 1875.

In 1879 architect John R. Hilder of Bloemfontein, Orange Free State (now part of South Africa) died, leaving the position of diocesan architect to the Anglican Church open. In 1881 Arthur was recruited to handle the enlargement of Bloemfontein’s cathedral which he did successfully. In 1882 he designed a building for the Mechanics’ Institute in the same neighborhood as the cathedral.

Interior of Bloemfontein’s Anglican cathedral courtesy of the National Archives UK.

In 1883 Arthur joined the Brotherhood of St. Augustine of Hippo, an Anglican missionary brotherhood, and moved to their base in Modderpoort, about 80 miles east of Bloemfontein, where he is thought to have designed one or more buildings. He lived the remainder of his life there, dying in 1902.

The Royal Irish Constabulary

Seven collateral relatives in my tree were officers in the Royal Irish Constabulary, three among my husband’s County Mayo family, and four among my Dad’s County Kerry family. The R.I.C. were Ireland’s police from 1822 to 1922, though Dublin and parts of Wicklow were patrolled by their own force, the Dublin Metropolitan Police. Derry and Belfast also had their own civil police early on, but these later became divisions within the R.I.C.

Dress uniform broach at the West Midlands Police Museum. Photo by Sasha Taylor via Wikimedia Commons.

Being a constable was not an easy life. For one thing, it did not necessarily make a man popular in his community. The R.I.C. sometimes served essentially as a paramilitary arm of the oppressive British government, charged with keeping order during a century when many Irish people supported the struggle to throw off the British yoke. Duties that decreased one’s popularity might include the enforcement of rural evictions and the policing of public meetings and demonstrations.

Other hardships interfered with a man’s family life. A constable was expected to refrain from marrying until he had been on the force for several years, and was usually posted to a county different from both his home county and that of his wife. This may have promoted impartial policing, but it also removed couples from their support networks. Constables were also moved periodically so that they would not become too personally entangled with the community they served, and lived in barracks while on duty.

Former Police Barracks at Cahersiveen, County Kerry. Photo by Jo Turner via Wikimedia Commons.

On a positive note, Catholics were not prevented from joining the ranks, and typically made up about 3/4 of the force, though Protestants were more likely to be promoted to top positions. Pay was low but a steady paycheck and the promise of a retirement and/or widow’s pension did provide some financial security.

Uniforms were dark green with black buttons. Constables had both rifles and revolvers available as needed, but were usually armed with only a nightstick while on normal duty.

R.I.C. Service and other records are indexed on FindMyPast.com. Once you determine your relative’s service number, it is easy to research his career.

Constable Charles McGee (not a relative), killed in the 1916 Easter Rising.

The R.I.C. constables in our families were:

John Watson #35881 (1845-1898) Originally from County Cork, he joined the R.I.C. at age 24 in 1869. He was posted to County Kerry in 1870, where he met his wife Elizabeth McCarthy, daughter of Robert, the Harbour Master of Tralee. He served just over 25 years, retiring from the force in 1894.

Part of John Watson’s service record, found on Findmypast.com.

Anthony Langford McClure #40680 (1855-1935) Born in Kerry, he was posted in Waterford for a long period. The 1901 census finds him back in Kerry, age 46, and recently retired from the R.I.C. after 25 years of service. He married my relative Ellen Neill in 1891.

James Thomas Magee #43006 (1858-1920) James joined the R.I.C. in 1878 and married my relative Helen Wharton in 1891. He was posted to Newport, County Mayo as of the 1901 census, and to Drogheda, County Louth as of the 1911. He was in the police barracks on both census nights, so is listed on a separate form (Form H) from his wife and children. He retired in 1913 after 35 years of service.

William Butler #47327 (1862-1941) Born in County Meath, William became a constable at age 19 in 1881. He had postings in Counties Galway and Offaly, but spent most of his career and life in Cork, where he retired in 1914 after 33 years of service. He married my relative Mary Neill in 1891.

Michael Mea #52023 (1866-1941) Born in southern County Mayo, Michael joined the R.I.C. in 1890 and married my husband’s relative Mary Mulloy in 1899. He served in Galway and Clare, retiring after 26 years. He then became a shopkeeper in Ballinrobe, County Mayo.

Mortimer Murrihy #56907 (1872-1934) Born in County Clare, he joined the R.I.C. in 1895 and served in Donegal and Sligo before being posted in Mayo and marrying my husband’s relative Catherine Mahony there in 1910. The 1911 census finds him serving in Clonmellon, County Westmeath, having been transferred away from Mayo, his new wife’s home county. He was pensioned in 1920.

Thomas John Noone #66723 (1890-1958) A blood relative of my husband from Killacorraun, Crossmolina parish, County Mayo, Thomas was posted to Clare where he met his wife, Sarah Millicent Morton. He is the only one on this list who was still a constable in 1922, when Ireland was partitioned and the R.I.C. disbanded. According to the disbandment records on Findmypast.com, Thomas received pension funds even though he was just age 31 and had served only 9 years and 8 months on the force. I don’t know what he did for a living afterwards, but he and his wife must have moved to Belfast at some point, because that is where they died and are buried. It is possible that Thomas was one of the 1330 ex-R.I.C. men who took jobs with Northern Ireland’s new police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

Thomas Ludden (c. 1820-1900) of County Mayo, Ireland and Scranton, Pennsylvania

Of my father-in-law’s direct ancestors in the immigrant generation, Thomas Ludden and his wife Mary Early are the only ones for whom I have not yet found their exact points of origin in Ireland. The surname Ludden is highly localized in Ireland, however, with very few families outside of the area surrounding eastern Clew Bay, near the towns of Westport and Newport. It is likely that Thomas at least was from this region, where there was heavy emigration to Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Ludden households in Griffith’s Valuation (mid 19th century) from John Grenham’s website (www.johngrenham.com).

Looking at this couple’s associates in the U.S., including the sponsors on their children’s baptismal records, we find the surnames Casey, Donahue, Garvin / Gavin, Gorman, O’Boyle and O’Malley–all names that were common around the eastern shores of Clew Bay. Because the Luddens’ O’Boyle and O’Malley connections in the U.S. are families from within or very near the town of Westport, and because all of the surnames above occur in the townlands of Cahernamart (actually part of Westport) and Cloonmonad which is adjacent to the west, I think Thomas may have been born within or very near Westport.

Map of the Clew Bay area.

Several other areas are also possible however, particularly certain townlands within the Civil Parishes of Burrishoole on the north side of the bay, Islandeady which is inland to the east, and Oughaval on the southern shore. So far my husband’s DNA matches have not helped much, though he does match other descendants of Thomas and Mary.

Standing stones and marshland on Clew Bay with Croagh Patrick in the background. Photo by Mick Reynolds via Wikimedia Commons.

Part of the problem is that this couple emigrated about 1850, well before 1864 when Irish Civil Registration might have captured any of their life events before departure. Surviving Catholic records are also very spotty for Mayo in this period, and I do not expect ever to find Thomas’ baptism. Unfortunately, he also died before 1906, when Pennsylvania began the mandatory use of standardized death certificates which included the decedent’s parents’ names.

Thomas and Mary “Loudon” appear first in the U.S. in the 1860 Census, living in Providence, Pennsylvania, which will soon be annexed to the city of Scranton, forming a neighborhood known as North Scranton. Thomas is said to be aged 44, and labors in a coal mine. Neither he nor Mary can read or write, though they probably spoke both Irish and English. They have four young children, all born in Pennsylvania, the youngest of which is an infant named Mary A[nn], my husband’s ancestor.

Very interestingly a Patrick Ludden also lives with them, aged 60. Patrick could be Thomas’ older brother, uncle, cousin or even father given that 60 may be the census taker’s best guess at an approximate age, and that, based on other records, Thomas was probably at least a few years younger than 44.

By 1870 Thomas and Mary “Ludan” have added three more children to their family. Thomas is still a coal mine laborer, daughter Bridget is a tailoress at age 15, son James is already at work in a mine at age 13, and daughter Mary Ann, now 10, is at school. Amazingly they seem to own their own home, as Thomas’ real estate is valued at $500.

Many questions remain about this family. In the 1900 census, taken just a few months before Thomas’ death, we learn that Mary has had ten children (with only three then living) but I only know of seven. The three unknown children probably died fairly young, as did their siblings Bridget, James, Elizabeth and Anne, since I can find no trace of them after 1870.

In the same census Thomas and Mary give both their immigration and marriage dates as 1850, but I don’t know if they knew each other or even married in Ireland and emigrated together, or if they met and married after they settled in Pennsylvania. I have not found the right passenger list unless Thomas is the Thomas Ludden aged 24 who arrived in New York 1 May 1847 aboard Elsinore. Mary’s City of Scranton death record has her birthplace of Mayo crossed out, and Waterford written in, so perhaps she was from a different county. Researchers in the Scranton church records did not find their marriage, and could only find baptisms for four children.

Also in 1900 Thomas and Mary say they can read and write. Did they learn as adults?

Though Thomas arrived in this country poor and illiterate, and worked a dangerous job for many years, he managed to purchase a home and live to the age of 70 or more, and may have learned to read and write. If his obituary is to be believed, he had become “one of the most widely known and most highly respected citizens in the city” during his 50 years in Scranton.

Obit from the Scranton Republican, 28 Aug 1900, found on Newspapers.com.

DNA Breakthrough: Was Susan Reilly the Wife of John Willis (1791-1872) of Big Park, County Mayo, Ireland?

Recently I noticed that my husband had a 41 centimorgan DNA match to a descendant of a Richard Willis, born about 1828 in Ireland, who had settled in Philadelphia. I had never before found any of my husband’s Willis relatives going to Philadelphia. Most of the branches I have followed went to Scranton, Youngstown, Chicago, New York and Boston, but of course Philadelphia also drew many Irish immigrants.

Port of Philadelphia 1860 by James Hamilton

Shared matches included one of my husband’s sisters, a known Willis first cousin, and other people I already knew were Willis descendants. Two people sharing 41 centimorgans could have any one of many relationships–second cousin twice removed, half third cousin, etc.–but somewhere in the 4th cousin range is most likely.

These Willises from the Ballinrobe area in southern County Mayo loved the name Richard. My husband’s own immigrant ancestor was a Richard Willis who went to Scranton in 1879. The Irish researcher I work with on this family is descended from another Richard Willis, who was a publican and never left Mayo. So for my husband to match a person descended from an Irish man named Richard Willis made perfect sense, but at first I was not sure how this “new” Richard fit into the family.

Fortunately Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia records are now available on findmypast.com. I found that Richard married Mary Ward in 1856, and that their firstborn was a daughter Susan, baptized 4 Oct 1857 at St. Joachim in northeast Philadelphia.

Baptism of Susan “Wallace” which must be a clerical error for Willis, found at findmypast.com.

This record is actually for a Susan Wallace, but I believe this is a clerical error because her parents are named Richard and Mary, and the sponsors were Peter Hoban, who was also a witness to Richard and Mary’s marriage, and Margaret Ward, who must be a relative of Mary’s. Susan appears with her family in the 1860 census, though not in the 1870, and it is likely that she died young.

The name Susan is not very common among Irish Catholics, but interestingly my husband’s second great grandfather William Willis (c. 1826-1877) and his wife Mary Naughton, who remained in Mayo, baptized a daughter Susan in the parish of Kilcommon and Robeen in 1867. This was their second daughter, and if they were strictly following traditional Irish naming practices, this child would be named for William’s mother.

Previously we had no other clues as to the name of William’s mother, but we believed his father was John Willis (c. 1791-1872) because he named his firstborn son John, because a William Willis was the informant on John’s death certificate, and because every other contemporaneous Willis family already has a proven son William.

Going back to Richard and Mary in Philadelphia, we see they had a son James in 1858, probably named for Mary’s father if his name is correct on her death certificate. They had a son John in 1860, probably named for Richard’s father. They had a son Richard in 1862 and a son Thomas in 1864, with one sponsor at the latter’s baptism being a Michael Willis.

Researching this Michael Willis we find he is a recent immigrant from Ireland who lived in the same Philadelphia neighborhood as Richard until his death in 1922. The parents listed on his death certificate are John Willis and Susan Reilly. Now parental information on a death certificate is only as good as the informant’s knowledge, and the informant here is a religious sister of the Little Sisters of the Poor, but Michael lived with the Little Sisters for at least the last 12 years of his life, so it is quite possible they had accurate information from him regarding his parents.

Parental information from Michael Willis’ Pennsylvania death certificate, found on Ancestry.com.

I will need to do more research, but it seems likely that William, Richard and Michael were brothers, children of John Willis and Susan Reilly. William is likely the eldest, named for his paternal grandfather and remaining on the farm in Big Park, while Richard and Michael went to northeast Philadelphia to work in the textile mills or in the other industries that flourished there in the 19th century.

William Willis named his second daughter Susan, Richard named his first and only daughter Susan, and Michael’s death certificate says his parents were John Willis and Susan Reilly. There are likely other siblings in this family.

If this theory is correct, my husband and the DNA match would be fourth cousins. According to Blaine Bettinger’s Shared cM (Centimorgan) Project, the the average shared by fourth cousins is 35 cM, so 41 cM would be only slightly more than the average shared DNA for their relationship. (Though fourth cousins can share between 0 and 139 cM.)

There is no death record in the Ballinrobe Registration District for a Susan Willis, so it is likely she died before Civil Registration began in 1864. She is probably buried in the Robeen graveyard, where most in the family were laid to rest, though many have no markers and there is no marker for a Susan Willis. Griffith’s Valuation shows there were Reillys in the Big Park area.

Case Closed: The “Disappearance” of Elsie Isabel Willis of Chicago

Elsie Isabel Willis was born in Chicago 21 Jun 1891, the only known child of Irish immigrants Thomas J. and Mary (Shevlin) Willis.  As of the 1900 census she lived on 23rd Street with her parents, her grandmother Anne Shevlin, and a boarder.  Thomas worked as a Railroad Conductor.

Record of Thomas Willis and Mary Shevlin’s 1885 marriage at Old St. Mary’s Catholic church on Michigan Avenue, torn down in 1971, found on Findmypast.com.

The Willis family in the 1900 census found on Ancestry.com.

Mary (Shevlin) Willis died in 1905.  Afterwards Thomas and his daughter moved to the Englewood neighborhood on the Southwest Side of Chicago.  Thomas’ widowed  sister Catherine (Willis) Mulloy and her daughters Catherine and Josephine immigrated in 1906 and were part of Thomas’ household at the 1910 census.  (Catherine’s late husband was Peter Mulloy, a shopkeeper in Ballinrobe, County Mayo.)

Elsie married George Frederick Tockstein 27 Nov 1913 at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Englewood.  They had two children, George Willis in 1915 and Leslie Frederick in 1917.  When her husband registered for the World War I draft in June of 1917, he was employed as an inspector for Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company, and was supporting his wife and two children.

But by the 1920 census George lived with a Barbara Thielman, apparently as husband and wife though they did not marry until the following year.  Her brother John Thielman resided there as well, and Elsie and their young sons did not.

So where were Elsie and the children?  I thought she might have died but could find no death record nor obituary.  Nor could I find any notices of divorce proceedings in the newspapers, nor a remarriage for her.  For years I had no record pertaining to Elsie’s life after the birth of her second son in 1917.  However researching the two Tockstein sons recently led me to new records, and I now know that Elsie lived to be 85, dying in Bay County, Michigan in 1977!

Though I have not been able to find him in 1920, I long ago found her firstborn George living with his Tockstein grandparents in Chicago in 1930, so I knew that he at least survived that long.  The other day I found his 1996 obituary which lists his survivors, including his brother Leslie Tockstein and a half brother surnamed Hammond.  If George and Leslie had a half brother with a different last name, it seemed likely that Elsie had a second marriage to a Hammond, and then had at least one more child.

Searching for the Cook County, Illinois marriage of an Elsie Tockstein on Familysearch.org does not yield results, which is probably why I never found it before, but searching for a Hammond who married an Elsie brings up the marriage of Archibald W. Hammond to Elsie Tockstien [sic] 17 Apr 1926. This couple remained in Chicago until 1930, but by 1940 had relocated to Bay City, Michigan where they lived out the rest of their lives.

Archie and Elsie in the 1960 Bay City, Michigan Directory, found on Ancestry.com.

I have now also found Elsie in 1920–she was mistakenly indexed as Elsie Lockstein on Ancestry.com and to be fair the T does look like an L.  She was boarding with a Peterson family and had two year old Leslie with her. She worked as a waitress in a department store, maybe the café at Marshall Fields?  Whatever went wrong with her first marriage, I am glad she was able to start over though I am guessing the years on either side of 1920 were difficult.

 

 

Irish Gaelic Speakers in Mayo, Ireland and Scranton, Pennsylvania

At first it did not occur to me that my father-in-law’s immigrant ancestors would have spoken any language besides English-with-an-Irish-accent.  Looking at his relatives’ 1901 and 1911 Census of Ireland returns, I realized they were probably all bilingual.

Both census forms contained a column asking whether the people enumerated spoke Irish or else spoke both Irish and English.  The space was to be left blank for people who could not speak Irish.  The completed forms for my father-in-law’s relatives who had remained in Ireland indicated that all excepting some in the youngest generation spoke both Irish and English.

In the 1920s the Irish Free State defined the Gaeltacht—the districts in which Irish Gaelic was the predominant language spoken in the home.  In 1926 these areas were still quite large and included a good portion of County Mayo as shown on the map below.

The Gaeltacht in 1926.  By D.de.loinsigh at English Wikipedia.

The British government had strongly discouraged the use of Irish in the National Schools and elsewhere during the 19th century, but people’s interest and pride in Gaelic language and culture grew along with nationalism at the same time.  The Irish in America felt the same interest and pride, and were probably also afraid of losing touch with their heritage.  Around 1900 many Gaelic Clubs formed in American cities with large Irish communities, primarily for the study of the Irish language.

Although a club meeting weekly in West Scranton had already been organized, another similar club with just under 200 members formed in Scranton in 1904.  From newspaper accounts it seems to have appealed to many young people.  The first meeting was held November 2 and consisted of scholarly lectures and speeches.  My husband’s third great uncle, Dr. William Henry McGreevy, was one of the speakers.  The group planned to meet every Monday and Thursday night, which seems very ambitious.

Article from the Scranton Truth 2 Nov 1904 found on Newspapers.com.

In December of 1905 the Scranton Truth reported that members “will continue the study of the language with unabated zeal.”  They were learning to translate Irish texts into English, and also to use the language in conversation.  In 1906 the club was extremely pleased to get Dr. Douglas Hyde (1860-1949) to lecture.  Hyde was a leading scholar of Irish language and literature, and was president of the Gaelic League, an organization promoting Irish language and culture.

Dr. Douglas Hyde.

The Willis Family of Ardnacally, Big Park, Parish of Robeen, County Mayo, Ireland

Willis is a patronymic English surname from the personal name Will and is fairly common in England and the United States.  Knowing that my father-in-law Bernard John Willis’s ancestors were all from Ireland and probably all from County Mayo, I was glad to learn that the name is rare in Ireland except in the north where there was heavier English settlement.

Map with the blue spots showing the areas where Willises occupied land in Mayo in 1856, and with the townland of Arnacally marked.  I was able to make this map on the website of the Mayo County Library.

It was fairly easy to figure out where the Willises were from.  The Pennsylvania death certificate for my husband’s immigrant ancestor Richard Willis (1861-1911) gave his parents as William Willis and Mary Naughton.  Though Richard was born several years before Irish Civil Registration began in 1864, I was able to find the births of five younger siblings on familysearch.org:  twins Michael and Patrick (1864), Susan (1869), Mary (1870) and Margaret (1875).  All of these children were born within the Hollymount Registrar’s District in southern County Mayo.  I would eventually learn that besides Richard this couple had four other children born before 1864:  John (1854), Rose (1856), William (1859), and Thomas (1862).

A Connemara pony we saw on our 2013 trip to Mayo.

I then wrote a letter to a gentleman surnamed Willis who was listed on the web as a breeder of Connemara ponies in the Hollymount area.  Unfortunately he had passed away, but his eldest daughter answered my letter.  It turned out that she was my husband’s 4th cousin and had been researching the family for years.  We started to work together, trading information and figuring things out.  We have been doing this for several years now and have made great progress.  Besides her original research, she has a wealth of local knowledge and passed-down stories.

Willises buried in the Robeen graveyard, which we were able to visit in 2013.

The Hollymount area falls within the Roman Catholic parish of Kilcommon and Robeen.  Unfortunately the records for this parish do not begin until 1857, so no marriage record survives for William Willis (c. 1830-1877) and Mary Naughton (c. 1830-1890) who probably wed about 1853.  Their firstborn John married Bridget Conroy in 1880, and this family left for Youngstown, Ohio in 1892.  Conroy relatives were already established there, working in the steel mills.  John was still working in a steel mill as of the 1910 census, but by 1920 was a watchman for the Erie Railroad.

Youngstown, Ohio Irish steel mill workers (including a Conroy) from the website of the Center for Working Class Studies at Youngstown State University.

My husband’s ancestor Richard and his older brother William went to Scranton, Pennsylvania where coal mining jobs were plentiful, though Richard had established himself as a grocer before he married in 1887.  The rest of William and Mary’s children remained in Mayo.

When asked to name their residence, this family did not usually give their townland (Ardnacally) but instead said they lived at “Big Park” which was a property encompassing the adjacent townlands of Ardnacally and Cashel.  William’s first cousin Richard lived on the Cashel side of Big Park, farming and running a pub which still exists today though it has passed from Willis ownership.  My Willis research collaborator is descended from these publicans.

Ballinrobe today.  (Fetler at English Wikipedia via Wikimedia Commons)

We can trace this Willis family back two more generations to a William (c. 1763-1838) and Margaret (_____) Willis (c. 1765-1845).  Some of their descendants did very well as landholders and as shopkeepers in the towns of Hollymount and Ballinrobe.  Besides Youngstown and Scranton, some of their descendants left for Boston, Chicago and other places, including one for New Zealand, with Chicago and Youngstown being the most popular destinations for this family.

My father-in-law and mother-in-law after their wedding in 1950.

The origin of this family in Ireland is a mystery, but it is likely that a Willis man or family came to Ireland from England in the 17th century, possibly under Cromwell, though any association with Cromwell would not have pleased my late father-in-law.  I don’t know how many of the sprinklings of Willises found here and there in Ireland in the 19th century were related to my husband’s family, but his Y-DNA has matched one other Willis gentleman on 66 of 67 markers.  This means there is a 99% probability they share a common paternal ancestor within 8 generations.  This other man descends from a Christopher Willis who left Ireland for Hardin County, Ohio about 1850.  One record indicates that Christopher was from Dublin, though his wife was from County Kerry.

Memorial in the Robeen graveyard for Thomas Willis (1847-1890) who died and is buried in Chicago.