Roscommon Stanley

Roscommon Stanley

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MRCA 3

Posted on Author Keith StanleyPosted in Geography, North America

The second best MRCA score comes in at 3.97. (See ‘MRCA 2’ for information on the best score.) I have known about this connection for some time. It does not feature very highly on my list of matches through Ancestry. Gedmatch provides more information. There is a 22.5 cM match on Chromosome 3, as well as other smaller matches.

Through correspondence with another researcher, I learnt that John Connor was born in 1799 in Kilbride, County Roscommon. He married Elizabeth Dunn who was born in (approximately) 1816. Three of their children were baptised in St. Brigid at Four Mile House. (Martin in 1840, Patrick in 1843 and Mary in 1845) They moved to America in 1849/50, settling in Maryland. Another son was born there in 1851.

There are a great many gaps in the records for Kilbride parish. Baptismal records exist for the period 12th July 1836 to 6th September 1849 and then between 1868 and 1880. Marriage records only cover 10th September 1838 to 15th October 1846.

My great grandfather, John Stanley, married his second wife in the same church (St Brigid at Four Mile House) on 5th May 1865. Very little is known about his first marriage: the date, the place, the name of his wife are all unknown. A daughter, Catherine, appears in the story (see ‘Definitely related’). She was born in the early 1850s. It is entirely possible, even probable, that her parents married at St Brigid’s in the late 1840s.

 

A DNA link and a close geographical connection is undoubtedly encouraging. But it is not proof. I will add the names Connor and Dunn to my list of persons of interest.

One of the other great, great grandfathers on this particular tree is John McHugh, born about 1830. It would be very easy to become excited about this. My correspondent says that this branch of the family hails from Cork. The name might just be a coincidence. Recently, Ancestry notified me of a match with someone called Stanley. When I checked, the common ancestor was on my mother’s side. It was the sort of coincidence that is bound to happen. I already have the McHugh name on my personal search radar.