I have been examining the family trees of people in one of the DNA clusters that I have accessed from Ancestry. The fact that there is a cluster tells me that there should be a common ancestor. I do not know where. I do not know how far back in history to look.
Geography helps narrow down my search. Three quarters of my family have very firm roots in south east England (Sussex, Kent and the nearby fringes of Surrey). The other quarter is from Ireland. One tree I viewed has one quarter from Sicily. I can exclude that with a high degree of certainty. Another half has been in America for a long time. There might be a common link here, but it is unlikely. The last quarter has some Irish antecedents. That is the immediate focus of my attention.
George Michael Benson was born in 1853 in New Orleans. He died in St Louis in 1949. His father was also called George Benson (born about 1816 in Ireland and died in 1914 in St Louis). Going back another generation takes us to Patrick Benson and his wife Jane Kane. Both were born in Ireland in the late 1700s.
George Michael Benson’s wife was Catherine Barry. She was born in Ireland in 1857. Her parents were John Barry (born in Ireland in 1827) and Ellen Sullivan (born in Ireland in 1831).
There is a solid connection to Ireland, but I do not know which part. Names that may be of subsequent interest are Benson, Kane, Barry and Sullivan. N.B. I have not checked the information. At this stage I have taken the names, places and dates on the tree at face value. I share 38 cM of DNA with this person.
The next tree comes from someone with whom I share 29 cM of DNA. There are far fewer names on this tree, but one name immediately stands out. Patrick Kane was born in Ireland in about 1830 and died in Baltimore. His wife was Brigid Coleman. She was also born in Ireland. Patrick Kane’s parents are likely to have been born somewhere between 1790 and 1810.
Another tree (28 cM of shared DNA) has exactly the same information about Patrick Kane and Brigid Coleman. This could be a very positive sign in that two researchers have independently reached the same conclusion. Alternatively, one could have copied the information from the other one.
There is one more person with a sizeable tree in this cluster. I share 27 cM of DNA with this person. The tree can be found on Ancestry under the title ‘Gill Family of Castlerea, Roscommon’. According to this tree, Daniel Gill (senior) was born in Kilkeevin in 1825. He died in Yorkshire. His wife was Winefred O’Dea (born 1833) from Tipperary. Daniel’s parents were Patrick Gill (born 1799) and Maria Egan (born 1800). Both came from Kilkeevin, which is the name of the civil parish that includes the town of Castlerea. Patrick Gill’s parents were Edmund Gill and Brigid O’Connor, both born around 1780.
This is somewhat frustrating. There is a common surname (Kane) to three people. There is a geographical link of interest to me in Castlerea, which is only 18 miles from the birthplace of my grandfather. But I am unable to find a Kane connection on one side or a Roscommon link on the other. More work required!
Castlerea is the third largest town in Roscommon. It has a population of 2,000. (Not a misprint – the County is very empty.)
Picture: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Castlerea_Main_Street.jpg