Still hunting ‘Brother 2’

In Brother 2, I speculated that the Michael Stanley who died in Dewsbury in 1859 might be the so called ‘Brother 2’. In order to provide more information, I called up the Death Certificate. My speculation was misplaced. However, useful information was still extracted. Michael died on 20th December 1859, in Daw Green. This location…

Casualties of War

One of the consistent elements of the story that my father passed on concerns the fate of other relatives in the Great War. Patrick is said to have met other family members whilst in the Army. At least a couple of these did not survive. One version said that these were brothers. His Irish born…

Brother 2

I am picking up on the information from my researcher relative (see ‘Dewsbury once more’ https://www.roscommonstanley.me.uk/direct-line/dewsbury-once-more/) that two brothers came over from Ireland. I have now established that one of these was Thomas Stanley (Brother 1). He was born around 1829 and probably died in 1857. After the success of my previous speculation, I am…

Dewsbury once more

It seems that the researchers with whom I am in contact are not my relatives. (see ‘Multiple Clans’ https://www.roscommonstanley.me.uk/geography/ireland/multiple-clans/) And most of my relatives do not appear to be researchers. This all changed when the wonders of DNA threw out a solid connection to someone with a sizeable family tree. At long last! A very…

The Great Famine

In almost every country in the world, there are events that are central to the collective memory. Examples include the release from prison of Nelson Mandela (1990), the death of Diana, Princess of Wales (1997), the attack on Pearl Harbour (1941) and the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989). These events act as a pivot…

Another Kenny

John Stanley (b 1857/1861, in Dewsbury) married Ellen Kenny in 1884. According to the 1881 census, Ellen’s parents were William, born 1840 in Ireland, and Ann, born 1841 in Dewsbury. In 1871, their dates of birth are 1844 and 1845 respectively. Ann is now stated to have been born in Ireland. Staying with them was…