The John Towey and Mary Brennan Family of Ishlaun, County Roscommon, Ireland: An Analysis of some of their Children's Journeys from Ishlaun, Roscommon Ireland to Lancashire and Yorkshire, England and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A
Mary Brennan and Joannis Towey were married on February 4, 1895 in Ballaghadereen, Ireland. Mary (father Patricii of Irelane) was documented as being from Irelane (most likely Ishlaun) and John (son of Michaelii) from Barnaboy. Barnaboy lies about 3 km north of Ishlaun, County Roscommon, Ireland. According to Bernard (see below) the two townlands share a common boundary at a tributary of the Lung River. A local Government act in 1898 transferred Barnaboy, Ishlaun and Ballaghaderreen from County Mayo to County Roscommon, Ireland. There appears to have been a large concentration of Toweys in the Ballaghaderreen area as well as in Philadelphia where six of John and Mary Towey's children settled.
Bernard, a Genealogist from England who is a descendent of this family, inspired this page. John and Mary Towey had a large family of 16 children. Bernard has traced 6 of them to America (Ann, Mary, Margaret, Michael, Martin and Thomas), three to England (Catherine, Edward and Andrew), 6 remained in Ireland (Brigid, Patrick, Eleanor, Josephine, Louise, Joseph) and one (John) whose resting place is unknown. Special Kudos to Bernard for his great contribution on bringing this all together! This large family spread out over three countries, has a large number of descendents out there. I welcome any and all feedback, corrections on this page. Please contact me if you are a descendent of this line so that we can all work together to extend this families roots back in Ireland. This will most definitely be a work in progress and all findings I speculate on would have to be proven for accuracy with GRO of England and U.S. marriage records, church baptismal records and death records among other genealogical records. Please use this information with that caveat in mind so that nothing is assumed and no stones are left unturned to assure it's your family and the connection is accurate.
The amazing research compiled on the Irish in England by great authors like Donald Macraid, Roger Swift, Donald E Jordan Junior, Sheridan Gilley, Kevin O'Connor, John Belchem, Frank Boyce and L. W. Brady among others seems to support repeated migration trails from certain counties in Ireland to certain places in England.
The objective of this page is to try to identify the earliest available ancestors of this family in Ireland and trace the migration of John Towey and Mary Brennan's children to England and the United States. Any further research into the descendents of this line is beyond the scope of this page. It is my hope that we might hear from other descendents of this line and share information to help trace this family's earlier ancestors in Ireland.
Research Observations: I have identified 2 Brennan/Towey families in the Ballaghaderreen films: Pat Brennan/Ellen Towey and Mary Brennan/John Towey; both families from Ishlaun. Of John and Mary Towey's 16? children, I have identified the Ballaghaderreen baptismal records for Ann, Bridget, Margaret, Michael, Pat, John, Ellen, Michael Joseph and Catherine.
John and Mary were living in House 3, Ishlaun, Ballaghaderren, Roscommon, Ireland in the 1901 Ireland Census with five of their children: Anne, Bridget, Mary, Maggie and Michael. In the 1911 Ireland census they are living in House 10, Ishlaun, Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon Ireland with 9 of their children: Annie, Mary, Maggie, Michael, John, Martin, Ellie, Katie and Tom. They are documented as having been married for 17 years with 11 children born and 10 living. John and Mary Towey are noted as being born in County Mayo (as were children Annie, Mary and Maggie) and Michael, John, Martin, Ellie, Katie and Tom in Roscommon, Ireland. Ballaghaderreen and Ishlaun were both transferred from Mayo to Roscommon in 1898 possibly accounting for the discrepancy in birthplace noted between 1901 and 1911. I believe I have located the passenger lists for Michael in 1920, Margaret in 1921, Martin in 1924, Thomas in 1927 etc but there were a lot of Toweys who left the Ballaghaderreen area for the U.S. so these need to be further confirmed before accepted as 100% correct. Bernard has confirmed that Anne went to Philadelphia and became a Carmelite Nun, and that Brigid returned to Ireland to bring up all the other children after her mother Mary died (he estimates her death around 1920 and John lived another 20 yrs beyond this).
| Type of Record/Church | Date | Husband/Father | Wife/Mother | Child | Townland | Witnesses, Sponsors; Misc Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballaghaderreen Microfilm 1279232 item #9 Marriage Record; | February 4, 1895 | Joannis Towey of Barnaboy | Brennan, Mary of Irelane | Martinus Towey and Alena Brennan witnesses; Mary's father is Patricii and John's father is Michaelii | ||
| Ballaghaderreen Microfilm 1279232 item #5 Baptismal Record | February 16, 1898 birth; 2/21/1898 Baptism | Towey, John | Brennan, Mary | Ann | Ishlaun | Thomas Brennan and Ann Brennan sponsors; Ann made her solemn volws at the Church of ? Cornelius Philadelphia |
| Ballaghaderreen Microfilm 1279232 item #6 Baptismal Record | January 12, 1897 Birth; January 17, 1897 Baptism | Towey, John | Brennan, Mary | Bridget | East Lawn | Martin Toway, Bridget Duffy Sponsors |
| Ballaghaderreen Microfilm 1279232 Item #6 Baptismal Record | March 28, 1899 Birth; April 2, 1899 Baptism | Towey, John | Brennan, Mary | Margaret | Irelane | Pat Brennan and Winnie Duffy Sponsors |
| Ballaghaderreen Microfilm 1279232 Item #6 Baptismal Record | June 29, 1900 Birth; July 1, 1899 Baptism | Tuohy, John | Brennan, Mary | Michael | Irelane | Martin and Bridget McDonagh Sponsors |
| 1901 Ireland Census for Ishlaun, County Roscommon; Ballaghaderreen DED House 3 | 1901 | Towey, John, Head (46 born Roscommon) | Towey, Mary, Wife (26 born Roscommon) | Anne (dtr, 5, born in Roscommon) | John is a Farmer | |
| " | " | " | " | Bridget (dtr 4 born in Roscommon) | ||
| " | " | " | " | Mary, (dtr 3 born in Roscommon) | ||
| " | " | " | " | Maggie (dtr 2 born in Roscommon) | ||
| " | " | " | " | Michael (son born in Roscommon) | ||
| " | " | " | " | Brennan, Pat, brother in law, unmarried farm servant lives with them; born Roscommon) | ||
| Ballaghaderreen Microfilm 1279232 item #6 Baptismal Record | September 15, 1901 Birth and Baptism | Towey, John | Brennan, Mary | Pat | Irelane | Pat Brennan and Ann Higgins Sponsors |
| Ballaghaderreen Microfilm 1279232 item #6 Baptismal Record | January 7, 1903 Birth and 1/9/1903 Baptism | Towey, John | Brennan, Mary | John | Irelane | Martin McDonagh and Mrs McDonagh sponsors |
| Ballaghaderreen Microfilm 1279232 item #6 Baptismal Record | February 7, 1906 Birth and February 9, 1906 Baptism | Towey, John | Brennan, Mary | Ellen | Irelane | Michael McDonagh and Winnie Duffy Sponsors |
| Ballaghaderreen Microfilm 1279232 item 6 Baptismal Record | January 19, 1908 Birth; January 24, 1908 Baptism | Touhy?, John | Brennan, Mary | Catherine | Irelane | John McDonagh and Bridget Tuohy Sp; |
| Ballaghaderreen Microfilm 1279232 item 6 Baptismal Record | December 24, 1908 Birth; December 27, 1908 Baptism | Towey, John | Brennan, Mary | Michael Joseph | Irelane | Mary Towey and a McDonagh sp; |
| 1911 Ireland Census for Ishlaun, County Roscommon; Ballaghaderreen DED, House 10 | 1911 | Towey, John, Head (67 born in Mayo) | Towey, Mary, Wife (43 born in Mayo) | Annie, 16 dtr born in Mayo; farmer's dtr | Ishlaun | John and Mary were married 17 yrs; 11 children 10 living |
| " | " | " | " | Mary, 14 dtr born in Mayo; scholar | Bernard believes that Mary married John McDonald (this appears to be confirmed by the funeral record for brother Thomas listed below | |
| " | " | " | " | Maggie, 12 dtr born in Mayo; scholar | ||
| " | " | " | " | Michael, 10 son born in Roscommon; scholar | ||
| " | " | " | " | Martin, 6 son; scholar born in Roscommon | ||
| " | " | " | " | Ellie, 5 dtr born in Roscommon | ||
| " | " | " | " | Katie, 3 dtr born in Roscommon | ||
| " | " | " | " | Tom, 2 son born in Roscommon | ||
| Funeral Notice from an unknown Philadelphia newspaper | Tuohey, John | the Late Tuohey, Mary (nee Brennan) | Tuohey, Thomas, age 18 of Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon, IR | Funeral to be held at St Benedicts Church, Burial at Holy Cross Cemetary; "can attend funeral from his sister's residence (Mrs Mary McDonald 6222 Quiem, Mass.?) (this newspaper clipping was obtained from Bernard) | ||
| Philadelphia Passenger Lists 1800-1945 Ancestry.com Database on Line (possible passenger list for Annie Towey?) | Arrival on the Ship Merion from Queenstown to Philadelphia PA May 14, 1912 | Towey, Annie; age 17 Servant | last residence Ballaghaderreen | Her father was John who paid for her passage; to join cousin? John Mulligan 2329 Botham? Street, Philadelphia | ||
| Philadelphia Passenger Lists 1800-1945 Ancestry.com Database on Line )possible passenger list for Bridget Towey | arrival from Queenstown to Philadelphia PA on the Haverford October 27, 1913 | Towey, Bridget; 16 yrs 10 months place of birth Ballaghaderreen | last residence Ballaghaderreen | Her father was John; sister paid for her passage; it says delivered to sister Anna 5026 N 12th Street; to join cousin John Mulligan 2328 Bolton Street, Philadelphia, PA | ||
| 1920 US Census for Philadelphia Pennsylvania, USA; Ward 242 District 1579 Ancestry.com | January 24, 1920 | Towhey, Sister Bernadette, Sister in the Carmelite Convent at York Road and Oak Lane; age 23, born in Ireland, parents born in Ireland | (this corresponds with the notation on Annie's Bapt record about Ann taking her solemn vows | |||
| Philadelphia Passenger Lists 1800-1945 Ancestry.com Database on Line (Possible Passenger List for Michael Towey) | Arrival from Liverpool to Philadelphia on the Ship Haverford December 8, 1920 | Towey, Michael, 19 Miner | last permanent residence: Ishlaun, Ireland | Father John Towey, Icelaun, Ballaghaderreen Ireland | ||
| Philadelphia Passenger Lists 1800-1945 Ancestry.com Database on Line (Possible Passenger List for Margaret Towey) | Arrival from Liverpool in Philadelphia on the Ship Haverford November 30, 1921 | Towey, Margaret, age 21, Domestic; | Last residence Hindley, England | Father John Towey, Ballaghaderreen County Roscommon Ireland; ancestry.com indexing shows Friend as Mrs John McDonald but I don't see this on the ship list (Bernard said this is likely her older sister Mary) | ||
| New York Passenger Lists 1820-1957 Ancestry.com Database on Line (Possible Passenger List for Martin Towey) | Arrival from Cobh (Queenstown), Ireland in New York on the Ship Caronia on December 30, 1924 | Towey, Martin, 20 Laborer | Last residence Ishlaun, Ireland | Father John Towey, Ishlaun, Ballaghaderreen, Roscommon Ireland; Destination Philadelphia, PA | ||
| New York Passenger Lists 1820-1957 Ancestry.com Database on Line (Possible Passenger List for Thomas Towey) | arrival from Cobh (Queenstown) Ireland in New York on the Ship Carinthia on October 2, 1927 | Towey, Thomam 20, Laborer | last residence Icelawn, Ireland; born in Icelawn | He appears to have been traveling with Martin Frain, also from Icelawn, Ireland | ||
| Ballaghaderreen Microfilm 1279232 item 9 Marriage Record | July 24, 1929 | Bridget Towey of Irelawn married John Mannion of Westport | His parents wer Thomas and Catherine Mannion of Sligo; hers John Towey and Mary Brennan of Irelaun; Thomas Frain and Louise Towey of Irelawn witnesses |