Thomas, Elizabeth and Mary Forbes
My Forbes ancestry comes from the County of Kilkenny in Ireland.
They lived in a place called the Railyard, in the neighborhood called Moneen Roe, in the village of Clogh, in the town of Castlecomer.
Thanks to Google maps, I can actually see the Forbes home in the map above, the first house on the N 78 road, to the left of the intersection of the N 78 and the road to Moneen Roe.
My folks worked in the coal mines. That part of Ireland was one of the few coal producing areas in the country. That's why it was called the Railyard, as the coal was sent off to Dublin by rail.
My Great Grandfather Thomas
Thomas, my great grandfather, worked in the coal mines of Castlecomer but also across the waters in the coal mines of Newcastle in England, for a time. My aunt in Ireland still has the thick leather knee pads he wore when he knelt inside the mines.
Thomas married Mary Crennan from a nearby village, Mayhora.
Their oldest daughter, Elizabeth, was recruited by nuns in Illinois to join their convent. She was the first to leave Ireland and move to the U.S.
Because vocations were still not enough in the U.S. in the early 1900s, sisters with Irish backgrounds often went back to Ireland to entice young Irish girls from big families with many children to join an American convent. My grandfather's sister Elizabeth was one such young girl. She joined the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria, Illinois and was given the religious name Sister Mary Berchmans.
Because of her, two of her brothers, including my grandfather, moved to Illinois. My grandfather was Patrick Forbes, who left Ireland, so it is said, before 1914, trying to escape the British who ruled all of Ireland at the time.
My grandfather was an Irish nationalist and member of the Irish Republican Army, the old one (not the modern one). When he was hunted down by the British, he and his brother Michael fled to the U.S.
Michael settled in Chicago and Patrick (Paddy) lived in Peoria. Paddy changed his name to Walter to sound less Irish. The Irish were looked down on in America back then.
My grand dad Patrick (Walter)
Forbes Home in the 1950s
Hi there, great article. I'm from Kilkenny and was wondering if any of the pictures of your ancestors were taken in a Kilkenny studio. I was also wondering if it would be possible to get a scan of the image of the Forbes Home in the 1950s? Many thanks, Kieran.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any information what studio was used for these photos. I don't have a photo of the house in the 1950s. I believe, but I cannot be sure, it was the same house as now stands.
DeleteI found a birth record for an ancestor in the Castlecomer area and it listed the place of birth as Railyard. I didn't understand what that could be, but a Google search led me to your blog. It all makes sense now. So glad you posted this.
ReplyDeleteHello, My 3x great grandmother was Catherine Forbes, married to Patrick Elliot Phelan. I knew they were from Kilkenny and recently got in touch with a Forbes relative by using ancestry DNA analysis. He filled me in on the Forbes family history and recounted the Phelans as well. He told me of a relative moving to Guam. Thank you for this post!
ReplyDeleteKevin Phelan
Manchester, New Hampshire, USA
Hello Kevin. If you care to get in touch by email and trade genealogical notes, message me again with your email. I won't publish your message but can email you after I receive it.
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