52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 46 (POOR MAN)
The Irish Potato Famine was also referred to as the Great Famine and the Great Hunger. The blame for what happened to the Irish people is more complicated, but the the primary cause of the famine was a potato blight that wiped out the crops that had been feeding the Irish people. The result was about a million people died of hunger and disease. Between 1946 and 1951 about 2 million people left Ireland in search of a new home.
I grew up knowing the stories and hardship of my hungry ancestors who left Ireland with dreams of prosperity in the New World. I knew that I came from a long line of strong Irish people who decided to leave everything they knew to create a new life.
My X3 great grandfather, John Concannon arrived via ship in New York in 1851. He was 20 years old. He arrived alone. No other family members were on the ship with him. He must have been very poor in Ireland, and remained poor for at least the beginning of his life in the United States.
In 1951 John Concannon arrived in the United States, ultimately settling in Iowa. He was born in Ireland in 1831, and died October 14th 1918 in Churdan, Greene County, Iowa, USA. My primary source for John Concannon is Find-a-Grave where I found a record of his grave with his wife and daughter. I searched for more information that matched the details from his grave.
I don't know if I have the correct information. I do know that although I grew up believing John Concannon to be my 3rd great-grandfather I now know his son is not my biological X2 great grandfather. I struggle with how far to research this family line. Ancestry DNA showed that my great grandmother's birth was a NPE (non-parental event). The expected father (her mom's husband) was not her father. Do I keep researching this line? Do I keep tugging on the DNA matching lines? Do I keep them both in one tree?
What I do know is that when my DNA results first arrived I put away my KISS ME I'M IRISH pin feeling like I was solidly in the realm of cultural appropriation. In the time since I have returned to dressing up for St. Patrick's Day with my pin in place. My pride in the Irish people, and my relation to them didn't change. Cannon is on my great grandmother's birth certificate. By birth or by blood. I will never know the true story.
Surprise DNA results creating genealogical conundrums!
This is why I search -
Cause ...
You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***
Sources:
Ancestry.ca, Retrieved November 16th 2019
The Great Irish Famine 1845-1851 – A Brief Overview, John Dorney, The Irish Story, Retrieved November 16th 2019 from
https://www.theirishstory.com/2016/10/18/the-great-irish-famine-1845-1851-a-brief-overview/#.XdC9cVdKjyQ
The Irish Famine, Jim Donnelly, History, BBC, Retrieved November 16th 2019 from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/famine_01.shtml
John Concannon, Find A Grave, Retrieved November 16th 2019 from
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/88860406
Links:
Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/
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I have several Irish lines on my tree and so far, the DNA says that I have even more if I could just untangle the records far enough back. Interesting post.
ReplyDeleteDNA doesn't lie. It creates clarity and confusion at the same time. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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