Themes
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Recent updates posted to Arborealis
It has been a very busy few months here at Arborealis, with recent updates to the website in line with WordPress’s new Full Site Editor method for designing, launching, and maintaining a website. At this date, we have completed about two-thirds of this task. We might have made greater progress but have continued to publish… Continue reading
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Update: The “lost” children of James Huggins [jun.] (1803–1849) of Glenkeen
Discoveries of new records made during the past few years have led to revisions of one page on Arborealis, James Huggins [jun.] (1803–1840) of Glenkeen in the parish of Aghaloo, county Tyrone. The title of the original page did not feature square brackets around the suffix, jun., and James was stated to be of Glenarb… Continue reading
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Mary McDonnell in, “The lot of the soldier’s wife” (revisited)
Since writing the first installment of “The lot of the soldier’s wife” in 2015, the recent discovery of a (third) marriage record lifts Mary McDonnell out of the inscrutable murk of family history mystery. Nevertheless, Mary has led us on a merry genealogical chase to learning what was her lot for the twenty-one years between… Continue reading
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Family history mystery: Adam & Robert Kilpatrick of Lislea, parish of Kilrea
The children of one of our nearly related Kilpatrick families of Lislea townland seem to have disappeared from the Irish record, qualifying as another family history mystery. Adam Kilpatrick (IV) was born on 13th December 1834 in Lislea townland in the parish of Kilrea, county Derry, the son of Adam Kilpatrick (III) (d.1837) and Hester… Continue reading
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In search of three children of James Huggins [jun.] of Glenkeen, in the parish of Aghaloo
This blog post was written to highlight a search for those children of James Huggins, jun., who have disappeared from the Irish records. The several children of interest were born in the parish of Aghaloo and county of Tyrone. Each was baptised in the parish church of St. John (Church of Ireland) in Caledon: Margaret… Continue reading
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Portent of the Great Famine in December, 1844
In December, 1844, the Limerick Chronicle† contained a portent of the Great Famine of 1845–1852. In that edition was issued one of the earliest warnings of that looming and terrible visitation of the potato blight, famine, and disease in Ireland. A serious rot had been detected in the potato pits in several districts. At this… Continue reading
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Family history mystery: Agnes Stevenson and Rev. Mr. Pattison of Edinburgh
This latest family history mystery item involves the Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Pattison (the former Miss Agnes Stevenson), who lived in Edinburgh in the early 1800s. Agnes Stevenson was born c.1733-ish in Stewartstown, county Tyrone. She was the daughter of William Stevenson (c.1691–c.1765) and Ann Stewart. Ann Stewart was a daughter of Andrew Stewart (1672–1715),… Continue reading
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A Huggins thorn in George Washington’s revolutionary side
Like so many other Irishmen from the province of Ulster, young Thomas Huggins ventured out to the American colonies in the early 1770s, to seek his fortune. It seems unlikely that a Revolutionary War was a part of the 18th century American Dream that Thomas sought—but that, indeed, is what he got. Equally, it is… Continue reading
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The Halifax Explosion, 6th December 1917: Epitaph for Merle Huggins, a schoolgirl
On this day, 6th December 2015, a ceremony is underway to commemorate the Halifax Explosion which devastated the north end of the city ninety-eight years ago. Every year, people gather beside the Halifax Explosion Memorial Bell Tower, to mark the wartime marine disaster which killed 2,000 people, injured another 9,000, and left 25,000 homeless. One-third… Continue reading
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The lot of the soldier’s wife was unenviable
So little was etched into the written record about our great-great-great grandmother, Mary McDonnell (1794–1869), the earliest known of our ancestors in this line from the county of Mayo. Of course, the system of record keeping favoured male heads of household, tradesmen, and soldiers. Women tended to fall off the archival radar. While we are… Continue reading
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Unsung Hero: John Burke of Claremorris, regimental tailor, 96th & 39th Regiments of Foot
One evil consequence of the penal laws was, that the Irish being denied the exercise of the honourable profession of arms at home, (as alluded to in the introduction to this section,) the high-mettled youth of the land were driven to take service under foreign banners; and England had often to regret the valour of… Continue reading
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Kilpatrick family history :: Lislea, parish of Kilrea, county Derry
After thirteen years’ study of a wide range of Irish, Canadian, and American records, I’ve decided, finally, that I’m as ready as I’ll ever be to put quill to paper and write the Kilpatrick family history for our branch out of Lislea townland in the parish of Kilrea, county Londonderry. This research commenced in late… Continue reading
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Great War Remembrance Project :: “We shall remember them”
Over the course of the next four-and-a-half years, I hope to undertake a Great War remembrance project. The intent of this project is to provide complete biographical sketches for each of our extended family’s casualties of the Great War. This is no small undertaking, as the number in the list shown on the page, We… Continue reading