Somers/Summers of Ballywilliam, New Ross and (O')Keeffes of Knockadeen,Paulstown

[caroline_wex]

Hello! How are you!?

Going to throw this into the ring to see if anyone knows of or may be related to the following:

Ann Somers (1840/1 - 25 October 1870), daughter of Edward Somers and Catherine Cloney. We believe they are from around the Ballywilliam area from this generation on if not before. Edward's parents were Silvester Somers and Mary Byrne who may have moved here.

Ann married Loughlin (O')Keefe (10 December 1826 - 19 March 1897) who was from around Paulstown in Kilkenny and they settled in Ballywilliam. It's possible Loughlin met relatives of Ann's while he was mining for gold in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia in the 1850's. He came back to Ireland in the early 1860's and must have married within the next couple of years as their first child was born in 1864. They had Margaret (1864), Annie (1865), Mary (1866), Johanna (1868), Catherine (1869). On the 25th October 1870, Ann went into premature labour of a child which would die after 10 minutes. They named her Catherine (although the child born in 1869 had not died). Ann herself died some hours later.

Any information on this family would be a HUGE help!!!

All the best,
Caroline

[aghadowey]

Welcome to Rootschat. The I.G.I. (www.familysearch.org) lists 4 children of Loughlin O'Keefe and Anne Summers-
1. Margret KEEFE born 20 Mar.1864 Templeudigan, Co. Wexford (page 888 in civil register)
2. Anne KEEFE born 19 July 1865 Templeludigan, Co.Wexford (page 835 in civil register)
3. Marey KEEFE born 9 Oct.1866 Co.Wexford
4. Johanna Keeffe born 9 May 1868 Co. Wexford

It would be fairly unusual to name another child Catherine if the earlier one hadn't died previously- have you found both births in the civil index/baptismal register?

[caroline_wex]

Hi! How are you?!
Thanks for the welcome! )

I've got certs for all the children from the General Registers Office in Dublin... I thought it was really strange that they called the dead child the same name as a living one myself! They didn't even give them middle names to differentiate between them. All I can think of is that they were trying to honour someone, and it's fairly possible it was Ann's mother as she was called Catherine (Cloney). The first Catherine definitely survived, well into her 40's...

I've also poured over the registers (reels in National Library) for Templeudigan and Rathnure and can't find anything about any of these or their parents marriage. Is there a church around Ballywilliam that they may have been baptised in?! I think if I can find their baptisms, I will find Ann and Loughlin's marriage and possibly references to other members of Ann's family (her parents were Edward Somers and Catherine Cloney... and her grandparents Silvester Somers and Mary Byrne).

Any help you can give would be hugely appreciated!
Thanks a million,
Caroline

[aghadowey]

Are you certain that both Catherines did survive. I know of several cases where people got birth certificates/baptismal details to prove their births for pensions and were given the details of an older deceased sibling- one of these tried to insist he was younger/had a different birthdate, etc. but was told this was the only record and had to be him!

[caroline_wex]

Hi!
No... both didn't survive. The Catherine born in 1869 survived into her 40's. The Catherine born in 1870 lived for ten minutes and then died. I have the birth cert for Catherine born 15th August 1869 to Loughlin and Ann, and both the birth and death cert for the second daughter called Catherine who was born and died on 25th October 1870.

Thanks!
Caroline

[aghadowey]

Am wondering if there was a bit of confusion when the second Catherine was registered- after all mother had just died and informant might just have chosen a name for the infant on the spur of the moment rather than registering it without a name.

[caroline_wex]

Maybe... It's possible... On all other daughters' certs, it gives Loughlin as the informant but on this child's (Catherine 25/10/1870) the informant was a Mary McGee of Ballygalvert. Her mother's death cert mentions a Martin Brennan of Ballywilliam as the informant. It's possible that, as this was a premature birth, that the father was not there.

It's just strange that, if they were neighbours, that they wouldn't have been aware of the child born the year before.

Any information I can get on where the other children may have actually been baptised would be brilliant though... as I am desperately trying to find their parents marriage as well as locate other members of Ann's family.

Thanks again!
Caroline

[aghadowey]

Mistakes often happen at registration. Husband's cousin was supposed to be given mother's maiden name as his first name- father so excited that he finally had a son (several previous children had died at birth/been stillborn) that he couldn't remember how to spell the name!

[Jack2227]

Some headstone records in St Stephen's cemetery New Ross.

Eilis Ui Shomachain
(Elsie Somers)
Robert st
7/7/2004
==========
Thomas Somers, Charleton hill
4/9/1956 (62)
dtr, Bridget; 20/12/1944 (18)
4 children who died young
Bridget ( wife of Thomas); 26/6/1985 (89)
James ( Jimmy) Somers; 24/11/1999 (66)
(son of Thomas & Bridget)
=============
Enda Somers, The Maudlus
28/3/2004 (27)
=============
Johanna Somers, 8 Bullawn
22/11/1971 (59)
hus, Patrick; 27/7/1981
dtr, Eileen Donnelly; 3/9/1989 (46)
(interred in Dublin)
===============
Josephine Somers, Huaghton place
24/6/1969
hus, James; 28/10/1980
=============