Thanks merrick7. My contact had noted those two gravestone inscriptions and had connected them both to the family of teachers.
- The first would have been erected by the letter-writer Ellen's first cousin (Maria Willis nee Purtill)'s daughter (Mary Elizabeth Ebbsworth, nee Willis)
- The second would be the headstone for Edmond (the teacher)'s mother, i.e. the letter writer Ellen's paternal grandmother.
Here's a summary of the information my contact gave me - no sources were given:
Mary O'Dwyer b1878, had two sons who both became teachers:
- Michael Purtell, b1806
- Edmund Purtell, b1807
Edmund had a daughter Ellen, who wrote the letter at the start of this topic. My contact believed that this Ellen was my great-grandmother. This has now been disproved (see my previous post)
Michael married a Catherine O'Sullivan (1825-1885). They had two children who died young (I guess that's from the gravestone inscription), and two who survived:
- Edward Purtill (b 1843)
- Maria Purtill who married William Willis (Cahir 1853). They emmigrated to Australia. Their daughter Mary Elizabeth Willis (b Caher 1854) married an Ebbsworth of(in?) St Kilda.
