Timothy Blong born April 1858 was my grandfather. He was the son of Peter Blong and Mary Ann Cassidy who were married in January 1852 in the RC Church in Clonbulloque. One of his sisters did marry a Quinn and my father and I met Pat Quinn in Clonmore when we traveled to Ireland in the 60's. Pat Quinn's son, grandchildren and great granchildren still live in Clonmore. My grandfather had eight siblings -- John b. April 1852, Ellen b. February 1854, Peter b. August 1856, Christopher b. March 1860, Michael b. August 1862, Mary Ann b. November 1867, and Katherine & Brigid b. January 1869. The dates come from Church baptismal records. My grandfather emigrated to Canada and from thence to the U.S. where he became a well known horseman in Pennsylvania. Christopher also came to the U.S. and settled in Massachusetts and raised a family.
It is believed that my great grandfather Peter was the descendant of a Blanc or Le Blanc, a French Huguenot who came to Ireland in the army of William of Orange and that sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century the name became "anglicized" and the family became R.C.'s.
Part of the confusion in researching the family is that Blanc and Le Blanc were very common names among the French and there are many Blancs or Blongs in the Clonbullogue area who are not related to one another any more than all the Jones's or Smith's are related to one another. When my father and I were in Ireland we also met members of a family that had retaken the name Blanc after using Blong and who lived near the Quinns in Clonmore but were not related to us. The photo is a picture of the house where my grandfather grew up; the thatched roof was replaced with tin after the thatch burned.