1803-1820 County Offaly (Kings’ County) and County Tipperary- Dunkerrin area
Stephen Meagher/Maher born 1803
Margaret Egan Meagher/Maher born 1805
1820-1845
Children of Margaret and Stephen –according to Roman Catholic Baptismal records Dunkerrin Parish (1820-1911)- County Offaly Genealogical report:
· Catherine– April 21, 1829 – Castleroan-sponsors: Gilbert Egan/Mary Kennedy
· Patrick – September 19, 1830 – Ballydonagh (Roscrae)-sponsors: Patt Meagher/Mary Dalton
· John – June 29, 1834 – Ballydonagh – sponsors: William Egan/Maria Egan
· William – August 28, 1839-Ballydonagh – sponsors: Patt Maher/Sally Egan
· Stephen – August 30, 1840 - Gilbert Egan/Catherine Maher
· Denis (Dennis) – December 9, 1842-Ballydonagh-sponsors: Cosmus (?)Egan/Sally Maher
1845-1860
1849- Margaret Egan Maher died
1850- John Meagher listed on KY census living with a family in Hardinsburg, Kentucky
1854 – Stephen Maher living in Templeharry/near Roscrae Ireland-leasing house/not farm
1854 – John Meagher in Cloverport, KY ; applies for US citizenship in Cincinnati
1857- John Meagher marries Martha Dowling and moves to Hardinsburg-all children born there:
· Stephen – born June 28, 1858, died Oct.24, 1934 – not married
· Thomas Francis – born July 29,1862, died Dec.4, 1943-married Elspat Ann Walker -7 children
· Peter – born Feb.22, 1873, died Aug.11, 1944-married Beulah Daley –adopted daughter
· John Leo – born Feb.1, 1877, died Dec 8, 1953-married Clara Humbarger – 7 children
· Dennis L. – born Dec.3, 1866, died Jan 23, 1918 – never married
· Mary – born August 29,1859, died three hours later
· Mary Ann- Nov 29,1860, no death date available, married Mike Burke – no children
· Margaret – born Sept 16,1864, died Aug.20,1931, married John Sullivan – 6 children
· Catherine (Katie) – born March 6,1870, died Jan.28, 1961., married John Cusick – 2 children
(information provided by great-granddaughter of John, Janice Vannoy, Salina Kansas, – to Mary Ruddy Diercksen, great-granddaughter of Dennis)
1861-1885
Stephen Meagher/Maher leaves Liverpool with sons, William and Dennis in 1864 on “The Limerick”-arrives NY harbor. Joins son John in Hardinsburg Kentucky (on Census for 1865), coming from Baltimore.
William and Dennis buy land in Hardinsburg – deed states 1868 (?)
William signs $100 marriage bond (1868) with Thomas Sheron, father of Mary Ann Sheron, born Oct.15, 1851 in NYC. Married April 4,1869. They have the following children:
· Eddie – October 1869
· John – December 12, 1872
· Andrew J. – October 29, 1876; died July 4, 1931; married Margaret A Gardner
· Anna – born Oct.31, 1881, died May 22, 1936
· William – May 6, 1880
· Martha Ann – June 22, 1878
· Stephen – Jan.7, 1870
· Michael Patrick (Joseph?) – Nov.9, 1881; died Sept.24, 1950; married Mary Helen King
Dennis marries Margaret Kennedy (born 1851 Ireland) October 26, 1871. They have the following children:
· Dau (? Daniel?) – May 6, 1874
· Cosmos – February 9,1876
· Mary – 1878
· Marcella – Jan.9,1880
· Margaret Ann –October 5, 1872
· Eli Francis – baptized June 4, 1882
· Stephen Francis –baptized November 18, 1884
· John – baptized February 12, 1884
· William Joseph – April 2, 1885
· Bridget Laurine – Baptized July 9, 1886
· Catherine Agnes – July 13, 1877
· Margaret – Dec.7,1877
· Nellie – born 1892
(Records from St. Romuald parish baptismal register provided to Mary Ruddy Diercksen)
St. Romuald Catholic Church – Irish immigrants begin to settle in 1860 because this church was established and they could participate in their faith and not encounter difficulties. The church was built up by Meaghers and Sheerans, though established “The little red brick church” in 1841.
Land purchases and sales throughout 1870’s and 1880’s.
Dennis moves to Louisville in 1883 to establish Meagher’s Grocery.
Mary Ann Sheron dies in 1883 and William leaves Hardinsburg. One record has him buried at St. Romuald in 1885 but there is a grave for him at St. Louis Cemetery in Louisville having him dying in 1897. No way to confirm as no death certificates for that period on file in Kentucky.
Children of William and Mary Ann move to Louisville, as per current information. My grandfather, Mike Meagher is 9 years old.
John Meagher sells 230 acres of land in 1884 in Hardinsburg and moves his family by train to Salina, Kansas. His wife’s family lived in Chapman, Kansas. His descendants remain farming the Kansas farmland to this day (July 2015).
Questions:
1. What happened to the other children of Stephen and Margaret? Stephen, Catherine, and Patrick? Did they also come to the US via other routes? Die like Margaret in the famine? Was there a Stephen Meagher in Washington, D.C./Maryland area as suggested?
2. There were many children born to both William and Dennis but no records of their deaths or evidence that they lived long enough to go to Louisville with the rest, no evidence of them in St. Louis Meagher burial plot. Were they buried on the land in Hardinsburg? Move elsewhere?
3. What is the Irish History of Stephen Meagher/Maher before marrying Margaret Egan? Of Margaret Egan before marrying Stephen? They did not live on a farm, or so the records show. Were they shopowners/ business people? Stephen listed in Griffith Valuation in 1854 as owner or worker in a “public house” and the Egan family in Roscrae with a China and Glass shop.