Ellen Murphy Family History
Ellen Murphy's Maternal Grandparents
Ellen’s maternal grandparents were Peter McAloon, born about 1836 from Eshnaglogh, Corragunt and Bridget Cassidy, born about 1843 from Greaghaverrin. They were married in Roslea church in 1864. They lived in Derrynasell West in Co. Monaghan. It is probable that they acquired the land in Derrynasell as part of the various land acts enabling tenants to buy land in the 1870s and 80s.
They had four children, all girls. Ellen, Catherine (Mary Kate), Mary Ann (also Marianne) (Ellen’s mother) and Isabella. They were all alive at the time of the 1911 census. Peter died on 13th October 1914. Bridget died 24th March 1922.
Peter McAloon
c. 1836 - 1914
Bridget Cassidy
c. 1843 - 1922
Catherine
1868 - 1935
Ellen
1871 - 1955
Isabella
1881 - 1956
Ellen's Maternal Uncles and Aunts
Catherine
was born on 21st October
1868. She was married on 22nd May 1892 in Roslea church to Henry Devlin from
Drumshancorick
(sometimes called Drumshanfrick). They lived there
and had ten children. The adjacent photo is of Catherine Devlin at the house in
Drumshancorick.
Two Devlin girls Maggie and
Theresa emigrated to the U.S.
Bessie Devlin
also went there, but returned to Ireland and married Frank McCabe.
Ellen’s daughter Dympna was a great favourite
of Bessie Devlin, who Orla*
reported wanted to adopt Dympna. Alongside is
a picture of Bessie from a book called “Roslea
Remembers”[11].
The Devlins had a large landholding with a two-storey farmhouse, which was always very
smartly kept, according to Ellen’s daughters.
Two of the Devlin sons, James and
Peter were active in the War of Independence
and the Civil War. Peter was killed in fighting in Dundalk barracks in 1922.
An extract from his military record is shown.
Henry Devlin later claimed a pension based on Peter’s record, and the claim
provides a colourful insight into the family situation in 1925, possibly a
bit exaggerated for the purposes of the claim.
Henry died in 1928 and Catherine in 1935.
In 1955 Bridget Devlin was living on the farm with one widowed brother and
his son. She made an unsuccessful supplementary application for a pension
based on her brother’s military record; it describes the farm income then.
Ellen was born 14th December 1871 in Derrynasell West. She was married on 25th February 1895 in Roslea to James Boyle and lived in Derryheanlish. Orla* recalls visiting the Boyle family. They had eight children, all of whom married and lived in the locality – their story will be will be explored further in a future update. Their son John was staying at the grandparents’ home at the time of the 1901 census. Their daughter Ellie married James Lynch of Tibberedoge Glebe, and Ellie and James’s son Jimmy Lynch provided a lot of records for this part of the family. As of 2019, Jimmy was living between California and the Roslea area. James Boyle died in 1932 and Ellen died in 1955.
Isabella was born 8th February 1881 and married Joseph Rooney from Derrygannon on 9th February 1904 in Roslea. Joseph and Isabella lived with Isabella’s parents in Derrynasell West, shown in the 1911 census. Joseph Rooney’s brother Hugh was a teacher in the local school and wrote a memoir about the primary school and the locality, Cordoola. It can be found here. Ellen attended this school as a primary school before going to secondary school in Monaghan.
Isabella and Joseph had five children –
Mary Agnes,
Bridget,
Catherine,
Peter and
Elizabeth. Peter married
Nan McGinnity and
they had a son named
Hugh. Isabella can be seen in this photo taken around 1952,
wearing the typical apron of the time, standing beside the clergyman on the left.
Wearing a similar apron on the right is Nan's mother and Hugh's grandmother Anne McGinnity.
The baby is Hugh, held by his mother Nan, with husband Peter immediately
behind them. The photograph was supplied by Hugh. Joseph died in 1937 and Isabella in 1956.
An American descendant of the Rooney family has developed an extensive family tree tracking the Rooney family on Ancestry.com.