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Johanna's Paternal Great Grandparents

Phelan

Johanna’s grandfather William Phelan was living in Jamestown when he married Johanna Durney. A search of parish baptismal records for Owning and Templeorum parish from 1790 to 1850 does not record any Phelan births in the townland of Jamestown, and no Phelans are recorded in Jamestown in the Griffith Valuation[1] or similar records. As William and his son were stonemasons, they may have moved into the area for work1. William called his first son James, so it is likely (using naming traditions of the time) that his father’s first name was also James Phelan.

Durney

Johanna’s grandmother, Johanna Durney, was from “Owning direction” based on family lore2. Although no specific records have been found to date of Johanna’s parents or siblings, baptismal and marriage records from the early 19th century survive for ten Durney families in the townland of Garryduff which is adjacent to Owning, so it is likely she was from there.

Johanna's Carew Ancestors

Although precise records for Johanna’s ancestors have not been found, there are several sources that provide indirect information. These are:

• The will of Catherine Carew of Carrick-on-Suir
• Records relating to William and Margaret Carew of Jamestown
• The Templeorum headstones for the Carew and Phelan family
• Family lore

Catherine Carew Will

Catherine Carew lived at No. 8 William St in Carrick-on-Suir. She died sometime after 1869.

Catherine Carew must have had a successful business income, as she left a substantial estate. In her will (dated 7 January 1869) she left bequests to several people including “her first cousin Johanah (sic) Phelan otherwise Dorney of Piltown” (£50), and Johanna’s two daughters Margaret and Anne (£5 each).

Her home in William St was subsequently acquired by the presentation convent which was built about 1875, where they built the infants school – the building (pictured) survives today. When Johanna Phelan and her family attended the Presentation Convent in the 1900s one wonders if they were aware that they were walking past the site of Catherine’s old home.

Records relating to Margaret and William Carew

Margaret Carew of Jamestown married Richard Phelan on 2 March 1835 in Owning church. Johanna Durney (then aged 17) was a witness at the wedding. The church's registry page and the relevant entry are shown to the right.

Richard and Margaret do not appear to have had any children. They probably lived in Jamestown with her brother William Carew. Margaret’s death was recorded by her brother on the family headstone in Templeorum as April 28 1871, when she was 81 years old. A record of Richard Phelan’s death has not been found.

When William Carew died on 15th June 1874, William Phelan (Johanna Durney’s husband) was present at his death. William Phelan subsequently took over the lease of the Jamestown property, and built a new house there for his eldest son James. It is reasonable to assume that Richard Phelan and William Phelan were brothers.

The Templeorum headstone

William Carew of Jamestown erected a headstone in Templeorum churchyard initially to commemorate his mother Catherine Carew who died in 1831. His sister Margaret was added to the headstone after her death in 1871. William’s death was added in 1875, most likely by William Phelan, who subsequently added the death of his own son Willie Phelan to the stone. (The Carew headstone is the right of the pair in the full picture.) A processed image displays more clearly the inscriptions on the worn headstone.

Family Lore

Family lore suggests3 that the Phelans may have changed their name from Carew for reasons unknown. This is a curious idea, noted in case future research provides new insights.

The Carews of Carrick-on-Suir

We are fortunate that baptismal records for the parish of Carrick-on-Suir survive from the late 18th century. Catherine Carew (who left the will) was baptised on 12th July 1796, and her parents were John Carew and Mary O’Neill. Baptismal records survive for five other children in the family, James (1792), Judith (1793), Ellen (1794), Patrick (1795) and James (1799). We can assume that the James born in 1792 died before 1799 for the name to be reused. These Carew children are all first cousins of Johanna Durney.

John Carew and Mary O’Neill were great granduncle and aunt of Johanna Phelan. John and Mary are recorded in the 1799 census of Carrick-on-Suir. It is rare to have census details from before the 19th century. A sample entry from the census is shown below.

In the census John Carew and his wife are recorded with premises on the north side of the Main street in Carrick-on-Suir. Catherine is listed as two years old; her father John is aged 30 (indicating he was born about 1769), and his wife Mary is aged 26.

Catherine’s brother James Carew, born in 1799, married Mary O’Grady and they had a business in William Street, Carrick-on-Suir. James died sometime before 1851, because the Griffith valuation (1851 - 3) records show the house, office and yard were leased to Mrs Mary Carew. By 1856 Mary had also leased a second house on William Street and this house was let to a tenant. When Mary died in 1858 the house at No. 8 William Street was bequeathed to Catherine Carew (her sister-in-law) and the house at No. 2 William Street was transferred to her niece Eliza O’Grady and her husband John Donovan from Portlaw, Co. Waterford. A copy of Mary Carew’s will is included in an appendix. The Donovans did not keep the lease for long. They emigrated to Australia in 1863, quite possibly on the proceeds of the bequest from Mary. They settled in Brisbane and had a large family there. When John Donovan died in 1902 he was described as being of “independent means”4.

Carrick-on-Suir in the early nineteenth century

In the early 1800s the main industries in Carrick-on-Suir were weaving, boat building, brewing, distilling, boot-making, tanning and milling. The import­export business on the river Suir was also important. The river was pivotal to the main industries, as it provided water for brewing and distilling, power for the milling and rapid and efficient transport to the port of Waterford and beyond. There was a boat yard near the old bridge and during the peak of the river traffic it built most of the lighters, sweeps and yawls used on the river.

William St, where the Carews lived, runs parallel to the Main St in the town. Chapel Lane links Main Street to the Catholic Parish church on William Street. This picture of Chapel Street in 2020 looks much like it would have done when Catherine Carew was alive.

No records have been found for Catherine’s other siblings. It is not clear how many survived childhood.

The Carew-Phelan Connection

Based on the various sources described above the following facts have been established:

1.  Johanna Durney was a first cousin of Catherine Carew
2.  Catherine Carew’s father was John Carew
3.  Catherine Carew’s mother was Mary O’Neill
4.  Johanna Durney’s mother was born either Ms O’Neill or Ms Carew
5.  Johanna’s family share a headstone with the Carew family in Templeorum
6.  Johanna was a witness at the wedding of Margaret Carew
7.  Johanna’s family inherited the lease on the Jamestown farm when William Carew died

Based on these connections, it would appear reasonable to deduce that Johanna’s mother was born Carew. William Carew (1801 – 1885) and Margaret Carew (1790 – 1871) are probably first cousins, making their mother Catherine Carew (1756 – 1831) an aunt of Johanna Durney.