Re: Taaffe's Ireland to Illinois
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In reply to:
Taaffe's Ireland to Illinois
3/03/01
To Dennis Osgood... if you're still visiting this website:
The John & Elizabeth you referred to are probably the same as mine, if they're buried in Fairfield, IL. I don't have the birthdates in Ireland. My great aunt wrote about John & Elizabeth in a letter about the family history, and said John's father was from Cork County, Ireland. I'm not sure if that's accurate, since a lot of her documentation was based from memory on what her mother, Bertha (Taaffe) Gregg had told her.
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I'd like to know if anyone has further information on the following family:
John, the youngest son (of several sons) of Lord Taaffe (first name unknown) of Cork County, Ireland, who married Elizabeth, probably in New York - although they seem to have met in Ireland. John may have come over to the U.S. first.
One of John’s brothers went to Austria, and was part of the nobility there. I don’t have any information on John’s other siblings.
In the United States, John owned a livery stable, and he kept racehorses.
One of Elizabeth and John’s sons, my great great grandfather, Peter Taaffe was born on July 28, 1847 near Boston, MA. Other children of Elizabeth and John were: William, Richard, Matthew, John, George, Thomas, and Alice, and also an 8th son, which my source could not name.
Shortly before the Civil War, Peter Taaffe moved to Fairfield, IL. He lived in Fairfield and worked as a blacksmith until his death from a heart attack on August 17, 1913, with the exception of two years, his obituary says, in St. Louis, MO. Peter also kept racehorses, like his father. He was married to Nancy N. Clark from Big Mound township around 1880, and they had three children: John, Will, and Bertha Taaffe, my great grandmother. Three of Peter’s brothers, who were present at his funeral, are mentioned in the obituary: George, of Cherryville, Kansas, Richard, of Carthage, Missouri, and William, also of Fairfield, IL.