New England/Donegal McCrevens
Hi Richard, Terry and all you other McCraven researchers out there!
I received a phone call last night from my sister Melinda who is visiting Ireland for the first time for a friend's wedding in Galway. She couldn't resist the drive up to Clonmany and has come away with some significant new insights...
(You may recall that try as I might, I have been unable to connect my Clonmany, Donegal/Boston McCrevens with any other known McCreven/McCraven branch -- even the line that we know came direct from Clonmany to Boston within 10 years of my great-grandfather Edward's arrival in 1894!)
The trail went cold with Edward's parents -- Owen McCrevin and Bridget McCool, according to his 1871 birth record in Ballyhallin, Clonmany. But now my intrepid sister has spoken with a 92 year-old man living in Ballyhallin, by the name of Charlie Owen, who actually knew Owen McCrevin! (He may even have a photograph of him somewhere in his possession.)
Charlie's family knew this McCrevin family well it seems -- he tells some vivid stories about Owen and Bridget (who apparently died when her 3 children were young). He tells of Owen's son James going to live in Birmingham, England (I'm thinking probably sometime shortly before my Edward leaves for Boston in 1894).
James' descendants continued to own the family land in Ballyhallin (Charlie has pointed out the property to my sister!) until recently selling it. Question: Did I read somewhere Richard that you were at a loss about an English McCreven connection? Does this hypothetical date/location fit? If so, it is my line that went thence...
Also, Owen and Bridget's daughter, Bridget McCrevin apparently lived in Boston for a time with a husband who died in some sort of tragic accident (will try to look this up in the papers). She then went back to Clonmany to care for Owen in his old age.
But best of all, Owen apparently came to the US himself much earlier -- to fight in the Civil War, then return to Ireland!
Now, which side did he fight for? At first I jumped to the Boston connection and thought "Union." But then I starting to think, well, that was an awfully long time before his son came to Boston... What if he had a connection to some other US McCraven/McCrevens and came over to fight for the Confederacy...
Has anyone seen the name "Owen McCrevin" in their travels of the various Civil War records? I will search in the Union records and, of course, update the list should I find anything.
Wouldn't it be terrific if we find Owen in these war records somewhere and connect him both to his father's line in Donegal *and* the families that undoubtedly came from Donegal to the southern US earlier on?
Dreaming McCreven dreams of unity...
Sheila in CT