Michael Patrick Joseph Stapleton
mstaple362@rogers.com
| Hi. My name is Mike Stapleton, our family emigrated from the townland of Ballyhiskey in Burgess(beg) Parish, County Tipperary, Ireland in 1847/48 (5km from Nenagh in Tipperary, North Riding)during the worst years of An Gorta Mor (The Great Sorrow). The eldest members of our nuclear family in North America were James Stapleton born ca. 1785 and his wife Margaret Gleeson born ca.1798. Together they had eight sons and two daughters. The obituary of their son Matthew Stapleton, identifies they sailed from Limerick on April 1, 1847. However, a lingering family memory implies that some of the sons came to North America first with the parents following later (1848). This theory is supported by historical evidence related to the original land grants in Canada and the Tithe Applotment records from Nenagh Poor Law Union (PLU). Another legend is that the second son Tobias was smuggled out of Ireland in a barrel (he apparently was wanted by the British authorities) and possibly arrived at a US Port of Entry in 1846/7. Sometime after arrival, he apparently was killed in an accident - a kick to the head from a horse. The mother (Margaret) having located her son arrived a short time afterward with three of her other sons and learned of his death. The legend says she immediately had the body exhumed to ensure that firstly, it really was her son and secondly, to determine if any foul play caused his death ( 23 November 1849, Old Tappan, Bergen, New Jersey). Five of their living sons (John, James, Patrick, Matthew, Martin and Stephen), the two daughters (Mary and Bridget) and their parents eventually settled in Enniskillen Twp., Lambton County, Canada West (Ontario) about 1850. Their son Thomas (m. Harriet Playford) decided to strike out on his own around 1850 and eventually settled in Cassopolis, Cass Co., Michigan. James and Margaret's seventh son Martin (m. Mary Dunigan) and eldest daughter Mary (m. Michael O'Neill) eventually settled in the Emmett, St. Clair Co., Michigan.Bridget married Charles Reilley and lived in Mooretown, Moore Twp., Lambton Co., CW and Stephen the youngest farmed in Enniskillen Twp. adjacent to his brother Martin and never married. The next generations spread out from Lambton Co., Ontario, Cass and St. Clair Cos., Michigan and into other areas of Michigan, Alberta, Wisconsin, British Columbia, Washington State, Alaska and Saskatchewan. Their eldest son John born June 20, 1820 in Ballyhiskey, Burgess Parish, Co. Tipperary married Mary Hubbard born March 2, 1835 in Killyleath Parish, Co. Down. Together they had seven children. Their son John Joseph was the first of my line born in Canada, 18 June 1860 and he married Margaret Anastasia Boyle (March 19, 1877). Their son Matthew, my father, was born Feb 16, 1914, he married Mary Evelyn Brulotte (b. September 01, 1917), and together they had nine children. I am the eldest, born 1950 and married to Patricia Leone Walsh (1957). We have two children, John Joseph Cedric Patrick and Emily Jean Mary. My grand father’s twin brother James second son James Francis (Frank) is the father of Pat Stapleton the famous NHL hockey player.The Rt. Rev. Monsignor James Stapleton of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Detroit (1868-1942) and Parish Priest for many years at Annunciation Parish in Detroit is also from this branch of the Irish Stapletons and was the eldest son of Martin Stapleton and Mary Dunigan. I am actively researching all Irish Branch Stapletons who emigrated to North America and trying to identify their Irish origins and family groups. This involves working collaboratively with other researchers to continue the mission of our family historian, the late Dr. Rita Ryan-Hackett (d. Mar 06, 2001). Her desire was to have us begin to rebuild the family tree from the bottom up eventually reconnecting this living legacy with the published pedigrees (pre and post Cromwellian catastrophe). I look forward to contacting all Irish Stapleton researchers - Slán go foill, Micéal Galldubh
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