An American connection

The story of my great-grandfather Micheal Maher is the perfect illustration of what happens when family details are not recorded and passed down. Micheal (that's not a typo - he signed his name to several documents with that spelling) is something of an enigma. No records have been found of his arrival in Australia.
In 1868 he married Annie Hassett, in the Catholic church at Hamilton.

The marriage certificate shows that he was born in 1842 at Thomastown, Kilkenny, and his parents were Thomas Maher and Mary Read.  He began his life in Australia as a labourer, but when he died at Minyip, Victoria in 1913, he was a wealthy man, owning nearly 2500 acres of land.

 He and Annie had five sons and two daughters. His sons were each left a farm, and the daughters received 500 pounds each - a large sum in 1913.

When Micheal and Annie married, their residence was Port Fairy, but they moved to Ararat - at least two of their children were born there.

In 1874 the family moved to Minyip, taking up land near Annie's brothers, the Hassetts.

Over the years, Micheal continued to buy land and pay it off - his long and complicated Will gives details of several farms, some still mortgaged.

Some time between 1908 and 1913, Micheal returned to Ireland. It must have been after 1908, because he brought back a present for my mother, Annie Maher, his first grandchild. The present was a child's knife, fork and spoon set, with ornate silver handles, in a leatherette case - now owned by one of my nephews.

Micheal presumably still had some family connections in Ireland, but that information is now lost to us. What remained was a story of relatives in America - either Micheal or one of his sons supposedly exchanged letters with a Stephen Maher, who had settled in America. My mother had a vague memory of this, and thought Stephen or one of his sons was a doctor...
Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, it's now much easier to research your family tree. Using Ancestry.com, several family members have discovered that the American story is true!

Stephen Maher was actually Micheal Maher's uncle; he left Ireland in 1825 and settled in New Haven, Connecticut, and two of his grandsons were indeed doctors. There are many Maher descendants still living in Connecticut today.

 Anne & Jane Maher

Micheal and Annie's children (not necessarily in order, I don't have all their birthdates) were -
Thomas m. Grace Kenny - no children
William, m. Ellen Kenny - stillborn child
Michael, m. Amelia Sullivan - Frank & Mollie
John, M. Elizabeth Drum - Michael, Kathryn, Veronica & John
Patrick, m. Agnes Sullivan - Annie, Eileen, Kathleen & John
Anne (Sr. Philomena, Brigidine Convent, Wangaratta)
Jane m. James Hickey - no children

Two of Micheal and Annie's sons also visited Ireland.
Thomas retired from farming and took an extensive world trip, including Ireland.
Pat (and probably Ag) went to Ireland, and brought back souvenirs - a silver Celtic cross pendant for my mother, with her initials, A.M. engraved on it. Mum treasured her cross, and wore it often; my sister has it now. Pat also sponsored an Irishman, who worked on the farm for some years.

Pat Maher (on right) and his cousin, Pat Kelly.
Annie Hassett's sister, Honorah, married James Kelly, and the two families were always close.

Micheal died in 1913, and is buried with his wife in the Minyip cemetery. Some of his descendants still live at Minyip.

That brings my Irish history to a close, I hope it hasn't been too confusing! All the information here, plus a bit more, will  be published on my website, Marcie's Memoirs. Still tinkering with that, I'll reveal it soon...

Now it's time to tackle the history of my German ancestors, and be warned, I have LOTS of information about them!