Irish Update: My wife's branches of the family (Carey, Orr, and Welch)

 

Castlehacket House, County Galway, Ireland

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

So looking at my wife's side of the family we a number of Irish connections.  I have not done as much research on this side yet, but I can already show that my wife is 32% Irish.  My Father-In-Law was 33% and my Mother-In-Law is 31%.  Both of my in laws have taken a DNA test and it shows that my Father-In-Law is 59% Irish and has DNA matches in the areas of Galway, Lough Corrib/Lough Mask, North and North West County Mayo. My Mother in Law is only showing as 14% Irish, but also 19% Scottish.  

Carey

• My wife's Second Great Grandfather Michael Carey(abt 1842-abt 1900), born in Galway, Ireland
• My wife's Second Great Grandmother Bridget Thornton(1845-1923), born in Galway, Ireland
• My wife's Forth Great Grandmother Margery Kerns(1788-1853), likely born in Ulster, Ireland
• My wife's Fifth Great Grandfather Peter Kearns(1740-1829), born in Ulster, Ireland
• My wife's Fifth Great Grandmother Anna Jordan(abt 1745-UNKN), born in Ireland

Orr

• My wife's Third Great Grandmother Alice Brady(1821-1895), likely born in Ardagh, County Longford, Ireland, arrived in 1823.
• My wife's Forth Great Grandfather Edward Brady(1783-1865), likely born in Ardagh, County Longford, Ireland, arrived in 1823.
• My wife's Forth Great Grandmother Alice Brady(1793-1865), likely born in Ardagh, County Longford, Ireland, arrived in 1823.

Welch

• My wife's Second Great Grandfather John Welch(abt 1822-1871), likely born in Cloyne, County Cork, Ireland
• My wife's Second Great Grandmother Bridget Hennessey(1829-1894), born in Longford, Ireland
• My wife's Third Great Grandmother Catherine Cassidy(1823-1875), born in Monahagn, Ireland
• My wife's Forth Great Grandfather Michael Cassidy(1794-1876), born in Monahagn, Ireland
• My wife's Forth Great Grandmother Catherine Kent(1789-1885), born in Monahagn, Ireland

Here is how my wife is related to each of them:

• My Wife
• John Francis Carey III(1939-2021)
• John Francis Carey(1916-2000)
• John Francis Carey Sr.(1869-1954)
• Michael Carey(1842-1900), Irish Immigrant
• Bridget Thornton(1845-1923), Irish Immigrant
• Rose Amelia Whipple(1886-1960)
• Melinda Mitchell(1846-1916)
• Ruth Van Cleave(1802-1820)
• Margery Kerns(1788-1853), Irish Immigrant
• Peter Kearns(1740-1829), Irish Immigrant
• Anna Jordan(abt 1745-UNKN), Irish Immigrant
• Georgeanna Orr(1916-1997)
• Margaret Dittoe(1876-1962)
• William Dittoe(1845-1909)
• Alice Brady(1821-1895), Irish Immigrant
• Edward Brady(1783-1865), Irish Immigrant
• Elizabeth Brady(1793-1865), Irish Immigrant
• My Mother-in-Law
• Michael Phillip Welch(1913-1979)
• Edward B. Welch(1855-1924)
• John Welch(1822-1871), Irish Immigrant
• Bridget Hennessey(1829-1894), Irish Immigrant
• Mary Josephine Pelroy(1873-1955)
• Pierre Joseph Pelroy(1848-1928)
• Catherine Cassidy(1823-1875), Irish Immigrant
• Michael C. Cassidy(1794-1876), Irish Immigrant
• Catherine Kent(1789-1885), Irish Immigrant

Photo of my wife's maternal Great Grandparents Edward Welch and Mary Josephine Pelroy

Edward Welch and Mary Josephine Pelroy and their three oldest children, abt 1903

From Left to Right:

• Joseph Richard Welch(1903-1973)
• Edward B. Welch(1855-1924)
• Edward Eugene Welch(1900-1937)
• William Michael Welch(1899-1971)
• Mary Josephine Pelroy(1873-1955)

 

Welch Johnson Birth Locations

 And finally, here is the other half of my wife's tree.

1. Welch Birth Locations
2. Johnson Birth Locations

How Irish is She? Part Three, the Welchs

Now I am going to move from my family to my wife's.  At the end I'll try and pull it all together for my kids.  When I married her, I was under the impression she was a Irish girl.  Turns out she has a more diverse heritage then I do.  But since the question I'm asking is about the Irish component, I'll target in on that.  To be consistent, I'll start with her Mother's side.  Unfortunately, I don't have as full a record here, but I'll do the best I can.

Micheal Phillips Welch	Dorothy E Johnson
My Mother-in-Law
My Wife

 

My wife's grandmother's father immigrated from Sweden and her mother immigrated from Germany.  Therefore, Dorothy Johnson ended up being 50% Swidish and 50% German.  

Micheal Phillip Welch is different story.  He was 62.5% Irish and 37.5% French.  The french ancestors, on his mother's side, came down through Canada. In that group, my wife's 3rd great grandmother, Catherine Cassidy is the only Irish immigrant.  Unfortunately, we don't yet know enough about her to say where she came from in Ireland.  His father's side is all Irish.

 

Connection	Name	Year of Birth	Location of Birth
2nd Great Grandfather	John Welch	around 1835	Galway
2nd Great Grandmother	Bridget Burke Hennessey	1829	Longford

Moving down the branch, that makes my Mother-in-Law 31% Irish, 25% German, 25% Swedish, and 19% French.  She has also had her DNA tested, so we can see how the results compare with the genealogical information.  

• Ireland: 24%
• Europe West: 26%
• Scandinavia: 26%
• Finland/Northwest Russia: 9%
• Great Britain: 9%
• Iberian Peninsula: 2%
• Italy/Greece: <1%
• Europe East: <1%
• Africa North: <1%
• Asia South: <1%

So what is going on here?  This is quite a diverse set of results.  The percentages from Ireland, and Great Britain likely come from the Irish ancestors.  The Scandinavia and Finland/Northwest Russia likely are from her Swedish Grandfather.  The Europe West and Europe East probably tie to her French and German ancestors.  I would put down the Iberian Peninsula, Italy/Greece, and Africa North probably to the effects of Roman colonization.  That leave the trace of Asia South.  It appears to be an oddball, but let's see if we can figure it out.  Ancestry.com identifies the Asia South results with primarily India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.  My suspicion is that this result represents the remnant of the early migration of people out of these areas into Europe.  Therefore, it is likely tied to her Swedish and German ancestors.  But really, that is just a guess!

Next post will cover the Carey side of my wife's background.