Day 12 Exploring the Family tree

Curtain Family Tree

Not sure that's there's going to be much exciting stuff on the  blog today! 

My morning started off in the usual way...

The sea was a bit wild this morning!

Wild Atlantic this morning

Wild Atlantic this morning

Then it had calmed down by this afternoon

Quiet Atlantic this arvo

Quiet Atlantic this arvo

Had my usual coffee after my walk beside the ocean

Nice Coffee at Dodi Cafe

Today's coffee was Dodi cafe

Then I called in at Kenny's Woollen Mills on the way home, after meeting the owner with Marie last night! And I bought a jumper. As my friend Bern said, it was really "me"!!

Irish Jumper

So this afternoon I had made the appointment to meet Antoinette at the Corofin Genealogy Center. As I think I mentioned yesterday, between my self and my cousins we had accumulated quite a bit of information about our family history, that all started in Lahinch.

Sorry if this is not quite interesting to you, but I just find all my family history really fascinating!

The reason I'm in Lahinch is because my great grandfather John Curtin emigrated from the family farm in Tullygarvan (just outside Lahinch) in 1855 with his wife Margaret Maloney. And his brother Michael stayed on the farm - and Marie is one his direct descendants, as is her brother Sean, who still works the farm now.

So John and his wife emigrated to Australia, but had an unhappy arrival, as the ship they were on, the Nashwauk, was wrecked near Noarlunga in South Australia on May 14 1855 - but they managed to survive.

If you would like to read about this unhappy event, there is an excellent website here to explain what happened.

Eventually John Curtin moved to Bendigo in Victoria where they had a further 7 children (their first child Patrick was born in Ireland and died not long after). And one of those 7 children was my grandfather - Edward Augustine Curtain.

Sadly John's wife Margaret had an unhappy end... She died in Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum in Melbourne in 1870. Her inquest stated that she died of melancholia and consumption...  I guess after all the trauma of her migration and giving birth to multiple children and losing some children, there were multiple reasons for melancholia. Just seems very sad... 

Margaret Curtain's inquest

I'm sure many of Curtain relatives could embellish this story further, but that's the bare bones.

My cousin Betty (Pat O'C's sister) and Moira at John Curtin's unmarked grave in Bendigo

Betty & Moira, seated at grave of unmarked grave John Augustine Curtain at side. Marked grave of Michael Curtain (Councillor & Mayor of Eaglehawk), his wife Susanna (nee Crawford), their eldest daughter Elizabeth Anne & their son John, the Town Clerk of Eaglehawk.

Anyway, back to Corofin...

Antoinette was a fount of knowledge about life in the 1800s in County Clare and around Tullygarvan and I was able to share some of the knowledge my family has accumulated.

Kilmanaheen Townlands - we're Tullygarvan West

But the point of connection was when I told her that my cousin Pat O'Callaghan had done all the original research research for our family at this Corofin Genealogy Centre...  and Antoinette went and got the original file which was researched in 1989. It even included Pat's original letter... And Antoinette had actually prepared that first file that outlined our connection with the original farm in Tullygarvan. Small world!!!

So whatever we do from now on, is building on that first point of contact when Pat came to Ireland in 1989. 

I was a bit excited by all this, so I've agreed for her to research further ( at a slight cost of course!!! ) 😵 and develop a report for the Curtain family about our origins over here.

Sorry there are no pics to go with all this, and I don't want to bore you with all the details, but I loved that session today!!! This is the reason I came to Lahinch and I am really excited to find out more...

Doesn't take much to amuse me these days!!!  :)