Family of Origin

The Latest Chapter from
Galway-May 2002

Finally Finding some Irish Cousins

As any reader of these journals would know, for every answer to a question of family origins, more questions are unearthed. Sometimes the memory handed down doesn't tally with the records. Sometimes we feel like we are making new memories.

Finding the Connections

This last visit in May of 2002 finally proved productive in a way that the other two did not-in that we were able to definitively identify the connections between the Costellos who migrated to Australia in the 1880's and the Costello's who live in Menlough and Garbally today. We always knew that there had to be connections. We just could not exactly trace them.

The decisive clues and contacts  came through our old and great friends at the John Costello Pub in Skehennagh-Mary and Tom Costello. 

We had first met these folk over the phone in 1984 when Mary's husband, Sean, was alive. In 1999, Mary and her brother in law, Tom, were again most helpful in making contacts for us. This time around, Mary was sure she had found our connections and she was right.

Mary sent us up to meet Tom and Lena Costello, who lived barely a mile up from Mary and Tom's pub.

Once this very welcoming family heard the connections we had already made, the pieces of the jig-saw puzzle fell together. Tom's brother, James Costello, could even share a distant  memory "that his father Michael  had said that he heard his dad Dennis say that "his brothers went to Australia  and some even worked on the Panama Canal." Now that's a whole new story.

But what was the connection? And why were we so sure?

The key for us was the famous 1926 letter from T.Kenny to Bridget Heffernan. As a last letter from family connections in Garbally to long lost family connections in Australia, we had to make the presumption that some of the original Costello family stayed at home. That ran contrary to our family story that said that all the family left Menlough, save for a certain John Costello who returned.

Upon rereading the Letter

Winifred and Tom-The Kenny's Connection

If you go back to the the letter, notice it makes no reference to any John Costello, interestingly enough. But it names three siblings to Bridget-first a Winnifred Costello who we presumed was married to the letter writer, T. Kenny since she is the first he mentions.

"Winny is dead 16 years" making her death to be 1910. If we could find a Winifred Costello married to a Tom Kenny, we might prove our guess to be true. We have always had the idea that Kenny's were connected to Costello's and we know that they were neighbors. But what was the connection?

Tom Costello and????

The second sibling is Tom Costello. "Now concerning your brother Tom" the letter says. We are told that all that family are either gone or in America-and we have no clues as to whom Tom married or whether he/she is still alive in 1926. Presumably not.

Denis and Mrs. Costello-The Mannions Connection

The third sibling is Denis Costello. The letter informs us that Denis died four years ago-in 1922-and his family are all in America. The letter goes on to name Liddy Mannion. We guessed that Denis must have been married to a Mannion.

There are other names mentioned that don't have an easy fit-Pat Laheen is dead, Mark Fleming-"his daughter is married in the house." So we were curious to find Laheens and Flemings. We already know that Flemings are connected because Thomas Costello married Bridget Fleming back in 1844.

The Internet Files-Killascobe Records

It is amazing what is now available on the web-through sites like ancestry.com and rootsweb.com. It must have been sometime in 2001 when I was checking on the Costello data on these genealogical sites that I came across a treasure trove of records from the parish of Killoscobe, Galway, the parish of our family.

We managed to find copies of entries in church records that we had seen ourselves in 1984 such as our original  marriage record.

This tells us that there was a Denis Costello, presumably brother to Thomas. But like Irish families, they will try to confuse us by using the names Denis and Tom in every generation. There was a family tradition, I am told, to name the kids after their paternal and maternal uncles and aunts.

Presumably, Patrick is brother to Thomas and Mary is sister to Bridget.

Other records show that other Flemmings were marrying Costello's way back in 1831, Flemmings were marrying Mannions in 1859. Another shows Mark Fleming marrying Honor Mannion in 1862 and Denis Costello and Mary Barret are witnesses. Denis is possibly the same Denis as 1844, or more likely a Denis junior, possibly Tom and Bridget's son. Is this the Mark Fleming who has died by the time of the letter and whose daughter "lives in the house?"

The New Material

So far, this is what we had already found.  It was so amazing to find it on the web. No one needs to travel to Ireland anymore to find these documents. But there was a whole lot more. Perhaps we could find data that could test our hunches that we had formed from the letter. Here is what we fund.

Other records along this line show Denis and Bridget baptizing a Mary Costello on 22nd March 1885 and an Honora Costello on Feb 18 1893. The sponsor is Bridget Costello.

If this ties in with the letter, Bridget Costello in Australia has a brother Denis back in Garbally who married Bridget Mannion. Bridget Costello who is now a Heffernan is aunt to Denis and Bridget M's kids and we have  records of at least three of  those children- Michael 1880, Mary 1885 and Honora 1893. Most of the children end up in the USA, according to our letter writer, T. Kenny.

Further records show Thomas and Winny baptized their son Thomas Kenny on Dec 3 1882 and sponsors were Martin and Bridget Costello-the two Costello migrants, we presume who come to Australia in 1887.

Later on 27 Feb 1885, they baptize Michael Kenny, and sponsors are Patrick Kenny and Bridget Costello-probably still our Bridget.

They baptize Catherine Kenny on July 9 1887 and sponsor is Bridget Kenny.  Bridget Costello has sailed for Australia by then and presumably is not around for any more god parenting duties.

What have we learned? Who was left at home?

The records lend weight to our best guess about the letter.  Bridget Heffernan nee Costello receives a letter from T. Kenny who is her brother in law, the husband of her now deceased sister. In the letter, she gets news of that sister and other family. Namely

Testing the data in the field- Garbally 2002

The visit to Tom and Lena Costello,
a mile or so up the road from John Costello's pub gave us a chance to run these names and connections by them so see if there was any recognition.

We knew from our last visit that there were Costello's on the old family property-Tom Costello's family.  We had spoken to  his brother Fr. Pat, the Parish Priest in Tuam.
But they could not recall any Australia connection, and we did not recognize their forbears.
Now we might have more to go on.

Tom and Lena told us that they were cousins to the other Costello's we had met in1999.

Michael's father was Denis Costello. Denis was indeed married to a Bridget Mannion.  Their son Michael stayed on the land, but five sisters and two brothers, Thomas and James all went to America.

Eureka!

This is our family. Denis is the brother to Bridget and Martin and James and Michael Costello who settle in Queensland. He has to be the Denis
of the letter.

The other side of the family, they told us, ie Tom and Fr. Pat's side, go back to their father who was John Costello- a brother (or cousin?) of Michael's-and he married a Mary Costello from Killascobe.

John's father was Thomas Costello who married a Mary Carey. 

Eureka! 

Thomas is brother to Bridget and Martin and James and Michael Costello-he must be the "Tom" of the letter.

Dividing the Land

We learn from Tom and Lena that Tom has a brother who still lives on part of the old Costello land. His name is James. I meet him later on and he tells the story of his father John remembering his father Denis' stories of how his family left for Australia. Only two brothers and one sister remained. The father, Thomas, divided the land up between them, so Denis got one portion at Ballinamona and Thomas got the other.

We now know so much more about how the letter connects our Costello's in Australia and the remnant in Ireland. Tom and Lena explain that most of the next generation moved to the USA and settled in Philadelphia. They even gave us names of connections there which one day we must chase up.

The Original 1844 family-Can we reconstruct it?

The marriage of Thomas Costello to Bridget Flemming in 1844 brought forth eight offspring that we know of. Three  (and I am guessing that they are the eldest) remained in Galway, and the younger five ( or is it six?) migrated to Australia. We have a record of four of them arriving and three of them staying.

In summary, our Galway Costello's born to Thomas and Bridget (died 1873?) were

More Unanswered Questions

Will John Costello please reveal or revise himself?

What is intriguing is that there is no mention of a John Costello. What about the story of a John coming to Australia and returning? Or jumping ship to dig for gold in West Australia and then coming back to Galway with his treasures?

If he is on the scene at home, why doesn't T. Kenny tell Bridget news of John's family in his letter? If he exists, why did he disappear from family memory?

Have we imported the John story from another Costello tradition-like Mary and Tom's story at the Pub? Or is there an earlier Costello arrival in the colony than Michael in 1880? There is a confusing family story about uncle and nephew being in Queensland-Was Michael or John from an earlier generation?

At the State Library of Queensland, Brisbane, there are a few John Costello's arriving in the colony but none we recognize. Still worth a check- microfiche 1mm 123 p.247 and 1mm 122 p.75.

The Trouble with Mary

And what about Mary? We have found the migration records of Michael-1880-and Martin, Bridget and James-1887. But we know that Mary is Bridget's sister and she marries into the Heffernan family also. T. Kenny sends on his regards to "your sister, Mary." But when does she come out to Queensland? Stay tuned.   At the State Library of Queensland, microfiche worth a check to see if the Mary Costello is ours: 1mm 119 p.246, p.253.

"How did you like the play Mrs. Lincoln?" OR "Our American Cousins"

Lastly, Tom and Lena talked about relatives in the USA, living in Philadelphia. There was also a Patricia Manion in Ohio and a Mary Foster in North Carolina.  It appears that the Galway family have kept up some connections with their USA relatives. But the earlier migration was to Australia.

Though the famine raged in the 1840's. there were serious crop failures for the next 50 years. In Galway 1879 was a major disaster and the next year, Michael began the Australian exodus.

More USA Leads in NY-Murder and Mayhem

Re: COSTELLO of Tuam, Galway>VA>KY
Posted by: Sheila Governale
Date: May 18, 1999 at 10:33:23
In Reply to: Re: COSTELLO of Tuam, Galway>VA>KY by John J. Evans (Sydney, AUS)
of 1297

Hello fellow Costello diggers!
I am also researching a Bridget Costello...my Great Grandmother. My Bridget was born 1885 in Co. Galway (that's all I know so far) Her parents were Thomas and Mary (Carey) Costello. Bridget left Ireland at the age of 16 or 17. She later married Francis J.
Burke in Philadelphia and moved to New York City and had three children: Francis J., Mary Jane, Thomas Vincent...Could there be a connection? Could it be that my Bridget was named for a Grandmother or Great Grandmother? If you have any
info. please feel free to write! 

Hello!
I am also researching Costello in Co. Galway. My Great Grandmother was Bridget "Delia" Costello b. 1/6/1885 to Thomas and Mary (Carey) Costello. Family rumor has it that she was one of 19! She left Ireland alone at age 16/17 arriving in Philadelphia,
where she married Francis J. Burke and moved to New York City. Together they had three children and owned a pub. Francis was murdered in the pub approx. 1919 (possibly IRA related). Would love ANY information you may have!

Hi Brian,
I called my cousin Fr. Patrick Costello in Kilconly Tuam, Ireland a couple weeks ago to ask where my Gr-Grandmother Bridget Costello was from...Patrick (Aged 70+) informed me that Bridget was the eldest of about 12 kids. Her parents were Thomas and Mary (Carey) Costello, and they lived in Garbally, Menlough!!! I have also spoken to Paul Costello and I hope you have seen his website...it's great! I can't help but think that there must be a connection. Garbally is a "blink or miss it" kind of place.
Some of the names you list as siblings are right on the money, as a matter of fact I believe Denis died only last year. Please drop me a line, I definitely think there's a connection.

My Gr-Grandfather, Francis Burke was born in Turloughmore, Co. Galway in 1872...little else about his family in Ireland is known. He arrived in Philadelphia approx. 1898. He met and married Delia Costello from Garbally, Co. Galway and had three children:
Mary Jane, Francis J., and Thomas "Vincent". He moved with his family to NYC and lived at 200 W 21st St. He owned a saloon! One day a man walked in and shot him dead...family rumors have it that he was either killed for his IRA involvement or was killed
by a WWI soldier. Anyone from this Burke family out there? From what I understand Turloughmore was a very very small place that had a high rate of emigration. Feel free to contact me!

Hey Sheila-I think we are related!

The story continues.....Stay tuned.

The ruins of the monastery of Saint Kerril
hence the beautiful name Cloonkeenkerril