Re: MARY BEECHINOR BORN KILMEEN CO.CORK C.1830
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In reply to:
Re: MARY BEECHINOR BORN KILMEEN CO.CORK C.1830
Gloria Binions 12/30/09
Hi Gloria,
Thanks for the reply – thought I’d pass on what info I have in case there is a connection which I’m pretty sure there must be given the unusual name and the County Cork connection.
17 July 1848 landed at New York City on board the vessel Sardinia were the following (spelt Beechenar)
John 50 (b1798)
Ann 40 (b1808)
Mary 16 (b1832)
Johanna 13 (b1835)
Catherine 11 (b1837)
Robert 15 (b1833)
John 9 (b1839)
Daniel 7 (b1841)
Dennis 3 (b1845)
2 years later there are luckily 2 listings in the 1850 NYC census which gives us 2 chances to cross-check. The first is spelt Beachener and the second Beechinor. From this I discovered that the daughter Mary had married a Norman Ames - he was a ship’s engineer from upstate New York. It also looks as if Dennis and Robert have died as there is no record of them.
John 50 (b1800)
Ann 42 (b1808)
Jerome 17 (b1833)
Johanna 15 (b1835)
Catherine M. 13 (b1837)
John 11 (b1839)
Daniel 9 (b1841)
Norman Ames 23 (b1827)
Mary Ames 19 (b1831)
William Beckenor 23 (b1827)
John 52 (b1798)
Ann 40 (b1810)
Mary Ames 19 (b1831)
Norman Ames 25 (b1825)
Jerome 18 (b1832)
Johanna 15 (b1835)
Catherine M. 13 (b1837)
John 11 (b1839)
Daniel 8 (b1842)
William 21 (b1829)
I have traced the family via all City Directories, the 1860, 1870 and 1880 census discovering for example that the father John died 1857-59, there was a Robert born 1852 (don’t know to which son), Johanna married a George Good, had 3 children, was widowed and later lived with brother John. Catherine married a William Dickers about 1851 – he was a ship’s rigger from England – they had a son Joseph born 1852. The other daughter Mary (now Ames) had a son Norman 1851 (died before 1860) and a daughter Hannah Angela born 1852. The mother, remaining children and 2 sons-in-law and their families all lived together between 1851 and 1868.
The 1870 Census has Norman, Mary and Hannah Angela Ames no longer living with the Beechinor’s but living at 84 Madison Street NYC which was a boarding house run by a Catherine O’Neil (my GGGG Grandmother). Catherine and her husband James (died 1865) had originally emigrated from Fourcuil (just outside Clonakilty) in 1850 taking with them 9 children.
Living there with her was one of her sons James who married Hannah Angela Ames in 1873 – they had a son also James b 1874 who late worked on the ships between NYC and Liverpool where he married and another son James (my grandfather) was born in 1908. My own father also James (very original) was born 1938 and myself Michael and son Liam (broke the naming mould!) bring the Liverpool branch of the O’Neil’s up to date. There is a very large American branch and an existing branch in the Clonakilty area (spelt O’Neill). I have visited the Irish branch a few times and been to the old homestead at Forucuil which is sadly very dilapidated and I fear it will collapse soon – it was in use up until 1982.
Obviously being an O’Neil my research has centred on that name, however about 7 years I tracked down the probate details in NYC of one of Catherine’s daughters – she had left money to her nephew’s child (my grandfather). In it there is reference to her nephew’s wife Hannah Angela Ames and her cousin Joseph Dickers and it was these names that led me to discovering the connection between these surnames and Beechinor – their fathers’ were brothers-in-law and both had married daughters of the Beechinors who had emigrated to the USA in 1848. Recently I discovered a naturalisation document for the John Beechinor (b1839) which states that he was from Clonakilty and living at 84 Madison Street in 1878 – surely too much of a coincidence – the same address as the O’Neils, the same hometown in County Cork and John was the sister of Mary who married Norman Ames – their daughter marrying James O’Neil. It was these facts that led me to my Beechinor research which I thought was complete given that there was little else I could discover regarding the O’Neil side plus there appeared to be NO ONE else researching Beechinor.
As regarding the O’Neils in Clonakilty – I have seen the baptismal records of all of the 9 children – at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Clonakilty and all were baptised Neall. It appears they started using the O’ almost immediately upon arrival in the USA and some sources have suggested this was because there was a gaelic revival at this time – I don’t know – all’s I know is that the O’Neil spelling was adopted as early as 1856 and has remained for the American and British branches since – the original Clonakilty branch preferring the 2ll spelling.
Finally as for the name – I too think it is probably German in origin – not too many Beechinor’s when I search American census records (which has been my chief source) but loads of Bechener and variants and all of German origin. As for the Irish connection – maybe there was a trade link but I think that given the troubled past a Bechener was maybe something like a hired Hessian mercenary employed by the British army who for whatever reason stayed and like Neall to O’Neil, etc the name later became Beechinor. What do you think?
OK that’s it for now – feel free to pass on any of the Beechinor details I’ve included – I’ve a few more but really they’re more to do with what became of them prior to 1930 in the USA.
Best wishes for 2010 from Liverpool.
Michael O’Neil
More Replies:
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Re: MARY BEECHINOR BORN KILMEEN CO.CORK C.1830
Gloria Binions 1/03/10
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Re: MARY BEECHINOR BORN KILMEEN CO.CORK C.1830
Michael O'Neil 1/04/10
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Re: MARY BEECHINOR BORN KILMEEN CO.CORK C.1830
Gloria Binions 1/05/10
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Re: MARY BEECHINOR BORN KILMEEN CO.CORK C.1830
Michael O'Neil 1/05/10
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Re: MARY BEECHINOR BORN KILMEEN CO.CORK C.1830
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Re: MARY BEECHINOR BORN KILMEEN CO.CORK C.1830
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Re: MARY BEECHINOR BORN KILMEEN CO.CORK C.1830
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Re: MARY BEECHINOR BORN KILMEEN CO.CORK C.1830
Gloria Binions 1/02/10