1810 - c. 1850-1855?
-
Name |
William Tooher |
Birth |
c. 1810 |
Killeen?, Co. Tipperary, Ireland |
Gender |
Male |
Death |
c. 1850-1855? |
Ireland, at sea, or Canada |
Notes |
William Tooher married Mary Smythe at the United Lorha-Durrow Roman Catholic Church on 18 Oct 1829. The church is now called St. Ruadhan’s and the current church was built in 1912. Lorha is three miles east of where the Shannon River enters Lough Derg. Lorha is in Co Tipperary and Birr, where William’s wife Mary Smythe was from, is in Kings County. In reality, they’re about 11 miles apart.
William and Mary Smythe Tooher’s daughter Bridget was baptized at the same church on 18 Sep 1830. On Bridget’s baptismal record it says the family lived at “Lambpark.” Lambpark was a tiny area in the sub-townland of Attyfarrell/Allyfarrell, in the civil parish of Terryglass. A professional genealogist said that’s “Bredagh” today. A son, John, was born on 22 Apr 1834.
It appears that the family moved closer to Birr, where Mary’s family was from, because William is found in Griffith’s Valuation taken sometime between 1848-1864 as living in Killeen, Parish of Loughkeen, Co. Tipperary (p. 102) on the land of the Earl of Rosse. In King’s County (Offaly), which is very nearby, 37,609 people died or emigrated between 1845-1851, a 24% decrease in population. Tipperary had three times the people, and 136,941 died or emigrated from there during the period. Killeen is a townland in the civil parish of Borrisokane, in the Barony of Ormond Lower, County Tipperary, Ireland. It is one of eight townlands in County Tipperary sharing the name Killeen.
The Toohers emigrated to Canada to escape the Potato Famine, no doubt. They must have left Ireland between 1848 (the date of Griffith’s) and 1855 (the date daughter Mary Tooher married Patrick Finn in London, Ontario). It’s unknown if William died in Ireland before they left of famine or another cause, died on the ship coming over, or later died somewhere in Ontario or en route.
From an on-line source: “The Passenger Act of 1847 granted each [eligible] emigrant ten cubic feet and a supply of food and water. Realistically captains didn't obey this act and many people starved or died of disease in cramped quarters aboard the emigrant ships. An estimated one and one-half million Irish emigrated from 1845 to 1851, upwards of 20-45% dying in the "coffin ships" on their journey or shortly after their arrival in their new home.”
In the 1861 Canadian Census, there is a William Tuer, 60; Mary Tuer, 50; Elizabeth, 25; Mary, 23; William, 21; Joseph, 18; Sarah, 12; and Margaret, 9. William the father is a farmer and everyone in the family was born in England. This family fits the Tooher profile only in the names of the parents; the children’s names are wrong as are their births in England.
|
Person ID |
I1157 |
Moore-Bek |
Last Modified |
13 June 2017 |
Family/Spouse |
Mary Maria Smythe, b. 1810, Birr?, Kings County (Offaly), Ireland d. 23/24 December 1873, Grand Rapids, MI (Age 63 years) |
Marriage |
18 October 1829 |
Lorrha, Co. Tipperary, Ireland |
Children |
| 1. Bridget Tooher, b. September 1830, Lorrha, Co. Tipperary, Ireland d. 18 February 1881, Kalamazoo, MIchigan (Age ~ 50 years) |
+ | 2. Mary P. Tooher, b. June 1832, Lorrha, Co. Tipperary, Ireland d. 12 October 1906, Grand Rapids, MI (Age ~ 74 years) |
+ | 3. John E. Tooher, b. 20 April 1834*, Lorrha, Co. Tipperary, Ireland d. 28 November 1896, Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| 4. Teresa Tooher, b. 1850 or 1851, Ireland? or Canada d. 9/19 September 1898, Kalamazoo, Michigan (Age 47 years) |
|
Family ID |
F97 |
Family Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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