John Ronan b 1827

Hi Laurie,

Alicia Ronan was John Ronan and Bridget Bowen’s daughter. She married Michael Scollins and has Bridget Agnes who is my great grandma. She was a seamstress and married Michael Carey. They had Mary (my grandma) and Julianne (they’re identical twins) and Paul Carey. All of the kids were danced professionally in New York City in the 1940s. Today, Mary is 97 years old and had 7 children, 14 grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren, and 5 great great children. Julie passed away in 2016 but had 5 children, 4 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren. Paul is 94 and never married.

I’m interested hearing about your search for John Ronan as it seems we are distant cousins :) . Also, who are your descendants? I’d like to hear more.

Hi Tricia:
I descend from Alicia's brother, John C. Ronan, who would have been my 3x great grandfather.  John had a large family and from what I can tell was the only son of John & Bridget Bowen.  John C.'s family was:  Mary, Catherine, William Francis, Patrick, John, Paul, Margaret, Agnes, and Bertha.  William Francis married Elizabeth McCann (who descends from a large family which immigrated from Scotland) and had the following children:  William Lawrence (my grandfather), Joseph, Charles, Elizabeth, Lois, & Robert.  Sadly, they have all passed on.  My father is William Lawrence II.

I have been searching for years to find more about John's life in Ireland before he came to America, but to no avail.  I've posted on many platforms; my father's DNA test results are on Ancestry and GEDmatch; I've joined Facebook groups, but no one can seem to help.  I've seen some trees that list Gilbert Ronan and Bridget Hanley as the parents, but with no proof.  I've found records on RootsIreland, but can't confirm if they are him because I only have year of birth and no parents names.  It's all very frustrating :)  Have you been able to find any information on Alicia's parents?

Perhaps someone will read our posts and be able to point us in the right direction!  Fingers crossed.
Laurie

Hello again, Laurie and Tricia!

Thank you both for adding so much information to this thread, it certainly reads like you may well be related.

For the record of John from Roots Ireland, did it have the county of this birth record? Maybe this could help find the church records for his parents or other siblings in the area? Was he the eldest child of John & Bridget?

Martin

Hi Martin:
I'm going to add more information in hopes that something might stand out that could help us find more information.

Unfortunately, I don't know his county of birth.  The only thing I am pretty positive of is his birth year of 1827, and he was definitely Roman Catholic.  My dad's Ethnicity Estimates on Ancestry suggest South Down & North Louth. 

I found the following Catholic Registers on Ancestry, but can't confirm.
Name:  John Ronane  Birth:  1827  Baptism:  20 Dec 1827, Cork, Ireland  Parents:  Tim Ronan & Jane Regan
Name:  John Ronane  Birth:  1827  Baptism:  4 Mar 1827, Kilkenny, Ireland  Parents:  Michael Ronan & Catherine Burk
*Name:  John Ronan  Birth:  1827  Baptism:  29 Apr 1827, Westmeath, Ireland  Parents:  John Ronan & Catherine Seally
I found this one as well, listing Gilbert Ronan as his father on some other trees.  But if 1827 is most likely his birth year, I highly doubt this is correct.  Name:  John Roonane  Birth:  1829  Baptism:  28 May 1829, Galway, Ireland

I know he was educated because he could read and write; in America he held several township offices; and he was the enumerator of the 1880 census for his township.  A county biography for Alicia's son states the following: Her father, John Ronan, was a miner and a man of considerable prominence at Dudley, where he served on the School Board, and as its secretary, for thirty years.  This confirms the newspaper articles I found stating the offices he held.

I don't know when he arrived in America.  There are so many ship manifests for John Ronan, it's hard to narrow the correct one down. 

He married in America 24 November 1857.  The witnesses were Felix Toole (O'Toole) and Julia Maher.

One last bit. . . There was a family of Ronan's living in a near by town (Altoona, PA) who may or may not have been a brother or cousin.  I haven't found the connection, but to have two families living within close proximity of each other with an uncommon name (for the area), I tend to suspect there may be a connection.  The first family was Patrick Joseph Ronan b. about 1841 in May County who married Bridget Henehan also from County Mayo.  Their children:  William, Marin, Mary, Ellen, Patrick.  William was the immigrant many of his children have the same names as my family's names.  The other family was Martin Ronan (Ronayne) b. 22 June 1822 County Mayo who married Bridget Mullen born 1829 same county.  This family arrived in 1851.  Children:  William, Ann, Michael, Mary, Bridget.

Hi Laurie,

You certainly have found a heap of information!

With his marriage in 1857 in America, this would make him 30 years old, is this confirmed on the marriage certificate?

Hopefully, with all of this detail here, our members may be able to suggest something.

Keep us posted!

Martin