Exploring a possibility

 

1850 US Census. La Salle County, Illinois.

In the 1850 US Census, my 3rd-great-grandmother Bridget was living in La Salle County, Illinois with her infant son, Michael J. Dooner. I have looked at this entry several times, posting in March about the proximity of Salisbury Township (later named Peru) to Dimmick Township. In the record above, Bridget is living next door to a widower, Timothy Hanley, his two daughters Mary and Ann, and Timothy's brother Thomas. I had not paid much attention to them in previous viewings of this entry.

Timothy and Thomas apparently were originally from Roscommon and Longford, Ireland, very close to the neighborhood where the Dooner family was from. It is a little too early to tell if or how these two may have been connected to Bridget, but I'm exploring the DNA results to see if there is a connection.

Timothy had a large family of six daughters and one son. His children had extensive families of their own, so there should be a number of potential connections to compare with the DNA results on my Dad's side of the tree, using the methods I've followed recently from Rootstech.

If Bridget is related to these Hanleys, we'll have some very cool stories to share on the blog very soon. Before coming to America, Timothy served in the British Army and was sent to the East Indies. He was discharged in 1838 and started a family, resulting in daughters Mary and Ann being born in Ireland, before he and the family immigrated to the United States. More to follow soon if there is a real connection, or if Bridget just happened to be living next door to two brothers from the same region where she was born.