Author Archives: Jeri

Gibson book

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I have written to some key people to get addresses for those who may wish to purchase the book on the descendants of Samuel Gibson and Ellen O’Reilly. If you wish to purchase a book or to learn more, contact me at:

jeri email

This is the message I am trying to get to folks.

The book I have been working on, (with wonderful help from fellow researchers and our incredible editor), for the descendants of Samuel Gibson and Ellen O’Reilly is 95% complete. Because of the emphasis on DNA, I am waiting until late summer to publish it. It has been a labour of love, filled with surprises.

I require pre-orders since I am self-publishing this book. It will be a hard cover book, about 415 pages in length with several colour pages. The price will be probably $50 (plus shipping if applicable) as it was for the Lunney book and the Doherty book.  I wish to send requests to members of the family and require contact information. Can you help me by providing email addresses for as many as possible?

I will send a separate email to each person with a copy of the Table of Contents and details about price, shipping, etc. 

Thank you in advance for helping me get pre-orders. Each of you has in some way contributed to this book so my thanks is two-fold. The number of books will be limited and I don’t anticipate a second printing.

 Our plan is to travel to Hastings, Ontario, in the fall to distribute as many copies of the book as possible. I am also looking for a location from which to set up a table to sell the books so if any of the “locals” have an idea, I would appreciate it.

Regards, Jeri

Gibson Genealogy Book

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We are well underway with a book on the Descendants of Samuel Gibson and Ellen O’Reilly. Please contact me if you have anything to contribute or if you wish to purchase a copy. Publication is expected for the summer of 2017.

PS If anyone knows why Ellen has been called Ellen Elizabeth, I would love to know the source.

The Gibsons

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I have been working with an amazing team to try to discover the origins of the Gibson/O’Reilly family. Thanks to some information from Bruce Murduck, a genealogist from Kingston, Ontario, we now have the marriage record of Samuel and Ellen. Refer to the Gibson page on this site.

Judge Mary Ann McGuire Harvey

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Bridget Ellen Lunney and John S. O’Keefe married in Fermanagh, Ireland, and their first two children, including daughter Rose Anne, were born there. They moved to Fitzroy Township, Ontario and settled across the road from Edward Joseph Lunney. Later they moved to Stratford, Ontario, and from there to the USA. Rose Anne married John Martin McGuire in 1857 in Stratford, Ontario. They had four children, including Mary Ann McGuire, born 27 Mar 1864. Rose Anne (Rosey) died from complications of childbirth 21 days later.
Baptism of Mary Ann McGuire

Baptism of Mary Ann McGuire

John Martin McGuire family

John Martin McGuire family

We have new information on Mary Ann McGuire (1864-1937) which supports our theory that Bridget Ellen Lunney O’Keefe is the sister of Edward and Hugh Lunney.
Mary Ann McGuire married William M. Harvey in 1883 in North Dakota and they had six children. They moved to Calgary in 1902 and William died in 1908.
Mary Ann became a juvenile court judge in 1932
1932 mary ann harvey appointed judge.gif
Mary Ann died in 1937 in Calgary. From the newspaper clippings below, we can see that she was a very active member of her community. She was considered for the senatorship.
Death of Judge Mary Ann Harvey

~Death of Judge Mary Ann Harvey

1937 Judge Mary Ann Harvey dies 2
Anne Lunney, sister of Louise Lahey, wrote a letter (shown below) which speaks of Bridget, Bernard and Ann who were left behind in Ireland when Edward and Hugh came to Canada. However, the Ann that she mentions married a Harvey and lived in Calgary. So we now are convinced that Mary Ann McGuire Harvey, known as Annie, is the Ann to whom she refers. This convinces us that Bridget Ellen Lunney was a sister of Edward and Hugh since Ann Harvey from Calgary is referred to as a close relative who visited the Lunneys in Pakenham.
4) Letter from Anne Lunney referencing Ann Harvey
Anne Lunney letter about Bernard & Anne cropped

New cousin

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This week we met Allan Patrick Doherty, my fourth cousin. His great great grandfather, James Doherty,is the brother of my great great grandfather, William Doherty. The two brothers came to Asphodel Township in Ontario in 1847 at the height of the depression.

The two families didn’t seem to keep their connections until my big discovery of a few years ago. Now we have met

(i) Bill Striclkler and Hudson Keenan from Michigan, descendants of William Doherty, and Allan Doherty, and

(ii)Frances (Doherty) Jackson, descendants of Patrick Doherty.

They descend from James and Norry Doherty, my gg grandfather’s brother.

Allan Doherty

 

Toasting the Dohertys

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Doherty duo team up to publish family genealogy book

Toasting the Dohertys

Jeri and Al Lunney go searching for her roots in Ireland and found some Guinness along the way. She has collaborated with Margaret Doherty Forde to write a Doherty family history.

By Lois Tuffin

DOURO – Two Peterborough-area natives who started separate journeys to trace their ancestral roots have reached the finish line together.

Margaret Doherty Forde and Jeri Doherty Lunney are publishing “Finding Lawrence’s family – from Ballywilliam to Asphodel” which traces two family trees that begin with the same man. When they discovered the coincidence, they teamed up to put the stories into one book.

Lawrence Doherty came to Asphodel Township, Ontario, in 1847 at the height of the famine in Ireland. He arrived as an indigent immigrant from Tipperary, Ireland, along with five other family members. The book describes Lawrence’s struggles in his new land, his successes and his failures.

“There have been many sad discoveries, but it is a tribute to their strength and survival that we are here today. We hope they would be proud,” says Ms Lunney of her ancestors. “We have searched high and low for the missing branches of the family, for land records and for stories of how our ancestors coped in their new land.”

The authors explore financial woes, addictions and illnesses.

“For my generation and future generations, the puzzle of our past is important research,” Ms Forde says. “Trying to put the pieces together, telling the stories, recording the facts as we know or find them is something I feel a need to do.“

The book profiles many families in Ontario, Alberta and Michigan — Dohertys, Heffernans, Mahoneys, O’Gradys, Condons and Delaneys, and many more – chapter by chapter. The authors also explore the history of the 1800s in Ireland and Ontario.

The book has separate chapters on arts and sports, to outline the successes of the Doherty clan.

The arts chapter features Robert Doherty (Ms Forde’s brother), a professional artist from Douro along with his two sisters, Emma and Margaret. It also features musicians and even a showgirl.

The sports chapter features NHL hockey player, George “Red” Sullivan, Tim O’Grady, who played hockey and lacrosse, and several others.

The book will be available in August 2014 but needs to be pre-ordered by July 10. It is a hard cover book with 460 pages, which sells for $50

 

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