The above watercolour was painted by author, Margaret Doherty Forde, and is used as the cover of our book.

The trees are symbolic — the family tree and the trees that marked the Mass rocks in Ireland.  There were fewer trees in Ireland and probably too many in Ontario, but trees provided our ancestors with shelter and warmth to survive.  The back cover features the stones that are so plentiful in Ireland but also represent the many graveyards we’ve visited, both in Ireland and in Canada. The front cover represents the back hills or “mountains” of Ireland with the patchwork fields and stone fences, etc., with the bit of ocean (far right) to represent their crossing.

Margaret Doherty Forde, Kathy Doherty Lapointe and I have completed the Doherty family history — Finding Lawrence’s family . . . from Ballywilliam to Asphodel. It is a hard cover book, 475 pages in length. This has been a labour of love and we have found many new pieces of information that should be of interest to Lawrence’s descendants. We are almost sold out!

The price is $50 plus shipping charges: an extra $15 for Ontario addresses and $25 for American and Western Canada addresses.

Our Book Launch in Peterborough, Ontario:

Doherty duo team up to publish family genealogy book

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

To order one, contact Ms Forde at fordemagaret2@gmail.com or 613-646-9712.

Here is a  preview of our Doherty family book

Below is a copy of an email I sent today to many of our cousins. Please contact me if you wish to add material to our history or if you wish to order a copy of the book.
Email Jeri Lunney.