Irish Roots

We Irish Americans are always searching for our roots.  In searching for my Irish paternal grandmother’s roots, I discovered some relatives I never knew existed. They led me on a journey of discovery that I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams.
My grandmother Mary Towey Dougherty died when I was very young.  I only knew of her through family stories. She was born in Ireland and spent some time in England before coming to America around 1892.

As many Irish girls at that time, Mary crossed the great ocean on her own. She landed in Philadelphia and found work as a domestic. She met Peter Dougherty from Donegal and they were married in 1894.

Peter worked as a farm laborer.  He later purchased a farm of his own in Jarrettown, PA and they raised eight children there. The oldest was my father Tom Dougherty.  Peter died in the influenza epidemic of 1918. Mary died in 1942. From their marriage records, I knew that Mary’s parents were Thomas and Winfred Towey. I knew nothing more of her family or her place of birth in Ireland..

When in doubt ask your relatives. I e-mailed my cousin Carol in Florida and asked if she had any information on our grandmother. She sent me copies of letters her mother had kept. They proved to be a goldmine.

The letters were written in the 1930s by Mary’s brother John in England.  I never knew she had a brother in England. There were four letters filled with family news and mentioning the names of their children.

The address at the top of each letter was Leeds, Lancashire, England. I wondered if any relatives were living there today.

I went on the Internet and found a current phone directory for Leeds. Six Toweys were listed. I wrote to all of them explaining who I was. I mentioned all of the names in the letters and the address in Leeds. I also gave them my e-mail address.

In less than two weeks I had an e-mail from Keith Towey.  He said that John Towey was his grandfather and all of the names I mentioned were his aunts and uncles and one was his father. We were second cousins!

Keith passed my letter around to other family members and I discovered that my grandmother had another brother named Patrick. I received e-mails and letters from his descendants in England. I even heard from one in Australia. None of them were aware that they had cousins in America.

I corresponded with several cousins in England and Val and Eddie Towey in Australia for a few years. I told them my grandmother’s story and they gave me the details of their ancestors. I learned that Mary and her brothers John and Patrick were born in Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon. As children, they were sent to live with an aunt in England when their mother died.

Knowing the name of the town was a key element. I found the Roscommon Genealogy Society on the Internet and sent for information. For a fee they sent me copies of the Towey family church and civil records. I received copies of the parents’ marriage record and the children’s baptismal records. Thomas’s parents were Anthony Towey and Mary Ruthledge.  They were my great-great grand parents.

I was thrilled with all of the information and my new found relatives, but the best was yet to come. We heard of a gathering of the Towey Clan to be held in Ballaghaderreen in August of 2007. We had to go.

My husband Gene and I went over and met six of our cousins from England and were amazed when even Val and Eddie traveled from Australia. What a time we had.

From the start, they seemed like family.  Well, they were family.

We met many other Toweys from far and wide and discovered some information about our great grandfather. Thomas Towey was a leading Land League activists on the estate of Lord Dillon..He was arrested and sent to Galway Prison in 1881. With their mother dead and their father in prison, the children were sent to live with their father’s sister Peg in England.

The Toweys were tragically separated from their homeland and Mary was separate from her brothers forever when she sailed to America.
I found great joy in knowing that the Toweys were once again united in beautiful Ballaghaderreen. I could almost feel Mary, John and Patrick looking down on their grandchildren when we came together in the land of their birth.