A New Life In Canada- John Brawley 1897-1964

My maternal grandfather, Hugh Brawley was one of twelve siblings born between 1887 and 1908 to Daniel Brawley and Ellen Keenan. Of the ten children who reached adulthood five of them left Scotland for new opportunities in Canada. My great uncle John Brawley was born on 21 June 1897 at the family home at 8 …

Some Scottish Hospitality

In 1926 my maternal grandfather's sister Sarah left Scotland for a new life in Canada. She set sail from Greenock in July 1926 on the White Star Line ship "Doric". She had married Matthew Sanford in Newmains in 1916. The couple had four children. Times were hard in Scotland after the Great War and there …

Hugh Keenan 1901-1928

As part of my lockdown routine I like to go for an early morning walk. My route often takes me through the local cemetery where this morning I spotted this headstone. The name Unity caught my eye as it’s quite unusual and I remembered having her somewhere on my family tree. Her maiden name is …

Hannah Keenan 1860-1938

Hannah Keenan was the third child of my great great grandparents Patrick Keenan and Agnes Haughey. Her sister Helen, who was always known as Ellen, was my mother’s paternal grandmother. Hannah was born on 29 September 1860 in the town of Cleland in Shotts Parish, Lanarkshire. Her father was originally from Clonallon in County Down. …

A Family History Coincidence

I grew up in Newmains, Lanarkshire as did my mother and her parents before her. I knew that I had strong family ties to the village. My husband, however is not from North Lanarkshire and prior to meeting me had only ever driven through Newmains on the way to somewhere else. Having listened to me …

A Less Than Perfect Ancestor

There are times when it is hard not to feel a bit disappointed in your ancestors. I have written about my great grandfather Patrick Cosgrove before. He died when my granny was just a baby so she never got to know him and so none of the family ever knew much about him. I've learned …