EARLS FAMILY CHRONICLES

© Christopher Earls Brennen

Appendix 2D. EARLS OF CLARE AND GALWAY

Apart from the Earls of Fermanagh, the Tithe Applotment Index for the period 1824-60 and the Griffith Survey of 1850-56 list Earls families living in other parts of Ireland as follows:

  1. Kilconnell, Killallaghton, Killmerdaly and Ballymacward near Aughrim, County Galway.
  2. Moyrus near Clifden, County Galway.
  3. Urne(?) near Belturbet, County Cavan.
  4. Enniskeen near Kingscouet, County Cavan.
  5. Rossinver, County Leitrim.
  6. Kileely and Limerick City, County Limerick.
  7. Lackan near Lackan Bay, County Mayo.
  8. Monaghan, County Monaghan.
  9. Clonfinlough near Strokestown, County Roscommon.
  10. Templeboy near Dromore West and Sligo, County Sligo.
  11. Kilshanny and Kilfarboy near Miltown Malbay, County Clare.
  12. Inagh, Kilnady near Ennis, County Clare.
  13. Finogh near Newmarket-on-Fergus, County Clare.
  14. Clonlea, Killnaghty and Kilfentinan near Sixmilebridge, County Clare.
  15. Kiltonanlea near Limerick, County Clare.
A master list of baptisms recorded in parish registers yielded the following list of Earls families in County Clare:

In the following we reconstruct some of the Earls families from Clare, Galway and Limerick.

Alan R. Earls (alan.earls@comcast.net) of Franklin, Massachussetts, USA, sent me the following family history in 2001:

  1. Martin Earls was born about 1792 and became a farmer in the townland of Cloghoolia, in the parish of Clonlea (or Kilkishen), once also part of the Parish of O'Callaghan's Mills. Cloghoolia is about four miles south of the village of Kilkishen and about three miles northeast of the village of Sixmilebridge in County Clare. Oatfield is a townland adjacent to Cloghoolia and this family remembers Oatfield as their origin. He married Margaret Ryan. The Griffith Valuation of 1855, records that Martin and a John Earls (perhaps his brother) leased houses (each worth 10 shillings), a shed and 26 acres of land in Cloghoolia from George Studdert. In addition Martin leased a house worth 6 shillings to Catherine Earls. Martin Earls died on Apr.20, 1867, at the age of 75. His son, Martin, registered his death. Margaret died on Feb.11, 1881, at the age of 80. Son Michael registered her death. The parish baptism records do not begin until 1836 and thereafter record the following children of Martin and Margaret Earls:
    1. Bridget Earls was married on Feb.27, 1870, in the Roman Catholic Church in O'Callaghan's Mills to Jeremiah Elligott, a full-aged farmer of Ballycar. The witnesses were Michael Neill and Nora Ryan. Jeremiah and Bridget lived in Ballycar, about two miles south of Clogholia. The 1901 Census, lists them as living at Ballycar North. Jeremiah Elligott (who could read and write) is listed as 60 years old, the head of the family, and his wife, also 60, with their children, Margaret, Michael and Mary. According to the baptismal records their children were:
      1. Mary Elligott was baptized in the Parish of O'Callaghan's Mills on Apr.4, 1871, her sponsors being Patrick Earls and Mary Quin.
      2. Michael Elligott was baptized in the Parish of O'Callaghan's Mills on Aug.11, 1872, his sponsors being Patrick Earls and Catherine Earls.
      3. Mary Elligott was baptized in the Parish of O'Callaghan's Mills on Jul.4, 1874, her sponsors being Patrick Earls and Bridget O'Neill.
      4. ? Elligott was baptized in the Parish of O'Callaghan's Mills on Jan.12, 1877, the sponsors being John Donnellan and Catherine O'Neill.
    2. Michael Earls, a full aged farmer of Cloghoolia, was married on Feb.11, 1872, in the Roman Catholic Church in O'Callaghan's Mills to Mary O'Malley, the daughter of farmer Roger O'Malley. Mary was born about 1842. The witnesses were Michael Maloney and Catherine Curtin. After their marriage, Michael and Mary lived on the Earls farm at Cloghoolia. Michael died before the 1901 Census for in that census, Mary Earls, 59, is recorded as a farmer and widow living with her four children and a grand-daughter. Her house is described as having stone walls, a thatched roof, 3 windows to the front and three rooms. The children:
      1. Bridget Earls was baptized in the Parish of O'Callaghan's Mills on Jan.19, 1873, her sponsors being Thomas O'Malley and M. McInerney. On Feb.21, 1897, she was married in the O'Callaghan Mills Roman Catholic Church to James O'Brien, of full age and from Cloghoolia. His father was Martin O'Brien, a farmer, and the witnesses were Martin Earls and Mary McMahon. James and Bridget lived at Cloghoolia and had at least three children:
        1. Mary Anne O'Brien was baptized on Dec.18, 1897. She is listed in the 1901 Census as a 3-year-old living with her grandmother in House 15, Cloghoolia, Castlecrine, County Clare.
        2. Bridget O'Brien was baptized on Dec.22, 1898.
        3. Martin O'Brien was baptized on Jan.11, 1900.
      2. Martin Earls was baptized in the Parish of O'Callaghan's Mills on Dec.11, 1876, his sponsors being Patrick Earls and Bridget Flannery. In the 1901 Census he is listed as a 23-year-old farmer's son living with his mother in House 15, Cloghoolia, Castlecrine, County Clare. He never married. Martin was an accomplished runner and, in his prime (sometime prior to 1910), was the All Ireland Champion in the mile with a time of 4:21.
      3. Michael Earls was baptized in the Parish of O'Callaghan's Mills on Aug.15, 1878, his sponsors being Michael Flannery and Anne O'Malley. In the 1901 Census he is listed as a 21-year-old farmer's son living with his mother in House 15, Cloghoolia, Castlecrine, County Clare. He never married.
      4. Thomas Earls was baptized in the Parish of O'Callaghan's Mills on Jun.4, 1880, his sponsors being Thomas and Catherine O'Malley. In the 1901 Census he is listed as a 19-year-old farmer's son living with his mother in House 15, Cloghoolia, Castlecrine, County Clare. Thomas left Ireland probably before 1910 and travelled to Boston where he met his uncle, Martin Earls, staying with him in Southbridge until he found a job. Soon he went to work in Hamilton Woolen Mills as a nightwatchman. When the mill closed in the 1960s he continued to work at various factories in Southbridge until well into his 70s. Thomas met Bridget Coughlin (originally Kahalane?) through a mutual friend who lived in South Boston and while Bridget was working as a nanny for the Litchfields, owners of the Litchfield Shuttle Company (situated where the Westville Dam now stands). They were married prior to 1919 and, in 1926, bought a home at 28-30 Collier Street. They had two children:
        1. ? Earls was born in 1919 and married Lottie ?. They had at least one child:
          1. Stephen Earls
        2. Maryann Earls was born in 1921.
      5. Mary Anne Earls was baptized in the Parish of O'Callaghan's Mills on May 7, 1886, her sponsors being John Flannery and Mary McMahon. In the 1901 Census she is listed as a 14-year-old farmer's daughter living with her mother in House 15, Cloghoolia, Castlecrine, County Clare. She is listed as aged 14 and living with her mother in the 1901 Census. On Feb.8, 1921, she was married in the Kilkishen Roman Catholic Church to Matthew Moloney from Cloghoolia whose father was Roddy Moloney, a farmer from Cloghoolia. The witnesses were Roddy Moloney and Mary Anne O'Brien. Roddy and Mary Anne had children.
    3. Mary Earls was baptized in the Parish of O'Callaghan's Mills on Jan.21, 1838, her sponsors being Patrick Fitzgerald and Mary McMahon.
    4. Martin Earls was born in Sixmilebridge or Tullah, Count Clare, and was baptized in the Parish of O'Callaghan's Mills on Sep.21, 1845, his sponsors being Thomas McNamara and Ellen Carroll. He registered his father's death in 1867. Martin married Mary Shaughnessy and they emigrated to the USA, settling in Southbridge, a manufacturing town in south-central Massachussetts. Martin died about 1926 and is buried in Southbridge. Martin and Mary had ten children of whom we presently know only one:
      1. Michael Earls was born in Southbridge in 1875 and became a Jesuit priest as well as a writer, poet and teacher. He attended schools in Southbridge and Memramcook, New Brunswick, before entering Holy Cross College in Worcester, Mass. After graduation and brief stints at Georgetown University and the Grand Seminary in Montreal, he attended the Jesuit novitiate in Frederick, Maryland, and later taught at Boston College High School. He was then a member of the faculty at Holy Cross from 1916 until 1931 and later parish priest in Boston's North End from 1933 until 1935. He died in New York on Jan.31, 1937, and is memorialized by a stained glass window in the Dinard Library of Holy Cross College. He is featured in a Wikipedia article.
      2. ? Earls was the grandfather of Alan R. Earls.
  2. John Earls with whom Martin Earls shared the farmland at Cloghoolia was born about 1808 and was almost certainly Martin's brother. He died on Feb.10, 1875, at Cloghoolia at the age of 66. Patrick Earls registered his death.

In 1989, Mary Earls of 8 Gueudecourt, Earlwood, New South Wales, Australia provided information on a family which originated in Miltown Malbay, County Clare. The information was obtained from the church in Miltown Malbay where, incidentally, the local innkeeper is an Earls (it is believed that he was a member of the Earls family of Doolough, parish of Kilmurray-Ibrickane, which is partially outlined in another family listed here). Mary's husband is the grandson of William Earls (c.1852-1909). The family were Roman Catholic and fierce Irish republicans. Some years later in 2006 Joanne Flynn (Joanneflynn64@vodafone.ie) provide extensive additional information on Catherine Earls and that branch of the family. Still later Mary Lockey (vole313@hotmail.com) and Brid Talty (taltybrid@gmail.com) provided further research on the family. In the mid-1970s correspondence with Brian Earls of Dundrum, Dublin outlined his family heritage in County Clare.

  1. Unknown Earls had at least two children:
    1. Thomas Earls was born about 1790 in Glendine, Milltown Malbay, County Clare, Ireland. He married Margaret Barry, born about 1790 in Inagh. A Thomas Earls is listed in the 1825 Tithe Applotment Books as holding two sections of land in Glandine townland, parish of Kilfarboy. According to the parish census of 1839, Thomas and Margaret Earls had two sons:
      1. John Earls, an Irish-speaking farmer, was born in Glendine, Milltown Malbay, County Clare, Ireland in 1811 and married Mary Kinoulty or McNulty from the same area. During the famine they were evicted from their land and moved to Milltown Malbay. They are both buried in Kilfarboy (another record says he was buried at Murhane, near Inagh). They had two sons:
        1. John B. Earls was born in Milltown Malbay in 1845. An Irish-speaking farmer, he married Bridget O'Halloran from Doolough near Milltown Malbay who brought a house in Doolough. In the 1901 Census 58-year-old John Earls and his 56-year-old wife Bridget are listed as farmers living in house 16, Cloonlaheen Middle, Knocknabooley, County Clare. John and Bridget Earls had six children:
          1. Mary Earls
          2. Patrick Earls who may have lived in west Clare at Claham Mor near Kilkee or at Cahershirkin.
          3. Maurice Earls was born about 1873 and is listed in the 1901 Census as a 28-year-old farm labourer living with his parents in house 16, Cloonlaheen Middle, Knocknabooley, County Clare. Maurice was a storyteller who lived at Doolough. He married Honora O'Loughlin from Doonogan and they had six children including:
            1. Thomas Earls, the eldest, married Bridget Hanrahan (the daughter of John Hanrahan and Ellen Lenihan) born in 1860 in Drumbaun not far from Miltown Malbray. They had six children including:
              1. James Earls with whom I corresponded by e-mail.
          4. John Earls was born about 1877 and is listed in the 1901 Census as a 24-year-old farm labourer living with his parents in house 16, Cloonlaheen Middle, Knocknabooley, County Clare. John may have lived in west Clare at Claham Mor near Kilkee or at Cahershirkin.
          5. Thomas Earls was born at Doolough. He joined the Ordnance Survey in Dublin and later became an inspector with the Land Commission. Thomas believed the family originally came from County Wicklow and went west during one of the 17th century confiscations. Tom died in 1960.
            1. John Earls, the son of Thomas, was the father of Brian Earls of Dundrum, Dublin, with whom I corresponded in the mid-1970s.
          6. James Earls was born about 1881 and is listed in the 1901 Census as a 20-year-old farm labourer living with his parents in house 16, Cloonlaheen Middle, Knocknabooley, County Clare. James may have lived in west Clare at Claham Mor near Kilkee or at Cahershirkin.
        2. Charles B. Earls was born in Milltown Malbay on Feb.17, 1847.
      2. William Earls was born in Glendine, Milltown Malbay, County Clare, Ireland in 1820. About 1841 he married Mary Talty (born about 1815) from Glendine South, Milltown Malbay, the daughter of Hugh Talty and Mary (Ryan). William was a farmer in Miltown Malbay where all of their children were born. The children of William and Mary Earls:
        1. Catherine Earls was born in Glendine, Milltown Malbay, on May 19, 1842. On Feb.26, 1870, Catherine married a widower, John Kelly, St.Joseph's, Milltown Malbay. They had two children listed below. Catherine died in 1872 during the birth of her second child, Michael. Subsequently John Kelly emigrated to Australia with their two children as well as three children from his previous marriage. Along with two of his children, John attended the funeral of his brother-in-law William Earls in Redfern, New South Wales. The children of Catherine and John Kelly:
          1. Mary Kelly was born in Glendine, Milltown Malbay, on Nov.12, 1870, and emigrated to Australia with her father after her mother died. Mary married a man with the same last name of Kelly and lived in Baulkman Hill in Australia. They had a son:
            1. Joseph Kelly
          2. Michael Kelly was born in Glendine, Milltown Malbay, on Feb.11, 1872, and emigrated to Australia with his father after his mother died.
        2. Thomas Earls was born in Glendine, Milltown Malbay, on Jan.7, 1844. He went from Australia to the USA but returned to Australia about 1890. He never married and is listed as a laborer on his death certificate which also records that he had been in New South Wales for 48 years. He died in the Little Sisters of the Poor Home in Randwick, New South Wales, on Oct.27, 1938, at the age of 95 and is buried in Rookwood Cemetery.
        3. Mary Earls was born in Glendine, Milltown Malbay, on Oct.21, 1843. She married Patrick McMahon.
        4. Ann Earls was born in Glendine, Milltown Malbay, on Dec.12, 1846.
        5. John Earls was born in Glendine, Milltown Malbay, on Apr.4, 1848. He married Ann Brennan from Moughana in 1884. At the age of about 25, he emigrated to the USA, perhaps the St.Louis area.
        6. Anthony Earls was born in Glendine, Milltown Malbay, on Jun.2, 1850.
        7. Patrick William Earls was born in Glendine, Milltown Malbay, on Mar.29, 1853. He emigrated to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in 1877 in a ship named ``Windsor Castle''. Pat married Elizabeth Stella Doherty in Sydney, Australia in 1884. From a Queensland newspaper: Dateline Brisbane, Jul.28, 1891: This morning in the Brisbane gaol at Boggo Road a man named Patrick William Earls, who was undergoing a term of imprisonment as a debtor for trespass under the writ of Ca Re, committed suicide by a severance of an artery in the arm which was effected with a shoemaker's awl. The man has been confined since 23rd of April but was adjudicated insolvent on the 20th instant, and an order was granted calling upon the judgement creditor (Dr. Redmond) to show cause why the debtor should not be released. Apparently his detention had a depressing influence on his mind. His wife and four children are residing at Redfern near Sydney.. Elizabeth died on Sep.11, 1932, in Stanmore, New South Wales. The children of Patrick and Elizabeth Earls:
          1. John Earls
          2. William Earls
          3. ? Earls
          4. ? Earls

             
          Left: William and Maria Earls. Right: With their family (from left): Jack, Mary Cramer, Thomas, William and James with Kate (sitting).
          (Courtesy of David Earls)

        8. William Earls was born in 1852 in Glendine, Milltown Malbay. On Sep.20, 1888, he married Maria Kirby, born 1862, the daughter of James Gubbins Kirby and Honoria (Ryan) from Tipperary. William and Maria emigrated to Australia on a free passage, leaving from London on Oct.4, 1874, on the ship "The Gauntlet" and arriving in Maryborough, Queensland on Jan.1, 1875. Some members of his family either went with him or followed shortly thereafter. They took up residence in Sydney, at 46 Lander Street in the suburb of Redfern. William was, in his later years, employed as an overseer with the Redfern City Council. At that time they were living at 46 Lander Street, Redfern. On Easter Monday at the age of 57, William fell over the balcony of his home, a distance of 15ft, and fractured his pelvis, right wrist and right arm. He never recovered, died on Sep.25, 1909, at his home and was buried in the Catholic Cemetery, Rookwood. Maria and the family later moved to 56 Denison Road, Lewisham. Maria died on Apr.7, 1956. (A grandson of William was married to Mary Earls of 8 Gueudecourt, Earlwood, New South Wales, Australia, who provided information on this family in 1989.) William and Maria Earls had six children:
          1. Mary Therese Earls was born Jul.10, 1893. She married John Oscar Cramer (later Sir John), a Liberal federal politician and minister in the Sydney suburb of Petersham, NSW, on Jan.14, 1922. She became a teacher. John Cramer became Mayor of North Sydney in 1939, and Mary Cramer assumed the duties of Lady Mayoress. When World War II broke out, she organised a Voluntary Aid Detachment for North Sydney, and also the first group of the Women's Australian National Service in Sydney and became its first commandant. She was president of the New South Wales division of the Australian Red Cross and of the Advisory Board of the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in North Sydney. In 1949 John Cramer was elected the inaugural member for the Division of Bennelong in the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Liberal Party of Australia. He was Minister for the Army 1956-63 in Robert Menzies' government. In 1964 he was knighted and she was then known as Lady Cramer. On 12 June 1971 Lady Cramer was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in recognition of service to the public, which was said to have left an indelible mark on the lower North Shore. She had maintained her public activities for four decades although being prone to recurring illness. Sir John Cramer retired from parliament at the 1974 election. Mary Cramer died in September 1984, aged 91, and was buried at the Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium. Her husband outlived her by almost a decade, dying in 1994, aged 98. John and Mary had four children:
            1. John Cramer married Peggy Cox and they had three children, Marianne, Janie and Susan Cramer. John died on Oct.31, 1964.
            2. Erle Cramer married Helen Feneley and they had four children, Jennifer, Deborah, Erle Patrick and Catherine Cramer. Catherine Cramer died on Aug.2, 1981, at the age of 17 as the result of an accident. Jennifer Cramer married Desmond Hughes and they have three children, Thomas, Rachel and Richard Hughes. Deborah Cramer married Stephen Davies and had three children, Christopher, Mark and Matthew Davies. Deborah and Stephen were divorced. Deborah then married Rodger Davies and they had two children Felicity and Catherine Davies.
            3. Bronwyn Cramer married Kevin McCann and had three children, Darya, Keran and Matthew McCann. Darya McCann married John O'Mara and had a daughter Erin O' Mara.
            4. Leonie Cramer married Donald Gratton and had three children, Simon, Nigel and Kirby Gratton.
          2. Thomas Earls was born on Oct.18, 1890, and married Stella Higgins in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1913. They had three children listed below. Thomas died on Aug.21, 1966, and is buried in the Catholic Cemetery, Rookwood, New south Wales. Stella died on Jun.8, 1987.
            1. Stella Earls married George Campbell.
            2. John Francis Earls married Adele Gehrig and they had two children John Henry Earls and David Robert Earls. John Henry Earls married Kathy Hogan and had four children, Rachel, Gabrielle, Robert and Thomas James Earls. David Robert Earls died on Jun.14, 1973.
            3. Doreen Earls married Robert Earnest St. George and they had three children. Jennifer Ann St. George born on Nov.27, 1946, Robert Patrick St. George born on Oct.23, 1948, (Pstgeorge2001@yahoo.com) and Terrence St. George born on Jun.18, 1950. Jennifer Ann St. George married James Urquhart and they had seven children, Lee, Susan, Jo-Anne, Christopher, Kate, David and Maryann Urquhart. Terrence St. George married Yvonne Lamont and they had four children, Daniel, Rebecca, Sarah and Luke St. George.
          3. William Kirby Earls, born about 1891, became a clerk of the petty sessions in Lewisham, Sydney, New South Wales. On Apr.22, 1922, he was married in Paddington Municipality to a 21-year-old schoolteacher from Campsie, Mabel Laura Sarchfield, the daughter of Edward Sarchfield, a deceased timekeeper, and Mary Black. They were both Roman Catholic. They had two children listed below. William died on Jun.15, 1965, and Mabel on May 19, 1971.
            1. James Sarchfield Earls married Clare Benson and they had a daughter, Patricia. Clare died on Jun.20, 1980. Patricia Earls married Timothy Kelly and they had a daughter, Belinda Kelly.
            2. Marie Earls married George Bell and they had two sons, Adam and Quentin Bell.
          4. Catherine Philomena Earls was born on Aug.8, 1898, died unmarried in on Sep.3, 1982.
          5. James Kirby Earls was born on May 1, 1896, and married Veronica Mary Murphy (born Jun.19, 1899) on Jun.14, 1928, in Petersham, NSW. They had four children listed below. James died on May 16, 1976, and Veronica on Jun.17, 1975.
            1. Veronica Mary Earls was born on Oct.17, 1929, and became a nun.
            2. William Kirby Earls was born on Apr.2, 1931, and never married.
            3. Thomas Francis Earls was born on Sep.18, 1934, and became a priest.
            4. Maurice Kirby Earls married Mary Schneider and they had four children:
              1. David Kirby Earls (email earlsie@bigpond.net.au) was born on Jun.26, 1963, and became a high school teacher in Kiama on the south coast of New South Wales. He married Suzanne Lewin.
              2. John Maurice Earls was born on Jul.13, 1965, and married Wendy Asprey.
              3. Peter Justin Kirby Earls married Caroline Went.
              4. Christina Earls married Nicolas ?
            5. Joseph Earls died young in 1933.
          6. John Earls was born in 1900 and died as a child on Jan.28, 1910. He is buried in Necropolis Rookwood Catholic Cemetery, Rookwood, New South Wales.
    2. Catherine Earls was born about 1795 and married Ned Stack, born about the same year. They had nine children:
      1. Jamus Stack was born about 1823 in Glendine South, Milltown Malbay, Co. Clare.
      2. Patrick Stack was born about 1825 in Glendine South, Milltown Malbay, Co. Clare.
      3. John Stack was born about 1827 in Glendine South, Milltown Malbay, Co. Clare.
      4. Thomas Stack was born about 1829 in Glendine South, Milltown Malbay, Co. Clare.
      5. Michael Stack was born about 1831 in Glendine, Milltown Malbay, Co. Clare.
      6. William Stack was born on Aug.15, 1833, in Glendine, Milltown Malbay, Co. Clare.
      7. Edmund Stack was born on Mar.3, 1838, in Glendine, Milltown Malbay, Co. Clare.
      8. Joseph Stack was born on Jan.26, 1840, in Glendine, Milltown Malbay, Co. Clare.
      9. Mary Stack was born on May 12, 1845, in Glendine, Milltown Malbay, Co. Clare.

Another Earls family in Milltown Malbay, presumably connected in some as yet unknown way to the above family:

  1. Thomas Earls may have been another son of the above Thomas Earls, born about 1790. He was probably born about 1820. In the Griffith's Valuation of 1852, Thomas Earls is listed as renting a home in Derryfadda, Kiltenanlea, Limerick, County Clare from Michael Larkin. The children of Thomas Earls:
    1. Catherine Earls was born about 1840. On Oct.7, 1868, Catherine was married in St.Munchins, County Limerick, to Thomas McGuane (from Milltown Malbay, born about 1835) whom she met in Limerick when he was serving in the army there. They returned to live in Milltown Malbay after he retired from the army. They lived on Chapel Road (now Church Street) in Miltown Malbay and had nine children of whom only 4 survived childhood and 2 died as young adults so that only 2 grew to marry and have children. The 1901 Census lists Thomas and Catherine as living on Chapel Road with their 12-year-old daughter Catherine. Thomas died in Miltown Malbay on Mar.28, 1905, at the age of 70 and Catherine died at the age of 60 on Dec.12, 1909, in the townland of Clonbony. The children of Thomas and Catherine:
      1. Bridget McGuane was baptized on Jul.22, 1869, and died in Miltown Malbay at the age 5 months.
      2. John McGuane was baptized on May 14, 1871, and died on Jul.21, 1898, in the townland of Clonbony at the age of 26.
      3. Catherine McGuane was baptized on Mar.18, 1876, and died on Dec.16, 1876, in the townland of Clonbony at the age of 9 months.
      4. Ellen McGuane was baptized on Nov.14, 1877, and died on Feb.27, 1879, in the townland of Clonbony at the age of 15 months.
      5. Martin McGuane, a twin, was baptized on Nov.28, 1879. On Oct.16, 1909, in Miltown Malbay, Martin was married to Bridget Dundon, the daughter of Michael Dundon of Clonbony. Martin and Bridget McGuane had 5 children:
        1. Mary McGuane was born to Bridget Dundon on May 18, 1906 (no father is listed).
        2. Patrick Joseph McGuane was born to Bridget Dundon in the Ennistymon Workhouse on Feb.24, 1909 (no father is listed). Patrick emigrated to America where he is known to have married and raised a family.
        3. John Thomas McGuane was born on Mar.6, 1911, and is listed in the 1911 Census as a 4-month-old infant. His daughter, Mary (McGuane) Lockey (vole313@hotmail.com) lives in Tasmania, Australia.
        4. Ellen McGuane was born on Jun.30, 1912.
        5. Bridget McGuane was born on Feb.11, 1916.
      6. Thomas McGuane, the other twin, was baptized on Nov.28, 1879, and died on Aug.9, 1880, in the townland of Clonbony at the age of 8 months.
      7. Ellen McGuane was baptized in 1882 and died on Mar.10, 1898, in the townland of Clonbony at the age of 6 months.
      8. Michael McGuane was baptized on May 28, 1883, and probably died as a child.
      9. Catherine McGuane was baptized on Nov.9, 1889. On Feb.5, 1910, in Miltown Malbay, Catherine married Michael Comyns, the son of Michael Comyns (Snr.) and Mary Callinan of Ennistymon Road, Miltown Malbay. Catherine and Michael had 13 children all of whom were born in the parish of Kilfarboy:
        1. Stephen Comyns was baptized on Dec.28, 1910.
        2. Mary Comyns was born in Clonbony in Miltown Malbay, County Clare, and was baptized on May 11, 1912. Her grandson, Michael (Mack?) contacted me from the address jt8208@gmail.com.
        3. Catherine Comyns was baptized on Feb.11, 1914.
        4. Bridget Comyns was baptized on Jan.22, 1916.
        5. Ellen Comyns was baptized on Mar.2, 1918.
        6. Margaret Comyns was baptized on May 30, 1919.
        7. Martin Comyns was baptized on Nov.16, 1921.
        8. Thomas Comyns was baptized on Jul.26, 1925.
        9. Gerard Comyns was baptized on Apr.11, 1927.
        10. Philomena Ita Comyns was baptized on Aug.2, 1928.
        11. Frances Clare Comyns was baptized on Sep.1, 1930.
        12. Patrick Comyns was baptized on May 13, 1933.
        13. Cecilia Theresa Comyns was baptized on Nov.27, 1934.
    2. Thomas Earls may be a son of Thomas Earls. This Thomas was born about 1851 in County Clare and is listed as a 50-year-old labourer living with his 40-year-old wife Hanora, a factory hand, at house 10.3, Thomondgate, Limerick City, in the 1901 Census. He is probably the Thomas Earls who on Mar.28, 1889, received a dog licence while living in Thomondgate, Limerick City (Thomondgate is in St.Munchins Parish).

From the LDS records:

  1. Thomas Earls was born about 1845(?) in Lisduff, Attymon, County Galway. He married Bridget Kelly born about 1849(?) or about 1834 and from the same village. Thomas died before 1901 but in the 1901 Census, Bridget is listed as a 67-year-old widow living in House 5, Lisduff, Cloonkeen, County Galway, with her family listed below. Thomas and Bridget Earls had children:
    1. James Earls was born about 1860 and is listed in the 1901 Census as a 40-year-old married farmer living with his mother and his 32-year-old wife, Bridget, and their sons in House 5, Lisduff, County Galway. James and Bridget had children:
      1. Thomas Earls is listed in the 1901 Census as a 3-year-old child living in Lisduff.
      2. James Earls is listed in the 1901 Census as a 2-year-old child living in Lisduff.
      3. Margaret Earls is listed in the 1901 Census as an infant living in Lisduff.
    2. Michael Joseph Earls, born Sep.2, 1871, in Lisduff. Michael died in Newton, Massachussetts on Apr.24, 1933, and is buried in the Calvary Cemetery, Waltham.

In 1972 Irene Calvert also had contact with a Mrs. Joyce in Moyrus, Carna, County Galway who said that the Earls family of that region had now dispersed, the last who lived there being Peter Earls:

  1. The line begins with a man named Earls who, according to tradition came from County Clare. His wife, Mary Earls, is listed in the 1901 Census as a 99-year-old living in house #38, Letterard, with her son, Michael, and his family. Two of her sons:
    1. Michael Earls is listed in the 1901 Census as a 63-year-old farmer living in house #38, Letterard, with his 59-year-old wife, Mary, and their children:
      1. Patrick Earls is listed in the 1901 Census as a 22-year-old unmarried farmer's son living in house #38, Letterard, with his parents.
      2. Mark Earls is listed in the 1901 Census as a 20-year-old unmarried farmer's son living in house #38, Letterard, with his parents. Mark lived in Letterard and is buried at Moyrus.
    2. Thomas Earls lived in Letterard, County Galway. He married Margaret ? who is listed as a 60-year-old widowed farmer living in house #37, Letterard, with her son, Peter. Thomas was drowned during a fishing expedition. He had a son:
      1. Peter Earls was born about 1876 in Letterard, Carna, County Galway. In the 1901 Census he is listed as a 30-year-old unmarried farmer's son living in house #37, Letterard, with his 60-year-old widowed mother Margaret Earls. Peter married Anne Clogherty, the sister of Mrs. Joyce of Moyrus, Carna, County Galway. Peter and Anne went to Providence, Rhode Island but returned to Ireland with their family. They had four children:
        1. Joseph Earls who is now in New York.
        2. Thomas Earls who is now in New York.
        3. Margaret Earls who is now in New York.
        4. Anna Marion Earls married a man named Wall and now lives at 14/21 35th St., Brooklyn, New York.

From Carol Reeve of Portland, Maine, the following additional branch of the Carna, County Galway, family of Earls:

  1. Patrick Earls, born about 1800, married Mary King. They lived in Dooyeher, County Galway, and had at least two children:
    1. Barbara Earls, born in 1830, married Martin M. Mulkern on Apr.24, 1855, in Saint Mary's Church, Dooyeher, Carna, County Galway. The witnesses were Mark Folan and Barbara's sister Catherine. In 1883, Barbara and Martin emigrated to Portland, Maine, USA, along with their children. This family are all buried in the Calvary Cemetery, South Portland, Maine. The children:
      1. Patrick Mulkern
      2. Marie Mulkern
      3. Coleman Mulkern
      4. Margaret Mulkern
      5. Catherine Mulkern
      6. Michael Mulkern
      7. Barbara Mulkern
      8. Stephen Mulkern
    2. Catherine Earls

Frank Watkins of Washington, DC, and Annapolis, Maryland, supplied the information for the following Earls family from County Galway:

  1. John Earls of Cappinagh, Woodlawn, Ireland. Woodlawn, historically known as Mota and Moote, is a village in County Galway, Ireland, between Athenry and Athlone, 10 miles from Ballinasloe and approximately 30 miles from Galway City. The name Woodlawn applies to a wide area, of which Woodlawn railway station, Post Office and the Church of Ireland parish church are the central points. Woodlawn House, about 12 miles northwest of Ballinasloe, is the former seat of the Trench family, and Baron Ashtown. John Earls married a woman named Mary. Mary came to the USA to live with her daughters Bee and Peg in the New York area. John and Mary Earls had eight children:
    1. Katie Earls was born in 1889. She lived in Belle Island, Norwalk, Conn. Katie married Carrol Watkins who came from Bridgetown, Barbados in 1914. Their children:
      1. Carrol Watkins, known as Sonny. He married Evaline and had children, Peter, Anita and Joan. Peter lives in Washington, DC and Anita and Joan lives in North Carolina.
      2. John Earls Watkins married Helen Bauer and had children, John, James, Susan, Stephen, Francis, and Timothy. James lives in New Jersey and everyone else lives in the Washington DC area. Francis Watkins is an architect in Annapolis, Maryland, and supplied this family information. Frank remembers visiting ``cousins'' of his father’s who lived in New Jersey.
    2. Bridget Earls, known as Bee, was born in 1890. Bee never married and lived in the New York area.
    3. John Earls, known as Jack, was born in 1892. Jack married Julia and lived in New York and New Jersey and had no children.
    4. Mollie Earls was born in 1894. Mollie Earls, a 19-year-old single domestic from Woodlawn, Ireland, arrived in New York on Oct.2, 1914, aboard the ``Cedric'' from Queenstown. Her father is John Earls of Cappinagh, Woodlawn, Ireland. She is headed for her sister Kate Earls, Belle Island, Norwalk, Conn.
    5. Patrick Earls was born in 1896.
    6. Thomas Earls was born in 1898.
    7. Maggie Earls, known as Peg, was born in 1900. Peg never married and lived in the New York area.
    8. William Earls was born in 1902. William is listed in the 1911 Census of Ireland as a 2 year old.
  2. William Earls of New Inn, Woodlawn, Ireland, may have been a brother of John. William had a daughter:
    1. Mary A. Earls was born about 1890. Mary A. Earls, a 24-year-old single domestic from Woodlawn, Ireland, arrived in New York on May 2, 1914, aboard the ``Baltic'' from Queenstown. Her father is William Earls of New Inn, Woodlawn, Ireland. She is headed for her aunt Bridget Moran, 165 E. 99th Street, NY.

Last updated 6/24/02.

Christopher E. Brennen