Hanora Connor Finnigan
Hanora is my 4th great-grandmother.
 |
November 1, 1797 ~ January 6, 1899
It was in the village of Knocknagoshel, County Kerry, Ireland where Hanora (sometimes known
as Nora) was born in 1797. As of now, I haven't found the record of who her parents and possible
Presumably, they were married sometime before 1818, as that was the year their eldest son, Michael was born. Michael is my third great-grandfather and therefore, it is he who is our direct ancestor.
journey to America. She was joined with all of her named children listed in the tree above, along with Michael's wife, Catherine, and Catherine's brother, John. John was also Hanora's son-in-law, married to her daughter Hanna.
The Finnigans were farmers. There is little doubt they left their home to begin anew due the famine that ravaged across Ireland. "In the 17th and 18th centuries (County) Kerry became increasingly populated by poor tenant farmers, who came to rely on the potato as their main food source. As a result, when the potato crop failed in 1845, Kerry was very hard hit by the Great Irish Famine of 1845–49. In the wake of the famine, many thousands of poor farmers emigrated to seek a better life in America and elsewhere. Kerry was to remain a source of emigration until recent times. Another long term consequence of the famine was the Land War of the 1870s and 1880s, in which tenant farmers agitated, sometimes violently for better terms from their landlords."*1
In a few of the newspaper clippings that I found on Hanora, they imply that Hanora was poor while living in Ireland. Considering she was from a farming family, it is reasonable to assume that the famine was what led to the familial exodus.
Ellis Island in New York, famously became the gateway to a new life for many immigrants in the 19th century and the Finnigans were a part of that group. Thus, New York is where the Finnigan clan made their first home. Two of her grandchildren (from Michael and Catherine) were born in New York.
Sometime between 1853 and 1856, the entire family packed their bags and moved West for Iowa to set up a farm in Washington Township. They women braved through the Civil War, while the men were off fighting in war-torn states.
Regardless of the war, money began flowing into the family purse while they lived in Iowa. Their burgeoning prosperity enabled them to make one more move. It would be in Kansas, where the family's prosperity would increase allowing them to live quite comfortably. Her son Michael alone, had what would have been the equivalent of a million dollars in today's world during this time frame, but the entire family had their own fortunes.
So, it was in Good Intent, Kansas (which is a part of modern day Atchison) where Hanora hung her proverbial hat—or perhaps "bonnet" would be a better term in this case—and made a new home for herself and the family.
According to another article, she was up and about until a few days before her death. She died January 6, 1899. She is buried at St. Louis Cemetery in Good Intent, Atchison County, Kansas.
Supposition:
*Hanora and her children were uneducated. Because of this there are different spellings of Hanora, but Hanora seems to be the most prevalent way of spelling the name, and that spelling is the most common in Ireland.
*Finnigan also had a few different spellings. Other people were transcribing the records so they would write what they thought was best.
*In the articles written about her, it is implied that Hanora acted as matriarch to her entire brood. She seemed to have a very powerful and feisty nature. While men were the owners and head of household in this time frame, I have the impression that it was actually her that was the force behind the family's wealth and power.
*It is clear from several of the articles written about her, that she worked. However, none of the censuses showed an occupation for her. I surmise it is because her sons whom she lived with were considered head of household. Considering the Finnigans were a family of farmers, I imagine that she participated in this endeavor. Women tended to not work outside the home at this point in history.
*Hanora's maiden name was Connor, which was also the maiden name of her daughter-in-law Catherine's mother. It is possible that Catherine's mother, Ellen, was Hanora's sister, which would make Catherine and her husband Michael first cousins. I do not have confirmation of this, but it was a common practice for first cousins to marry in the 19th century.
*I looked online to see if they received their property from the Homestead Act. They did not.
The Meaning of Her Names:
Personal name meaning: Honora ~ an Irish name of Latin origin that means "woman of honor."
Surname meaning: Connor ~ Irish origin. Originally O'Connor, which is an Anglicization of the Gaelic Ó Conchúir or O'Conchobhair, meaning "descendant of Conchúir". The name Conchobhair is thought to mean "lover of hounds or wolves," while cobhair means, "aid or desiring."
*1 History of the Potato Famine excerpted from Wikipedia.
Hanora and Patrick went on to have ten more children: James, Jeremiah, John, Hanna, Timothy, Thomas and four others that I cannot find the names to. Childhood mortality was high, so it is possible these four children did not reach adulthood.
 |
| Knocknagoshel (Only 720 residents live here today). |
Around 1847, just after their youngest child, Thomas, was born, Hanora became a widow.
Somewhere between the death of Patrick and 1856, Hanora gathered her family and made the
The Finnigans were farmers. There is little doubt they left their home to begin anew due the famine that ravaged across Ireland. "In the 17th and 18th centuries (County) Kerry became increasingly populated by poor tenant farmers, who came to rely on the potato as their main food source. As a result, when the potato crop failed in 1845, Kerry was very hard hit by the Great Irish Famine of 1845–49. In the wake of the famine, many thousands of poor farmers emigrated to seek a better life in America and elsewhere. Kerry was to remain a source of emigration until recent times. Another long term consequence of the famine was the Land War of the 1870s and 1880s, in which tenant farmers agitated, sometimes violently for better terms from their landlords."*1
In a few of the newspaper clippings that I found on Hanora, they imply that Hanora was poor while living in Ireland. Considering she was from a farming family, it is reasonable to assume that the famine was what led to the familial exodus.
Ellis Island in New York, famously became the gateway to a new life for many immigrants in the 19th century and the Finnigans were a part of that group. Thus, New York is where the Finnigan clan made their first home. Two of her grandchildren (from Michael and Catherine) were born in New York.
Sometime between 1853 and 1856, the entire family packed their bags and moved West for Iowa to set up a farm in Washington Township. They women braved through the Civil War, while the men were off fighting in war-torn states.
Regardless of the war, money began flowing into the family purse while they lived in Iowa. Their burgeoning prosperity enabled them to make one more move. It would be in Kansas, where the family's prosperity would increase allowing them to live quite comfortably. Her son Michael alone, had what would have been the equivalent of a million dollars in today's world during this time frame, but the entire family had their own fortunes.
So, it was in Good Intent, Kansas (which is a part of modern day Atchison) where Hanora hung her proverbial hat—or perhaps "bonnet" would be a better term in this case—and made a new home for herself and the family.
At 100, there must have been a huge celebration in the community. There were several articles written about her 100th birthday. My personal favorite is the last line of the following article. I imagine she must have had a lot of spunk.
Only a year later, her decline became apparent.
A plethora of obituaries were published after she passed away. Below is one of them.
According to another article, she was up and about until a few days before her death. She died January 6, 1899. She is buried at St. Louis Cemetery in Good Intent, Atchison County, Kansas.
 |
| The spelling of her first name is incorrect, but this is Hanora's headstone. |
*Hanora and her children were uneducated. Because of this there are different spellings of Hanora, but Hanora seems to be the most prevalent way of spelling the name, and that spelling is the most common in Ireland.
*Finnigan also had a few different spellings. Other people were transcribing the records so they would write what they thought was best.
*In the articles written about her, it is implied that Hanora acted as matriarch to her entire brood. She seemed to have a very powerful and feisty nature. While men were the owners and head of household in this time frame, I have the impression that it was actually her that was the force behind the family's wealth and power.
*It is clear from several of the articles written about her, that she worked. However, none of the censuses showed an occupation for her. I surmise it is because her sons whom she lived with were considered head of household. Considering the Finnigans were a family of farmers, I imagine that she participated in this endeavor. Women tended to not work outside the home at this point in history.
*Hanora's maiden name was Connor, which was also the maiden name of her daughter-in-law Catherine's mother. It is possible that Catherine's mother, Ellen, was Hanora's sister, which would make Catherine and her husband Michael first cousins. I do not have confirmation of this, but it was a common practice for first cousins to marry in the 19th century.
*I looked online to see if they received their property from the Homestead Act. They did not.
The Meaning of Her Names:
Personal name meaning: Honora ~ an Irish name of Latin origin that means "woman of honor."
Surname meaning: Connor ~ Irish origin. Originally O'Connor, which is an Anglicization of the Gaelic Ó Conchúir or O'Conchobhair, meaning "descendant of Conchúir". The name Conchobhair is thought to mean "lover of hounds or wolves," while cobhair means, "aid or desiring."
*1 History of the Potato Famine excerpted from Wikipedia.
Comments
Post a Comment