Every once in while, Ancestry sends an email proclaiming Possible Record Matches. Most often, it shows records that are already added, but recently, one such email included a photo of Mary McAtamney, titled Granny Sheridan.
Clicking on the link, we learned that the picture was of Mary Sheridan (née McAtamney) on the occasion of her 100th birthday at Struan Lodge, Dunoon, Argyll.
The linked tree said Mary was born in Glasgow on the 4th of December, 1882, and died in Dundoon on the 26th of March, 1983. It had no details of her marriage to Denis Sheridan. Unfortunately, the poster of the photograph has not logged in to Ancestry for over ten years and we were unable to make contact.
Clicking on the link, we learned that the picture was of Mary Sheridan (née McAtamney) on the occasion of her 100th birthday at Struan Lodge, Dunoon, Argyll.
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| Granny Sheridan |
The linked tree said Mary was born in Glasgow on the 4th of December, 1882, and died in Dundoon on the 26th of March, 1983. It had no details of her marriage to Denis Sheridan. Unfortunately, the poster of the photograph has not logged in to Ancestry for over ten years and we were unable to make contact.
When I visited Lurgan in May, 2019, I found a grave at St. Patrick's in Aghacommon that is marked simply "McAtamney and Martin". This led to the 1901 marriage of Elizabeth McAtamney and Thomas Martin in Seagoe Parish.
Looking at the scan of the 1911 census return for Thomas Martin in Knockramer Townland, we noticed that his wife Elizabeth was listed as having been born in Govan, Scotland.
This led to a thorough search of the Scottish records by the intrepid Pamela N, who discovered a trove of McAtamney records in Govan. We learned that James McAtamney, a son of Eugene McAtamney and Betty Hennan, had moved to Govan and, there in late 1879, had married Susannah Lennon. They had four children: Elizabeth, Teresa, Mary, and Henry.
Henry died of Pneumonia in 1885, shortly after his 1st birthday, and a few weeks later, his mother Susannah died of Phthisis (Tuberculosis).
James remarried in 1886, and the following year, he and his new wife, Margaret (née Harkins), moved to America. The US census of 1900 shows that they lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but had a daughter enroute in Birmingham, Alabama.
Granny Sheridan's date of birth matched that of Mary McAtamney, born in Govan to James and Susannah. The problem was that Mary was listed along with her father and his new family in the 1900 census in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was 18 years old, and employed as a "Cracker Packer."
Sadly, the 1890 US census was lost in a fire, and the remaining fragments offer no clue as to the whereabouts of Elizabeth and Teresa. It's possible that they accompanied their father to America, as Mary did, or that they went to live with relatives in Scotland or Ireland.
Sadly, the 1890 US census was lost in a fire, and the remaining fragments offer no clue as to the whereabouts of Elizabeth and Teresa. It's possible that they accompanied their father to America, as Mary did, or that they went to live with relatives in Scotland or Ireland.
We know that Elizabeth married Thomas Martin at St. Patrick's Aghacommon in 1901, and we found a record of Teresa McAtamney (an uncommon name) having married Duncan John McCallum at the Pro-cathedral, Oban, Argyll, in 1914.
There's no record of Mary McAtamney having married Denis Sheridan in America, or in Scotland for that matter. It began to seem unlikely that Granny Sheridan was related. Yet the date of birth was an exact match, and there was only one Mary McAtamney born in Scotland around that time.
Not to be deterred, we decided to add Denis Sheridan to the tree and try to investigate further. We immediately got a warning that he was possibly a duplicate person. It turned out we'd already added him from the trove of "unknown" McAtamney marriages in Lurgan that were gathered from the newly available civil records at the irishgenealogy.ie web site.
There's no record of Mary McAtamney having married Denis Sheridan in America, or in Scotland for that matter. It began to seem unlikely that Granny Sheridan was related. Yet the date of birth was an exact match, and there was only one Mary McAtamney born in Scotland around that time.
Not to be deterred, we decided to add Denis Sheridan to the tree and try to investigate further. We immediately got a warning that he was possibly a duplicate person. It turned out we'd already added him from the trove of "unknown" McAtamney marriages in Lurgan that were gathered from the newly available civil records at the irishgenealogy.ie web site.
Denis Sherian and Mary McAtamney married on the 16th of July, 1906, at St. Patrick's Church Aghacommon.
Her father was James McAtamney. Of course, with Mary having last been seen in Pittsburgh, we had not made the connection, although we might have had we looked closer and noticed that one of the witnesses was Teresa McAtamney!
Denis occupation was Riveter, and his residence was Aghacommon. His father was James Sheridan. We were unable to locate a record of his birth in Ireland, and instead found him in Glasgow. One wonders what a Scottish riveter was doing in Aghacommon in 1906.
Her father was James McAtamney. Of course, with Mary having last been seen in Pittsburgh, we had not made the connection, although we might have had we looked closer and noticed that one of the witnesses was Teresa McAtamney!
Denis occupation was Riveter, and his residence was Aghacommon. His father was James Sheridan. We were unable to locate a record of his birth in Ireland, and instead found him in Glasgow. One wonders what a Scottish riveter was doing in Aghacommon in 1906.
It seems that Mary gave up her career as a Cracker Packer in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and returned to Lurgan, or perhaps Glasgow.
Following their marriage in Lurgan, Mary and Denis moved to Barrow-in-Furness, England, where Denis Jr. was born, from there to Glasgow, where three more children were born, and finally to Dunoon, Argyll, where they had two more children.
It also seems safe to conclude that it was Mary's sister Teresa who married Duncan McCallum, and lived out her life nearby in Oban, Argyll.
It's gratifying when a single clue, in this case the photo of Granny Sheridan, unlocks a mystery and allows a whole story to unravel.
Following their marriage in Lurgan, Mary and Denis moved to Barrow-in-Furness, England, where Denis Jr. was born, from there to Glasgow, where three more children were born, and finally to Dunoon, Argyll, where they had two more children.
It also seems safe to conclude that it was Mary's sister Teresa who married Duncan McCallum, and lived out her life nearby in Oban, Argyll.
It's gratifying when a single clue, in this case the photo of Granny Sheridan, unlocks a mystery and allows a whole story to unravel.
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