Limerick in Clare

Family tradition has been that James Madden was from Clare.  However, James' emigration and naturalization documents state he was from Limerick.  I always figured he must have been from the area near the Shannon River, but could not reconcile the difference in counties and no Irish records helped me out.

Well....I regret to say, I did not spend enough time with a map, for part of the city of Limerick lies in County Clare.  The documents in the US do not say County Limerick, just Limerick so perhaps a city not a county!!!!

Gortatogher - Griffiths

In fact in Griffith's valuations there is a James Madden in Gortatogher, which is in Parteen RC Parish and St. Patrick's Civil Parish.  Both cover areas on both sides of the Shannon, thus are in both Limerick and Clare.  Might this be a solution to our dilemma?

James' parents are named on his death certificate as James and Mary. This might be a mistake, however, the fact that there are James' in every generation gives some support to the notion that it might be correct.  Other names to look for would be Thomas and John.  There is also the possibility of William, remembering the Willie listed on James and Anna's tombstone.  Willie can also be a female (Wilhelmina), so far the only source is on the tombstone.

It is unfortunate that the Catholic marriage registers for Parteen, which begin in 1814 have a gap for the years 1836 to 1847.  It seems probable that James and Anna married during that time period.  This could well explain the inability to find a marriage record for them.

Again!!!

I guess the fact we've been telling Maura that she is a fantastic artist is now without question.  For the 3rd year she has been awarded Best of Show by Watercolor Artists of Sacramento Horizons, WASH, this time in their member only show.

Earlier this year her picture, Family Vacation, was included in the juried 47th National Exhibition of the California Watercolor Association. 

Check out her latest paintings and painting news on her blog

maura madden donovan watercolors