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AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST:
The Driscoll-Sullivan Family
The Irish portion of the family includes the Sullivans (O'Sullivan) and Connors of Bantry and the Driscolls (O'Driscoll), all from County Cork who emmigrated in the late 1880s, settling in Bayonne, NJ. Our Sullivan ancestors were Eugene and Mary whose maiden name was O’Driscoll.
The Sullivans of Reenadisert and Ballylickey in Bantry, County Cork
Our Sullivan ancestors were Eugene Sullivan and his third son, also Eugene. (Eugene i has an estimated birth c. 1840, but no record has been located. Eugene (i) was supposedly born at or near Pierson's Bridge , a crossing on the River Ouvane between Arnacloughy and Kealkill, but it is a family story only. The paper trail of our family begins in Bantry in 1862 with Eugene (i)'s marriage to Nora (Hanora) Connor. He listed his townland as Reendisert; hers was Ballylickey. Today, both are part of greater Bantrytown, but were rural villages at that time. Eugene (i) listed his occupation as "laborer", The couple has children in warious townlands along the Bay between 1863-1881, including Reenadisert, Ballylickey, Barnagearagh, and Dromkeal.
It is difficult to construct any account of Eugene's (i) life before his marriage to Nora. Since he was a laborer, most likely he worked in the fishery at Reenadisert which was located there by 1858. The fishery was operated as a family business into the mid-20th century, owned by the descendants of Samuel (Hurrig) Sullivan and his wife, Ellen Warner Sullivan, daughter of the Warner landlord listed in Griffiths Valuation of Bantry (1852). Although EUgene and Samuel's son William (b. 1845) were contemporaries, this Hurig Sullivan branch is unrelated to our line as best can be determined.
Since Eugene (i) was unmarried and was under age at the time of Griffiths, he was likely living in the household of his own father, perhaps at Reendisert, Ballylickey or Arnacloughy. There are several possible Sullivan households in these townlands. Once Eugene (i) married Nora, there is a clear paper trail. Their first son, Danile was born in 1863. Eugene (ii) was their thrid son, named for his father following what was a common naming tradition among many West Cork families. Eugene (ii) wasbaptized in January 1867 at St. Finbar's church in the civil parish of Kilmocomoge (Bantry). Additional children, some who may not have survived were all baptized in the same parish, with the exception of the last, Timothy, born 1881. Timothy is known only by his civil birth record.
Other Sullivan households of Reenadisert up to about 1852 were Florence and John, Cornelius and Mortimer. These Sullivans and a Daniel Sullivan of Barnagearagh may or may not be related to our line. They appear to have left Reenadisert, possibly for American between 1848-1858.
Eugene i might be related to and have grown up in any one of these Sullivan households.
EARLIER SULLIVANS.
Earlier ancestors of the Eugene SUllivans need further documentation, however geography and DNA testing suggest that our Sullivan ancestors were likely one of the subfamilies of O’Sullivan Beare from the penninsula in South West Cork where they originated. DNA testing places them in the SOUTH IRISH group. Thus far, our closest genetic matches are either from the general Bantry area or part of the Irish Diaspora to colonial or Rev War era or early industrializing America. As yet no matches have been found closer than an estimated 12-16 generations. This would take our Sullivan line back to Ireland of 1585-1685s. This is a key break in Sullivan clan history. When the Lordship of Bantry and Beara was split by Queen Elizabeth I, Donal/Daniel O'Sullivan, Lord of Bantry left for Spain in 1589. Subsequently, his uncle Owen O'Sullivan became Lord of Bantry and retained the property at Reenadissert and other Bantry lands. Donal/Daniel and several other closely related Sullivan Beare retianed lands on the Beara Penninsula. After the Cromwell period, all the Irish Lords lost their titles and their lands were forfeit to the English crown in the late 1600s. However, some O'Sullivans retained their property while others continued to lease from English/new Irish landholders and remained in the vicinity of Beara and Bantry. Descendants of these Sullivan septs or branches each have a distinctive "nickname", for example Hurrig, Ukirre, Eoghan (Owen or Eugene) to name just a couple. Ours is unfortunately lost to us. There was a family story passed down about an ill-fated Armada that sailed into Bantry Bay. There actually was such an Armada in 1796, so it is possible that our Sullivan branch family was in that area at that time, regardless of the branch name.
The Connors of Bantry
There also were also two Connor households listed in Reenadiset and Ballylickey in Griffiths in 1852. Nora Connor Sullivan from the townland of Ballylickeyis likely connected to one of these. Like her future husband, Nora was a young girl in her father's household when Griffiths was published,. John Connor (b 1823), listed at Ballylickey is likely Nora's fathers. John was the name Nora gave to her seoond, and also a later born son, perhaps reattempting to hame a child for her father. A marriage of John and Ellen was found in 1838, as well as a marriage of John and Ellen Shealy in 1840, both of which fit the expected time frame. Michael Connor, possibly a relative, was also leasing in Reenadisert in 1852. He may be an older brother or an uncle, since Nora and Eugene named their fourth son, Michael. Michael Connor's residence at Reenadisert also suggests how Eugene and Nora might have come in contact with one another.
THE SULLIVANS In HUDSON COUNTY, NEW JERSEY
Eugene ii, son of Eugene and Nora (He was never called Junior) was one of at least five children. He and possibly one or more of his brothers and sisters Margaret and Ellen (Nellie) left Ireland sometime between 1880-1890. Eugene's youngest brother, Timothy, born in Ireland in 1881 may also have come to America as he was listed in EUgene's Bayonne obit. Although it is possible the whole family emmigrated all at once, the evidence suggests that they came in smaller groups, possibly at different times. It is not possibly to identify the exact date. Although Eugene listed 1880 on one and 1884 on another census, it is not possible to distinguish his record from the many other Eugene Sullivans arriving in New York harbor in that or adjacent years. In any case, family lore says tells us that Eugene was working at a young age, at 14-15 years.
If so, he would have arrived in the US soon after Timothy's birth. Eugene stated on the 1910 federal census that he arrived in the US about 1880, on another 1884, which supports this idea. In any case, we pick him up in Bayonne, NJ in 1889, with his bride, Mary Driscoll.Mary (Driscoll), Eugene ii's wife, stated that she arrived in the US in 1886, but this information is not confirmed. Eugene and Mary appear to have met and married in the US (where we have not been able to discover) and settled in Bayonne by 1888, baptizing their first child in St. Mary's Star of the Sea parish in 1889. Many children followed, but only one survived to adulthood.
We are certain that the two Sullivan sisters, Nellie (married name Foley) and Margaret
also came to the USA during this period as well and settled in Hudson County. Margaret was unmarried as late as 1912, but is believed to have married subsequently.
Eugene predeceased his brother Timothy, whom we have been unable to trace. A Timothy Sullivan was found on the 1900 census in Jersey City, residing with his family which included his mother Nora,, but it does not appear to be the correct family. We would love to locate descendants of these families to share information.
The Driscoll's also originated in West Cork, but exactly where was undocumented. A cousin of the family, who came to the US later, listed her place of origin as Skibbereen. Recent evidence suggests that this family too, had origins in Bantry. Information on Mary Driscoll's New Jersey death certificate gave her father's name as Jeremiah and her mother as Margaret. This couple were married in Ireland sometime before 1860 as best can be determined. Based on Mary's 1938 obituary, there were at least five Driscoll daughters, and possilby one or more sons (Michael and/or Mathais, Joseph) most of whom left Ireland for America between 1882 and 1886.
Search of all but two parishes of Skibereen through Mallow Heritage Center did not locate any family with five daughters born to Jeremiah and Margaret in the time fram from 1860-1880. Contact with Mr. Finbar Driscoll in 2010 and again in 2012 led to what seems to be the correct family in SNAVE, a townland of Bantry in the same Civil Parish as the Sullivan and Connor families. All of the daughters were found with baptisims in approximately the expected year, except for Nellie/Ellen. The Michael who accompanied the Driscoll sisters in their emmigration does appear to be their older brother. An additional, previously unkown brother, Timothy was found. He does not appear to have come to the states and nothing else is known about him. Finbar also located a final sister who remained in Ireland, appearing on the 1901 census. He also provided a copy of Jeremiah's death certificate, signed by his brother Timothy. Finbar is himself related to this Driscoll family. He believes that our Jeremiah is his great uncle. Both Finbar's ancestor and Jeremiah were sons of a yet earlier Jeremiah Driscoll. Our Jeremiah appear to be listed on Griffiths Valuation as a 16-year-old leasing a small plot next to his father's larger holding.
Mary Driscoll became Eugene Sullivans wife by 1888. Where is not known, but Brooklyn is a p ossibility. Mary's sister Julia, was closest to her, not only in age, but also became godmother to her son Jeremiah Sullivan in 1893. Jeremiah was Eugene (ii) and Mary's only child who survived to adulthood. It was his family who became the Witczak-Sullivan family of Bayonne, shown above.
The Driscoll sisters did not all remain in Bayonne, if they ever lived there. They include:
Margaret Kashubeck (Mrs. John of Staten Island, New York), Nellie Randall (Mrs. Charles of Rye, New York), Julia Fitzpatrick (Mrs. Patrick of New York City and later, Winter Haven, Florida), and Nora Blake (Media, Pennsylvania). Little else is known about the Driscoll line.
Collateral Surnames Needing a Connection with Sullivan, Driscoll or Connor:
Cousins of Eugene (or Mary) may have lived in Brooklyn and were possibly named RICE. Another name associated with this family is COSTELLO. The names HURLEY or HEALY appear connected to the Sullivans in both Bantry and Bayonne. Again, the exact nature of the relationship still needs to be determined.
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