Mullen Family Tree

LET'S WORK A GENEALOGY, ROMAN CATHOLIC, IRISH NAMING, PUZZLE

Okay...how many of you know about the old Roman Catholic Irish tradition of naming the oldest son after the father's father, the second son after the father and so on? We have a huge puzzle to solve...in order to ever pin down our 'home' townland/village...and I have just had an idea that might work...follow me here. Up until this point, me thinking Patrick was the oldest, I had temporarily given our ancestor's father the name of Lawrence(?), making their grandfather Patrick, beings as Patrick's oldest living son was Lawrence Louis Mullen. Well, now I wonder if I don't have a glich in my thinking that they followed old Irish Catholic naming tradition over here...then again, maybe not and here's why...OUR ANCESTORS LEFT THE LAND OF THEIR BIRTH! (All are agreed on that.) What would they change a bit about their naming traditions, over here, when they started having children? Mmmmaybe they would name their first born sons after the brother...maybe only LIVING brother, IN Ireland, who wouldn't leave Ireland with them? Patrick already had a son, by his first wife. Now, we all got the stories handed down that this child died IN childbirth with Bridget (Cummings) Mullen, during the Civil War and Patrick buried them together on the banks of Lick Creek, Crawford Co., MO. Well, did she deliver HIM or die in the process? How did we all get the story handed down that it was a boy? Did 'it' deliver at all? Was it still born? Okay just suppose this child died a few seconds after birth, a few minutes, a few hours? The same as it could have happened for Bridget in that time period--only Patrick was in attendance. This child would have been given a name AT birth to begin with, that was just the way of things back then, IF you were Catholic. Look at the child and the proud 'Da' says this child's named for 'So and So'. And who says Bridget died IN childbirth? Did she linger for a bit, as did the babe? Did she die first and then the baby? Either way...this child would have been named! This new life had a name! Now, hang with me a bit longer...look over the family tree. What is the first name of the oldest sons of Dennis, Hannah and Lawrence? Thomas, right? (Hmmm...wonder what that first born son of Patrick's was named? You thinking what I'm thinking? I've affectionately dubbed him Thomas Patrick as I do not know who Bridget (Cummings) Mullens father was.) Was this dying baby named for the brother Thomas, in old Lawrence's stories (of his homeland), the one who wouldn't leave Ireland? (I have NO idea where his birth year is in this lineup of ancestors.) And, Lawrence is the names of the second sons of Dennis and Patrick...who are they named after? I'm still betting that is our ancestor's father's name (Patrick's son, Lawrence, had the middle name of Louis, at least we know that was Patrick's father-in-law's first name...Louis Davis--at least this naming follows the old naming tradition). Patrick, Dennis, Hannah AND Lawrence all use the name Joseph in at least one of their sons names--who was he? Another brother, maybe deceased when they came to America? A beloved uncle, cousin, great-grandfather? The name John...now, we, for the most part, have read the old Crawford Country, Missouri history book that states there was a brother who came to America, disappeared for 50 years, then contacted the family and said he had moved to Kansas and reared a family there...is this the reason they all had a son named John? Have I lost you yet? Wait, it gets worse. HA! Two named their sons William...after their brother, the notorious card cheat, William "Wild Bill" Mullen, who was killed over a card game in Keyesville, MO, June 14, 1849? Why not? They still loved him, didn't they? Oh the puzzle just gets better...they did the same thing when naming their daughters. Those old Roman Catholic Irish! I tell you!!! hahahaha We have two oldest daughters named Mary/Mollie and two second daughters. We have an oldest daughter named Ellen and called "Nell", plus a second daughter, died at 2 years old, called "Nellie" (now tell me her birth name was not Ellen) and a second daughter whose middle name was Ellen! So, what was our ancestor's mother's name? I'm leaning towards Ellen...I KNOW Dennis' mother-in-law was Mary, that could account for his oldest daughter having the name of Mary, but her middle name of Helena, where did that come from? But, his second daughter has the middle name of Ellen, so that fixed the Ellen name in his family. Told you it was a huge puzzle! Then enter Patrick and Lawrence's daughters with the middle names of Anne/Ann. A first daughter two times and a second daughter once (accounting for both of Patrick's marriages and Lawrence's oldest daughter)

Now that we are thoroughly confused...what do you all think? Could their father have been named Lawrence? Did all four of the Mullen siblings we know the most about name their first born sons for the brother who did not want to leave Ireland--Thomas? Do you agree with me that Patrick and his first with Bridget probably named that poor little tyke, who didn't make it long in this world, Thomas, too? I think they did--I like to believe Patrick named him. Too many naming coincidences not to be taken into consideration. That is just how it was back then. They didn't leave all of Ireland and their traditions behind, just because they came to America and a new and better life. Especially they did NOT leave their religion and ways of their fathers and their father's fathers behind. Give me your input and ideas on this. I'm sorry I've been out of the genealogy circle for so long. I've been at this since April of 1986 and I very much had a greatly deserved break coming to me. One of my aunts said I spent too much time with dead people and I fear she was right. If this thought hadn't struck me the other night...believe it or not...doing some research on my Irish Wolfhounds, who knows when the genealogy bug would have bitten me, once again. So, do we believe that out of our wonderful Irish sentiment, all four of our best known Mullen siblings named their oldest sons for that brother who wouldn't leave Ireland with them? Thomas? Do we then believe due to the naming of Patrick's oldest son, Lawrence Louis, that Lawrence IS their father's name? And are we looking for this Lawrence married to an Ellen or a Mary/Mollie? This has just been bugging me to no end, I tell you.

Oh, do you know that Lawrence told several of his descendants that they came from an estate in CORK? Worked it; the married siblings were given their homes to live in/rent if they stayed and tentant farmed the land? In Ireland when CORK is pronounced it sounds remarkably like GORT? Both coming out like GART!!!! I also have come up with a Briefield (from Lawrence's stories) which turns out to be a Brierfield/Briarfield (one is in Co. Galway and one is in Co. Roscommon--but the latter possibly did not have a large enough manor nor tenants that worked it named Mullen; some have pronounced this "Beefield", also), which at one time was a huge, huge manor owned by none other than the Jameson family...yes of the Jameson whiskey fame. The manor had a village attached to it (village still there) and the manor has been long gone since the middle to later parts of the 1800's. I'm still researching, trying to find info on this said manor. It has to be somewhere in the Jameson family records and hopefully some tenant records will be there as well. I have a letter off to the local parish to see what records they might hold on marriages, baptisms and deaths...we'll see what I get when I hear back from there.

So let me know if you think that this naming idea I have is just running in circles and a bit hair brained or not. HA! And I'll let you know what I find out when I hear back from this parish priest. Fingers crossed, I just might be onto something!

*****NEWS*****

WE HAVE PARENTS FOR OUR MULLENS FROM IRELAND!!!

Yes, while once again posting another MULLEN inquiry to the Ireland section of www.genforum.com I reworded the subject line asking "MULLEN--isn't anyone out there missing us? blah, blah, blah...and this wonderful woman from Chicago went to a site, looked up old Lawrence's death cert and lo and behold, there they were...they names I had presumed to attach to our ancestors parents. Lawrence and Ellen Mullen. The names were listed as:

YESSIR, WE HIT THE BUMPER CROP ON BABIES THIS YEAR IN MY FAMILY...