A Growing Family

I thought my Irish ancestors would want their story told. Apparently not. They have been difficult from the start and the reason I was forced to leave them and research other ancestral lines. I'm not one to give up, so I'm back channeling my paternal grandmother's side, Patrick and Maggie Doyle. They had two daughters: Mary b: 1899, who we called "Nana", and Winifred b: 1903, which I found out later was "Nanny." This weekend I went the DNA route and contacted a second cousin once removed. He wrote right back and gave me his mother's email. His mother is Winifred's granddaughter. I couldn't believe my luck! Finally. I carefully composed an email to his mother not expecting a response. She did respond a couple hours later. My heartbeat quickened until I read her note. Neither she, nor her siblings, knew anything about their grandmother. In fact, they thought their grandmother, Winifred (Doyle) Farley was an only child. We went back and forth all Sunday morning as I shared information and photos of the Doyles and the two sisters, Mary and Winifred. What a wonderful feeling to share my research with new relatives who had no idea they had more family. I hope they feel the same.

James Farley was born 1901. He arrived in Portland, Maine in 1923, and then made his way to Bronx, New York where he met Winifred and they married in 1930. James was born in County Longford, Ireland, which is adjacent to Roscommon and Mayo, the area from where I believe the Doyles were from.

Winnie Doyle and James Farley

My father's side, the Nunns and Doyles, have been difficult to research, and my grandmother's sister, Winifred Doyle has been lost to me. My recent 23 and Me DNA test put me in touch with one of Winifred's descendants. Yay!!! Winnie Doyle married James Farley, and with this information I still had trouble placing them until their descendant told me they went back to Ireland for a time. I've sent my second cousin photos of Patrick and Maggie Doyle and a photo I hope has her great-grandparents, Winnie and James. It is a great photo (showned above) as it also shows my grandparents, Mary Agnes (Doyle) Nunn, Harry Nunn and Maggie Doyle. I'm waiting for confirmation that the couple on the right is Winnie and James. I have messages out to some other "cousins," though none are a very close match. And I also have more names to work on. Genealogy is never-ending, and that's what we love about it.