I thought, in honour of St. Patrick’s Day, I would post those lines of my family that hail – directly or indirectly – from Ireland.
Christopher Summerville/Somerville (1822-1901)Â & Elizabeth Humphreys/Humphries (1820-1886)
The Summervilles emigrated from around Enniskillin, Northern Ireland to Sharon, Ontario, Canada in 1846. They travelled with three of their children, one of whom died at sea. At least five more children were born in Canada. I don’t have much additional information on them pre-emigration. They are buried in the Children of Peace cemetery near the Sharon Temple in Sharon, Ontario.
Robert Hunter (1816-1888) & Hannah Dool (1823-1908)
The Hunters emigrated from Ireland to Canada around 1840. They settled in the Brampton, Ontario area. He was a weaver by trade. I believe all 14 children of their children were born in Canada. I don’t know where in Ireland they came from, and some family sources suggest they were instead Scottish (or Scots-Irish?). There’s a lot more research to be done here!
Thomas Fee (ca1816-1897) & Charlotte Williams (1825-1896)
Thomas and Charlotte married in Quebec in 1844. Thomas emigrated from somewhere in Ireland around 1837. I believe Charlotte was also of Irish descent, but I don’t have anything conclusive to prove that at this point. They had eight children. I have written more about Thomas here.
Philip St. John (1793-1874) & Ann Nancy Baker (1792-1880)
The St. John’s emigrated from Co. Limerick, Ireland in 1817. They first landed in New York but decided once there to head north instead. They settled in Brock Township, near Uxbridge, Ontario. They were farmers and had eleven children. Mind you, the St. John’s were not actually Irish but Palatine German. The family was part of the exodus of Palatines from Germany in the early 1700s. Instead of heading directly to America, however, they were settled around Rathkeale, Limerick where the family lived for about 100 years  until they emigrated to Canada.Â
So, there’s all the Irish I know about in my family tree! I look forward to fleshing out these brief annotations over the next weeks, months, years… And to seeing whether there is any other Irish I don’t yet know about.
