The Lelands of Woodfield and Derryherk, Co. Roscommon, Ireland

My great-great-grandmother was Mary Ellen Leland (b. 16 Dec 1838, County Roscommon, Ireland – d. 5 Sep 1910, Baltimore, Md. USA).  Of this, I am certain.  This birthdate was engraved on her gravestone and may have fudged by a year or two on the birth but in the 1900 census said she was born in December, 1837.  It’s close.

According to great-Uncle’s Herbert’s biography “The Inevitable Success”, his grandmother, Mary Ellen, was a native of Co. Roscommon who was sent to Mt. Savage, Maryland to live with an uncle around 1854. 

According to my mother’s research back in the 1970’s when she could speak to her mother, aunts and uncles, Mary Ellen’s father in Roscommon was Thomas Leland.  Unfortunately, that was based on memory only, as far as I know.  Mary Ellen was said to have three brothers who also come to Baltimore.  Those were supposedly Patrick, Thomas and Michael.

Mary Ellen’s death certificate said that she was 73 years old when she died and that her parents were Thomas Leland and Mary Martin.  In full disclosure, one of her obituaries said that she died at 72 years old, was a native of County Roscommon and came to America at 16 years old (around 1854) with her parents “Mr. & Mrs. William Leland”.  Ugh!  I’m trusting the death certificate.

Mary Ellen married William Galvin in Baltimore on 24 December 1863.  From that date until at least the time of the 1870 census, Mary Ellen and William had someone living with them named Thomas Leland.

This Thomas Leland (b. abt 1842, Co. Roscommon, Ireland – b. 31 August 1920, Baltimore, Md. USA) had the notation on his death certificate that he was the son of Thomas Leland and Mary “Norton”.  Genealogy is a messy business!

In Baltimore, living around the corner from the Leland / Galvin family was the family of Michael Leland (b. September, 1846, Roscommon, Ireland – d. 15 September 1907, Baltimore, Maryland, USA).  His death certificate noted that his parents were Thomas Leland and “Bridget” Martin!  His certificate also noted that he and both parents were all born in Co. Roscommon.

Until today, I could find no information of Patrick, the other brother of Mary Ellen.  I did, however, find a Bridget Leland whose death certificate in Baltimore said her maiden name was O’Connor.  It did not say whether she was married or widowed but it did say that she was only a resident of Baltimore for two years.  She is buried in Baltimore with three of her children (Annie, Thomas and Michael).  On the death certificates of two of the children whose certificates are available, they mention that their parents were “Patrick Leland and Bridget O’Connor”.  One of them also had in his death notice that he was a native of Co. Roscommon and the son of Patrick and Bridget Leland.  All three children had reported on census records that they were born in Ireland.  This was different because Mary Ellen, Thomas and Michael all married and had children in the US.

Here is where it gets interesting.

I looked to see if I could find the Irish birth records of Patrick and Bridget’s children. 

•  Annie was born about 1864 according to her death certificate which is when Irish birth records started to be kept. I could not find any government records of her birth and the only possible church record showed a “Joannes Layland born on 11 February 1862 to Patrick and Bridget Layland in Elphin, Cootehall, Roscommon”.  I doubt this is Annie’s record. 
• Thomas reported on his marriage license to be born about 1873.  The closest match I could find in the Irish birth records was one for a Thomas Leland, born 8 July 1868 to Pat Leland and Bridget Connor in Dereenabrone, Boyle, Roscommon.
• Michael said on his 1900 census return that he was born in 1874.  I could only find a Michael Leland born on 14 July 1870 to Patrick Leland and Bridget Connor in Derryherk, Boyle, Roscommon.
• A further search found a Catherine Leland born to Patrick Leland and Bridget Connor on 20 June1872 in Derryherk, Boyle, Roscommon.  There is also a death record for her, reported by Bridget, on 8 August 1888, also in Derryherk.
• Still searching, I found a Patrick Leland born to Patrick Leland and Bridget Connor on 20 August 1874 in Derryherk, Boyle, Roscommon.  He later appears on the 1901 census in Derryherk with his parents.

That got me thinking….

I looked for a death for a Patrick Leland in Derryherk.  Sure enough, there it was on 6 July 1905 and he was reported to be 65 years old when he died.  Obviously Bridget immigrated to Baltimore shortly after her husband’s death which explains why she only lived in Baltimore for two years.

While looking for this Catherine’s and Patrick’s records, I found another death record for a Leland in Derryherk.  There was a Thomas Leland who died at 84 years old as a farmer and widower on 4 June 1888.  That just has to be my great-great-great-grandfather.  Bridget Leland reported the death to the authorities.  How many Lelands lived in tiny Derryherk?  How many Bridget Lelands lived in Derrtherk??

I was feeling lucky so I kept going.  I looked for a Mary or Bridget or Mary Bridget Leland who died before 1888 in Derryherk.  I didn’t find that but I did find a Bridget Leland who died at 72 years old on 26 December 1873 in Woodfield, Boyle, Roscommon, an adjacent townland to Derryherk.  This was interesting too because according to the Griffith’s Valuation, there was only one Thomas Leland faming land in Roscommon in the 1850-60’s and he was working the land in Woodfield, next door to a Patrick Leland.  I reckon that this Bridget is Thomas’ wife and my great-great-great-grandmother.  For now, I will call her Mary Bridget Martin.

The documentation all this is in my Ancestry.com tree.