Hello -- Do you know the names of the witnesses to Julia's wedding? The Collinses in my ancestry are Patrick M and John M Collins, sons of Martin and Mary Gillen Collins. There is a Julia in the family, but I'm not sure of her relationship. Sometimes the names of witnesses to weddings or sponsors of baptisms can help. Let me know if you have any other clues, and I'll check for connection here. Jeanne

Jeanne, I hope to look at parish records in Dublin this coming spring. I will look to see if there were any other children born to Julia Collins and Michael O'Mahony. There were no Collins who served as sponsors for Maurice's Baptism in 1826. His sponsors were Jeremiah O'Sullivan and Catherine O'Regan. When Maurice's children were born (eight of them), there were no O'Sullivans who served as sponsors, but there were Regans. Perhaps the Regans were related? It does seem strange that there were no Mahonys OR Collins who served as sponsors. I ask myself, "Were Michael and Catherine only children so there were no siblings to serve as sponsors? Did Catherine come from another parish? Was Maurice just one of many children born so the older siblings had Mahonys and Collins relatives for sponsors? I can't answer any of those questions at this point in time, but I hope to pick up more clues. I did notice that one very big plot of land was leased by a group of people. Jeremiah Mahony, James Regan, John Coakley, John Crowley, Denis Mahony, and Bartholomew Mahony together leased 254 acres. Daniel Mahony and Timothy Donovan co-leased 46 acres on a 2nd plot. My grandmother ended up in Somersworth, New Hampshire. My cousin said my grandmother once mentioned that the Coakleys (I assumed living in the same city) were related. Do you have any of these names in your family: Mahony, Coakley, Sullivan, Regan, or Crowley? Jan ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, December 17, 2005 4:36 PM Subject: Julia Collins > Hello -- Do you know the names of the witnesses to Julia's wedding? The > Collinses in my ancestry are Patrick M and John M Collins, sons of Martin > and Mary > Gillen Collins. There is a Julia in the family, but I'm not sure of her > relationship. Sometimes the names of witnesses to weddings or sponsors of > baptisms can help. Let me know if you have any other clues, and I'll > check for > connection here. > > Jeanne >