Hello everyone I wonder if anyone can help me solve this puzzle. I have a copy of my great great grandfathers will from PRONI, and have used it as a starting point to discover quite a lot about my family. He was William McCay of Rabstown, Urney and left his farm to his son William, a hefty sum to his unmarried daughter, who had recently given birth to my grandfather and in addition he left various smaller, bequests to family members, including two to his two sisters who had emigrated to Pittsburg and Philadelphia. I have managed to track down these two and their subsequent lives, but there is still one bequest that intrigues me. He asks his son 'That he also pay to Mary Nelson, of Pittsburg,US, the sum of five pounds for the benefit of the child of Martha Esther Boyd' I found a document in the parish records for Urney Cof I - 'Notes on Parishioners' from the 1870s, which lists households in the parish. William Sen is listed as a widower, with his son William and daughter Mary Anne. The two older sisters have emigrated by this time and another has married. There is also a Martha listed but with no indication of surname. Could this be Martha Esther Boyd, I wonder, or is it an extra daughter I have not come across before. Any Suggestions?? Regards Marion Shephard

Hi Marion, I have a similar story. My great-grandfather George Killeen and his brother were left with his mothers siblings (the Sullivan family)--coincidentally in Pittsburgh,PA after his mother died and his father decided to move back to his family in Washington DC. I have heard from my aunt that the Sullivans took in another relative by the name of Connie Hooper. They also had a boarder by the name of Mary Donovan. In the will of one of the Sullivans, they name my great-grandfather as sole beneficiary, but ask that he provide for SUSAN Hooper. Recently I have tried to untangle this story and figure out how everyone is related, but have had quite a difficult time of it. Asking the my oldest Aunt, she believes that the Hoopers were actually relatives of the boarder, Mary Donovan. So perhaps this is similar to what you have going on. Maybe Martha Esther Boyd is a relative of a close friend or perhaps a neighbor or fellow parishoner. Maybe it was a considerate charitable act on his part. Meaghan Killeen ______________ ________________________________________ From: [email protected] [[email protected]] on behalf of Marion Shephard [[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 11:36 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [CoTyIre] An intriguing puzzle. Hello everyone I wonder if anyone can help me solve this puzzle. I have a copy of my great great grandfathers will from PRONI, and have used it as a starting point to discover quite a lot about my family. He was William McCay of Rabstown, Urney and left his farm to his son William, a hefty sum to his unmarried daughter, who had recently given birth to my grandfather and in addition he left various smaller, bequests to family members, including two to his two sisters who had emigrated to Pittsburg and Philadelphia. I have managed to track down these two and their subsequent lives, but there is still one bequest that intrigues me. He asks his son 'That he also pay to Mary Nelson, of Pittsburg,US, the sum of five pounds for the benefit of the child of Martha Esther Boyd' I found a document in the parish records for Urney Cof I - 'Notes on Parishioners' from the 1870s, which lists households in the parish. William Sen is listed as a widower, with his son William and daughter Mary Anne. The two older sisters have emigrated by this time and another has married. There is also a Martha listed but with no indication of surname. Could this be Martha Esther Boyd, I wonder, or is it an extra daughter I have not come across before. Any Suggestions?? Regards Marion Shephard ------------- Our community web-site: http://cotyroneireland.com/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Thanks Meagha Yours does sound a similar story and I'm still trying to find possible Boyds and Nelsons in Urney and Pittsburg. not sure how successful I'll be and will probably never find a definite answer. Regards Marion ----- Original Message ----- From: "Killeen, Meaghan" <[email protected]> To: "Marion Shephard" <[email protected]>; <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 7:21 PM Subject: RE: [CoTyIre] An intriguing puzzle. Hi Marion, I have a similar story. My great-grandfather George Killeen and his brother were left with his mothers siblings (the Sullivan family)--coincidentally in Pittsburgh,PA after his mother died and his father decided to move back to his family in Washington DC. I have heard from my aunt that the Sullivans took in another relative by the name of Connie Hooper. They also had a boarder by the name of Mary Donovan. In the will of one of the Sullivans, they name my great-grandfather as sole beneficiary, but ask that he provide for SUSAN Hooper. Recently I have tried to untangle this story and figure out how everyone is related, but have had quite a difficult time of it. Asking the my oldest Aunt, she believes that the Hoopers were actually relatives of the boarder, Mary Donovan. So perhaps this is similar to what you have going on. Maybe Martha Esther Boyd is a relative of a close friend or perhaps a neighbor or fellow parishoner. Maybe it was a considerate charitable act on his part. Meaghan Killeen ______________ ________________________________________ From: [email protected] [[email protected]] on behalf of Marion Shephard [[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 11:36 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [CoTyIre] An intriguing puzzle. Hello everyone I wonder if anyone can help me solve this puzzle. I have a copy of my great great grandfathers will from PRONI, and have used it as a starting point to discover quite a lot about my family. He was William McCay of Rabstown, Urney and left his farm to his son William, a hefty sum to his unmarried daughter, who had recently given birth to my grandfather and in addition he left various smaller, bequests to family members, including two to his two sisters who had emigrated to Pittsburg and Philadelphia. I have managed to track down these two and their subsequent lives, but there is still one bequest that intrigues me. He asks his son 'That he also pay to Mary Nelson, of Pittsburg,US, the sum of five pounds for the benefit of the child of Martha Esther Boyd' I found a document in the parish records for Urney Cof I - 'Notes on Parishioners' from the 1870s, which lists households in the parish. William Sen is listed as a widower, with his son William and daughter Mary Anne. The two older sisters have emigrated by this time and another has married. There is also a Martha listed but with no indication of surname. Could this be Martha Esther Boyd, I wonder, or is it an extra daughter I have not come across before. Any Suggestions?? Regards Marion Shephard ------------- Our community web-site: http://cotyroneireland.com/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message