Lynn King (and others) Do you know of any connections to the Flemings of Mitchelstown, County Cork? I am descended from those Flemings. My ancestor, Michael Fleming, was born September 17, 1823, in Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, Ireland, the son of John and Margaret Fleming. He died February 3, 1904, in Burlington, Des Moines Co., Iowa. He married Bridget Maher (b. December 1, 1824 near Kilkenny, Ireland, died April 14, 1901 in Burlington, IA) in 1850 (I don't have the exact date) in New Orleans, LA. Michael came to St. Johns, New Brunswick at age 17, arriving Jan. 1, 1840, then came to Boston, MA in 1842, left October 4, 1843, arrived in New Orleans on Oct 29, 1843. He lived in New Orleans and Donaldsonville (Ascension Parish). He and his family came to Burlington IA in 1858, at about age 35, where he became a prominent citizen. Michael and Bridget had 9 children. As near as I can tell from sources, they were (in order) Margaret, Edmund K., John Joseph (b. Mar 18 1851 in Donaldsonville LA, d. Dec. 29, 1928 in Burlington IA), Daniel (b. abt. 1853 in Louisiana, d. abt 1900 in New Orleans), Mary C. (b. 1855, d. 1930), Elizabeth (b. Jan 1, 1856 in Burlington IA, d. Mar 22, 1904 in Chicago IL), Johanna (b. 1859 in Burlington IA, d. May 5, 1932), Agnes (b. January 1, 1863 in Burlington IA, d. Nov 22, 1936 in Dubuque, IA) William P. (b. Oct 18, 1867 in Burlington IA, d. January 17, 1952, in Burlington IA). I have a few more details if you need them. Some of your information fits very closely with what I have, but I have nothing that actually makes a connection. Your Francis' 1844 arrival is very close to my Michael's arrival in New Orleans. Do you have any other history on Francis prior to coming to New Orleans? My Flemings were very devout Roman Catholics -- and some still are. The unmarried Fleming women in several generations , including Elizabeth and Agnes, both mentioned above), became Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (generally called BVM's for short). Their motherhouse is in Dubuque, Iowa -- I mention this because there are several different orders of Sisters of Charity. Elizabeth Fleming became Sr. Mary Etienne Eliza, BVM, and was a Mother Superior in a number of locales. (Note: BVM's were generally Sister Mary _________ -- i.e., their religious names ALL began with Mary followed by one or more other names. Agnes became Sr. Mary Julitta, BVM.) Michael Fleming (and his son John Joseph) were active in the Knights of Columbus -- Michael was one of the founders of the Burlington, IA, chapter of KofC, and was its first Grand Knight. His son John Joseph was also a Grand Knight in Burlington. As far as I know, I have no Murrays in the family tree. I am descended through Michael Fleming, John Joseph Fleming, Philip Bracken Fleming (my grandfather), and Carson Fleming. I have a lot of information them, but not so much on the rest of Michael's children, or on his siblings. If anyone can help fill in the gaps, please feel free to contact me. I am copying this to the Fleming-L and to the Ascension Parish lists in the hopes that it may be helpful to others. -- Phil Fleming [email protected] Researching Barclay (NY area), Bracken (PA, Braden (PA/OH), Carson (Scotland/Canada/WI/IA), Coles (New England/NY area), Cook (New England/MA/OH/IA), Edmonds (RI/New England/NY), Fleming Ireland/Canada/MA/LA/IA), and Ulman (NY area)