Jim, most always it means "Roman Catholic". Terry in Michigan ----- Original Message ----- ,What does 'possibly RC' mean? Thanks, Jim

Does anyone on the list have relatives or information about the Lambert family's homes, Castle Ellen or Castle Lambert? There is some good info on the web - I've already found that - and I paid a visit to Castle Ellen (just outside Athenry) this past summer and have several photos if anyone is interested. My ancestors lived and worked there - mostly at Castle Ellen. Patrick J. Haverty (b. 1855 somewhere near Athenry) and Margaret Josephine Kelly (b. 1867) worked at Castle Ellen together - he in the fields (yes, the fields of Athenry) and she in the house - until they married and emigrated to the US in 1886. Patrick's mother Mary Hanrahan Haverty (b. ~ 1818) and sister Mary (b. ~ 1852) also left with them. Patrick's father, Peter Haverty, isn't in the picture at that time so I assume he had passed on. Peter was born in Cahermore prior to 1810. By the way, Margaret Kelly's parents were Michael and Mary Kelly. As far as I can tell they stayed in Ireland, but many of her siblings came over married to people with surnames like Ruane, Burke, Pearce, and Curran. The Haverty side married into Mitchell, Gorman, Kelly, and Moran. Many of these are Athenry (and surrounding area) names. There may be others as I'm unsure that I have all the siblings and their spouses. The various sources I've found cover much genealogy of the Lambert family, but (not surprisingly) none of the servants or workers. I saw the Lambert family book at the Athenry library hoping there may be a mention or aside, but nothing there. Many of the people I mentioned here along with many others from Athenry emigrated to Waltham, Massachusetts. There the earliest of them (early 1800s) established a Catholic church and named it after their home church in Athenry - St. Mary's. St. Mary's in Athenry is now an arts center, but it's namesake in Waltham is still an active church. I assume many of the people I mention were Roman Catholic (RC) but I recently came across a renunciation list that included a Haverty. Many back then publicly renounced the Catholic church for the Church of England. It was often done either to maintain ownership of some land (if you were Catholic they'd kick you off) or for things like marriage or just staying in good graces with the local gentry. Once in the US my ancestors were all RC, but I wonder if they had renounced back in Ireland. The Lambert family (though tenant farmers) seemed to treat my family well. They saw it through the famine times working for them and at one point a Lambert had given a small parcel of land to Patrick Haverty. There are other families who were not treated so well by the Lamberts and were evicted from their cottages. This culminated in an assassination attempt on one of the Lamberts. I can't recount it here, but the story is on the net. Lastly, some of the Haverty family were in Tuam as well. I don't have names there, just a recollection from another family member that when Hannah Haverty Gorman came here in 187? She wrote letters back to Castle Ellen and others to Tuam. Lastly, my driving experience in Ireland is that you can go great distances in a short time and short distances in a long time. In other words, it's very unpredictable, but as you roll off the dual carriageways (highways) you inevitably need to drive through more congested areas and some times crawl. Leave plenty of time and if you get there early enjoy a pint of the black. All information and queries welcome - Happy New Year (no matter how you write it - 01/01/2005). Rick Haverty