Descendants of William McLaughlin (1853-1914)
William McLaughlin Sr. (1793-1853) was born in Ireland and lived on the western shore of the peninsula of Inishowen on the east shore of Lough Swilly (pronounced Sooley) in the hamlet of Linsfort Glebe in the Parish of Desertegny in County Donegal, 14 miles from the city of Londonderry. He and his wife, Molly Quigley (1796-1856), had seven sons and four daughters, several of whom emigrated to the United States. The first to leave Ireland was son James, whose American experience earned him the nickname "40 Acres."
James McLaughlin (1821-1911) and his wife, Ann McKinney (1822-1888) emigrated to the United States in 1848 after the deaths of their three young children, starvation victims during the potato famine. James and Ann McLaughlin settled in Skaneateles, NY, on 40 acres he had purchased.
The children of James and Ann include Mary, Donald and William, all of whom died in Ireland, and eight who were born in the United States – sons James Jr., Dennis, Cornelius, John, William, Daniel and Hugh, and daughter Margaret. This page is devoted to the descendants of one of those sons, who was their second child to be named William McLaughlin.
I found no mention of this particular William McLaughlin in "The History of the McLaughlin Family," which is strange because he was the central figure in one of the most tragic and bizarre stories in the history of the McLaughlin family's American experience. Eventually this story had a happy twist, at least in the newspaper telling, but unfortunately the tale is like an iceberg – most of it lies well below the surface. For what is known, read William McLaughlin: Lost and Found.
There seems to be much confusion over two Williams McLaughlins who were about the same age, one was born in Ireland and was the son Cornelius McLaughlin who returned to Ireland and left the teenaged William in the care of his brother, James "40 Acres" McLaughlin. This William McLaughlin is mentioned in the book about the McLaughlin family.
Not mentioned is the William McLaughlin who was born to Ann and James "40 Acres" McLaughlin. This William McLaughlin is listed in the 1880 U.S. Census as being born in the United States in 1853. He was married and at that time had two children, neither of whom have names that jibe with those listed in the book for the family of the Irish-born William McLaughlin.
There also is confusion over the name of the woman who married the American-born William McLaughlin. St. Mary's Cemetery records identify her as Anna Conroy; a Skaneateles newspaper listing of their wedding in 1876 identified her as Ann Conway. |
