Branches of our Major family tree intersect with descendants of William McLaughlin Sr. (1793-1853). McLaughlin 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. One of their sons, John, had a daughter, Rose (photo at the bottom of the page), who married John Major.

John McLaughlin (1832-1922) was the twin brother of Ellen McLaughlin. The 1880 US census lists John McLaughlin as a blacksmith born in Ireland. Notes in a Bible belonging to Rose McLaughlin Major say John McLaughlin married Mary McGrorry, also from Desertegny, and that they sailed for the United States in 1851, arriving in New York on Dec. 7 aboard a ship called Vanguard. They settled in Skaneateles, but moved to Louisville, Kentucky, in 1858.

They had a son, Willie McLaughlin, who survived only 11 days after he was born, Dec. 12, 1858. Mary McGrorry McLaughlin died in Louisville in 1864 at the age of 30. She and Willie are buried in Louisville's Portland Cemetery. (Note: McGrorry is the way Rose Major spelled the name; the correct spelling might well be McGrory.)

John McLaughlin returned to Skaneateles in 1868. His second wife was Mary Casey (1842-1907). They are buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in Skaneateles, NY. We found four children (•) for John and Mary Casey McLaughlin in the 1880 census:

Notes in Rose McLaughlin Major's bible indicate a sister Kate, was maid of honor at Rose's wedding. Whether Kate was a nickname for Eliza or Ellen is unknown.

That's Rose McLaughlin Major (petting a dog) in the center of this photo, next to her cousin Mary Ann McLaughlin (Sister Mary Antonia).

An email (Feb. 2006) from James Dougherty, a McLaughlin descendant and Skaneateles resident, identities the woman at the far right as Elizabeth McLaughlin, younger sibling of Sister Mary Antonia. The gentleman in the photo apparently is William McLaughlin, younger brother of Sister Mary Antonia.

The identity of the woman at the far left in the photo remains unknown.