O’Donnell Family

Owen O’Donnell was born 1801-02 in Ireland

Mary O’Donnell  was born 1804 in Ireland

Owen O’Donnell, his wife Mary, and daughter Mary, age 18, arrived in Portland/Falmouth, Maine

on the Steamer Fairy Queen from New Brunswick, Canada on August 14, 1849.  The whereabouts

of their other five children, aged 5 to 16, at this time is unknown.  Also, it is not known when or

how they got to New Brunswick from Ireland.

The family appeared on the 1850 census for Saco, Co. of York, Maine as follows:

Owen O’Donnell, 58, laborer,  b. Ireland,  Mary O’Donnell, 45, b. Ireland,  Mary , 18,  b. Ireland, 

Patrick, 16, b. Ireland,  John, 14, b. Ireland,  Richard, 10, b. Ireland,  Bridget, 8,  b. Ireland, 

Michael 5,  b. Ireland.

They were in the 1860 and 1870 census in New Haven CT.

1860 CT, 3^rd Ward, New Haven

Owen O’Donnell,  58,  laborer,  b. Ireland

Mary,  56, b. Ireland – Patrick,  26, mason, b. Ireland – John,  22,  smith helper, b. Ireland –

Richard, 17,  apprentice carpenter,  b. Ireland – Michael, 14, b. Ireland – Bridget, 16,  b. Ireland –

Mary,  22?, b. Ireland

1870 CT, 3^rd Ward, New Haven

Owen O’Donnell, 70, gardener,  b. Ireland

Mary, 67,  keeping house,  b. Ireland – Patrick,  32,  brick mason,  b. Ireland – Michael,  22, 

stone mason,  b. Ireland – Richard,  28, house joiner,  b. Ireland

1870 CT, 3^RD Ward, New Haven

Bridget O’Donnell,  24,  seamstress,  b. Ireland

   living with John and Mary (her sister) Lynch

Owen O’Donnell was in New Haven City Dir. as “gardener” from 1852 to 1872. 

In all of the New Haven City Directories, none of the O’Donnell’s  stayed at one address for

more than two years in a row. 

DEATHS

Owen O’Donnell died April 8, 1872 at age 71 of general disability,

Mary O’Donnell died July 10, 1873 at age 69 yrs. 3mo. widow,  of Phthises (had trouble

reading)  A disease characterized by the wasting away or atrophy of the body or a part of the

body.

THE O’DONNELL CHILDREN:

(1) Daughter Mary was born August 16, 1829.  She was married to John Lynch November 17, 1850,

at St. Dominic’s Church in Portland Maine by Rev. J. O’Donnell.   John Lynch was born in Ireland

about 1824.  He also appeared in 1850 census in Saco, Maine, not far from the O’Donnell’s.  He

shows up in the New Haven  City Directories as “mason” from 1852 to 1868.  

2) Patrick O’Donnell was born about 1834.  He appears in New Haven City Directories as “mason”

from 1859 through 1883 .  He alternately lived with his father, Owen, his brothers and his widowed

sister,  Mary. 

(3) John O’Donnell was born about 1836.  He appears in New Haven City Directories as

“smithhelper, blacksmith”  in 1859-61.  He died in 1863.

(4) Bridget O’Donnell was born 1842  . She doesn’t appear in Directories. She married

James Maher 12-31-1869 at St. Patrick’s in New Haven.

(5) Richard O’Donnell was born 1843.  He appears in New Haven City Directories for 1859-61

and1867 to 1878 as “joiner”.   He enlisted in army in Civil War.  He married Helen (Ellen)

McGuire August 16, 1873,  Helen O'Donnell, 173 Winter, in New Haven,  died 10-6-1878 at age

31 from Uterine Rupture.

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