Rose Caroline and her family

My paternal great grandmother, Rose Caroline, was born in Granby, in what is now Shefford, Quebec on 23 Dec 1839 to Hugh Caroline (abt 1798-1879) and Mary Donovan (abt 1807-1892). Hugh and Mary were from County Longford and County Cavan respectively, and were married at Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal on 2 Jun 1834.

Hugh Donovan & Mary Donovan Marriage 1834

Hugh came to Canada with his brother Michael or Mick (abt 1810-1898). I've not found any siblings of Mary Donovan who came to Canada...yet. I haven't found any records of their arrival here or departure from Ireland. Did Hugh and Mary meet on board ship when they came to Canada? Or did they meet in Montreal or Shefford?

Rose was Hugh and Mary's fourth born, and one of nine surviving children. Of course I'll be writing more about them. Hugh and Mick started farming in Shefford. The Hugh's property remains in the Caroline family to this day. In Ireland, Caroline is Carlan or Carlin. (Are we related to the comedian George Carlin? Hmmm.)

Caroline farm, Granby, Shefford County, c 20th century

Marcus Dougherty farmed the adjacent property. In the 1842 census of Lower Canada, Marcus and Hugh are the two last entries appearing there, and an exciting recent find for me. Of interest is that the census reveals that in 1842, all of the settlers in that community were Irish, English or Scots.

1842 Canada East Census, Shefford Township

The people of Quebec today are the descendants of Irish, Scots, English and French. But it has been estimated that perhaps as many as one-third have Irish ancestry.

While my own Irish roots are all pre-famine Irish, many more came later, especially during and after the Irish Famine and many of them seeking a better life died from 'ship's fever' (typhus) during the crossing or soon after at Grosse Île. Orphaned Irish children were adopted by French Canadian families. This bit of Quebec's history was memorialized in one of the best known of many Heritage Minutes that aired in Canada.

The never ending story continues....