Sunday, April 14, 2019

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 15 - DNA - Timothy Hehir

This year I have decided to take part in Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks blogging prompts.

The theme for Week 14 (April 8-14): DNA.

I have chosen my 3 x great grandfather Timothy Hehir (c1800-?) to write about for this week's theme of DNA. I haven't had much time to write this week. I will expand on this topic at a later date.

Timothy Hehir and Ann (McMahon) Hehir were the parents of my great-great-grandmother Susan (Hehir) Ellis (c1835-1921). It is believed that Ann died during the famine, c1845. The family lived in the townland of Killow, in the civil parish of Clareabbey, Clare, Ireland.

Timothy and Ann had the following children:
  • Bridget (Hehir) Farrell (c1833-1886)
  • Susan (Hehir) Ellis (c1835-1921)
  • Elizabeth Hehir (c1835-?)
  • John Hehir (c1837-1890)
  • Michael Hehir (c1839-?)
  • Honora Hehir (c1841-?)
  • Thomas Hehir (c1844-?)
  • Annie Maria (Hehir) Kinsella (c1844-1920)
Four Hehir's are listed in Griffith's Valuations for the townland of Killow.
  • Jane Hehir
  • Patrick Hehir
  • Andrew Hehir
  • Thaddeus Hehir
Thaddeus and Timothy are both variants used to Anglicize the Gaelic name Tadhg.
So Thaddeus is likely my ancestor Timothy Hehir. We have always believed the other Hehirs listed in the townland of Killow are likely close relatives of Timothy's - probably siblings. My great-great-grandmother Susan's photograph collection included photographs of some of Patrick Hehir's children, adding credence to the belief that they were cousins.

DNA evidence has provided further proof that Patrick was likely Timothy's brother. My mother and I have both been DNA tested. We both have DNA matches to descendants of Patrick Hehir. Additionally, with Ancestry DNA's recent release of ThruLines, it also appears that we have a DNA match with a descendant of Andrew Hehir.


The screenshot above shows AncestryDNA ThruLines for my mother, as of 9 April 2019. Someone has Patrick Michael Hehir as the father on their Ancestry public tree so ThruLines has included him here. I am uncertain that Margaret Hehir belongs as a sibling, however, as she lives in a neighbouring parish in Clare. My mother's matches to her descendants are only small (7 cM), so she could potentially be a more distant Hehir cousin.

Since taking this screenshot on 9 April 2019, this particular ThruLine seems to have disappeared. However, this does show that my mother potentially has 6 DNA matches with descendants of Patrick Hehir and 1 DNA match with a descendant of Andrew Hehir, in addition to 13 DNA matches with descendants of Timothy Hehir.

DNA matches with descendants of Patrick Hehir have also been found on Family Tree DNA, MyHeritage and Gedmatch.

© 2019. Australian Genealogy Journeys. This post was originally published at https://ausgenjourneys.blogspot.com/2019/04/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-week-15-dna.html
52 Ancestors in 52 weeks is © Amy Johnson Crow

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