The Mescall family of Dangananella West, County Clare, Ireland
(and Chicago and Indiana and New York City)
The Meaney family of Clohanmore West, County Clare, Ireland
(and New York City)
The Mescalls
Patrick Mescall (1838-1901) had a dairy farm in Dangananella West in County Clare, Ireland, near Cooraclare and Cree in west Clare. His son Patrick (1879-1959) and grandson Thomas (1906-1998) owned the farm in turn.
The original Patrick and his wife, Catherine "Kate" Brooks (1849-1928), had eight children, four of whom stayed in Clare and four of whom immigrated to the United States and settled in Chicago, Ill. Many of the descendants of these Chicago Mescalls became police officers or firefighters.
A sizable number of Mescall descendants also made their way to the New York City area, particularly Brooklyn.
The name Mescall is somewhat unusual in Ireland and its origin is unclear, as is the origin of the Mescall clan, although they were numerous around Cooraclare, Kilrush and Ennis in Clare even in the late 1800s.
As for when they arrived in Dangananella West, a list of landholders in 1825 (the Tithe Applotment Book) does not list a Mescall in Dangananella West, although the wedding record for the original Patrick does list his father, yet another Patrick, and gives his occupation as farmer. The record does not list where the father lives.
I'm a great-grandson of the 1838 Patrick and I'd love to get more information on the other Mescalls from around west Clare to try to connect them to a common ancestor. I'm also interested in tracking down more of the present-day Chicago descendants of the Patricks and what they're up to.
The Meaneys
The Meaney family of Clohanmore West, County Clare, Ireland
(and New York City)
Records of Meaneys on the family dairy farm in Clohanmore West (also spelled Cloghaunmore -- "Cloghaun" for "quarry" and "more" for "big") go back to at least 1825 and they probably had the farm there for many years, if not centuries, before that. The earliest I've found in the records is a John Meaney, listed as being there in the Tithe Applotment Book, a list of land holders compiled in 1825.
However, there is a family story from a descendant of James Meaney's wife, Peg Breen, that James Meaney, likely the son of John, lived in Goleens on the ocean in west Clare in the mid-1800s, then moved inland to Clohaunmore West. Relatives have even pointed out the ruins of what was supposed to have been his house in Goleens. This would have been around the time of the potato famine. Is it possible that the family had lived inland at Clohanmore, then moved near the ocean during the famine and returned when it ended? That is just my speculation. There's no official way to reconcile the family story and the 1825 land record, at least so far.
The rest of the family history is established from then on. Meaneys have owned the family farm from at least the mid-1800s and still do. Some descendants immigrated to the United States and settled in New York City, and many of their children and grandchildren still live in the New York area.
The most prominent of the descendants was Brig. Gen. Martin Henry Meaney (1885-1970), who rose to brigadier general with the "Fighting 69th" and fought in Mexico and during World War I in France with two of his brothers. He later served as a deputy police commissioner of New York City.
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The Mescall and Meaney families of County Clare, Ireland