St. Patrick’s Day

Paying Homage to my Irish Ancestors

While St. Patrick’s Day was originally celebrated in Ireland as a religious holiday, today it’s a holiday where everyone claims to be Irish, wears green, drinks green beer, bakes Irish soda bread, and has a wonderful meal of corned beef and cabbage.

I am lucky to be able to actually claim Irish heritage on both my maternal and paternal ancestral lines. I am able to trace my roots to three surnames:

• McElroy which means son of the red-haired lad;
• O’Rea which means having a gentle disposition;
• Ligget or Leggett which means ambassador or deputy.

According to the Irish Genealogy Toolkit, “In 1771-1773, more than 100 ships left the Ulster ports of Newry, Derry, Belfast, Portrush and Larne, carrying some 32,000 Irish immigrants to America.” They came for religious freedom (they were often Protestant) and cheap, plentiful land. My 4th great grandparents, Thomas McElroy and Elisabeth O’Rea emigrated in 1773. They were the parents of Margaret McElroy who married Joseph Hanslap Watkins.

Thomas was an interesting person. Even though he only lived in America since 1773, he enlisted in the American Revolutionary Army in Chester, Pennsylvania in 1776. As I stated in my blog post on June 4, 2021 titled Military, “Thomas served as a wagoner or wagon driver. The American colonies at the beginning of the Revolutionary War were mostly rural. Much of the land consisted of forests, marshes, and swamps. The terrain was extremely rugged. Existing roads were inadequate. Travel was slow. Because of these issues it became policy to hire wagons and drivers to provide transportation for the troops and supplies. Sometimes local people were hired for this duty while at other times, soldiers (such as Thomas) were given this responsibility.”

After the war, Thomas applied for his Revolutionary War pension since he was a soldier in the American Revolutionary War in his newly adopted country. Sadly, his claim for a pension was denied because the job of a wagoner was not considered military service.

My maternal Irish 2nd great grandfather, Oliver Ligget or Leggett, immigrated to Canada from Armagh, Northern Ireland. Oliver was a farmer and it is possible that he emigrated because of the devastation of the Irish potato famine. (He married Catherine Stewart in Canada. Catherine was born in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. According to the 1891 Canadian Census, both of her parents were born in Scotland. According to her obituary, Catherine moved with her parents to Bruce, Ontario, Canada when she was a young girl.)

Oliver settled in Bruce, Ontario where he met Catherine. They had two children including my great grandmother, Sarah Jane Ligget McLeod.

As you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, enjoy those characteristics that truly make each one of us Irish including being charming, a dreamer, a storyteller, passionate, good-natured, friendly, easy going yet a bit stubborn.

“May the luck of the Irish be with you!”

Sources

“Discover the Meaning and History behind Your Last Name.” Last Name Meanings and Origins | Search Surnames at Ancestry.com®, https://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts.

“Irish Emigration to North America, Britain and Australia. Coffin Ships.” To North America, Britain and Australia. Coffin Ships., https://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/Irish-emigration.html.

“Rea Coat of Arms, Family Crest – Free Image to View – Rea Name Origin History and Meaning of Symbols.” IrishNation.com, https://www.irishsurnames.com/cgi-bin/gallery.pl?name=rea&capname=Rea&letter=r.

“Thomas McElroy Sr. (1751-Unknown) – Find a Grave…” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83439990/thomas-mcelroy.

Year: 1891; Census Place: Bruce, Bruce West, Ontario, Canada; Roll: T-6328; Family No: 1