Michael Dwyer and Catherine Condon were identified as the parents of Mary Elizabeth Dwyer in her death certificate by her widower, Denis Lowry, who had known them in Ireland. Additional parish and civil registry records in Ireland confirm the connection and also identify Mary’s siblings.
We don’t yet know who Michael’s or Catherine’s parents were. However, baptismal sponsors for their children included Cornelius Dwyer, Patrick Dwyer, Honora Dwyer, Mary Dwyer, William Dwyer, John Dwyer, Margaret Condon, and Mary Condon. It is likely that these are family members, possibly siblings, but more research is needed to confirm the links.
Michael and Catherine married on 18 February 1854 in Cashel & Emly parish, County Tipperary, with Patrick Holloman and Margaret Quillinan serving as their witnesses. The couple had seven known children, judging from parish records: their eldest daughter, Mary, as well as Margaret, Johanna, John (died in infancy), John (II), Ellen, and William F. Dwyer.
Mary emigrated to America with husband Denis in 1883, settling ultimately in Worcester, MA, where she spent the next three decades and raised her family, except for her eldest daughter Margaret, who remained behind in Ireland with (presumably) Mary’s parents.
William remained in Ireland, marrying there and staying close to his parents’ farmstead in Coolnaherin townland on the western outskirts of the town of Tipperary. (Indeed, he may have inherited the family farm, but we have no records to confirm this yet.) He died in 1933, leaving behind his widow Anne but no children.
John Dwyer also passed his entire life in County Tipperary. He was living with his brother William in 1901, when he was enumerated in the Irish census that year. He also was the one who filed the report of his mother’s 1902 death in Coolnaherin. Sometime after 1902, however, he moved closer to his married sister Margaret in Rathnaveen. He died there in 1911 of pneumonia.
Margaret married Timothy Leahy, probably in County Tipperary where they stayed the rest of their lives. At least two of their four children emigrated to the United States in the 20th century.
We don’t know whether the two remaining daughters stayed in Ireland or also emigrated to America. When Mary died in 1919, her obituary identified her surviving siblings as William F. Dwyer, Mrs. Margaret Leahy, Mrs. William Glasheene, and Mrs. Thomas Ryan. We don’t know which one of these last two were Johanna and which one was Ellen.
Michael Dwyer (b. ca. 1821, Co. Tipperary, Ireland — d. 13 Nov 1888, Coolnaherin, Co. Tipperary, Ireland)
m. 18 Feb 1854, Cashel & Emly parish, Co. Tipperary, Ireland
Catherine Condon (b. ca. 1826, Co. Tipperary, Ireland – d. 13 Dec 1902, Coolnaherin, Co. Tipperary, Ireland)
Children:
i. Mary Elizabeth Dwyer (bapt. 27 Jan 1855, Co. Tipperary, Ireland — d. 26 Jan 1919, Worcester, Worcester, MA); m. Denis Lowrey/Lowry
ii. Margaret Dwyer (bapt. 22 Jul 1856, Co. Tipperary, Ireland — d. 13 Jun 1939, Co. Tipperary, Ireland); m. Timothy Leahy
iii. Johanna Dwyer (bapt. 23 Aug 1858, Co. Tipperary, Ireland — d. aft. 1919, place unknown); m. either William Glasheene or Thomas Ryan
iv. John Dwyer (bapt. 24 May 1861, Co. Tipperary, Ireland — d. by 1862, Co. Tipperary, Ireland)
v. John Dwyer (II) (bapt. 9 Sep 1862, Co. Tipperary, Ireland — d. 19 Jan 1911, Rathnaveen, Co. Tipperary, Ireland); never married
vi. Ellen Dwyer (bapt. 7 Apr 1865, Co. Tipperary, Ireland — d. aft. 1919, place unknown); m. either William Glasheene or Thomas Ryan
vii. William F. Dwyer (bapt. 7 Oct 1868, Co. Tipperary, Ireland — d. 5 Mar 1933, Coolnaherin, Co. Tipperary, Ireland); m. Anne Cummins
Sources:
- Mary (Dwyer) Lowrey, certificate of death, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, Worcester, Worcester, file #132, died 26 January 1919, Michael Dwyer, father; Catherine Conlin, mother, informant Dennis Lowrey.
- Michael Dwyer to Catherine Conlon, Parish marriage register, Cashel and Emly, Co Tipperary, Ireland, 18 Feb 1854, Patrick Holloman and Margaret Quillinan.
- Michael Dwyer, 1888 Deaths in Tipperary, civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie, registered 26 Nov 1888, died 13 Nov 1888, “probably bronchitis (no medical attendant)”, 67 years old, parents not named, John Dwyer, son, present at death, Coolnaherin.
- Catherine Dwyer, widow of Michael Dwyer, farmer, Tipperary Death Registry, 1902, civilrecords.irishgnealogy.ie, file #339, #04599982, registered 18 Dec 1902, 13 Dec 1902, decline of life, no medical attendant, 80 years old, place of birth not given, parents not given, informant, John Dwyer, son, present at death, place of death, Coolnaherin, Tipperary.
- Mary Dwyer, parents Michael Dwyer & Catherine Condon, baptized 27 Jan 1855, Cornilius Dwyer & Margaret Quinlan, sponsors, Cashel & Emly, Co Tipperary, Ireland.
- Mary (Lowrey) Dwyer obituary, Worcester Evening Gazette, 27 Jan 1919, p. 14.
- Margaret Dwyer, parents Denis Lowry (farmer, Scallaheen) and Mary Dwyer (“now the wife of Denis Lowry”), Birth registry, civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie, Co. Tipperary, Catherine Dwyer (her x mark), grandmother, present at birth, Coolnaharin, Cloupet (?), entry #267, 17 Jun 1882.
- Margaret Dwyer, parents Michael Dwyer & Catherine Condon, 22 Jul 1856, sponsors illeg Dwyer & Judy (?) Halleran (?), Cashel & Emly parish, Co Tipperary, Ireland.
- John Dwyer, parents Michael Dwyer & Mary Condon, baptized 24 May 1861, Patrick Dwyer & Honora Dwyer, sponsors, Cashel & Emly, Tipperary, Ireland.
- John (II) Dwyer, parents Michael Dwyer & Catherine Condon, baptized 9 Sep 1962, Catherine Quinlan (sole sponsor), Cashel & Emly, Co. Tipperary, Ireland.
- Johanna Dwyer, parents Michael Dwyer & Catherine Condon, 23 Aug 1868, sponsors John Delany & Mary Dwyer, Cashel & Emly parish, Co Tipperary, Ireland.
- Ellen Dwyer, parents Michael Dwyer, Catherine Condon, birth register, Ireland, Select Births & Baptisms (online), Co. Tipperary, FHL #101107.
- Ellen Dwyer, parents Michael Dwyer and Catherine Condon, 7 Apr 1865, sponsors John Dwyer and Margaret Condon, Cashel & Emly parish, Co. Tipperary, Ireland.
- William Dwyer, parents Michael Dwyer and Catherine Condon, baptized 7 Oct 1868, sponsors William Dwyer and Mary Condon, Cashel & Emly parish, Co. Tipperary, Ireland.
- William Dwyer (Coolnaherin, Tipperary) to Anne Cummins (Ballyhusty [Baile Hoiste], Tipperary), 6 Feb 1894, Cashel & Emry parish, https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie