The Red Bog.

It's no secret, I'm fascinated by geneaology.  If you've been reading all along, you know this.  If not, I'm telling you now. 

So, it should come as no surprise when I say I love NBC's hit series Who Do You Think You Are, sponsored by Ancestry.com.

I'm writing this now, because I was especially touched by last night's episode featuring Rosie O'Donnell.  It struck home, and I'm assuming it's because her ancestry is very similar to mine.  We're both of Irish descent, and our families settled close to one another in New York.

Unlike Miss O'Donnell though, I'm not starting at ancestral square one.  I'm lucky in that I already possess names, dates, documents, and certicates, et cetera.  I'm blessed, actually!  (See below.)

From the first official census taken in Ireland in 1821,  my great-great-great grandfather, Charles Colwell, born c. 1783 and his wife, my great-great-great grandmother, Anne, born c. 1787, are recorded.  Four of their children who were alive when the census was taken in 1821 are also listed:  Patrick (1811), Bridget (1813), Charles (1815) and Thomas (1817).  In 1826, my great-great grandfather, Philip, was born to this family.

(I have a brother named Patric, and a sister named, Bridgette.)

Thanks to my cousin Abbott Matthew Leavy of St. Anselm Abbey, many of my familial questions have already been answered.  For instance, I know much of my family came from a muddy plot of land called the Red Bog, in the Townland of Clonkeefy, in the Parish of Castlerahan, in County Cavan, very near to the border of Northern Ireland, but there's so much more I want to know.

For example, I'm terribly interested in a lass named Brigid O'Brien, and another named Annie O'Rourke. 

(My great-grandmother and great-great grandmother, respectively.)

Not to mention, the mug of ol' Thomas Mulligan, my great-grandfather and namesake, is a total mystery!  No Mulligan I know has ever laid eyes on him, and it's my mission to find a photo.  He was an alcoholic who deserted his family in the early 30's.

So, I'm energized to start researching, and I'm constructing my own elaborate family tree.  I just wonder what I'll learn?!

Do you know your story?

PS - If you're a relative, be forewarned, I will be in contact soon. 

PPS - And this doesn't just include my Irish relatives!

PPPS - For more like this, click on the label entitled Ancestry.