DNA Testing Opportunities

In my efforts to reach out to Dooley ancestors and descendants, I have begun studying various DNA testing opportunities. 

I first reached out to my cousin, Elaine Dollen Clark. We collaborate in our search for our shared Dollen ancestors. Ancestry.com was and continues to  offer DNA testing to its subscribers for a fee of $99.

In order to conduct DNA testing relating to the Dollen surname, we needed to find a willing male Dollen test subject. Elaine had just the brother and he agreed to take DNA test. The results came back today and gave leads into both the paternal and maternal lines. We expected results for the Dollen (paternal) surname and were very surprised to learn about their Flynn maternal ancestors. Elaine received the data today and is in the process of sharing the information with me.

The results arrived on exactly the same day I considered using DNA testing for the Dooley family. I was reviewing two other genetic testing companies: 23andme and Family Tree DNA.

23andMe was the preferred DNA testing company for television program, “Finding Your Roots,” with Henry Louis Gates Jr. It offers chromosome painting. Autosomes are colored for different ethnic groups:  European (Blue), African (Green) and Native American (Orange).

23and Me has over 150,000 members. As a member, we can learn about the Dooley ancestry composition, genetic relatives, lineages and ours Neanderthal percentage!

The subscription free cost runs $299.

Family Tree DNA offers a variety of testing options. Keeping Uncle Dave’s wish to meet his Irish relatives in mind, I began looking at the Y-DNA testing.  This is for “men only” opportunity provides information going back either 8 or 6 generations and has a Family Finder feature helps connect possible relatives. What really caught my eye was the Surname Project. There is a Dooley Surname Group that is eighty-eight members strong.

I will take a good long look at the Dollen results, before making my decision.

The Black Irish

My husband is familiar with an Irish fellow. When discussing the Dooley heritage, this born and bread Irishman suggested that the Dooley family most likely came from the Counties of Galway or Mayo. He came to this conclusion based on the Dooley’s dark features.. In 1588 the Spanish Armada sank off the west coast of Ireland. Shipwreck survivors married into Irish families and produced offspring with dark features.

While there are many theories about the Black Irish, this is one Irish fellow’s opinion. To read more about the Black Irish, you many visit Irish Central at http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/Who-were-the-Black-Irish-92376439.html?page=1

This is an unofficial vote for the Counties of Galway and Mayo!

Irish Times

The hunt was on for Kyle J. Betit’s article, “The Irish In Chicago.” A Google Search almost hit the mark. Kyle Betit’s article was written for the Irish At Home and Abroad periodical published in Salt Lake City. I couldn’t find the article, but I did find lots of other interesting information at IrishTimes.com.  

Irish Times.com offers a subscription for Irish ancestor research. A subscription can give you research aids, but not copies of original records. The subscription pricing is based on units. Search requests vary in unit price. For the time being I will book mark IrishTimes.com as I am not sure if this is what I need.

There was a teaser, of course. A surname search offered a free count of households by county. I am looking for Dooley households in my target counties of Galway, Mayo and Westmeath. I will check all the counties in the spirit of thoroughness. Additionally, I will need to check Dooley spelling variations that include: Dooly, Dowley and Dowly. Omitted counties means that there were no reported Dooley households.

Dooley Households of Ireland

County                                    Dooley Households

Carlow (1852-53)                         10

Clare (1855)                                    1

Cork (1851-53)                            26

Galway  (1855)                            82

Kerry (1852)                                   3

Kildare (1851)                                8

Kilkenny (1849-50)                      89

Limerick (1851-52)                      26

Longford (1854)                             2

Mayo (1856-57)                             8

Meath (1854)                                 3

Offaly (King’s) (1855)                  89

Tipperary (1851)                           47

Waterford (1848-51)                     30

Westmeath (1854)                         6

Wexford (1853)                            16

Wicklow (1852-53)                        1                                               

The County Cork caught my eye for the simple reason that Ellen Dooley nee Hart’s death certificate reported a birthplace of Cork, Ireland.  In 1851-53 there were 68 Hart households along with 26 Dooley households. Perhaps there is a connection.

Dooly Households of Ireland

Carlow (1852-53)                          1

Clare (1855)                                10

Cork (1851-53)                           22

Dublin (1848-51)                          4

Galway (1855)                            17

Kildare (1851)                               1

Kilkenny (1849-50)                     40

Limerick (1851-52)                     24

Longford (1854)                            4

Meath (1855)                                2

Roscommon (1857-58)                11

Tipperary (1851)                          30

Westmeath (1854)                        4

Wexford (1853)                            10

Dowley Households of Ireland

Limerick (1851-52)                        1

Dowly Households -  None reported.

This information was found at IrishTimes.com (http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/index.htm : accessed 9 August 2012).

Irish Origins

Uncle Dave Dooley dreams of locating his Irish Roots. It has become my job to help him realize his dream. Uncle Dave believes his family origins lie in Westmeath, Ireland. But do they really?

Loretto Szucs wrote a nice book, Chicago & Cook County; A Guide to Research.  It is a great book that guides a researcher through the vast resources that Chicago has to offer. I looked to his “Ethnic Resources” chapter to learn about the Irish of Chicago. The source of his information comes from an article, “The Irish in Chicago,” written by Kyle J. Betit and Thomas M. Cook.

The Potato Famine of the 1840s was the reason many Irish Catholics left home and arrived in Chicago. According to Mr. Szucs, the Irish settled in three specific locations in Chicago each with it’s own Catholic Parish.

1.  The West side between Halsted and the Chicago River from Lake Street south to Harrison (St.Patrick's)

2.  The North side from Market Street to Indiana; which is now Grand Avenue. (Holy Name)

3.  The Southside along the south branch of the Chicago River. (St. Bridget’s)

A second wave of Irish Catholic immigrants arrived in the 1880s. This group of

immigrants originated from the counties of Mayo and Galway.  [1]

It is this 1880 group of Irish Catholic immigrants that our Dooley ancestors

belonged. The 1900 U.S. Census reports that William Dooley immigrated in the year

1886. Based on what I have learned thus far, if William Dooley arrived in

Chicago in 1886, he may have originated in the counties of Westmeath, Mayo or

Galway. I have my Irish starting point.

---

[1]

Loretto Dennis Szucs, Chicago & Cook Count: A Guide to Research (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1996), 265-266.

Another Piece of the Dooley Puzzle

I am returning to the Dooley gravestone which reports that a James Dooley died on 17 September 1914. I located James’ death certificate on Family Search. Fortunately death certificates in 1914 reported much more information that Celia’s 1902 certificate did.

"Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1878-1922," index and images, Family Search, (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 26 July 2012), James C. Dooley, 1914.

James passed away much too early. He was nine months and twelve days old at his death. James succumbed to gastroenteritis at the Wesley Memorial Hospital. Today the hospital is known as Northwestern Memorial Hospital located in downtown Chicago.

We learn that James was a lifetime resident of Chicago, as were his parents, Joseph and Winifred Dooley. Joseph was the death certificate informant and he resided at 2315 Greenshaw Street, Chicago. A Google search of his address shows that the home no longer exists, but was located in the Taylor Street area of Chicago.

Joseph was interred on 19 September 1914 with his grandparents, William and Mary, and little Celia.

You may have noticed the name Winifred Dooley. Joseph and Winifred Dooley’s youngest daughter was Winifred Mary Dooley. Her descendants gave Uncle Dave Dooley and I the first puzzle piece of the Dooley Family tree. Connections continue to be made.

Progress in the Dooley Research

The Dooley research is beginning to move along. Uncle Dave Dooley’s prodding of relations has yielded our first result. We now know the birth, death and marriage dates of Winifred Mary Dooley’s family.

I am quite sure Uncle Dave Dooley will be pleased with our first piece of the Dooley puzzle. Yet at the same time, he will also be disappointed that we have not received more.  Patience!

Tombstone Tuesday

One of my last posts, which seems like ages ago, showed a photo of William and Mary Dooley’s gravestone. William and Mary share their final resting place with other Dooley relatives including Celia, James, John and Mildred. My daughter asked, “Who are Celia and James?”

Celia Dooley was a little girl who passed away 7 December 1902. Her cause of death was determined to be pneumonia. Her passing certainly was a sad day for the family. William Dooley who passed on 10 April 1902 preceded her in death by a mere eight months. 1902 brought sickness, death and sorrow to the Dooleys.

 "Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1878-1922," index and images, Family Search (http://www.familysearch.org: accessed 25 July 2012), Celia Dooley, 1902.

Celia’s death certificate reports important information regarding her passing with the exception of her parentage. After reviewing the family tree and taking Celia’s  birth/death dates into consideration, it seems likely that Celia was the daughter of William Dooley or one of his brothers, Stephen or David F.

The 1910 census reports that Stephen and wife, Sarah, had two children and only one living child whose name is recorded as Sadie.

Brother David F. and his wife, Elizabeth, had two children. None of their children had survived according to the 1910 census.

Both brothers and their spouses were of childbearing age and it appears likely that Celia may have been a child to one of the Dooley Brothers.

It may also be possible that Celia was a child of William and Mary Dooley; however, William and Mary’s descendants don’t recall a child named Celia. They are a tight-knit family and certain of their history.

At this point, Celia’s parentage cannot be determined. I will keep my eyes open and ask questions as I meet more of the Dooley clan. 

Looking forward to consistently posting once again.

 

Linda