June 2019 – A Lost Cousin?

June 1, 2019

Ever come across a name in your research that just has to be your family? But you can’t figure out where?! I’ve been trying to fit together the pieces of a mystery.

In preparation for our trip to Taita Cemetery back in March, I had a look at the Council’s cemetery database to see if there was any family there. I was picking random names out of my tree, but put in O’Callaghan because I know there are many of my extended whānau living in the Hutt today.

In the old Cemetery, there were two results. The second jumped out at me – Henry Davies O’Callaghan. He had died on 21 May 1927 aged 88, giving a birth date around 1838.

Henry-Davies as a hyphenated first name with O’Callaghan as a last name has appeared in my family since Mary Davies, daughter of Henry Davies married Cornelius O’Callaghan in 1781. They named their third son Henry-Davies O’Callaghan (1790-1879). Henry-Davies O’Callaghan in Taita had to be a family member. But which one?

He wasn’t the original one. Apart from the dates not matching up, he and his wife Christina Pyne have a lovely memorial in the churchyard of St Catherine’s in Summercove, Co Cork.

I’d run out of possibilities in my tree, but knew that my tree was not complete. Time to find out more about Henry Davies O’Callaghan of Taita. Papers Past had a number of reprinted obituaries for him (this is from the Otago Daily Times, 24 May 1927):

But no family members or a place of origin was mentioned.

I looked for and found a will on FamilySearch. It mentions a wife Kathleen but no children. It also mentions a nephew Cyril, son of his brother Jasper. The name Jasper further implied a family connection! We have lots of them! But I could find no record of a Cyril O’Callaghan in New Zealand. Back to my tree. I did find a Cyril. He was the son of Jasper Masters Pyne O’Callaghan, and grandson of the original Henry-Davies O’Callaghan. Could this be H-D’s son Henry O’Callaghan. I have nothing on him – no dates, no family, nothing. Dates suggest it could be, but I need to do further research in Irish records to check. Will let you know how I get on!