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"The Fennells of Manister, Co. Limerick, Eire"
P. D. Fennell has spent more than 15 years exploring the travels and careers of the descendants of John Fennell to compile the book, "The Fennells of Manister, Co. Limerick, Eire". In his 300 page publication, he has chronicled a description and history of the village of Manister; the family's herculean task of converting a rocky, pine laden mountain in New Brunswick into a smooth running farm; many individual stories of Fennells and their spouses and has included over 200 photos.
Book 7092 $89.95 plus $12.00 shipping within North America. Book has a printing error which does not affect the content of the book. I have only one copy
Payment is accepted by credit card online through PayPal at https://www.paypal.com/ (My account rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca) or cheque, or Canadian or International money order. If you have any questions, contact Ruby by email rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca
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More information:
Finding Fennells
As Cliff and I trudged home from school on this cool December afternoon we wondered what Mum would be having for supper. Cliff was hoping for a roast beef dinner with lots of mashed potatoes and gravy. I preferred baked potatoes with crisp skins and lots of spare ribs.
When we walked through the back door, the aroma of stew met us. Now that I think about it, we ate potatoes from the big bin in the cellar for at least two meals a day. Mum had many ways of preparing them - boiled, mashed, baked, warmed up, in stews and soups, as potato scallop or mixed with left over roast as hash. Potatoes certainly played a major role in our daily diet.
Over in Ireland, a potato famine in 1822 caused Big John Fennell to give some thought to leaving his thatched roof cottage. As a tenant dairy farmer in the village of Manister, in the Rathmore Townlands, near the Fedamore-Bruff borders, he and his wife, Honora longed for their own land and promised themselves one day they would take the family to the "New World".
He got along well with the Maunsells who owned the land and they allowed him to use the leased land for tillage, as well as, the pasturage for 20 odd milk cows and a few garrons (old horses). John anticipated another tailspin in the economy along with the additional heavy taxes they had to pay, as well as the forecast of more "mini-famines", as they had in the past.The years slipped by, as Big John approached the age of sixty, he realized that he could not afford to wait any longer. He must make the transition while he and Nora were still healthy. Repeatedly, he thought about leaving their four room thatched cottage overlooking the bright green blanket of a fertile, yet sometimes soggy meadow; land that he and his family had worked and nurtured for so many years. "How could he bring himself to leave it and his brothers and sisters?" he thought to himself. The potato harvest, a main source of food, would be not as abundant as expected in the past. "Was that an indication of the future?" he reflected.
Plans were made to take the ship, the Cordelia out of Limerick Harbour onto the Shannon River and sail to the Maritimes of British North America (Canada) along with another 100 plus passengers. After a 36-day journey, they arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick, on Monday, May 25, 1840. The children who accompanied him were Tom, Darby (Jeremiah), Dan, Patrick, Bridget, Catherine, Maryann and Ellen, ranging in age from 9 to 35 years. His son John was 32 and chose to stay in Ireland.
They would ultimately travel up country, some fifty miles from the port of Saint John, to settle into their new surroundings at White's Mountain just beyond the Sussex Parish settlement, in the Kennebecasis River Valley. Their friends and neighbors who had traveled with them - the Ryans, Shanessys, Gallaghers, Elders, Hanleys and Boyds - would join them in that same area. The McCrossons were already there, having arrived in 1837 from County Tyrone and would guide them by familiarizing them with the "New Land".
Those initial years were very difficult and challenging to the spirit, especially during the heavy snows of winter.
They would see, Father O'Donnell, the mission priest, on a monthly basis when he would stay over at John and Nora's house. Many of the newborn and some adults in the community would come to their home to be baptized.
The Fennells, as tenant farmers, knew that their labor would be rewarded with productive land and healthy cattle over the long run. This was a much more promising future and much more attractive than remaining in County Limerick. John knew he had made a sound and prudent decision for Nora and the children. He only wished brothers, Tom and Dermot, had the same foresight he had as the great famine would soon take the lives of his loved ones.
It was not until the 1850s that Big John's sons, Thomas, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Patrick acquired acreage at White's Mountain. Collectively, they owned close to a 1000 acres during the 1850s and early 1860s. This was only after each took advantage of opportunities, by working as laborers on building Canadian roads and with the railroad - trolley system in the United States. They went as far south to Portland and Boston, where the harder they worked the more money they could earn and save to acquire pasture land on White's Mountain.
As the years rolled on, there were good times, as well as bad times. More marriages, more offspring, where some remained in the area and others moved on to the United States or to other parts of Canada. By 1890, the original Fennell family that had crossed over on the Cordelia, had passed on.
P. D. Fennell has spent 15 years exploring the travels and careers of the descendants of John Fennell to compile the book, "The Fennells of Manister, Co. Limerick, Eire". In his 300 page publication, he has chronicled a description and history of the village of Manister; the family's herculean task of converting a rocky, pine laden mountain in New Brunswick into a smooth running farm; many individual stories of Fennells and their spouses and has included over 200 photos.
Big John Fennell had the fortitude and vision, at almost 60 years of age, to make the decision to leave Ireland with his wife and eight children, well before the Great Famine.
Payment is accepted by credit card online through PayPal at https://www.paypal.com/ (My account rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca) or cheque, or Canadian or International money order. If you have any questions, contact Ruby by email rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca