The Quilietti Family

Denis Madigan Stanton 1950

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This is a famous Irish clan surname recorded as Madden, Madigan, and MacAvaddy. It derives from the pre 10th century Olde Gaelic O’Madain, translating as ‘The descendant of the son of the hound’. Most Irish surnames originate from a chief’s nickname, O’Kennedy, for instance means ‘The descendant of the ugly headed one!’ The O’Madain’s originated from lands on the River Shannon in County Galway, at one time holding over 25,000 acres. Even today nameholders are still numerous in that part of Ireland. The Madigan branch of the clan are regarded as almost exclusively a Clare-Limerick family, although a branch are to be found in Counties Antrim and Derry in Ulster. Early surname holders included the Rev. Samuel Madden (1680 – 1760), a famed philanthropist, whilst Richard Madden, (1798 – 1886) was the author of the book ‘The United Irishman’. During the infamous ‘Potato Famine’ of 1846, many name holders emigrated to both England and America.

Read more: https://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Madigan#ixzz6Os7OjrYg

The Madigan connection comes from Denis Madigan Stanton whose Madigan line is traced back to County Limerick. Below is a link to the state of affairs of the working classes in Ireland at that time and how the people were starving whilst the landlords sold what crops they had to England.

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The 1830s was an especially desperate time for the destitute in Limerick. By the early 1800s the City of Limerick was sharply divided between the rich and the poor. As soon as the famous walls of the city were torn down in the 1760s, those who could afford it began to relocate from Irishtown and Englishtown (collectively known as the Old town) to the new spacious developments in the Newtown Pery district

.https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/assets.ria.ie/ihta/ihta-digital/viking-towns/limerick/IHTA_21_Limerick_Text.pdf

This trend continued for decades until the Old town was predominantly populated by the working classes. Limerick historian John McGrath noted the effect when he observed that while the Thomond Bridge and the New Bridge physically connected the city together, they now also acted as community boundaries. This shift in wealth and affluence across the city is demonstrated by the following example.

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Sedan chairs, like taxis today, needed a licence to operate and among their patrons were “ladies going to balls” and the wealthy who wished to move around town in bad weather.

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It was during the Potato Famine that our branch of the family found themselves transported to Edinburgh to the Cowgate area which was named Little Ireland because of the masses who were housed in the tall tenements of the Old Town. Nearby St. Patrick’s RC Church was also where the congregations wold meet up. The district was later joined by many Italians who were also in crisis at the time because of the problems of The Unification of Italy.

This is a famous Irish clan surname recorded as Madden, Madigan, and MacAvaddy. It derives from the pre 10th century Olde Gaelic O’Madain, translating as ‘The descendant of the son of the hound’. Most Irish surnames originate from a chief’s nickname, O’Kennedy, for instance means ‘The descendant of the ugly headed one!’ The O’Madain’s originated from lands on the River Shannon in County Galway, at one time holding over 25,000 acres. Even today nameholders are still numerous in that part of Ireland. The Madigan branch of the clan are regarded as almost exclusively a Clare-Limerick family, although a branch are to be found in Counties Antrim and Derry in Ulster. Early surname holders included the Rev. Samuel Madden (1680 – 1760), a famed philanthropist, whilst Richard Madden, (1798 – 1886) was the author of the book ‘The United Irishman’. During the infamous ‘Potato Famine’ of 1846, many name holders emigrated to both England and America.

Read more: https://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Madigan#ixzz6Os7OjrYg

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DENIS Peter Madigan 1801-1851 and Margaret Philbin or Philban 1806-1880

They married c 1826 and had 9 children all born in Limerick. Denis was in the Army as is shown below date 1845

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By 1851 Margaret Madigan Philbin age 45, was living at Hume’s Close, 103 Cowgate, Edinburgh, along with her sons Peter who was aged 26 and working as a Wright Journeyman, Daniel age 23 who was also a Wright Journeyman and daughter Helen age 19. This census does not let us know the professions of the ladies, nor whether Margaret was a Widow. Life could not easy for them, and it seems that Denis had not lived through the famine.

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Margaret Madigan Philbin died in Edinburgh on 6th July 1880 in the City Poorhouse. Her parents given as Dennis Philbin and Margaret Kinnelly. Her surname was written down different ways, Pilran or Philban.

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KNOWN CHILDREN of Denis Madigan and MARGARET PHILBAN

DIRECT LINE Peter Madigan 1925-1890 who married Catherine Clarke 1838-1911

By 1861 son Peter Madigan was residing at Forrester’s Wynd- 98 Cowgate with his wife Catherine Clarke who he had married on 25 August 1858 at St. Patrick’s Church in the Cowgate With them their son DENIS. Catherine Clark was also of Irish descent and she was born in the Cowgate on December 8th 1833. Parents listed as James and Martha Clarke.

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CHILDREN of Peter Madigan and Catherine Clarke

• DENIS MADIGAN 1860-61
• THOMAS MADIGAN 1861-1947
• HELEN MADIGAN 1864. Helen died in 1930.
• MARGARET MADIGAN 1868. – died after 1911
• PETER MADIGAN 1870-1924. It seems Peter joined the Army
• DENIS MADIGAN 1873-1923. Denis also joined the Army
• CATHERINE MADIGAN 1875-1956 – Grandmother – married Edward Stanton

1. GREAT UNCLE – THOMAS MADIGAN – was born in the The Cowgate on 20th November 1861. The following census information available at the time tells us that in 1871 he was living at 108 Cowgate. 1881 shows us he was an apprentice plumber and living with his parents at the same abode [this census does not give us the exact address only the district]. By 1891 he had married Catherine White on April 10th 1885, and the family with his kids are now residing at 119 Cowgate, 2 Scott’s Close. Children at this time were Peter, Margaret and Catherine Madigan. By now his occupation was that of Mason’s labourer. Catherine White is described as a paper bag maker. Catherine’s life was short however and died with complications of a child birth which caused her heart to give out, on 6th April 1900 at home 2 Scott’s Close, Cowgate. By 1911 he was living with daughter Catherine at 1 Allinson’s Close, The Cowgate. Thomas lived on through the two World Wars. He died in 1947 age 85 at The Home, Gilmour Place in Edinburgh City.

The children of Thomas Madigan and Catherine White were

• PETER MADIGAN – was born on 24th August 1885 at 240 The Canongate in the City. He died in 1940.
• MARGARET MADIGAN was born in 1888. It looks like she never wed. She died in 1958 in Edinburgh.
• DENIS MADIGAN was born on June 4th 1889 at 119 Cowgate, Edinburgh. Denis died in 1890.
• CATHERINE MADIGAN was born on 29th October 1890 at Scott’s Close, 119 Cowgate, Edinburgh.
• HELEN MADIGAN was born on September 6th 1892 at 119 Cowgate, Edinburgh.
• MARY ANN MADIGAN was born on September 14th 1894 at 119 Cowgate, Edinburgh. She died the following year.
• MARTHA MADIGAN was born on July 8th 1896 at 119 Cowgate, Edinburgh. She died shortly after birth
• ANN MADIGAN was born on 2nd November 1897 at 119 Cowgate, Edinburgh. She died in 1899.

2. GREAT AUNT. HELEN MADIGAN. Helen was born in 1964. She married George Rankine who was a bookbinder by Trade. They had at least six children. Catherine, George, Helen, John, Minnie and Barbara Rankine.

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3. GREAT AUNT Margaret Madigan 1868-after 1891 – married John Sneddon Crerar in Edinburgh. He was a typefounder by profession. They had a few of their children in Scotland and then the family moved to Fulham in London, England where the remainder of their children were born. Margaret’s mother joined them in later life. She died after the 1911 English Census. Their children were John, Catherine, David and Peter. Daughter Margaret must have moved back up to Scotland as whe was witness at two of her brothers deaths and she was living in Greenock.

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4. GREAT UNCLE PETER MADIGAN was born on 7th July 1878 at 75 The Cowgate in Edinburgh. He married Bridget Marra in Stirling in 1906 where he was stationed in Stirling Castle. They moved to Greenock. Described as a musician on his death Certificate below, we know he joined the Army and may have played an instrument there. He died on October 11th 1924 in the Ministry of Pensions Hospital in Craigleith in Edinburgh. His sister Margaret Crerar is witness to his death. Three known children Mary born 1907, Peter born 1909 and Doreen Patricia 1911 all Stirling.

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5. GREAT UNCLE – DENIS MADIGAN was born in Edinburgh on 28th February 1873. Like his brother Peter he joined the Army. He never married. He died at 23a Salisbury Street, Edinburgh in 1924. Witness again was sister Margaret Crerar whose address was given as 9 Crescent Street, Greenock at the time. His Army records show him as being in the Royal Engineers and he was 19 when he enlisted. His Regimental number was 26755.

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6. GREAT GRANDMOTHER CATHERINE MADIGAN. She was born at the old tenement 108 Cowgate on 8th November 1875. It was here in Edinburgh’s Irish Quarter that she met and married EDWARD STANTON whose family had lived in the area for twenty years since the famine. This line is our direct line – please see dedicated pagehttp://www.quilietti.com/the-stanton-connection/

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LAWRENCE or LAURENCE MADIGAN 1836-1914

Lawrence Madigan 1836-1914 was in Scotland at some point and we know that he joined the Army. Denis has DNA Hits with some of his descendants but are unsure if he was another son of Denis Madigan and Margaret Philban. We trace him in 1861 with profession as a Tailor in the Army and with an address 8 Annfield in Leith. He married Mary Anne Hollasey in Scotland and they moved to West Ham in England where they raised their family. The English Census 1881 clearly shows where his children were born and their first born, Catherine and eldest son who was also called Lawrence were born in Edinburgh.

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THE IRISH MADIGANS connected family from Limerick

There were other branches of the Madigan family who were from Limerick who came to Scotland. One one Henry Madigan and Sarah McDonnell. They had been married in Limerick on May 3rd 1862. This family went to Rothesay in the County of Bute, where they raised their family

With thanks to Elizabeth Neil who is a direct descendant of John Madigan who was born c 1814 in Limerick, probably Rathkeale. He emigrated in 1841 to New York with his younger brother Michael and Michael’s wife Johanna. The family eventually moved to ILLINOIS. Elizabeth has a second cousin Molly Madigan who is the genealogist in the family. Her direct ancestor is Denis Madigan, below. Thanks to the family for sharing these fab photos and stories

MOVING Back to Ireland c 1830. This Branch of the Madigan family found their way to New York where they at first settled in the Dunkirk area of the City. Denis Madigan born c 1794 in County Limerick. There is a debate about his actual birthplace as the family had thought that their branch were from Rathkeale, County Limerick. However they now feel that they may have moved there c. 1833 from Shanagolden.

Denis Madigan married Hannah Cusack by Father Dean McNamara in the year 1824, taken from an inscription in a family book. Father McNamara was practicing in Shanagolden at that time.

Their two eldest children were born in Shanagolden and the remainder in Rathkeale Parish.

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There were also three daughters of Denis Madigan and Hanah Cusack

BRIDGET HELEN MADIGAN was born on 20th March 1830 in Kilcornan, Limerick in Ireland. She travelled to New York in 1852 where she found employment doing Domestic Duties in various prominent households over the years. She never married and in the late 1890s moved in with her sister Catherine where she remained until she died on 4th March 1902. She was buried in the family plot in St. Mary’s RC Church, Dunkirk, New York

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/106580329/person/290055692776/facts

Catherine MADIGAN was born on 5th August 1833 at Rathkeale, County Limerick, Ireland. She moved to New York in 1852 with her sister Bridget. Like Bridget she found employment as a Servant in the Brendgrace household which was located in the Chautauqua district of New York. She married in the year 1859 to Patrick Creamer whose family were also of Irish descent. Their address was in Ruggles Street, Dunkirk, New York. They never had any children. Catherine died on 24th May 1904. Her husband died in 1909.

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/106580329/person/290055692778/facts

MARY MADIGAN was the youngest of the family. She was born on 13th March 1843 in Rathkeale, Limerick in Ireland and probably died young. No further information.

The line below are connected to the one above but unsure of how this Denis c 1830 ties in.

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As a post note to this page please feel free to leave a message if you can enhance it with any stories or links that might help us link up the various branches in Ireland

• There were also three