The earliest mention which I can find of the Lloyd family in Doon is on the death certificate for John Lloyd, which gives his birth as 1799. While the information on death certificates is notoriously inaccurate, I wonder whether the fact that 1799 was one year after a memorable event (the 1798 rebellion) could mean that John, himself remembered being told the date and passed it on accurately to his children. There is no record of John’s birthplace or of when he first married. The next records in which he is mentioned are the baptismal records of his children.

John Lloyd and Margaret (Jessie) Dwyer/O’Dwyer had the following children, all baptised in Doon:

Sponsors

James and Jane (1836) Denis Duggan and Judy Keary

William Clancy and Hannah Ryan

John (1839) Jerry Tuohy and Mary Darcy

Edmund /Edward (1841). Brian Duggan and Margaret Ryan

If the information on John’s death certificate is correct, he would have been 37 when James and Jane were born, which means there is a possibility that he may have been married to someone else earlier. There is a marriage record in Doon for an Anne Lloyd and Jerry Ryan (sponsors: William Lloyd and Patrick Hourigan) in 1839. As all the other Lloyd records in St Patrick’s parish, Doon, are for John or his children, Anne and William may also be relatives - perhaps John’s children from an earlier marriage.

Margaret must have died, possibly during the Great Famine, as John remarried in 1853 to Ellen Hanley of Cooga, Doon. Ellen had also been married before, to Patrick Tobin in 1843 and had three children:

Sponsors

Michael Tobin* (c. 1843) {not known)

William Tobin (1846) John Hickey and Bridget Hanley

Ellen Tobin (1847) Michael Hanley and Ellen Lonergan

Before John’s second marriage, Griffiths Valuations show him renting a house from Patrick Richardson in Liscaugh townland in the village of Doon. After his marriage he moved across the street to the house and garden which Ellen rented from the Earl of Clonmel in Doon South townland. John and Ellen’s children were as follows:

Sponsors

Mary (1854) T. Hanley and Ellen Lonergan

Richard (1855) Con. Hanley and Julia Hanley

Richard (1858) Kitty Hickey and Patrick Hanley

Patrick (1862) William Coffey and Kitty Hanley

Cornelius (1863) Patrick Hanley and Bridget Hanley

Ellen died in 1881 aged 63 years. Her death certificate gives her occupation as "shopkeeper’s wife". John lived in the same house until 1895. However, he died in Cooga, the neighbouring townland, where the Hanley family had a farm. On his death certificate, his occupation is stated as "labourer". The informant was Mary Ryan of Cooga - probably his daughter.

Next generation:

1. and 2. Nothing is known of James or Jane.

3. John (jnr) married Kitty/Catherine Andrews/Anderson in 1861 in Doon (sponsors: John Cummins, Mary Collins) and their children were as follows:

Sponsors

Margaret (1862) Ned Lloyd and Mary Collins

Mary (1863) Michael Devitt and Anne Landers

Johanna (1865) Michael Tobin and Bridget Green

Hanora *(1867) Jer. Landers and Mary Lloyd

John (1868) Philip Ryan and Margaret Ryan

Catherine (1869) Richard Lloyd and Ellen Hanley

Jane (1872) Edmond Landers and Margaret Quinlan

William (1875) John Lloyd and Margaret Lloyd

Griffiths valuations for 1873-1882 show John Lloyd Jnr living at No.13 (Main St) near John Lloyd Snr at No.16 but the entry was crossed out at sometime during this period. The house at No. 13 has "pub" written beside it. This must be the business referred to as "a drapery and public house" in a letter to Ita Lloyd from the Convent of Mercy in Doon in 1982.* The writer advised that she had confirmed the information about the shop with an 80 year old man in the parish, whose father had worked for John Lloyd in his drapery shop and that it was where Joe Berkery then (i.e.1982) had a garage. John Jnr was a tailor and from the reference to his stepmother, Ellen, as a "shopkeeper’s wife", it appears that the extended family must have worked in the shop at least up until Ellen died or John and Catherine left Doon.

There is no further record of John Lloyd Jnr, after the Griffiths updates for 1873-1882.

4. Edmund/Edward emigrated to Chicago, Illinois, where he married Ellen Tobin (daughter of Ellen Hanley and Patrick Tobin) in 1868. (sponsors: Margaret Boyce, John Sweeney) The 1870 US census shows them sharing a house in Cook County, Illinois, with Michael and William Tobin. At that stage, they had a baby of 6 months –Margaret. Their children as shown in the baptismal records of Holy Family Parish were:

Sponsors

Margaret (1869) Michael Tobin, Mary Crow

Ellen (1871) Patrick Prnty? Punty?, Margaret Ryan

John (1872) Michael Hoy, Bridget Ryan

Patrick (1874) William Tobin, Mary Lloyd

Edward (1878) Patrick Halpin, Mary Ryan

Michael (1880) Patrick Ryan, Johanna Halpin

Jane (1881) Cornelius Lloyd, Honora Halpin

Honora (1883) William Elliott, Bridget Hanley

Ellen (1884) M. Burke, M.Lloyd

Richard (1886) John O’Brien, Br. Whalen

Julia (1888) John Dooley, Joanna Sullivan

Edward died in 1891. Children of Edward and Ellen buried with their father in Calvary Cemetery, Chicago, are: Ellen, William, Mary, Jane and Patrick. Ellen remarried in 1894 to John McAndrew.

5. Mary married Patrick Ryan in Doon in 1878. Their witnesses were Margaret Lloyd and Michael Ryan. Their children, all baptised in Doon, were:

Sponsors

Honora (1879) Cornelius Lloyd, Catherine Ryan

Ellen (1881) John Hanley, Ellen Horgan

John (1884) Roger Ryan, Catherine Anderson

Roger (1886) Jeremiah Landers, Ellen Hanley

Mary Catherine (1888) Michael Ryan, Mary Hanley

Catherine (1891) Patrick Bourke, Julia Hanley

Julie (1893) Patrick Hennessy, Bridget Hennessy Patrick (1897) John Ryan, Mary Honora Ryan

Michael Patrick (1899) Patrick O’Dwyer, Bridget Horgan

Mary and Patrick were still living in Doon at the time of the 1901 and 1911 censuses. Patrick was a carpenter and the family lived in Main St. The 1901 Census shows Annie (Ellen?) Ryan aged 20 was a teacher and John and Roger had followed their father and become carpenters.

6. Richard emigrated sometime around 1876. He came to Christchurch, New Zealand, where he married Bridget Ryan in 1884. Bridget had arrived in New Zealand in1874, aged 15, with her family, and came from Nenagh. Sadly she died in 1885, shortly after the birth of a daughter, Ellen, who also died a few weeks later.

Richard married Mary Sheehan of County Kerry in 1891 and they had the following children:

Sponsors

John Sheehan (1892) Michael Connors, Eliza Connors

Mary Ellen (1893) Robert Ryan, Bridget Ryan

Daniel Patrick (1896) Edward Noonan, Mary Noonan

Richard Lynch (1898) John Hayes, Ellen Noonan

Gerald (1900) James McGrath, Mrs James McGrath

Kevin Lancelot (1901) Joseph McGrath, Agnes Mahon

Ita (1904) Joseph Quinn, Mary Quinn

After arriving in New Zealand, Richard worked on farms on the outskirts of Christchurch, before purchasing a farm of his own just north of the city. He died in 1938.

7. Cornelius was still living in Doon in 1879, when he was a baptismal sponsor for his niece, Ellen Ryan. The next mention of him is in the 1880 US Census, where he is shown in Chicago, Illinois, working for his half brother, William Tobin, who was a saloon keeper.

8. The only mention I have found of Patrick is his baptismal record.

Through trying to trace the Lloyds, I have been in touch with Michael and Virginia Lloyd of Texas, who are also researching the family history and have visited Doon. Michael is a descendant of Edward and Ellen Lloyd. Richard Lloyd was my grandfather.

If anyone has any further information about the Lloyds of Doon or their descendants, I would be delighted to hear from them. My address is: lloydmgt@xtra.co.nz.

Margaret Lloyd