Tom McCabe's Genealogy 2025

Francis came from Magheracloone, Monaghan. Here is the description of Magheracloone from the famous Ireland Topographical Dictionary by Samuel Lewis in 1837.

MAGHERACLOONY, a parish, in the barony of FARNEY, county of MONAGHAN, and province of ULSTER, 2 1/2 miles (S. W.) from Kingscourt, on the confines of the counties of Louth, Cavan, and Meath, and on the mail coach road from Dublin to Londonderry; containing 8444 inhabitants. On the verge of this parish, at the ford of Bellahoo, a battle was fought in 1539, between the Lord Grey and O'Nial and O'Donell; at the same spot one was also fought by Gen. Ireton. The parish comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 12,952 statute acres (including 336 1/2 under water) principally good arable and pasture land; there are a few detached bogs, and some extensive plantations, but scarcely any waste land. Of late years the land has been much improved by extensive draining and the large quantity of lime used as manure; limestone is abundant in the southern part; coal of indifferent quality is also found. A branch of the river Leggan bounds the parish for about four miles on the south-west: the principal lakes are those of Fea, Feo, Rahans, and Graghlone, besides which there are some smaller. The principal seats are Lough Fea Castle, the residence of Evelyn J. Shirley, Esq., a spacious and handsome structure in the Elizabethan style ofarchitecture, situated in a richly planted demesne, including Lough Fea within its limits; Derry, of S. Pendleton, Esq.; and Coolderry, of G. Forster, Esq. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Clogher, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the rectory is impropriate in Col. Moore. The tithes amount to £1116. 13. 4., of which £686. 13. 4. is payable to the impropriator, and £430 to the vicar. The glebe-house, erected in 1816, cost £941. 10. 9 1/4., of which £323. 1. 7. was a gift, and £415. 7. 85. a loan, from the late Board of First Fruits, the residue having been supplied by the incumbent; the glebe comprises 40 acres, valued at £60 per annum. The church is a neat modern structure, built in 1835, at an expense of £738. 9. 2 3/4., being a loan from the same Board. The R. C. parish is co-extensive with that of the Established Church, and has chapels at Rocks and Corlan; the latter, a spacious oblong structure, 90 feet by 40, was erected in 1825, and has a burial-ground attached: the site was given by E. J. Shirley, Esq., who contributed £25 towards the building. The parochial school is aided by the incumbent; the school-house is a good slated building, erected at an expense of £150, part of which was a grant from the lord-lieutenant's school fund. There are two other schools, to each of which Mr. Shirley contributes £5 per ann., and one under the National Board; also 16 private schools.

See these web pages for more information on the 74th Regiment of Foot:

http://www.electricscotland.com/history/scotreg/74thndx.htm

See this link for a (partial) map of Maghercloone itself. Notice that Corlea, Doagh and Aghinillard (sic), townlands where Frank McCabe was known to have lived, are clustered together in the NW part of the parish.

http://astros.cs.txstate.edu/phpgedview-3.3final/media/Magheracloone.jpg

"Old" Francis McCabe came to Ops, Victoria Co, Ontario in about 1828. He was settled in Ops on Concession 10 Lot 11 by 1829, receiving his patent in 1840. Francis was a former soldier in the British army, serving with the 74th Regiment of Foot from 1809 to 1813 and the 7th Reserve Battalion from 1813 to 1816. Many army records confirm these details. Francis was wounded in the neck in 1812 or 1813 while fighting in Spain with Wellington's forces against the French. Army records conflict - one states that he was born in Magheracloone and another states that he was born in Hillsborough, County Down; however, army records from his service in the 2nd RVB in Ireland verify that he was born in Monaghan - specifically at Aghnalart townland in Magheracloone. Francis returned to Aghnalart in Magheracloone after his army service in 1816 where a record in the Shirley Estate verifies he lived in Aghnalart until drafted by the British Army back into service in 1822. His unit, the 2nd Reserve Battalion, served in Ireland for two years, suppressing possible rebellion throughout Ireland.

It is not clear when he married Sarah Richards, but she was the mother of his youngest son Simon who was born about 1827. It is possible he had a previous wife who gave birth to his oldest son Francis, who was born before 1810. When Francis came to Toronto in 1827 he said he had 3 sons and 2 daughters. A widower, Old Francis married the "Widow Muldoon" in 1841 - they lived in Ops onConcession 10 Lot 11 and later moved to property slightly north, Concession 9 Lot 18. Francis bought and sold several properties in the 1830s-1850s in Ops.

Francis younger brother Patrick emigrated to Ops in about 1831. Patrick was helped a great deal by his brother according to numerous letters and documents in the Heir and Devisee Files in the Toronto archives. Patrick died about 1845. Francis provided financial support to Patrick's son, Patrick Jr., when he arrived in Ops about 1855. Patrick Jr. applied for and received title to his father's property, Conc 3 Lot 13; however, there must have been some dispute over the title since Victoria County land records indicate that Francis had to help pay for a judgement against Patrick Jr. in a lawsuit that ensued.

Starting in 1851, Francis' children did begin to emigrate from Monaghan to Ops. Simon, the youngest came first. He settled in Ops and then homesteaded in Eaton, Manitowoc Co, Wisconsin in 1854. He remained in Ops until about 1865 when his family permanently left Ops for Wisconsin. Simon was dead by 1871.

Old Francis' daughter Elizabeth McCABE Dunn and her husband Patrick came to Ops about 1860, settled near her father and eventually farmed Old Francis property for many years. Elizabeth's husband Patrick DUNN died before 1895 and all of the family moved to Rochester NY. They sold the remaining part of Old Francis' property (Conc 9 Lot 19) to Thomas McCabe (son of Francis "Jr" and grandson of Old Francis) in 1895. (Thomas was the only known descendent of Old Francis who remained in Ops after 1895.)

It is certain that this Old Francis McCabe is the father of the younger Francis McCabe who immigrated to Ops from Monaghan Ireland in May of 1861. Some family historians have indicated that the younger Francis' father was named Michael, called "Quaker". But there is no evidence of this. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence that this "Old Francis" was the father of Francis (husband of Margaret Martin) who arrived in May 1861 to Ops. Francis "Jr" had been a young man of about 20 when his father left Ireland. Old Francis' wife back in Ireland must have died shortly after 1830 since the family did not emigrate to Canada as had been planned and in 1841 old Francis married the Widow Muldoon in Lindsay.

Francis "Jr" and Margaret Martin's son Michael McCabe, presumably Old Francis' grandson, came to Ops in Nov 1859 as an 18 year old having arrived on the ship John Bright at the port of New York. Michael was living with Old Francis and his wife Rebecca according to the 1861 census of Ops. In May 1861 Francis McCabe Jr., who immigrated with his wife Margaret MARTIN and three remaining sons, arrived from Liverpool on the ship John Bright at NY harbor. Evidently family lore had been correct - to wit, in 1859 Michael "Big Mickey" had come from Ireland to live with his grandfather in Lindsay - preceding the arrival of the rest of his family by two years.

Old Francis died in August 1862, leaving a will naming the above mentioned children (and Simon's 2 year old son Francis) as his heirs. Old Francis' will stated that his son Francis lived in Laxton, close to Ops. The marriage records of Michael ("big Mickey") McCabe in 1864 state that he lived in Laxton with his parents, Francis and Margaret. There are no other Francis McCABE in the Ops vicinity in the 1861 census; so it is VERY likely that the Francis named as Old Francis' son, is in fact the Francis married to Margaret Martin as stated above.

It is not known who old Francis' father was but the most likely candidate is Owen McCabe of Aghnalart in Magheracloone. Research at the PRONI in Belfast produced the following facts from the Shirley Estate documents: (a) Lord Shirley signed a lease in 1777 with Francis McCabe, Owen McCabe and 2 others for a 21 year lease of 91 Irish acres in the townland of Aghanallart (sic, various spellings over the years .) (PRONI D/3531/T/2/3 ) (b) An 1802 restatement of the leases did not have any information on the Aghnalart townland in the PRONIi; however, a lease found in the Warwickshire Archives ( CR 229/222/3) shows that the only McCabes leasing on Aghnalart in 1799 were Owen and Patrick McCabe. In 1802, the lease on Aghnalart had changed to Owen, Patrick and Francis McCabe. (c) Over the next 28 years, various leases and the Tithe Applotment show that Owen and Patrick(his son) lived on Aghnalart - as did Francis for part of that time. Old Francis and Patrick have been proven to be brothers who came to Ops in Ontario about 1830 from Aghnalart. (d) Francis' son Frank was found to be a cottier living on the leased land of James Richards in the townland of Aghanalart in 1840 (PRONI D/3531/M/5/1). (e) Baptism records from the Parish of Magheracloone state that Frank and Margaret McCabe lived in Corlea and Doagh at the time of births of their sons Francis and John. The townlands of Doagh, Aghnalart and Corlea are all clustered together in Magheracloone, just west of the present parish church in Drumgossat. It is very likely that Old Francis lived in that area with his father before he left for the British army in 1809. Thus the most likely name for old Francis' father is Owen, with Francis the most likely alternative. (There may be other McCabes in 1777 leases but the only other one found in the search of 1777 lease records was Peter McCabe of 'Corneagh' )

Since old Francis' wife was Sarah Richards (according to marriage records of Simon in Ops) and James Richards is the only Richards found in various searches of Shirley documents and church records, he is probably a relative of Sarah and thus of Francis' family. It is not known whether old Francis had more than one wife in Ireland, but it is certainly possible, perhaps probable. His oldest son Frank was born before 1809 and his two other children Elizabeth and Simon were born after 1825, with 6 years of army service and 10 years of civilian life in between the births. At present, searches of the Shirley Estate records and parish records of Magheracloone have produced no evidence of Sarah. However, the Shirley Estate records and some Church records show that a James Richards was a long time resident of Aghnalart (Aghinillard) - the townland that is proved to be Francis' birthplace.

According to HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE 74TH REGIMENT (HIGHLANDERS) by Richard Cannon, a small book found in the Library of Congress, Francis McCabe was listed as one of the wounded soldiers of Wellington's army at the Battle of Salamanca, July 22, 1812. This confirms the information in his discharge papers of 1815 that Francis was wounded (shot in the neck) in Spain. The wound must have been serious since Francis was transferred to the 13th Garrison Battalion in the Spring of 1813.

New finding, Feb 3, 2010. Francis may have rejoined the Army after his discharge in 1815.

Record found in British Archives.

WO 121 Royal Hospital, Chelsea: Discharge Documents of Pensioners WO 121/209 Certificates of Service and related correspondence.

FRANCIS MCCABE. Born MAGHERADONE, Monaghan. Served in 7th Royal Veteran Battalion; 2nd Royal Veteran Battalion. Discharged aged 38 after 8 years 8 months of service. Residence or place where pension paid stated in document. See film image 701. Covering dates 1825

Partial History of 2nd RVB

1819.11.25 re-formed at Portsmouth from out-pensioners to curb political unrest 1821.06.24 disbanded at Gosport

1821.12.25 re-formed at Newry 1826.04.24 disbanded at Enniskillen

Deployment and Service: 1819.11.25 raised at Portsmouth 1819 England: Gosport 1820.08 Waterford 1821.06.24 disbanded at Gosport

1821.12.25 raised at Newry 1822.04 Ireland: Londonderry 1826.04.24 disbanded at Enniskillen