Stories of Our Doherty and McLoughlin Heritage

Our family story, passed down through six generations of women, tell us that Francis McLoughlin's mother was Elizabeth Hamilton, a Protestant of privilege and position, and his father was Thomas McLoughlin, an Irish Catholic estate gardener who lived in Manorhamilton, County Leitrim, Ireland. Elizabeth and Thomas fell in love, married and had at least one child, Francis. The Hamiltons did not accept the union, and they disowned their daughter, who went on and educated her son in mathematics, reading, writing, and the classics. Francis then became a hedge school teacher, teaching Irish Catholic boys because the laws did not allow equal education for Catholics living in a Protestant ruled land. One day Francis learned that there was a warrant out for his arrest by the British police for teaching Irish children, and he fled to America, never saying goodbye to his parents. He immigrated to Boston's North End where he met his wife, Ann Doherty of Castlerea, Roscommon, Ireland. This is their story and those who followed through the generations.

Stories. I've always loved stories. Those summer nights in Maine I'd sneak by the open window near the porch and listen to my mom and grandmother and Aunt Anne tell stories late into the night. They'd laugh and banter back and forth, each with a twist to their rendition. I'm sure they knew I was there listening and maybe embellished a bit more with an audience. Many years have past since those days, but I decided to write their stories down and do a bit of research to see if I could back their stories with truths. Many I could and some I could not. But one thing is clear that the Irish passion for stories and a bit of blarney has been passed through the generations and even reached me.