Matrilileneal Monday: Anna Keating Walsh

Anna Keating Walsh is my 2nd great grandmother. I know little of her though. She was born in 1855 in Ireland. My grandmother had said she was from County Mayo but I do not have that confirmed. She was the daughter of Martin Keating and Knapy Penelope. Her death certificate confirms their names.

My Aunt Peg (cousin actually; Anna's granddaughter) told me that Anna had immigrated with her brothers and sisters when she was five. They all settled on a farm in Ringtown until the state claimed eminent domain and took the farm for a highway.

Ringtown is a small town near Shenandoah in Schuylkill County. Anna's husband Michael Walsh had settled in Shenandoah. A trip to the public library in Ringtown found little hope that the eminent domain story was accurate. The women there (one was the librarian and the other was her sister who turned out to be the self appointed town historian) did not recognize the last name Keating nor could they recall any eminent domain issues. They did recall one highway but it was far enough away that it would not have been considered Ringtown.

At some point, Anna moved to Shenandoah, met Michael, got married and started a family. They had six children: Daniel, Margaret Mary, Martin Joseph, Michael Joseph, Katherine, and John. They married sometime before 1877 (the year Daniel was born).

After husband Michael died, she moved down to Phoenixville. Son Martin supposedly played baseball for the Shenandoah team and, according to family members, his team played Phoenixville where he met Catherine O'Flaherty. He moved to town, they married and had 10 children.

Anna died on 23 June 1920 in Phoenixville. The cause of death was Bright's Disease. The family always said she was struck by lightening. She is buried at St Mary Cemetery in Phoenixville, Chester County.

I have not been able to confirm her immigration, family or any other information prior to her moving to Phoenixville. Hence, I have already started researching for a future Surname Saturday!

Matrilineal Monday is a daily blogging prompt prompted by GeneaBloggers. It encourages genealogists to write about a specific female ancestor.

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