I have a DNA match to Raymond Flanagan in the results most closely bracketed as third cousin once removed (showing 111 centimorgans). Raymond seems to be based in Australia, from his family connections in the earlier generations detailed below. I have written to him twice without getting a reply and I can tell he is not deeply into family history from his entries on to Ancestry. Frustrating, but that often happens with this type of enquiry, so I am not singling him out for criticism, just in case he reads this. I am sure that he would have a wealth of information to pass on and I will send him the link to this blog post. I am making this point generally that, if you get a message through Ancestry or any of the other websites specialising in geneological research, even a small amount of information can open doors to keen historians, so I am making a plea to please reply when contacted, if you can.

It seems that Raymond’s parents were John Patrick Flanagan and Patricia Johanna Finn who were married on 3rd May 1937 (QLD Ref: 1937/B/28207). I have not got much information on them, but Raymond shows Patricia as being born in Grafton, New South Wales on 2nd March 1915 (NSW Ref: 6659/1915 Father: John J Finn, Mother: Rosanna H Marden). I have now been able to check further and can confirm Patricia died on 8th January 2002 and was buried in Warwick, Queensland on 10th January. John Patrick Flanagan was born on 8th February 1910 (QLD Ref: 1910/C/3375 Father: Patrick Joseph Flanagan Mother: Mary Josephine Griffith) and he passed away on 1st June 1985 (QLD Ref: 1985/53631).

Going back to the Flanagans, John Patrick had a brother James Edward Flanagan, born 7th October 1905, who died in Brisbane on 19th December 1924 at the tender age of 19. Their parents were Patrick Joseph Flanagan born 1871, died Brisbane 18th November 1856 and Mary Josephine Griffith born 1873, died 5th February 1957 in Brisbane. They were married on 19th April 1896. Mary Josephine had a sister Margaret Elizabeth Griffith, born 21st August 1870 QLD, died 17th September 1958. These family connections and ages are all confirmed on a family gravestone in Toowong Cemetery, Brisbane.

Raymond has Patricia’s parents as John Joseph Finn (1872 Sligo, Ireland – 1962, Brisbane QLD) and Johanna Marden (1867 Glen Innes, NSW – 1913 Glen Innes NSW). John Joseph and Johanna were married in Glen Innes, NSW in 1900 (NSW Ref: 1234/1900). John Joseph’s birth date was 24th June 1872 in Kiltycreen, County Sligo, Ireland (Sligo Ref: 10357174 father: Thomas Finn, Mother: Ellen Gorman) who passed away on 12th January 1951 – not 1962 as mentioned above – (QLD Ref: 1951/B/30538). Joanna died on 27th March 1962 – not 1913 above that was inconsistent with Patricia’s birth date – and 1962 was maybe confused with the death date quoted for John Joseph.

Ellen Jane Finn was born in Glen Innes on 29th May 1991 (NSW Ref: 1991/2086 Father: John Finn, Mother: Rosannah Marden) and she married Ernest Charles Haddock on 15th November 1924 in Queensland (QLD Ref: 1924/B/35975). Irwin William Finn was born in Glen Innes on 27th May 1902 (NSW Ref: 21923/1902). There is a record of William I. Finn passing away in Glen Innes in 1903 whose father was Jury and mother Hannah, so this looks like a possible match. Next was Evelyn Dorothy Finn born in Glen Innes on 17th December 1904 (NSW Ref: 3393/1905) The next sibling was Mary Eileen Finn born 16th July 1907 (NSW Ref: 24082/1907). I have been unable to find out anything more about Evelyn Dorothy. Mary Eileen married Keith Redmond Ascoli on 16th February 1929 (QLD Ref: 1929/B/5446) and Eileen Mary Ascoli died on 31st May 1963 (QLD Ref: 1963/B/58680). Ellen Jane and Mary Eileen had another variant of their mother’s first name recorded as Rosannah, along with their father shown as John Joseph Finn. I suspect poor handwriting or poor transcription skills contributed to these variations.

As there were four sisters and one brother who looks like he died young, the Finn name, through these ancestors, seems to have died out. My DNA link is, at the likeliest, at third cousin level. As I have no other known Australian ancestry, it is likely that the DNA link is through the Finn connection. I can rule out the Flanagans who seem to have been in Australia for longer than John Joseph Finn and that would require a connection in the fourth to sixth cousins range back to Ireland. I can also rule out the Griffith connection, which traces back to Denbigh in North Wales, United Kingdom, where I have no ancestral connections.

I have obtained the death certificate for John Joseph Finn. The death was reported by Ellen Haddock, daughter of 50 Alva Street, Gordon Park. It states that John was 80 at death, which would suggest an 1871 birth date and that he had lived in Australia 64 years – so emigrating in 1887 at age 16. It confirms that he was married in Glen Innes, aged 29 to Rose Hannah Marden and that they had four living daughters: Ellen Jane 50, Doris 47, Eileen 39 and Patricia 32. It also confirms one deceased male without naming him, so this must be Irwin William. Doris is Evelyn Dorothy, presumably, as the age agrees to her birth date. The ages for Eileen suggest a 1912 birth date and for Patricia a 1919 birth date that are both incorrect, because the actual birth records are quoted above. John is quoted as having lived in Queensland for 35 years giving a move date of 1916, which is after all of his daughters were born in New South Wales, with the last being Patricia confirmed in 1915.

From my American research into the Finns, where I have DNA connections, I have come across John Jack Finn – see the penultimate paragraph in my blog page – More on Finns in the USA. He was born 24th June 1872 and was noted as passing away in Cheltenham, Victoria, Australia in 1950 – this death date now seems to be incorrect – see above. Jack is used as a nickname for John, so I suspect it is not a baptised name. Given the proximity of the birth date with John Joseph mentioned in this blog and the DNA connection, it may well be that the death date and location are wrong.

Just north of Glenn Innes is Tenterfield and I have found further connections of Flanagans to this area, but none that links to the Brisbane Flanagans featured above. There may well be a family connection between these Flanagan families. Also, more information may arise from the Finn connection back to Ireland, but without some input (other than through Ancestry or Find My Past), I may never know. Still there are the strong DNA links in the USA and Australia that makes me hold out some hope.

I have made some alterations to the original post in the text above on 14th December 2024 and added some document references – the amendments are shown in italics – but clear inaccuracies have been deleted.