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Note: Margaret McCarthy was born in County Cork, Ireland, daughter of Patrick & Catherine McCarthy. That she was from Cork was learned from the tombstone of her brother, John McCarthy, at St. Mary's Cemetery, Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh, inscribed "A Native of County Cork." She and John "Wholehan" married in Charleville, Co. Cork, Ireland 8 June 1840, her address being "Springfort, Charleville." The civil parish of Charleville consists of Charleville, Shandrum, Ballyhay and Aglishdrigeen.
Her first child, "Denis Wholehan," as recorded in RC church records, was baptized 14 March 1840 at Charleville, Co. Cork. Spnsors were David McCarthy, Margaret's brother, and Elizabeth Brassel (perhaps a married sister of either Margaret or John??).
"Charleville is an incorporated market and post-town (formerly a parliamentary borough), in the parish of Rathgogan, barony of Orrery and Kilmore, county of Cork and province of Munster, 29 miles from, Cork, and 114 miles from Dublin; containing 4766 inhabitants. This town so named in honour of Charles II is of comparatively recent origin, having been founded by Roger, first Earl of Orrery and Lord-President of Munster, in the year 1661. That nobleman erected a magnificent mansion here for his own residence, in which he kept his court of presidency, and by his influence obtained for the inhabitants a charter of incorporation from Charles II dated May 29th, 1671. Charleville House was burnt by the Irish under the command of the Duke of Berwick, in 1690, and by his order, after he had dined in it. The ancient parish church of Rathgogan has been for a long time in ruins, and the present church, erected by the founder of the town, is situated on the south side of the main street: it is a plain building without either tower or spire; the walls have been lately embattled with hewn limestone. The Roman Catholic chapel, a neat and spacious edifice, erected by subscription in 1812, is ornamented with quoins, cornices, and window mouldings of hewn stone; the altar is large and remarkably elegant, and is embellished with several paintings of superior execution; a handsome cupola was added to the chapel in 1829, and adjoining it is a parochial house for the priest. An edifice has been lately erected for the meetings of Bible and other similar associations, also as a place of preaching for occasional preachers." And, "In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, called Charleville, comprising also small portions of the parishes of Ardskeagh, Ballyhea, and Shandrum: the chapel is situated in the town, and there is also a chapel at Ardnagehy." AND
"...In some cases where Irish and English versions [of the town name] are completely different from each other, there can to this day be confusion about which is the "correct" name. An example is the town of "Rath Luirc" or Charleville in Co Cork. The Irish name means "Lorc's Ringfort" and was in use until the late 1600's when the town was renamed in honour of King Charles II of England. In the 1920's when Ireland gained independence the name was officially changed back to the original, and appears as such on maps, in train timetables and so on. However it is difficult to find anyone in the town who refers to it as anything other than Charleville. If you ask elsewhere in the country where Rath Luirc is, only a very few people will be able to tell you but almost all will know where Charleville is."
In about 1848, Margaret immigrated with her husband, John Houlihan, and 4 children to Butler Co., PA. The immigration year comes from daughter Bridget's statement to the 1900 census-taker; she may have joined her husband in PA after he arrived in June, 1847. The Houlihan family immigrated with Margaret's parents and 4 adult brothers; another two brothers, John and Dennis, had arrived in the late 1830's in Butler Co., PA where their presence can be learned from property transactions. Margaret had another 4 known children who were born in Pennsylvania.
Per the 1880 census, Margaret was unable to read or write English. According to J.J. Houlihan, she "adopted" her brother Richard's daughter, Kate McCarthy, a child of his first marriage - that child was living with the extended family on Butler St. in 1880 and later married Bernard Rawlins; she was the prime inheritor of the estates of Mary Jane and William G. Houlihan, two of Margaret's natural children, and called herself Katherine "Hollihan."
Per her death certificate, Margaret "Hollihan," widow, died of catarrhal pneumonia at age 68 on 7 November 1887. She had been ill for 4 weeks. Her residence was 5119 Dresden Alley, in the 18th ward of Pittsburgh. (Note: in 1885, her brother Richard McCarthy was living on Dresden Alley near 54th, per Pittsburgh Directory.) She was born in Ireland, but no specifics were provided on the death certificate. She was buried 11 Nov 1887 at St. Mary's Cemetery, 45th and Penn, Pittsburgh in section R, row 27, grave 38. Later buried in the same grave were grandson Raymond (1892) and son John (1900). Her funeral was held at St. Mary's Church, 45th St., Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh.
The following obituary appeared in the "Pittsburgh Gazette" on Wed. 9 Nov. 1887, pg. 5: HOLLIHAN - On Monday, November 7, 1887, AT 2 PM, MARGARET HOLLIHAN, aged 68 years. Funeral from her late residence, 5119 Dresden alley, Eighteenth ward TO-DAY at 8:30 am. Services at St. Mary's Church, Forty-sixth st., at 9 am. Interment private."
On 18 April and 23 April 1998 I visited the gravesites of Margaret Houlihan. On the second visit, her grave was marked by the cemetery with an orange cone, row 27, grave 38. There is a tombstone marking this grave, an upright white marble stone on a base. Now gray with age and moss, it is so worn that none of the writing is legible, even though I brushed it off and removed some of the mossy growth. I was not even able to trace a letter or number. The marker is closer to the road and to the left of John's as one looks at Section R from the road. It will not be easy to find again unless the cemetery again places a marker there. _____________________________________________________________
Rathgoggan is the Irish civil parish; Charleville is the Catholic parish; the Chuch of Ireland parish is Ballyhay.
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