From our ancestors come our names but from our virtues our honour – Unknown
What is in a name? It’s an age old question and one that I don’t think can be given a definitive answer. I have always been aware that I was named after my great-grandmother Mary Shannon who it is safe to say didn’t take any prisoners – you read about her in the blog post Women and Genealogy. On some occasions when mentioning how my 3x great-uncle Edward Shannon was killed at the Somme in 1916, people have asked if I was named after him. I must admit it does sound better compared to being asked if I was named after the river Shannon. Needless to say my name is also associated with a young man who tragically took his own life, my 2x great-uncle Robert Patrick Shannon who you can read more about in the blog post ‘Skeletons in the cupboard’. Since I started doing my family tree, it’s become more than just a name; I can say that for both my first name and my surname. It’s part of who I am. It’s part of my identity.
The Shannon name beings with my 3x great-grandfather Joseph Shannon who was born in 1852 in County Antrim. At the time of his marriage to Elizabeth McNeely in November 1872, he was living in Carrickfergus and his occupation was a sailor. Initially I had found a marriage record dated 3rd November 1872 for a Joseph Shannon and Lizzie McNeely who were living in Carrickfergus, the groom’s father was also called Joseph and the bride’s father was called Robert. I later discovered a marriage record for a Joseph Shannon and Lizzie McNeely, who were both living in Carrickfergus, dated 5th November 1872. The groom’s father was called James and the bride’s father was called John. I cannot describe the frustration this has caused me. Joseph Shannon and Elizabeth McNeely went on to have eight children:
1. Martha Shannon b. 3rd August 1874 in the Scotch Quarter, Carrickfergus, m. Horatio Davison on 15th April 1896 and d. 7th February 1932 in Belfast. Martha and Horatio had seven children:
• Elizabeth Davison b. 17th May 1897
• Christiana Davison b. 9th November 1898
• Horatio Nelson Davison b. 17th May 1900
• Joseph Shannon Davison b. 19th May 1902
• Sarah Davison b. 7th September 1904
• George Davison b. 23rd August 1906, d. 16th January 1941
• Stanley Davison b. 10th March 1909
Horatio Jnr enlisted in the Royal Engineers (Signals) on 23rd October 1918 whilst his younger brother George would join the Royal Navy during World War Two. George is stated as being stationed aboard HMS President III which has been described as an accounting base. For reasons currently unknown, George was aboard the SS Oropesa when she was torpedoed on 16th January 1941 by U-boat 96.
2. Robert Patrick Shannon (my 2x great-grandfather) b. 11th May 1876 in the Scotch Quarter, Carrickfergus, m. Margaret Bell on 29th February 1908 and d. 27th February 1933 in Belfast. He had travelled out to Canada only to be brought back home again after breaking his leg, he died shortly afterwards. Robert and Margaret had five children:
• Joseph Shannon b. 11th December 1908 and d. 16th April 1982. I believe Joseph did get married but as yet I don’t have a marriage record
• Elizabeth Shannon b. 31st July 1911, m. James Lowther on 24th October 1940 and d. 12th September 1992
• Sarah Shannon b. 10th November 1913, m. Thomas McKee Duff on 4th August 1937 and died in 1999
• Mary Shannon b. 27th October 1915, m. Robert George McGaffin on 13th July 1936 and d. 24th April 2004
• Robert Patrick Shannon b. 17th August 1918 and d. 28th July 1947, he had taken a sedative.
3. Sarah Shannon b. 28th August 1879 in Carrickfergus and d. 26th November 1893, cause of death was meningitis which she had been suffering from for 5 days. The duration of the illness can give an indication as to whether the death was sudden or expected.
4. Joseph Shannon b. 25th November 1881 in Carrickfergus
5. Margaret Davison Shannon b. 28th July 1885 in the Scotch Quarter, Carrickfergus, m. Thomas Cooper on 11th June 1911. Prior to marrying Thomas, Margaret had a son Henry Dougan, b. 6th October 1906, and the father was named as Samuel Dougan. I haven’t found a second marriage record for Margaret and as she claims to be a spinster when marrying Thomas, I could safely say that Henry was likely to have been illegitimate. Margaret had a further seven children with her husband Thomas:
• Rachel Cooper b. 16th December 1911 and d. 1st December 1918, cause of death was influenza
• Elizabeth Cooper b. 9th May 1913 in Belfast
• Margaret Cooper b. 1st July 1914 in Belfast
• Thomas Cooper b. 20th September 1915 in Belfast
• John Cooper b. 6th March 1917 in Belfast
• Richard Cooper b. 20th May 1918 in Belfast
• Rachel Cooper b. 15th February 1920 in Belfast
6. James Nesbitt Shannon b. 24th October 1887, m. Margaret Harris on 30th December 1908. Margaret died 11 months after the marriage, it was difficult to decipher the cause of death but it did state that she was pregnant at the time of her death. James’ second marriage was to a Sarah Brown on 3rd June 1914. James had two children with Sarah:
• Sarah Elizabeth Shannon b. 23rd March 1914
• Harold Shannon b. 14th November 1916
7. John Nesbitt Shannon b. 12th November 1890, m. Charlotte Pearson on 25th May 1913 and d. 22nd August 1966. They had three children:
• Elizabeth Shannon b. 24th November 1914
• Georgina Shannon b. 18th February 1916 and d. 12th May 1916, cause of death was whooping cough
• Samuel Shannon b. 13th October 1918
8. Edward Shannon b. 3rd January 1893 and d. 9th August 1916 aged 23. He had enlisted in the 3rd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers but was later transferred to the 1st Battalion. Newspaper records state that he was gassed and later died of his injuries; he is buried in Potijze Chateau Wood Cemetery, Belgium.
That is the history associated with my first name. They’ve all added their story to the Shannon name. They’ve all played their part. I’m not too concerned about what the future might hold for me as I feel that each day has enough problems. I am conscious of the fact that the actions I carry out each day will be interwoven into the history of my surname. There is a question of whether your ancestors would be proud of you if you could see them. I would hope that my ancestors would be proud of what I have become and what I have achieved. I am proud to be related to every single one of these individuals, I am proud to call every single one of them my family!
History remembers only the celebrated, genealogy remembers them all – Laurence Overmire
