My Harrigan Background

My Harrigan Ancestors

It is likely that our earliest known ancestors were
John and Ellen Horgan who were married in the 1770's. Margaret
Harrigan Kendall said the "first Harrigan" was John of Skibbereen
who was known as "Organ O'Brien" because he played the organ so
beautifully in the church at Skibbereen, fifteen miles east of the
village of Schull.

Village of Schull

We know that John and Ellen had at least five children: Dennis,
Ellen, Ann, Cornelius, and very likely John. These children emigrated
from County Cork and eventually settled in the village of Williamstown,
New Brunswick. Cornelius was the earliest of my line to enter New
Brunswick. We have a copy of his marriage record for June 14, 1830,
when he married Elizabeth Sloan. They were both from Hampton Parish i
n Kings County . Apparently Cornelius and Elizabeth moved to
Williamstown because they raised nine children in the Miramichi
area.

Cornelius died around the 1850's and is buried in St. Patrick's
Cemetery, Nelson. His son John (1837-1908) married Catherine
Fitzpatrick and they raised a family of eight in Chelmsford,
New Brunswick. Their eldest son was William John (1874-1932), my
grandfather. William married Amanda McKinley and had ten children,
also raised at Chelmsford. Their fifth child was Frederick George
(1913-1952). Fred moved to the north shore of New Brunswick. He
married Annie Gracie MacDonald and had two sons. I am the older.
For more about me, see the next page.