The Conway & Clohessy Tree

[[Hypothesis]] :
The wife of Thomas Foley [~1839 - 1921] and mother of Mary Ann Foley [1873 - 1957] (who was married to Michael Noonan) was Mary Blackwell, not Mary Cusack or Amelia Blackwell. Links to evidence can be found below.

[[Evidence]] :
[Received via Jerry Russell] :
The information that Jerry Russell passed on to me is that the siblings of Mary Ann b1873 included

Jimmy, husband of an unknown McGrath, father of Mary, Amelia and Tommy
Bridget who married Fitzgerald, mother of Ned, Patrick, Jim, Tom, Mary and Kathleen
Hannie who married Lahiff

Other information that Jerry passed on is that Mary Ann's parents were an unknown Foley and Mary Cusack. Mary Cusack who was the sister of John Cusack [1831 - 1894] who was married to Ellen Anastasia Gleeson.

This information probably came from descendents of the Foley families, or other relatives, and for the most part is the same as other trees that are online. As such I'm inclined to believe that the information is correct except where it conflicts with other evidence. Specifically I'm assuming that the names of Mary Ann's siblings are correct.

[1901 census for Mary Ann's siblings][1] :
The 1901 census has a Foley family in Lickadoon, Roxborough, Limerick with children whose names are James (26), Hannie (25) and Bridget (24). The father Thomas is a widower.

The names exactly match Mary Ann's known siblings. It is very likely that this family is Mary Ann's.

[Mary Ann's marriage][2] :
There is a record of Mary Ann Foley of Lickadoon, whose father was Thomas, marrying Michael Nunan of Raheen in 1895. This explains Mary Ann's abscence from the Foley household in 1901 and further supports the hypothesis that that household belongs to Mary Ann's family.

[Birth records of Mary Ann and her siblings][3 - 6] :
There are records of Jimmy, Mary Ann, Hannie and Bridget being born in Lickadoon in the 1870s to Thomas and Mary Foley, in the same order as they appear in the census (plus Mary Ann in 1873). However Mary's maiden name in those records is Blackwell .

[Marriage and death of Mary Blackwell][7][8] :
Thomas Foley and Mary Blackwell married in 1867, several years before the birth of their first known child, and Mary Foley died in the year following the birth of their last known child. The timing of her marriage and death around births of their children supports the hyposthesis that Mary Blackwell was the mother of Mary Ann and her siblings.

[Jimmy's family][9 - 12] :
James Foley of Lickadoon, son of Thomas Foley, married Margaret Lynch in 1908. They had the following issue:

Mary b1909
Thomas b1910
Amelia b1914

Jimmy's wife's maiden name differs from Jerry's information, but the names of the children are the same which suggests that Jimmy's wife's maiden name was Lynch not McGrath.

This evidence supports the notion that James Foley in these records is Jimmy Foley in Jerry's information.

[Hannie's family][13] :
Johanna Foley of Lickadoon, daughter of Thomas Foley, married John Lahiff in 1908.

This evidence supports the notion that the Johanna Foley in these records is Hannie Foley in Jerry's information.

[Bridget's family][14 - 16] :
Bridget Foley of Lickadoon, daughter of Thomas Foley, married Patrick Fitzgerald in 1902. They had issue:

Mary b~1903
Jim b~1905
Tom b~1907
Patrick b~1909
Ned b~1910
Kathleen b1912

These names are the same as found in Jerry's information.

This evidence supports the notion that the Bridget Foley in these records is Bridget Foley in Jerry's information.

[Mary Ann's family][17 - 19] :
Mary Ann and Michael Noonan had issue:

Mikey b~1896
Jack b1900
Thomas b~1901
May b~1902
Paddy b~1907
Joe b~1909
Hannie b1911

These names are also found in Jerry's information.

This evidence supports the notion that the Mary Ann Foley in these records is Mary Ann Foley in Jerry's information.

[[Conclusions]] :
The coincidence of the names of Mary Ann's siblings and children and the names of Mary Ann's siblings' children in various birth and marriage records with the information in Jerry's tree, and other trees online, indicates that Mary Ann and her family were from Lickadoon and their father was Thomas Foley. The birth records of Mary Ann, Jimmy , Hannie and Bridget show that their mother was Mary Blackwell.

The only way that Mary Ann's mother could have been Mary Cusack or Amelia Blackwell is if there was another Foley family in Lickadoon with the same first names, and with no corresponding birth, marriage or census records.

At least one online tree has the death of Amelia Foley, born Blackwell, in 1907, though there is no corresponding death registration record. Also Thomas Foley's census record from 1901 says that he is a widower. It's possible that a woman called Amelia, possibly a relative of Thomas Foley or Mary Blackwell, helped to raise Mary Blackwell's children after Mary's death and was thought by some to be their mother.

Another possiblity is that Mary Blackwell was informally known as Amelia.

If there is a connection between Mary Cusack and the Foley family it's not clear from the evidence at hand.

[1] https://census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Limerick/Roxborough/Lickadoon/1495833/
[2] https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-perform-search.jsp?namefm=&namel=Nunan&ddBfrom=&mmBfrom=&yyBfrom=&ddBto=&mmBto=&yyBto=&locationB=&keywordb=&type=M&ddMfrom=&mmMfrom=&yyMfrom=1895&ddMto=&mmMto=&yyMto=1895&locationM=&keywordm=Foley&ddDfrom=&mmDfrom=&yyDfrom=&ddDto=&mmDto=&yyDto=&locationD=&keywordd=&submit=Search
[3] https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-perform-search.jsp?namefm=james&namel=foley&location=Limerick&yyfrom=1872&yyto=1872&type=B&submit=Search&sort=&pageSize=100&century=&decade=&exact=&ddBfrom=&ddMfrom=&ddDfrom=&ddPfrom=&mmBfrom=&mmMfrom=&mmDfrom=&mmPfrom=&yyBfrom=&yyMfrom=&yyDfrom=&yyPfrom=&ddBto=&ddMto=&ddDto=&ddPto=&mmBto=&mmMto=&mmDto=&mmPto=&yyBto=&yyMto=&yyDto=&yyPto=&locationB=&locationM=&locationD=&locationP=&keywordb=&keywordm=&keywordd=&keywordp=&event=B&district=
[4] https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-perform-search.jsp?namefm=Mary&namel=Foley&location=Limerick&yyfrom=1873&yyto=1873&type=B&submit=Search&sort=&pageSize=100&century=&decade=&exact=&ddBfrom=&ddMfrom=&ddDfrom=&ddPfrom=&mmBfrom=&mmMfrom=&mmDfrom=&mmPfrom=&yyBfrom=&yyMfrom=&yyDfrom=&yyPfrom=&ddBto=&ddMto=&ddDto=&ddPto=&mmBto=&mmMto=&mmDto=&mmPto=&yyBto=&yyMto=&yyDto=&yyPto=&locationB=&locationM=&locationD=&locationP=&keywordb=&keywordm=&keywordd=&keywordp=&event=&district=
[5] https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-perform-search.jsp?namefm=johanna&namel=foley&location=Limerick&yyfrom=1875&yyto=1875&type=B&submit=Search&sort=&pageSize=100&century=&decade=&exact=&ddBfrom=&ddMfrom=&ddDfrom=&ddPfrom=&mmBfrom=&mmMfrom=&mmDfrom=&mmPfrom=&yyBfrom=&yyMfrom=&yyDfrom=&yyPfrom=&ddBto=&ddMto=&ddDto=&ddPto=&mmBto=&mmMto=&mmDto=&mmPto=&yyBto=&yyMto=&yyDto=&yyPto=&locationB=&locationM=&locationD=&locationP=&keywordb=&keywordm=&keywordd=&keywordp=&event=B&district=
[6] https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-perform-search.jsp?namefm=james&namel=foley&location=Limerick&yyfrom=1872&yyto=1872&type=B&submit=Search&sort=&pageSize=100&century=&decade=&exact=&ddBfrom=&ddMfrom=&ddDfrom=&ddPfrom=&mmBfrom=&mmMfrom=&mmDfrom=&mmPfrom=&yyBfrom=&yyMfrom=&yyDfrom=&yyPfrom=&ddBto=&ddMto=&ddDto=&ddPto=&mmBto=&mmMto=&mmDto=&mmPto=&yyBto=&yyMto=&yyDto=&yyPto=&locationB=&locationM=&locationD=&locationP=&keywordb=&keywordm=&keywordd=&keywordp=&event=B&district=
[7] https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000632674#page/154/mode/1up
[8] https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-perform-search.jsp?namefm=mary&namel=foley&ddBfrom=&mmBfrom=&yyBfrom=&ddBto=&mmBto=&yyBto=&locationB=&keywordb=&ddMfrom=&mmMfrom=&yyMfrom=&ddMto=&mmMto=&yyMto=&locationM=&keywordm=&type=D&ddDfrom=&mmDfrom=&yyDfrom=1879&ddDto=&mmDto=&yyDto=1880&locationD=&keywordd=38&submit=Search
[9] https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-perform-search.jsp?namefm=James&namel=Foley&location=Limerick&yyfrom=1908&yyto=1908&type=M&submit=Search&sort=&pageSize=100&century=&decade=&exact=&ddBfrom=&ddMfrom=&ddDfrom=&ddPfrom=&mmBfrom=&mmMfrom=&mmDfrom=&mmPfrom=&yyBfrom=&yyMfrom=&yyDfrom=&yyPfrom=&ddBto=&ddMto=&ddDto=&ddPto=&mmBto=&mmMto=&mmDto=&mmPto=&yyBto=&yyMto=&yyDto=&yyPto=&locationB=&locationM=&locationD=&locationP=&keywordb=&keywordm=&keywordd=&keywordp=&event=&district=
[10] https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-perform-search.jsp?namefm=&namel=Foley&type=B&ddBfrom=&mmBfrom=&yyBfrom=1908&ddBto=&mmBto=&yyBto=2018&locationB=Limerick&keywordb=Lynch&ddMfrom=&mmMfrom=&yyMfrom=&ddMto=&mmMto=&yyMto=&locationM=&keywordm=&ddDfrom=&mmDfrom=&yyDfrom=&ddDto=&mmDto=&yyDto=&locationD=&keywordd=&submit=Search
[11] https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-perform-search.jsp?namefm=&namel=Foley&type=B&ddBfrom=&mmBfrom=&yyBfrom=1908&ddBto=&mmBto=&yyBto=2018&locationB=Limerick&keywordb=Lynch&ddMfrom=&mmMfrom=&yyMfrom=&ddMto=&mmMto=&yyMto=&locationM=&keywordm=&ddDfrom=&mmDfrom=&yyDfrom=&ddDto=&mmDto=&yyDto=&locationD=&keywordd=&submit=Search
[12] https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-perform-search.jsp?namefm=&namel=Foley&type=B&ddBfrom=&mmBfrom=&yyBfrom=1908&ddBto=&mmBto=&yyBto=2018&locationB=Limerick&keywordb=Lynch&ddMfrom=&mmMfrom=&yyMfrom=&ddMto=&mmMto=&yyMto=&locationM=&keywordm=&ddDfrom=&mmDfrom=&yyDfrom=&ddDto=&mmDto=&yyDto=&locationD=&keywordd=&submit=Search
[13] https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-perform-search.jsp?namefm=&namel=lahiff&ddBfrom=&mmBfrom=&yyBfrom=&ddBto=&mmBto=&yyBto=&locationB=&keywordb=&type=M&ddMfrom=&mmMfrom=&yyMfrom=1908&ddMto=&mmMto=&yyMto=1908&locationM=Limerick&keywordm=foley&ddDfrom=&mmDfrom=&yyDfrom=&ddDto=&mmDto=&yyDto=&locationD=&keywordd=&submit=Search
[14] https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-perform-search.jsp?namefm=bridget&namel=foley&location=Limerick&yyfrom=1902&yyto=1902&type=M&submit=Search&sort=&pageSize=100&century=&decade=&exact=&ddBfrom=&ddMfrom=&ddDfrom=&ddPfrom=&mmBfrom=&mmMfrom=&mmDfrom=&mmPfrom=&yyBfrom=&yyMfrom=&yyDfrom=&yyPfrom=&ddBto=&ddMto=&ddDto=&ddPto=&mmBto=&mmMto=&mmDto=&mmPto=&yyBto=&yyMto=&yyDto=&yyPto=&locationB=&locationM=&locationD=&locationP=&keywordb=&keywordm=&keywordd=&keywordp=&event=&district=Limerick
[15] https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Limerick/Ballybricken/Arywee/623194/
[16] https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-perform-search.jsp?namefm=Kathleen&namel=Fitzgerald&location=Limerick&yyfrom=1912&yyto=1912&type=B&submit=Search&sort=&pageSize=100&century=&decade=&exact=&ddBfrom=&ddMfrom=&ddDfrom=&ddPfrom=&mmBfrom=&mmMfrom=&mmDfrom=&mmPfrom=&yyBfrom=1902&yyMfrom=1908&yyDfrom=&yyPfrom=&ddBto=&ddMto=&ddDto=&ddPto=&mmBto=&mmMto=&mmDto=&mmPto=&yyBto=2018&yyMto=1912&yyDto=&yyPto=&locationB=Limerick&locationM=&locationD=&locationP=&keywordb=Foley&keywordm=&keywordd=&keywordp=&event=&district=
[17] https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Limerick/Roxborough/Raheen/1495857/
[18] https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Limerick/Roxborough/Raheen/624537/
[19] https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-perform-search.jsp?namefm=&namel=Noonan&location=Limerick&yyfrom=&yyto=&type=B&submit=Search&sort=&pageSize=100&century=&decade=&exact=&ddBfrom=&ddMfrom=&ddDfrom=&ddPfrom=&mmBfrom=&mmMfrom=&mmDfrom=&mmPfrom=&yyBfrom=&yyMfrom=&yyDfrom=&yyPfrom=&ddBto=&ddMto=&ddDto=&ddPto=&mmBto=&mmMto=&mmDto=&mmPto=&yyBto=&yyMto=&yyDto=&yyPto=&locationB=&locationM=&locationD=&locationP=&keywordb=Foley&keywordm=&keywordd=&keywordp=&event=&district=