My Irish Green Eyes

I was always told that I was English, Irish, Scottish, and German.  It was easy to find the English side of my family because it was everywhere I looked.  Most of my tree is English and therefore I am a direct descendant of nine Pilgrims that came over on the Mayflower.   The German, maternal side of my family I have documented so completely I have written a book, "Forever Laced".

The Scottish in me comes from my great grandfather, Emond Sterling, again on my maternal side.  I have followed this line all the way back to Scotland and the Stirling Castle of Keir that was situated high on a mountain overlooking water and the land.  Go back far enough and the name was once Strivelyn.  The origin comes from Ster meaning Mountain and lin meaning water.

My paternal Irish line has been a difficult line to find. I didn't even know where to begin to find out who they were.  Did they live in Fall River, New Bedford, or elsewhere? Were they born in Ireland or here in America?  Perhaps I need to go back even further in history.  I even suspected a connection with Lizzie Borden, oh my.  Whew, couldn't connect any dots there thank goodness.  I have all the black clouds and weeds I want thank you very much.

I finally discovered without a shadow of doubt the parents of my 2nd great grandmother, Ellen Sullivan, known as Nellie.  Her parents were Dennis  Sullivan, b March 14 1816 Castle-Town, Cork County, Ireland and Hannah O'Brien b 1820 Dublin, Ireland  according to their death certificates that I obtained at the Lakeville, MA town hall. The death record did not name Dennis' parents, but Hannah's tells us her parents were Timothy O'Brien and Hannah Sullivan. Their daughter, Ellen, known as Nellie,  actually named her son Dennis after her father.  

I still don't know where in Ireland they were from, or when they came to America. Do you know how many Dennis Sullivan's there are with a wife by the name of Hannah?  How am I ever going to go further.  It is driving me mad I tell you.