Family History Searches

Betty Catania emigrated to Ontario with her parents in 1949, when she was less than a year old.  Her mother, Elizabeth (Betty) Wilson, remembered growing up in Saintfield.  Betty  Catania is keen to make contact with anyone who knew her mother and she has provided the following information about her family.
“I came to Canada with my parents, Elizabeth and Samuel James Hanlon (formerly O’Hanlon) in 1949 at under a year of age. They have both been deceased for many years now. As a child I remember my Mother, talking about growing up in Saintfield, Northern Ireland. She was born Elizabeth (Betty) Wilson on April 1, 1929 to her parents – Elizabeth (Bushnell, I believe) and William (Billy) Wilson. She was one of the youngest of a large family – 16 children – with several sets of twins. The siblings I remember her mentioning were Maizie, Tommy, Peggy, Winston and Sadie. Many would have left the family home by the time she was growing up. Sadly, when my Mother came to Canada she lost contact with her parents and siblings and she died at a young age – never getting back home to her beloved Ireland.

My Father, Samuel James O’Hanlon was born in Canada to Irish parents, who had emigrated to Canada sometime earlier. He was born in Toronto, Canada on October 14, 1921 to Lavinia (Thompson) and Bernard O’Hanlon. My father had four siblings, Bernard (Ben), Norman, Ronald and Phyllis O’Hanlon. The family went back to Belfast, or close by, in 1938 and my father served in the British Army from 1939-1946. On June 18, 1947 my parents married and I was born the following May 15, 1948. The address on my birth certificate is 12 Cedar Valley, Ballydollaghan, in the district of Ballylesson, Lisburn.

In the Spring of 1949 my parents and I came by ship to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. All of my Father’s siblings, except for Ronald and Phyllis, emigrated to Canada after that. My Grandfather, Bernard O’Hanlon, left the family and has never been heard from. My Grandmother, Lavinia O’Hanlon, stayed in Ireland and lived on 29 London Road, Belfast until her death many years ago.

Any information on either side of my family would be greatly appreciated. I am hoping to take a trip to Ireland (and hopefully) Saintfield this year.

Sincerely,

Betty (Hanlon) Catania”

The last two people who made enquiries about their families through this website were successfully re-united.  Let’s hope this can be a third success.

Maurice Bunyan contacted this website recently, wishing to make contact with his relations in Saintfield.  His cousin has responded and, once again, people far away have been able to re-establish contact with family members still in Saintfield.

We have had a request from Maurice Bunyan to try and find his cousin Fay Magean nee Smith.

If anyone knows Fay please ask her to contact us and we will give her her cousin’s contact details.

Sandra Ward, who lives in Motherwell, Scotland, is researching her family history, which takes her back to two families around Saintfield, the Battons and Masseys.

She has  found out a lot about the Battons but would like to make contact with any descendants of Alexander Massey who was a farmer in Tonaghmore in the 1850s or 60s.  He had three sons, John, William and Robert and a daughter Eliza who married a Batton.

If you are a descendant of Alexander Massey or know someone who is, please respond to this post and we will put you in touch with Sandra.

In September Maureen contacted the website to trace members of the Finlay family that she last met over fifty years ago.  Thanks to your responses Maureen has been able to make contact and plans to come over from England next year to visit Saintfield and the Finlay family.