My Delaney Ancestors

Martin Delany & Mary Walsh

Martin Delaney and Mary Walsh are my maternal 3rd great-grandparents. It seems probable that Martin and Mary were married in Ireland before 1821, when their son, John, was born. I estimate they arrived in Canada between 1833, when their youngest son, Robert, was born in Ireland, and 1851 when they are recorded in the Canadian Census.[1]

1851 Census of Canada

The 1851 Census of Canada lists the family on lines 24-28: Martin (58), Mary (59), John (30), Michael (24), and Robert (18). All were born in Ireland.

1851 Census of Canada, Augusta, Grenville

I note the following are listed on the same census page of the 1851 Census. I don’t as yet know if there is any relationship among these Delaneys and my ancestors.

Lines 19-21: Matthew Delaney (27), a farmer born in Ireland, along with his wife, Bridget (23), and their son James (2);
Line 22: Ed Delaney (22), born in Upper Canada;
Lines 44-50: Patrick Delaney (73), a farmer born in Ireland; his wife Mary (53), born in Ireland; and their five children, Eliza (24), Margaret (19), Patrick (16), Catherine (14), and Mary (8), all born in Upper Canada.

St. Mark’s Roman Catholic Church Parish Register

The marriages of the three males listed in the 1851 census, are all recorded in the St. Mark’s parish register. Martin Delany and Mary Walsh are listed as the parents of each groom.

Year Groom Bride
1854 Michael Delaney Mary Clark
1855 John Delaney Mary Kelly
1855 Robert Delaney Mary Anne Revels

Curiously, there is an 1849 marriage for Patrick Delaney and Sarah Kelly in the register. Patrick’s parents are Martin Delaney and Mary Walsh of County Wexford. I don’t know if this is another of their sons.

1861 Census of Canada

The 1861 Census of Canada for Prescott, Grenville, Ontario lists Martin and Mary, both aged 76. It also includes the families of two of their sons: John and Robert.

Name Age Birthplace
John Delaney 37 Ireland
Mary Delaney 26 US
Martin Delaney 3 Upper Canada
Anastatia Delaney 2 Upper Canada
Robert Delaney 28 Ireland
Mary Ann Delaney 24 Upper Canada
Mary Catherine Delaney 5 Upper Canada
Eliza Ann Delaney 3 Upper Canada
James Delaney 2 Upper Canada

1871 Census of Canada

In the 1871 Census of Canada for Prescott, Mary Delaney (85) born in Ireland is living with Robert and Mary Ann Delaney. Presumably Martin Delany died between 1861 and 1871.

Robert Delaney & Mary Anne Revels

Robert Delaney (1835-1904) and Mary Ann Revels (1837-1906) were married February 14, 1855 in St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Prescott, Ontario by Edmund P. Roche, the parish priest from 1844-1874.[2] [i]

1855 Marriage Record, Church Register, St. Mark’s RC, Prescott, Ontario

Robert an Mary Anne had 12 children. They were all born in Prescott, Ontario.

Children of Robert Delaney and Mary Anne Revels
1. MARY CATHERINE was born about 1855 in Prescott, Ontario, Canada. She died after 15 Jan 1935 in New York, USA.
2. ELIZABETH ANN was born on 03 Oct 1857 in Prescott, Ontario, Canada. She died on 15 Jan 1935 in Ogdensburg, St Lawrence, New York, USA.
3. JAMES PATRICK was born on 24 Sep 1859 in Prescott, Ontario, Canada. He died on 28 Mar 1919 in St. Catherines, Lincoln, Ontario, Canada.
4. WILLIAM was born about 1863 in Prescott, Ontario, Canada. He died between 28 Mar 1919-15 Jan 1935 in New York, USA.
5. HARRIET ELLEN was born about 1864 in Prescott, Ontario, Canada. She died on 26 May 1938 in Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA.
6. EDWARD was born about 1866 in Prescott, Ontario, Canada. He died about 21 Aug 1905 in Viola, Sedgwick, Kansas, USA.
7. EMMA was born about 1868 in Prescott, Ontario, Canada. She died after 15 Jan 1935 in Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA.
8. HELENA MARY x was born about 1870 in Prescott, Ontario, Canada. She died on 10 Sep 1890 in Prescott Town, Ontario, Canada.
9. ROBERT MATTHEW was born about 1872 in Prescott, Ontario, Canada. He died on 13 Aug 1890 in Prescott Town, Ontario, Canada.
10. ROSE was born about 1874 in Prescott, Ontario, Canada. She died on 09 Jan 1935 in New York, New York, USA.
11. MICHAEL AUGUSTINE was born on 04 Oct 1875 in Prescott, Ontario, Canada. He died on 23 Oct 1934 in New York, New York, USA.
12. JOSEPH LEO was born on 02 Mar 1878 in Prescott, Ontario, Canada. He died on 22 Nov 1937 in Welland, Welland, Ontario.
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Eliza Delaney & Armand Reuter

Elizabeth Ann Delaney (1857-1935), called Eliza, is my maternal great-grandmother. She was the second child of Robert Delaney and Mary Anne Revels. She married Armand Reuter on 24 August 1881 in St. Mary’s Cathedral, Ogdensburg, New York. They had three children: Cecil, Pauline, and Rosalie. Only Pauline had children and my mother, Virginia Pauline Brown, born in 1917, was the eldest grandchild of Eliza Delaney.

L to R: Rosalie Reuter, Eliza (Delaney) Reuter (seated), James Brown, & Pauline Reuter (Brown), c. 1914

[1] Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Canada. Census of 1851 (Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia). ED Number 2 of Augusta, Grenville County; page 203; lines 24-28.
[2] “History: St. Mark the Evangelist Parish accessed October 2, 2018 at http://www.stmarksacredheart.ca/history.htm

[i] Despite the page title “Baptisms”, in actuality baptisms and marriages were intermixed in this registry. They seem to have been recorded in chronological order.