John Donovan was a son of Joseph Donovan and Mary Burke of Leap in West Cork
Joanna Hurley was a daughter of James and Mary Hurley
John Donovan (25) of Roxbury and Joanna Hurley (19) of Roxbury married in Roxbury on 30 May 1858.
Children:
Joseph Donovan, 23 Apr 1859
James Donovan , 20 Dec 1860. James died on 13 Sep 1861
Margaret Donovan
Census 1860:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZHJ-QV5
Note: all family ages don't match. Other residents in the household include brother, Jeremiah, and family.
We quote from the writings of Thomas J Donovan:
"PART 2 - The second oldest is James, but we will skip over him for now to focus on John. John and his family lived with Jeremiah in Brookline, Massachusetts. John and his wife, Joanna, had unfortunately, short lives.
There are no records of John's birth in Ireland. His birth date is from Massachusetts records. The date ranges from 1825 to 1833. We selected the earliest found record, a marriage record, which gave us 1833. As with all our early ancestors, birth date ranged widely depending on which record or census data was relied on. Especially as women grew older in time, the date of birth given made them appear younger.
On 30 May 1858, John Donovan and Joanna Hurley were married in Roxbury, Norfolk County. Roxbury was a city, part of Norfolk County. Later, upon joining Boston, Roxbury as part of Boston was located in Suffolk County. In the document, as typical of such documents, parents are listed. That is one way on how one ties together family members.
On 6 March 1861, Joanna died at Taunton State Hospital. As noted on the Brookline death certificate, "had been recently been confined - insane". This death was three months after the birth of her third child, James. James later died in September, 1861.
On 27 December 1863, John made out his last will and testament. He signed it with an X. A week later, on 2 January 1864, John had died of pneumonia. The will, as typical at that time, begins with "In the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen, I …". His estate was left to Jeremiah, including livestock, to be held in trust for John's son Joseph.
Of John and Joanna's children, Joseph was raised by Jeremiah; James had died; and Margaret's history is unknown. Margaret was listed on only the 1860 Census. There is no record of actual birth, marriage or death. Various ideas could be proffered, including that the 1860 Census entry was in error. As all children, she would not be listed on city directories. If Margaret was taken in by someone after the death of here parents, it would make identification difficult. Also, she is not listed in the Jeremiah - John family grave site in Holyhood, Brookline.
As noted earlier, John, his wife, Joanna and son James are interred at Holyhood Cemetery, Cross Avenue, walk D, lot 105 & 107. There is quite a inscription on the monument to Joanna. I was unable to make out many of the words, so we need to make another attempt to read it in the future. The grave site ownership is in the name of Jeremiah."
PART 10 - "The tree of John Donovan and Joanna Hurley family:
Generation
1. Joseph Donovan (1795 - 1866) and Mary Burke (? - ?)
2. John Donovan (1833 - 1864) and Joanna Hurley (1839 - 1861)
3. Margaret Donovan (1858 - ?)
James Donovan (1860 - 1861)
Joseph J. Donovan (1859 - 1924) and Mary E. Driscoll (1859 - 1938)
4. John H. C. Donovan (1880 - 1904) and Mary Ann Canavan (1882 - 1953)
5. Olivia Donovan (1901 - 1905)
Mary Grace Donovan (1902 - 1969) and Joseph Patrick Mulvihill (1884 - 1960) and no known children
4. Mary Etta Donovan (1882 - 1956) and James Edgar Cooney
5. Mary Cooney (1906 - 1915)
Daniel Joseph Cooney (1913 - 2006) and Clarice Dolores Dubow (1915 - 2006)
6. Daniel Joseph Cooney Jr. (1936 - 2015) and Lucia M. ?? (1937 - ?) three children, then Barbara Wilkinson
Carol A. Cooney (1938 - 2016) and ?? Parker (? - ?) three children
4. Joseph Arthur Donovan (1884 - 1960) and Esther Conley (1888 - 1974)
5. Catherine Elizabeth Donovan (1910 - 1979)
Mary Donovan (1911 - 1911)
Esther Muriel Donovan (1912 - 1996) and Philip Leo Cronin (1909 - 1980)
6. Philip Joseph Cronin (1943 - 1982) and ?? ?? (? - ?) and two children, then Arlene Friedman (? - ?)
5. Joseph Alfred Donovan (1914 - 1926)
Ann Patricia Donovan (1918 - 2000) and Raymond Lawrence Estee (1917 - 2004) and eight children
Gertrude Frances Donovan (1920 - 2002) and William Thomas McMoneagle (1920 - 1978) and seven children
Helen Louise Donovan (1921 - 1998) and Alfred Francis Russo (1925 - 2005) and four children
Hazel Mary Donovan (1923 - 1983) and George A. Christo (? - ?)
6. George Michael Christo (1950 - ?)
5. Pauline Ruth Donovan (1924 - 2015)
4. Daniel E. Donovan (1886 - 1920)
Francis Raymond Donovan (1887 - 1959)
Catherine Blanche Donovan (1889 - 1956) and Christopher John Gray (1891 - 1928)
5. John Christopher Gray (1918 - 1995) and Nika George Stepanoff (1921 - 1997)
Jeanne M. Gray (1921 - 2000) and Kenneth K. Kisker (1923 - 2012)
6. Barbara Jeanne Kisker (1946 - ?) and Gerald G. Murphy (1945 - ?) and one child
5. Virginia Marie Gray (1924-1989) and Peter Steel (1911-2011), Vincent Allard (?), James Broderick (1923 -2009)
6. Rosemary Catherine Steel (1944 - 2016) and John K. Morrison (1942 - 2007)
5. Joseph Gray (1928 - ?)
4. Frederick Sprague Donovan (1891 - 1933)
Clarence Oliver Donovan (1893 - 1960) and Grace Francis Goodman (1896 - 1963)
5. Lois Natalie Donovan (1927 - 1974) and Herbert F. Lynn (1925 - 2010) and three children
Brendan Joseph Donovan (1930 - 2017) and Patricia Marie Foley (1931 - ?) and four children
Mary Grace Donovan (1935 - 1995) and Richard Joseph "Turk" Farrell (1934 - 1977)
6. Kathleen Marie Farrell (1956 - ?) and Michael Duane Lykke (1955 - ?) and one child
Richard Joseph Farrell (1957 - 1977)
Kim Farrell (? - ?)
4. Harold Celsus Donovan (1895 - 1967)
Herman Kenneth Donovan (1898 - 1912)
Margaret Virginia Donovan (1901 - 1957) and Albert George Brissette (1892 - 1927)
This Part completes the family of John Donovan, the third oldest son of Joseph Donovan and Mary Burke."
