The Storyline
"Real families.Real discoveries.Real stories."
One Parish, Five Destinations
DNA doesn't lie, but it doesn't always explain itself either. As I've worked to untangle the Hamill families of Donaghmoyne parish in County Monaghan, I keep encountering the same puzzle: distinct clusters of DNA matches pointing to relatives scattered across five American destinations—Chicago, Wisconsin, Joliet, St. Louis, and Montana. These matches trace back to ancestors who were married in the same small Irish parish between 1841 and 1858. The geographic spread raises a fundamental research question: How do we prove that families who emigrated decades apart were actually connected back in Ireland?
Part of the Storyline Genealogy series: From Research to Story
Hidden Bonds Epilogue: The DNA Reunion
When Terrence O'Brien died in 1874, a single line in the probate document mentioned "Uncle Patrick O'Brien in Newport, Kentucky." For 150 years, that reference stood alone—no other evidence connected the New York and Kentucky families. Then DNA testing proved what documents couldn't.
Part of the Storyline Genealogy series: Documentary Biographies From Research to Story
Hidden Bonds Prologue: The Blood of Kings
They were descended from the High King who united Ireland. For three centuries, the Penal Laws tried to erase them. Then DNA proved what history couldn't destroy—a thousand years of royal blood connecting two Famine refugees to Brian Boru himself.
Part of the Storyline Genealogy series: Documentary Biographies From Research to Story
The Hamall Line: Owen Hamall
Owen Hamall was born in 1847 in County Monaghan, Ireland—the year the Great Famine reached its devastating peak. He survived the emigration to Montreal, his father's early death, and his mother's remarriage that created a blended family. In Chicago, he built a life as an iron molder, married Kate Griffith, and had six children. Then tragedy struck: four children died within ten months. Owen went blind, appeared on Chicago's "Destitute List," and died at 51. A mysterious census entry—"Hammil, Thornton"—took seven years to solve, finally revealing the half-brother hidden in plain sight since 1880.
Part of the Storyline Genealogy series: Documentary Biographies From Research to Story
Hidden Bonds: The Kentucky Brother
For 150 years, a single line in a probate document was the only evidence that Terrence O'Brien had a brother: "Uncle Patrick O'Brien in Newport, Kentucky." Traditional genealogy hit dead ends. The surname was spelled differently. The families lived 800 miles apart. Then descendants of both lines took DNA tests—and science proved what documents could not. Even more remarkable: both brothers died on November 21st, exactly 39 years apart.
Part of the Storyline Genealogy series: Documentary Biographies From Research to Story
Three Generations of Shrinking and Expanding
The Hamall family nearly died out. From Kate's six children in the 1880s, the Thomas Henry Hamall line eventually narrowed to just one great-grandchild—Thomas Kenny. And then he had six children. That's how close this family came to extinction. That's how much one generation can change everything.
Part of the Storyline Genealogy Series: proving that the stories worth telling are the ones that can be proven true.