What This Proves:

Henry Hamall married Mary McMahon in Donaghmoyne parish, County Monaghan, Ireland in 1841. This foundational document proves: (1) Owen's parents' names and marriage location, (2) Irish origins in County Monaghan, (3) Marriage occurred 6 years before Owen's birth (1847), (4) Family was in Ireland during pre-Famine period, (5) Mary's maiden name: McMahon (critical for tracing maternal line). The 1841 marriage establishes the family in Donaghmoyne parish where Griffith's Valuation (1861) would later show multiple Hamill families in adjacent townlands. Henry and Mary would have at least four children: Mary (1847-1851), Michael (c. 1850), Owen (1847-1898), and Mary Ann (1853-1909). The family emigrated to Montreal c. 1850 during the Great Famine, where Henry died in 1854 leaving Mary a widow with four young children.

What This Proves:

DNA-VALIDATED EXTENDED FAMILY CONNECTION: Owen Hammel (NOT our Owen Hamall who was born 1847) married Ann King in Donaghmoyne in 1846. DNA testing (2024-2025) proved that this Owen Hammel & Ann King couple is biologically related to Henry Hamall & Mary McMahon (our Owen's parents). This validates: (1) The extended Hamill family network in Donaghmoyne parish, (2) Geographic clustering of related families in the same parish, (3) The tight-knit nature of the Irish community before emigration. This is the second of four interconnected Donaghmoyne marriages all proven through DNA to be part of the same extended biological family network. The surname variation (Hammel vs. Hamall) was common in Irish records.

What This Proves:

DNA-VALIDATED EXTENDED FAMILY CONNECTION: Charles McCanna married Susan Hamill in Donaghmoyne in 1857. DNA evidence (2024-2025) confirmed this couple is biologically related to Henry Hamall & Mary McMahon. This marriage proves: (1) The Hamill surname continued in Donaghmoyne even after Henry's branch emigrated (c. 1850), (2) Susan Hamill represents another branch of the extended family, (3) The McCanna-Hamill union demonstrates intermarriage patterns in the parish. This is the third of four interconnected marriages validated by DNA.

What This Proves:

DNA-VALIDATED CONNECTION — EXPLAINS GARTLAN CLUSTER: James Hamill (confirmed as the James Hamill 1827-1914 from Dian townland in Griffith's Valuation) married Anna Gartlan in Donaghmoyne parish. DNA testing (2024-2025) confirmed this couple is biologically related to Henry Hamall & Mary McMahon. This marriage is particularly significant because it explains the DNA evidence: (1) Why DNA matches cluster around both "Hamill" and "Gartlan" surnames, (2) The Gartlan connection is through the HAMILL side (James Hamill married Anna Gartlan), NOT through Kate Griffith's family, (3) This Hamill-Gartlan intermarriage created the genetic signature that appears in descendant DNA. This is the fourth of four interconnected Donaghmoyne marriages all proven by DNA to be part of one extended biological family network.

What This Proves:

This baptismal record provides critical documentation of Mary Hamill's birth and establishes her as Owen Hamall's older sister. The record confirms:

• Child's Name: Mary Hamill
• Birth Date: January 1, 1847
• Birthplace: Donaghmoyne Parish, County Monaghan, Ireland
• Father: Henry Hamill
• Mother: Mary McMahon

Parents Confirmed: This record definitively identifies Owen's parents as Henry Hamill and Mary McMahon, providing independent verification of the family's Irish origins. Mary Hamill was Owen's older sister by several months. Owen would have been approximately four years old when his sister Mary died in Montreal in 1851—old enough to remember her and to experience grief at her loss.

What This Proves:

This death/burial record provides crucial documentation of Mary Hamall's death in Montreal and confirms the family's emigration timeline. Mary's 1851 death in Montreal definitively proves the Hamill family had emigrated from Ireland and settled in Montreal by 1851. The family fled Ireland during the final years of the Great Famine (1845-1852), joining tens of thousands of Irish emigrants who sought survival in North America.

What This Proves:

Michael Hamall was baptized June 30, 1851 at Basilique Notre-Dame, Montreal. His parents were Henry Hamall (journalier/day laborer) and Mary McMahon (immigrant). Michael was born approximately one year before baptism (c. 1850). This baptism record provides crucial evidence for establishing the family's emigration timeline. Michael's birth in Canada approximately one year before the June 1851 baptism places the family's arrival in Montreal around 1850, consistent with Famine-era emigration from County Monaghan.

What This Proves:

The 1861 Canada East Census shows the Thornton-Hamall household living together in Montreal. Listed are: Patrick Thornton (head of household), M. Thornton, O. Hamel (Owen), M. Hamel (Mary), M. Hamel (Michael), and William Thornton—documenting the blended family ten years after Michael's baptism. This census is the last known record showing Michael Hamall with his family.

What This Proves:

A Michael J. Hamall was living at 94 Sholto Street in 1897 working as a bridgebuilder. The 94 Sholto address connection to Kate Hamall (Owen's widow) suggests possible family relationship. However, without documentation connecting this Michael J. Hamall to the Michael baptized in Montreal in 1851, positive identification remains speculative. The 36-year gap between 1861 and 1897 is too large to bridge without additional evidence.

What This Proves:

CRITICAL DOCUMENT: Mary Ann's baptism record explicitly lists her parents as "Henry Hamell" and "Mary McMahon," providing contemporary documentation of Owen's parents' names. This proves: (1) Henry and Mary were Owen's parents (confirmed through Mary Ann as Owen's sibling), (2) The family was living in Montreal by 1853, (3) Mary Ann was born March 17, 1853, (4) Henry was still alive in 1853 (he would die in 1854). Mary Ann's descendants would provide crucial DNA matches validating the family relationships.

What This Proves:

Mary Ann Hammell, daughter of deceased Henry Hammell and Mary McMahon, married William Byron (brass finisher). This marriage record serves two critical purposes: First, it provides independent verification of Mary's parents as Henry Hammell and Mary McMahon, corroborating the 1853 baptism record. Second, it creates the surname lineage (Byron) through which modern DNA researchers can identify and connect with Mary's descendants. DNA matches bearing the Byron surname can be traced back through this 1879 marriage to Mary Hamall, and ultimately to Henry Hamall and Mary McMahon.

What This Proves:

The 1861 Canada East Census shows Mary Hamel (age 8) living with Patrick Thornton, O. Hamel (Owen), M. Hamel (Michael), and William Thornton. This census is crucial for establishing that Owen, Mary, and Michael were siblings living in the same household. This sibling relationship is later validated by DNA evidence from Mary's descendants matching Owen's descendants.

What This Proves:

Mary Byron, age 48, married, wife of William F. Byron (brass finisher), living in St. Anne's Ward, Montreal. This census documents Mary Byron living in Montreal at the turn of the 20th century. Her Byron descendants provide the DNA lineage that connects back to Henry Hamall and Mary McMahon. In 1901, while Mary Byron was living in Montreal, her brother Owen had been dead for three years (died 1898 in Chicago).

What This Proves:

Henry Hamall died in Montreal in 1854 at age 37, leaving widow Mary McMahon with three young children: Michael (c. 4), Owen (7), and Mary Ann (1). This death proves: (1) Henry's approximate birth year: 1817, (2) He died just 3-4 years after emigrating from Ireland, (3) Mary McMahon became a widow with three dependent children, (4) The family faced economic crisis with loss of the male breadwinner. Henry's death set in motion Mary's remarriage to Patrick Thornton in 1855, which created the blended family and explains the half-brother relationship between Owen and William Thornton.