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