As the chart above shows, two Meehan brothers from Bruree married two Shanahan sisters, also from Bruree, Co. Limerick, Ireland.
- John Meehan and Margaret Shanahan that we are reading about here and
- Timothe Meehan and Briget Shanahan https://www.sheacollins.com/meehan-timothy-1815-1884-and-shanahan-bridget-1815/
However, I suspect there is at least one more Shanahan brother who was probably the father of Stephen Shanahan.
- Stephen Shanahan was the father of Alice Jane Shanahan, who married Thomas J. Collopy.
- Thomas J. Collopy was the son of John Collopy, who was married to Frances Meehan, the daughter of Margaret Meehan.
In all my ancestral research, I’ve found that the Meehan Clan maintained their kinship and family ties, more than any other line, when they emigrated. They often stayed close, by ties of marriage, to the same clans they were aligned with in Ireland. For the Meehan clan from Bruree in County Limerick, these clans included the Shanahan, Collopy, and Rea families.
John Meehan, a cooper by trade, was born around 1805 in Ireland. He married Margaret Shanahan, also from Bruree.
John Meehan and Margaret Shanahan exchanged vows on February 16, 1828, in the parish of Rockhill & Bruree, County Limerick, Ireland, and together welcomed nine children over the course of 19 years. John passed away in 1864 in Bruree, Co. Limerick, at the age of 59, after 36 years of marriage to Margaret. And Margaret survived him by a further 21 years.
Witnesses at their marriage were Timothy Shanahan (Margaret’s brother) and Cornelius O’Brien.
John Meehan was a cooper. According to Griffiths Valuations John rented a house and office in Bruree town around 1852 from Patrick O’Shaughnessy.
The place where John and Margaret’s house once stood is now a car park.
Children of John Meehan and Margaret Shanahan
- 1829 – 1870 – Frances Meehan was baptized on March 10, 1829, in the parish of Rockhill/Bruree. Sponsors were James Baggott and Maria Meehan. She married John Collopy on February 24, 1846. They emigrated to the USA.
- 1830 – Maria Meehan was baptized on July 11, 1830 in Rockhill & Bruree Parish. The sponsors were Denis Connell and her aunt, Bridget Shanahan.
- 1832 – 1914 – Daniel Meehan
- 1834 – Timothy Meehan was baptized on February 4, 1834, in Rockhill/Bruree Parish and the sponsors were Patrick Carney and Kate Smith
- 1834 – 1941 – Margaret Meehan was baptized on December 23, 1834, and the sponsors were Kate Ahern and her uncle, Tim Shanahan.
- 1838–1889, Ellen Meehan married James Burns in Bruree on September 22, 1855.
- 1842–1912: Margaret Meehan married James O’Shea in Bruree on July 27 1859.
- 1845: Anastasia Meehan was baptized on June 2, 1845, in Rockhill/Bruree. Sponsors were James Lumbard and Maria Fitzgerald.
In 1880, Anastasia Meehan is living at 27 First St., Greenbush, Rensselaer, New York. She is 35 years old and a widow whose husband was Irish. She has three children: Kate, aged 8, Minnie, aged 5, and Annie, aged 3.
1848 – on August 1, Johanna Meehan was baptised in Rockhill/Bruree. The sponsers were Maria Burns and Edmond Houlihan
Margaret Shanahan Meehan, wife of John Meehan, died on October 13 or 14, 1885, in Bruree, aged 80. She died from natural causes.
I do not know where their graves are.