Jerry & Margaret Maher

The Lives of Jeremiah and Margaret Maher

To mark St Patick's Day, I have written a joint-biography of Jeremiah Maher and his wife Margaret Fant: my Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandparents who immigrated to England from Ireland to escape the potato famine in the 1840s.

Jeremiah Maher was born in 1828, in the small village of Dunkerrin, in County Offaly. He was the son of Thomas Maher, the village butcher, and Mary Brien. Jeremiah's parents were both from County Tipperary, and had married in Mary's hometown, Carrick-on-Suir, on 11 June 1807. As a teenager, Jeremiah moved about 40 miles away to the village of Rosegreen, in Tipperary. He worked as a "slater" - a roofer who uses slate tiles. It was whilst working in Rosegreen that Jeremiah met his future wife, Margaret Fant.

Margaret Fant was born in the small town of Fethard, in County Tipperary, in 1829. She was the daughter of William Fant, a builder, and Margaret Hickey. Margaret's mother died in about 1834, when Margaret was just five years old. Her father subsequently remarried to Honora Cunningham on 17 September 1835. As a teenager, Margaret moved about 10 miles east to the town of Cashel.

Cashel Cathedral, where Jeremiah and Margaret got married.

Jeremiah and Margaret met in the late 1840s, when both were in their late teens. They married at St John's Cathedral, in Cashel, on 9 October 1848; Jeremiah was about 20, and Margaret was about 19. After they got married, Jeremiah and Margaret lived in Cashel. At this time, Ireland was in the most devastating years of the infamous Potato Famine. Between 1845 and 1849, approximately 20 - 25% of the Irish population died. Rural areas which depended on the potato crop - such as Cashel - were significantly effected, with Tipperary losing up to 30% of its population. In 1849, Jeremiah and Margaret were among the millions of Irish who left Ireland during the famine. They settled in Wolverhampton, just outside Birmingham, where Jeremiah found work as a plasterer. Over the next 18 years, Jeremiah and Margaret had at least six children:

• Thomas Maher (7 August 1852 - 1914), my Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
• Mary Maher (1853 - 1887)
• William Maher (1856 - 1932)
• Catharine Maher (1863 - ?)
• Jeremiah Maher Jr. (1864 - 1866)
• Jeremiah Maher Jr. (1867 - 1873)

Around 1856, the family lived in the village of Wednesfield, which is now part of Wolverhampton. At the time of the 1861 census, the family were living on Moor Street, in Birmingham. They later moved to Coleshill Street. In 1874 their daughter, Mary, married Alfred Dean after getting pregnant. However, Alfred died before their son, Alfred Jr, was born on 11 July 1875. Jeremiah and Margaret then took in their daughter and grandson. After Mary died at the age of 34, in 1887, Jeremiah and Margaret became Alfred's guardians.

Jeremiah's death certificate

After their daughter died in 1887, Jeremiah, Margaret and Alfred moved to London. They lived at 3 East Place, in Clerkenwell. By this time, Jeremiah was working as a "Journeyman Plasterer." In the following years, Jeremiah began suffering from liver cancer. When his illness got worse in 1889, he was admitted to Holborn Infirmary. He died there on 11 October 1889, at the age of 61.

Islington Infirmary, where Margaret lived the last years of her life.

After Jeremiah died, Margaret continued living with their grandson Alfred. As Alfred was only 14, Margaret began working as a "washerwoman" to provide some income for the household. She would have been employed by several households to do their laundry for them. Alfred worked as a japanner - someone who varnishes furniture in a Japanese style. After Alfred married Elizabeth Wright on 21 July 1895, Margaret lived alone. She continued working as a washerwoman to support herself, and was never able to retire. In her later years, Margaret suffered from chronic nephritis - inflammation of the kidneys. She was admitted to Islington Infirmary, on Highgate Hill, where she lived the last few years of her life. Margaret died there on 17 October 1905, at the age of 76.

Margaret's death certificate