This Saint Patrick’s Day, I’m posting about a very notable Irish ancestor from my grandma’s paternal side…
Michael O’Mahoney was born to a presumably well-off family in 1787 in Limerick, Ireland. He was a part of the 86th and 97th foot regiments during the Napoleonic Wars. On Sunday, 18 June 1815 he fought with the Anglo-allied Seventh Coalition in the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon’s final defeat which marked the final large-scale battle for the Napoleonic Wars and effectively ended Napoleon’s reign as Emperor of the French.
O’Mahoney left Ireland for Canada following the death of his first wife, landing in Montreal before making his way to Oxford, Ontario. There he met Salina Gilbert, the daughter of a United Empire Loyalist, while they were both working for the same employer. The two married although he was close to 40 and she was a mere 17 years old.
The couple were devoted baptists who parented 12 children and seem to have maintained a pleasant marriage despite their age difference. Salina never remarried after her husband’s death in 1862 and lived to be 101. The couple are buried in Springford Cemetery located in Springford, South Norwich, Oxford, Ontario, Canada.