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From: Philip Michelson <>
Subject: [OCONNOR-TIPP-L] Devil's Bit/Thurles O'Connors
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 18:57:54 -0800

Greetings to all and a special thanks to Pat Connors for setting up this
site.

My relatives came from a place in Tipperary known as Devil's Bit. This
is the name of a mountain (a hill by California standards) that has a
huge "bite" missing from the top. Legend has it that when the Devil left
Ireland he took a bite out of this mountain and spit it out in an area
of Tipperary that became known as the Rock of Cashel. My family claims
there once was a town there by the name of Devil's Bit but I have not
found any evidence of it. Devil's Bit is located about halfway between
Thurles and Roscrea. Templemore is the closest town to the mountain.

My family believes that James O'Connor was born in Tipperary circa
1750. His son Philip O'Connor was born there circa 1775 and his son,
Anthony, was born there circa 1800. Anthony married Anastasia Ryan and
had four children: Philip, Mary, Elizabeth, and Bridget. In 1849 they
came to the USA but we do not yet know which port they arrived at. We
know that as early as 1852 at least part of the family was in St. Paul,
Minnesota. Philip was rumored to have come to California in 1852 in
search of gold but if he did we believe he got there too late and
ultimately reunited with his family in Minnesota. All of the O'Connor
girls remained in Minnesota, marrying in to families by the names of
Kenkel, Athey, and Westgartte. After the death of his first wife, Ann,
in 1860, Philip went to Savannah, Georgia with his mother Anastasia, and
Anthony remained in Minnesota with his daughters. Philip fought for the
Confederacy in the Civil War and was wounded in the head but luckily
survived. After the War, Philip and his mother came out to San
Francisco in 1868 where he married Mary Hartnett and they had 12
children: Anastasia, Mary, Elizabeth, Josephine, Edward, Katherine,
Theresa, Margaret, Philip, William, Harriet, and Agatha. I am directly
descended from Josephine.

Most of the family stories place the O'Connors either in Devil's Bit or
in the town of Thurles. Anthony was a stonemason and it is not likely
that he picked up a skilled trade like that on a farm at Devil's Bit.
His son, Philip, was a bricklayer. These occupations suggest that some
unknown O'Connor remained behind to work the land at Devil's Bit while
the others found jobs in a major town like Thurles.

I have no idea what sept of O'Connors we are linked to but my guess
would be the sept from Offaly which is a very short distance (about 30
miles) from North Tipperary. In 1849 when my family left, O'Connor was
not a common name in Tipperary. By 1890 that was no longer true, but I
believe the majority of these O'Connors are linked to the O'Connors from
Kerry.

I hope this helps and I fondly salute all of the dispersed O'Connors
throughout the world.

Phil Michelson

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• [OCONNOR-TIPP-L] Devil's Bit/Thurles O'Connors by Philip Michelson <>