John ("The River") Ambrose was born in about June 1787, to parents Thomas and Catharine (Kenny) Ambrose, in Dunganville Lower (townland), Ardagh, Co. Limerick, Ireland. He was baptized on June 9, 1787, in Bruff Parish, Co. Limerick. His godparents were Maurice Slattery and Ellen Kenny ( Catharine's sister). John was the third child of eleven.
John became a farmer, like his father. He married Margaret Conners/O'Connor, on January 28, 1810, in Croom Parish, Co. Limerick. There's a chance they were cousins, because Catherine Kenny's mother was also named Margaret Connors (another variation of the same surname).
John and Margaret had four daughters and 6 sons. It seems that two sons may have died quite young, likely as infants. The Ambroses lived on 1000 acres that he owned along the River Daar--hence, the nickname "Sean na hAbhann," which translates from the Irish to "John of the River."
His wife, Margaret, died on October 8, 1828, in her 40th year. Despite being left to raise so many children on his own, John did not remarry until May 15, 1838, when he married Mary Donnelly in the parish of Rathkeale, Co. Limerick. The couple had two children, but Mary died not long into their marriage of only a few years--quite probably as a result of giving birth to their daughter, Elizabeth, in early November 1841, because within just a few months of Elizabeth's baptism (Nov. 5, 1841), John married his third and final wife, Catherine Browne, on Feb. 8, 1842. He had 3 more confirmed children with Catherine.
Records indicate Catherine left for America (Virginia) with the couple's children in tow, in 1850 (during tail-end of Great Famine), seemingly to live with a brother. She was also pregnant with John's last child (of 16 children in all) during the transatlantic journey. One of John and Catherine's children, Patrick, went on to fight in the US Civil War. More research is being done. Updates will be added once more is known.
John was the grandfather of two Members of Parliament, Dr. Daniel Ambrose and Dr. Robert Ambrose, as well as of John Wolfe Ambrose, the famed Irish-American civil engineer, responsible for having the channel leading into the New York Harbor dredged deep enough for steamships at the turn of the 20th Century. After his death, New York honored John Wolfe Ambrose by renaming the channel the Ambrose Channel. Today, there is also a large monument, honoring the engineer, at Battery Park, in Lower Manhattan.
On September 25, 1866, at the age of 79, John the River died from bronchitis at his family farm.
John became a farmer, like his father. He married Margaret Conners/O'Connor, on January 28, 1810, in Croom Parish, Co. Limerick. There's a chance they were cousins, because Catherine Kenny's mother was also named Margaret Connors (another variation of the same surname).
John and Margaret had four daughters and 6 sons. It seems that two sons may have died quite young, likely as infants. The Ambroses lived on 1000 acres that he owned along the River Daar--hence, the nickname "Sean na hAbhann," which translates from the Irish to "John of the River."
His wife, Margaret, died on October 8, 1828, in her 40th year. Despite being left to raise so many children on his own, John did not remarry until May 15, 1838, when he married Mary Donnelly in the parish of Rathkeale, Co. Limerick. The couple had two children, but Mary died not long into their marriage of only a few years--quite probably as a result of giving birth to their daughter, Elizabeth, in early November 1841, because within just a few months of Elizabeth's baptism (Nov. 5, 1841), John married his third and final wife, Catherine Browne, on Feb. 8, 1842. He had 3 more confirmed children with Catherine.
Records indicate Catherine left for America (Virginia) with the couple's children in tow, in 1850 (during tail-end of Great Famine), seemingly to live with a brother. She was also pregnant with John's last child (of 16 children in all) during the transatlantic journey. One of John and Catherine's children, Patrick, went on to fight in the US Civil War. More research is being done. Updates will be added once more is known.
John was the grandfather of two Members of Parliament, Dr. Daniel Ambrose and Dr. Robert Ambrose, as well as of John Wolfe Ambrose, the famed Irish-American civil engineer, responsible for having the channel leading into the New York Harbor dredged deep enough for steamships at the turn of the 20th Century. After his death, New York honored John Wolfe Ambrose by renaming the channel the Ambrose Channel. Today, there is also a large monument, honoring the engineer, at Battery Park, in Lower Manhattan.
On September 25, 1866, at the age of 79, John the River died from bronchitis at his family farm.
John ("The River") Ambrose was born in about June 1787, to parents Thomas and Catharine (Kenny) Ambrose, in Dunganville Lower (townland), Ardagh, Co. Limerick, Ireland. He was baptized on June 9, 1787, in Bruff Parish, Co. Limerick. His godparents were Maurice Slattery and Ellen Kenny ( Catharine's sister). John was the third child of eleven.
John became a farmer, like his father. He married Margaret Conners/O'Connor, on January 28, 1810, in Croom Parish, Co. Limerick. There's a chance they were cousins, because Catherine Kenny's mother was also named Margaret Connors (another variation of the same surname).
John and Margaret had four daughters and 6 sons. It seems that two sons may have died quite young, likely as infants. The Ambroses lived on 1000 acres that he owned along the River Daar--hence, the nickname "Sean na hAbhann," which translates from the Irish to "John of the River."
His wife, Margaret, died on October 8, 1828, in her 40th year. Despite being left to raise so many children on his own, John did not remarry until May 15, 1838, when he married Mary Donnelly in the parish of Rathkeale, Co. Limerick. The couple had two children, but Mary died not long into their marriage of only a few years--quite probably as a result of giving birth to their daughter, Elizabeth, in early November 1841, because within just a few months of Elizabeth's baptism (Nov. 5, 1841), John married his third and final wife, Catherine Browne, on Feb. 8, 1842. He had 3 more confirmed children with Catherine.
Records indicate Catherine left for America (Virginia) with the couple's children in tow, in 1850 (during tail-end of Great Famine), seemingly to live with a brother. She was also pregnant with John's last child (of 16 children in all) during the transatlantic journey. One of John and Catherine's children, Patrick, went on to fight in the US Civil War. More research is being done. Updates will be added once more is known.
John was the grandfather of two Members of Parliament, Dr. Daniel Ambrose and Dr. Robert Ambrose, as well as of John Wolfe Ambrose, the famed Irish-American civil engineer, responsible for having the channel leading into the New York Harbor dredged deep enough for steamships at the turn of the 20th Century. After his death, New York honored John Wolfe Ambrose by renaming the channel the Ambrose Channel. Today, there is also a large monument, honoring the engineer, at Battery Park, in Lower Manhattan.
On September 25, 1866, at the age of 79, John the River died from bronchitis at his family farm.
John became a farmer, like his father. He married Margaret Conners/O'Connor, on January 28, 1810, in Croom Parish, Co. Limerick. There's a chance they were cousins, because Catherine Kenny's mother was also named Margaret Connors (another variation of the same surname).
John and Margaret had four daughters and 6 sons. It seems that two sons may have died quite young, likely as infants. The Ambroses lived on 1000 acres that he owned along the River Daar--hence, the nickname "Sean na hAbhann," which translates from the Irish to "John of the River."
His wife, Margaret, died on October 8, 1828, in her 40th year. Despite being left to raise so many children on his own, John did not remarry until May 15, 1838, when he married Mary Donnelly in the parish of Rathkeale, Co. Limerick. The couple had two children, but Mary died not long into their marriage of only a few years--quite probably as a result of giving birth to their daughter, Elizabeth, in early November 1841, because within just a few months of Elizabeth's baptism (Nov. 5, 1841), John married his third and final wife, Catherine Browne, on Feb. 8, 1842. He had 3 more confirmed children with Catherine.
Records indicate Catherine left for America (Virginia) with the couple's children in tow, in 1850 (during tail-end of Great Famine), seemingly to live with a brother. She was also pregnant with John's last child (of 16 children in all) during the transatlantic journey. One of John and Catherine's children, Patrick, went on to fight in the US Civil War. More research is being done. Updates will be added once more is known.
John was the grandfather of two Members of Parliament, Dr. Daniel Ambrose and Dr. Robert Ambrose, as well as of John Wolfe Ambrose, the famed Irish-American civil engineer, responsible for having the channel leading into the New York Harbor dredged deep enough for steamships at the turn of the 20th Century. After his death, New York honored John Wolfe Ambrose by renaming the channel the Ambrose Channel. Today, there is also a large monument, honoring the engineer, at Battery Park, in Lower Manhattan.
On September 25, 1866, at the age of 79, John the River died from bronchitis at his family farm.
Inscription
DOM
Erected By JOHN AMBROSE Of
Dunganville In Memory Of His
Beloved Wife MARGARt AMBROSE
Alias O'CONNOR Who Departed
This Life Octr 8th 1828 Agd 40 Yrs
May She Rest In Peace Amen
If Truth N Virtue Claim A Single Tear
In Justice Reader You May Drop In Here
Gravesite Details
Buried with first wife, Margaret Conners/O'Connor.
Family Members
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