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The O'Hara connection

In the late 19th century there were three marriages between members of O'Hara families and McLaughlin and Major families in and around Skaneateles.

James O'Hara (1817-1875) and Bridget [last name unknown] lived in the Skaneateles area and had eight children. The youngest, Elizabeth, would marry Cornelius McLaughlin.

Tragically, James O'Hara didn't live to attend the wedding. He was killed when he and two other workers were buried in a cave-in while digging in a gravel bed.

Children of James and Bridget O'Hara:

1. Michael O'Hara (1849-1877)

2. Mary A. O'Hara (1850-1919)
3. James W. O'Hara (1852- ) If obituaries are to be believed, James W. O'Hara died before 1915 because he was not listed among the survivors when his sister, Bridget, died.
4. Catherine "Kate" O'Hara (1854-1944) m. John Horne (1854-1921), moved to San Jose, CA. Her first name is often spelled with a K. The couple had at least five children:
5. Bridget O'Hara (1857-1915)
6. John Thomas O'Hara (1858-1921) married Mary Ryan (1858-1940)
7. Margaret O'Hara (1861- )
8. Elizabeth "Libbie" O'Hara (1864-1916) married Cornelius McLaughlin (1863-1943).
 
John O'Hara (1827-1901) married Catherine Healey (1828-1886) in 1850. It was through their daughter, Mary, that the family became connected with the McLaughlins. The children of John and Catherine (Healey) O'Hara:

1. Mary O'Hara (1851-1905) m. Dennis R. McLaughlin (1851-1925).
2. Edward H. O'Hara m. Anna Hogan (1858-1940). He became publisher of the Syracuse Herald. Anna Hogan O'Hara was the sister of Emma Hogan Jenkins, wife of Arthur Jenkins, also an executive at the Herald.
3. John Francis O'Hara (1856-1880)
4. Ellen "Ella" O'Hara (1860-1942)
5. Daniel C. O'Hara (1863-1944) His brother and nephew may have been publishers of the Syracuse Herald-Journal, but Daniel O'Hara received only a one-paragraph send-off in his obituary (June 29, 1944), which described him as a retired shoe salesman.
6. Katherine A. O'Hara (1868-1945) married Edward Carey (1871-1936), a Syracuse policeman.
 

Patrick O'Hara (1822-1893), we believe, is the second of three O'Hara brothers from County Sligo, Ireland, who came to America in the mid-19th century. After arriving in America, Patrick O'Hara and his wife, Mary Freeman (1824-1899), lived for awhile in Mottville, New York, a community in the town of Skaneateles, then moved to Wisconsin, where they remained for 12 years before returning to Central New York.

According to the 1875 New York State Census, Mary and Patrick O'Hara had six children. Three of their sons would settle a few miles northeast of Skaneateles in the village of Camillus where they would become prominent in civic and social affairs.

Most colorful of those sons was Michael J. O'Hara (1858-1934), who married Anna J. Major (1863-1931). For a look at this unusual, enterprising character, check out When in doubt, turn to M. J. O'Hara.
 
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