Honora (Unknown) Miller (abt. 1785 - bef. 1855)

Born about 1785 in Ireland

Descendants

Died before 4 Jun 1855 before about age 70 in Liverpool, Lancashire, England

Biography

The date of birth of Honora and the names of her parents are not known. From various records it would appear that she was born around 1784 in ireland. ^[1]

The 1841 census shows her as aged 50 and marked as "F" for "foreign born". ^[2]

The 1851 census shows her as aged 66 and born in Ireland. ^[3]

The records of the Free Parochial Cemetary of Saint Martins in the Fields in Liverpool note that she was buried on 04 June 1855, having died aged 70 in the workhouse. ^[4]

It is possible that Honora was first married to someone with the surname of Carroll and that they had the following child:

Mary Ann Carroll, born ca 1816 in Liverpool, Lancashire, England.

However, it may be that she was unmarried and that Carroll was Honora's maiden name.

She later appears to have married John Miller and they had the following child:

Sarah Miller, born 17 December 1823 and baptised 28 December 1823 in Liverpool.

Honora also seems to have been a witness to the Roman Catholic baptisms of several of her grandchildren:

02 July 1837 Possible witness (as Anna Miller) to baptism of presumed grandaughter Joanna Eliza (later Jane) Kirk. ^[5]

26 January 1840 Possible witness (as Anna Miller) to baptism of presumed granddaughter, Maria Anna Kirk. ^[6]

10 April 1842 Witness (as Honora Miller) to baptism of a grandson Jacobus (James) Kirk. ^[7]

03 October 1847 Witness (as Honora Miller) to baptism of grandaughter, Margarita (later Margaret) Kirk. ^[8]

25 January 1852 Witness (as Honora Miller) to baptism of a grandson, Alexander Kirk. ^[9]

Research Notes

Irish Surname Variants

Irish surnames tend to have many possible variants. In the seventeenth century most of the population spoke Irish and were illiterate, but the administration was English. The patronymics Mac (son of) and Ó (grandson of) were largely discouraged with Irish surnames being phonetically transcribed, mistranslated and even already-existing English surnames being used as alternatives to the actual surnames. It was not until the end of the nineteenth century that families started to reclaim their original Mac and Ó prefixes.^[10]

Mitochondrial DNA

Several of Honora's direct female line descendants have taken mitochondrial DNA tests with Scotland's DNA. ^[11] Unless there have been errors or mutations, somewhere down the line (and mitochondrial DNA mutates relatively slowly), it would appear that Honora most likely belonged to the U5b2c2 subtype of Haplogroup U5.

U5 motherline - Scotland's DNA

Your mitochondrial DNA is that of THE FIRST ARTISTS, the pioneer bands of hunter-gatherers who moved into Europe c36,000BC, the people who created the earliest known examples of European art. Your mtDNA group, which only women can pass on to their children, is U. Very old, it arose c54,000BC around the shores of the Persian Gulf before those who carried it turned west for the Levant and the Eastern Mediterranean.

First Artists - U5b2c2 - Scotland's DNA.

The worldwide distribution of Haplogroup U5 reveals that it is most common amongst the Saami people ^[12] of northern Scandanavia (present in 58 % of those tested). This does not mean that Honora had Saami ancestry, but that Honora and the Saami people shared common ancestry.

UK distribution of Haplogroup U5 - Scotland's DNA.

The distribution of Haplogroup U5 in the British Isles is of interest. Honora was recorded as being born in Ireland, whereas Haplogroup U5 is most common (present in 17 % of those tested) in the Irish Province of Leinster, which comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster.

Country Report for Ireland: mtDNA Haplogroup U5b2c2b. Family Tree DNA.

Honora Carroll’s reported birth country of Ireland is also consistent with the mtDNA groups of her descendants, whose mtDNA Haplogroup (as determined by Scotland’s DNA) is U5b2c2b. On Family Tree DNA, the highest percentage (33.33%) of U5b2c2b participants had a maternal origin from Ireland.

Sources

1. ↑ Approximate year and country of birth calculated from 1851 census entry.
2. ↑ 1841 English census records
3. ↑ 1851 English census records
4. ↑ Liverpool St Martin-in-the-Fields Burial Records & Free BMD Index
5. ↑ Liverpool Catholic baptism records for the parish of Saint Nicholas, entry for Joanna Eliza Kirk
6. ↑ Liverpool Catholic baptism records for the parish of Saint Nicholas, entry for Maria Anna Kirk
7. ↑ Liverpool Catholic baptism records for the parish of Saint Nicholas, entry for Jacobus Kirk
8. ↑ Liverpool Catholic baptism records for the parish of Saint Nicholas, entry for Margarita Kirk
9. ↑ Liverpool Catholic baptism records for the parish of Saint Nicholas, entry for Alexander Kirk
10. ↑ Family Research 2016
11. ↑ ScotlandsDNA From ISOGG Wiki
12. ↑ Saami and Berbers—An Unexpected Mitochondrial DNA Link. Achilli. A., et al., (2005). Am J Hum Genet. 2005 May; 76(5): 883–886.