Would a DNA test show whether any of our cats can trace their heritage back to Ireland? Probably not. But my own DNA appears to include a healthy dose of the Irish, for good or ill.
My great-grandfather on my mom’s maternal side, Robert William Cathcart, was born in County Down, Ireland, on January 20, 1856, and arrived in Hawaii when he was 25.
This is the estimate of my DNA origins produced by Ancestry.com. It varies somewhat from the answers produced by two other testing services, but seems to be based on a more robust system with more specificity than provided by the other two. And, since both my dad’s parents were born in Scotland, it certainly appears believable.
According to the obituary published by the Honolulu Advertiser on May 18, 1915, Cathcart dropped dead of an apparent heart attack at about 11 a.m. while walking along the Ewa side of Alakea Street opposite the Von Hamm Young garage, which was located in that block between Hotel and King streets. He was 59.
Born In Ireland: The deceased was bonn in County Down,
Ireland on January 20, 1856 and was fifty nine years
ago. He was an expert accountant and held positions in
Honolulu and other parts of the Islands during his long
residence here. He was at times connected with commercial
concerns in Honolulu.Mr. Cathcart was head clerk and chief
accountant of the finance department of the city govern-
ment. He was a Democrat, who aspired to many political
positions unsuccessfully.
Well, so much for family DNA. Meanwhile, the cats have been waiting in the wings, and I think it’s time to unleash them.
So, without further ado….
Discover more from i L i n d
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Ginger hair, green eyes. Kinikini is most definitely part Irish!
More wonderful images of your gang. Kinikini is the obvious ‘alpha’. I like Bessie as that’s when I came in also. Excellent images.
You say your great-grandfather Robert William Cathcart was born in 1856 in County Down, Ireland. County Down is part of Ulster/Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom and has a large population of Scots, who are descended from the Scots sent there by Oliver Cromwell as part of the effort brutally to suppress Ireland. Those Northern Ireland Scots often are called Ulster Scots or Scotch Irish. Might not RWC have been entirely of Scotch ancestry, while your considerable Irish ancestry (30% according to ancestry.com!) came from some other of your other ancestors?
And, say, what was RWC’s citizenship before he became a naturalized US Citizen? I wager he was not a citizen of Ireland.