Lucy Toman, b. ca. 1834, Co. Down
My great-great grandmother Lucy Toman was born in County Down in ca. 1834 and married Peter McShane Johnston, b. ca. 1825, County Down, about 1850-51 in either Ireland or England.They had the following children:John, b. ca. 1852; James, b. Mar. 1854; Joseph, b. 1856; Edward, b. 1858, - all born in England, andWilliam, b. Sept. 1860; Isabella, b. Feb. 1862; Anna Elizabeth, b. August 1863; and Mary Theodosia, b. Aug. 1866, all in Illinois.The family was Catholic by faith and births of the last four children are all noted in Catholic records in Peoria, Illinois.
Husband Peter died suddenly in January 1867, when the youngest child was an infant, leaving Lucy to raise 8 children on her own.Her brother Patrick Toman, b. 1814, Co. Down, came to her rescue.He and his wife Margaret (Mohn)and their daughter Sarah, all born Ireland, were living with Lucy and her children on the 1870 census.
According to a correspondent research the Toman family, Patrick is supposed to be the father of John Toman, b. ca. 1835 or 36 in Ireland, who lived in Illinois for a short period and then moved to southeastern Kansas about 1875.
I realize these are all fairly common Irish names, but I wonder if they strike a familiar note with Tomans in County Down?