News from Connicks from
far and wide
Connick Family Newsletter
Vol. 3 No. 1 October 1, 2001
Hello and welcome to our e-newsletter!
What’s in this Issue:
Greetings from another Connick! - Denzil Connick, South Wales, UK
Owen Thomas Connick, MD - John LeGarignon and Eleanor Connick
LeBourdais
Cennick/Connick/Cwnick/Kinnock - Graeme Watson, Reading, England
Connick/Hickey Connection - Dan MacDonald, Moncton, NB
Peter Connick/Johanna May - Chris Gorman, Amherst, NS
Send pictures, please - Carol Connick, Charlottetown, PE
Connicks.com Website - Tim Connick, Lynn, MA
(neurostimulator note on bottom of page)*
Connick Family Reunion is - being planned for Aug.
9 - 11, 2002
Greetings from another Connick!
I am new at searching for my ancestors and finding out all sorts
of interesting bits of information. My name is Denzil Connick and
I was born (and still live) in South Wales, UK.
My father and grandfather were both born in South Wales and they
are buried at Aberfan Cemetery, MerthyrVale. This is the very sad
cemetery where all the children are buried following the 'Aberfan
Disaster' in the 1960's when waste coal slag slipped and covered
a school and part of the village. All except a few cousins and my
brothers (one brother in USA) remain now in South Wales and I am
desperate to find out more about my line. My brothers and I
(there are four boys), from our father Ernest James Connick, were
too young to remember those little bits about our family when
they were talked about by our grandparents, parents and uncles.
Now they are gone, I'm looking for information...typical eh?
My grandfather, William John Connick had brothers and sisters who
were born and lived in South Wales, some from the west and others
settled in Glamorganshire. My grand-dad was a bit of a hard man,
though a great character and I have fond memories. He did, while
with the Merchant Navy, remain some time in the US and worked the
travelling fair grounds where he earned his keep painting the
rides and fighting in the boxing booths (bare knuckle)! He did
become a Nationalized American, then returned home to his native
Wales to work the coal mines, where most men here worked through
the industrial revolution.
As for myself, I was born in December 1956 in Tredegar, South
Wales. I joined the army age just 15 and became a paratrooper
with the Parachute Regiment. I was wounded seriously during the
Falklands war of 82 and was discharged from the military in 1984.
I am married with two boys, Matthew and Stephen Connick. I now
work as Secretary to the South Atlantic Medal Association that I
co-founded. This is an association for veterans and families of
the Falkland Islands war. You can learn more about my activities
with this on our web site at www.sama82.org.uk
Well, you have a start from me, please feel free to pass this
letter to any other Connick's with my compliments and best
wishes.
Yours Aye, Denzil Connick
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Owen Thomas Connick, MD
John Le Garignon wrote to inquire about Owen Thomas Connick, MD,
who was his great-great-grandfather; looking to get in touch with
Elizabeth Le Bourdais so they could exchange notes and
information.
Eleanor Connick LeBourdais responded as follows: Carol, thanks so
much for passing this on. He did get in touch with me and has
been able to provide me with the names of two of my grandmother's
sisters,Anastasia Connick and Mathilda Connick and may be able to
get more info about the family from other relatives of his. The
trail to "my" Connicks seems to be very cold. I have
about given up on being able to learn anything about them by the
usual searching methods. Probably the only way will be from
people such as John, who read about my quest and recognized the
name Connick in his own family tree. Hopefully there will be more
like that - I still have my grandmother's other 3 sisters and 3
brothers to go! The brothers supposedly went to the US.
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Saddened and Gladdened
We are always saddened when someone we love joins the assembly of
saints. Since the last newsletter Noreen Peters and Burnetta
LeBlanc have died.
We were gladdened by a visit by Jim Ackerman and his wife, Leena,
from New Jersey. Thanks to a probate of a will, we were able to
tie Thomas Connick, ship’s carpenter from Summerside into
the family of Matthew Connick. We are expecting a visit from
Victoria Fisher of BC who is researching the family of Michael B.
Connick.
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Cennick/Connick/Cwnick/Kinnock
Graeme Watson wrote from Reading, Berkshire, England and he is
doing some research into the life of the 18th century hymn writer
John Cennick. He plans to publish a selection of his hymns.
Cennick was born in Reading and his grandfather, according Quaker
records, of which he was a member, was Thomas Connick. Graeme
wants to trace the origin of this name as Moravian writers on
John Cennick (he later became a Moravian, after starting as one
of the first English Methodist lay preachers) like to claim that
the name Cennick was original-ly from Moravia. This seems
improbable and he is interested in the suggestion that the name
originated in Cornwall. This would make sense, suggesting that
Thomas Connick drifted westward to Reading to find employment in
the booming 17th century weaving industry in Reading. Graeme went
to the local library and looked up all the telephone directories
for the West Country (eg Plymouth, Falmouth & other towns) -
in each of them he found a sprinkling of Connicks, Connocks or
Cunnicks. He took samples from books listing telephone numbers in
other regions and didn't find a single Connick, Connock or
Cunnick. This appears to be proof enough that the name was - and
still is - a regional surname. It doesn't sound
"English", but the indigenous language of the region
was Cornish (similar to Welsh) which wasn't finally killed off
(sadly) until the 18th century. He thinks that there are scholars
of Cornish who could identify its derivation. He attached a draft
of the introduction to his selection of Cennick's hymns which is
to be published on December 1st this year.
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Graeme’s response to posting on Connick
etymology
It's interesting that the material you sent me again links the
name to the Irish word for 'dog'. The Welsh surname book that I
consulted makes the same point. It seems to me that the surname
probably orginated separately in Ireland, Wales and Cornwall -all
regions with distinct, but related Celtic languages. The modern
Welsh for 'No Dogs' is "Dim Cyn" (pronounced 'Kin') - I
saw one of these signs recently & had a sudden flash of
inspiration! (though it's probably of zero interest to most New
World Connicks) ... leader of the British Labour Party through
was a Welsh politician called Neil Kinnock - he reshaped the
party, though never achieved power, so his name is probably not
familiar to most Americans/ Canadians. It occurred to me that his
name is probably a modern Welsh version of the Cwnick/Connick
surname. I've looked it up in a couple of Welsh surname
dictionaries - but 'Kinnock' doesn't appear. Nevertheless, I feel
fairly sure that his name is, as I've suggested, related to your
own & you might want to add him to your role call of famous
Connicks!
I realize that you - and most New World Connicks - are probably
of Irish origin - but you shouldn't ignore your Welsh/Cornish
cousins! - there are certainly, as I've written in the material
already sent to you, a good few still living in their ancestral
heartlands of Cornwall.
Yours sincerely,
Graeme Watson.
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Peter Connick/Johanna May
James May came over from Ireland with wife, unknown, sons Michael
and William, daughters Bridget and Johanna. He farmed in Lot 67,
near Martin Connick. James lent Michael money and the Bond for
Support and Maintenance is the only one I've seen
registered. But I guess James figured that Michael was
"tricky." Michael married Catherine Delaney, who died,
and then he married, in 1858, Mary Brennan. The story still lives
in the community, that Michael brought Mary along the road to
show her new home; but it was the lovely home of a neighbor who
was absent. Then they went off and got married, and then he took
her a little further down the road to his own less than fancy
home.
Johanna May was married to Michael Barrett, and in Ireland,
another sister married another May. When Michael Barrett died in
1837 in Lot 19, she was widowed with two small sons, John and
Thomas Barrett. The details of the marriage of Peter Connick and
Johanna May, recorded 23 April, 1838 at the church in Rustico,
indicate that "Peter, son of John Connick and Catherine
Tobin, and Johanna May, also of Indian River, widow of the late
Michael Barret.(sic) Witnesses: Martin Connick and Margaret
Connick". In the
1841 Census of Lot 22 the two boys are living with their mother
and Peter Connick.
In the latest Newsletter of the PEI Genealogy Scoiety, there is a
listing of the students at the Prince Town Grammar School
1825-1826. This is from the Smith-Alley papers, Accession No.
2702, Item 475. In 1825-1826 Peter Connack began school on May
17, 1825, age 7; (surname as written here) Martin Connock began
school March 14, 1826, age 10; John Connock began school March
14, 1826, age 12. I assume that they were born in Ireland (this
gives you some idea of WHEN) and that they were brothers! Peter
could have started to school in May because the work load allowed
them to let a 7 year old go to school. The older brothers would
have started in March (and imagine the roads) because the work
load in that month would have eased off. It doesn't say how long
they were there! Peter studied the alphabet and stayed one
quarter; John and Martin studied Murray's first book and stayed
less than a quarter.
There was also a Moses Connock, 13, (with a question mark after
the Connock) who stayed 2 quarters, starting on June 27th, 1825,
and he studied Murray's Spelling book. There were about 120
children registered.
Chris Gorman
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Send pictures, please
Since the last Newsletter went out in November 27, 1999 there has
been lots of activities. I did a lot of work on the family
history but got bogged down when the pictures I have were not
good enough quality to reproduce. Having pictures scanned and
converted to .jpg files and e-mailed to me one-by-one would be
the best way to get them. I am sure some people are saying that
they hope they live long enough to get this family history. Do
you have pictures of the last reunion to post with an
announcement of the next one?
Carol Connick
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Connicks.com Website
The website Connicks.com is up and running. As a registered domain it now has a permanent home.
Email now can be addressed
directly to the site: Tim@Connicks.com.
How many people have internet access?
There are a lot of email addresses for Connicks on various lists
and someone could invite them to check in with us on their family
trees. I did a dozen last year, got four answers and one was
related to people we'd already found. There are snail mail
addresses also. We should end up with replies and some online
contacts once they know where to find us. Any volunteers for
that?
Looking for old family stories
One thing that everybody talks about (but nobody does) is write
down old family stories. We hear of a John Connick, a man so large that
he kept the largest horses in his area and was asked to help the
army with their uncontrollable beasts. After a tour of duty,
battles and travels he returned safely to his home. The following
day while covering a horse he let a corner of the blanket snag on
a hoof and the beast toppled over on him. He died the following
day, and it was said that if not for his great strength and size,
he wouldn't have lasted that long. Now can't we find a lot of
Connicks with tales like that?
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Connick Family Newsletter
Comments and Suggestions are appreciated -
send an email to cconnick@islandtelecom.com
or snail mail to P. O. Box 3063, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8.
This online copy of the Connick Family Newsletter is hosted by the Connicks.com website
Join other Connick family researchers there, or email
Tim@Connicks.com
The 2nd Connick Family Reunion
was held Aug. 9 - 11, 2002 at the
Kinkora Community Centre in Kinkora, PEI.
Link: 2002 Reunion