Captain James Starkey

Captain James Starkey

Captain James Starkey is one of my grandfathers with a bunch of "greats" in front of his name.  I found him last night while searching for my ancestors.  All those history lessons are suddenly coming to life.

James Starkey was a captain in the army during the civil war era.  Unfortunately, his military career ended when he was found guilty of recruiting soldiers under false names.  He is not the first ancestor to be exposed.  Another one of my ancestors was an Irish king who had an illegitimate son.  This son became the first of the Kavanagh clan, a family that ruled part of Ireland for generations until they were scattered when England invaded. The conflict with England led to two hundred years of trouble for my Irish ancestors.  From 1600 to 1699, far more Irish were sold as slaves than Africans.

They say two wrongs don't make a right, however, they played a role in the birth of this blog writer, a Mulligan.  When James Starkey left the army, he raised a family.  His son, Edward, my great-great grandfather, married Mary B. Kavanagh, a descendant of Irish royalty.  Mary's family left Ireland and settled in Canada.  I'm here today because my ancestors found a way to thrive, even in tough circumstances, like famine.  And two hundred years of slavery due to political and religious beliefs.

King Diarmait MacMurrough, Irish king from 900 years ago.  His illegitimate son became the first Kavanagh in Ireland.

There are some gaps in my family line, however, I've been able to confirm family members from six generations ago and make inferences about the links to Irish kings all the way back to the year 1100.  The inspiration for all this started with a love letter from my great-great grandmother, Mary Kavanagh.  Her initials MBK on the poem I released in an earlier message confirm an error made by other family members who mistakenly spelled her last name as Cavanagh.  Looks like a mulligan is needed to correct fix this oversight.

Here is a link to my great-great-great grandfather, Captain James Starkey, a contributing author in Glimpses of the Nation's Struggle. I'm in awe at how many writers there are in my family line.

I'm hoping this post will help me find more relatives.  All of us are connected.  It's fun to discover how we are linked.  For those friends and family members interested in my research about our family line, I will be adding some pictures in a future story.  Stay tuned.