Families from County Wexford, Monaghan & Beyond

The First Settler: John Cowman (1849)

The founding of Hubbardston's Irish community is traced to 1849, when John Cowman became the first Irish Catholic immigrant to settle in North Plains Township. Cowman walked the fertile farmland, claimed a homestead, and became the anchor around which the entire community would form.

His contributions went beyond simply being first:

• His converted sheep-shed served as the community's first church
• His hilltop meadow became the first cemetery
• His farm on Section 11 was the site of the first St. John the Baptist Church in 1857

By 1851, six additional Irish families had followed Cowman. After that, "accessions were rapid and numerous."

The Migration Path

The Hubbardston Irish did not come directly from Ireland to Michigan. The typical journey followed a staged pattern:

1. Ireland to New York City — crossing the Atlantic, arriving at Castle Garden
2. Western New York — spending four or five years as farm laborers near the junction of Livingston, Genesee, and Monroe counties, south of Rochester
3. Michigan — moving west to claim affordable farmland in Ionia and Clinton counties

This pattern of staged migration through western New York explains why the Hubbardston community coalesced so quickly — these families already knew each other from years of laboring together near Rochester before making the final move to Michigan.

County Origins

County Wexford (Leinster)

The largest contingent of Hubbardston settlers came from County Wexford in southeastern Ireland. Key Wexford families include:

• Roach/Roche — Katherine Roach (b. 1833), daughter of Thomas Roach and Bridget Cowman, was born in County Wexford. At least four Roche siblings emigrated to Hubbardston: Katherine, Mary (1827-1856), Phillip (1830-1892), Bridget (1835-1909), and Nicholas.
• Cowman — the founding family, connected to the Roche family through marriage and shared Wexford origins

County Monaghan (Ulster)

• McKenna — Mathew McKenna (b. December 1830) emigrated from County Monaghan. The McKenna surname (Mac Cionaoith, "Son of Cionaoth" — meaning "born of fire") was first found in County Monaghan. The McKenna gravestone at St. John the Baptist Cemetery cites "County Monaghan" under "Father" and "County Wexford" under "Mother" — a single headstone connecting two counties of origin.

County Tipperary (Munster)

Tipperary, one of the hardest-hit counties during the Great Famine, contributed settlers to the Hubbardston community. The specific families from Tipperary are less well-documented than the Wexford and Monaghan contingents.

County Wicklow (Leinster)

Known as "The Garden of Ireland" for its striking landscape south of Dublin, Wicklow also contributed families to Hubbardston.

The Founding Families

The families that built Hubbardston's Irish community include:

| Family | Origin | Notable | |--------|--------|---------| | Cowman | Wexford | First Irish settler (1849); donated land for first church and cemetery | | Welch/Welsh | Ireland | Among first six families (1851); donated land for St. John's Cemetery | | Roach/Roche | Wexford | Multiple siblings emigrated; connected to Cowman family | | McKenna | Monaghan | Documented gravestone with county origins | | Hogan | Ireland | Original church trustee; cemetery land donor | | Cahalan | Ireland | Original church trustee; cemetery land donor | | Connell/O'Connell | Ireland | Cemetery land donor; intermarried with other founding families | | Grace | Ireland | Connected to McKenna and Cowman families through marriage |

The Marriage Pattern

First-generation Irish settlers practiced strong endogamy — virtually all married within the Irish community. As one genealogical account notes: "Similar to almost all fellow Irish 1st generation emigrant children to Hubbardston, each child married Irish, making all Hubbardston McKennas relatives of family members named Roach, Cowman, Grace, Welch, O'Connell, O'Connor and Hogan."

This intermarriage pattern created a community where everyone was, to some degree, family. It reinforced Irish Catholic identity across generations and is one reason Hubbardston's Irish character has proven so durable.

Scale of Settlement

Between the late 1840s and 1870s, approximately 200 young Irish Catholic emigrants — single men, women, and families — settled in and around Hubbardston. By 1868, the original seven immigrant families had grown to 70 families. By 1880, Hubbardston maintained a population of approximately 700.

These families didn't just survive — they built an enduring community whose Irish character persists nearly two centuries later.