Hubbardston Family Names

Brown

1836

The Brown family predates the Irish settlement of Hubbardston. Hiram Brown arrived on October 3, 1836, as one of the first two Euro-American settlers in North Plains Township (alongside Hector Hayes). Brown acquired 320 acres on Section 31 and additional land in Ronald Township. He is also the man who discovered the burned ruins of the Glass cabin in March 1838 — one of the township's most haunting early events. While not Irish, the Brown family is essential to Hubbardston's founding history.

Cahalan

O Cathalain

1850s

John Cahalan served as an original trustee of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church alongside Thomas Welch, John Hogan, and Nicholas Roach. The Cahalan family donated land for St. John the Baptist Cemetery. As one of the four founding trustee families, the Cahalans helped build the institutional framework — church, parish governance, burial ground — that sustained Irish Catholic life in Hubbardston for over 170 years.

Connell

O Conaill

1850s-1860s

The Connell family was among the Irish families that settled Hubbardston in the mid-19th century. They donated land for St. John the Baptist Cemetery, alongside the Roach, Welch, Hogan, and Cahalan families, when it was consecrated in 1884. The Connells' land donation places them among the families who built the physical infrastructure of the Irish Catholic community.

Cowman

O Comhdhain

1849

The Cowman family holds the distinction of founding Hubbardston's Irish community. John Cowman arrived in 1849 as the first Irish Catholic immigrant in North Plains Township, fleeing the Great Famine. He claimed a homestead on Section 11 whose sheep-shed became the first church and whose hilltop meadow became the first cemetery. Cowman's letters home triggered the chain migration that brought dozens of Irish families to the area. Bridget Cowman married into the Roach/Roche family, further intertwining two of the community's founding clans. The Cowman name is forever linked to the genesis of Irish Hubbardston.

Hogan

O hOgain

1850s

John Hogan was an original trustee of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, one of four men who formally established the parish that would anchor Hubbardston's Irish community for generations. The Hogan family also donated land for St. John the Baptist Cemetery, consecrated in 1884. The family's roots in County Wexford connect them to the southeastern Irish origin shared by many of Hubbardston's founding families.

Roach

de Roiste

1849-1855

The Roach (originally Roche) family came from County Wexford in southeastern Ireland and became one of Hubbardston's most prominent Irish clans. Nicholas Roach was an original trustee of St. John the Baptist Church. At least four Roche siblings emigrated to Hubbardston: Mary (1827-1856), Phillip (1830-1892), Katherine (1833-), Bridget (1835-1909), and Nicholas — a textbook example of the chain migration that built the community. Katherine Roach married Mathew McKenna, uniting the Wexford and Monaghan family lines. The American Legion Post 182 is named after Walter T. Roach, a later generation veteran. The Roach family donated land for St. John the Baptist Cemetery.

Welch

Breathnach

1851

Thomas Welch arrived in 1851 as one of the first Irish settlers after John Cowman. He became an original trustee of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, alongside John Cahalan, John Hogan, and Nicholas Roach. The Welch family donated land for St. John the Baptist Cemetery, consecrated in 1884. The Welch name is deeply embedded in the institutional foundations of Irish Hubbardston — church, cemetery, and community governance.

Cummings

O Comhain

1850s

John Cummings hosted the first Catholic services in the Hubbardston area at his house, where Father George Goditz of Westphalia began pastoral visits around 1853. The Cummings home served as the community's first church before St. John the Baptist was formally organized in 1855. This places the Cummings family at the spiritual foundation of Irish Hubbardston — their hospitality provided the space where the faith community first gathered.

Fox

Mac an tSionnaigh or O Sionnaigh

20th century (clergy)

The Fox name in Hubbardston is most closely associated with Father Eugene R. Fox, who served as pastor of St. John the Baptist Church for nearly 50 years (1938-1986). His extraordinary tenure made him one of the defining figures of 20th-century Hubbardston. A shrine at the entrance to St. John the Baptist Cemetery honors his service. While Fr. Fox came to Hubbardston as a priest rather than a settler, his half-century of service makes the Fox name an indelible part of the community's story.

McCormick

Mac Cormaic

19th century

The McCormick family has deep roots in Hubbardston, producing one of the community's most notable modern figures: Patricia McCormick Baese, who founded the Hubbardston Irish Dance Troupe in 1998. Under her leadership, the troupe grew to approximately 95 dancers and performed twice at Walt Disney World. Baese was inducted into the Michigan Irish American Hall of Fame in 2018, ensuring the McCormick name is linked to the preservation of Irish cultural traditions in Hubbardston.

Dunn

O Duinn

1840s

Bartley Dunn's house served as the site of the first town meeting when North Plains Township organized in 1844. The Dunn surname — O Duinn in Irish — is one of the oldest Gaelic surnames, meaning 'brown' or 'chief.' While it is uncertain whether Bartley Dunn was Irish-born or of Irish descent, the surname is deeply Irish, and his role hosting the first democratic assembly in the township places the Dunn name at the very foundation of local governance.

Hayes

O hAodha (if Irish origin)

1836

Hector Hayes arrived on October 12, 1836, as one of the first two Euro-American settlers in North Plains Township. His journey from New York was arduous — cattle weakened in the heat, snow blocked the path, and the family capsized their canoe crossing the Maple River. Hayes purchased 280 acres on Sections 31-32 and a sugar-bush on Section 22, and was among the first to plant orchards in spring 1838. While Hector Hayes came from New York rather than Ireland, the Hayes surname (O hAodha) is one of the most common Irish surnames, and the coincidence adds a layer of interest to the family's role in Hubbardston's pre-Irish settlement.

Hubbard

1850s

Thomas Hubbard was associated with Hubbard, Taylor & Co., a lumber company that operated a sawmill on the site that would become the village. His business presence was significant enough that the village was named in his honor when formally established in 1854. While Hubbard was not Irish, his name is permanently inscribed on the community — 'Hubbardston' links the village to its lumber-era origins even as its identity became overwhelmingly Irish.

McKenna

Mac Cionaoith

1850s

The McKenna family emigrated from County Monaghan in Ulster, Ireland. Mathew McKenna (born December 1830) settled in Hubbardston and married Katherine Roach of County Wexford, uniting two of the community's primary Irish county origins in a single family. The McKenna-Roach headstone at St. John the Baptist Cemetery is one of the most important genealogical documents in the area, recording 'County Monaghan' under 'Father' and 'County Wexford' under 'Mother.' McKenna Road in the Hubbardston area preserves the family name on the landscape. The surname Mac Cionaoith was first found in County Monaghan.

McKeone

Mac Eóin

1880s–1890s

The McKeone family represents a classic Irish immigration pattern through Hubbardston. Peter McKeone (b. ~1861, d. September 30, 1938) and Mary McKeone (b. ~1865, d. March 2, 1915) are buried at St. John the Baptist Cemetery; Peter's record lists 'New York' — a hallmark transit route for Irish immigrants through western New York before moving inland to Michigan. James McKeone (b. ~1892, d. 1972), likely Peter's son, is also interred at St. John's. Julia McKeone married Edgar Clarence Stoddard, producing one of Hubbardston's largest families with 13 or more children. The McKeone surname (Mac Eóin, 'son of John') is 96.97% Catholic in the 1911 Irish census and clusters in the Connacht province — County Sligo, Leitrim, and Roscommon — placing the family's origins squarely in the west of Ireland.

Osborne

Mid-20th century

Two separate, unrelated Osborne families share this surname in Hubbardston. Richard Osborne and Mary Ellen Williams Osborne raised their family in the Pewamo–Hubbardston corridor with deep ties to St. John the Baptist Parish; their son Rodney M. Osborne (1962–1969) is buried at St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery. The second Osborne family traces through Gerald Osborne, who married Patricia Stoddard — daughter of Edgar Clarence Stoddard and Julia McKeone, connecting to the large Stoddard clan and Irish McKeone line. The Osborne connection to Hubbardston may run deeper through the Williams line: Daniel Williams (1841–1924) and Ellen McHale Williams (1851–1888) are buried at St. John the Baptist Cemetery, suggesting 19th-century Irish-Catholic roots. The surname derives from the Old Norse 'Asbiorn' (god-bear) and entered Ireland during the medieval period; in the 1901 Irish census, roughly half of Irish Osbornes were Catholic.

Sessions

1837

Nathaniel Sessions arrived in May 1837 with three sons, settling on Section 23. Described as 'a man of mark,' he was a Methodist class-leader with a humorous nature. When North Plains Township organized in 1844, Sessions won the first supervisor election against Hiram Brown, with thirty-seven votes cast at Bartley Dunn's house. The Sessions family represents the pre-Irish governing class of the township.

Shiels

O Siadhail

1870s

The Shiels family is synonymous with Hubbardston's most famous institution — Shiels Tavern at 117 N Washington Street. The building dates to 1878, and the tavern has held a continuous liquor license since 1933, making it Michigan's oldest continuously licensed bar under the same name. The family operated the tavern for multiple generations, maintaining it as an informal community center in the Irish pub tradition. The tavern is the endpoint of the World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Stoddard

1860s (Stoddard line via Clarence Arthur Stoddard b. 1861)

The Stoddard family became one of Hubbardston's largest through Edgar Clarence Stoddard (1892–1965) and Julia McKeone, who raised 13 or more children in the area. Edgar's parents, Clarence Arthur Stoddard (1861–1942) and Loretta Timlin (1863–1945), are both buried at St. John the Baptist Cemetery — the Timlin name connecting the family to Irish roots. John M. 'Jack' Stoddard (1930–2021), son of Edgar and Julia, served as historian of the Hubbardston Area Historical Society and was described as 'extremely proud of his Irish heritage.' Patricia Stoddard married Gerald Osborne, creating the second Osborne family in Hubbardston (distinct from the Richard & Mary Ellen Osborne line). Though the Stoddard name is English in origin, the family's Irish connections run deep through the McKeone and Timlin maternal lines.