Born January 5 (the 12th Day of Christmas), 1903 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio the daughter of George Gerard Meiners and Clara H. Estermann Meiners, Clare Cecilia ("Ceil") Meiners Donnelly was the second of seven children who survived early infancy and childhood out of about thirteen born. Her eyes were hazel green, and her hair was brown. As a young woman she toured Europe and brought back a statue of Mary.
Just 16 days before the stock market crash that began the Great Depression, Ceil married Thomas James Donnelly from Madison County, New York on October 12, 1929 (Columbus Day) at Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Church in Cincinnati. Tom was a salesman based out of nearby Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, and he and Ceil met through a co-worker of Tom's from Cincinnati who knew the Meiners family. In 1930 they lived at 1038 Kreis Lane in Cincinnati. They lived most of their married life at 5620 Wynnburne Avenue in an area of Green Hills developed by her Uncle Harry Estermann. They had five children: Mary Clare Donnelly Minges, Thomas J. Donnelly (Mary's twin who died in infancy), Anne ("Nancy") Roger Donnelly Riley, Thomas Meiners Donnelly, and Catherine ("Katie") Therese Donnelly O'Fallon. Katie's godmother was Ceil's friend, visionary and mystic Rhoda Wise, now on the path to sainthood. Ceil loved having her grandchildren visit at her Wynnburne home in Green Hills. Her grandson Tom Donnelly recalls staying over at his grandparents' home and falling asleep to the sounds of his grandparents saying the rosary. Like her parents and husband, she was devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. For years Ceil gave up butter as a sacrifice to bring her brother Bill back to the faith. Her great-great-granddaughter, Quinn Donnelly, chose the Confirmation name of Cecilia in part to honor Ceil.
She was 87 when she died in Cincinnati on December 20, 1990. She is buried next to her husband Tom in the Meiners family plot in Saint Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Cincinnati. Her ancestry was German.
Biennially a family reunion of all the descendants of Tom and Ceil Donnelly is held, usually in Columbus, Ohio, midway between Cincinnati and Cleveland where the vast majority of descendants live. It is organized by their first-born grandchild, Mary Ann "Sugie" Minges.
DNA testing reveals Ceil and her direct female descendants and ancestors and their brothers are of the clan of "Helena" (mtDNA haplogroup H) who lived 20,000 years ago in the Dordogne region of southwest France near the present city of Perpignan on the Mediterranean, gathering oysters and hunting and creating cave paintings.
Thanks to her children and her grandson Thomas C. Donnelly for so much of this information. Any errors, however, are mine alone. Please go to the "edit" link on this site with any corrections or additions.
Just 16 days before the stock market crash that began the Great Depression, Ceil married Thomas James Donnelly from Madison County, New York on October 12, 1929 (Columbus Day) at Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Church in Cincinnati. Tom was a salesman based out of nearby Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, and he and Ceil met through a co-worker of Tom's from Cincinnati who knew the Meiners family. In 1930 they lived at 1038 Kreis Lane in Cincinnati. They lived most of their married life at 5620 Wynnburne Avenue in an area of Green Hills developed by her Uncle Harry Estermann. They had five children: Mary Clare Donnelly Minges, Thomas J. Donnelly (Mary's twin who died in infancy), Anne ("Nancy") Roger Donnelly Riley, Thomas Meiners Donnelly, and Catherine ("Katie") Therese Donnelly O'Fallon. Katie's godmother was Ceil's friend, visionary and mystic Rhoda Wise, now on the path to sainthood. Ceil loved having her grandchildren visit at her Wynnburne home in Green Hills. Her grandson Tom Donnelly recalls staying over at his grandparents' home and falling asleep to the sounds of his grandparents saying the rosary. Like her parents and husband, she was devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. For years Ceil gave up butter as a sacrifice to bring her brother Bill back to the faith. Her great-great-granddaughter, Quinn Donnelly, chose the Confirmation name of Cecilia in part to honor Ceil.
She was 87 when she died in Cincinnati on December 20, 1990. She is buried next to her husband Tom in the Meiners family plot in Saint Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Cincinnati. Her ancestry was German.
Biennially a family reunion of all the descendants of Tom and Ceil Donnelly is held, usually in Columbus, Ohio, midway between Cincinnati and Cleveland where the vast majority of descendants live. It is organized by their first-born grandchild, Mary Ann "Sugie" Minges.
DNA testing reveals Ceil and her direct female descendants and ancestors and their brothers are of the clan of "Helena" (mtDNA haplogroup H) who lived 20,000 years ago in the Dordogne region of southwest France near the present city of Perpignan on the Mediterranean, gathering oysters and hunting and creating cave paintings.
Thanks to her children and her grandson Thomas C. Donnelly for so much of this information. Any errors, however, are mine alone. Please go to the "edit" link on this site with any corrections or additions.
Born January 5 (the 12th Day of Christmas), 1903 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio the daughter of George Gerard Meiners and Clara H. Estermann Meiners, Clare Cecilia ("Ceil") Meiners Donnelly was the second of seven children who survived early infancy and childhood out of about thirteen born. Her eyes were hazel green, and her hair was brown. As a young woman she toured Europe and brought back a statue of Mary.
Just 16 days before the stock market crash that began the Great Depression, Ceil married Thomas James Donnelly from Madison County, New York on October 12, 1929 (Columbus Day) at Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Church in Cincinnati. Tom was a salesman based out of nearby Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, and he and Ceil met through a co-worker of Tom's from Cincinnati who knew the Meiners family. In 1930 they lived at 1038 Kreis Lane in Cincinnati. They lived most of their married life at 5620 Wynnburne Avenue in an area of Green Hills developed by her Uncle Harry Estermann. They had five children: Mary Clare Donnelly Minges, Thomas J. Donnelly (Mary's twin who died in infancy), Anne ("Nancy") Roger Donnelly Riley, Thomas Meiners Donnelly, and Catherine ("Katie") Therese Donnelly O'Fallon. Katie's godmother was Ceil's friend, visionary and mystic Rhoda Wise, now on the path to sainthood. Ceil loved having her grandchildren visit at her Wynnburne home in Green Hills. Her grandson Tom Donnelly recalls staying over at his grandparents' home and falling asleep to the sounds of his grandparents saying the rosary. Like her parents and husband, she was devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. For years Ceil gave up butter as a sacrifice to bring her brother Bill back to the faith. Her great-great-granddaughter, Quinn Donnelly, chose the Confirmation name of Cecilia in part to honor Ceil.
She was 87 when she died in Cincinnati on December 20, 1990. She is buried next to her husband Tom in the Meiners family plot in Saint Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Cincinnati. Her ancestry was German.
Biennially a family reunion of all the descendants of Tom and Ceil Donnelly is held, usually in Columbus, Ohio, midway between Cincinnati and Cleveland where the vast majority of descendants live. It is organized by their first-born grandchild, Mary Ann "Sugie" Minges.
DNA testing reveals Ceil and her direct female descendants and ancestors and their brothers are of the clan of "Helena" (mtDNA haplogroup H) who lived 20,000 years ago in the Dordogne region of southwest France near the present city of Perpignan on the Mediterranean, gathering oysters and hunting and creating cave paintings.
Thanks to her children and her grandson Thomas C. Donnelly for so much of this information. Any errors, however, are mine alone. Please go to the "edit" link on this site with any corrections or additions.
Just 16 days before the stock market crash that began the Great Depression, Ceil married Thomas James Donnelly from Madison County, New York on October 12, 1929 (Columbus Day) at Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Church in Cincinnati. Tom was a salesman based out of nearby Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, and he and Ceil met through a co-worker of Tom's from Cincinnati who knew the Meiners family. In 1930 they lived at 1038 Kreis Lane in Cincinnati. They lived most of their married life at 5620 Wynnburne Avenue in an area of Green Hills developed by her Uncle Harry Estermann. They had five children: Mary Clare Donnelly Minges, Thomas J. Donnelly (Mary's twin who died in infancy), Anne ("Nancy") Roger Donnelly Riley, Thomas Meiners Donnelly, and Catherine ("Katie") Therese Donnelly O'Fallon. Katie's godmother was Ceil's friend, visionary and mystic Rhoda Wise, now on the path to sainthood. Ceil loved having her grandchildren visit at her Wynnburne home in Green Hills. Her grandson Tom Donnelly recalls staying over at his grandparents' home and falling asleep to the sounds of his grandparents saying the rosary. Like her parents and husband, she was devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. For years Ceil gave up butter as a sacrifice to bring her brother Bill back to the faith. Her great-great-granddaughter, Quinn Donnelly, chose the Confirmation name of Cecilia in part to honor Ceil.
She was 87 when she died in Cincinnati on December 20, 1990. She is buried next to her husband Tom in the Meiners family plot in Saint Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Cincinnati. Her ancestry was German.
Biennially a family reunion of all the descendants of Tom and Ceil Donnelly is held, usually in Columbus, Ohio, midway between Cincinnati and Cleveland where the vast majority of descendants live. It is organized by their first-born grandchild, Mary Ann "Sugie" Minges.
DNA testing reveals Ceil and her direct female descendants and ancestors and their brothers are of the clan of "Helena" (mtDNA haplogroup H) who lived 20,000 years ago in the Dordogne region of southwest France near the present city of Perpignan on the Mediterranean, gathering oysters and hunting and creating cave paintings.
Thanks to her children and her grandson Thomas C. Donnelly for so much of this information. Any errors, however, are mine alone. Please go to the "edit" link on this site with any corrections or additions.
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