Gavin Families of Lafayette County 1860 & 1870

In my attempt to tie families back to my Hughes & Hastings I came across a baptism for one of the children of James & Sarah (Hastings) Hughes (with my comments on possible connections):

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church (ICCC), Lexington, Missouri Baptismal: Oct 23, 1864; Sponsors: Thomas Gavin [unknown relationship, possibly a cousin to Mom, Sarah?] and Bridget Hastings [Grandmother?/Mom's side]; Edward Hamill

So, that prompts me to go look at the sponsors, and other Gavin families. Are they just neighbors? Kin? or County/Township Countrymen? So here's what I've come up with:

1860 census, Clay twp, Laf, MO (Dennis Gavin Adj)
Thos Gavin, 34, stone mason, Ireland
Mary Gavin, 25, Ireland
Michael Gavin, 2, had ditto (error?, or just in?)
_________________________
1860c Clay twp, Laf, MO
Thos. Gavin, 34, Stone Mason, Ireland
Mary " , 25, f, Ireland
Michael " , 2, m, " (ditto in census)
_________________________
1870 census, Lex, Laf, MO (in bef. 1858?)
Gaven, Thomas, 45, laborer, 450 - , Ireland
           Mary, 40, Ireland
   Michael 12, Margret 10, Thomas 5, Martha 6/12 all MO
>>>>also found in 1860 census, adjacent to Michael Hastings
Patrick Garvin, 30, Ireland
Catherine  "  , 26, Ireland
Mary  "  , 6, Va; Ellen  "  , 4, Iowa
_________________________
fit? 1880 census
Census Place: Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri Page 202B 
Mary GAVIN Self F W W 44 IRE  Occ: Keeping House Fa: IRE Mo: IRE
Bridget GAVIN Dau F S W 22 IRE Occ: Servant Fa: IRE Mo: IRE
Micheal GAVIN Son M S W 21 IRE Occ: Works In Coal Mine Fa: IRE Mo: IRE
Maggie GAVIN Dau F S W 19 MO Occ: At Home Fa: IRE Mo: IRE
Thomas GAVIN Son M S W 15 MO Occ: Works In Coal Mines Fa: IRE Mo: IRE
Mary GAVIN Dau F S W 8 MO Occ: At Home Fa: IRE Mo: IRE
_________________________

Note that Michael was born in Ireland. Based on all of the commonality of Irish names, this may be a stretch, but I found what looks like pretty close fit:

Mayo Ancestors - Official Genealogy records of County Mayo, Ireland

Type                     Baptism Record
First Name               Michael
Surname                  Gavin
Date of Christening      25 July 1858
Denomination             Roman Catholic
Address                  Curveigh Lower  (just 9 miles from my Hastings?)
Parish                   Aghagower Roman Catholic parish
Region                   South Mayo
Father's Name            Thomas Gavin
Mother's Name            Mary Keane
Sponsor 1 - Name         Mathew Keane
Sponsor 2 - Name         Bridget Keane
Reference  2-2 
-----
Which fits pretty closely with his death certificate:
MO Death Cert:
DoB: July 31 , 1858 - Ireland
DoD: Aug 8, 1930 - KCMO
Fa: Thomas Gavin
Mo: Mary Kane
-----
Another tie in to County Mayo may be concluded from the baptismal record of a daughter, Mary:

familysearch.org:
from Missouri, Births and Christenings
Name: Mary Gavin
Gender: Female
Event Type: Christening
Event Date: 17 Dec 1871
Event Place: IMMACULATE CONCEPTION,LEXINGTON,LAFAYETTE,MISSOURI
Birth Date: 12 Dec 1871
Father's Name: Thomas Gavin
Mother's Name: Mary Kane
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: C51183-1 , System Origin: Missouri-ODM , GS Film number: 980518
--

spon: Peter Guil/Gill

spon: Mary Gavin ----- The Lexington intelligencer., October 07, 1905, Image 1 About The Lexington intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949 Death of Peter Gill, Died, in this city, Friday morning, at the home of his sister, Mrs. Patrick McDonald, Peter Gill aged 68 years. Mr. Gill was born in County Mayo, Ireland, and at the age of eighteen years came to this country. He had lived here for fifty years. For months he had been an invalid. The funeral services will be held Saturday morning at 9 o'clock at the Catholic church, Rev. Curry officiating Interment will take place in the Catholic cemetery. --- Peter was also witness to a Margaret Hastings (daughter of Michael and Bridget (Stewart) Hastings in 1867 (Lexington ICCC): m: Margaret to Patrick McGril wit: Peter Gill wit: Cate McDonald --- I also believe this is Patrick McGreal's baptism in County Mayo:  Mayo Ancestors http://www.mayoancestors.com/Default.aspx?SID=101699&PID=192156&Type=BI&S=BP 2/17/08 Official Genealogy records of County Mayo, Ireland Type Baptism Record First Name Patrick Surname McGreal Date of Christening 5 July 1842 Denomination Roman Catholic Address Balygolman Parish Aghagower Roman Catholic parish Region South Mayo Father's Name James McGreal Mother's Name Mary McGreal Sponsor 1 - Name John Boland Sponsor 2 - Name Mary McGreal Reference 3-3

-----
I didn't find Bridget in some of the early census, but this seems to fit in as the daughter, which is also interesting in that locating the area in Ireland that a person was born is a very rare find within death certificates:

Missouri D.C.
Mrs. Bridget Gaven Gossett
23rd St., Davis Twp, Higginsville, Lafayette, MO
Widowed: William Gossett deceased
dob: Feb 22nd 1856 - pob: Westport, Ireland (which is nearby the townships noted)
86 yrs, 3 mo, 5 days
dod: May 27, 1942
fa: William [sic?] Gaven/ Ireland
mo: Mary Cain / Ireland
informant: Mr. J. T. Summers, Higginsville, MO
----
So this may fit to her birth:
----
Mayo Ancestors Official Genealogy records of County Mayo, Ireland
  
Heading              Data
Type                 Baptism Record
First Name           Bridget
Surname              Gavin
Date of Birth        24 February 1856
Date of Christening  4 June 1862
Denomination         Roman Catholic
Address              Thonelegee (Curveigh Lower, the next baptism I have guessed about, is 1 mile away, just south of Aghagower and 8 miles East/NE of Derryherbert)
Parish               Aghagower Roman Catholic parish
Region               South Mayo
Father's Name        Thomas Gavin
Mother's Name        Mary Keane
Sponsor 1 - Name     John Keane
Sponsor 2 - Name     Bridget O Brian
-----

Evidence also appears to support that Dennis Gavin was a brother (adjacent to Thomas in 1860 census, and there were only a few Irish families in Clay Township in that census):
----
1860c Clay twp, Laf, MO
Dennis Gavin, 34, Coal Digger, Ireland
Mary " , 24, f, Ireland
Mary " , 5, f, Ind
-----
1870 census Lex, Laf, MO
Garven, Denis, 45, m, laborere, Ireland
  "  , Mary, 32, f, Ireland
  "  , Mary 14, f, Missouri (Indiana in 1860 c!)
  "  , Thomas, 9, m, "
  "  , Patrick, 7, m, " (DoD 1924/MO)
  "  , William, 4, m, " (DoD 1919/MO)
  "  , Rosa, 2/12, f, "
-----

So the conclusion I come to is, even if not blood kin, they appear to be within just a few miles of where I believe my Hastings were in County Mayo so they had something in common. Now if I could only find some descendants that I could compare DNA.....

Slainte'

The Irish - To Lafayette County Missouri

A little historical background first: The Irish Potato Famine (was not really a "famine" in that there was plenty to eat in crops (grains in particular), but the subsistence crop, the potato, which sustained the poor tenant farmers failed in a massive blight that lasted from about 1845 to 1852), killed a million or more by starvation or disease (from malnourishment), and drove countless others to flee for their lives. The English used it as an opportunity to drive Irish from their farms. Even before this, and for many more years after a mass exodus was in the making that drove the Irish to all parts of the world, with a large proportion to the U.S..
So in terms of relocating to Lafayette County, Missouri, the movement could have been in direct result of the Potato Famine, or in later years by the opportunity seen through letters home by those that did make the trip earlier. As I've read in places that one draw is that certain groups from locations in Ireland would tend to move to areas of the U.S. that held earlier immigrants of their locale. Can't say that I've been able to establish that for Lafayette County, but then I'm just starting. Maybe that puzzle will come into place eventually.
Where I put my stake in the ground is an 1860 marriage:
______________________________
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church Records, Lexington, Missouri
married: Aug 1, 1860
James Hughes s/o James Hughes and Bridget Quigley
to: Sarah Hastings d/o Michael Hastings and Bridget Stuart
witness: John Hughes and Bridget Moran / Edward Hamill / 7.50
______________________________

So my first question... is John Hughes kin to my James Hughes, or is it a common name enough to just be a coincidence? And how is Bridget Moran related, possibly to Sarah? There my guess it that yes, she may be fellow County Mayo countryman, but to date I haven't figured that out. Other than I see quite a few references to common surnames to County Mayo as being Moran.

County Mayo is located in the West of Ireland. One of the very hardest hit by the famine.

So the next question is, who are these fellow Irish that are living near by my Michael Hastings, Bridget and Margaret? Kin, or from County Mayo, in this 1860 census?

I've attempted to go back to the Parish records on the hunch that those that are listed as sponsors or witnesses may be either kin or from similar areas in Ireland. So far other than the direct relationships I can see between the three families, nothing pops up. Even made a little spreadsheet of it:

I've tried to trace as many of these people as I could, but haven't had much luck there. Also have got as many of the death certificates as possible to see if the informant provided more than just "Ireland" for a birth location. No luck either. But I keep trying....

While it is not practical to enumerate all Irish in the various census, hopefully if you have "traveled back" to this time and place we can talk about what we've collectively done to get ourselves "across the pond" and see what common ties we might be able to find.

Michael