The Irish Ancestral Research Association 2120 Commonwealth Ave. Auburndale, MA 02466-1909
Spring 2014 Volume 31, Number 1
Migration Trails
Emigrants Leaving Queenstown for New York Illus. in: Harper's Weekly, 1874 Sept. 26, pp. 796-797 (from: www.loc.gov)
President’s Message Greg Atkinson#1766
As I write this message, spring is around the corner. In Ireland St Bridget’s Day was just celebrated and with it the hope of spring, The Irish Ancestral Research Association warmth and more light. Remember this is 2120 Commonwealth Avenue Ireland where there may be more light but Auburndale, MA 02466-1909 not always more sunshine. The ground now www.tiara.ie can be tilled and sown. The ancients in the Officers Celtic world called it Imbolc or “in the belly” Mary Choppa Greg Atkinson Co-Presidents as in a baby lamb in a ewe’s belly. Green, Kathy Sullivan Vice President breezy hillsides with lambs bouncing after Susan Steele their moms are a common sight in late Pamela Holland Co-Recording Secretaries Gary Sutherland Corresponding Secretary spring early summer in the Irish country- side. In spring, 2015 TIARA will be offering Committee Chairs its next genealogical trip to Ireland. It will be Margaret Sullivan Publicity Pat Deal Membership a great opportunity to see the bouncing Pat Landry Webmaster lambs for yourself. Of course, there are also Susan Steele Foresters those wonderful repositories in Dublin just Joan Callahan Library Eva Murphy Volunteers filled to the brim with all sorts of genealogical information. More information on the trip Dues: Calendar year membership is (U.S.) $25 per individual will be available soon. & $35 per family. Newsletters sent as a PDF file via email. An additional $5/yr is charged to mail paper copies of the news- letters. Canadian and overseas memberships are charged an TIARA conference committee members and additional (US) $10/yr for paper copies of the newsletter. our IGSI committee member colleagues are
Meetings: TIARA meets monthly except July & August busily working on the Celtic Connections at locations throughout the New England area. Conference: Migration, Motivation, and Myth to be held August 15-16 2014 at Bentley THE TIARA NEWSLETTER The TIARA newsletter is published quarterly and distributed University in Waltham, MA. The program is to members in good standing. nearly set and already we have John Gren- Editor Virginia Wright ham (author of Tracing Your Irish Ancestors, Assistant Editor Richard Wright 4th edition), Brian Donovan (Eneclann) and Submit all correspondence to the above address or email to Eileen and Sean O’Duill, as well as profes- [email protected]. sional genealogists and experienced lecturers Copyright All material in this publication is protected by from Ireland. In addition, we have gathered a copyright. Permission must be obtained for use of any mate- rather formidable list of US based lecturers. rial and credit given, including Title, Author, Volume, and Issue number. Lectures will reflect the cultural and genea- logical nature of the conference with genea- In This Issue (continued on page 20) President's Message Page 2 ______William Jaques: Migration Trail/ In this issue (continued) Paper Trail Page 3 Sunday Sharings Page 15 Gaffer, Presser, Molder, Cutter and Grosse Isle and the Irish Memorial Sticker up Boy: Glassworkers National Historic Site Page 16 on the Move Page 4 Library Update Page 17 Migration Trails of the Toohey, You Never Know Page 18 Meaney and McBride Families Page 6 River Shannon Project Page 21 Paddy and Mary Ellen Page 8 Upcoming TIARA Meetings Page 21 Tracking the Rileys in Reverse Page 9 Funny Business Page 21 Eviction: An Affidavit from Ireland Page 11 Celtic Connections Conference Page 22 Dathi’s Bookshelf Page 12 Book Order Form Page 23 2
William Jaques: senger list for the brig LUNAR which left Migration Trail/Paper Trail Sligo in April, 1835 and arrived at NYC on June 8, 1835. William's age was listed as 40; Marie Ahearn #0097 under occupation was written stonecutter. For many years, William Jaques was one of The details of my great-great grandfather's those shadowy ancestors about whom I knew life were beginning to fill in. On a TIARA re- little. My great-great grandmother, Bridget search trip to Dublin several years later, the Murrin, was his second wife; and, my great- rent rolls for Lord Lorton's estate listed Wil- grandmother, Maria, was his youngest child. liam Jaques as commencing a lease in the Maria was a young girl when her father died townland of Carrickmore in 1824, shortly be- in New York. Bridget, a widow, and Maria fore the birth of his third son. In the same were listed in the 1860 Federal Census living rent rolls I discovered a Thomas Jaques who in Salem, MA near Bridget's sister, Mary had signed a lease on Schoolhouse Lane in Clark and her family. Boyle beginning on July 21, 1796. Could this be William's father? Where was William born – I began to doubt my grandmother's story that he was born in During a visit to NEHGS, I was directed to Paris France. My hunch proved correct when the microfilm containing the death records I found a census record for one of his sons for NYC. After a lengthy search, I located my by his first marriage. He listed his birthplace great-great grandfather's information. He th as Ireland. What was my great-great grandfa- died on Aug 13, 1853 while living at 495 12 ther's occupation? I knew that two of his St – another mystery solved. On that record, sons were stonecutters. How did he meet it appeared that his burial place was the Bridget? Where did they marry? When did he same as for the name listed above his: Cal- die? Where is he buried? William's elusive vary Cemetery. However, a request sent to story was destined to remain a mystery – or that cemetery did not find a record for a bur- so I thought. ial of William Jaques.
During the summer of 2001, I traveled in Ire- Roots Ireland, a subscription website, pro- land and visited Boyle, Roscommon, birth- duced two mentions of the Jaques name in place of Bridget Murrin Jaques. While I the Church of Ireland records in Boyle: the spoke with the woman who worked at the marriage of Anne Jaques to Thomas Siggins local tourist board about my ancestor from in 1808; and, in 1842, the burial record of Boyle, I had my first breakthrough with Wil- Thomas Jaques, 79, presumably the man liam's story. The parish registers for Boyle who signed the lease in 1796. William's old- had not burned in a church fire (as I had est son was named Thomas and his oldest been told). She gave me the parish number daughter was named Anne. These are tanta- and urged me to call. I met with the sexton lizing bits of information that may or may to look at the registers. I located Bridget's not connect William to other Jaques family baptismal record immediately. As I looked members. through the pages, noting the names of Mur- rins and Dyers and their parents and spon- The Tithe Applotment Books (TAB) are now sors, an unexpected name appeared: digitized and available on the National Ar- Jaques. Within a short time, I had found the chive of Ireland website, as well as on family baptismal records of William's five oldest search. The 1833 TAB for Boyle assesses children – and the name of his first wife. This William Jaques for his rental in Carrickmore. led to the marriage record for William and The names Michael Scally and Thomas Sig- Catherine Scally in 1819 and William and gins are listed in the townland of Warren. A Bridget Murrin in 1834 in Boyle...so much check of the names of the baptismal spon- for Paris, France. sors for William's oldest children shows sev- eral of those sponsors' names in the Two years later, I discovered the names of townland of Warren, leading me to speculate William, Bridget and his children on the pas- 3 that William and his first wife lived there be- members of the Swansey family at the Bos- fore 1824. ton & Sandwich Glass Company (B&SGC). At least three generations of this family worked When I first began to search for William and in glassworks located in Sandwich, New Bed- his family in the 1840 US federal census, I ford and Somerville, Massachusetts as well thought I had located them in ward 7 in New as Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. The story of York City. Later, a more careful inspection of their work-centered migration begins in Ire- the information showed that the ages of the land. children were wrong. My grandmother had talked about her grandparents living in It seems likely that glassmaking skills may Schenectady, NY. I did find a William have been part of the Swansey family’s Irish Jaques, 40-49, a woman, 30-39, with two heritage. Their home in Loughgilly, Armagh males under five and one female under 15 was less than 9 miles from Newry, Ireland, a living in Princeton, Schenectady in 1840. center for glassmaking from late 1700s to This is very likely William, Bridget, John, Jo- early 1800s. There were additional glass- seph and William's daughter, Margaret. houses a little further away near Dun- Tracking William in the 1850 census was gannon, Tyrone. One significant Newry easier since individual family names were glasshouse closed in 1827 – coordinating included. By 1850, William, Bridget and their with the probable Swansey immigration to three surviving children were living in ward Sandwich. There were other Sandwich glass- 17 of New York City. worker families from Loughgilly - the Boyles and the McParlands. So word of a burgeon- As my collection of facts about William grew, ing glass industry in Massachusetts may I would shuffle through them then put them have contributed to a chain migration from back in the Jaques folder “for later.” After Loughgilly. listening to several speakers explain the value of timelines for ancestors, I took all my Immigrant Terence Swansey arrived in information and organized it by date. It was Sandwich, Massachusetts during a period of a revelation. Although I still do not know growth for the Boston & Sandwich Glass where William was born or where he is bur- Company. Founded in 1825, the company ied, I can follow his life events. While the employed 250 men and boys by 1830. Irish records prove that he probably lived in Terence Swansey’s documented employment several locations in Boyle, Roscommon, U.S. began in 1835 when he was recorded in census records, vital records and my grand- company payroll records. A note next to his mother's stories follow William's much name explained “took glass by horse and broader journey from his arrival in New York wagon to boat for shipping.” City to Schenectady, Utica, Throgs Neck and, finally, to 12th St in ward 17 in New York Terence and his wife Isabella had eight chil- City. dren. Three sons, John, Patrick and Peter entered the Sandwich glassworks as boys. I continue to search for his origins and every Peter was working there when he was eleven. mystery solved leads to additional questions; There were boys in the company who began but William Jaques is no longer just a name working as early as age nine. As the boys' without dates on the family tree. skills grew, they took on the jobs of presser, molder, cutter and gaffer or glassblower. Pat- Gaffer, Presser, Molder, Cutter rick invented a wooden mold for making lampshades that was adopted for use in fac- and Sticker-up Boy: tories across the country. When Boston & Glassworkers on the Move Sandwich Glass Company shut down in Susan Steele #1025 1888, the brothers went on to find employ- ment elsewhere. Patrick and John were part Gaffer, presser, molder, cutter and sticker- of a group of former workers who formed co- up boy – these were all positions held by operatives and reopened glassworks in 4
Sandwich. All glassworks in Sandwich ended to a glassworker. These women were most by 1907. likely part of the extended Swansey clan but not directly connected to the Terence Swan- In 1910, at age 65, Peter was in Somerville, sey line. MA working as a glassmaker, most likely at Union Glass Company. He had also spent The Swansey story reminds us of the effect time working in Pennsylvania. The expansion industry expansion, contraction and reloca- of glassworks in areas of Ohio and Pennsyl- tion can have on a family's movement. vania with easy access to coal fuel sources Learning about the history and locations of had been a contributing factor to the closure glassworks helped me understand the Swan- of the B&SGC. Peter rejoined his brother, sey family's migration trail from Loughgilly, Patrick, in retirement and moved back to Armagh to Sandwich, Somerville, New Bed- Sandwich around 1912. ford and Coraolopolis, Pennsylvania. The Sandwich Glass Museum provided some Patrick's sons William, Charles and John Jo- unique resources that helped me document seph were the third generation of Swanseys the family. Worker index cards included at B&SGC. They also entered as boys ages dates and occupation descriptions, refer- 10 to 14. In the 1960s, Charles' daughter ences to vital records, family member nota- wrote a letter describing her father's work as tions, censuses, and union membership. a 14-year-old sticker-up boy. "He was a Swansey worker files at the museum con- sticker-up boy for the servitor. He brought tained a family tree, obituaries, letters, other the molten glass to the man who blew it up newspaper articles, and a copy of a painting (the servitor) and then he brought it from the of the glassworks done by Charles Swansey. servitor to the gaffer who used the tools to Together these materials added a remarkable shape the glass and finish it off from the long level of detail. handled piece of metal on which it was blown." A list of some Sandwich glass resources fol- lows. My Fall 2013 Newsletter article listed When the Sandwich glassworks closed, Wil- resources for the leather industry in Pea- liam followed his Uncle Peter's migration trail body, Massachusetts. There are a number of west and became a glassworker in Coraopo- other industry museums in New England lis, Pennsylvania. In 1892, Consolidated and beyond. Additional industry resources Lamp and Glass Company had just moved to can be found in historical societies, local his- Coraopolis from a location in Ohio. It em- tory sections of libraries and university ar- ployed 350 people. chives. In addition to Google and Google Scholar, ArchiveGrid is another useful tool to Patrick’s fourth son, George, most likely also locate records. started his career as a boy glassworker. He Sources: didn't have to go as far to continue a career Sandwich Historical Society/Sandwich Glass in glassmaking. He went to New Bedford, Museum Massachusetts. Glassworks in New Bedford www.sandwichglassmuseum.org had been erected by workmen from Sand- wich in 1869. The glassworks attracted other Sandwich Archives, Sandwich Public Library workers from B&SGC and continued to func- www.sandwichpubliclibrary.com/sandwich- tion, first as the Mt. Washington Glass Com- archives/sandwich-archives.html pany and then as Pairpoint Glass up to the early 1950s. Google www.google.com
The pathways of women in the Swansey fam- Google Scholar ily were a bit harder to follow. Two Sandwich www.scholar.google.com Swansey women are noted as working at the glass factory in the period from 1860 to ArchiveGrid 1880. Another Swansey woman was married www.beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/about/ 5
Migration Trails of the Toohey, alive. He had injured his ankle when he leapt Meaney and McBride Families into the boat and he smelled of manure and Thomas Toohey #2705 vomit. Somehow he escaped from the boat and made it to the home of one of his There are several “Coming to America” sto- mother’s relatives. ries in my family. These stories were handed down from my grandparents to my parents to Tom stayed in England for 9 years and me and I have verified these stories with pas- earned enough money to buy passage to senger lists and other records. In this article America aboard the “City of Chester” steam- I will trace the migration of my father’s fa- ship. His mother’s brother Patrick, a coal ther, Thomas Toohey; my mother’s father, miner, had gone to North Adams, Massachu- Thomas Meaney and my mother’s grandpar- setts to work on the biggest construction ents, James and Mary McBride. project in the world, the Hoosac Tunnel. Pat- rick was followed by Tom’s sister Bridget and Thomas Toohey his brother John. They were all doing well in the boom city of North Adams. My grandfather, Thomas Toohey, was born Thomas Tuffy in Cabrakeel townland, Kil- In April of 1891, Tom landed in New York at glass Parish, County Sligo in 1868. The Tuf- Castle Garden. He took a train to Albany and fys were poor cottiers who lived mostly on then another one to North Adams. A few potatoes and oatmeal. Occasionally they years later he met my grandmother, Teresa were able to supplement their diet with fish Murray. They were married and had eight that they caught off the rocks along the children. One of them was William, my fa- ocean. They rarely had meat so any kind of ther. meat was a luxury. Thomas Meaney When Tom was 14 years old the landlord’s agent saw him snare a rabbit to bring home My mother’s father, Thomas Meaney, was for supper. Game of any kind was owned by born in 1867 in Ballywilliam townland in the landlord and could not legally be taken County Tipperary. Life in Ballywilliam was by the tenants. The agent chased Tom but he difficult in the 1860s. A decade later it was got away and ran home to his mother. She miserable. The late 1870s were a time known knew that the agent would find Tom so she in Ireland as An Gorta Beag, the little famine. urged him to flee. The crops failed for three years and constant hunger was a way of life. Tom’s prospects for Tom ran to the dock in Inniscrone and leapt a good life at home were poor. from the pier onto a cattle barge bound for England. When he landed on the boat he hid In 1882, when he was 15 years old, Tom among the cows. Before long, a steam tug emigrated to the U.S. His sister Joan and his was attached to the barge and pulled it away uncle Michael had settled in Massachusetts from the shore and Tom was not discovered several years earlier. To get to America he until they were well at sea. The captain was first had to get to Cobh in County Cork not about to reverse his course for a run- where ships for America departed. Tom away so he tossed Tom a shovel and told him walked 40 miles from Tipperary to Cork, a to heave manure overboard. The trip around journey that took several days. Along the way the northern tip of Ireland and down through he had little to eat and slept in barns. His the Irish Sea to Liverpool was stormy and family had scraped enough money together rough. The flat-bottomed barge rolled and for his ship fare with the understanding that tossed in the heavy seas and Tom and the when he got work in America he would re- cattle were sick all over the deck. turn their money.
After several days of difficult travel, the boat Tom sailed from Cobh, landed in New York reached its destination. Tom was barely and traveled by train to Boston where his 6 sister ran a boarding house. When he arrived For some reason the McBrides walked over a in Boston he found that his uncle’s brother- hundred miles from Tyrone to Westport in in-law, Father Halley, a missionary priest, County Mayo to get to their ship. It may have needed an altar boy to travel with him. Fa- been that they were part of an assisted emi- ther Halley rode his horse and Tom walked gration scheme and given passage on a par- from town to town to serve Catholics who ticular boat. didn’t yet have a church. During their travels Father Halley helped Tom improve his lim- After weeks of travel at sea in terrible condi- ited reading and writing skills. tions, they landed at Montreal, Canada. Somehow they had avoided the notorious After a year or so of these travels, Father Grosse Isle Canadian immigrant station; Halley was posted at St. Mary’s church in then they set off on another long trek. This Quincy. Tom moved in with his Uncle Mi- time they walked 170 miles to West Rutland, chael’s family in Quincy and was apprenticed Vermont where James had the promise of a to a stone carver. After several years of study job. Mary and James lived in company hous- Tom went out on his own as a journeyman ing and bought supplies at the company carver and then as a master. He worked on store. They also were able to get a cow for several large projects including the New York milk and butter. During their time in Rut- State Capital Building in Albany and St. Pat- land they had several more children and rick’s Church in Williamstown, Massachu- helped found St. Bridget’s church. setts. In 1863, recruiters for the Union Army ar- Tom liked the area around Williamstown. rived at the quarry. The Civil War was going The Hoosac reminded him of the Tar River badly and Lincoln ordered a draft but the valley where he was born. There were also Irish laborers in the quarry wanted no part of many business opportunities and good the war and stoned the recruiters. The Ver- sources of excellent stone nearby. About mont governor reacted by sending in the mi- 1893 Tom and a partner bought the Berk- litia. James and family fled by loading all shire Monument Works in North Adams, their belongings on the family cow and walk- Massachusetts. He worked at this business ing 30 miles to South Dorset, Vermont. for the next eighteen years until his untimely death in 1911 from silicosis, a lung disease James worked in the Dorset quarries, saved caused by ingesting too much stone dust. his money and was able to buy a small farm. After a dozen more years he sold it to his James and Mary McBride brother and bought a better farm of one hun- dred acres. This farm was located across the Perhaps the most complicated and interest- road from homes occupied by Mary’s sisters ing migration trails in my family were taken and mother. Other Irish immigrants lived by my McBride ancestors. James McBride nearby. While in Dorset the McBrides had and Mary McDevitt were born in the adjoin- several more children including my grand- ing townlands of Castlebane and Drumnabey mother Anna who was born in 1871. near Castlederg in County Tyrone. They mar- ried in 1846 and quickly had two children, In the 1890s Thomas Meaney traveled to William and Susan. It must have been very Dorset to buy stone for his business. To get difficult during these years as it was the time from North Adams to Dorset he traveled on of the great famine. By 1852 they were ready the Fitchburg and Albany railroad to Peters- to move elsewhere and they began a journey burg Junction, New York. He then took a to America. Several family members had ride on the narrow gauge “corkscrew” railway gone to Vermont and had written home over the hill to Bennington Vermont. The about the opportunities there. next leg of his trip was on the Bennington and Rutland railroad to Manchester. Finally, Most Irish who emigrated from Tyrone he took the Manchester, Dorset and Gran- walked to Derry (Londonderry) to embark. ville railroad to Dorset to complete the trip. 7
The M.D. & G. was fraught with accidents They went to Albany NY where Paddy and and breakdowns. When the engines didn’t John worked at a friend’s tavern. After a year work, cars were pulled along the line by or so, they heard that a close friend whom horses. they grew up with in Carlow had a business in Brookline, MA and had work for them. When he got to Dorset Tom visited the They came to Brookline to work with him quarry owned by Will Tully. While he was and their sister, Elizabeth, got a job in Bos- there he met Will’s sister-in-law, Anna ton doing housework. McBride. They were attracted to each other and after several more visits Anna and Tom Mary Ellen Kennedy, my great-grandmother, were married. Tom and Anna moved to North was born in Curry, County Sligo in 1883 to Adams to be near Tom’s business. They had Thomas Kennedy and Mary O’Rourke. Ac- seven children including my mother Agnes. cording to the family story, Mary Ellen was not supposed to come to the US. Her older We all are blessed to live in America but we sister had the ticket but she was very sick. wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the struggles Mary Ellen, who was actually a bit young to of our ancestors to migrate. These struggles take the voyage alone, was given the ticket, need to be remembered and honored. If it money, and two loaves of Irish bread and weren’t for famine and a poached rabbit I sent on her way. might have been born in Ireland. Paddy loved to tell stories. One of his favorite stories was how he met the woman who Paddy and Mary Ellen would become his wife. As was common at Melisssa Moroney-Barzey #3647 the time, most of the social events were sponsored by the church. It was at one such My great-grandparents both immigrated to event that Paddy eyed Mary and knew right the US from Ireland. They met, married and away that she was the one who was to be built a loving home in Brookline, MA. Mrs. Cavanaugh. He would say, “There were many lasses there and Patrick Cavanaugh who a few lads were eyeing was called “Paddy” was her but, out of all the born in 1881 in lasses there, I knew Bagenalstown Parish, she was the one.” County Carlow, the sec- ond oldest of Margaret On July 30, 1907, Connolly and Patrick Paddy and Mary Ellen Kavanagh's thirteen chil- were married in St. dren. He immigrated to Mary’s rectory in the US along with his Brookline MA. They brother John and sister went on to have eight Elizabeth, landing at children, raising them Ellis Island. in Brookline. Paddy was a teamster who Paddy said that the worked for the town spelling of his last name, and Mary Ellen did Kavanagh, was changed various domestic jobs at Ellis Island. My great as most Irish women grandfather and his at that time did. brother spelled their name Cavanaugh al- though others spelled it Cavanagh and in Ireland it remains Kavanagh. 8
Tracking the Rileys in Reverse Felix and Bridget Weir Riley. Other clues Mary Choppa #1791 from the obit were: (1) she came to the US shortly after her marriage in 1890; (2) she It started with family stories, as is so often was the last surviving of 10 children; and, (3) the case, passed down to me from my she was born on March 20, 1865. mother. Catherine RILEY, her grand-mother was born in Ireland. She called her husband, My mother and I took a trip to New Castle to John KEELEY “Johnny Bull”; and, she knew obtain the official death certificate. It con- as soon as she saw him walk- tained the same in- ing along a street in England formation as the obituary. I [no specifics on what city] was hopeful that the 1865 that she was going to marry date meant that I might find him. She pronounced “tt” as a civil registration of her “th” (as in buther for butter). birth, but I could not find Catherine lived and died in any records to match those New Castle, PA. My mother parents’ neither at the fam- had memories of Irish cousins ily history centers nor on a with English accents attend- trip to the GRO in Dublin. ing John’s funeral in 1940 There was a record of a and Catherine’s funeral in Catherine born to a James 1950. My mom’s mother died and Bridget MCCAFFREY when my mother was eight RILEY for the District of and the family stayed in Drum, Union of Cootehill, touch, but probably not to the Counties of Monaghan and degree they would have if her Cavan, but that didn’t really mother had been alive. match.
Spoiler alert: I’ve never been A conversation with a great- able to find Catherine’s bap- aunt (Mary KEELEY tismal records but I remain CHAFFEE, Catherine’s hopeful that I will. By follow- Catherine Riley Keeley daughter) brought up ing her family’s emigration “Monaghan” as either a pla- trail, I believe I have the correct information cename or as a related family name or both; to find it. But this was not the case early on. she wasn’t sure. My mother tracked down a Riley cousin from New Castle, PA and ob- My first step, now some 30 years ago (eeek), tained the names and birth order of those was to pull her obituary from the New Castle nine siblings! So I was looking for a Michael, PA papers. There was at least one error, Patrick, Ann, James, Catherine, Thomas, namely the statement that she was born in Edward, John, Hugh, and Mary. Common Maryland. I didn’t totally discard this, not names, but the combination and birth order knowing if there was a place in Ireland by could prove helpful. According to Mary Chaf- that name, or someplace that might have fee, some of the children were born in Ire- sounded like that. It listed her parents as land, some in England. I needed to do some
Possible Birth Record for Catherine Riley 9 collateral research. somehow make its way into Catherine's mother's maiden name? In the meantime, I had done research in the US Census records on the Keeley family. One Remember the civil registration I mentioned of the censuses indicated that John and earlier for Catherine with the parents’ listed Catherine had married in 1887. A random as James and Bridget McCaffrey? I was told search of the Ellis Island Records revealed a by professional genealogists that it’s not too 1910 US Passenger list for Hugh Riley com- much of a stretch to say this is the record for ing to see his sister Kate KEELEY in New my Catherine, if I could provide collateral re- Castle, PA and that he was from “Middles- search. So maybe I do have her date of birth bro”. Through the database of UK vital re- 11 April 1864, maybe not. I plan on doing cord indexes (http://www.freebmd.org.uk/), some additional searching through the bap- I found the marriage record for John and tismal registers for the area to see if I can Kate Riley Keeley in Middlesbrough, Eng- find Catherine or her older siblings. Some land. It listed Kate’s residence as Marsh Rd more research in England might be in order and her father as James. to track down some living cousins. With nine siblings, the odds are good that someone’s I started working through the British census still around. Maybe John Grenham’s talk at records and was able to find the Rileys in the Celtic Connections Conference in August 1871, 1881, & 1891. The siblings’ names will help me with that. Siblings Hugh and and birth order matched in each case. The Mary also came to the United States, so 1871 census listed all of the residents’ places there’s work to do there too. of birth as Ireland (James, Bridget, and chil- dren Michael, Patrick, Ann, Catherine, By tracking the Rileys from New Castle, PA, James & Thomas). 1881 proved to be more to Middlesbrough, England, to Darlington, useful. It listed the places of birth as follows: England, and now Culleraft Ireland, I might James, Bridget, Michael, Patrick and Cath- finally find my Monaghan/Cavan roots. erine – Ireland; James & Thomas – Darling- ton, Durham, England; Edward, John, Hugh Now if I could just figure out what or where & Mary – “Yorkshire, England, Middles- Culleraft really is….anyone? brough.” Ann, who was 13 in 1871, was probably married and out of the household FreeBMD (http://www.freebmd.org.uk/), at the age of 23 in 1881. An additional clue a project begun in 1998, provides, was provided in 1891 with Bridget and Mi- through the efforts of volunteers, a free, chael born in Culleraft, Ireland (although I searchable database of the Civil Registra- cannot find that as a placename in Ireland). tion index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales, for the years 1837 On a field trip to London/Middlesbrough in to 1983. As of January 2014, over 235 2001, I was able to pull the civil birth re- million records transcribed from micro- cords for James (1865), and Thomas (1867) fiches of the original register pages are in Darlington which is just west of Middles- online. These records represent almost brough. I also found the civil registrations for 100% of births up to 1940, marriages to Edward (1870), John (1872), Hugh (1878), 1956 and deaths to 1966. FreeBMD is one and Mary (1881) in Linthorpe, Middles- of FreeGENUK’s projects. The others are brough. All of the records listed the mother FreeCEN, an undertaking to make avail- as Bridget Connaughty, Connaghty, or Con- able a "free-to-view" online searchable da- nafray. I also have a death record for James tabase of the 19th century UK census re- (the father) in 1890, which would explain his turns, and FreeREG, a project to provide absence from the 1891 census. free Internet searches of baptism, mar- riage, and burial records that have been As I was driving from Durham to Middles- transcribed from parish and non- brough on that 2001 trip, I passed through conformist registers of the U.K. an area known as the Weir valley. Did this
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EVICTION called “Michael Kelly’s Field” in my young An Affidavit from Ireland days. At the far end of the boreen some of the stone walls of Michael’s house were still Robert Devir #3023 standing, then, not now. This is the story of the eviction of my great- grandfather, Michael Kelley, and his young “Michael married and had a large family. But family from their home in the townland of unfortunately, the time came when he had a Cloon, Claregalway parish, County Galway. row with his friend, the landlord, and was It was written by an elderly Irishman who evicted. There was a misunderstanding over was informed of the legend by others. It was the payment of rent. Michael thought he had forwarded to me by a cousin who did the re- paid the rent. He had an arrangement with search. The original affidavit is signed and the landlord to work for him a number of days dated in 1995 but the writer is unknown to in lieu of payment of the rent. me. “Michael sent his son Pat to work for the land- When I visited Cloon (which is near Clare- lord but Pat did not always turn up for work. galway) some years later I was able to con- He hated it because some of his workmates firm the story in substantial and consistent treated him badly. He was young and inno- detail with two current residents. Supporting cent and not able to stand up for himself. information suggests a time frame of 1880. In that case, the ages of Michael’s eight chil- “So when his father Michael got the demand dren would have ranged from infant to 18 for the rent, he could not understand and years. My grandfather, Mark, would have went to see the landlord, his old friend Dick been 9 years old. He never mentioned this Ffrench. They argued and got angry with family history to anyone nor did any of his each other and the confrontation must have siblings to my knowledge. been very bitter, but Michael never expected that his friend would evict him. He expected to This is primarily a poignant story of life in be given time. rural Ireland back in the day - a life of hard- ship and uncertainty. But it is also a per- “However, soon after, Michael’s wife was sonal story of survival, courage and self reli- coming along the boreen to go to Galway with ance in the face of great adversity. a basket of eggs when she saw Dick Ffrench and his henchmen coming down the boreen. “Michael Kelly worked on the construction of She quickly returned to the cottage and told the railways across the United States. He be- her husband but almost at once the landlord came friendly with Richard J. Ffrench (usually and his gilly arrived and began to throw out known as Dick Ffrench) who was the son of the furniture, table, chairs etc., including the the landlord of Cloon and Pollagrevagh, basket of eggs, and then set fire to the James Ffrench. It was not unusual for land- thatched roof. lords’ sons to go to America in those days to earn money. Many of them had very small es- “Michael and his family had to walk away. tates and were living above their means. Few tenants anywhere would have the cour- age to give shelter to those evicted for fear of “Dick Ffrench promised Michael Kelly that the landlord. But in this case, Brian Mor when he inherited the Cloon Estate that he Moran and his wife Katie Flesk invited Mi- would give Michael a holding of land if ever chael and his large family to stay with them he returned to Ireland. And so he did. When until such time as Michael found work in Michael Kelly returned to Ireland, Dick Galway and a place to stay in Bohermore a Ffrench gave him a small holding in Cloon. week later.” The boreen or little road leading to Michael Kelly’s house was called “Michael Kelly’s Bo- reen” and the field beside the boreen was 11
DATHI’S BOOKSHELF doing a complete inventory of the land avail- Thomas A. Dorsey JD, Ph.D. #2695 able for appropriation supervised by William Perry (the Down Survey). Perry’s final results The Act of Appropriation of 1652 was the showed that of Ireland’s 20 million acres of Parliamentary response to Irish national in- land, 11 million had been confiscated, and of surgency following the Treaty of Kilkenny in the 11 million acres, 7.7 million were profit- May, 1652. In reality, however, it represented able. a final judgment on the 1641 “rebellion.” The Act has been summarized in the phrase “…to As noted previously, Perry had found that Hell or to Connaught…” describing the sen- the population of Ireland was reduced by an tence intended for all who had opposed Eng- estimated 800,000 persons (or 58%), be- lish rule, both Irish and Old English. The tween 1649 and 1660. The land held by “en- phrase reflected the view of Edmund Ludlow, emy combatants” had been deemed forfeit. A Cromwell’s second in command, who alleg- bill of attainder passed by Parliament guar- edly said the Burren had “…not enough wa- anteed that prior owners would have no re- ter to drown a man, wood enough to hang course to recover their lands. After some dis- one, nor earth enough to bury him….” In cussion the Commissioners established four fact, the results of the transplantation were categories of land to be distributed. Ten mixed, particularly after the Act of Appro- counties in eastern and central Ireland, priation of 1660 was enacted under Charles stretching from Antrim in the north to Tippe- II. rary in the south, were selected to be “planted.” Because Irish land was redistributed under the Protectorate of Cromwell and the Monar- While this area represented the best land for chy of Charles II, the final outcome was in- agricultural production and economic uses, consistent. Their plans were similar, but it did not correspond to actual forfeitures. their objectives changed the result. For The greatest forfeitures occurred in Galway Cromwell’s Protectorate the objectives were (91%), Clare (80%), and Mayo (80%), where economic. His invasion had been financed by there was the higher concentration of Catho- investors (The Adventurers) whose loans lics, and the least occurred in Londonderry were to be repaid with Irish land. Moreover, (14%), Donegal (11%), and Tyrone (4%). At his soldiers’ pay, which was in arrears, and the same time, high rates of confiscation substantial, was to be paid by also giving were not followed by substantial Protestant them land in Ireland. After the Restoration, occupation. Rather, the rough soil of the Charles II’s objectives were political, based West was allocated back to Irish Catholics on rewarding his supporters, which often re- who were transplanted there from the ten sulted in the redistribution of Irish land back counties selected to be planted. to Old English families. In both cases, the powerful desire to suppress the Irish and Ca- There were three major groups affected by tholicism was a continuation of Counter- this process: the soldiers, the Adventurers, reformation geopolitics. and the “native Irish” (which included the Anglo-Irish). English records are thin and In the Protectorate the appropriation of Irish focused on the grantees (i.e. the Adventurers) land accomplished three other goals: (1) for- while the Irish, and Anglo-Irish, were re- mer soldiers would garrison Ireland (and be corded either as transplants or as criminals removed from England); (2) further invest- resisting transplantation. This probably ex- ment by Adventurers, many of whom were plains why few books have been written entitled to large land grants, would stimulate about this period. Neither the historical re- the Irish economy; and, (3) the loans would cord nor subsequent research provides a not become a debt on the books of the Pro- good picture of what happened to the native tectorate. Ever methodical, the English be- Irish from 1655 onward. (The 44,000 trans- gan by (1) appointing an oversight commis- plantation certificates held at the Irish Re- sion to manage land distribution; and, (2) cords Office were destroyed by fire in 1922.) 12
Anecdotal information (Prendergast, John P., one of his men out to a bog and tell him that The Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland 1870 the bog was his allocation. He would then edition, available on Google Books) tends to offer him money and a horse or a keg of beer focus on the Old English and then only pro- for his title. According to the author, this is vides glimpses of their plight without giving the origin of the common story in Ireland us a systematic picture. that the price of the family estate was a white horse. Transplantation of the native Irish was not a rational process. Persons from Waterford and By one estimate, there were 35,000 soldiers Dublin were moved to Clare while, at the in Ireland when the Army disbanded, but same time, people from Clare were moved to Bottigheimer found that, by 1670, only 7,500 Sligo and Limerick. At one point American had their claims for Irish land confirmed by colonists were invited to return to Sligo. The Charles II. A record of grants to the troops, transplanted were not received kindly by their location or the names of the recipients their fellow Irish but were often attacked and has not survived. More information is avail- discriminated against. Whole estates were able about the land acquired by officers who moved, transplanting both the Anglo-Irish were not above bribing surveyors to omit ad- gentry and their Irish employees. The result jacent parcels from the inventory to inflate was less a patterned restructuring and more their allocations. The preferential position of a scrambled mess. Often when the trans- officers, and the lack of power of the troops, planted arrived to occupy their designated eventually negated the plan to garrison Ire- land they found it held by squatters and they land with demobilized soldiers from Crom- had to fight the occupants, or relocate to well’s Army. waste lands in the same area. The Adventurers were not “captives” of the The distributional effect of transplantation process. On the contrary, the moment the has been examined by Karl S. Bottigheimer Commissioners announced that land distri- in English Money and Irish Land (Oxford, bution would be made from four allotments Clarendon Press, 1971). The author begins in Leinster and western Ireland they chal- by reminding us that the English effort to lenged the proposal. They recalculated the organize Ireland into a “productive” economy value of the land (and their loans) increasing dates back to 1175 and the Treaty of Win- their total allocation from 1 million to 1.3 dsor. A series of efforts to “plant” Ireland, no- million English acres, equivalent to £356,874 tably in the 1500s, failed. Between 1640 and (plus 10 years interest). In fact, the Adven- 1688, however, the amount of Irish land held turers love-hate affair with Ireland under- by English and Scottish Protestants rose mined the entire matter. They wanted their from 41 to 78 percent, primarily between reward but would not defend, or improve, the 1640 and 1655. This amounted to 7,000,000 land. They wanted English government pro- English acres most of which came from tection from the Irish but would not pay for Catholic land owners. The transfer formed it. Ultimately, they wanted money, not the the basis of the Protestant Ascendency which land they had invested in, and they sought to was well established by 1720. cash in their assets.
Cromwell’s troops had no other means of re- Unlike the soldiers, we actually know the imbursement and were essentially “captives” names of the Adventurers. A roster of the of the transplantation process. Many of them original investors was made in March 1642 remained in Ireland. Others abandoned the but their makeup had changed considerably hope of reimbursement and looked for em- by 1652-1653 when the first settlement pro- ployment elsewhere. Some sold their claims posals were offered. At the outset there were to their officers or to Adventurers at a 1500 investors but this number shrank to healthy discount. In The Cromwellian Set- 1,043 each of whom received an average of tlement of Ireland Prendergast recounts the 700 Irish acres (about £300 in value). This prevalent story than an officer would take represented 1.1 million English acres or 17 13 percent of the forfeited profitable land. These Barony of Rathconrath in Westmeath. There investors were a collection of small mer- is no record of a colony of Dartmouth immi- chants, wealthy individuals, nobility, trade grants in that area. It was reported (without guilds, and municipal corporations moti- specifics) that Adventurers who went to settle vated by political fervor or the desire for their allotments also found the good land oc- profit. By 1653 they had established a “mar- cupied by squatters while they were rele- ket” in their investments which were bought gated to bog land and unusable lots. and sold on speculation. Their investments ranged from £50 to £6,600, resulting from Botttigheimer is succinct in saying “[t]ime inheritance, perceived value, and the fluctua- works against land.” What he found was that tion in land values, which continued to de- the Settlement was never finalized because cline into the 1870s. falling land values forced a constant recalcu- lation of the loan security. In modern terms, Bottigheimer presents some examples of Ad- the Protectorate was caught in a “death spi- venturers. Wealthy investors included the ral.” They had spent the 1642 pledges on London merchant, George Clarke, who began immediate needs and then taxed to support with a £350 investment and ended with Cromwell’s invasion. As the value of Irish £5,617. This got him 7,114 acres in Tippe- land fell, investors sold at a loss, which trig- rary, 2,518 acres in Eastmeath (i.e Meath) gered a further decline in value. The govern- and a miscellaneous smattering of other par- ment adjusted its rates offering more land to cels. Sir William Brereton, M.P. from Chesh- redeem the loans which accelerated the de- ire, took 6,730 acres in Tipperary and Ar- valuation. The soldiers bore the brunt of this magh but a portion of this holding repre- loss because they were bound to accept their sented money advanced by partners. A third arrears in Irish land which was declining in example was a London leather seller, Tho- value. mas Vincent, who topped the investment list with £11,525 which netted him 19,044 acres Finally, the vagueness of the Act of 1653 im- in three Leinster counties. posed a severe penalty on the “native Irish” who had been categorized into various levels On the other end of the scale Edward Bagle- of punishment. The vague descriptions of thole, who inherited his father’s £5 invest- proscribed persons made it difficult to define ment, received 6 acres in Limerick; Anthony how much land was forfeit. For example, the Austin of Exeter got 5 acres in Queen’s Act proscribed “Jesuits and priests,” which County for £5; and, Anthony Fletcher in- were easily defined, but included “rebels” vested £6 and got 10 acres in Westmeath. and persons who had not shown “constant Almost 20 percent of the Adventurers held good affection,” which were not. Worse, while such small allocations but there is no evi- the courts had found that the amount of the dence to explain what they finally did with forfeiture varied by the offense, the surveyors the land. had no list of judgments on which to deter- mine how much land was involved. It ap- A distinctly different investor was found in pears that they resolved this problem by municipal corporations such as London, classifying all Catholic owned property as Dartmouth, Exeter, Gloucester and Great forfeit. This apparently accounted for the to- Yarmouth which invested from £15,728 (Exe- tal forfeitures in Galway, Clare and Mayo. ter) to £1,350 (Gloucester) under various ar- rangements. Gloucester was a collaboration As Bottigheimer says “all was chaos”. Neither of 24 individuals who received 2,124 acres in the soldiers nor the Adventurers garnered Queen’s County. Exeter apparently invested the full value of their pay or investments. for speculation. They obtained 2,583 acres in The concept of an orderly “planting” was lost Tipperary but the balance of their investment in declining land value, disputed allocations, (£14,000) is unaccounted for. In the case of the lack of an organized military presence, Dartmouth, 143 citizens paid £2,398 and and the absence of a native work force. If it they all received lots in the west side of the were not for the acts of Charles II reallocat- 14 ing the land, the confusion might never have lics and their culture. In the next column we been resolved. will look at the fate of the native Irish.
One other book that addresses this period is NEXT: “Native Irish” (1655-1660) Peter Berresford Ellis’ Hell or Connaught, Comments/suggestions to: (Blackstaff Press, 1975) which discusses [email protected] transplantation but in a poorly defined way. The chapters are organized around the vari- ous governors of Ireland (Fleetwood, Crom- A list of surnames of the Cromwellian Ad- well, Ludlow, etc.) but their contents are venturers for land in Ireland (from Irish based primarily on accessible sources. As a Pedigrees by John O’Hart, Vol 2) can be result, there is material on the Catholic found at clergy and the Papacy, the politics of the Pro- [http://www.ulsterancestry.com/ShowFre tectorate, and the economic forces affecting ePage.php?id=132 land in Ireland and the New World economy. There are occasional insights but the book is so focused on the record in England and Rome that the reader gets little immediate sense of what went on in Connaught. TIARA SUNDAY SHARING WRITER'S WORKSHOP However, Ellis does describe an important Marie Ahern #0097 event in Europe that affected the Irish situa- Come Write With Us! tion. The human suffering resulting from the transplantation had reached a point in 1654 You've heard the stories, looked at the pho- that even Parliament was having second tos, done the research. Perhaps you have thoughts. This sympathy ended in January even visited your ancestor's home. Now it's 1655 when, in the Piedmont in Italy, the time to write about it! Keep the family story Duke of Savoy ordered the Waldensians alive – write for your children or grandchil- (Vaudios), a Christian sect that had settled dren, your local history group, the TIARA in the Cottian Alps in 1170, to attend Catho- newsletter. What better way to find your lic mass. The Waldensians refused and re- story than by attending a workshop with treated to upper alpine valleys. The Duke or- other TIARA members. dered a general massacre on April 24, 1655. The Catholic troops apparently took the or- We will offer tips for organizing your ideas; der as a license to rape, pillage, maim and and, share handouts and websites that will torture the entire community of 1700 men, be useful. Whether you are thinking of a nar- women and children. rative, a genealogical summary, or a memoir, we hope this session will motivate the author Cromwell was so outraged that he offered to in you. send British forces to support the Walden- sians and he declared a general fast in Eng- Light refreshments and an abundance of en- land as moral support. Money was raised for couragement will be served. The TIARA li- their relief and underground railroads were brary will be open during the workshop. used to move survivors to the Netherlands. The incident was an atrocity. Comparisons to Where: TIARA Office the 1641 rising in Ireland were compelling, if 2120 Commonwealth Ave not completely accurate. As before, European Auburndale, MA 02466 Protestants took the opportunity to create flamboyant propaganda similar to that used When: Sunday May 18, 2014 in the 1640s. As a result, having come “full 1P.M. - 4 P.M. circle” from 1641 to 1655, the political envi- ronment in England swung back to a will- To participate in the workshop, email: ingness to completely suppress Irish Catho- [email protected] 15
Grosse Isle and Irish Memorial forced to stay onboard and endure a further National Historic Site 15-day quarantine where many more sick- ened and died. Marianna O’Gallagher in her Pamela Guye Holland #2969 book Grosse Ile: Gateway to Canada 1832- Located 30 miles downstream from Quebec 1937 described it this way: City this captivating island is sometimes “With the overcrowding of the hospitals, the called Canada’s Ellis Island. What began as a army was called upon to supply tents and to quarantine station for immigrants over 180 put them up. When civilians deserted, sol- years ago now serves as a national park that, diers took up their duties. One of the most in part, commemorates the largest mass heartrending of the tasks demanded of them grave of Famine victims outside of Ireland. was no doubt that of handling the dead. The restored historic buildings, guided tours There being no deep water pier, all unload- and monuments provide a poignant reminder ing of ships was done in the stream. Fre- of the harsh struggles endured by tens of quently a ship was in such a condition that thousands of Irish immigrants. no one on board could remove himself, much less lift out the dead or clean the ship. The Grosse Isle, or Grosse Île in French, was es- boatmen, the soldiers and the priests there- tablished as a quarantine station in 1832. At fore proceeded with the removal of bodies that time a cholera pandemic was sweeping from the ships. One description tells of bod- through Europe and Canada feared the ies, uncoffined being winched out of a hold, spread of the disease to its shores. The is- the golden hair of a young girl moving in the land was chosen for its strategic location in slight breeze.” the St. Lawrence River where ships could be forced to stop before approaching Quebec City or Montreal. Unfortunately, doctors of the time did not understand exactly how cholera was spread and many seemingly healthy but infected passengers passed in- spection. As a result, the quarantine sta- tion’s first year was not successful and chol- era soon made its way into Canada. By 1833, with cholera declining and with better- trained doctors, the island began functioning more successfully. However, the quarantine station’s most harrowing challenge was still to come: Ireland’s Great Famine of 1845- 1849. By the end of 1847 over 5,000 had died at Immigrating through Canada was the cheap- sea and another 5,000 were buried on est way out for those desperate to leave Ire- Grosse Isle. Trenches were dug in the thin land in the mid 1800s. During the climax of dirt of the island but additional soil had to be the famine in 1847 an estimated 100,000 brought over from the mainland to cover all malnourished and exhausted immigrants the graves. These mass grave trenches are sailed for Quebec. Disease spread quickly still plainly visible to this day. onboard, especially typhus, and the journey on these “coffin ships” could claim one in five passengers. But arrival at Grosse Isle was not the end of the immigrants’ ordeal. With unprecedented numbers arriving, the over- worked staff and inadequate facilities were soon inundated. Ships lined up for miles waiting to be inspected. After the sick pas- After the Famine era, the quarantine station sengers were removed, the healthy were settled down into an efficient operation. The 16 facilities were enlarged and modernized. In- the island from Quebec City and other fected passengers were separated from the nearby locations. The web site also lists the healthy on opposite ends of the island and names of all those inscribed on the memorial well-staffed hospitals were available for the and has instructions for those interested in sick. Following the Great Depression, the researching immigrants that passed through numbers of immigrants sailing to Canada Grosse Isle. were drastically reduced. Modern medicine created less need for a quarantine facility Library Update and those treated were mainly young pa- Joan Callahan #3491 tients with childhood diseases. Grosse Isle closed in 1937. Thank You to the following TIARA members who have made donations to the TIARA li- In August 2013 brary: my husband and I visited Sheila FitzPatrick: Grosse Isle. Ireland Beautiful, Wallace Nutting, Bantam One of the Books, New York, 1925 most moving This is an early 20th century travel book moments for with descriptions of the land and people from us was our all of the counties in Ireland. Over 200 pho- visit to the new tographs of the people, cities, places, monu- glass wall me- ments, castles are included. morial that lists the known A Taste of Ireland in Food and in Pictures, names of those Theodora Fitzgibbon, Pan Books Ltd. Lon- who are buried don, 1971 on the island. You will find at least 50 recipes including We even found Dublin Coddle, Colcannon, Ocean Swell Jelly Glass Wall Memorial the names of a (seaweed) and Boxty, as well as photographs Mary and Patrick Holland who died between taken between 1856-1910 of cities, harbors, 1847 and 1851. Family research has not and market days in small towns. found any Holland family members that im- migrated through Canada but seeing these Greg Atkinson: names that are very common in our family Hidden History of the Boston Irish and Little tree was sobering. Over 1,500 names are Known Stories from Ireland's "Next Parish unknown and they are represented by an Over", Peter F. Stevens, Charleston, S.C., equal number of boats etched below the History Press, 2008 names. Our tour guide told us one reason their names are unknown is that typhus rot- Strong Farmer: the Memories of Joe Ward, ted the tongues of the immigrants, so they Joe Ward, Dublin Ireland: Chester Springs could not speak. The ships did not carry PA, Liberties Press; Distributed in the U.S. passenger lists and the victims usually could by Dufour Editions 2007 not write. If no one left alive could speak for them, they died nameless. Danielle Doran: Callan 800 (1207-2007) History and Heritage Guided tours are available as well as a nar- Companion Volume, Joseph Kennedy, Edi- rated trolley ride that covers the major parts tor, Published by Callan Heritage Society: of the island. To find out more about Grosse Naas Printing Ltd. Naas, Co Kildare, 2013. Isle visit Parks Canada’s website at The book is a history of the town of Callan www.pc.gc.ca. You will find “Grosse Île and and the surrounding area. It includes cul- the Irish Memorial National Historic Site” tural memoirs and stories about particular listed under their National Historic Sites tab. families from the area. It also describes the various ferries that serve 17
You Never Know! Littleton Library on access to fold3 and its Carlyn Cox #750 military records. I offered John Hur- ney/Hurley’s name as a possible search dur- I thought finding ing the presentation. Walter was not able to my second access any information at the time but he cousin Virginia remembered the name. fold3 is a subscrip- Hurney Ryan in tion service but is available for search at TIARA years ago N.A.R.A. in Waltham, MA. Walter contacted was my big me on another matter and brought up my story. Her great search and offered to help. The next commu- grandfather, nication was a request for a mailing address. John Hurney, I assumed (correctly) that he had a “find.” married my great Pages and pages of material followed. aunt Winifred Rush in Boston I believe the name variation Hurney/Hurley in 1870. How- was the fact that precipitated the depth of ever these sto- the inquiries into John’s pension. A reduc- ries have a life of tion in his pension payments was followed by their own and an appeal. Otherwise I see no reason why Winifred Rush tend to go on. they would require his sister’s deposition as well as multiple depositions on his part. We rarely know what “fact” is going to catch However, without these issues I wouldn’t our interest! have the following:
For Veteran’s Day 2010 I put together a dis- DEPOSITION A, 30th September, 1913, play for my grandchildren including military 248 C Street, South Boston, Suffolk, Mass records from both World Wars covering their before me C.D.F. Sorley, a special exam- grandfather, great grandfather and great un- iner of the Bureau of Pensions. cle’s service. The only Civil War veteran was “My full and correct name is John Hurney. I married to a second great aunt so I also in- have no middle name or initial. My father was cluded him. Patrick Hurney and my mother’s name was Mary Reiny. I was born in Galway at a place My interest in John Hurney was piqued call “Clabagh”. I was born on May 27, 1842 when I noticed that his death date May 3, but I was not sure of my age until I wrote to 1927 was the exact date of my husband’s Ireland and got it. I cannot read or write and (their grandfather) birth. my mother and father could not read or write so that to tell the truth I did not know my Because John birthday nor my age when I enlisted in the had three enlist- Navy. I came to this country from Ireland Oc- ments in the tober 1862 and came to South Boston and Navy during the lived where the Gillette razor factory is now. Civil War, he My mother and father and sister Ellen Hurney should have an came to Boston from Ireland together and we interesting story lived together. I was living there when I first …. And that he enlisted. I enlisted first at Boston on the U.S did. R.S. Ohio but I could not give you the date as I have no learning. As nearly as I recall it was Walter Hickey, in November 1863. I was a very ignorant man newly retired at that time and I had done no work but my from the Na- uncle, Michael Hurney, owned a fishing boat, tional Archives a two masted schooner called the “Day in Waltham, MA Spring,” and at times when he was not feeling spoke at the well I used to go out on his boat and fish.” John Hurney 18
your former deposition before me that her And then on the first of October 1913 Mrs. name was Reiny. Please explain. Ellen Hurney, John’s sister was deposed, A. Well all the way I can explain it is this. She providing more information and a solution used to be called Reiny and Griffin so I un- (or two) to a maiden name. derstood and the way I understood she came to be called by both names was that Reiny DEPOSITION B, 1st day of October, 357 4th was Irish for Griffin. St, South Boston, Suffolk, Mass before me Q. Do you mean to say that Reiny is Gaelic for C.D.F. Sorley, a special examiner of the Griffin? Bureau of Pensions. A.No but I do not know how both names came. I generally heard my mother’s maiden “Age about 65 but I don’t know my exact age name mentioned as Griffin but I know that or my birthday, occupation housekeeper, am she was called Reiny too. the widow of Michael Hurney. I am sister of Q. Was she married more than once? this claimant John Hurney. His full and cor- A. No. rect name is John Hurney. His mother was Q. Was her mother or father married more Mary Griffin but she went under the name of than one time? Reiny instead of Griffin. She took the name of A. Not that I know of. My father had been Reiny from her mother instead of her father. I married so I heard before he married my don’t know of the reason for her taking the mother but I cannot give you the name of his name of Reiny instead of Griffin. My father first wife. was Patrick Hurney and we lived in the Q. Haven’t you a brother living in Ireland? county of Galway, in “Claddy”. I came to A. Yes, sir. His name is Patrick Hurney, the America with my mother and father and this same name as my father and he is about claimant and we all lived with Michael Hur- three years older than I. I wrote to my brother ney my uncle. I was about 12 years of age at and he got the birth record that I filed in the the time. I don’t know how many years John Pension Bureau, I wrote him at “Claddaugh”, is older than I but there is a child between Galway, Ireland. him and me and there were three years be- Q. You certainly have not made it clear how tween each of the children so I understood. … your mother came to go under the names of I have heard the foregoing read, have under- Griffin and Reiny and it is important that you stood all of your questions and my answers give a better explanation if you desire the have been correctly written herein by you and copy of the baptismal record filed to be con- I would add that I never knew my brother sidered as the record of your baptism? went under the same of John Hurley until he A. Well sir I cannot explain it any better but I came from his first service and then he said do know that my mother went under both that they wrote his name down when he names before her marriage to my father. enlisted as Hurley instead of Hurney. He al- Q. Do you know what your grandmother’s ways went under the name of Hurney for that name, on your mother’s side was? is our correct name. My husband was not re- A. No sir I do not. lated to him though his name was Hurney.” Q. I now read you your sister, Ellen Hurney’s deposition and you will see that she testified The material I have numbers about forty that your mother got the name Reiny from her pages … I am quoting the most relevant to mother instead of her father? What do you my family search. say to this? A. Well I do not know about that. She may DEPOSITION C, 4th day of October, at have heard that from the rest of the people Boston, Suffolk, Mass before me C.D.F. but I don’t know about that. Sorley, a special examiner of the Bureau Q. Do you swear to the best of your knowl- of Pensions. edge, information and belief that that copy of the baptismal filed in your claim and marked “Q. Your sister testified that your mother’s B.J. 9 refers to you? name was Mary Griffin while you testified in A. Yes sir I do. 19
Q. You were not baptized the same day you President’s Message (continued) were born? A. No but it must have been within a few logical lectures in the majority. The full pro- days after my birth though I have no way of gram will be announced shortly. Look for the telling but the baptismal record I am will[ing] Conference website early spring for full de- to have taken as showing the date of my tails, registration and even accommodations. birth.
Q. When you were married you gave your age In the last letter, I wrote about the impor- as 25 on Nov. 24, 1870 which would make tance of volunteerism for an organization like your year of birth as 1845 instead of 1842 as TIARA. This time around, I would like to ex- given on that baptismal record? pound a bit about the importance of collabo- A. O well you know how it is. I wanted to rative efforts. Over the years, TIARA has es- make myself as young as I could when I got tablished collaborative relationships with a married. That is the size of it. I was married number of organizations, to name a few: the at St Peter and Paul in South Boston.” Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS),
the Massachusetts Genealogical Council After a few more questions that I found ir- (MGC), the Irish Cultural Center of New Eng- relevant I have to disclose the following in- land (ICCNE) and the New England Historic formation which I find absolutely fascinating: Genealogical Society (NEHGS).
John stated that his mother and father died The entire Foresters project of which we are in Ireland without explaining why or when so rightfully proud was one of collaboration they returned. I feel that he knew someone really from day one. The Catholic Association needed to know all the relevant family his- of Foresters worked with us and we with tory. Thank you John. them to provide a safe but temporary home
for these invaluable records. Later it was the Why a deposition included the following Q & UMass-Boston’s Joseph P. Healey Library A I do not know. But I found it fascinating! with which we collaborated to house, share,
and safeguard these unique records for fu- “Q. Did you have any marks or scars on ture generations of genealogists. It was a you during your service? success all around thanks to long-term, A. Not during or at the time of my first enlist- committed collaborations. ment. During the first service I had the name
J. Hurley on my right forearm. I had the name The upcoming Celtic Connections Conference written Hurley because I enlisted under that is a collaboration between TIARA and the name. But during my second service aboard IGSI in Minneapolis. It would have been the Port Royal at New Orleans I had the enormously difficult to do on our own. Would American coat of arms tattooed over that it have happened? Maybe. Will it have been name as you can see. You can see part of one as good? I doubt it. Its success will be due to of the letters on the forearm yet. On the left the sharing of experience, ideas, and exper- forearm as you can see I had a crucifix tat- tise. This shared effort is likely the beginning tooed on the same day as the American coat of a series of bi-annual Celtic Connections of arms. Those are all the marks I have on Conferences to be held alternately in each me.” group’s city. It will raise the stature of both
organizations in the world of Irish genealogy N.B. Walter Hickey is available for “Genea- and it will provide genealogists and Celtic- logical Enquiries.” He specializes in Lowell, philes an ongoing forum for learning, shar- Massachusetts. ing, connecting and exploring in the years to [email protected] come. A successful collaboration brings suc-
cess to the endeavor. Thanks IGSI. Thanks
to all those people and organizations with
whom we have collaborated in the past.
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River Shannon Project tion forms can be downloaded at http://tiara.ie/EventFlyers/NEHGS_TIARA_ An Irish playwright from Limerick, Helena 2014.pdf. On-line registration available at: Enright, is trying to gather people’s memo- http://www.americanancestors.org/Event.as ries and stories about the River Shannon, px?id=30137 particularly in relation to Limerick. She is Space is limited so register early the artistic director of the River Shannon Project and her aim is to create a documen- Saturday, April 12, 2014 1:30 pm tary play to be performed on a boat on the Hingham Library, Whitton Room, Joint meet- river as part of the Limerick City of Culture ing with South Shore Genealogy Society, 2014. She is interested in hearing about the Anthony Sanmarco, “Howard Johnson” Irish Immigrants' experiences and connec- tion to the river. Friday, May 9, 2014, 7:30 pm, Brandeis University, Mendel Center for the Humani- Ms. Enright will be in Boston in March and ties, Rm. G3. would like to interview and talk with as Michael Dwyer, “Hands across the Sea: Links many people as possible. Anyone with a con- in the Family Chain of Irish Emigration” nection to that area who is interested in talk- Using the examples of his father’s Irish-born ing to Helena may contact her by email at grandparents and their extended kinship
NEHGS. 99-101 Newbury St., Boston, MA. Irish History and Genealogy Seminar Funny Business Christopher Klein, “John L. Sullivan, The First Kathleen M. Hourihan #3375 Irish-American Hero” The author of the new bi- Many years ago, while in Ireland to do re- ography Strong Boy: The Life and Times of John search, I was strolling down a street in Sligo L. Sullivan, America’s First Sports Hero, will when a plaque on a solicitors’ entrance share the tale of the hard-hitting and hard-drinking caught my attention. Later, in my hotel room boxing champion against the backdrop of Irish I had the chance to review the 1994 Western America emerging during the Gilded Age. This Ireland Yellow Pages (I don't know if they illustrated lecture will included a plethora of his- even exist anymore!) and found my eyes had toric photographs from this colorful era in Ameri- not deceived me. Here’s the phone listing for can history. the solicitors office I saw on Albert Street. Marie Daly, “Irish Genealogy Research on FamilySearch.org” Registration is required for this event. The fee is $20.00 per attendee. Mail in registra- 21
CELTIC LA CAVA CENTER CONNECTIONS BENTLEY UNIVERSITY CONFERENCE WALTHAM MASSACHUSETTS
AUGUST 15-16, 2014 SPONSORS INCLUDE:
ENECLANN FEATURING: . FINDMYPAST.IE JOHN GRENHAM . WALTHAM TOURIST EILEEN & SEAN O’DUILL BOARD BRIAN DONOVAN . KYLE BETIT IRISH TOURIST BOARD AND MANY OTHERS Accommodations Available at: WATCH FOR FURTHER DETAILS Marriott Courtyard & WWW.CELTIC-CONNECTIONS.ORG Holiday Inn In Waltham, MA
TIARA 2120 Commonwealth Ave. Auburndale, MA 02466
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TIARA BOOK ORDER FORM March 2014 List Memb. Author Title Qty. Amount Price Price Mitchell, Brian A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland $20.00 $18.00 Mitchell, Brian At a Glance (4 page quick reference guide) $8.25 $6.25 Punch, Terrence Erin's Sons Vol. 1 $30.00 $24.00 Punch, Terrence Erin's Sons Vol. 2 $30.00 $24.00 Punch, Terrence Erin's Sons Vol. 3 $30.00 $24.00 Szucs, Loretto & Wright, Matthew Finding Answers in US Census Records $16.00 $13.00 Melnyk, Marcia Genealogist's Handbook for New England $16.00 $13.00 Dollarhide, William Getting Started in Genealogy Online $15.00 $11.00 Ryan, James Irish Church Records(Soft) $28.00 $25.00 Mitchell, Brian (NEW) Irish Emigration Lists 1833-1839 $23.00 $20.00 O'Kane & Kerr Irish Gravestone Inscriptions $15.00 $11.00 Mitchell, Brian Irish Passenger Lists 1803-1806 $16.00 $12.50 Mitchell, Brian (NEW) Irish Passenger Lists 1847-1871 $28.00 $25.00 Hackett & Early Passenger Lists from Ireland $14.00 $11.00 Mitchell, Brian PocketGuide to Irish Genealogy $17.00 $11.00 Maxwell, Ian (NEW) Researching Ancestors in County Armagh $23.00 $19.00 Reilly, James R. Richard Griffiths and His Valuations of Ireland $23.00 $20.00 O'Keeffe, Emer Search for Missing Friends Vol II $30.00 $20.00 O'Keeffe, Emer Search for Missing Friends Vol III $30.00 $20.00 O'Keeffe, Emer Search for Missing Friends Vol IV $30.00 $20.00 O'Keeffe, Emer Search for Missing Friends Vol V $30.00 $20.00 Dobson Ships from Ireland Vol I $26.00 $19.00 Dobson Ships from Ireland Vol II $24.00 $18.00 Dobson Ships from Ireland Vol III $23.00 $17.00 Ryan, James Sources for Irish Family History $20.00 $17.00 Smith & Kennedy, Brian & Gerry (Coming Soon) Tracing Your Clare Ancestors $17.00 $14.00 McCarthy & Cadogan Tracing Your Cork Ancestors $17.00 $14.00 Duffy & Meehan Tracing Your Donegal Ancestors $17.00 $14.00 Ryan, James & Smith, Brian Tracing Your Dublin Ancestors $17.00 $14.00 O'Dowd, Peadar Tracing Your Galway Ancestors $17.00 $14.00 Grenham, John (NEW) Tracing Your Irish Ancestors, 4th Edition $36.00 $25.00 Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Paton, Chris Internet $16.00 $14.00 Franklin, Margaret Tracing Your Limerick Ancestors $17.00 $14.00 Smith, Brian Tracing Your Mayo Ancestors $17.00 $14.00 Maxwell, Ian (NEW) Tracing Your Northern irish Ancestors $23.00 $20.00 Hamrock, John Tracing Your Roscommon Ancestors $17.00 $14.00 Ryan, James (NEW) Tracing Your Sligo Ancestors $17.00 $14.00 Connell, Greta (NEW) Tracing Your Westmeath Ancestors $17.00 $14.00 Kane Ancestral Map (NEW)* $25.00 $20.00 TIARA Neck Wallet $5.00 $4.00 TIARA T-Shirts (S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL) $5.00 $5.00 TIARA Shoulder Bag $15.00 $12.00 Magnifying Sheets $5.00 $3.00 Subtotal Massachusetts residents add 6.25% sales tax For shipping and handling within U.S.: add $5 for 1st book, plus $2 each additional book. *For Kane Ancestral Map, add $7 for Shipping and Handling TOTAL
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Next Issue
Love, marriage, or Irish divorce…what was your ancestor’s story? Have you finally found an ancestor’s elusive marriage record? Share the research steps you took that located it. Did the marriage record provide answers or perhaps clues for further research? If it wasn’t “happily ever after” for your ancestor, did you track down the spouse who “went west?” Is there a matchmaker story in your family lore? Write a marriage-themed article for the next issue of your TIARA newsletter. Articles of Irish or genealogical interest are also welcome.
Still looking for marriage or other information? Send in a query. Have a research tip, new resource or database to share with TIARA members? Send in your nugget.
Please send submissions to the newsletter to [email protected] or mail to the above address. Submissions for the Spring Issue are requested by April 30.