Duplicate Copies of Government Records are Always an Asset

I am currently putting together a lecture regarding searching your family tree and utilizing the chain migration patterns to discover the place of origin and parents’ names of your Irish immigrant. My two main example families were the Buckleys and allied families from County Cork to New York City and the Corr and Loye families that settled in Omaha when then emigrated from County Armagh. 

I had lots of trouble with the microfilm readers and scanner at the Omaha Public Library trying to obtain clean images to post in my slideshow presentation. Thankfully, a discovery came my way regarding these records. The microfilm records at my local public library for marriages contained marriage licenses and certificates on a single record. 

Unbeknownst to me was the fact that these records must have been duplicate transcriptions of the original records created in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. I was looking at other records on my Ancestry tree and found clean, easily downloadable images of these marriage documents online. There were also records that included the affidavit filed by the groom with a different registration of the marriage license and certificate. Comparing these duplicate recordings enables a researcher to verify the spelling or handwriting. Sometimes the transcription process is not complete and it is only by viewing both sets of documents that the full discovery of information on an ancestor or collateral can be made.

New Resources Arise all the Time

The easy access to online Irish civil registrations continues. Last year a large selection of birth, death and marriage registrations became available free and online at irishgenealogy.ie

This past week further records were added to this database at the website. Claire Santry at irishgenealogynews.com lists that the database now includes images for the following: births 1864-1916, deaths 1878-1966 and marriages 1870-1941. Indexes are available for the years 1864-1877 covering deaths and 1845-1863(non-Catholic only) and 1864-1869(all weddings). There are no civil registrations of Catholic marriage ceremonies, any births or deaths before 1864. 

I was able to fill in a few dates and clarifications thanks to the update. My great-great-great-grandparents were Denis Desmond(1806-1882) and Julia Creedon(1814-1879). They had married at Macroom in County Cork on 23 Nov 1837. They had nine children between 1838-1858. These children were baptized and one would expect they were born shortly before their christenings given Catholic practices at the time. None of the nine had birth certificates but starting in 1864 their deaths and marriages could show up in the civil registries. 

Their daughter Bride, born in 1856, married a Scottish-born Presbyterian in 1884. There is a church registration of this marriage. However, there is not a civil registration for these nuptials. Perhaps this mixed marriage has notes in the bishop’s papers when they applied for the necessary dispensation.

I was able to find death registrations for Julia Desmond on 13 Jan 1879 and her widower, Denis Desmond, 10 Mar 1882. They were both living at Massytown, Macroom. 

Denis was a publican. The dictionary definition of publican is tax collector. The use here meant that he ran a public house. Shortly after his death a newspaper item ran alerting the public that his daughter Bride was planning to obtain his license that allowed one to run a pub. 

The 1882 informant for Denis’ death was Daniel Riordan. Denis and Julia’s eldest daughter Mary Annne(1838-1922) was married to a Daniel Riordan and they also raised their family in Massytown. It is most likely that this informant was the deceased’s son-in-law. 

Two shortened lives were also clarified. I had long ago researched the parents of my grandfather’s relatives Bridget, Hannah and Tom Mahony. Their parents Thomas Mahony and Elizabeth Hegarty married 18 Feb 1879. They first child, Elizabeth, was born nine months later on 9 Nov 1879. Bridget 1881, Hannah 1883, Hannah 1885, Mary 1886, John 1888 and Tom 1891 followed. 

Elizabeth(1879-1885) did not show up in the 1901 or 1911 Irish census and it appeared that the Hannah born in 1883 died before 1885. The expanded database online revealed through the now online images that Elizabeth Mahony died at her parents’ home on 16 May 1885. Her sister Hannah was born 16 Apr 1883 and tragically lived only 10 minutes dying from convulsions that same day.

Delayed Birth Certificates

Delayed birth certificates are a resource that should not be ignored. I have come upon two delayed birth certificates in my research. The first was filed in 1909 for an 1893 birth. The second was filed in 1904 for an 1890 birth. I do not know why they were not initially filed nor what the circumstances were in 1909 and 1904 to necessitate a registration at those times.

Joseph Cassidy was born on 7 Aug 1893 according to his baptismal certificate dated 14 Jun 1918. He was christened at St Gabriel’s Church on East 37th Street in New York City on 13 Aug 1893 with his mother’s siblings Dominick and Maria Benson as sponsors. This was the only official record for his date of birth or so I thought.

I came upon receipt from the Department of Health The City of New York dated 25 Feb 1909 stating that according to the records of this office Joseph Cassidy was born 7 Aug 1893 signed CJ Burke, MD, Assistant Registrar. It took a couple of requests through the mail to the NYC Municipal Archives but eventually they checked the delayed records and found the 17 Feb 1909 delayed birth certificate #483 filing from John McKew, MD 153 East 61st Street.(Dr. McKew was a Catholic doctor born in NYC and reared in the antebellum south to Irish stock parents and moved to New York shortly after the Civil War.)

Joseph Cassidy, male, white, 7 Aug 1893, Jos Cassidy(father), 246 E 35, (born) Ireland, 45 yrs., boilermaker, Bridget Cassidy, Bridget Benson(name before marriage), 246 E 35, (born) Ireland, 40(yrs.), 0 children previously born, 1 now living in all. 

This was curious that he never had a civil birth certificate registered in 1893. He was his mother’s only child but his father’s third child. Both of the elder Joseph Cassidy’s daughters had civil birth certificates to substantiate the dates of births recorded on their baptismal entries. 

Mary Cassidy was born on 22 Dec 1882 at 416 East 18th Street and CE Campbell, MD was the doctor who delivered her. She is birth certificate #356513 and was also recorded in the birth registry ledger book on page 344 line number 13734. For reference her first cousin also named Mary Cassidy was born 19 Sep 1882 at 506 East 14th Street birth certificate number #348688 and recorded also in the birth registry ledger book on page 148. Not every birth was recorded so this reveals the minimum number of babies delivered in the three months between Mary Cassidy and Mary Cassidy. 

Annie Cassidy was born at 338 East 39th Street on 2 Aug 1888 with John McKew(same as 1893 above), MD 231 East 40th Street as the doctor who delivered her. She was birth certificate #24214 for that year. The birth registry ledger book was no longer utilized a short time before Annie’s birth. 

I will never know why the birth took 15 years to register. It did give further credence to the fact that Bridget Cassidy was 40 when she became a first time mother. The family always maintained that she was 39. This delayed recording agreed with the 1853 baptismal register from Ballysadare, County Sligo that Brigida Benson was baptized 3 Jul 1853 and therefore 40 in Aug 1893.

Patrick Goodwin, male, white, 31 Aug 1890, 602 W 46 St, John(father), 602 W 46 St, (born) Ireland, 26 yrs, driver, Catherine, McGinn(name before marriage), 602 W46 St, (born) Ireland, 31 yrs, One child previously born, 2 now living in all. Catherine (X) Goodwin, 532 W 43 St. It was stamped granted 21 Dec 1904 and issued certificate #4150.

My earliest address for the John and Catherine Goodwin family was 660 11th Avenue where they were enumerated with their infant Patrick during the NYC Police Census taken between Sep to Oct 1890. They showed up in the city directory at 602 West 46th Street the next year. I am suspicious of the place of birth especially given the fact that the date of birth and ages of the parents are provably inaccurate.

Patrick Goodwin was baptized 30 Jul 1890 at Holy Cross Church on West 42nd Street. The date of birth on that certificate of 29 Jul 1890 makes far more sense than the 31 Aug 1890 filed 14 years later.

The baptismal register for Clogher Catholic parish in County Tyrone, recorded that Catherine McGinn was born 1 Jan 1860 and baptized 3 Jan 1860. Her husband was born 10 Dec 1860 and baptized the next day. That would make the mother 30 and time of birth not 31 and the father was 29 not 26.

One thing that did agree with the 1888 birth registry from Clogher for their first child was that Catherine (McGinn) McGuigan Goodwin could not write. Both documents are marked with her “X”. 

This ad will soon run in two of my favorite publications; Your Genealogy Today and Internet Genealogy. I would like to explain what this ad entails regarding my searches. The last several years have a been a boon for accessing Irish genealogical records online. 

The four main records sources available to search are: civil registration records beginning in 1864(and 1845 for non-Catholic weddings), 1901 and 1911 Irish census returns, Catholic parish registers through 1881(and then some since the IFHF database does exceed those years in some localities) and the Griffith’s Valuation from 1848-1864. These can all be searched online from my home in Nebraska.

$25 will buy you my expert examination of these records along with checks of Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org and FindMyPast.com I can’t promise I will find the answers you are seeking. If your ancestors or their collateral relations can be identified in the above records, the likelihood of determining the parish or townland of origin is very likely. This service will not likely identify place of origin for those with immigrants who came to North America well before 1840. 

Family Naming Customs After the Loss of a Child

Searching birth and infant baptismal registers requires careful observation. It was common to name a baby after an older sibling that had died. Researchers must avoid incorrectly assigning the incorrect date of birth to a child. Each child born to a couple must be linked to his own correct dates from birth to death.

If there are slight discrepancies between a date provided in adult records and the infant records one finds, take a second look. Might this be a case of two siblings with the same name?

Several infants in my research died an early death. Five of them were honored with namesakes. 

Jeremiah O’Riordan born 6 Apr 1873-died 25 Oct 1873; 

Jeremiah O’Riordan 4 Jul 1875-27 Jul 1875

These brothers were born at Massytown, Macroom in County Cork. They were the 7th and 8th of the ten children born in their family between 1862-1880. 

Hannah Mahony 16 Apr 1883-16 Apr 1883; 

Hannah Mahony 20 Jan 1885-1956

The second Hannah emigrated to New York City and eventually became an American citizen. The date on her American records fluctuated and the initial searches in the databases found her older sister which made for a few inconsistencies. 

Catherine Buckley 17 Oct 1889-26 Oct 1889; 

Catherine Buckley 29 Apr 1895-10 Nov 1896

The Buckley sisters were named after their paternal grandmother, Catherine Cahill. This family waited several years to re-use the name with the second Kate. The elder Catherine was the family’s first daughter and fourth child of ten total. Katie the younger was the fourth daughter and 8th child born between 1886-1903. 

Julia Daly 8 Dec 1899-12 Jul 1901; 

Julia Daly 18 Jul 1901-1981

This recent discovery shows that there is no rule for how long to wait before re-using a given name again. This family lost their 18 month-old and less than a week later named their newest daughter with the same name. The elder Julia was enumerated in the 1901 census and her sister was enumerated in the 1911 census.

Patricia Cassidy 21 Dec 1932-30 Dec 1932; 

Patricia Cassidy 24 Sep 1934-2000

There may be disagreement within the family with regard to this custom. When my aunt was born in 1934 Grandma wanted to name her Regina but my grandfather insisted that she too bear the moniker Patricia. Despite living through two Sundays, the elder Patricia was not baptized at her parish church. She was baptized in their railroad flat by her eldest brother before her death. She was buried in the family christening dress. Hers was the last death certificate issued by the NYC Department of Health in 1932. 

Naming customs do not follow a single rule. Here are examples of families that did not name their second child with a name they had already used.

John Cassidy 29 Jul 1879- 29 Jul 1879; 

Michael John Cassidy 28 Oct 1880-1949

Little John suffered from delicacy since birth and died after only 6 hours. His existence was known only because of his appearance in the databases at FamilySearch and later Ancestry. He was not baptized but had both a birth and a death registration in Newry. His brother was born the following year. He was named after their paternal grandfather and his late brother. This healthy child was baptized  and later immigrated to the United States within months of his birth. 

Anne Buckley 23 Jun 1930- 13 Jul 1930; 

Joan Buckley 13 Jan 1938-2014

Anne was named after a dear nanny that cared for her mother at the turn of the century. Anne lived only twenty days and never left the hospital. She was baptized there with a single sponsor, her father’s aunt. This family chose to name their second daughter a unique name.

Ellen O’Riordan 20 Oct 1900- 3 Aug 1901; 

Christina O’Riordan 9 Dec 1901-1988

Ellen died when their mother was 5 months pregnant with her sister. Their father was the older brother of the two Jeremiahs above. Christina was the mother of the Buckley sisters immediately above. Ellen had been named after her aunt, her father’s eldest sister. This aunt had been named after her grandmother. Perhaps since both the aunt and niece died in 1895 and 1901, the family followed another custom and abandoned a name that was linked with early death. In those circumstances, a name completely outside the norm would be selected.