Urban Research Requires Piecing Together Multiple Sources

Now that (many) New York archdiocesan records are readily available online there are a plethora of new findings to be discovered. It is still a work in progress as the rest of the records are added.

Ellen O’Brien Rafferty Goodwin(1842-1890) married her second husband, Hugh Goodwin(1842-1926), on 1 Oct 1872 at St Michael. These parish records are not available online, just yet. However, neighboring parish Holy Cross is part of the Catholic Heritage collection at FindMyPast. 

Ellen was enumerated with her children Margaret(1864-1920) and Owen(1866-1895) in the 1870 federal census. This information was collected on 13 Jul 1870. (They were not counted in the second federal census that was conducted for New York City later that year.) 

It took awhile but is was discovered that her first husband was John Rafferty(1839-1870). His death details were found in the mortality schedule for the census. He also had a death certificate issued by the Department of Health. His name was also identified from the city directory during the years that Ellen was a widow. He was erroneously listed as Peter on his daughter’s death certificate in 1920.

When FamilySearch uploaded transcriptions of the vital records for NYC a few years back a third Rafferty child was discovered because of the address, 514 (West) 38th Street, listed on the record. This was the same address that his father died at a few months later. John Rafferty died at 5 days old on 26 Nov 1869. He too had a mortality schedule entry because he died in the census year immediately preceding 1 Jun 1870. He was baptized at St. Michael. (Another John Rafferty was baptized a month later at adjacent Holy Cross parish.)    

Once a database goes live researchers are able to plug in parents names in various forms and these parent searches are very beneficial. The Catholic Heritage database revealed a pair of previously unknown Rafferty children.  Two more daughters of John Rafferty and Ellen O’Brien were baptized at Holy Cross; Mary Catherine in 1862 and Bridget in 1868. The death records indicated that each girl died the year after her birth. 

One must search using the variants option for both surname and given name. Mary Catherine was transcribed as Rofferty and John was transcribed as Raftery. 

Marriages are also easier to find now that previously unfound marriages can be gleaned from Catholic parish records. John Rafferty wed Ellen O’Brien on 5 Sep 1861 again at Holy Cross. Civil recording of vital events before 1866 in New York City is sketchy. 

It was very common for Catholic marriages to go unrecorded with the civic authorities until 1908 when the marriage license law was instituted. This placed the burden on the couple to approach the City Clerk before the wedding to get a license instead of relying solely on the officiant to record the nuptials with the Health Department after the ceremony had been celebrated. From 1908-1937 dual civil registrations of a single marriage are likely in NYC. After 1937 the City Clerk collected the only civil documentation of weddings. 

The death registrations in 1863 and 1869 did not provide an abundance of details. However, they were enough to determine that the right girls were located. Mary C. Rafferty(1862-1863) died on 28 Sep 1863 from drowning at age 1 year 2 months 4 days. Her residence was 524 Tenth Avenue(between West 39th-40th Streets). This address was associated with her grocer father for several years prior to and subsequent to her demise. She was NY born and her parents were Irish-born. She was buried at Calvary.

Bridget Rafferty(1868-1869) succumbed after 3 weeks to acute bronchitis on Valentine’s Day 1869. She was exactly 1 year-old. No parents names were listed but she died at 457 Eleventh Avenue. She was buried at Calvary the next day. 

The city directories were checked leading up to 1869. John Rafferty, grocer, 524 Tenth Avenue was listed through 1868. There was a Mary Rafferty, widow of Michael, that lived at 457 Eleventh Avenue in these years. Might Bridget have been her daughter? Fortunately in the 1869 city directory there was also a John Rafferty, grocer, at 457 Eleventh Avenue(between West 37th and 38th Streets).

Ellen O’Brien Rafferty Goodwin(1842-1890) delivered eight children between 1862-1879. Four died very young; at 5 days, 1 year, 1 year 2 months and 2 years 2 months. In a twelve month span she lost a daughter on 14 Feb 1869, a son on 26 Nov 1869 and then her first husband on 10 Feb 1870. I imagine she had inner strength and external support to raise her two surviving Rafferty children and form a new family with her second husband. 

Re-examining her story one wonders if all her children were identified. Once the 5 Sep 1861 wedding was learned it did seem odd that her eldest child was born in March 1864. Not surprisingly this 19 year-old bride became pregnant immediately following her wedding and delivered a daughter in Jul 1862. 

Every married couple’s fertility is unique to their marriage. However, one can generalize and extrapolate from common situations. The average woman at age 19 or 20 is likely to have a baby within a year of marriage. The children often continue every 2 years or so until she is 40 and then possibly taper off as she hits 45. Some women bore children after this point but it is a small number. 

If there are gaps evident in the ages of children based on census or vital records reports one should determine whether the husband has died, was in the army or prison. Another thing to consider is the death of the first wife and a new marriage to another woman. If these are not the case, persist in turning over every stone and look for undiscovered children. Knowledge of family planning while not widespread was available and limited fertility within the marriage may explain why children were more than 2 years apart. Repeated miscarriages or stillbirths would also explain gaps. 

Records that will reveal missing children are the city’s birth and death records, church baptismal records and cemetery burial records. 

While each of the five Rafferty siblings had death entries, none had civil birth certificates. Their infant baptisms in the Catholic Church are the only records that record a specific date of birth. In 1874 their half-brother was the only child of the former Ellen O’Brien to have a birth certificate. He was recorded as her 4th child(sic). His parents names, ages and birthplaces were listed. His own given name was left blank. The doctor likely did not remember the given name of each new delivery as he turned in his required paperwork. 

Patrick’s baptismal registration indicates issues of its own. His father is properly identified as Hugh Goodwin. His mother, however, is identified neither as Ellen O’Brien nor Ellen Rafferty but Catherine Rogers. At first glance once would assume it was a different little boy. The date of birth both on the birth certificate and the baptismal entry was 13 Dec 1874. 

A bit more knowledge was required to determine why Catherine Rogers was listed. The priest likely said, “Mother’s maiden name?”. To which Hugh provided his mother’s maiden name which according to his 1872 marriage certificate, his 1894 marriage certificate, his poor house records and his 1926 death certificate was Catherine Rogers. Be mindful that the priest may have asked instead, “Name of mother at time of marriage?”. The answer in that case would have been Ellen Rafferty which is not helpful if a researcher starts down a path looking for childhood details of an Ellen Rafferty when he should be searching Ellen O’Brien. Be mindful of what limits a record, especially one that is the only source of information, has in reflecting reality.  

Going ten years forward one must wonder again if there is a Goodwin child born closer to Ellen’s second wedding date of 1 Oct 1872. Her first known child with Hugh Goodwin was born more than two years later. It may be that another child was born in 1873, baptized at St Michael, died and buried in the Rafferty plot. This would explain why the Goodwins purchased their plot in 1876 to bury Patrick. We shall have to wait for St Michael’s registers to come online.

It is a family nicety to remember all its members even those that lived very shortened lives. The genealogical value of these little children that died young is found in the records created by the birth, baptism, death and burial. Who helped deliver the child or was the informant on the death record? Who were the baby’s godparents? Was the baby buried in a grave owned by her parents or did they bury her in a relative’s grave? The answers to these questions may lead one onto a successful research trail.

Transcriptions are helpful but must always be seen in their proper place. Once access to scanned originals or the paper originals become an option, view the originals for a complete research perspective.