Rose Sloan and Richard Farrell were marrried in Rostrevor in 1896 and soon left for Cleveland. Can we learn any more about them?
When I started working on Edward and Anna Rodgers' daughter Mary, she was mostly just legend. It went: "She was married to a Patrick Kelly and a Dudley Anderson. She was on stage. We had a picture of her with Lillian Russell." Well I haven't found any picture at all of her, but there is enough information to fill out the rest of the story.
To a genealogist, siblings are your friends, as illustrated by the case of Catherine Rodgers' husband Joe Whalen. His death notice on February 5, 1968 said that he was survived by a brother Fenton. It was through Fenton that I found Joe Whalen's ancestry.
While looking for the John O'Rourke who came with my grandfather from Killowen to Cleveland, I found another John O'Rourke in Cleveland instead. This man and his brother Henry were from Kilkeel. The evidence is a bit circumstantial, but I think it is solid enough to put the family together.
It's hard for me to pass up looking for an Irishman's county of origin, so after finding Another James O'Rourke, Killowen to Cleveland, I thought I would try to find his wife, Mary Burke, in Ireland.
Eileen Quinn was born August 10, 1913, in Cleveland, the first child of John Joseph Quinn and Agnes May Francis...
Mary McGraw was born May 6, 1913, in Cleveland, the first child of John McGraw and Mary Kelley. In 1920 the family was living at 8002 Goodman Avenue...
My father told me that when he moved to Cleveland in the 1930's he first lived in a boarding house run by Fred and Dorothy Goodsmith. All the boarders gambled and bet on horses.
Vincent was born June 9, 1912, in Ohio, the second of two sons born to Michael J and Anna (Donovan) Hurley . . .
In the merry month of June 1899, William Rourke salutes his father dear, kisses his darling mother, and heads on down the rocky road to America, never to return. Soon after leaving his home in Ballintur Killowen, County Downand probably on the crossing to LiverpoolWilliam re-instates the O' in front of the Anglicized version of his name.
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James Joseph Colgan was born January 5, 1871, in Loughtown, County Kildare, to Patrick Colgan, a gentleman farmer, and Letitia Cleary.
Kathryn Elwell was born August 15, 1913, in Cleveland, Ohio, the only known daughter of William Clarence Elwell and Mary Egan . . .
This website includes a picture of the 1922 second grade class at Holy Name Parish on Broadway on the southeast side of Cleveland. My mother was in that class and identified most of the children in the picture. She identified the fourth young woman from our left in the last row as Genevieve Parle. There was a Genevieve Parle living in the area who is most likely her.
This website includes a picture of the 1922 second grade class at Holy Name Parish on Broadway on the southeast side of Cleveland. My mother was in that class and identified most of the children in the picture. She identified the sixth young woman from our left in the last row as Coletta Kearns. There was a Coletta Kearns living in the area who is most likely her.
James O'Rourke was born Jul 7, 1894, presumably at home in Ballintur Townland, Kilbroney, County Down, the son of Francis Rourke and Sarah Brennan. In 1901 he and his parents were living with his grandparents James Rourke and Mary Hughes in house 18 in Ballintur. I believe this family occupied parcels 1A, 1Ba, 1C,and 1Da in the townland.
Anna Cunningham was born 3 Oct 1845, possibly in Ballymadeerfy Townland, County Down, Ireland, the daughter of James Cunningham and Catherine Devine. The exact date of her birth comes from her granddaughter Nan (Gallagher) Fleming's research.
There are enough railroad tracks on the southeast side of Cleveland that the train from New York could have dropped the Rodgers off at their doorstep, but they probably had to find their way to their new address on their own. Fittingly, in the 1874 Cleveland City Directory there is a listing for an Edward Rogers living on the south side of Railroad, near Walnut, in Newburgh.
As mentioned earlier, the Rodgers descendants believed that Ned fled Ireland for England and then went back to get his wife ...
When I started working on the Rodgers' family history I was immediately impressed by two things: 1) the accuracy of the earlier research done by my mother's cousin Nan (Gallagher) Fleming, and 2) the reliability of the oral family tradition in the Rodgers clan. Here is just one example.
Here I am almost at the end of this series of articles about the Rodgers family and I haven't mentioned the story of Ned Rodgers and the blind pig.
Agnes was born in Gore of Lochaber, Ottawa Co., Quebec, Canada, on March 27, 1876, the daughter of George McKenzie and Bridget Doherty. They are found on the 1881 Census of Gore of Lochaber.
In a letter, the date of which is transcribed as December 28, 1888, from Ballintur, County Down, Ireland, William Doran told his brother Peter in the United States, that 'Tom Murphy and Mathew Sloan is home from cleveland a few days agow.' For a long time I've wondered who this Matthew Sloan could be. My mother's aunt married a Matthew Sloan in Cleveland in 1907, but he was born in 1879, so he would be too young. Now, I think I might have found this earlier Matt Sloan in the Newburgh section of Cleveland.
Ann Ellen Sloan was born about 1861, the daughter of James Sloan and Bridget Cunningham. She and Dennis Francis O'Leary were wed in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, on September 5, 1882. They were living at 1310 Broadway when their first child was born on June 16, 1883, or at about 4600 Broadway according to the current numbering system.
In 1910 there was a man boarding with my great grandfather named Bartley Carr. He was unrelated to our family. Here are a few things about him from my research. Bartley Carr was born about 1884 in Galway, Ireland, the son of Walter Carr and Honora Kelly.
As mentioned in her husband's article, I was pretty sure that Bridget McCartan was from the Rostrevor - Kilkeel area of County Down, but I couldn't prove it using only her records. What made the difference in her case was her death notice. It called her the aunt of Michael White and the late Thomas Fearon.
Before we get back to Michael O'Rourke's family, we need to say a few words about the family of his wife, Mary McNally. It looks to me like Mary McNally was born in the fourth quarter of 1876 in the Stockton Registration District of Durham, England, and was baptized in Pontop, Durham, England, on February 11, 1877.
Elizabeth Lawler was born about 1838 in Castlecomer, County Kilkenny, Ireland, the daughter of Michael Lawler and Mary Curran. Elizabeth was married on November 27, 1855, in Notre Dame Basilica, Montreal, Canada, to John Kerwin.
Henry Sands was born October 18, 1867 most likely in Ballincurry Townland, south of Rostrevor, County Down.1 He was the third son of Daniel Sands and Susan Sloan.
Hugh Quinn was born between 1846 and 1852 in Ballynahatten Townland, Kilkeel, County Down, Ireland.1, 2 He died on Dec 12, 1928 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and was buried on Dec 15, 1928 in Calvary Cemetery.3 He was the son of William Quinn and Ellen Clark. He married Maria Cunningham.
While we are still at one degree of separation from the O'Rourkes and Rodgers families, let's spend a few minutes on James Murney. James was born 31 Aug 1878 in Ballinran, County Down, Ireland. His family, and those of his uncles who remained in Ireland, are on the transcription of the 1901 Census of Ballincurry.
On 9 Jun 1900, James O'Rourke, son of John Rourke and Ellen Rodgers, arrived in the United States aboard the HMS Campania, which had left from Liverpool. He was on the way to his brother William's home on Harvard St. in Cleveland.
While I was working on Bernice Hurley, 1922, Newburgh, Cleveland, I came across John and Bridget (McCartan) Mcavoy living on Elmo Street, Cleveland, in 1900. Both of their mother's maiden names were Sloan. With surnames like those going for them, they almost had to be from the Rostrevor - Kilkeel area of County Down.
John McGee was born October 7, 1875, most likely in Tullyframe Townland, Kilkeel District, County Down, Ireland, the son of James McGee and Mary O'Hare. He was baptized that same day; the record is on the Kilkeel Parish Register.
When my grandfather William O'Rourke emigrated from Ireland in 1899, he was accompanied by a John O'Rourke age 37. He was a single man who said he was from Ballintur Townland, County Down, as was my grandfather. John had been in the United States before, and had been a citizen for six years.
At first glance it might seem strange to talk about Joseph Drummond and the Irish famine in the same article. After all, Joseph and his first wife, Judith Shea, were in Montreal, Canada, by 1844. Joseph is identified as a "gentleman" and a "man with a knowledge of commerce" on some of the parish records in Montreal.
I’ve been looking at the family of my grandfather’s brother James O’Rourke, and have hit a soft brick wall. His wife, Mary Keyes, was the daughter of James Keyes and Mary Nugent. Mary Nugent’s death record said she was born about 1851 in County Wexford, and I can almost prove it, but not quite. Here’s the story.
Matthew Sloan was born 27 Apr 1879, in Ballincurry Townland, Kilbroney Parish, County Down, Ireland, the son of James and Mary (Brennan) Sloan. He was baptized the same day with John Fearon and Kate Brennan as godparents.
Having found James McAneny's death record, I was inspired to keep going on the family. Here is his brother Michael's naturalization card. As far as I can tell, this was some kind of summary of information made after the fact, along with the immigrant's current address.
Just because a man's name is O'Rourke doesn't mean he is from Killowen, County Down. But if he is living on the East side of Cleveland in the early 1900′s, and has an aunt named Mrs Farron, you start to get "suspicious." So it went with this man, whom I came across while working on my own O'Rourkes.
In 1910 Peter and Michael Farron were living on East 89th St in Cleveland, across the street from my great-grandfather Ned Rodgers. In that neighborhood, with a name like Farron (Feran, Fearon), they seemed "likely suspects" for being from the Kilbroney/Killowen area of County Down, Ireland. It turns out that they were.
While working on the article, I noticed that Mary's cousin Bertha Raimer married a Cunningham. That got my attention, since my great grandmother's maiden name was Cunningham, and they lived in the same part of Cleveland as the Raimers. As it turned out, Bertha's daughter married one of my second cousins. But let's begin at the beginning.
So far in this series, we have discussed some young men who left Killowen for Cleveland, but this time we will consider a young woman, Rose Sloan, from the same area.
Michael Rourke and Alice Cunningham of Killowen, County Down, Ireland, had at least seven children. Three of their daughters emigrated to Cleveland, Ohio. Let's discuss them first, since we have referred to them earlier in this series of articles.
Susan Brennan was born, probably between 1873 and 1874, the daughter of Peter Brennan and Ann Savage.1, 2 She was very likely born in Kilfeaghan townland, Kilbroney District, County Down, Ireland.
As I mentioned in an earlier article, when you see the names Michael O'Rourke and Mrs. Thomas Feran in the same household in Cleveland, you start to think of Killowen emigrants.
This website includes a picture of the 1922 second grade class at Holy Name Parish on Broadway on the southeast side of Cleveland. My mother was in that class and identified most of the children in the picture. She identified the sixth young man from our left in the front row as Bernard Conrad. She also identified the third young lady from our right in the back row as Catherine Conrad.
Bernice was born July 22, 1914, in Cleveland, the daughter of Edward Hurley and Catherine Sadler. In 1920 she was living at 9408 Cassius Avenue with her parents and her maternal grandparents, William and Anna (Heffernan) Sadler.
Daniel Orschak was born May 31, 1912, the third child and first son of Fred W Orschak and Margaret Isabel Kearney. His two older sisters were named Henrietta and Angela; his younger sister was Beatrice.
In 1920, Evelyn was living at 11321 Miles Avenue, Cleveland, with her father Lee, mother Lillian, and brothers Raymond and Ralph. Her father was managing a garage. By June 5, 1917 when Lee registered for the draft, the family had moved one block east, to 11410 Miles.
George W Welling was born in Cleveland on April 20,1914, the son of William M Welling and Catherine Farron. The family was living at 13124 Harvard in 1920, in the same home as Catherine's widowed mother Sarah. Beside George, the family included his sisters Catherine and Sarah and a brother Thomas.
Helen Finnerty was born about 1914 in Ohio, the fifth of eight known children of Michael Finnerty and Helen "Nellie" Kennedy. The family lived at 9423 Meech Avenue from at least 1904 until at least the time of Nellie's death in October 1948.
While I was going back through the information on my mother's side of the family, I solved one mystery: what ever happened to Catherine Rodgers' first husband, James McAneny?
Leonard P Kohn was born September 2, 1913. In 1920 he was living with his parents John and Delia (Coleman) Kohn at 4909 East 84th Street, Garfield Heights.
Marguerite Tulley was born April 25, 1913, in Cleveland, the daughter of Simon F Tulley and Mary Keating. In 1920 the family was living at 4140 East 139th Street, and Marguerite's father was a rivet worker.
Mary Raimer was born October 26, 1913, the daughter of Philip and Rose (Alten) Raimer. In 1920 the family was living on Libby Road in Maple Heights. The address is not on the census, but later records show that it was 17325 Libby.
Mildred Gaughan was born January 17, 1916, in Cleveland, the youngest of three children of Edward Gaughan and Sarah Kelly. In 1920 the family was living at 7818 Vineyard Avenue. In the household with Mildred and her parents were her older brother Henry John, and her older sister Geraldine.
Summarized: I, Patrick O'Rourke, a native of Ireland, arrived in the United States on 11 May 1900. It is my intention to become a citizen of the United States.
Paul Downs was born October 7, 1912, most likely in Youngstown, Ohio, the son of Michael Downs and Mary Elizabeth "Bessie" Perdew. Paul's mother died in January 1919 of influenzaprobably the Spanish influenza outbreakand his father moved to Cleveland with his three remaining childrenBeatrice, Paul, and William.
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Peter T Bolan was born in 1914 in Ohio, the son of Peter T Bolan and Elizabeth Sadler. In 1920 they were living at 4063 East 91st and Peter Bolan, Sr., was a scales man for a steel mill. Besides Peter and his parents, there were Peter's sisters Geraldine and Annette, and his younger brother Thomas.
Rose or Rosina McNamee was born about 1914 in Cleveland, the daughter of James McNamee and Anna Famera. In 1920 the family was living on Sladden Avenue in Garfield Heights. Besides Rose and her parents, there were her two brothers James and Charles.
Vera Looby was born April 6, 1914, in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of William Looby and Matilda Divis. In 1920 she and her family were living at 4080 East 108th Street. Beside Vera and her parents, there were her sisters Isabelle, Jane, Marie, and Marcella. The family was still there in 1922
A transcription of William O'Rourke's petition for naturalization, April 14, 1909 and other naturalization papers.
While looking through some other O'Rourkes in Cleveland, I came across first James then Henry O'Rourke and filed them in the "mysteries waiting to be solved" category. As soon as I started working on them I realized they were father and son. Here is a brief account of both of them.