My Old Ohio Home - Kilbroney

An Earlier Matt Sloan, Kilfeaghan to Cleveland

2018-10-09T00:00:00-04:00

Farmland, Kilfeaghan Road

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.' ¹ 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.

First let me mention that I think the letter was dated December 28, 1883, not 1888, and there might have been an error transcribing the date. The reason I say this is because the letter later says that 'Joe Write and Cate Fearon has got married about a week after you left.' There is a civil marriage record of Joseph Wright marrying Catherine Fearon on 28 November 1883 at Rostrevor Chapel, that would be this couple.

With that settled, I think this is the Matt Sloan that William Doran was referring to:

1880 Census of Cleveland ED 53, sheet 318D
June 12, 1880
at 2054 Marble
in the John and Jane Graham household

Matt Sloane, 38, single, boarder, laborer, born in Ireland, parents also, cannot write, out of work 3 months last year
Richard Cunningham, 21, single, boarder, laborer, born in Ireland, parents also, out of work 1 months last year
Thomas Murphy, 28, single boarder, laborer, born in Ireland, parents also, out of work 10 months last year²

The Cleveland City Directories for the 1880s have these listings:

1881 City Directory, at 2054 Marble
Matthew Sloan

1881 City Directory at 2016 Marble
Timothy Murphy

1882 City Directory at 2450 Sawyer
William Sloan
Thomas Murphy

1883 City Directory at 2005 Booth
William Sloan
Thomas Murphy

1884 City Directory at 2430 Elmo
Matthew Sloan

1885 to 1888: no Matthew Sloan

I have a feeling that these are the same two men throughout, but their first names were not always recorded correctly.

Also, the 1884 Directory was valid from July 1883 to July 1884, so Matt could have returned to Ireland in December 1883 and still be listed in the 1884 book.

So is this him?

The last time I looked for this Matthew Sloan, I looked on the 1900 Census of Cleveland to no avail. Now if he is also not in the 1885 to 1888 directories, then maybe he went back to Ireland for good. If so, is he:

1901 Census of Ireland
Residents of a house 7 in Kilfeaghan (Killowen, Down)
Sloan, Matthew, 60, head, farmer, can read and write
Sloan, Mary, 61, wife, can read and write
Sloan, Rose Anne, 24, daughter, can read and write, farmer's daughter
Sloan, Thomas, 22, son, can read and write, farmer's son
Sloan, Mathew, 86, uncle, cannot read, agricultural laborer

all Roman Catholic. all born in County Down³

I hardly ever trust ages on censuses, but the head of this household was born about the same time as the Matt Sloan in Newburgh in 1880, who was 38 at the time.

There is a record in the Kilbroney Parish Register of a marriage of Mathew Sloan and Mary Murphy on May 17, 1876. The civil record says May 19. This couple had a daughter Roanne baptized on February 13, 1877, and a son Thomas on December 11, 1878.⁴ This looks like the couple in Kilfeaghan in 1901.

And there is a record in the Valuation Revision books for Kilfeaghan that says a Matt Sloane took over occupancy of parcels 19 and 20 from Rose Sloane in 1883.⁵

So if this is the same Matt Sloan, did he marry and then spend a few years in Cleveland before returning to Ireland? Did he intend to bring his family over a few years later? I haven't really seen that pattern–where the husband arrives first–in the Kilbroney to Cleveland emigrants in this time period.

On the other hand, maybe he only planned to stay a short while, make a few dollars and go back. Or on the third hand, maybe he intended to move his family but his plans changed in 1883 when he took over the farm from Rose Sloan.

As a side point, did you notice that there were two Matthew Sloans in the Kilfeaghan household in 1901? The second was Matthew's uncle, born about 1815. I've corresponded with a Matthew Sloan whose family was from Ballincurry. So "Matthew" has been used as a given name in the Sloan family for at least 200 years.

I have added this family to the Ohio Families section of this site.

Note: for more on Richard Cunningham see the article Richard Cunningham, probably Kilkeel to Cleveland.

Footnotes

Peter Doran, Ballintur, [Co Down?] to " Dear Brother"; Document Presented by & Copyright Retained by Sharon DoranTurnbow, at http://ied.dippam.ac.uk/records/26775
1880 Census Cleveland ED 53, page 318D or 56D.
1901 Census of Ireland, house 7 in Kilfeaghan (Killowen, Down).
Valuation Revision Books at nidirect.gov.uk.
Kilbroney Parish Registers at The National Library of Ireland, nli.ie.

Credits

Picture of the farmland at Kilfeaghan Road is © Copyright Eric Jones and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

John Mcavoy—Rostrevor to Cleveland

2018-10-09T00:00:00-04:00

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. It took a little while but I was able to trace them back there. I'll discuss John in this article.

John and Bridget were married November 9, 1897, in Cleveland, most likely at St Agnes Church. As mentioned, in 1900 they were at 2455 Elmo, Ward 26 of Cleveland, in 1900. They moved to 9536 Meech Avenue by 1916. John was hit by a train on July 7 of that year and died at the age of 54. Bridget remained at that address for most of her life. They had no children.

John's death certificate listed both his parents: Patrick Mcavoy and Elizabeth Sloan. With that information I went to familysearch.org and looked for other people with those parents. I found his sisters Elizabeth, Margaret, and Mary in Cleveland, and brothers Peter and Daniel on the Irish birth registers. The Cleveland death notices mentioned another sister, Rose.

Elizabeth's death certificate said she had been born in "West River" Ireland. Since there isn't any such place, and since I was already leaning toward South Down as their place of origin, I figured the informant–another Elizabeth Mcavoy, by the way–meant to say Rostrevor.

From there I went to the Irish civil and parish records and found most of the family, except for John himself. His parents Patrick and Elizabeth are on the 1901 Census of Rostrevor with daughter Rose still in the household. And Patrick Sr.'s death record named another daughter, Sarah Sloan, who provided his information.

Someday I might write an article about all the men in Newburgh who died being hit by a train. John Mcavoy is the fourth I have found. But for now, we will go next to his wife, Bridget McCartan—Kilkeel to Cleveland.

Sources and details for John Mcavoy's family are in the Trees > Ohio Families section of this site.

Peter, Michael, and Henry Farron—Kilbroney to Cleveland

2018-10-09T00:00:00-04:00

In 1910 Peter and Michael Farron were living on East 89th St in Cleveland. 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.

Peter Fearon's U.S. records say that he was born in Ireland sometime between 1860 and 1867 and arrived in the US between 1883 and 1891. On August 24, 1897 he and Katherine Loury/Lowery were married in Cuyahoga County. They had at least the following children: Paul (born about 1898), Dorothy (about 1901), Alice (about 1902), Philomena (about 1907), and Peter (about 1910). Peter died February 8, 1934 in Cleveland. His death record says his parents were Patrick Fearon and Catherine Trainer.

Michael Farron was born in Ireland between 1863 and 1864 and arrived in the US around 1880 or 1882. On June 4, 1890 he married Sarah Farron in Cuyahoga County. They had at least the following children: Kate who was born in Ireland in 1891, Willie (1893), Joseph (1895), Leo (1897), and Sadie (1900). Michael died December 20, 1910, and his parents were also listed as Patrick Farron and Catherine Traynor.

Michael's grandson by his daughter Kate, George Welling, was in the second grade class at Holy Name School with my mother. For a brief article about George see George Welling, 1922, Newburgh, Cleveland.

Henry Farron was born May 27, 1864, in Rostrevor, County Down, son of Patrick Fearon and Catherine Traynor.¹ Henry said he arrived in the US in 1888. He and Maria Cunningham were married about 1896 and had at least the following children: Sarah (1896), James (1898), Mary (about 1901), Celia (about 1903), and Elizabeth (about 1906). Henry died May 2, 1917, and his parents' names are on his death record.

Updated

This family was from Levallyclanone. The birth records for Henry and Anna confirm that. They are online at irishgenealogy.ie. I've changed the title of the article slightly to reflect the new information.

Footnotes

"Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F5Y7-SVD : accessed 07 Dec 2013), James Fearon, 27 May 1864; citing 0607,ROSSTREVOR,DOWN,IRELAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 101085.
"Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FR4Q-X8N : accessed 07 Dec 2013), Patrick Fearon in entry for Annie Fearon, 06 Jul 1866; citing 0603,ROSSTREVOR,DOWN,IRELAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 101130.

Other sources include US Census records, Ohio Deaths at familysearch.org, and Cuyahoga County marriages at ancestry.com.

Susan Brennan, Kilfeaghan to Cleveland

2018-10-09T00:00:00-04:00

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. The first Valuation Revision Book for Kilfeaghan shows that Peter Brennan took over the tenancy of parcels 28Bc, 29A, and 29B in 1873 from a Bridget Brennan. (Search form at: http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/val12b.htm.

On September 12, 1910, in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Susan Brennan married John McGee.¹ Susan died at home, 3596 E. 106th, Cleveland, before Dec 19, 1955, the date of her on line death notice.³ John McGee is buried in Calvary Cemetery;⁴ likely Susan is also. Susan and John had no children.

farmland, Kilfeaghan

When Susan was naturalized in 1937, she said that she had been in Cleveland for 44 years.² I did not find her first arrival in the United States, but on October 4, 1898, there is a Susan Brennan returning to Cleveland aboard the Scythia. She is 24, a servant, who had been in the US before. Her destination was 1555 Yuklet Ave [sic]. Her previous residence was written down as "Rostnim", which could have been a misunderstanding of "Rostrevor."⁵ In 1900 there is a Susan Brennan working as a live-in cook for the Dr. Harry W. Osborn family at 1555 Euclid Ave.⁶ She is the same person who was aboard the Scythia, and could be the Susan Brennan from Kilfeaghan.

As mentioned, Susan married John McGee in 1910. At the time she was 28, a seamstress living at 9208 Crane Ave. Her parents' names are stated on the record as Peter Brennan and Ann Savage. Susan and John were married by James J. Quinn, a Catholic priest.¹ They were evidently married at St. Catherine's church, since that is the address of James J Quinn on the 1910 Census, namely 3443 East 93rd.

I was able to trace Susan (Brennan) McGee back to Killowen through her nephew John's information. In 1930 John Brennan was a boarder with the McGees at 3596 East 106th. He was 25, born in Northern Ireland, working as a carpenter, and had arrived in the United States in 1927.⁶ John Brennan's information at Ellis Island shows that he actually arrived October 5, 1925, on the Adriatic. On the manifest he states that his father is John Brennan of Kilgeaghan [sic], Killowen, Co. Down, Ireland, and he is headed to his aunt, Mrs. McGee, at 9916 Aetna, Cleveland, Ohio. "Kilgeaghan" should be "Kilfeaghan."⁷

Susan's brother John had a number of children who came to Cleveland, namely:

John T Brennan, who married Martha McGovern,
Marie Brennan, who married James J. Connolly,
Margaret Brennan who married a McCarthy,
Susan Brennan who married a Pringle, and
Peter Brennan who married Julia Jordan.⁸

As mentioned, Susan died in December 1955 and was buried from St. Catherine's on December 20. Her brother John, in County "Dawn" Ireland, is mentioned in her death notice.⁹

For information on Susan's husband, John McGee, see John McGee, Kilkeel to Cleveland.

Credits

Picture of the farmland at Kilfeaghan Road is © Copyright Eric Jones and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Footnotes

"Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records and Indexes, 1810-1973", image at ancestry.com.
"Ohio, County Naturalization Records, 1800-1977," index and images, FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K8H9-5Q2 : accessed 03 Sep 2013), Susan Mcgee, 1937.
Death Notice for Susan (Brennan) McGee, in the Cleveland Library News Index.
John McGee's death record at "Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X6PX-SBS : accessed 02 Sep 2013), John J Mc Gee, 1953.
"Ellis Island Records", http://ellisisland.org/search/passRecord.asp?MID=06162514290001337952&pID;=602942010030
Start at http://stevemorse.org/ for Ellis Island searches.
"United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MMZ9-F54 : accessed 03 Sep 2013), Susie Brennan in entry for Homer W Osborn, 1900.
New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 http://interactive.ancestry.com/7488/NYT715_3732-0324/2001545919?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.com%2fcgi-bin%2fsse.dll%3fdb%3dnypl%26cj%3d1%26rs_f86__date%3d2%26rank%3d0%26hc%3d50%26rg_f86__date%3d1927%26pcc%3d2%26year%3d1500%26rs_81004011__date%3d2%26gsln%3dbrennan*%26yearend%3d10000%26gsfn%3djohn*%26rg_81004011__date%3d1905%26fh%3d0%26netid%3dcj%26o_xid%3d0002370638%26o_lid%3d0002370638%26o_sch%3dAffiliate%2bExternal&ssrc;=&backlabel;=ReturnSearchResults
Death Notice for John Brennan, April 27, 1973, in the Cleveland Library News Index
Death Notice for Susan (Brennan) McGee, in the Cleveland Library News Index.