My Old Ohio Home - Killowen

Rose Sloan and Richard Farrell, Killowen to Cleveland

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

SS Campania

This is a reworking of an older article. What's new:

the death information of Rose's father
Richard Farrell's birth information
elimination of a few candidates for Rose's mother

Rose Sloan and Richard Farrell were married in the Roman Catholic Chapel of Our Lady in Rostrevor on January 2, 1896. Rose said she was of full age, living in Ballincurry, the daughter of Daniel Sloan, a laborer, who had died.

So far I haven't found a birth or baptism record for Rose or for any child of Daniel Sloan from 1868 to 1874, and whoever provided the information for Rose's death record did not know her mother's name.

Rose's father is likely the Daniel Sloan on the Valuation Revision Books of Ballincurry from 1865 to 1892. He is renting a small parcel, consisting only of a house and garden, from Hugh Brennan. There were no out-buildings. Daniel died June 22, 1889, in Ballincurry at the age of 75. Rose was present at his death and provided the information for his death record.

In 1892 the parcel passed into the hands of Daniel's representatives. In 1907 the parcel went from Daniel Sloan's representatives to Rose Brennan and there is a note in the margin that says "House not quite down as reported"–if I read it right. Rose's mother might not have stayed in Ballincurry after her husband died. I don't see her there in the 1901 census. She isn't Rose Brennan, since that woman had a 25 year old son named Brennan in her 1901 household.

On the other hand, Rose's mother may have died before her father, and she might have been named Rose also, who knows. But she is not:

Rose Sloane d 28 February 1871 in Mayhereagh (?), a spinster
Rose Sloane d 19 June 1876, Drummond, a spinster
Rose Sloane d 24 April 1883 Greencastle
Rose Sloan 19 Oct 1884 in Tullyframe
Rose Sloan d 20 Jan 1893, Ballincurry, wife of James
nor any other Rose Sloan who died in Kilkeel Registration District between 1870 and 1894.

I haven't yet looked for the death of a female Sloan not named Rose during those years.

Richard Farrell's marriage information said he was living in Ballinadoalty at the time and was the son of William Farrell, a butcher. His birth record shows that Richard was born April 19, 1875, in Benagh Townland, Kilkeel, to William Farrell, a butcher, and Margaret George. Whether Upper Benagh or Lower could be determined by looking at the Valuation Revision Books again.

Richard and Rose (Sloan) Farrell were on the SS Campania when it arrived June 9, 1900, in New York from Liverpool. Between them they had $50, but were not holding tickets to their final destination, which they said was Albany, New York. They were travelling with James O'Rourke, James Murney, and Matthew Sloan. All five of them said that their last residence in Ireland was Newry. However the three young men with the Farrells were from Killowen, Rose said she was living in Ballincurry when she was married, and Richard said he was of Ballinadoalty at the time of his marriage.

Rose was 28 and Richard was 24 when they emigrated. They said they were going to the home of Mary Pearl, Richard's sister in law, at 115 Jefferson Street, Albany. There was a Mary Pearl in Albany who had been born in Ireland about 1830. She was the widow of John Pearl, and had sons Thomas (born in New York in July 1852) and John (born in Ohio about 1860). She was living at 8 Jefferson, Albany, in 1898 and 1899, but she died on March 27, 1899. I have not determined her maiden name or county of origin in Ireland. I think the Farrells actually went straight through to Cleveland with the others.

What we do know is that in the 1902 Cleveland City Directory Richard Farrell was listed at 2059 Cannon, which corresponds to about 9200 Cannon in the current numbering. In fact he might be in the 1901 Directory as the Richard Farrell at about 8000 Burke, according to the modern numbering. Both of these streets are in the Newburgh section of Cleveland. The city directories reflect the previous year's information, so that could put the Farrells in Cleveland in 1900.

Having arrived in Newburgh, the Farrells didn't go far. They were at various addresses on Cannon until at least 1935. Richard worked in a "wire mill" and a "steel mill", which sounds a lot like American Steel and Wire. In 1910 Rose said that she had been married 14 years and had given birth to one child, but it was no longer living. I didn't find a record of this child's birth in Cleveland. Their census records say that Richard and Rose had no other children.

As for births in Ireland, the civil records are on line, and I have also eliminated the following children:

Not female Farrell, d June 6, 1897. She was the daughter of John Farrell, a farmer of Carrickbroad.
Not Elizabeth Farrell, d May 8, 1899, daughter of Catherine, a farmer's wife, of Carrickbroad.
Not Peter Farrell, d December 14, 1899, son of Mary Ellen Farrell, a laborer's wife, of Rostrevor.
Not John Francis Farrell, d July 25, 1900, son of John, a laborer of Rostrevor.

Conclusion

Rose died at home, at 9220 Cannon Ave, Cleveland, on Nov 24, 1935, of complications from chronic myocarditis, which had affected her for six months. Richard died on July 16, 1937, at 4055 East 91st, of the same condition. He was working at Allyne-Ryan Foundry when he died. They were both buried in Calvary Cemetery from Donlon's Funeral Home on Miles Ave.

Sources

Manifest of the SS Campania in the Ellis Island records.
"United States Census, 1870," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M8JN-ZZ5.
"New York, State Census, 1892," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X366-GX1; 1898-1900 Albany City Directories at ancestry.com; and 1900 Census of Ward 16, Albany, Series T623, Roll 1005, page 252, at HeritageQuestOnline.com
Cleveland City Directories at ancestry.com.
"United States Census, 1910," index and images, FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/ML8G-VLT and "United States Census, 1920," index and images, FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MDRT-NFC
"Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FTDD-7PX : accessed 18 Sep 2013), Peter Farrell, 1899; citing vol. 1, p. 449, General Registry, Custom House, Dublin, Ireland; FHL microfilm 101600.
"Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FT8B-YZK : accessed 18 Sep 2013), Female Farrell, 1897; citing vol. 1, p. 579, General Registry, Custom House, Dublin, Ireland; FHL microfilm 101599.
"Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X8HT-ZLF : accessed 16 Sep 2013), Richard Farrell in entry for Rose Farrell, 1935.
"Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XZXR-661 : accessed 16 Sep 2013), Richard Farrell, 1937.
"Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FYCJ-KNP : accessed 17 Sep 2013), Richard Farrell, 1896; citing vol. 1, p. 707, General Registry, Custom House, Dublin, Ireland; FHL microfilm 101258.
"Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FYCN-9XQ : accessed 17 Sep 2013), Rose Sloan, 1896; citing vol. 1, p. 707, General Registry, Custom House, Dublin, Ireland; FHL microfilm 101258.
Ros Davies County Down Website, transcription at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rosdavies/SURNAMES/S/SloanKW.htm.
Ros Davies County Down Website, transcription at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rosdavies/SURNAMES/S/SloanAJ.htm.

Credits

Photo of the SS Campania is from Wikipedia.

A Few Sloans from Killowen and Rostrevor

2019-12-07T00:00:00-05:00

While following up the article, Ellen Sloan, Killowen to Brooklyn, I found a few more Sloan families who probably trace back to Killowen, County Down, Ireland.

Mary Ann Sloan of Brooklyn, New York

David Sloan
"native of Killowen"

In that article, I mentioned David Sloan, son of David and Julia (Feran) Sloan, and a native of Killowen, who lived in Brooklyn, New York. David's wife, Mary Ann, was also a Sloan by birth. At the time, I thought Mary Ann was born in Ireland, since some of her records said so. But other records said England, including those for the birth of two of her children, where you would assume Mary Ann herself provided the information. Her death record said her parents were James Sloan and Margaret Sloan.

As it turns out, I am pretty sure that Mary Ann was baptized May 29, 1859, in St Patrick's Church, Liverpool, England. The parents' names on that record agree with her death record in Brooklyn, and the civil record also said her mother's maiden name was Sloan.

However, I wouldn't have looked there for Mary Ann Sloan, if I hadn't first found her brother ...

James Patrick Sloan, of Charleston, South Carolina

James Sloan's
obituary picture

James Patrick Sloan was born April 27, 1861, and was baptized April 28, 1861, in St. Patrick's Church, Liverpool, son of James Sloan and Margaret Sloan.

(Note: His death record names those parents, but said James was born May 6, 1861, in Liverpool. I think this is close enough, since there were no other James Sloans in Liverpool with those parents' names. Also not everyone born in the 1800's remembered their exact birth date.)

Other children in this family were John (b April 18, 1855), Patrick (November 15, 1856), William (November 16, 1863), and Joseph (December 30, 1865.)

James Patrick spent much of his early life at sea, dating his immigration into the United States at 1887. He was naturalized in 1896, and married Ellen Theresa Prunty, in Charleston, South Carolina, on November 30, 1902. Ellen was born in South Carolina to parents born in Ireland. James worked for the Clyde-Mallory Steamship Company in their shipyard. He died February 28, 1946, in Charleston. He and Ellen had no children.

But, I wouldn't have found James unless ...

Memory Cards

... a Sloan descendant, now living in Co. Fermanagh, hadn't shared some information with me. Her grandfather was Thomas "Gunner" Sloan born in Ballincurry but later of Rostrevor. Thomas was the brother of Ellen Sloan, mentioned at the beginning of this article. Among Thomas' mementoes was a prayer book with memory cards for James P and Ellen T Sloan, of Charleston, and Alicia (Sloan) Baker, daughter of Mary Ann Sloan, of Brooklyn.

Now I knew that the same Sloan family in Rostrevor knew both these families in separate parts of the United States. That is what helped me connect James Patrick with Mary Ann, and then find their family in Liverpool, including the parents ...

James Sloan and Margaret Sloan of Liverpool, England

James and Margaret Sloan were married July 9, 1854, at St. Nicholas Church, in Liverpool. They were living on Surrey Street, Liverpool, at the time. It was the first marriage for both of them. The witnesses were William Sloan and Margaret Sloane of Greenland Street.

I found baptism records for six of their children, as already mentioned. And I am pretty sure they were living at 2 Court, Bell Street, Toxteth Park, Liverpool, in 1861, if Mary Ann was mistakenly recorded as "Margaret". James was a ship's carpenter, which might help explain why his son James went to sea. I didn't find them on earlier or later censuses, and the names are too common to be sure of their sons' information later on.

The Killowen/Rostrevor Connection

So if the family is living in Liverpool, what does all this have to do with Killowen or Rostrevor, you may ask. This: James and Margaret's marriage record named both sets of parents. James' parents were Patrick Sloan and Mary Fegan. Margaret's were James Sloan and Elizabeth Fitzpatrick.

1854 Marriage of James and Margaret Sloan

Now those names might occur together in more than one locality in Ireland, but I know they are definitely South Down names. Putting that together with the clues from the memory cards, I think we can safely say that both sides of this family were from the Killowen/Rostrevor area. Unfortunately, I never figured out how closely they were related to Thomas "Gunner" Sloan, of Rostrevor.

Conclusion

So the road ends there. The parents would have been born about 1800 or so, and there are not enough hours in the day or days left in my life to start sorting out the Sloans and Fegans on the Kilbroney parish baptism records. So we will have to be satisfied with what we have. Perhaps a descendant of one of the other sons will turn up and clarify matters. For now, we can be happy that we have tied a few loose American ends together, and traced the families back to their origin.

The sources and details for all people mentioned are in the Ohio Families tree on this site.

Credits

The photograph of David Sloan's headstone is on his page, David Sloan, at findagrave.com.

Ellen Sloan, Killowen to Brooklyn

2019-11-12T00:00:00-05:00

Introduction

Some people are easy to find, some are hard. Ellen Sloan would have been a lot easier to find if 1) she hadn't said she was the cousin of Minnie Keeves/Caves of Mullahead, County Armagh; 2) she hadn't taken a few years off her age as she got older, and 3) she had shown up on at least one United States census. Just one would have been good enough. But, for better or worse, here is her story.

Early Life

Killowen, Co. Down

Ellen Maria Sloan was born August 22, 1873, in Ballincurry Townland, Killowen, County Down, and was baptized the same day in Kilbroney Catholic Parish. She is the third known child of James Sloan and Mary Brennan, preceded by her sister Susan and a brother Peter. Following her in the family were Thomas, David, Francis and Matthew.

Ellen was still in Ballincurry in 1894 and 1895 when she was the informant on the death records of her father (July 10, 1894) and her brother Peter (April 17, 1895), but is not with the family in 1901. She may or may not be the Ellen Sloan on the 1901 census who was working as a servant in the household of Oliver Goldsmith, vicar of the Church of Ireland in Greyabbey, County Down.

Emigration and Citizenship

At any rate, Ellen Sloan left Ireland for America on October 5, 1907, from Londonderry aboard the Columbia. She said she was 30 years old, born in County Armagh, and last resided in County Armagh. She was travelling with Minnie Keeves [Caves] whose father Charles lived in Mullahead, Tandragee, Armagh. Neither had been in the U.S. before. They were both headed to Minnie's sister Frances' home at 536 North 40th Street, Brooklyn. They said their final destination was Philadelphia, but I don't think they ever got that far. They arrived in New York on October 14.

Now, this might not look like our Ellen Sloan, but I am pretty sure that it is, because…

Declaration of Intention,
Ellen Sloan, 1925

…on February 11, 1925, an Ellen Sloan declared her intention to become a citizen of the United States in the US District Court, Eastern District of New York, Brooklyn. On that occasion, she stated that she had been born in Killowen, County Down, on August 15, 1873, and had arrived on the Columbia on or about October 12, 1907. The dates match closely enough to what we have already seen to say that this is the daughter of James Sloan and Mary Brennan.

When Ellen filed her petition for naturalization on January 25, 1928, in the same court, she got the date of arrival exactly right, October 14, 1907. Both records required a physical description—Ellen was 5'6", 155 pounds, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion. She also stated that her occupation was a food checker. She became a US citizen on June 12, 1928.

Return to Ireland

Previous to that, Ellen had made a trip back to Ireland. On June 9, 1924, she arrived at Moville, Co. Donegal, on the TSS Tuscania, and was headed to Mayobridge, Newry. On her voyage back to New York she stated that her last residence in Ireland had been her nephew Peter Sloan's home in Mayobridge, County Down. Interestingly, there was a Peter Sloan in Ellen's sister's household in 1901 in Ballincurry who later lived in Mayobridge before moving to Dundalk, Co. Louth. This Peter was likely the person Ellen visited.

On the passenger manifest, Ellen said that she was going to her sister Mary Sloan's home at 306 East 3rd, Brooklyn.

David and Mary Sloan, of Brooklyn

Let's take a brief interlude to consider Ellen Sloan's destination, her "sister" Mary Sloan. Ellen had no sister Mary, and definitely no sister at all born as early as 1859, which is what Mary Sloan's information said. Mary and Ellen may have been relatives in Ireland, or acquaintances. Or Ellen Sloan may have been related to Mary's husband David.

David Sloan was born about 1855, the son of David Sloan and Julia Feran. His tombstone said he was a native of Killowen, County Down. I didn't look through the baptism registers for David, but there was a Mary Sloan baptized April 19, 1850, in Kilbroney Parish, daughter of David Sloan and Julia Feran. David died February 3, 1908, and is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Brooklyn.

David's wife, Mary Sloan, was also a Sloan by birth, the daughter of James Sloan and Margaret Sloan. She died June 10, 1930, and is buried with her husband. The headstone gave her birth as May 14, 1859. I have a feeling that Mary was also from Killowen or nearby, but I couldn't find her on the Kilbroney or Kilkeel baptism registers, at least as indexed at ancestry.com and findmypast.ie. But Sloan is a common enough name throughout Ireland, so Mary may have been from somewhere else.

Update: I found a bit more on Mary Sloan after all. It is included in the article A Few Sloans from Killowen and Rostrevor.

Later Years

Getting back to Ellen Sloan, you will remember that she was headed for 306 East 3rd, Brooklyn, in 1924. She is listed in the 1933 Brooklyn City Directory at that address. But alas, not on the 1930 Census at that address with Mary Sloan, her son, daughter, and granddaughter. Which kept her census slate clean, since I didn't find her in 1910 or 1920, in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, or Cleveland, where her brother Matt had settled.

Ellen Sloan died 22 Oct 1939, in Brooklyn. Her last residence was 306 East 3rd, Brooklyn, her occupation–food checker. The death record gave the names of her parents as James Sloane and Mary Brennan. Interestingly, it also said she was widowed and her husband's name had been John, no last name given. On all her earlier records–the passenger manifests and her naturalization documents–she said she was unmarried. I never found a trace of a marriage.

Ellen is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Brooklyn. There is no listing for her on findagrave.com, so I don't know the plot number or whether there is a stone or not; the cemetery might be willing to provide that information. There was no death notice in the Brooklyn Eagle for the dates October 23 to 25.

Conclusion

So in the end, I am about 99% sure this is the Ellen Sloan born in 1873 in Ballincurry. Which is about all the certainty you can expect from paper records, I guess. It would have been a little better, as I said at the beginning, if she hadn't claimed to be Minnie Keeves' cousin or, for that matter, if her death record hadn't said she was a widow. But in the first case, she may have needed a destination in the United States to be admitted, and may have known Minnie from working as a domestic servant. As far as "widow" on her death certificate goes, that information could only come from her survivors, probably a neighbor, or a relative of Mary Sloan. Although, they did get her parents' names correct. Well, we might just have to end it there…

Sources and details for Ellen Sloan are in the Ohio Families tree on this site.

Credits

The picture of Carlingford Lough and Killowen, "IMG_9643" by mary_mac_82, is licensed under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 .

Rourkes of Ballintur--1793 to 1901

2018-10-08T00:00:00-04:00

John Rourke, first revision book

In this, as it turns out rather long, article, we are going to start in 1901 and walk ourselves back through the Ballintur records, looking only at the Rourke families, trying to trace each family back as far as we can. As I read it over again I am reminded of the probably apochryphal words of James Joyce upon finishing Ulysses: "It took me twenty years to write it so it can take them twenty years to figure it out."

1901 Census

On the 1901 census of Ballintur Townland, Kilbroney, County Down, there are three families named Rourke.

Family 1: John and Edward Rourke, uncle and nephew. households 2 and 3. Occupied various parcels of land whose numbers started with 23.

Family 2: James Rourke and son Francis. household 18. parcel 1.

Family 3: Thomas Rourke and son Felix. household 16. parcel 3.

Griffith's Valuation

On Griffith's Valuation, taken in 1863 and 1864 in County Down, these three families and their holdings are as follows:

Family 1: Edward Rourke, the father of the Edward Rourke in 1901: 17 acres, 3 roods, 38 perches.

Family 2: John Rourke, Jr, the father of James Rourke in 1901: 9 acres, 2 roods, 10 perches.
John Jr was also subleasing 1 acre, 1 rood, 15 perches to someone else.

Family 3: Felix Rourke, the father of Thomas Rourke in 1901: 7 acres, 3 roods.

They are joined by two other Rourke households:

John Rourke, son of Terence: 7 acres, 1 rood, 20 perches, as parcels 4A and 4B.
John appears to have died by 1867. His land passed to Stephen Cull and then to Stephen's son Patrick.

Owen Rourke: 1 acre, 3 roods, 15 perches as parcel 8.
Owen also sublet a total of 2 acres, 2 roods, 35 perches to other men. One of these men was Edward Sloane, who by 1873 had taken over parcel 8 as well.

Tithe Applotment Books, 1834

The Tithe Applotment Books "were compiled between 1823 and 1837 in order to determine the amount which occupiers of agricultural holdings over one acre should pay in tithes to the Church of Ireland," according to information on National Archives of Ireland: Tithe Applotment Books page.

Images of The Tithe Applotment Book for Kilbroney Parish can be found at PRONI-Tithe Applotment Book for Kilbroney. A transcription/index of them can be found at Tithe Applotment Book - Kilbroney Index.

(Edited this next section December 17, 2019)

Here are the Rourkes and their total holdings in acres, roods, and perches. There were 40 perches in a rood, and 4 roods in an acre. I listed them in the same order as in the book, but there were other families in between.

[other families preceding]
John Snr Rourke 3 acres, 1 rood, 15 perches
James Rourke 10 acres, 1 rood, 19 perches
William Rourke 6 acres, 19 perches
John Jnr Rourke 7 acres, 1 rood, 6 perches

[1 other family]
Owen Rourke 5 acres, 1 rood, 35 perches

[other families]
Felix Rourke 1 acre, 34 perches
John Snr Rourke, again 9 acres, 18 perches

[other families]
Terence Rourke 7 acres, 2 roods, 10 perches
Felix Rourke, again 7 acres, 1 rood, 27 perches

[other families following]

(Edited this next section in April 2019 and December 2019)

At this point, I really should look at the Kilbroney Parish records to see who was alive and who wasn't, and how old they were in 1834, but here goes anyway.

I'm almost positive that James Rourke of the Tithe Applotment Book was the father of Edward Rourke listed on Griffith's. That would make him an ancestor of "family 1" found on the 1901 census.

I'm also almost positive that John Rourke Jnr from the Tithe Applotment Book, is the same as John Jr on Griffith's Valuation, putting him in "family 2".

And Felix Rourke also shows up in both the Tithe Applotment Book and on Griffith's. He is an ancestor of "family 3".

Next to consider: Owen and Terence Rourke, who were in both the Tithe Applotment Book and on Griffith's. Neither of their families seem to have lasted much past Griffith's Valuation, or at least not as land tenants in Ballintur. I don't know where they fit in with the others.

Next, John Rourke Sr of the Tithe Applotment Book is not listed in Griffith's Valuation. He might be the John Rourke who died at age 85 in 1857, a few years before Griffith's Valuation. And he may be the father of Michael Rourke, who is on Griffith's in Ballyneddan. Michael was the husband of Alice Cunningham. Both John and Michael were blacksmiths. Michael's son Frank, in Peoria, Illinois, said his grandfather died at age 86. That would make John about 37 when his first child was born, and 50 when his youngest was born.

That leaves William in the Tithe Applotment Books. The given name "William" occurs in Michael Rourke's family in Ballyneddan as well in "family 1" later in the 1800's. But I haven't found it so far in either "family 2" or "family 3". Was William more closely related to John Rourke Sr and to James Rourke than to the other families? It is hard to tell.

And was this William Rourke the husband of Rose Fitzsimmons, the couple that settled in Dubuque, Iowa? According to descendants of that couple, William was from Ballintur. William arrived in the US by June 22, 1847–after the Tithes Applotment Books and before Griffith's Valuation. See William O'Rourke and Rose Fitzsimons at 50webs.com.

Freeholders' List, 1819

The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland says that "Freeholders were men who either owned their land outright or who held it in a lease for the duration of their life, or the lives of other people named in the lease."

On this list we find the following Rourke men, as freeholders in Ballintur, all renting from William Needham, and all recorded in Kilkeel on October 22, 1819:

Felix Rorke, holding his land for his life or the lives of: Thomas, John, Richard Rorke
Francis Rorke, holding his land for his life or the lives of: Michael, Terence, John Rork
Terence Rorke, holding his land for his life or the lives of: Michael, Terence, John Rork
James Rourke, holding his land for his life or the lives of: William Rourke, James Sloane, Fra. Rourke

Because of his given name, I think it is safe to say that Felix Rorke is part of family 3, and is probably the man listed in 1834 by that name.

James Rourke is very likely family 1, and the same James Rourke as in 1834. Note that he is the only one who names a "William" as a man for whose life he his holding the lease. Does this connect William with family 1 again? Is he the same William as on the Tithe Applotment Books?

Francis Rorke is very likely family 2. The given name re-occurs later in that family. But where does he fit in to the land succession on the Ballintur parcels? He is probably a contemporary of John Rourke Senior, and we put John Senior on family 2's parcels, or kind of anyway.

Also interesting is the fact that Francis and Terence both list the same three men, but I don't know what to make of it. Are Francis and Terence brothers? If so, does Terence belong with family 2? Are all three men naming three men younger than themselves, to guarantee that their lease won't end anytime soon? I don't know.

Freeholders List, 1793

This list and the one from 1819 are both combined and are found at PRONI: Freeholders Records, which says "1793-1829 - Protestants and Catholics with 40 shilling freeholds were allowed to vote."

There are two Rourke men in Ballintur on this list from 1793. Both registered in Newry on 24 October 1793:

William Rork
Thomas Rork

This looks to me like the generation before the men listed in 1819. Looking at the Kilbroney Parish Records we find a burial of a Thomas Rourke in 1814, a William in 1816, and another William in 1819 at age 78.

And on the other end of things, the men on the 1819 list might be explained by the Parish Records:
1) A Felix Rourke marries and starts a family in 1821.
2) Likewise for a Francis in 1814.
3) I'm fairly sure that my ancestor, James was born about 1799, obviously too late for the 1793 list, but age 20 in 1819. Could he have been the tenant of record at age 20 if his father was one of the men named William who had just died? Sounds possible. James' first known child was born in 1822.
4) Terence may have married before the marriage records start in 1813.

So, by the time we work backward to the 1793 Freeholders list, have the three families we started with in 1901 merged into only two? If so, then William is likely the progenitor of Family 1 and Thomas of Family 2 and Family 3.

Conclusion

Now is the time to pause and look back at our journey and realize that, for the most part before 1864, we have been walking in 'the mists of time.' Your guess as to how these families fit together is just as good as mine. We've been working without all the other types of records available for the British Isles and American colonies for the same time period: censuses, births, marriages, deaths, wills, and deeds.

So what is our next destination? In my dreams, I am going to the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland in Belfast, which holds the Kilmorey Papers, the records of the landowners for Ballintur and surrounding townlands. Regarding the Papers, the Introduction says:

"Rental material is fairly abundant, although much - particularly for the Newry estate, post-1881 -- has been retained for business purposes. For 1810 and 1811 there are rent ledgers-cum-leasebooks for the entire Irish estates of the 12th Viscount Kilmorey in Cos Armagh, Down and Louth, giving details of leases back to 1731. A later rent ledger of 1813, also covering the entire estate, includes a list of 'Tithes of the Lordship of Kilmorey' -- a term which does not seem to be used elsewhere. There is a good run of Newry rentals, 1820-1881, with a largely uninterrupted blank between 1840 and 1870; and a complete run of Mourne (ie Kilkeel and Greencastle) estate rentals, 1882-1906."

Perhaps there is enough information for Ballintur to identify the Rourke tenants before 1864. I am guessing that Ballintur would fall into the Newry rental section. In actual fact, I will probably take a longer look at the Parish Records and see if I can fit the families together a bit.

Update, January 2018

I emailed PRONI to ask if the Kilmorey Papers contained the rental books for Ballintur, and the person who replied showed me how to search the collection myself. I clicked on a few links and found out that the rental books for the Mourne Estate were included for 1837, 1838, and then from about 1870 forward. (Ballintur was part of the family's Mourne Estate.) Those years would not tell us anything about the three O'Rourke families that we don't already know. So our walk through the past in Ballintur is going to end in the mist—and I won't be going to Belfast anytime soon.

Credits

Image of the First Valuation Revision Book is from the PRONI site and is subject to Crown copyright protection

William O'Rourke, Killowen to Cleveland

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

William O'Rourke, 1930

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 Down—and probably on the crossing to Liverpool—William re-instates the O' in front of the Anglicized version of his name. On the manifest of the HMS Majestic, which was "filled out not at Ellis Island but at the immigrants' ports of departure" ¹, he gives his name as William O'Rourke and his home as Ballinatore. He had thirty dollars in his pocket. The story is that he sold the family's cow to pay for his trip.

William was accompanied by a John O'Rourke age 37, single, and a naturalized U.S. citizen, also from Ballinatore. John had lived in Cleveland for six years, and was headed to his brother's house on Detroit St. John O'Rourke must have been a relative of William but he is not William's brother John, who stayed in Ireland.

Edited March 31, 2019. John O'Rourke was William's first cousin, christened January 22, 1860, the son of Edward Rourke and Rose Fagan, and a fellow a resident of Ballintur. See his article here: John O'Rourke Who Arrived in 1899.

The ship sailed on June 14, 1899 and they arrived in New York thirteen days later. Presumably they took the train to Cleveland. Once there, William may or may not have headed to the home of "J. O'Rourke". In 1900 William was boarding with Thomas and Susan Boland at 1626 Harvard St. This address is now approximately at 86th and Harvard. (The streets in Cleveland were renamed and reorganized in 1905.)

Passenger manifest of the HMS Majestic, from Liverpool June 14, 1899, left

Passenger manifest of the HMS Majestic, from Liverpool June 14, 1899, right

Those familiar with the O'Rourkes will recognize 86th and Harvard as an address in Newburgh. William never left Newburgh. He was married at Holy Name Church in 1904, He lived at (possibly) 2212 East 76th (1907), 9007 Cannon (1909), 3987 E. 89th (1910), 8008 Finney (1918), 8605 Finney (1920), 9540 Harvard (1930), and 4306 E. 131st (1943). On a reasonably scaled map you could cover almost all these addresses with a single half-dollar.

William later lived with his son and daughter-in-law in the E. 131st Street area as well. When he went into a nursing home it was on Granger Road. He seems to have brought with him from Ireland the Irishman's resistance to being transplanted from his homeland. You might move me once, but never again.

Something else that William brought from Ireland, I suspect, was reflected in his tendency to spend most of his free time in the cellar. Even while he was raising and providing for a family, he would go down to the basement after dinner and listen to his radio until it was time for bed. He managed to be both a recluse and the father of eight children.

inside of an Irish cottage

Forty years after his death, I came across the following passage in The Great Hunger, by Cecil Woodham-Smith. Read it and see if it doesn't explain why William, who was born in a two-room stone dwelling with a thatched roof and two windows, felt more comfortable in the basement:

"Cellar dwellings, whether in English towns or the cities of North America, were almost invariably occupied by the Irish. Poverty, ignorance and bewilderment brought them there, but it must not be forgotten that cellar dwellings resembled the dark, mud-floored cabins in which over half the population of Ireland had been accustomed to live."

For William's father see John Rourke of Ballintur, Killowen, County Down. For William's brother see James O'Rourke, Killowen to Cleveland.

Footnotes

1: Ellis Island, Where Did Passenger Information Come From?

Credits

Photo of Irish cottage from: momomomo's photostream.

Another James O'Rourke, Killowen to Cleveland

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James O'Rourke, 1941

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.

The y-DNA of a descendant of James Rourke and Mary Hughes has been tested. It matches the y-DNA of a descendant of another O'Rourke family in Ballintur on all of the first 25 markers and on 34 of 37 markers, showing that there is a common ancestor to these two families sometime since 1500 or so, possibly more recently than that. That other family is my own, descended from James Rourke and Ann "Nancy" Colgan.

There was a third O'Rourke family in Ballintur, descended from Felix Rourke and Alice Cull. I haven't seen DNA results from this family.

Edited November 2018

All three O'Rourke families are DNA related. See the DNA articles on this site for more details.

Getting back to our subject, James O'Rourke (b 1894) was still in Ireland in 1911 and arrived in the United States on August 4, 1923, at Lewiston, New York, crossing from Canada. I don't know where he was between 1911 and 1923. He settled in Cleveland, Ohio, and might be the the man of that name at 1060 East 78th Street in the 1924 and 1925 city directories.

He married Mary Burke on June 23, 1932, and they had three children listed on the 1940 census. James died in April 1976 in Euclid, Ohio.

For an article on James' wife, see: Mary Burke of Cloondergan, Galway, and Cleveland, Ohio.

There is much more on all these families in the Ohio Families tree on this website.

Charles and Margaret (O'Rourke) McNally of Cleveland, Ohio

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Continued from Michael O'Rourke, Killowen to Cleveland.

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,¹ and was baptized in Pontop, Durham, England, on February 11, 1877.²

In 1881 she is with her parents and family, including a brother Charles, at 50 Bottle Bank, Blackhill, in the Civil Parish of Benfieldside, Durham.³ In 1891, the family, including Mary but not Charles, is still in Blackhill.⁴

Mary's brother Charles was likely born April 11, 1862, in Ireland. His later information said that he emigrated somewhere around 1884 to 1887 and was naturalized by 1900.⁵ I haven't looked for his naturalization record.

On October 25, 1892, in Cuyahoga County, Charles was married to Margaret O'Rourke.⁶ Margaret was born August 18, 1863, in Ireland, most likely in or near Ballyneddan Townland, Killowen, County Down, the daughter of Michael O'Rourke and Alice Cunningham.⁷

Another O'Rourke? I guess you can see where we are going with this now.

Charles and Margaret had three children: Francis C (born 1893), William J (1895), and Margaret S (1898). In 1900 the McNally family was living at 24 Everett St, Cleveland. This was the same address as the young gentleman we started with, namely Michael O'Rourke, and his aunt Mrs Thomas Farron.⁸

Conclusion

So we have answered one of our questions from last time: Mary McNally and Michael O'Rourke were living in the same home at the time they were married because Michael was living with his aunt and Mary was probably living with her brother.

We have also taken a giant step closer to knowing the name of Michael's aunt Mrs Thomas Farron. Margaret (O'Rourke) McNally is the right age to be Mrs. Farron's sister, and is living in the same house at the same time. So Mrs. Farron was probably a Miss O'Rourke.

But can we put them all together and sort them out? And what about ‘Chicago and Peoria, Ill, papers please copy' in Michael's death notice?

Continued in Some Children of Michael Rourke and Alice Cunningham.

Postscript

If I were looking for the Irish county of origin for the McNallys, I would like to see the death records for Mary and Charles' parents. There is a death record for an Ann McNally in Sunderland, Durham, in the fourth quarter of 1891. And one for a Michael McNally in Gateshead, Durham, in the fourth quarter of 1913. I don't know what information is on a British death record for that era. They might not list exact places of birth, but even if they only listed the surnames of their mothers, it would help narrow things down in Ireland.

Edited November 21, 2013, to add that a comment at genforum.genealogy.com says that the McNallys were from Belfast:

"[Michael's] wife Mary Ann McNally from Belfast (emigrated to England before coming to the U.S."
-- Patricia Patterson, August 29, 2004, "Re: Michael James O'Rourke of Rostrevor b. 1877″ in O'Rourke Family Genealogy Forum, at:
http://genforum.genealogy.com/orourke/messages/741.html

Footnotes

England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915 about Mary McNalley
Name: Mary McNalley
Date of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep 1876
Registration District: Stockton
Inferred County: Durham
Volume: 10a
Page: 69
Maria Mcnally, "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975″
Name: Maria Mcnally
Gender: Female
Christening Place: Pontop, Durham, England
Father's Name: Michaelis Mcnally
Mother's Name: Annae Connor Mcnally
"England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NJJC-16J : accessed 18 Nov 2013), Maria Mcnally, 11 Feb 1877.
1881 Census, Michael Mc Nally household, at ancestry.com. Note space in last name. It changes the indexing.
1891 Census of the Mick McNalley household, at ancestry.com. Note spelling of names.
1900, 1910, and 1920 Censuses.
Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records and Indexes, 1810-1973, at ancestry.com
"Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X8LS-DLF : accessed 14 Nov 2013), Charles Mcnally in entry for Margaret Mcnally, 26 Apr 1927; citing Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, reference fn 21585; FHL microfilm 1984846.
"United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MMCY-WZ7 : accessed 18 Nov 2013), Chas Mcnally, ED 25 Precinct C Cleveland City Ward 6, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States; citing sheet 3A, family 50, NARA microfilm publication T623, FHL microfilm 1241252.

Christina O'Rourke, Killowen to Chicago

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Continued from Some Children of Michael Rourke and Alice Cunningham.

Besides the children we mentioned in the last article, Michael Rourke and Alice Cunningham had two other sons and another daughter listed in the Kilbroney Church Records. they are:

John Rourke, baptized December 5, 1844, sponsors: Murtagh Cunningham and Sarah Chronicle
Mary Rourke, baptized November 27, 1845, sponsors: Bernard Rorke and Ann Sloan
William Rourke, baptized September 30, 1847, Patrick Chronicle and
Catherine Cunningham.¹

In turn, this William Rourke married Margaret McVeigh and had three children listed on the Church Records:

Michael Rourke, baptized May 1, 1877, sponsors: James McVeigh and Margaret Rorke
John Rourke, baptized September 19, 1878, sponsors: Richard Rorke and
Selina McVeigh
Mary Ann Rourke, baptized January 27, 1880, sponsors: John Fearon and Mary
Rourke¹

Did William and Margaret have any other children?

As we saw in the first article, William's son Michael J O'Rourke emigrated to Cleveland and was living with his aunt Annie (O'Rourke) in 1900. A posting on Genforum in 2004, said the following:

"At the time of his death (1919) Michael had a sister living at 5603 Princeton Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. There are very few pieces of correspondence, and none of them mention this sister's name. She is simply referred to as sister."²

Another posting in 2005 said:

"Looking for any info on Thomas Flood, born 1883 in County Mayo, Ireland died in 1942. Also any info on Christine O'Rourke born 1885 in County Down, Ireland whom he was married to. We are also trying to find any info on John Flood, a merchant who aided in the Cherry mine disaster in Illinois."³

Putting the information from both posts together, we can look for a Thomas and Christina Flood living in Chicago. Could this be Michael's sister?

Well yes, it is. In 1920, Thomas and Christina Flood were living at 5603 Princeton Ave, Chicago, with three children: Thomas (age 6), William (4), and George (2).⁴ By 1930 they had three other children: Margaret, Maurice, and Michael. In 1930 and 1940 they were living at 5530 South Shields Ave.⁵
Christina died in January 1970 and is buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.⁶

Did Christina have any other siblings? It seems so, at least one more anyway. Christina is on the 1901 Census of Dunnaval (Mourne, Down) in house 22 with her grandfather, a sister, and a cousin:

Residents of a house 22 in Dunnaval (Mourne, Down)
Mc Veigh, John, 88, head, widower, Farmer
O Roarke, Johanna, 10, grand daughter, scholar, single
O Roarke, Christina, 16, grand daughter, farmers Gr. Daughter, single
Doyle, James, 26, grand son, labour, single

All were Roman Catholic. All were born in Co. Down. None spoke Irish. All but John McVeigh could read and write. He could do neither.⁷

Note the spaces in the surnames. I think that affected how they were indexed.

The birth or baptism records for Christina and Johanna would have to be consulted to be sure, but for our purposes here I think it is safe to say that they are sisters. They would both be daughters of William Rourke and Margaret McVeigh.

Unfortunately, the only other record I could find for Johanna O'Rourke was an indexed reference to a death record of a 21 year old woman by that name who died in the first quarter of 1911 in Kilkeel.⁸ This would match her age and last known location. Again, the record might provide more information.

Conclusion

Look back up at the baptismal records and you will see the name Selina McVeigh as godmother to Margaret McVeigh's son John in 1878. Remember that name—next stop is the McVeighs.

Continued in Selina (McVeigh) Kelly, of Kilkeel and Chicago.

Edited March 2018

With the civil birth registrar online, I found records of more children of William and Margaret. The records confirmed that Christina and Johanna were part of the family, as well as Francis (b 1882), James (1885), and Margaret (1887). And that was their daughter Johanna who died in 1911, January 28 to be exact, of diphtheria. So we reached the right conclusions, in a round about way.

Footnotes

Kilbroney Church Records, transcription of Rourkes, received from researcher in 2009.
Patricia Patterson, August 31, 2004, "Re: Michael James O'Rourke of Rostrevor b. 1877" in O'Rourke Family Genealogy Forum.
Debra Flood, September 19, 2005, "Thomas Sieford Flood/ Christine O'Rourke" in Flood Family Genealogy Forum.
"United States Census, 1920," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MJ76-YZX : accessed 21 Nov 2013), Thomas Flood, Chicago Ward 31, Cook (Chicago), Illinois, United States; citing sheet , family 151, NARA microfilm publication T625, FHL microfilm 1820348.
"United States Census, 1930," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XSLP-7HR : accessed 21 Nov 2013), Thomas S Flood, Chicago (Districts 0501-0750), Cook, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 0653, sheet , family 148, NARA microfilm publication .
Social Security Death Index, and Chicago Tribune, February 1, 1970, "Death Notice of Christina Flood." at http://interactive.ancestry.com/50000/642263912/1394301?backurl=http%3a%2f%
2fsearch.ancestry.com%2fcgi-bin%2fsse.dll%3fgst%3d-6&ssrc=&backlabel=
National Archives of Ireland, www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Down/Mourne/Dunnaval/1236714/
"Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FRJ4-FY3 : accessed 22 Nov 2013), Johana O'Rourke, 1911; citing vol. 1, p. 441, General Registry, Custom House, Dublin, Ireland; FHL microfilm 0101605.

Henry Sands, Killowen to Cleveland

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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.

Henry's father, Daniel Sands, occupied parcels 9 and 13 in Ballincurry from 1867 until his death in the first quarter of 1900. He leased it first from John Henry Offley and later from William C Heron. When Daniel died his eldest son Thomas took over the farm.² Six of Daniel's children emigrated to the southeast section of Cleveland, Ohio, called Newburgh.

Most of Henry Sands' information said that he arrived in the United States about 1887, and there is a record of a 20 year old male laborer, Hy. Sands, aboard the Nevada which sailed from Liverpool and Queenstown and arrived in New York on June 1, 1887.³ In 1891 he was working as a polisher and living with his brother James at 42 Ellsworth. This street ran south from about 8700 Woodland, but is not on the map anymore. Henry was naturalized in 1895.⁴

Henry Sands and Mary Winter were married on November 24, 1897, in Cleveland,⁵ and their first of their seven children was born in September of the following year. In 1900 the Sands were living at 306 Union St, which became 7510 Union Ave after 1906.⁶ By 1907 they were at 9512 Heath Ave, where the family remained until at least 1940. Henry worked as an iron moulder in a foundry for most of his life.⁷

Henry Sands died at home of acute nephritis on July 29, 1916, and is buried in Calvary Cemetery along with his wife.⁸

As I mentioned, Henry had brothers and sisters who also emigrated to Cleveland. They are:

James Sands, arrived 1885, married Bridget McKeon;
John Sands, arrived 1897, married Mary Quinn;
Frank Sands, arived 1899, married Mary Callan;
Alice Sands, arrived 1902, married Patrick O'Brien and lived in Chicago;
Susan Sands, arrived 1904, married Michael McGuire.⁹

I focused on Henry Sands in this family because my mother graduated from high school with his youngest daughter.

There is more about the Sands family, along with updated sources, in the Ohio Families tree on this site.

For more on the family of John Sands' wife, Mary Quinn, see: Hugh Quinn, Kilkeel to Cleveland.

Footnotes:

"Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F5G9-Y9F : accessed 20 Sep 2013), Henry Sands, 18 Oct 1867.
Images of the Valuation Revision Books, at the Public Records of Northern Ireland (PRONI) website.
New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, at ancestry.com
Cleveland City Directories, images at ancestry.com
Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records and Indexes, 1810-1973, at ancestry.com.
"United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MMZF-CD3 : accessed 07 Sep 2013), Mary Sands, 1900.
City directories and census records.
"Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X8N2-4G3 : accessed 07 Sep 2013), Henry Sands, 1916.
Various records: ellisisland.org, Cuyahoga County Marriages, etc.

James Murney, Killowen to Cleveland

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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.¹ His family, and those of his uncles who remained in Ireland, are on the transcription of the 1901 Census of Ballincurry.²

On June 9, 1900, James Murney, Matthew Sloan, James O'Rourke, and Richard and Rose Farrell arrived on the SS Campania from Liverpool. James Murney and the others said that their last residence was Newry. It was the first trip to the United States for all of them. There are articles about all these people on this site, as well as information in the Cleveland Families tree.

James Murney was 21, a laborer, and was headed to a friend's home on Harvard St in Cleveland. He had paid for his own passage and was carrying $20 as well as a ticket to his destination. Based on James O'Rourke's information, James Murney was headed to the home of James O'Rourke's brother, William O'Rourke.³

On the 1900 Census taken just a few days previous to this, William O'Rourke was boarding at 1626 Harvard St with the family of Thomas and Susan Bolan.⁴ This address corresponds to about 86th and Harvard after the streets in Cleveland were re-numbered in 1906.⁵

I don't think either James or William remained with the Bolans for long. The O'Rourke family says that William spent some time at the home of his father in law, Edward "Ned" Rodgers at 2484 Elmo,⁶ and that is where we find James Murney also in the 1901 to 1905 Cleveland City Directories.⁷ This became 4025 East 89th after the street re-numbering.

While living with the Rodgers, James served as the best man at the wedding of William O'Rourke to one of the Rodgers' daughters, Anna (Rodgers) McCracken, on November 3, 1904 in Holy Name Church, at 89th and Broadway.⁸

James Murney returned to Ireland in 1905, re-entering the United States on September 1, on board the SS Lucania. On this trip he was accompanied by his brother William, a blacksmith, a cousin, John Hughes, 22 and also a blacksmith, and James O'Rourke, who had returned to Ireland also. James Murney said he was headed home to his cousin Peter Murney's house on Superior Ave,⁹ but he ended up with the Hughes family at 8323 Harvard (1906 Cleveland Directory).

In 1907 James became a policeman with the City of Cleveland, a position he held for the rest of his life. When he registered for the draft in 1918, he said he was stationed at Precinct 11. This was either on 105th near Euclid Ave, or at 105-- Euclid, the writing is unclear.¹¹

From about 1907 and apparently until his marriage, James boarded with Catharine Hughes, her son John Henry, and daughter Catherine Logue, at 8807 Harvard Ave.¹² We'll believe the census information that says that this John Hughes was born in Ohio, so he might not be the same John Hughes that arrived with James in 1905.

A family tree at ancestry.com gives the exact date of the marriage of James Murney to Helen Quinn as June 8, 1910.¹³ It would be interesting to learn who the best man was and where the marriage took place.

James and Helen purchased a home at 1262 East 83rd and raised two sons. In 1940 the house was worth $3200. James had worked 48 hours the previous week and 52 weeks in 1939 as a policeman for the city of Cleveland, for a yearly income of possibly $2419 (the amount is unclear.) James had received six years of education, his wife Helen had received eight.¹⁴

James died at Charity Hospital on April 10, 1941. He had suffered with stomach cancer the last year and one half of his life, and apparently was forced to retire from the police in November of 1940. The full names and birth places of both his parents appear on his death record. James was buried in Calvary Cemetery on April 14 from F. McGinty's at 8112 Superior.¹⁵

I pass this information along not because the Murneys' ancestry hasn't been researched, but mainly to show the inter-connections of all these families who emigrated from the Kilbroney and Kilkeel areas of County Down to the Newburgh section of Cleveland, Ohio. Check the tags and categories on this site for articles about some of the others.

Footnotes

Ireland, Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881, familysearch.org
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~meaneypj/CoDownStuff/1901Census/1901CensusKilbroneyCP/Page1-Kilbroney1901_Census.htm
Ellisisland.org, via stevemorse.org for Steve Morse's One Step searches. Look for last names, because some of the first names were obliterated by tape. I found them by looking for Matthew Sloan, whose name was indexable, if not very readable.
1900 Federal Census, Ohio, Cuyahoga Co., 27th Ward of Cleveland.
Series T623, Roll 1257, page 309, found at HeritageQuestOnline.com under "Rourke", but I haven't found it yet at Ancestry. You will need a library card to access HeritageQuest.
For a guide to the Cleveland street re-organization, see the Cleveland Public Library's page at Old and New Street Numbers. or a kind soul's page at rootsweb: Cleveland Street Changes 1906.
1900 Census information for Edward and Ann Rodgers, Ohio, Cuyahoga Co., 26th Ward of Cleveland, Series T623, Roll 1257, page 177.
Cleveland City Directories, at ancestry.com
Photocopy of church marriage record for William O'Rourke, in possession of a descendant.
Ellisisland.org, via stevemorse.org.
Cuyahoga Co Naturalizations at rootsweb.com.
City Directories and World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, ancestry.com.
City Directories, and 1910 Census at ancestry.com, Roll: T624_1173; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 0269.
http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/4644209/person/930006270
1940 Census of Cleveland, ED 92-531, page 9, at Ancestry, but again via stevemorse.org for his 1940 Census ED finder.
Image of death record at familysearch.org.