My Old Ohio Home - O'Rourke

John and Henry O'Rourke—Kilkeel to Cleveland

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

Aerograph of Collinwood Yards, Cleveland(footnote)The aerial view of the Collinwood Railroad yards comes from the Michael Schwartz Library, Cleveland State University and is found at The Cleveland Memory Project.

While looking for the John O'Rourke who came with William O'Rourke from Killowen to Cleveland (see William O'Rourke, 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. I'll sketch it out here—the details are in the Trees > Ohio Families section of this site.

John was baptized December 3, 1846, in Kilkeel Catholic Parish, the son of John Rourke and Catherine Rourke (that was her maiden name.) His death record in Cleveland said he was born December 6 of that year, but 1) people didn't always know their exact birth date, 2) sons don't always remember their deceased parents' information, and 3) I don't think all priests remember the exact date they baptized a child. His death record did say that his father's name was John, but didn't give his mother's name.

John's brother Henry was baptized August 27, 1848, in Kilkeel. His death record said he was born August 25, 1849, but, on the plus side, listed both parents: John O'Rourke and Catherine O'Rourke. In fact, there was an "ok" next to Catherine's name, as if to say "yes that is her maiden name."

Also tying them to Kilkeel is the fact that John married a woman named Anna Rodgers, and Henry a woman named Selina (Sloan) Sands.

If Anna was from Kilkeel and if her baptism was recorded, then she might be either the daughter of James Rogers and Anne Brennan, baptized May 5, 1850, or the daughter of Pat Rogers and Ellen Carroll [or Farrell], baptized July 21, 1854. Her American records would favor the earlier of the two.

Selina Sloan, according to her death record, was born November 12, 1849, the daughter of Henry Sloane and Catherine Colgan. This couple lived in Ballymadeerfy Townland, Kilkeel, and have four of their children on the baptismal records—but not Selina. Selina was first married to Thomas Sands, who came back to Ireland for the marriage January 11, 1870. Thomas took Selina back to Cleveland in March, and their only child, Mary, was born there in November. Sadly, Thomas died the day after their first anniversary, leaving Selina a widow and a mother at the age of 21. She remarried Henry by early 1873.

On their later censuses, both John and Henry said that they had arrived in America in 1871. They both settled in the Collinwood section of Cleveland, and both worked for the railroad. Although neither of their death notices named the other, the naming patterns of their sons match closely enough to link them as brothers as well.

John died in December 1929 and Henry in the following April. Both are buried in Calvary Cemetery, Cleveland. There were other children in their birth family, but I wasn't able to find any of them in Cleveland. They may have gone elsewhere, but elsewhere is a pretty big place to look.

Updated June 2, 2019: The parents of these two men were living in Corcreaghan Townland, Kilkeel, when their sister Catherine was baptized in 1857.

Rourkes of Ballintur--1793 to 1901

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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

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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.

James O'Rourke, Killowen to Cleveland

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William & James O'Rourke,
1904

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. (William is said to have sold the family cow to pay for his own passage a few years earlier.) Traveling with James was Matt Sloan, James Murney, and Richard and Rose (Sloan) Farrell. There are articles about all these people on this website.

If these names are starting to sound familiar to those familiar with the O'Rourkes, it is because they are. James Murney was best man at William O'Rourke's wedding, and Matt Sloan married William O'Rourke's sister-in-law Lucy Rodgers. The Farrells were living at 9212 Cannon in 1910.

Are the streets starting to sound familiar too? This is what is known in genealogical parlance as "emigration patterns," in other words, when people left their homeland they generally went where they already knew someone. As a result many people from one area of Ireland would end up in the same area in the United States. There were a lot of people from Killowen in the Newburgh section of Cleveland.

James and Mary O'Rourke had four children, three of whom survived to adulthood: Elizabeth (1910), Gilbert (1912), and Marie (1916). Neither Gilbert nor Marie married. Elizabeth "Liz" O'Rourke was an X-ray nurse. She was married late in life to Ken House, who I seem to remember ran a funeral home on the West Side. Ken and Elizabeth had no children.

James may have left Killowen but Killowen never left him. Besides being surrounded by his fellow expatriates, he must have kept in touch. Fifty-nine years after he left, his death notice calls him "beloved husband of the late Mary (nee Keyes), father of Elizabeth, Gilbert and Marie, brother of William and Elizabeth of County Down, Ireland." There are very few death notices from that era that include information about the county of origin.

Carlingford Lough

This picture of Carlingford Lough was taken on the southern coast, looking seawards. Killowen is behind the photographer, to the left, not seen in the picture. It comes from Wikipedia. I wanted to include some pictures of Killowen itself, but the rights to all of them were restricted. If you like you can follow a few of these links at Flickr. The last one was taken by a Thomas O'Rourke of Killowen.

View over Carlingford Lough from Slieve Foy
Killowen Fields
Killowen Point

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

John O'Rourke Who Arrived in 1899

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When 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. John had been in the United States before, and had been a citizen for six years. He was headed to his brother's home on Detroit St, and William evidently was going there with him. A note scribbled between John and William's names could be "cousin." Here are the images of their passenger manifest:

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

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

For the longest time, I didn't think that this was actually William's cousin John, because John is with his siblings in Ballintur on the 1911 Census. After looking at things further though, I think it might be him.

John' manifest said that he was a US citizen, and there is a naturalization record for a John O'Rourke who became a citizen on October 26, 1893. He was living in Newburgh and his witness was Michael McGreal of 2430 Elmo.

John's declaration of intention, filed April 4, 1891, said he arrived in the United States in June 1884. There is indeed a John Rourke, passenger on the SS Baltic, which landed in New York on June 14 of that year.

There are numerous listings for a John O'Rourke in the Newburgh area of Cleveland in the City Directories from 1885 to 1899, including one at 2430 Elmo. The Directories also include listings for both a John and James O'Rourke boarding at the same location a few years, and for a James O'Rourke at 1626 Harvard in 1895. These given names are common, but the coincidence of them all being in Newburgh, some at familiar addresses, might be enough to identify them as one family.

John's father Edward's will, dated March 6, 1894, does not mention his sons James or John. Neither of them are in Ballintur in 1901, but John is there with his brothers and sisters in 1911. Had he been to the US and back? I don't know. I looked at ancestry.com for a UK incoming passenger record for him between 1898 and 1899, and again between 1901 and 1911, but didn't find any. As with most records, that doesn't mean it isn't there.

For now, until proven otherwise, I am going to assume that John O'Rourke, son of Edward Rourke and Rose Fagan, was the man with William O'Rourke when William emigrated. The hunt for John O'Rourke might be over.

For the details about John, James, and William O'Rourke, including their City Directory listings, see the Trees > Ohio Families section of this site.

Credits

The image of the question mark comes from Valerie Everett at flickr.com and is used under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

John Rourke of Ballintur, Killowen, County Down

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first revision book, Ballintur, page with Rourkes

John Rourke of Ballintur Townland, County Down, Ireland was baptized on January 19, 1827, likely at Killowen Chapel. He was the son of James Roarke and Nancy Colgan. The sponsors at his baptism were Patrick Doran and Mary Colgan. John's sister Margaret had been baptized in 1822 and his brother Edward in 1824.¹When Griffith's Valuation of Ballintur was taken in 1863, there was no James Rourke in the area, so John's father had probably died. Instead there is a listing for John's brother Edward.

I had suspected that John Rourke was living in Edward's household at the time. The Valuation Revision Books, now at the Public Records of Northern Ireland (PRONI) website seem to confirm that theory.

The first Valuation Revision Book in 1865 shows Edward as tenant on the family property, renting from the Trustees of the Kilmorey Estate. The 'house, office, and land' for parcels 23A, 23B, 23C, 23D, 23Ea were valued at 18 Pounds, 15 Shillings.²

In 1867 the valuation was split almost equally between Edward and John, with each section valued at a little over 9 Pounds. It seems that he and Edward split the land between them. John leased parcels 23C and 23Ec, and Edward got 23D and 23Ea.

Edited March 2017 to add: John Rourke's first marriage was to Catherine Hughes in Kilbroney Parish, on January 10, 1866. The marriage probably explains why the valuation was split equally between John and Edward in 1867 if John had set up his own household. See the Ohio Families tree for details on the marriage.

In 1881 the ownership of the land came into the hands of the Earl of Kilmorney and in 1882 John and Edward Rourke are listed as paying him the judicial rent.³ In 1883 the value was revised upward slightly. Not much changed regarding the land after that.

A letter from a Peter Doran of Ballintur, dated Dec 28th 1888, to an unnamed brother, presumably in America says: "i sold Magee and John Rourke 10 hundred of straw at 2 shillings per hundred".⁴ This could be our John Rourke, as he was the only one by that name in Ballintur. Of course Mr Doran might have taken his wheat farther afield and sold it to a different John Rourke.

Edited May 2016 to add: Peter Doran's brother was William, living in Illinois. I believe the letter was actually written in 1883. See An Earlier Matt Sloan, Kilfeaghan to Cleveland.

As mentioned, John Rourke and Ellen Rogers were married in 1871. The date was October 1, and the location was most likely Killowen Chapel. The priest was named Daniel Mallon and the witnesses were James Magee and Mary Rourke. The record also states that John was a farmer in Ballintur at the time of the marriage, and his father's name was James. Ellen was of Ballincurry, and her father's name was William.⁵Witnesses at a marriage are usually close friends and relatives, so John might have had a sister Mary. On the other hand, Ellen Rogers may have had a good friend named Mary Rourke.John and Ellen had four children: James born November 10, 1872; William (January 23, 1874); John (about 1877); and Elizabeth (March 7, 1878).⁶ James and William emigrated to the Newburgh section of Cleveland, Ohio.⁷ John and Elizabeth remained in Ireland.

The oldest census that has survived is from 1901. John Rourke and (probably) his nephew Edward are living next to each other in households two and three in Ballintur Townland. John's age is given as 72 and his wife Ellen's as 64. Their son John was listed as 24 and their daughter Elizabeth as 20. They were all Roman Catholic, born in County Down. They could all read and write.Their home was a private dwelling with three outbuildings: a stable, a coach house, and a fowl house. The walls were made of either brick or stone and the roof was thatch. There were two rooms in the home, and two windows on the front of the house. This type of house was rated as a third class dwelling. There were four classes and fourth was the lowest.⁸In 1911 the family was still in Ballintur. They had added a cow house to the property, and the elder John had gone deaf. The census information includes the fact that the family spoke only English, and no Irish. Despite the new cow house, the dwelling was still third class.⁹

In 1913 Irish land reform came to Ballintur. The entries in the Revision Book for that year shows that all the property in the Townland was now held "in fee". This is the legal term for the common form of land ownership we are most familiar with in the British Isles and America.The record for 1913 says that the parcel of land previously rented by John Rourke was now owned by John Rourke. I don't know if this is the elder John or his son, since I don't know when in 1913 the revision was taken—the older John died January 21, 1913. His wife Ellen (Rogers) Rourke died March 13, 1918.

I don't know how long their son John lived and remained in Ballintur. I am fairly sure, but without confirmation, that John died single.

Their daughter Elizabeth is mentioned in her brother James' death notice in 1959 and died January 30, 1962. She might be the family member who received my aunt Theresa O'Rourke in the late 1950's or early 1960's when she visited Ireland. Theresa said the land ran down to the Irish Sea and I was also told that Elizabeth died in the home she was born in.

For John's two sons that emigrated to Cleveland see James O'Rourke, Killowen to Cleveland and William O'Rourke, Killowen to Cleveland.

For a list of all the Rourkes in Ballintur see the article Rourkes of Ballintur in the Valuation Revision Books.

Credits

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

Footnotes

Kilbroney Church Records, transcribed and emailed by Deidre McEvoy.
Images of the Valuation Revision Books, at the Public Records of Northern Ireland (PRONI) website.
Return of judicial rents fixed by Sub-Commissions and Civil Bill Courts, notified to Irish Land Commission, September - November 1882, Kilkeel, County Down, transcribed at Raymond's County Down Website.
"Peter Doran, Ballintur, Co Down? to 'Dear Brother'" at the Irish Emigration Database.
Kilbroney Church records (see note 1); Ireland Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958, at familysearch.org.
for James and Elizabeth's births: from filmed records in the International Genealogical Index at familysearch.org. For William: family information, Social Security Death Index. For John: estimated from censuses.
See the articles on this site entitled James O'Rourke, Killowen to Cleveland and William O'Rourke, Killowen to Cleveland.
1901 Census images at http://census.nationalarchives.ie for Ballintur Townland, Kilbroney Parish, Killowen District Electoral Division in South Down, Co. Down. (Poor Law Union: Kilkeel).
1911 Census images at http://census.nationalarchives.ie for Ballintur Townland, Kilbroney Parish, Killowen District Electoral Division in South Down, Co. Down. (Poor Law Union: Kilkeel).

Michael O'Rourke, Killowen to Cleveland

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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.

As it turns out, Michael O'Rourke was born Apr 30, 1877¹ in Ballyneddan, County Down, Ireland, and baptized May 1, the son of William Rourke and Margaret McVeigh. The sponsors at his baptism were James McVeigh and Margaret Rorke.²

His census information in 1900 said that Michael arrived in the United States in 1890,³ and there is a record of a Michael O'Rourke, age 14, arriving in New York aboard the Britannic on May 30 of that year.⁴

It seems very young for someone to emigrate, but his aunt's husband had just died and the family may have decided she needed someone with her. Also the land records in the Valuation Revision Reports for Ballineddan have a Margaret Rose Rourke taking over occupancy of parcel 6a from a Michael Rourke in 1892.⁵ I can't tell if this is Michael's family—the civil death records might help—but maybe there were reasons at home why he left also. Someone closer to the family might know.

On February 26, 1901, Michael O'Rourke and Mary McNally were married. They were both living at 24 Everett St, Cleveland, and Michael said he was working as a fireman. His parents' names were on the record; Mary's parents were Michael McNally and Annie Connors.⁶

By the following year Michael had begun operating a saloon at 900 Payne, Cleveland.⁷ The address became 3333 Payne after the street reorganization in 1905, and that is where the O'Rourkes remained for the rest of their lives. Their first child Lauretta, apparently misnamed "Ian" on the 1910 Census, was born about 1904. Alice was born in 1906, and Michael J in 1912.^{8, 9, 10}

Michael died on Jan 31, 1919, at the age of forty.¹¹ His death notice reads:

O'Rourke-Michael J., beloved husband of Mary McNally, father of Lauretta, Alice and Michael J. O'Rourke, jr.; died Jan. 31, 1919, at 8:15 p. m. Funeral at Immaculate Conception church at 9 a. m. Tuesday, Feb. 4. Chicago and Peoria, Ill, papers please copy. 1879 -- 1919. Calvary Cemetery Cleveland, Ohio.¹²

Michael's wife Mary (McNally) O'Rourke died July 29, 1946. They are both are buried in Calvary Cemetery.¹³

Conclusion

Now how closely were you paying attention? Is Mrs. Thomas Farron really Michael's aunt, just because the census said so? What were her given and maiden names? Why were Michael and his future bride living at the same address when they married? And why did Michael's death notice say ‘Chicago and Peoria papers please copy'?

If these O'Rourkes don't drive me crazier than my own O'Rourkes already have, I will get back to the answers in a coming article.

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

Footnotes

"Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FGVX-PPT : accessed 17 Nov 2013), Michael Rourke, 30 Apr 1877; citing Ballinedden, Down, Ireland, reference v 6-2 p 635; FHL microfilm 255978.
Transcription of Rourke records in Kilbroney Church Records, received 2009.
"United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MMCY-WZ8 : accessed 13 Nov 2013), Michel Orourke in household of Thos Farron, ED 25 Precinct C Cleveland City Ward 6, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States; citing sheet 3A, family 51, NARA microfilm publication T623, FHL microfilm 1241252.
New York Passenger Lists at ancestry.com.
http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=nypl&cj=1&rs_f86__date=1&rank=0&rg_f86__date=1891&pcc=2&year=1500&gsln=o%27rourke*&yearend=10000&gsfn=michael*&netid=cj&o_xid=0002370638&o_lid=0002370638&o_sch=Affiliate+External&gss=angs-d&pcat=40&fh=0&h=7400798&recoff=8+9&ml_rpos=1
Valuation Revision Books at http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/val12b.htm
Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records and Indexes, 1810-1973, ancestry.com.
http://www.rssing.com/search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?rank=1&new=1&MSAV=1&msT=1&gss=angs-g&gsfn=michael&gsln=o%27rourke&msbdy=1877&msbpn__ftp=Ireland&msbpn=3250&msbpn_PInfo=3-|0|1652381|0|3250|0|0|0|0|0|0|&msrpn__ftp=Cleveland%2c+Cuyahoga%2c+Ohio%2c+USA&msrpn=50951&msrpn_PInfo=8-|0|1652393|0|2|3247|38|0|802|50951|0|&cpxt=0&catBucket=rstp&uidh=hti&cp=0&mssng0=mary&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=1158268&recoff=7+8+42+53+71&db=CuyahogaOHmarriages&indiv=1&ml_rpos=2
Cleveland City Directories at ancestry.com
"United States Census, 1910," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MLD5-S1S : accessed 13 Nov 2013), Michael J O Rourke, Cleveland Ward 12, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States; citing sheet , family 34, NARA microfilm publication T624, FHL microfilm 1375183.
"United States Census, 1930," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X434-B5T : accessed 17 Nov 2013), Mary O'Rourke, Cleveland (Districts 1-250), Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 0146, sheet , family 64, NARA microfilm publication .
Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1964, at ancestry.com, and Social Security Death Index.
"Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X8KW-1QS : accessed 13 Nov 2013), Micheal J Orourke, 31 Jan 1919; citing Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, reference fn 7782; FHL microfilm 1984637.
Cleveland Necrology File
was at http://dxsrv4.cpl.org/WebZ/Authorize?sessionid=0&next=/html/obit_start.html&dbchoice=1:dbname=necr&bad=html/authofail.html&style=noframe
"Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X6BH-KLQ : accessed 14 Nov 2013), Michael Mcnally in entry for Mary A O' Rourke, 29 Jul 1946; citing , reference Certificate; FHL microfilm 2372812.