My Old Ohio Home - Wexford

James Hawkins, Portland, Maine, 1860 to 1892

2019-09-06T00:00:00-04:00

In 1871 Mr James Hawkins of No. 1 High Street Court, Portland, Maine, received a letter postmarked in Wexford, Ireland.(footnote)The image of the envelope sent from Wexford, Ireland, to James Hawkins in Portland, Maine, was once at Jim Forte's Postal History site but is no longer. Who was James Hawkins and does this postmark tell us anything about his place of origin in Ireland?

There is only one James Hawkins in Portland in this time period. When I started researching him I first found him at 8 Maple Street in the 1869 Portland City Directory. Maple Street is 2/10 of a mile from 1 High Street Court.(footnote)1869 Portland Directory page 125, image 62 at ancestry.com. But the earliest he appears in Portland is in the John Deehan household on the 1860 Census, age 22, working as a mariner.(footnote) 1860 Census, John Deehan Household, Ward 4, Portland, Maine, at familysearch.org. His listings in the Portland City Directories can be found below.

On July 9, 1861, James married Margaret McGlinchey in Portland,(footnote)Maine Vital Records, Copy of an old marriage, Hawkins-McGlinchey, 1861, at familysearch.org. and in 1870 they were in Ward 6 with three children: Margaret (age 8), James Jr (5), and Ida (1).(footnote)1870 Census, James J Hawkins, Ward 6, Portland, Maine, at familysearch.org. Margaret, the mother, died June 18, 1877, of typhoid fever,(footnote)Maine Vital Records, Copy of an old death, Margaret E Hawkins, 1877, twice at familysearch, here and also here. and James, the father, died September 4, 1892.(footnote)Maine Vital Records, deaths, James Hawkins, 1892, at familysearch.org. They are both buried in Calvary Cemetery.

The Irish records

James' death record said that his parents were James J Hawkins, a sea captain, and Margaret Furlong, both born in Ireland. On Griffith's Valuation, those two surnames overlapped most often in County Wexford. With the help of ancestry.com's index, I found baptisms of

Pat Hawkins, March 2, 1825, sponsor: Betsy Furlong
Pat Hawkins again, May 29, 1826, sponsors: Edward Durkham and Catherine Murphy
John Hawkins, May 9, 1828, sponsors Garret Roche and Mary Cleary

all in Wexford Parish, Ferns Diocese, and all sons of a couple named James Hawkins and Margaret Furlong.(footnote)Irish Catholic Parish Registers, at the National Library of Ireland. I didn't find a baptism record for a James Hawkins born to this couple.

On Griffith's Valuation of the town of Wexford, Civil Parish of St Mary's, there is a James Hawkins leasing a house and yard on Stonebridge Lane. Stonebridge Lane is on the waterfront, which seems like a good place for a sea captain to live. And it is a 4 minute walk from the parish church where those three baptisms took place.

Conclusion

On the first go round of research, I wasn't very confident that I had found James Hawkins place of origin in Ireland, but as I look at it again, I think I did. An exact date of birth on the American records and a matching baptism would have clinched it. Or a sibling in Portland who was also found in Ireland. But I'm pretty sure we can say that James Hawkins of Portland is the son of the couple in Wexford.

After all that, it was a little disappointing to find out that James and Margaret (McGlinchey) Hawkins do not have descendants. Their children James and Ida are in the same household in Melrose, Massachusetts, in 1920, both single and in their 50's. Daughter Margaret married in Portland in 1909 at about age 47, and she and her husband Earl Ebersole are in Lansing, Michigan, in 1920, without children.

But maybe our James Hawkins had siblings, possibly the Pat and John baptized in Wexford Parish, and one of their descendants is interested in knowing what happened to their ancestor's brother.

Portland City Directories

When I moved this article to the new website I took another look at the Portland City Directories. The earliest I found James was in 1866, working as a clerk. Soon after, he opened up a lunch "saloon" or oyster house and stayed at that for many years. A few years before he died he became an insurance agent. The listings are as follows:

1866 James J Hawkins, clerk, 22 Cotton
1869 James J Hawkins, 8 Maple Street
1873 James J Hawkins, eating saloon, 356 Commercial, house same address
1875 James J Hawkins, laborer, 2 High St place
1877 James J Hawkins, lunch saloon 333 Commercial, house 1 High Street Court
1879 James J Hawkins, lunch saloon 339 Commercial, house 1 High Street Court
1881 James J Hawkins, lunch saloon 333 Commercial, house 1 High Street Court
1881 Business Section
Oyster and lunch rooms, James J Hawkins, 333 Commercial
1883 James J Hawkins, lunch saloon 459 Commercial and 132 Center, house 39 Cotton
1883 Business Section
Eating houses, James J Hawkins, 132 Center and 459 Commercial
1885 Business Section
Eating houses, James J Hawkins, 281 Commercial
1887 James J Hawkins, eating house 255 Federal, house 39 Cotton
James Jr clerk, bds 39 Cotton
1888 James J Hawkins, eating house, house 39 Cotton
1889 James J Hawkins insurance agent, house 39 Cotton
James Jr, clerk, bds 39 Cotton
1890 James J Hawkins insurance agent, house 39 Cotton
James Jr, clerk, bds 39 Cotton
1892 James J Hawkins, insurance agent, house 8 Parris
Jame Jr, clerk, 507 Congress, bds 8 Parris
Maggie, seamstress 238 Middle, bds 8 Parris

Found on Roadside

2019-09-02T00:00:00-04:00

While looking through the Irish Catholic parish registers, I found this entry:

1835 Parish Register, Ferns, Wexford

Baptized November 10, 1835, Parish of Ferns, Diocese of Ferns, County Wexford, Ireland
Child: Mary
Parents: Strangers
Sponsors: M Fitzharris
Note in right column: Found on the roadside near big tree

You can see it for yourself here: Mary, baptism, Ferns, Wexford.

Was she adopted? Did she grow up? What did she turn out to be? Did she ever wonder who her biological parents were? Or did she even know?

And I wonder if the strangers on the road ever looked back and asked themselves what became of their baby girl.

Credits

The image of the baptism record from Ferns Parish, Ferns Diocese, Wexford, is used courtesy of the National Library of Ireland.

Mary (Nugent) Keyes, of Wexford, Ireland, and Cleveland, Ohio

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

I’ve been looking at the family of James O’Rourke, and have hit a soft brick wall. His wife, Mary Keyes, was the daughter of James Keyes and Mary Nugent. Mary Nugent’s death record said she was born about 1851 in County Wexford, and I can almost prove it, but not quite. Here’s the story.

The Nugents and Keyes lived on the Southeast side of Cleveland, Ohio, in Holy Name Parish. There are two other Nugent families in the same area, and both of them are from Wexford:

In 1880, Patrick Nugent and his wife Margaret O’Brien were living at 2040 Marble Street with their children Patrick and Catherine and a nephew John. Patrick and Margaret were married in Piercetown parish, Wexford, on July 6, 1857.(footnote)Catholic Parish Registers, Piercetown, at https://registers.nli.ie. July 6, 1857, Patrick Nugent, a servant, of Dinnistown, and Margaret Brien, of Murrintown. witnesses: William Furlong of Redshard and Bridget Brien of Fardistown, married by Wm Moran, CC. Their son Patrick was baptized there on April 9, 1860.(footnote)Catholic Parish Registers, Piercetown, at https://registers.nli.ie. Born April 8, 1860, baptized April 9, 1860, Patrick, [son of] Patrick Nugent and Margaret Brien, of Guertenmanogue, sponsors: Anne Walsh, William Cardiff, both of Gurtinmanogue, baptized by William Moran, CC. The current spelling of the townland is Gurteenminogue.
On January 8, 1908, a Margaret Lambert died in Cleveland, “sister of the late Johanna Nugent, at the residence of her nephew, Peter Nugent, 7202 Canton [Cannon] ave.”(footnote)Cleveland Necrology File, at https://cpl.org/newsindex/, Margaret Lambert, January 7, 1908. Peter’s death record said he was the son of John Nugent and Johanna Lambert.(footnote)Ohio Deaths, familysearch.org, Peter J Nugent, April 9, 1936. John Nugent and Joanna Lambert were married in Piercetown Parish on October 22, 1859.(footnote)Catholic Parish Registers, Piercetown, at https://registers.nli.ie. Marriages, October 22, 1859, John Nugent and Joanna Lambert, both of Gurteenminogue. witnesses: Patrick Nugent of Gurteenminogue and Mary Browne of Denistown. married by Wm Moran, CC. Their first son, John–who looks like he is the nephew of Patrick mentioned above–was baptized there on July 2, 1860.(footnote)Catholic Parish Registers, Piercetown, at https://registers.nli.ie. Born July 28, 1860, baptized July 28, 1860, John, [son of] John Nugent and Joanna Lambert, of Guertenmanogue, sponsors: Peter Lambert, Margaret Browne, both of Gurtinmanogue, baptized by William Moran, CC Sons Patrick and Richard died in Cleveland as well.

Irish Baptisms

I found the following four baptisms for a Mary Nugent in Wexford from 1851 to 1860. Our Mary Nugent's baptism should be in that range, if recorded, but none of these look like her, if her death record's information is correct.

1852 Suttons Parish parents: Martin and Mary
1845 Wexford Parish parents: Faclaleigh and Margaret
1856 Suttons Parish parents: Martin and Mary
1857 Gorey Parish parents: Thomas and Ann

Conclusion

So is Mary (Nugent) Keyes a relative of Patrick and John Nugent or not? Her death record only names her father, John, and her death notice doesn’t list brothers or sisters. I couldn’t find a death record or notice for Patrick or John—I have a feeling they both died before 1900.

Kilmore Quay Post Office

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

Kilmore Quay Post Office

A while ago my cousin sent me a number of photographs of our family, and I have posted them in the Ohio photographs section of this site. However there were a few in the mix that are "leftovers." Neither of us have a clue how or why they became part of the family collection.

This picture of Kilmore Quay Post Office is one of them. Our family was not from County Wexford. It's possible that someone on my cousin's side was from County Wexford and this is a photograph of a long lost relative. It's just as likely that my aunt, or someone else along the way, thought this was a nice picture and decided to keep it.