52 Ancestors - LOSS: Baby John

During the month of March, I will be shining the light on my Irish roots.

I believe this picture is John Killeen, infant son of John Joseph Killeen and my great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan.

He was child #3, born 6 Feb 1897 in Manhattan, New York City. He died before the 1900 census was taken.

In 1900, the 3 leading causes of death in children under 5 were tuberculosis, enteritis with diarrhea, and pneumonia in combination with influenza. Whether little John died from one of these or something else like measles, a congenital anomaly or accident is not known.

Unfortunately, I have found no record of his death or cause of death.

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Photo Friday - Relatives?

During the month of March, I am shining the light on my Irish roots.

One of my favorite unidentified photos!

Because it was in a photo album passed to me through my grandaunt Helen Killeen Parker, it is very likely these folks are part of my Irish family. But who were they?

Photo was captioned
Taken in Nova Scotia Canada

I tried to convince myself that I was looking at Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh’s brother Denis and family in Croom, County Limerick, Ireland.  However, the building does not look like what I would expect to see in Ireland although I’ve never been to Ireland so my observations are based on what I have seen online and on television, right or wrong.

 

Apparently, my great-grandmother and her children traveled to Nova Scotia around 1920, maybe earlier. The buildings in the two photos do not look exactly the same, but maybe it is just the angle. Could it be that Mary Theresa’s brother John Sheehan settled in Canada rather than New York like his sisters?

 

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

On This Day: Loving Irish Hands

During the month of March, I am shining the light on my Irish roots.

St Patrick’s Day is always significant for the Irish. My great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh saved many greeting cards, one of which led me to her family left behind in Croom, County Limerick, Ireland.

Real shamrocks from Ireland

These 2 cards were from her niece Myra Sheehan, daughter of Mary Theresa's brother Denis Sheehan and his wife Alice. I cannot tell the dates they were sent, but it would have to have been before 1939.

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - NAME'S THE SAME: John and Madeline

During the month of March, I will be shining the light on my Irish roots.

John Jr and "Bob" the Bronx 1921

In my never-ending search for the identity of the children known as “John Jr and Bob,” I have tried to determine who JOHN SR might be. All the photos point to someone who would have been a relative of my great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh, more specifically a relative in one of the boroughs of New York City.

Captioned "Cousin Jack" 

A likely candidate would have been born probably in the 1880s or 1890s in order to have been old enough to father a child in 1917. One likely suspect was John Byrnes, son of Irish immigrants Patrick Byrnes and Elizabeth Sheehan, my great-grandmother’s sister. However, he turned out to be NOT so likely since he was only 14 when “John Jr” was born.

John did marry, though. He and his wife Madeline Kerr had two daughters, Madeline and Patricia. John was killed in 1925, not long after the birth of their second child.

The year of John’s death – 1925 –  is one reason I was surprised to see a gift from “Mr and Mrs J Byrnes, New York, NY” in my grandaunt Helen Killeen’s wedding gift book. She and Herbert Parker married in 1927. Any thoughts that the 6 teaspoons could be a gift from John’s brother Joseph were quickly dashed when I realized Joseph never married.

So who was THIS “Mr & Mrs J Byrnes”? Hold that thought.

Also in Helen’s gift book is a lemon dish and silver pickle fork from Mr & Mrs Edward Byrnes of Portsmouth, Virginia. 

A quick search in Ancestry revealed two interesting details: Edward's first name was actually JOHN, and his wife was named Madeline, Madeline Reitelbach, to be precise. So there we are: two couples named John and Madeline Byrnes.

However, there is nothing to suggest that the Portsmouth Byrnes are related to my Killeens. They were probably just friends from church. John Edward and Madeline are buried at all Saints Catholic Cemetery as are my Sheehan-Killeen-Walsh family.

Courtesy Maggie McAllister
Findagrave

As for “Mr & Mrs J Byrnes,” I have no idea, but I do have one observation that might be key: all the known New Yorkers who sent gifts were relatives.

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

On This Day - Matt Killeen

During the month of March, I am shining the light on my Irish roots.

 

Matthew Killeen 1918

I do not remember ever meeting my father's uncle Matthew Killeen, known to family as both "Mac" and "Matt," but surely I must have.

On March 7, 1969, Matthew George Killeen died. He was the second child of John Joseph Killeen and Mary Theresa Sheehan, and the only son to survive past infancy.

His death certificate states that he died of natural causes and that “chronic alcoholism” was a contributing factor. No surprise there.

According to family lore, as a pipefitter, Matt had an important job in the shipyard, so important that despite his bad habits, no one would fire him. It was Mary Theresa’s duty to sober him up in the mornings and get him to work.

Matt married Alma Ketchum and they had one daughter, Alma Theresa Killeen, who was born probably 1918 but vital records differ on that count.

Matt’s wife Alma died in 1947; her death certificate claims she was a widow but Matt outlived her by 22 years.

Matt is buried in the All Saints Cemetery
formerly known as St. Paul's Catholic Church Cemetery

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Sepia Saturday: From the Campbell Studio

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

During the month of March, I will be shining the light on my Irish roots.

I have the perfect match for this week’s Sepia Saturday prompt which features two boys: one in a sailor suit and the other sporting an Eton collar.

This photo is from the many photos passed down to me from my grandaunt Helen Killeen Parker. I really do not know who these boys are, but I have a pretty good guess.

Since Helen had only one brother, I concluded these boys were not sons of my great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen. I considered that maybe the boys were her nephews, sons of one of her sisters living in New York City. However, upon close inspection of the cabinet card, I saw the name and location of the photographer: Campbell, Norfolk, VA. 

Closeup snip of the photographer's mark

I thought finding Mr. Campbell would help me date the photos, thereby narrowing the field of candidates for the game known as “Name that ancestor.”

It took some digging to find a photographer named Campbell in Norfolk. Two interesting images came up:

Photos of Jack Wentz (2nd base) and George Nie (catcher)
Campbell Studio 1897

Pitchers Fritz Clausen and Doc Secrist
Campbell Studio 1897

These two sets of cabinet cards of baseball players were sold at different auctions. Maybe it was the rarity of the subjects, the baseball history, or even the obvious clarity and skill of the photographer that drove the prices to $657 in 2016 for Fritz Clausen and Doc Secrist, and $1320 in 2018 for Jack Wentz and George Nie. These men played for the Norfolk Jewels from 1896-1898, at least.

Does the photo of the children exhibit the same skill and quality?

The photographer’s mark is not the same, and there is no mark on the back at all, not like the fancy ad on the reverse of the baseball players’ photos. 

Back of the photos of Wentz and Nie

It would be helpful to know whether my photo was an earlier or later work of Campbell Studios. So, I checked the newspapers looking for ads.

B. S. Campbell promoted himself frequently in the local Norfolk newspapers from 1886 to 1903, and maybe longer than that but these are the dates that came up most often on GenealogyBank and Newspapers dot com. He offered special sales at Christmas and Easter. He sold frames. He promised to retake photos free of charge if customers were not satisfied with the proofs.

Campbell also developed special techniques using watercolors and pastels to make a photo look like a painting, or at least that is my interpretation of what the news reporter described in a news feature. Campbell did not know what to call this technique, so he invited the public to submit suggestions.

Many articles written about him praised the quality of his photography, often quoting big-name art dealers from New York City. He won many awards.

Unless Mary Theresa was extra chummy with a friend or neighbor, it is not likely she would have received such a fine photo from one of them. It is more likely the photo was a gift from a relative. Given the dates when B. S. Campbell seemed most active in his profession, I believe the photo dates around 1900. Maybe the boys were sons of Mary Theresa’s sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Bridget and John Joseph Glynn. Bridget was the sister of Mary Theresa’s first husband. They lived in Portsmouth, just a ferry ride across the Elizabeth River to downtown Norfolk where B. S. Campbell had his studio.

Matthew was born in 1891 and John Jr in 1893. Do they look 9 and 6 in the photo? Maybe 8 and 5? 7 and 4?

Am I even close to identifying these children?

Visit Sepia Saturday for more photos and stories of twosomes.

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - MULTIPLES: Twice a Widow

During the month of March, I will be shining the light on my Irish roots.

Mary Theresa Sheehan 
1869-1939

I cannot imagine what it was like for a woman to be widowed twice before the age of 50. And with 8 children. That was the life my great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan faced.

At the age of 17, Mary Theresa emigrated by herself from County Limerick, Ireland in 1886 to New York City. In the 1892 New York State census, she reported living on Clinton Avenue in Brooklyn earning a living as a cook. 

John Joseph Killeen
1866 - 1905

Somewhere, somehow, she met John Joseph Killeen, also an Irishman who had arrived from County Limerick in 1886. In the 1892 census, he was working as a porter.

The 1900 census indicates that John Joseph and Mary Theresa had been married 7 years. They were living in an apartment on 3^rd Avenue in the Bronx. John worked as a railroad guard while Mary Theresa was at home caring for three children: Lillie age 6, Matthew age 5, and Mary (better known to our family as Mae) age 1. Sadly, the Killeens reported that there had been 4 children with just the 3 living.

When New York conducted its State census in June 1905, 36-year-old Mary Theresa had been a widow for 2 months with 5 children to take care of: Elizabeth (Lillie) age 11, Matthew 10, Mae 6, Margaret 4, and Helen 2.

At the encouragement of her sister-in-law, Bridget Killeen Glynn, Mary Theresa packed up her five children and moved to Portsmouth, Virginia “to be with family.” While that sounds like a reasonable thing to do, Mary Theresa was moving to be with her deceased husband’s family while she had her own four sisters and their families right there in New York City.

I don’t get it.

Nevertheless, move she did and by June 1906, she was married to John Fleming Walsh. 

John Fleming Walsh
1868-1918

A news article indicates they married in a Methodist church on either June 12 or 13. 

Newport News Daily Press 14 Jun 1906

Yet there is also an entry in St. Paul’s Catholic Church records that they were married by Father Thomas Brady on June 17. I wonder why they married twice. At any rate, they married and settled into life on Charlestown Avenue in Portsmouth.

Together they had three more children: Julia (my paternal grandmother), Catherine (Cat), and Teresa Mary (Tate).

Walsh worked as an ordnance man for the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. When he died in October 1918, the cause of death was officially recorded as pulmonary tuberculosis. Given the timing, though, it is just as likely he had contracted the Spanish flu.

Because Walsh had served as a private in the US Marines, Mary Theresa and the three Walsh daughters qualified for a pension.  

Walsh pension - payable quarterly

Mary Theresa spent the rest of her days as a widow. It is doubtful she had time for a third husband because several of her children were a handful, to say the least. Alcoholism, job insecurity, a baby out-of-wedlock in a good Catholic family, no less, and people moving out then coming back were probably all the issues she could manage. My father used to say she was the only stable force in the family.  

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Sentimental Sunday - Hail the Irish

As I like to do during the month of March, my posts will shine the light on my Irish ancestors. While Feb 28 is not March, it is nevertheless the first day of the week, so I might as well jump in with it.

This tiny photo (about 1.5" x .5") was glued into the crease of a scrapbook passed along to me from my grandaunt Helen Killeen Parker. I cannot determine the who or the when. The woman does not look much like the young version of my great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh. 

Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh

But who else could it be? 

Woman and child

I tried to convince myself that maybe this was Mary Theresa as a baby in the arms of her mother Bridget Gorman Sheehan, but the clothes do not say “1870.” Do they?

Maybe it is Mary Theresa after all, holding Helen who was born in 1903. Or possibly Mary Theresa holding Aunt Lil born in 1894.

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

Photo Friday - Pretty Lady

I love the expression on this beautiful woman's face. The photo is in a scrapbook that came to me from my grandaunt Helen Killeen Parker. Therefore, I wonder if this is my great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh in her younger days.

Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh
6 Jan 1869 - 18 Jul 1939

This portrait is definitely Mary Theresa. Same woman?

If not, maybe it is one of her sisters.

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - LABOR: The Chauffeur

I do not know if my Irish granny’s family suffered the discrimination in New York City reflected in employment ads stating “No Irish Need Apply.” Like so many Irish immigrants, Mary Theresa Sheehan and her sisters arrived in the late 1880s claiming “domestic servant” as an occupation. The occupation column for Irish men typically read “laborer.” Being largely unskilled, the Irish took the most menial of jobs and crammed multiple families into apartments barely large enough for a single family. The Irish took those dangerous jobs nobody wanted to do; no wonder the police and fire departments were manned by large numbers of Irish.

 

Trip to New York 1918

The Irish were also the first to join the ranks as taxi drivers when Harry Allen started the New York Taxicab company in 1907 putting the horse-drawn hansom cab out of business. Several more cab companies opened business soon after.

The first drivers wore uniforms designed to look like those worn by West Point Cadets. Do you think these drivers look like West Point Cadets?

 

New York 1918
In the back seat are Lillie Killeen and SOMEBODY's baby "John Jr"

I don’t know. However, I do believe they are related to my great-grandmother, Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh. These photos are from a visit to New York in 1918.

New York 1918
In the back seat are Lillie Killeen, possibly Mary Theresa Walsh,
the poodle known as Cutey, and "John Jr"

Possibly these men are her brother-in-law and nephew. Mary Theresa’s sister Elizabeth was married to Patrick Byrnes. He was consistently listed as a driver in both the federal and New York state censuses: 1900 truck driver; 1905 driver; 1910 driver for a brewery; 1915 driver; 1920 chauffeur; 1925 truck driver. In 1920 son Robert was a chauffeur and son Richard was an express driver.

In the early years of the taxi business, anyone could get a license and start driving that day. There was no background check.

In researching the job of a chauffeur, I found some interesting images of the early chauffeur’s license and badge.

from "The Evolution of the New York Driver's License" New York Times Archive

from "The Evolution of the New York Driver's License" New York Times Archive

The style of the badge evolved over time, but they were required until 1928.

 

1918 New York Chauffeur's badge
 from chauffeurbadges.com

New York 1918
same baby "John Jr"

Some people have suggested that the uniform in this photo looks like one worn by a policeman or fireman. The man looks very much like the front seat passenger in the first two photos. 

New York 1921
Unknown man with "John Jr"

Here he is again in 1921. Fireman? Policeman? Sea captain? Chauffeur? 

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - WATER: Queenstown to Castle Garden

Before there was Ellis Island, there was Castle Garden. Originally Castle Garden was part of a system of forts built in the early 1800s to protect Manhattan from British invasion. In 1823 the fort was deeded to New York City and served as an opera house and entertainment center until 1855. That is when Castle Garden became the official immigration processing center.

from Wikimedia Commons

My great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh was one of the 300,000 immigrants to pass through the massive circular building in 1886. Over 8 million immigrants were processed there before it closed in 1890.

from Wikimedia Commons

Try as I might, I cannot say with any certainty exactly the day and month of her arrival from Ireland. However, I am certain of the year. One thing I can say for my Irish ancestors: they were consistent in reporting their month and year of birth and their year of arrival in the United States.

Both Ancestry and FamilySearch bring up only 2 women named Mary Sheehan born in Ireland in 1869 who arrived in New York in 1886. One Mary Sheehan arrived on the 30^th of August aboard the Aurania. This Mary Sheehan arrived with a mother and a passel of siblings whose names and dates do not match what I know to be true about my Sheehans. She is not likely to be MINE.

The other Mary Sheehan landed on June 21 aboard the SS Celtic, part of the White Star line. She, like other single women, was classified as a “spinster.” There were no other Sheehans immediately before or after her name, so apparently she traveled alone. My one hesitation with this Mary Sheehan is that according to the manifest, she hailed from County Mayo. I guess it is possible, but her baptismal records indicate her family lived in Limerick. If this is MY Mary Sheehan, she was number 558 on the manifest.

image from Ancestry

Why Mary Theresa emigrated is still a mystery although not much of one. Her journey was well-past the time of the potato famine that caused such a large number of Irish to brave crossing the Atlantic. Likely Daniel and Bridget Sheehan just wanted something better for their children. How difficult it must have been for them to send one child after another every couple of years – Johanna in 1883, Mary Theresa in 1886, Elizabeth in 1890, Margaret in 1894,and Delia in 1896. A ticket for passage in steerage was $12 (about $345 today).

 

The White Star Pier in Queenstown around 1880-1890
a.k.a "Heartbreak Pier"
from Flickr

I can imagine the family standing at “Heartbreak Pier” sobbing and waving as one more daughter clutching her cloth bag stepped onto the ship’s tender that would shuttle her out to the liner headed to New York.

St. Colman's Cathedral in Cobh (Queenstown)
from Wikimedia Commons

As the skyline of Queenstown with its majestic cathedral spires faded from sight, what did Mary Theresa think about during that two-week voyage across the ocean?

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - LUCK: St Paddy Cards

In March the expression “Luck of the Irish” has special meaning for my family. My great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh was an Irish matriarch, the much loved maternal grandmother of my father. She came from Limerick, Ireland in 1886.

Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh
1869 Ireland -1939 Portsmouth, VA

Judging by the St. Patrick’s Day cards glued carefully into her scrapbook, Mary Theresa was proud of her Irish heritage.

from her daughter Catherine

from her sister Delia Sheehan Christian

My favorite cards came from my great-grandmother’s niece Myra Sheehan, daughter of Mary Theresa’s brother Denis. This family remained in Limerick unlike the rest of Daniel and Bridget Sheehan’s children who all immigrated to New York in the 1880s and early 1890s.

The cards still have real Irish shamrocks encased in plastic.

Read about the GOOD LUCK Myra’s cards brought me HERE.

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy
© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.