Wednesday, August 22, 2012

WEDNESDAY’S CHILD……MARY ROGAN


Rogan, BabyMary death
Baby Mary Rogan was the daughter of my great grandfather’s sister Mary O’Rourke.   She is buried in ST MARY'S CEMETERY, LAWRENCEVILLE, PITTSBURGH   The couple later moved to New Castle, PA.    Daniel and Mary had eight other children, possibly more.

Forgot to add:
"Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh City Deaths, 1870-1905," index and images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XZ7S-R5P : accessed 25 Aug 2012), Mary Rogan, 1881.

Another Downes/Downs/Dowens/Dormes Update


I was puzzled wondering where the Downes Family was in the 1930 census; they were living in Newark NJ in 1920 and 1940. I found them when I entered Ida Molloy in the 1930 census.   Ida is the daughter of Mary Molly, the elder Marys’ daughter, married to Dominick Malloy.

In the 1930 census the Downes woman were indexed as DORMES, guess it was the bad penmanship of the census taker.    Another mystery solved for the time being.   I then searched for the family in the 1900 census in East Pittsburgh, PA.    The unusual thing is the fact that in that town in the other census it was listed as having three wards, but in 1900 only one came up.   It was a large community, I am wondering if there were three and two are missing.  

1930Downes,Mary, daughters, Ida and Emmet Malloy Newark.

Source Citation: Year: 1930; Census Place: Newark, Essex, New Jersey; Roll: 1336; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 119; Image: 389.0; FHL microfilm: 2341071.
From Ancestry.com

Monday, August 20, 2012

UPDATE ON THE DOWNS FAMILY

This family has been a road block for me.    From my last post, which Ancestry had found some of them in the 1940 census,  I have been clicking on every link they gave me and found some more information.

SSDI for Margaret Downes,  born 18 March 1889 (coincides with the date on her Baptismal record at St. Thomas RC Church,  braddock PA, Allegheny, USA, Archives of the Diocese of Pittsburgh).   Died May 1963 in New Jersey.

SSDI for Josephine Downs, born 22 May 1896, it also coincides with the date of her Baptismal entry.  Josephine died 13 February, 1991, also in New Jersey.   Josephine almost lived to be one hundred years old.

1910 census, Mary Naughton Dowens, is living in East Pittsburgh, PA.  I checked the address on the map and it is a short distance to the home of her sister Bridget.    It lists Mary as 47 years old and widowed.   Her husband has died somewhere between 1896 (when Josephine was born and 1910)    Her names is spelled Dowens instead of Downs,   she is listed as the head of the household.   Living with her is her daughter Mary (b.21 November 1884) and her husband Dominick Malloy and two children,  Mary I age 2 and Patrick, age 1 month.    I am thinking Mary I is the granddaughter Ida Molly in the 1940 census.

Also living there is  Margaret, Sadie and Josephine, plus a ten others listed as boarders.   The O'Donnells interest me because that name is also in the extended family.  I do not know who they are yet and if they are related.    Also Mary has stated that she was the mother of eight with four still living.   Annie b. 1887 and Catherine b.1891 appear to have died as well as two others.

Another mystery to investigate.

1920 census finds Mary, Margaret, Sadie and Josephine living in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.   The biggest mystery is why did they move to New Jersey?   I have to investigate the SS applications to see what they have to say.   No SSDI records was found for Sadie or mother Mary.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

ANOTHER CLUE AND FURTHER MYSTERY…


Last December ,quite by happenstance, I found Mary Naughton Downs.   Mary was the sister of my great grandmother Bridget Naughton Dowd.   I found the “Nokton” name while working on research for a client at the Archives.

Turns out that Mary came to the USA before Bridget and on 23 July 1882 at St. Thomas RC Church in Braddock PA, she married Michael Downs.  .  The following children were born; Mary –1884, Annie –1887, Margaret- 1889, Catherine-1891, Sarah-1892 and Josephine 1896.

The family disappeared off the face of the earth after that.   UNTIL,  Ancestry.com sent me the shaky leaf, for the 1940 census.  Who did they find for me?    Mary Downs, age 78, widowed and head of the house, born in Erie (Ireland).   Three daughters; Margaret Downs age 51, Sadie Downs age 47, Josephine Downs age42 and a granddaughter named  Ida Molley age 32.    They all lived in the same house in 1935.    Ida was employed as a school teacher. 

Where have they been since 1900, and who is Ida’s mother, Mary, Annie or Catherine?   I checked the SSDI list and Josephine Downs, died in New Jersey in 1991,it  has the exact birthday that I found in St. Thomas Baptism records.

I know nothing about New Jersey records, but I feel that I will in the not too distant future.

1940 United States Federal Census for Margaret Downs

Monday, August 13, 2012

A LITTLE HOUSEKEEPING

Today I did a little housekeeping on my Blog.   Everything was jammed on the right side and now I have tried to improve it to not looks so cramped.   I also got tired of the color and tried to change the color to green but it go lost in cyberspace.

I wanted to add some resource links.    I started a blog for our local group OAKMONT GENEALOGICAL STUDY GROUP  and I have a lot of links on there so I thought I would migrate some of them here.

I was quite saddened about hearing of the sudden death of  JOHN T HUMPHREY  I had taken a weekend class with him and had chatted with him at the GRIP meeting in Pittsburgh.   What a great person and so knowledgeable on German and Pennsylvania Genealogy.   He will really be missed.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY


CharlesMichael Coleman and Lois Elizabeth Coleman
Lois Coleman Sperl and Charles Michael Coleman.
My mother in law and her brother.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

NEW THOUGHTS ON MARY ANN SAYLOR

I have been pondering my husbands great grandmother, Mary Ann Saylor Coleman.   I have been searching for her parents and I found two likely candidates when I visited the Huntingdon County Historical Society.    In a DAR file a woman lists a Mary Jane Saylor, b. 21 June 1813 and married a Henry Coleman.      My ancestor is Mary Ann Saylor, born 21 June 1813 and married to Michael A Coleman.

Is this the same woman or are the women twins, both married to a Coleman man?

The copy of the family group sheet was submitted in 1921 and no citation of the sheet?   If she had the information it is out there somewhere.   But where,  I have to find it.

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