MAJOR BRICK WALL HAS TUMBLED

My grandmother (Bridget Naughton Dowd) had a sister Mary Naughton Downs.  Sometime between 1910 and 1920 they moved to Newark NJ.   This has been a mystery to me for many years.  She was also a problem because, try as I might, I have not found them in the 1900 census.  I am sure they were living in the same place, but not in the census.

A few days ago I was looking at my tree on Family Search and found a few matches.  It appears that they were added more recently and the person did not have enough information for them to come up as a match.  That is what it appears to be to me.  I do not know how to go about merging the information for this double family.

Anyway,  what the woman did have was a little note that indicated that Mary Naughton Downs died in NJ and was buried in Pittsburgh, a s well as her date of death.  One of my favorite resources is CATHOLIC CEMETERIES OF THE DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH.   This is a relatively new resource, just within the past year or two.  

I remembered I had a old document from the WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY.   It was the death of one of Mary's daughters Rebecca who was born and died within four days in 1895 and the place of internment was St. Mary Cemetery in Pittsburgh.  So with that information I went to the Catholic Cemeteries and there I found the family.  This included Mary, her husband Michael, infant who died in 1895, a daughter Hannah who died in 1901 (I had no knowledge of Hannah, and two adult daughters Margaret and Sadie who lived with their mother in NJ and were buried in the family plot, included with the dates of their deaths.  I know now I have the correct Mary.

A married daughter Mary Downs Molloy also had her date of death in 1929 and where she was buried.   In the 1930 census the two children of Mary and Dominic were living with their grandmother in Newark.    Also indicated was the death of Dominic in about 1925.   My theory is now he was unable to care for the children and Mary Naughton raised them.   But why, did the two families move to NJ, was Mary Molloy sick and Mary Naughton move to take care of her daughter.

I sent an email to the woman who posted the information but have not heard back as of today.

I HAVE NOT POSTED LATELY

I seem to get lost with my research.  I have been able to trace the mysterious Downs Family.   It all started with the 1940 census (Newark NJ) which Ancestry found for me.   Which led me to the 1920 census (Newark NJ) and eventually the 1930 (Newark NJ) and finally the 1910 census in East Pittsburgh.  
One would thing finding the name Downs would be easy, but it was not because of the handwriting and indexing.   Next question is when did Michael die?   Michael was considerable older than Mary Naughton, fifteen to twenty years.   The last knowledge of Michael was in 1896 with the birth of Josephine Downs.  By 1910  Mary was living in East Pittsburgh PA, head of household, age 47 and widowed  according to the 1910 census.

Living with her was her daughter, Mary Malloy age 25, her husband Dominick age 34, daughter Mary I (Ida??) age 3 and brother one month old.  Also living there were her daughters, Margaret, Sadie (Sarah?) and Josephine.

Plus innumerable boarders, ten of them in fact.  I am wondering how many of them were relatives?
What happened to Michael, where is he buried?   It lists Mary as the mother of eight with four living.  I know two of the four Catherine and Annie but who are the other two.  I suppose I have to search the records of St. Thomas, but if they were stillborn or died at birth they would not have a Baptism records and the deaths do not start until the 1940’s.

Why did they move to Newark New Jersey?   With most of your family living in Allegheny County PA why would they go there??? 

I have a lot of blank spots to fill in…..