It's Sunday morning and my husband is still sleeping, so I'm back on the computer.
A search of the 1850 US Federal Census for Thomas Cavanagh or Kavanagh using the soundex has been unsuccessful, neither was a search on Mar* or Marc* Cavanagh or Kavanagh. It's possible that the couple were not married that early. Based on the age of the oldest child I know about, (Arthur), Thomas and Marcella should have been married by 1856.
I caught the "Who Do You Think You Are" episode with Matthew Broderick last night on Prime Time on Demand. I had missed the original airing of the show because my husband and I were at the Rockin' the Red Cross Corporate Band Challenge at the Landmark Theater in Syracuse on Friday Night. The CXtec Dinosaurs came in third, and lead singer Leila Dean won best female vocalist. Leila rocks!
Back to Matthew Broderick. In the episode Matthew finds out that his great-great grandfather, Robert Martindale, was a Civil War soldier who died in battle. This got me wondering whether Thomas Cavanagh also served. He was the right age, and a great number of recent Irish immigrants from the New York City area served in the Union Army. I did find a record for a Thomas Cavanaugh who enlisted as a private in Yonkers, NY into Company A, 17th Regiment NY on 29 April 1861, at the age of 29. This is about the right age to be my Thomas. This Thomas received a disability discharge from Company A, 17th Infantry Regiment NY on 11 Nov 1861. I checked the Civil War Pension Application database on Ancestry.com but did not find a Thomas Cavanagh who applied from New Jersey who served in the 17th Infantry Regiment NY. I think I'll try to find out more about Thomas before ordering his service records from the National Archives.
I did find Thomas and Marcella in the 1900 US Federal Census. At the time of enumeration they were living in Ward 3 of Elizabeth, NJ, at 236 Bond Street. The information is listed below:
Cavanagh, Thomas, head, white, male, b. Aug 1835, 64 yrs old, married 38 years, b. Ireland, both parents b. Ireland, immigrated 1870, 30 yrs in US, Naturalized citizen, blacksmith, 0 months unemployed, able to read, write and speak English, owns house, free of mortgage
Cavanagh, Marcella, wife, white, female, b. Oct. 1836, 63 yrs old, married 38 years, b. Ireland, both parents b. Ireland, able to read, write and speak English
There seems to be some discrepancy regarding when Thomas immigrated, also, was Marcella born in England or Ireland? According to the information above, Thomas and Marcella married about 1862, but we find them married, with children in the 1860 US Federal Census...
I'm hoping that one fact on the above census is correct, that Thomas was a naturalized citizen. I'll check the Naturalization records to see if I can find him.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Week Two
I have found Michael Cavanagh in the 1880 US Census with his parents Thomas and Marcella and siblings Arthur, Elizabeth, Thomas and Mary. Thank Goodness for Marcella's unique name!
The Thomas Cavanagh (spelled Cavanah) family was living at 236 Bond St., in Elizabeth, NJ as follows:
Cavanah, Thomas, male, 40, wife, married, Boat Man, b. Ireland, both parents b. Ireland
Cavanah, Marscella, female, 40, married K[eeps] House, b. England, both parent b. Ireland
Cavanah, Arthur, male, 22, son, single [no further information, and the name is crossed out. Does this mean that Arthur is not a child of Thomas or Marcella, or that he had died within the year?]
Cavanah, Elizabeth, female, 20, daughter, single, b. NY, father b. Ireland, mother b. England
Cavanah, Michael, male, 19, son, single, Laborer, b. NY, father b. Ireland, mother b. England
Cavanah, Thomas, male, 17, son, single, Laborer, b. NY, father b. Ireland, mother b. England
Cavanah, Mary, female, 11, daughter, single, b. NJ, father b. Ireland, mother b. England
Although other children on this page are identified as having attended school within the year, there is not indication that the children in this family attended school.
The fact that Mary was born in NJ, while the other children were born in NY gives an indication that this family may have moved from NY to NJ between 1863 and 1869. The family should be in NJ in the 1870 census, and should be in NY in the 1860 census.
I need to find out what happened to Arthur!
Well, what would have seemed an easy search of the 1870 US Federal Census on Ancestry.com turned out to be a bit trickier than first expected. I was unable to find a Thomas Cavanagh b. 1835 (within 5 yrs) in Ireland with the above family in NY or NJ. I then tried the children, still no luck. I finally just put in Mary for a first name, left the last name field blank, narrowed the place search to the last place I found the family in 1880, which was NJ, Union County, Elizabeth and put in a birth place of New Jersey, birth year of 1869 with a 2 year range. I came up with 171 results, but quickly spotted a Mary Canena which looked possible. Sure enough, she was the daughter of Thomas and Moisella Cavena. I made sure to add an alternate name to this family so that others may be able to find them more easily than I was!
Thomas and Moisella's Post Office address was Elizabeth Port, dwelling 504, Family 538 in Elizabeth, NJ. Here are the details:
Cavena, Thomas, 37, male, white, Boatman, b. Ireland, both parents of foreign birth
Cavena, Moisella, 35, female, white, K[eeps] H[ouse], b. England, both parents of foreign birth
Cavena, Arthur, 12, male, white, b. NY, both parents of foreign birth, attended school within year
Cavena, Elizabeth, 10, female, white, b. NY, both parents of foreign birth, attended school within year
Cavena, Michael, 8, male, white, b. NY, both parents of foreign birth, attended school within year
Cavena, Thomas, 6, male, white, b. NY, both parents of foreign birth, attended school within year
Cavena, Mary, 2, female, white, b. NJ, both parents of foreign birth
So, it would appear that Arthur was a son of Thomas and Marcella, and not an error made by the census taker in the 1880 US Federal Census. I wonder whether he was not living in the household? Could this explain why his name was crossed out?
I did a quick search on Arthur Cavanagh, b. 1868 in NY, living in NJ, but found no matches. I'll have to do more digging later.
Next I looked for the Thomas and Marcella Cavanagh family in the 1860 US Federal Census, assuming that they would be in NY. Once again, although there were several Thomas Cavanaghs that came up in my initial search, there was none that matched the family information I have for him. I then searched on Arthur Cavanagh, (using a soundex search, of course!), b. within 2 yrs of 1858 in NY, living in NY. No matches. Then I tried just Arthur, no last name, b. within 2 yrs of 1858, in NY, living in NY. This time I got over 1,000 matches, I scrolled through all the last names beginning with Ca, then checked Co, then checked Ka. Sure enough, there was Arthur Kavanagh, son of Thos and Marcel Kavanagh, with a 5 month old Elizh Kavanagh in the household. This was my family. It's interesting that the soundex for Cavanagh does not bring up Kavanagh!
Thomas and Marcel Kavanagh were living in District 2, Ward 4, of New York City, they were enumerated on pages 136 and 137, in dwelling number 183, family number 672 as follows:
Thos Kavanagh, 27, male, Labor, b. Ireland
Marcel Kavanagh, 24, female, b. England
Arthur Kavanagh, 3, male, b. NY
Elizh Kavanagh, 5/12, female, b. NY
Next step, try to find Thomas and Marcella in the 1850 US Federal Census. This should be interesting, because according to the 1900 US Federal Census, Thomas immigrated to the US in 1870. There is no immigration information listed for Marcella. Apparently Thomas immigrated prior to 1870, as we find him in NY in 1860. Also, in the 1900 US Federal Census, Marcella indicated that she had 8 children, 5 of which were living at the time. Who were those other 3 children? Was Arthur one of them? Regardless, if this information is correct than I am missing the names of three children.
The Thomas Cavanagh (spelled Cavanah) family was living at 236 Bond St., in Elizabeth, NJ as follows:
Cavanah, Thomas, male, 40, wife, married, Boat Man, b. Ireland, both parents b. Ireland
Cavanah, Marscella, female, 40, married K[eeps] House, b. England, both parent b. Ireland
Cavanah, Arthur, male, 22, son, single [no further information, and the name is crossed out. Does this mean that Arthur is not a child of Thomas or Marcella, or that he had died within the year?]
Cavanah, Elizabeth, female, 20, daughter, single, b. NY, father b. Ireland, mother b. England
Cavanah, Michael, male, 19, son, single, Laborer, b. NY, father b. Ireland, mother b. England
Cavanah, Thomas, male, 17, son, single, Laborer, b. NY, father b. Ireland, mother b. England
Cavanah, Mary, female, 11, daughter, single, b. NJ, father b. Ireland, mother b. England
Although other children on this page are identified as having attended school within the year, there is not indication that the children in this family attended school.
The fact that Mary was born in NJ, while the other children were born in NY gives an indication that this family may have moved from NY to NJ between 1863 and 1869. The family should be in NJ in the 1870 census, and should be in NY in the 1860 census.
I need to find out what happened to Arthur!
Well, what would have seemed an easy search of the 1870 US Federal Census on Ancestry.com turned out to be a bit trickier than first expected. I was unable to find a Thomas Cavanagh b. 1835 (within 5 yrs) in Ireland with the above family in NY or NJ. I then tried the children, still no luck. I finally just put in Mary for a first name, left the last name field blank, narrowed the place search to the last place I found the family in 1880, which was NJ, Union County, Elizabeth and put in a birth place of New Jersey, birth year of 1869 with a 2 year range. I came up with 171 results, but quickly spotted a Mary Canena which looked possible. Sure enough, she was the daughter of Thomas and Moisella Cavena. I made sure to add an alternate name to this family so that others may be able to find them more easily than I was!
Thomas and Moisella's Post Office address was Elizabeth Port, dwelling 504, Family 538 in Elizabeth, NJ. Here are the details:
Cavena, Thomas, 37, male, white, Boatman, b. Ireland, both parents of foreign birth
Cavena, Moisella, 35, female, white, K[eeps] H[ouse], b. England, both parents of foreign birth
Cavena, Arthur, 12, male, white, b. NY, both parents of foreign birth, attended school within year
Cavena, Elizabeth, 10, female, white, b. NY, both parents of foreign birth, attended school within year
Cavena, Michael, 8, male, white, b. NY, both parents of foreign birth, attended school within year
Cavena, Thomas, 6, male, white, b. NY, both parents of foreign birth, attended school within year
Cavena, Mary, 2, female, white, b. NJ, both parents of foreign birth
So, it would appear that Arthur was a son of Thomas and Marcella, and not an error made by the census taker in the 1880 US Federal Census. I wonder whether he was not living in the household? Could this explain why his name was crossed out?
I did a quick search on Arthur Cavanagh, b. 1868 in NY, living in NJ, but found no matches. I'll have to do more digging later.
Next I looked for the Thomas and Marcella Cavanagh family in the 1860 US Federal Census, assuming that they would be in NY. Once again, although there were several Thomas Cavanaghs that came up in my initial search, there was none that matched the family information I have for him. I then searched on Arthur Cavanagh, (using a soundex search, of course!), b. within 2 yrs of 1858 in NY, living in NY. No matches. Then I tried just Arthur, no last name, b. within 2 yrs of 1858, in NY, living in NY. This time I got over 1,000 matches, I scrolled through all the last names beginning with Ca, then checked Co, then checked Ka. Sure enough, there was Arthur Kavanagh, son of Thos and Marcel Kavanagh, with a 5 month old Elizh Kavanagh in the household. This was my family. It's interesting that the soundex for Cavanagh does not bring up Kavanagh!
Thomas and Marcel Kavanagh were living in District 2, Ward 4, of New York City, they were enumerated on pages 136 and 137, in dwelling number 183, family number 672 as follows:
Thos Kavanagh, 27, male, Labor, b. Ireland
Marcel Kavanagh, 24, female, b. England
Arthur Kavanagh, 3, male, b. NY
Elizh Kavanagh, 5/12, female, b. NY
Next step, try to find Thomas and Marcella in the 1850 US Federal Census. This should be interesting, because according to the 1900 US Federal Census, Thomas immigrated to the US in 1870. There is no immigration information listed for Marcella. Apparently Thomas immigrated prior to 1870, as we find him in NY in 1860. Also, in the 1900 US Federal Census, Marcella indicated that she had 8 children, 5 of which were living at the time. Who were those other 3 children? Was Arthur one of them? Regardless, if this information is correct than I am missing the names of three children.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Day One
It's the 21st of May, 2010, spring has sprung and our neighborhood is recovering from a busy St. Patrick's Day season. We've removed all of the beer cans and cups from our shrubs and have been able to park on our block for three days now, so I consider this holiday a success.
I live on Tipperary Hill in Syracuse, NY, and yes, I'm part Irish. I'm also a genealogist, who has to this point been unable to trace my family's irish heritage back to Ireland. I can get back to New York City in 1860 and no further. I've started this blog as a way to motivate me to achieve this goal, and to perhaps find some cousins and help other Irish researchers along the way.
My father's parents were Lester Armstrong Cavanagh and Elizabeth Eugenia Laborde. Lester was born 12 Nov 1890 in Elizabeth, NJ to parents Michael Archibald Cavanagh and Elizabeth Armstrong Kennedy. Lester and Elizabeth married 6 Mar 1920, possibly in Brooklyn, NY or in Spring Valley, NY. Lester died 10 Nov 1935 in Brooklyn of stomach cancer.
Several years ago I visited the NJ State Archives in Trenton and was able to find Lester's Birth Certificate. To my surprise I found out that Lester had a brother, Frank W. Cavanagh, b. 1 Feb 1888 in Elizabeth. Neither child was named at birth. I have only found one census record that shows the family intact. This is the 1895 NJ State Census. Family 275 of the 5th Ward of Elizabeth, NJ is listed as follows:
Michael Cavanagh, white male, 20 - 60
Lizzie Cavanagh, white female, 20 - 60
Frank Cavanagh, white male, 5 - 20
Lester Cavanagh, white male, under 5
Michael does not appear with his wife in the 1900 US Federal Census. Elizabeth (Kennedy) Cavanagh was living with her mother, Eliza Kennedy, at 235 Elizabeth Ave., in Elizabeth, NJ. The family is listed as follows:
Eliza Kennedy, head, white, female, b. May 1835, 65 yrs old, widowed, 2 children, 2 living, b. Ireland, both parents b. Ireland, immigrated 1847, in US 53 yrs, able to read, write and speak English, rents house
Sarah Kennedy, daughter, white, female, b. Apr. 1875, 25, single, b. NJ, both parents b. Ireland, Stenographer, 0 mos unemployed, able to read, write and speak English
Elizabeth Cavanagh, daughter, white, female, b. Apr. 1870, 30, married 13 years, 2 children, 2 living, b. NJ, both parents b. Ireland, able to read, write and speak English
Cavanagh, Frank, grandson, white, male, b. Nov. 1887, 12, single, b. NJ, both parents b. NJ, at school 6 months, able to read, write and speak English.
It's interesting that Lester is not listed in the household, and that both Frank and Elizabeth Cavanagh's birth month and year are incorrect. Where are Lester and Michael?
Michael Cavanagh, white male, 20 - 60
Lizzie Cavanagh, white female, 20 - 60
Frank Cavanagh, white male, 5 - 20
Lester Cavanagh, white male, under 5
Michael does not appear with his wife in the 1900 US Federal Census. Elizabeth (Kennedy) Cavanagh was living with her mother, Eliza Kennedy, at 235 Elizabeth Ave., in Elizabeth, NJ. The family is listed as follows:
Eliza Kennedy, head, white, female, b. May 1835, 65 yrs old, widowed, 2 children, 2 living, b. Ireland, both parents b. Ireland, immigrated 1847, in US 53 yrs, able to read, write and speak English, rents house
Sarah Kennedy, daughter, white, female, b. Apr. 1875, 25, single, b. NJ, both parents b. Ireland, Stenographer, 0 mos unemployed, able to read, write and speak English
Elizabeth Cavanagh, daughter, white, female, b. Apr. 1870, 30, married 13 years, 2 children, 2 living, b. NJ, both parents b. Ireland, able to read, write and speak English
Cavanagh, Frank, grandson, white, male, b. Nov. 1887, 12, single, b. NJ, both parents b. NJ, at school 6 months, able to read, write and speak English.
It's interesting that Lester is not listed in the household, and that both Frank and Elizabeth Cavanagh's birth month and year are incorrect. Where are Lester and Michael?
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