When blight struck the Ireland countryside’s crop between 1845 and 1852, families that were deeply affected and starving, scrambled to survive and find ways to protect their loved ones. Many felt compelled to leave their homeland behind and emigrate to the States and elsewhere. One such family included my KEEFFE ancestors, hailing from Lismonihis, County Cork.
John Gregory Crace, oldest known photo of an Irish potato famine survivor, 1853, County Waterford, Ireland; The Sexton Collection, The Irish Potato Famine exhibition; Kathy Armstrong, “Who is the Irish man in this rare 164-year-old photo?,” Independent.ie (https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/who-is-the-irish-man-in-this-rare-164-year-old-photo-35691822.html : accessed 15 Nov 2020).
Unfortunately I have not yet uncovered any photos of my Irish emigrant ancestors, nor do I expect to, as photography was quite expensive and still rather new during that period of history. However, I have stumbled across a healthy number of records to document their lives. And several of my discoveries unfolded rather quickly the other night, like rapid fire. As such, I’m sharing that whirlwind here while it’s still fresh in my mind!
Background
To kick things off, here’s a rundown of what I already knew about this branch of the family tree, including a lot of information I’ve researched in just the past year:
My 2nd great grandmother was Mary “Mollie” Boyce born June 1869 in Wheeling, West Virginia
My 3rd great grandparents (Mary’s mother & father) were Margaret O’Keefe and James Boyce
My 4th great grandparents (Margaret’s mother & father) were Anne Mead and Terence Keeffe
Margaret O’Keefe was born Margaret Keeffe, likely on or about 29 August 1843 in Lismonihis, County Cork, Ireland, and was baptized in the Kildorrery Catholic parish on 19 June 1844; she was the youngest of 6 children born to Anne & Terence Keeffe; she married twice, first to a paper maker, Patrick Murphy, in 1863 in Wheeling, Ohio County, Virginia, and second, to my direct ancestor, a boiler man, James Boyce, 6 January 1868, at the same church, St. Joseph’s Cathedral, in Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia (the newly named state having broken off from Virginia); she was recorded as having 10 children, one of which died as an infant; she died 11 March 1917, and was buried in Mt. Calvary Cemetery with her husband James.
Anne Mead was originally from Meadstown, County Cork, presumably born into the family whom the village was named for circa 1806; she married Terence Keeffe 25 January 1826 in Kildorrery; following the birth of her children, her next known whereabouts were in Wheeling in 1863, present for her daughter Margaret’s marriage to Patrick Murphy, as she signed her mark giving away her daughter in the absence of her husband whom she stated had already passed away; she is believed to have died prior to Margaret’s 2nd marriage in 1868, as there are no parents listed on Margaret’s church or civil marriage records at that time; however, a death or burial record for Anne has not been located.
Terence Keeffe was also born circa 1806 in Ireland, presumably in or around Lismonihis (a village or sub-townland no longer in existence) in the civil parish of Farahy; because he was the head of the household, he is named on a couple land records, including the Tithe Applotment Book in townland Ballynoe in 1831 and Griffith’s Valuation in civil parish Farahy around 1851; void of finding an immigration record naming him and his wife and children together, and coupled with his wife’s acknowledgement of his passing pre-1863, it was thought that Terence, and perhaps some of Margaret’s other siblings, may have remained in Ireland throughout the remainder of the devastating famine years and died; though no official death or burial record had been found.
Griffith’s Valuation Map of County Cork circa 1851-53. Ballynoe and Farahy in center. Meadstown settlement in mid-to-lower right corner. Kildorrery in upper right corner. The expansive estate of Bowen’s Court in upper left hand corner. The KEEFFE family leased their land from Mrs. Eliza Bowen of Bowen’s Court, as did many families in the area.
Research Slump
At this point, I had seemingly found all of the “low hanging fruit” in terms of records readily available for this family. However, I was left with many questions, such as what the details were in Terence’s passing, what happened to all of Margaret’s siblings, where and when did her mother Anne die, what year did Margaret and her mother emigrate to America, and into what port did they arrive, as well as many more.
Traditionally, a genealogist is supposed to follow a few rules to guide their research queries. One of which is to start with what you know, and another, more closely related to the problem at hand, is to always flesh out a family’s domestic life before “jumping the pond” and investigating their motherland. There are certainly cases in which this rule should be strictly followed. However, in the case of the KEEFFE family, their life in Ireland really produced the records that allowed me to get to know them and their dynamic, most notably their parish records.
Kildorrery parish, baptism of Margaret Keeffe, 19 June 1844, Kildorrery, County Cork, Ireland; Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915, Ancestry (https://ancestry.com : 15 Nov 2020); Catholic Parish Registers, The National Library of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland, Microfilm 04994 / 06.
Which Thread to Follow
I analyzed the information I had and realized that Margaret and James Boyce’s eldest son, William T. Boyce, was recorded with a birth circa 1864 in Wheeling, West Virginia.
He was living in the Boyce household in 1870 as a six-year-old with inferred parents James and Margaret Boyce (relationships were not listed in US census records until 1880).
In the following census, 1880, he was still living at home in Wheeling as a sixteen-year-old, and this time, officially recorded as the son of James Boyce, head of household. Both he and his father’s occupations were listed as iron mill workers.
Why these records stood out to me as odd was because his birth in 1864 would pre-date his parents’ marriage to each other in 1868. And while it’s not always uncommon for children to be born out of wedlock, Margaret had previously been married to Patrick Murphy in 1863, just 1 year prior to William’s estimated birthdate.
So, was William actually Patrick’s biological son? If so, what was the reason for him being raised with his step-father’s surname? And why had no records surfaced for the remainder of his life past the year 1880? Could he possibly have moved out on his own as an adult and lived by another pseudonym, such as using the surname Murphy or even his mother’s maiden name? I decided to follow this trail, as usually, records can sometimes uncover more details of people’s parents. So in theory, the. more I learn about William T. Boyce, the more I can discover about his mother, Margaret O’Keefe.
Bingo!
Ohio County, West Virginia, Wm Murphy birth registration, 7 May 1864. Parents listed as Patrick and Margaret Murphy.
Indeed, William’s biological father was none other than Margaret’s first husband, Patrick Murphy, as proved by his birth registration. So the hunt began for records filed away under William T. Murphy! And the journey did not disappoint.
Discoveries
1900 U.S. census, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Pittsburgh, ward 29, District 0302, Enumeration District (ED) 302, sheet 12A, Kings Street, line 39, William Murphy boarder in Sarah Watt household; National Archives and Records Administration microfilm publication T623.
Immediately, I found William using the Murphy surname and living as a boarder in a Pennsylvania household run by Sarah Watt and her three sons in the year 1900. His profession was listed as a puddler, which is another way of saying one was involved in iron manufacturing, which lined up with his experience as an iron mill worker.
Then, the 1920 census painted a very similar picture: William T Murphy working in Pittsburgh as a puddler in the Steel Works industry and living as a single man in a boarding house. Coincidentally, a couple of the other boarders were Irish and carried the Bowen surname, just like the owners of the Keeffe’s homeland in Ireland.
Right after, I hit the jackpot!
Pennsylvania, Prison, Reformatory, and Workhouse Records, 1829-1971, William Murphy entry, 2016, online database, Ancestry (https://ancestry.com : 15 Nov 2020) > Western State Penitentiary, Population Records: Descriptive Lists > 1911-1916 > image 442 of 616; Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, prison records, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, p. 169.
William Murphy was incarcerated in June 1914 with a charge of sodomy and buggery (plain language: homosexuality). The minimum sentence was 2 years with a maximum of 4 years. Interestingly, his alias is listed as William O’Keefe (his mother’s maiden name - just what I had suspected might be the case!) The prison record gives a very detailed physical description for William, including his forearm anchor tattoos. But the most genealogically significant info lays with his last known residence. The record notes his former residence was in Everson, Pennsylvania with Jos. O’Shea — a cousin!
I immediately was hoping against hope that this was a cousin on his mother’s side of the family - the O’Keefe’s! If so, this would mean a sibling of his mother Margaret could possibly also be living in the States.
I searched for Joseph O’Shea in Everson, Pennsylvania and not only found him, but found a happy accident as well! Joseph O’Shea was living as a step-grandchild of Catherine O’Shea in 1900. And wouldn’t you know it, but William appears on this 1900 census record, despite already having been recorded in 1900! Here, he is listed with a full name: Wm Thos Murphy, giving us his middle name, Thomas. He is again listed as a puddler for iron mills.
1900 U.S. census, Fayette, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Upper Tyrone Township Precinct 1, District 0069, Enumeration District (ED) 69, sheet 8B, line 62, Wm Thos Murphy boarder in Catherine O’Shea household; National Archives and Records Administration microfilm publication T623.
Next Steps
Now to research Catherine O’Shea and determine whether she could be related to William’s mother, Margaret. Catherine’s birthplace of Ireland and that of her parents on this census record bodes well.
And that’s not all that this record reveals. Catherine’s birth year of 1832 fits closely with the baptismal date for Margaret’s known sister, Catherine Keeffe. However, there is a 2 year discrepancy here. But a similar discrepancy already exists for Margaret’s birthdate as well, so while this is a small bump in the road, it’s not a dealbreaker — record discrepancies exist all the time for different reasons. Catherine is also listed as widowed. This almost certainly confirms that O’Shea is not her maiden name, opening up the possibility that Keeffe could be her maiden name. And lastly, her immigration year is listed as 1850, falling right within the perfect time period that Margaret had to have immigrated to America as well. These are all great clues that Catherine is Margaret’s sister, but none of these bits seal the deal.
But then, I found Catherine’s death certificate!
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, certificate of death for Catherine O’Shea, 28 May 1914, file no. 47982, registration no. 50; Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906-1968, online database, Ancestry (https://ancestry.com : accessed 15 Nov 2020) > 1914 > 047811-051340 > image 181 of 3708.
This certificate confirmed my suspicions! Catherine was the daughter of Terry O’Keeffe (of course, a derivative of Terence Keeffe) and Nancy Meade (inconsistent with the known first name of Margaret’s mother, Anne, but Nancy could in fact be a middle name or even just an incorrect entry by the as of yet unknown informant of Catherine’s death, Edward McGivern). Fantastic source and discovery!
But it doesn’t stop there. Even though Catherine died in Pennsylvania, her death certificate notes she was actually buried in St. Patrick Cemetery in Cumberland, Maryland. Now what connection does this family have to Maryland? Whatever it was, I wasn’t aware of it up until that point.
So I scanned the memorial pages created on FindAGrave.com for St. Patrick Cemetery, narrowing in on the surnames I was researching for this family. Another discovery! This one, a shocking one!
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 15 November 2020), memorial page for Terrence O'Keefe (unknown–13 Sep 1853), Find a Grave Memorial no. 120264283, citing Saint Patricks Cemetery, Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland, USA ; Maintained by Shawn McGreevy (contributor 47382209).
My 4th great grandfather, Terence Keeffe was buried in the same Maryland cemetery as his daughter Catherine! I had no idea Terence had made it over to the States or when/how he had died, and this memorial page answered so many of those questions! Terence died 13 September 1853 in Cumberland, Maryland, his cause of death was consumption (known in more modern times as Tuberculosis), and he was buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery. This was a goldmine of information.
Now knowing I could place him in Maryland before September 1853, this gave me additional parameters to work within and led me to the ultimate find of the night — a query he had printed in “The Boston Pilot” on 31 May 1851 seeking information on his eldest daughter, Honora. The request is quite heartbreaking.
Searching for Missing Friends: Irish Immigrant Advertisements Placed in “The Boston Pilot," 1831-1920, online database, Ancestry (https://ancestry.com : accessed 15 Nov 2020) > Vol 2, 1851-53 > images 63-64 of 669; Harris, Ruth-Ann M., Donald M. Jacobs, and B. Emer O’Keeffe, editors, Searching for Missing Friends: Irish Immigrant Advertisements Placed in “The Boston Pilot 1831–1920,” 1989 (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society), p. 63-64.
Findings
This single night of back-to-back discoveries was probably the most eventful and promising night of genealogy research I’ve ever experienced. But my final find definitely brought tears to my eyes thinking about the fact that Terence died less than 2 years later in Maryland. The question now remains, was he ever able to reconnect with his eldest daughter, Honora?
Seeing as how his daughter Catherine was buried in the same cemetery as him, at least that part of the family had been reconnected. And knowing that Margaret’s eldest son, William, had been living in Catherine’s household in Pennsylvania, proves that Margaret and her mother Anne must have also known Terence to be in the States (it’s yet to be known if all 4 of them travelled to America together), but was Honora ever found? And what of Margaret’s other siblings? Did any perish in Ireland during the famine?
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