Tracing emigrants to USA

Anchises

Hi,

I've been able to trace my Aunt onto a Manifest of a ship that went from Cobh Co. Cork to Ellis Island New York in Sept. 1924 at age 18. It provides a great deal of info, age, fathers name, destination, complexion,hair and eye colours, etc. She was bound for Philadelphia, PA. I even got the exact address there, and name of the person she was going to stay with.

However that's where the trail ends.

What's the best way to find her in USA records ?

If she became a citizen (as I'm sure she did) , would there be a record of that somewhere. She may have married and that seems to lead to dissappearance due to the name changing

A.

leck

I'd start looking for her in the 1930 federal census. If you can't find her it may be that she got married. You might also try looking for the person listed as her contact in Phila and also look for them in the 1920 census. It was often the case that women did not take out citizenship in their own right. I've had much more success in finding naturalization papers for males.

Anchises

Thanks for that .

How would you get naturalization papers ?

Thru the census first ?

A.

leck

Anchises wrote: »

Thanks for that .

How would you get naturalization papers ?

Thru the census first ?

A.

I have a sub to ancestry.com, I usually do my searches through that, which is probably the lazy way to do it. If you can find the census you can see if she was naturalized or not by 1930. You can search federal census returns up to 1940. Maybe you know more about her later life? marriage, etc.

Bayberry

You could check the Social Security Death Index which lists information about people who had a Social Security number, and whose death has been notified to the Social Security Administration.

One of the fields that it contains is the ZIP code were the person died
https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1202535

IAFC55

aa

leck

Any luck Anchises? I'd be happy to look on ancestry.com to see what I can find, you can PM me her name and any other info that you have - parents names, siblings, date of arrival, who she was going to in PA.

Coolnabacky1873

Anchises wrote: »

What's the best way to find her in USA records ?

Start your search in that year in Philadelphia with the person listed on the manifest that she was going to stay with. If she did go to them, it is likely she stayed for a while (possibly up to 2+ years) until she got set up with a job, saved up to possibly move out, etc.

As others have said, look at that manifest person in the 1930 federal census on Familysearch or Ancestry. Unfortunately for you, Pennsylvania did not carry out any state censuses. She, herself, might also be found on the 1930 census if she did not marry by then. There is a tedious way to find married women on the census when you don't know the married name.

Your best hope to find her is if she stayed in Philadelphia and got married there. If so, try the Philly marriage index on Familysearch. If you find a match, there are two records you can try and get, marriage licenses (permission from the state to marry) and certificates (issued after marriage). Both should be at City Hall in Philly.

Anchises wrote: »

How would you get naturalization papers ?

Thru the census first ?

If you can find her in the 1930 census, that will tell you the year she immigrated (don't worry if it is out by a year or two) and year she naturalized. Naturalizations at that stage was the responsibility of the federal government and applications for records after 1906 are currently sent to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. You might get lucky with a transcription/index/record on Ancestry or Familysearch.

Overall, it's important to remember that outside the census and passenger lists, there are huge amount of records in the US that have NOT been digitized any maybe are only indexed at best. There will be records created by the city of Philadelphia, state of Pennsylvania and by the US federal government. All three will most likely be currently located at different institutions. You need to focus on Philadelphia and learn about the genealogy records in that city. Start with the wiki on Familysearch.

Anchises

Thanks for all those suggestions.

I'm struggling to read a poor copy of a manifest that I screen grabbed.

I think the person they were going to (My Aunt and Uncle, travelled together @ ages 18 and 22) is Mrs Meehan - could be Moohan too .
I'll attach an image here , if I can.





The address is clear enough, but I still can get no data in the US Census 1920 that is helpful. I did find one Jeremiah J Mahony in Philly, PA, married with two sons, but the census says he emigrated in 1920 . He actually travelled in 1924. I wonder - can the years be stated incorrectly in the census

A.

EDIT: PS - I've inserted an IMG link and a URL - but they do not show in the post

Anchises

I tried : Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Marriage Indexes, 1885-1951 , for both Norah and Jeremiah Mahony

No Norah (or nora) turned up and three Jeremiahs - but all married prior to 1914,
They travelled to USA in 1924

No luck either with : Social Security Death Index

I also failed to find the person they were shown as their destination in Census 1920 or 1930.

D.

Anchises

I've sent a search request to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. fee $20.00.

Maybe that will produce the goods

Thanks for your info. I'll come back when I hear from them.

A.

Bayberry

Anchises wrote: »

I think the person they were going to (My Aunt and Uncle, travelled together @ ages 18 and 22) is Mrs Meehan - could be Moohan too

If it's Philadelphia, then it's Meehan - there are a LOT of Meehans in Philadelphia!

leck

Anchises wrote: »

Thanks for all those suggestions.

I'm struggling to read a poor copy of a manifest that I screen grabbed.

I think the person they were going to (My Aunt and Uncle, travelled together @ ages 18 and 22) is Mrs Meehan - could be Moohan too .
I'll attach an image here , if I can.

The address is clear enough, but I still can get no data in the US Census 1920 that is helpful. I did find one Jeremiah J Mahony in Philly, PA, married with two sons, but the census says he emigrated in 1920 . He actually travelled in 1924. I wonder - can the years be stated incorrectly in the census

A.

EDIT: PS - I've inserted an IMG link and a URL - but they do not show in the post

I think it's definitely Meehan. It could be read as Moohan, but if you look at O's elsewhere on the page, they are much sharper. It's easier to read Meehan where it appears first in the column on the left. What a pity there is no first name. What I see: Aunt - Mrs. Meehan, 5845 Mt Vernon St, Philadelphia.

leck

The two manifest pages in question are attached.

Jeremiah (22) and Nora Mahony (18) (father Denis Mahony, Ballinagree, Macroom, Co Cork) dept Cobh on SS Adriatic 14 Sep 1924, arr NY 22 Sep 1924. Going to aunt Mrs Meehan, 5845 Mt Vernon St, Philadelphia

Anchises

They listed her as 'Aunt' - So i guess she was a Mahony.
I've found one ' Teresa E Meehan' married to a 'Mahoney' (diff spelling - we don't have the 'e')
listed in 'Orphan's Court - Philadelphia - Marriage Licence Index - 1917 - 1938.

In fact I got 6 marriages of Meehans and Mahoneys (or O'Mahoneys)- Teresa E seemed a possible. Only two are likely - The others (4) are Female Meehans

Now how do you get the spouses full name/DOB etc..... ?
A marriage licence would help... The index gives a year only - presumably the F number 492882 is a licence no ?

A.

leck

Anchises wrote: »

They listed her as 'Aunt' - So i guess she was a Mahony...

You can't presume that. She could be a sister of either parent, married to a Meehan.

Did both Nora and Jeremiah vanish and none of their family in Ireland had contact with them after they left?

You might presume that they both went initially to the address provided in the manifest, but this wasn't always the case. I traced one ancestor who, according to his listing on the manifest, was going to his brother in San Francisco, but he ended up in Chicago.

pinkypinky

You do need to consider every spelling of Mahony with and without the O too - it doesn't matter what your family has now. 100 years ago, people were far less careful with spelling.

Anchises

You can't presume that. She could be a sister of either parent, married to a Meehan.

I hadn't thought of that

That would make her maiden name Callaghan.
Another search coming up ......

You do need to consider every spelling of Mahony with and without the O too - it doesn't matter what your family has now. 100 years ago, people were far less careful with spelling.

I've been doing that for completeness. My own children have now adopted the 'O' , so even today there is ambiguity. My Father was very proud of the name. He would frequently point out the error if anybody used the O'.

A.

leck

Anchises wrote: »

I hadn't thought of that

That would make her maiden name Callaghan.
Another search coming up ...

If she (Mrs. Meehan of Phila) was your paternal grandfather's sister, her maiden name would be Mahony. If she was your paternal grandmother's sister, wouldn't her maiden name be Healy (you said that grandmother was Ellen Healy)? unless he was married twice - the other time to Callaghan woman.

Anchises

Right !

I skipped back to my Great Grandfather's generation - His wife was a Callaghan.

A.

leck

So Jeremiah Mahony b abt 1902 and Nora Mahony b abt 1906 to Denis Mahony and xxx Callaghan of Ballinagree, Macroom, Co Cork?

Have you gotten birth and/or baptismal records for Jeremiah, Norah and their siblings? And marriage record for the parents? If not, I would start there before starting to look into records in the US. Build a solid base first. Sometimes baptismal sponsors yield clues to other family members. Have you printed out the 1901 and 1911 census returns for this family and other related families?

Anchises

So Jeremiah Mahony b abt 1902 and Nora Mahony b abt 1906 to Denis Mahony and xxx Callaghan of Ballinagree, Macroom, Co Cork?

I have you confused now Denis Mahony, my Grandfather married Ellen Healy 1893.
I have their marriage cert. And a birth cert for my Grandfather - He was born 1873. That gave me the names of my GreatGrandparents as
Daniel Mahony and Ellen Callaghan.

I have the Census returns for 1901 and 1911. Lots of searching done already. I'm happy I have a solid base with the family here.

It would just be good to see if or how my Aunt & Uncle got on there. Or just to know something about them. The Emigration Service holds promise. They could possibly have pictures on the Visa application - according to their site.

There has been very little contact that I know of from our USA relations. My sister tells me that a letter was received from my father's sister, when he was ill - back in the early eighties. That would make his sister aged in her Seventies/Eighties maybe at that time.
Also, my sister says she was living in a town called Bethlehem at that time - Maybe Bethlehem in PA - indicating that she stayed close to her original destination. However my sister thinks it may have been a town in NY State then.

Sadly no family papers now exist that might help in that regard.

A.

tanoralover

I didn't get anywhere with Jeremiah but Nora was easy to track down. She was born on July 18th 1905. In 1929 she married Michael O McCue in Phileadelphia. Michael McHugh was born in 1904 in Cranford, Co Donegal. Michael immigrated in February 1925 and died in 1982.They had one child, a daughter named Mary, who passed away in February. Nora was living in Upper Darby in 1930 and when she was naturalised in 1936. Nora died in Bethlehem, PA in 1991.

Morning Call, The (Allentown, PA) - November 6, 1991
Nora McCue , 86, died Monday in Elder Inn, 425 Center St., Bethlehem, where she resided. She was the wife of the late Michael O. McCue .

Born in County Cork, Ireland, she was a daughter of the late Dennis and Ellen (Healy) Mahoney.

She was a member of Notre Dame Catholic Church, Bethlehem.

Survivors: Daughter, Mary, wife of Henry G. Chadwick of Bethlehem; sisters, Mrs. Margaret Cornelius of London, England and Mrs. Hannah Lucy of County Cork; four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Services: 9:45 a.m. Saturday, Connell Funeral Home, 245 E. Broad St., Bethlehem; Mass at 10:30 a.m in the church. Call 8:45-9:45 a.m. Saturday.

Mary Meehan lived at 3845 Mount Vernon from at least 1918 to 1930. She was predeceased by her husband John and they don't appear to have had a family. She died on March 23rd 1939 aged 61 and her death certificate confirms her parents were Daniel Mahoney and Ellen Callahan. The informant was her "nephew" Michael McCue of PO Box M, Malvern, PA (Mary's own address at the time of her death).

Anchises

You amaze me ....

I felt a flush of emotion as I read you response. All those facts gel with what I have already. Thank you for your input. I really had no more areas to search on my own.

They had one child, a daughter named Mary, who passed away in February.

February of what year ?

Thank you again.

I am indebted to you .

A.

Anchises

Ignore the question. I realise you gave me embeded links. I was so excited by the news I didn't read it all properly.

Thaks again.

A.

Anchises

@ tanoralover

I'm so impressed with your discoveries, that I feel forced to put to you one more quest:

Ellen Calla(g)han and Daniel Mahon(e)y had 10 children between 1859 and 1873, so far as I can ascertain. Mary Meehan of PA USA(DOB 1878 possibly) seems to have been a daughter of Daniel - Can't find her baptism/birth as a child of theirs - tho' there seems to be a gap of two years between Ellen(1879) and Margaret(1877)

However, no matter how many searched I do (Mallow Heritage Centre/LDS/FindMyPast.ie) I cannot find any record of their wedding date.

They would not be brazen enought to baptise 20 children without being married

Is it possible that a marriage might not be registered ?
Surely they would have signed a register at the church on the day ?
Could it be that some records were not captured ?

And where are the registers at this stage ? In the parishes ? Or in the CRO Dublin ?

A.

pinkypinky

If they were Catholics, no civil record of the marriage would exist prior to 1864. If they were not Catholics, then a marriage record might exist from 1845 onwards. In the early years, some spillage did happen as people got used to registering events. However, marriages are the least likely to be missed because a church organisation was responsible for registering the marriage, rather than the individuals.

However, in this case, it's mostly likely that the relevant parish record does not survive, either because it was lost or damaged over time. The same standards were not applied in each parish, and some were more rigorous than others. It is also possible that a mistranscription has occurred and we can't find it because of that.

Lionheart

Anchises wrote: »

I cannot find any record of their wedding date.

Is it possible that a marriage might not be registered ?

A.

Is this possibly the marriage what you are looking for? The parish (I know Kilmurray isn't too far from Macroom) and the date (14th May 1857) seem to tie up with the info you have given.

http://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/details/fdf2c00038507

Anchises

Looks good

However, I traced baptisms of ten children (1859 to 1879) of Ellen & Daniel - on the Mallow site and they were all baptised in Aghinagh parish. That would be consistent if they had moved after the marriage to Aghinagh parish.
But there seems to be a few children born to Ellen & Daniel Mahony in Kilmurray : Timothy 25/7/1858 , John 21/12/1870

This leads me to believe that there are more than one couple named Ellen CallaghanAnd Daniel Mahony.

Was in normal in those days to marry in the Bride's parish ? (Maybe she was not from his parish)

Since he was a farm laborour (assumed - since his children that I know of were ) , did laborours engage in the practice of migrating to where the work was ?

A.

pinkypinky

It was normal to marry in the bride's parish, but it didn't always happen, for practical reasons.

Anchises

Hi,

Re earlier references in this thread to tracing my Uncle who went to USA in 1924....

I requested records from Dept Of Homeland Security and Immigration online.

They found one record of my Uncle being Naturalised in 1946 and I must pay $20.00 for a copy.

However, I'm not sure how to send them $20.00. Can't do it on line, must be by post. (Great ! and a strike on now too ).

Anybody know what way I should pay ? They don't want cash obviously .

Bank draft in dollars ?
Postal Order ?

A.