Joseph E. Mulcahy's WWI Service Records

I recently ordered the NYS WWI Service Records of all 4 of my great-grandfathers. This will be my next foray into trying to interpret service records, as I attempt to do genealogical research in military records. The military service record for one of my paternal great-grandfathers, Joseph Eugene Mulcahy, consisted of two cards, each pictured here (front and back).

The biographical information in this record substantiates what I already knew. Joseph E. Mulcahy was born 3 September 1896, and lived at 85 Luqueer Street in Brooklyn. According to the record, he enlisted at Fort Slocum, NY on May 9, 1917. I've never been able to find a WWI draft card for Joseph Mulcahy; instead, I have an article from the Brooklyn Daily Standard Union, dated 28 June 1917, describing how he and his brothers enlisted after their father's death.

28 June 1918

This has always lead me to assume that they did not need to register for the draft because they enlisted instead. The Navy Service Record that I received for my other paternal great-grandfather, John O'Hara, has led me to reconsider whether this is accurate, since he seemed to both sign up for the Navy and enlist.

The service record goes on to record Joseph's promotions through the ranks. He was promoted to Corporal on 19 Aug 1917, and to Sergeant on 19 April 1918. The first card says that he accepted a commission on 4 June 1918; the next card says that he was appointed 2nd Lieutenant on 5 June 1918. (Would these two events not have been simultaneous?)

I also received from a cousin a scanned copy of Joseph's promotion to 2nd Lieutenant, which is dated 1 June 1918.

Suffice it to say, by the end of the first week of June, he was a 2nd Lieutenant. At my present level of knowledge, I can't be more precise than that.

Joseph E. Mulcahy's "principal stations" were at Camp Gordon, GA; Camp MacArthur, TX; and Camp Johnston, FL. He received an honorable discharge on 3 Dec 1918, approximately 6 months after receiving his commission, and without ever having been involved in any engagements or even served overseas.

WWI "Emergency" Officers, Camp Gordon, GA

Every so often, I Google the names of ancestors in hopes of finding anything that might be out there. It's not usually a successful endeavor. Last week, though, I googled my great-grandfather's full name - "Joseph Eugene Mulcahy" - and got a hit! (and it wasn't even from my blog!)

I had long known that Papa had been promoted to 2nd Lieutenant in the Army on 1 June 1918, since my cousin John had sent me a copy of that promotion, which I posted here, very shortly after I began this blog - but that was all I knew. Someone - who goes by "MaryCarol" - posted a list of all of the 1,744 men promoted to 2nd Lieutenant at that time on a Rootsweb Freepage.

The list of names comes from the personal paper of her grandfather, Captain Flag Allen Drewry, but there's no source given on the background information. It states that enlisted men were given 3 months' officer training before being promoted as "emergency" officers to replace those who had been killed overseas. What a pall under which to receive a promotion! Information on Camp Gordon, in Atlanta, where Papa was stationed, says that it was the largest temporary training camp in the South, consisting of 2,400 acres, 1,635 buildings, and could house 46,612 men.

Assuming the information is accurate, there are some fascinating nuggets that provide insight into my great-grandfather's military service.

(MaryCarol. "WWI 1918 Camp Gordon GA 1700 Promotions to 2nd Lieutenant." http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kinfolke/WWI_1918_Camp_Gordon_1700_Promoted_2nd_Lieutenant.html) 

Baby Pictures

My cousin John just sent me this picture of my great-grandfather, Joseph Mulcahy, and his younger brother Michael.

Joseph is on the left, slightly older and with the adorable curls (so that is where my sister Anna gets her curly hair!) - and is that a riding crop he's holding?! Joseph was born 3 September 1896, and Michael was born 11 March 1899, so I'm guessing this picture was taken in late 1899, maybe right around when Joseph turned 3.

Joseph and Michael were the 4th and 5th in a family that, at the time, included 5 children. I'm not sure where their older siblings are in this photo - in 1899, Margaret would have been about 9, James 7, and Matthew 6. The picture includes only the babies of the family.

What's most interesting to me is that Papa's face really seems never to have changed. Even at the age of 3, you can see the very strong resemblance to his pictures as an adult. (Examples here and here.)

Happy Birthday, Nan!

Today would have been my grandmother, Marilyn Mulcahy O'Hara's 79th birthday. She was born on 21 February, 1931, to Joseph Eugene Mulcahy and Veronica Mulvaney, the oldest of their three children. Nan was born at the Bensonhurst Maternity Hospital in Brooklyn.

She was baptized at St. Anselm's Church on 11 March 1931. Her god-parents were Gerard Mulcahy, her father's brother, and Mary Mulvaney Daniels, aka Auntie Mae, her mother's sister.

Obtaining genealogical Information about ancestors who served in the NYPD

Months and months ago, I contacted the New York City Police Department to see whether they could offer any information about my great-great-grandfather, Joseph Mulcahy, who was a New York cop. I was living in a DC apartment at the time, and though I knew I'd be spending the summer in New York, I was using my temporary address on all of my correspondence at the time, since I never dreamed the response to a February request would arrive in June.

I went back to the old apartment this past weekend to pick up some furniture I'd stored there (and moved it into my GORGEOUS brand new apartment, by the way), and the upstairs neighbors gave me the mail they'd collected for me over the summer. There, among the alumni mailers and charity brochures, was a thick manilla envelope from the police department. It was so thick, in fact, that I assumed it couldn't be information about Papa. They must have sent a booklet or magazine about the history of the NYPD, or some such.

Oh no. It was an inch of material, and it was all about Papa. Just the list of what was included was 3 and a half pages long! I couldn't believe it!

If you're looking for information about the NYPD service of your ancestors, here's what I did:

I wrote to

Chief of Personnel
Staff Services Section
1 Police Plaza Room 1208
New York, NY 10038

I wrote a brief paragraph requesting any information they might be able to provide about my great-grandfather, Joseph E. Mulcahy, making sure to include the following information:

his name
my relationship to him
his shield number
his precinct
date of birth
years served

I was able to make out his shield number from an old picture of Papa in uniform, and I knew at least one of the precincts he'd served in based on old newspaper articles. I didn't know the years he'd served, but I ball-parked it based on what I knew about his life - when he was born, when he'd served in the Army, when he'd married, and when he'd died. Any other information you may have about your ancestor will probably be helpful, too.

It took about 4 months, so please don't give them a temporary address if you're not sure how long you'll be living there. I was very lucky that the boys upstairs were holding my mail, and that I'd even had cause to go back to the apartment at all. If I'd moved out cleanly, without leaving my things, I'd never have gone back and never have gotten all this information.

1905 NYS Census - Mulcahy Family at 85 Luqueer St.

Ah, the first sweet fruits of the newly-available 1905 NYS Census via the FamilySearch.org pilot site! I didn't find it by myself, though - much credit goes to the Steve Morse "One-Step" Site, where this handy tool quickly and easily helps you figure out the Assembly District and Election District for a given address.

I first searched for 85 Luqueer St., and found it in AD/ED 9/13. This record shows the Mulcahy family as the first of the 5 families living at Number 85. It consist of Michael, 43; Mary, 36; eldest daughter Margaret, 15; James, 14; Matthew, 12; Joseph, 9; Michael, 6; Mary, 4; and John, 1. Gerard and Vincent were not yet born.

Michael says he's been in the US for 24 years; this would imply that he immigrated in 1881, which sounds reasonable, as I've never come across him on the 1880 Census. I also haven't ever found his immigration records. Michael is still listed as an alien, so according to this record, he hadn't naturalized yet. His occupation is listed as "Saloon," and Mary's is "Housework." The kids, from Margaret down through Papa (Joseph) are at school (Michael, Mary, and John are still "at home"). What I find particularly exciting about this is that their grades in school appear to be listed: Margaret is in 9th grade, James in 8th grade, Matthew in 6th grade, and Joseph in 2nd grade. Just imagine them heading off to school each morning!

Joseph Mulcahy Promoted to NYPD Sergeant

Some time ago, one of the Griffins sent me this image of a newspaper clipping from the 1936 article about the results of the Civil Service Examinations for NYPD Sergeant. There were only 37 spots available, for the 1,345 men who passed out of 5,342 who took the test. Papa, Joseph E. Mulcahy, had the 3rd highest score, behind only Joseph M. E. Mallon and John E. Godfrey. I've had this saved for some time, but am only just remembering to post old documents now that I've figured out how to use Scribd.


Joseph Mulcahy 1936 Sergeant's Exam

Vacation Stories!

This week, I'm away in Rhode Island, on our annual 4th of July vacation. In my absence, I'll regale you with a family vacation story.

When I sent Uncle Joe the pictures that Maureen sent me from the James Mulvaney family, he called me up, and, among other things, the story of the time they met James on their way out to Breezy Point. A bus from the city would drop people off, and those people would catch rides out to Breezy Point with people heading that way.

There are two versions of this story:

According to Uncle Joe, he was in the car with Nana and Papa, and they saw James and pulled over to give him a ride. Because they were generally catching rides with strangers, he didn't give any thought to whose car he was getting in. He didn't notice who else was in the car until Nana said, "Hello, Jimmy." He was surprised. "Oh! Hello Sister."*

According to Aunt Betty, this event happened when she was in the car with Nana and Papa and a friend of hers. They saw Jimmy and pulled over to give him a ride. He was aware of whose car he was getting into, but when he did, he motioned towards Betty and her friend in the back seat and asked, "So which one's my niece?"


*All of her siblings always called Nana "Sister." She was the baby of the family, and it was the vestiges of having called her "Little Sister" when she was a child.

On their way to Ireland!

It occurred to me that since we know Michael Mulcahy took, at the very least, his sons Matthew and Joseph to Ireland in 1905 - because we know they came back from Ireland - we know, well, that they went to Ireland. I hopped on Ancestry.com and looked at their database of UK Arrival Lists. This record, while not matching the Mulcahys exactly - it claims, for example, that they're all British subjects (Irish) rather than American, while their return records call them all US citizens - it's close enough that I think it's them. An M. Mulcahy, with 2 children, M. Mulcahy and J. Mulcahy, arrived in Ireland about a month before they left Ireland. (Good length for a trip.) This eliminates a few things I had thought unlikely but possibly:

• The rest of the family did not go to Ireland. I thought it possible that Mary and the rest of the kids might have come and just left earlier or later, but this appears not to be the case.
• The trip to Ireland is not the reason the Mulcahys aren't listed at 85 Luqueer St. in 1900. I thought it possible - but again, unlikely - that maybe this trip to Ireland had been a long trip to Ireland, 1900-1905. Again, not the case. Where were they in 1900?

M(ichael) is listed as a laborer.

Pictures from the James Mulvaney Family

Maureen Mulvaney, a cousin of ours who I met via ancestry.com (gotta love the internet!) recently sent me a number of pictures and family documents from her branch of the Mulvaney family. (She's a grand-daughter of James, Nana's older brother.) We'll start with the identifiable pictures in this post, and then move on to our mystery pictures, hoping against hope that someone might have a clue as to who these people are.


This is a picture of Joan and Florence Mulvaney, the two daughters of James and Florence Mulvaney. Picture dated August, 1936. According to census records, Joan was born around 1927 and Florence around 1929, so they'd be approximately 9 and 7.

This is Donald, Joan, and Florence with their parents James and Florence. Also dated August, 1936. Donald was born around 1925, so he should be about 11.

This picture appears to have been taken on the same day as the first two of these pictures, but it ended up with their branch of the family, while the other two pictures of that day ended up with ours. Betty and John did the IDing, since Maureen and I weren't sure. I looked at it, and thought that the man on the far right looked like Papa, but dismissed the thought. Wrong side of the family. Except that this is a picture of Julia with her children-in-law, so it is, in fact, Papa. With Julia in the polka-dotted dress, the others are, from left to right, Steve Kessell (husband of Grace), Florence Mulvaney (wife of James), Elizabeth Mulvaney (wife of Thomas), and John Daniels (wife of Auntie Mae).

Strawberries and Cream with Papa

After one of Laura's several NYU graduation ceremonies this week (she's officially an alum as of this afternoon!) we went out to dinner at a place called Un Deux Trois (which used to be called Les Madeleine, we learned, after spending an hour searching for Les Madeleine). After an enjoyable dinner, we ordered dessert; Mom got fresh strawberries with whipped cream. A taste brought Dad back to being 8 years old, maybe younger, in Lake George, probably the last time Papa was able to vacation with them. Dad had never had strawberries and cream before, and certainly never when they ate them - right after breakfast!

Papa's Obituary

I found Papa's death notice in the NY Times. He died on Christmas Day, 1970. The 9 grandchildren would have been. . .Lynn, Kevin, Eileen, Gail, Nancy, Brian, Kerry, and Eileen. I don't know which of his 6 brothers predeceased him. His brothers were James (d. 1987), Matthew , John, Gerard (d. 1997), Vincent (d. 1995), and Michael (d. 1978). (Death dates based on information from the Griffins, based on which I would have to conclude that it was either Matthew or John who predeceased Papa.) His two surviving sisters were his only two sisters, Mary Mulcahy Bohls and Margaret Mulcahy Hennessy.

Papa's WWII Draft Registration

Today, I came across Papa's WWII draft registration card. He did not (to my knowledge) serve during the Second World War, but was apparently still young enough to have to register for the draft. (I haven't come across any WWI draft cards, though there are WWI cards on ancestry. I know he served, and perhaps he enlisted before having a chance to register for the draft? I'm a girl; I don't know how drafts work.)

On the front side of the card, Papa gives his name as Joseph Eugene Mulcahy. His address (home as well as mailing) is 793 East 37th St., Brooklyn, Kings, NY. His phone number is MANS 6-1545. (I love old phone numbers like that!) He says he's 45, and was born September 3, 1896, in B'klyn, NY. For the category "name and address of person who will always know your address," he gives Nana ("Mrs. J.E. Mulcahy (wife)") but lists her address as "same." While accurate, that seems a little. . . ironic? Futile? You've already given your address, and presumably they're asking for the address of someone else who will always know your address in order to be able to locate you if you move. Your wife, however, will likely move with you. His employer's name and address is given as "Police Dept. N.Y. City," and his place of employment is '72" PCT 575-5" Ave. Bklyn Kings NY.'


On the back side of the card, Papa's race is given as white, his height as 5'9", his weight as 200 lbs, his complexion as light, eyes as brown, and hair as brown. A physically identifying feature is a "scar, left shin." Does anyone know where Papa got a scar on his left shin? I'm very curious now!

Papa registered with Local Board 213 on 4/27/1942.

Papa and Mulvaney Kids

This is another of the pictures that John Griffin, Jr. sent me. Papa's the grown man in the dark hat (as far as I know, we don't know the man with his back to the camera). I believe I recognize the two boys in the dark coats as the Kessell boys (George in the glasses and Steve without?), and John says the little girl behind George is Nan, although I can't see her well enough to tell. If I were to guess who the other boy and the girl are, I'd say they're Tom and Grace Mulvaney, but I can't really tell. Does anyone know better? It looks like they're feeding pigeons.

Nana and Papa at Nan and Pop's wedding

This is one of the pictures that John sent me recently. It's a picture of Nana and Papa, Veronica and Joseph Mulcahy, at my grandparents wedding in July of 1956. Betty said she thinks the people in the background are O'Haras, but I'm pretty sure they're friends of Nan and Pop's. Betty said, too, that Papa sang at the wedding.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are some Thanksgiving presents from John Griffin Jr.:
This first picture is Papa as a young man in his police uniform. John says it was taken after World War I, in the 1920s.

This second picture is of Auntie Mae's husband, John Daniels, in a picture taken around 1900. What a great outfit he has on!

1905 - Michael, Matthew, and Joseph returning from Ireland

This is the passenger list of the SS Celtic, which sailed from Queenstown, Ireland, on June 14, 1905, and arrived in New York on June 25, 1905. Near the bottom of the list are Michael, Matthew, and Joseph Mulcahy. They are listed as ages 33, 10, and 8, though Michael clearly could not have been 33 in 1905 if he was 47 in 1910. He appears to have lied about his age at least once. He also gives his occupation as "Grocer." Nonetheless, we can be sure that these are our Mulcahys as their address is listed as 85 Luqueer St., Brooklyn, NY. "Last residence," however, is given as "Pallasgreen," so it appears that they were in Ireland for a somewhat substantial length of time. They are in possession of $500, and Michael's passage was paid for by "self," while the boys' was paid for by their "father." None are crippled, have been institutionalized, are polygamists or anarchists, or have been bribed to work in the US, and all are in a good condition of health. All are listed as U.S. Citizens.

Betty and John told me that Papa said he went to Ireland as a child, and that it was just after his grandfather, Michael's father, died. I don't know when they went to Ireland, how long they were there, or why it appears that only Michael and the youngest 2 of his 4 oldest children went. It's possible, of course, that the whole family went, but returned at different times, but I haven't come across any evidence of the rest of the Mulcahys on passenger lists. Does anyone have any other information as to why or for how long or with whom Papa was in Ireland when he was 8?

1910 Census - Mulcahy Family at 85 Luqueer St.

This census shows the Mulcahy family living at 85 Luqueer St. The Mulcahys, living at 85 Luqueer St., are the last family on the first page, and Gerard and Vincent are the first two names on the next page. Michael is listed as 47, and Mary as 40, giving approximate birthdates of 1863 and 1870, respectively. They've been married 21 years, meaning they were married around 1889. Mary has given birth to 9 children, all of them still living. (I'd guess that a 0% mortality rate for your children was remarkable at the time.) Michael was born in Ireland and is said to have immigrated in 1885, and has been naturalized. His Occupation is "Liquor Saloon" in the industry "Liquors" where he is an "Employer." Mary, on the other hand, was born in New York, with both of her parents born in Ireland. Their home is owned, not rented, and owned free, not mortgaged. Their children are Margaret, 20 (b. 1890), James, 18 (b. 1892), Matthew, 17 (b. 1893), Joseph, 13 (b. 1897), Michael, 11 (b. 1899), Mary, 9 (b. 1901), John, 6 (b. 1904), Gerard, 3 (b. 1897), and Vincent, 1 2/12, (meaning he was 14 months old and born around February, 1909, I think). Of these, only James and Matthew are employed, James as a "bartender," industry "liquors" (it'd be reasonable to assume he was tending bar at Micahel's bar), and Matthew as an "Office boy," in an industry that I think reads "Architect." Papa, the next oldest, is still in school, though even Matthew is listed as having attended school within the last year.

As with all the other images, if you click on the census image, you should be able to see it larger.

Mulcahy family pictures

This is a picture of Papa as a policeman. He was in the 70th precinct, if I'm not mistaken, but someone please correct me if I am.

This is Papa's mother, Mary Ann Madigan Mulcahy.

Papa's Promotion to 2nd Lieutenant

Earlier this week, John Griffin (Jr.) sent me this scanned image of the document that promoted Papa (Joseph Eugene Mulcahy) to 2nd Lieutenant. It's dated June 1, 1918. Remember from the article I posted below that he and two of his brothers, James A., and Matthew V., enlisted in April, 1917, after their father Michael Mulcahy died in January 1917. Papa was, according to that article, in the Sixty-seventh Company, Sixth Replacement Regiment, Camp Gordon, GA. (The article lists him as a 2nd Lieutenant, so presumably it was written after June 1, 1918.)