The Quinn Family

(An occasional series outlining one of my ancestral families.)

Hugh J. Quinn and Mary Gillen (Gillan) were my 2x great-grandparents. Mary Gillen was born c. 1868 in Tawnykinaff, Co. Mayo, Ireland, to Martin Gillen and Honora Grimes, and immigrated to the US some time in the late 1880s or early 1890s. Hugh Quinn was born c. 1868 (possibly in Co. Antrim, though I'm still looking for confirmation). They married c. 1893, and had 5 children: Nora Agnes, Anna Mary, Helen, Martin, and Terrence. Nora Agnes Quinn, known as Agnes to family but often officially recorded as Nora, was born 5 December 1894 and married William Augustus (Bill) Maines, 3 July 1932. Anna Mary Quinn, known as Molly, was born 22 Mar 1897 and married John O'Hara, 31 Mar 1923. (Until this summer, there was no indication that her first name was anything but Mary.) Helen Quinn was born in 1899 and married Harry Kunze, around 1924. Martin Quinn was born c. 1902 and married Elizabeth "Bobbie" Byrnes around 1930. Terrence Quinn was born 3 July 1904 and married Alice, but I don't know her maiden name or when they married.

I unfortunately don't have a good picture of the whole family. I've never seen a picture of Hugh Quinn, but I have this nice picture of Mary Gillen Quinn and her daughters.

Back row, L to R: Unknown, Helen Quinn Kunze
Middle row: Agnes Quinn Maines, Molly Quinn O'Hara, Mary Gillen Quinn
Front row: two unknown children

There's also this picture, which I believe depicts the brothers Marty and Terrence Quinn. Certainly the man on the right is Marty, and I'm fairly sure that the man on the left is Terry.

Terrence and Martin Quinn

106th Carnival of Genealogy: Swimsuit Edition

These two handsome gentlemen are Harry Kunze, on the left, and Martin Quinn (Uncle Marty), on the right. They were my great-grandmother Molly Quinn's brother (Marty) and brother-in-law (Harry). Harry was married to Molly's younger sister Helen Quinn. Marty married Elizabeth "Bobbie" Byrnes. My sources (aka my great-uncle, Molly's son) tell me that this picture "was probably taken on Rockaway Beach or some other local beach" - local being local to the NYC area. He estimated it was taken around 1925, which would make Harry Kunze about 26, and Marty about 23. Based on the information they gave in the 1930 census, Harry and Helen would have been married for about a year.

 Of course, my favorite part of this picture is the swimsuits themselves! How cool!

1905 NYS Census - Quinn Family

This not-very-clear image is the 1905 NYS Census that records the Quinn family living at 1371 Atlantic Ave. I could have sworn that I already knew the Quinns lived on Atlantic Ave at some point, but maybe I only knew they lived in the neighborhood from when they lived nearby on Fulton Street, as there are no Atlantic Ave. addresses in my list of family homes. The family is recorded as the Quinnes: Hugh J., 38; Mary, 38; Agnes, 10; Mary, 8; Hellen, 5; Martin, 3; the last name begins with a T and is illegible but clearly too short to say "Terrence." It may say "Terry." Uncle Terry is 1. Hugh and Mary were born in Ireland, and all their children were American-born. The column for number of years in the US appears to say "W" for both of them; I can't figure out what number is intended. Maybe "20"? I think they're all listed as Citizens, but that column is pretty difficult to make out, too. Hugh is an engineer, Mary does house work, and Agnes and Molly are "at school." Neither Helen nor the boys are in school yet.

Surprisingly, Agnes is listed as Agnes, the earliest example of her use of the name that I've come across. Besides this, she's Nora until the 1920 Census.

1920 Census - Quinn Family and the Gillens

I believe the technical, genealogical term is "on a freakin' roll." I've had Quinns - and Gillens - coming out the ears. Just you wait, honey, just you wait. The obit I'm going to post tomorrow is the one of the coolest things I've ever seen. But for now, let's go with the prosaic - but oh-so-exciting, since I've finally found it - 1920 US census of the Quinn family.

They're living at 482 Tompkins Ave. More on that soon. The name is spelled "Quin," and - compounding my difficulty searching for it - was transcribed as something along the lines of "Ovia," which doesn't even begin to resemble "Quinn" in sound. Terrence, who I usually search for, as his name is less common than the rest, was transcribed as "Terrena." But to leave that aside - Mary is the head of household. (Hugh died about 6 years ago.) Her age could say either 50 or 60, but she should be about 52, so I'm going to assume the former was intended. She says she immigrated in 1888 and and was naturalized in 1894. All of her children are still living at home:

Agnes (not Nora!) is listed as 34 years old, when she should only be 24. She's a clerk in an office.

Mary (Grandma Molly) is 22, and appears to be a "Telephone Operator" for an industry that, best I can, is "Teleflodo." That's probably incorrect. Just a guess.

Helen is 20 years old, and her occupation is really hard to make out, but my best guess is "Stenographer Typist" at an office.

Martin is 18, and his occupation appears to read not much more than "Jewelry" in a "Jewel Store."

Terrence, at 15, has no job.

And then . . .

the last member of the household is Mary Gillen, listed as Mary (Gillen) Quinn's niece. She's 22, so she's about Grandma Molly's age, and was probably born around 1898. Her immigration date is listed as "Un," presumably for "Unknown," though, as her parents didn't immigrate with her, she must have come over as a (relative) adult, and should really remember the date, give or take. She's an "Alien," not a naturalized citizen. She and her parents are Irish-born and English-speaking, and she's a clerk in an office.

Want to see something else cool?

Here's the immigration record of 1 Celia Gillen, dated 17 July 1920.

Celia is 18, so she was born around 1902. She's a "Domestic" - that is, a servant. She's Irish, and her last permanent residence was in Castlebar. Her nearest relative in Ireland is her father, Michael Gillen, of Tawnykinaffe, Castlebar. (That's in County Mayo.) She's headed for Brooklyn, NY. Now check out the next page. What relative is she going to join? Her sister, Miss Mary A. Gillen, of. . .482 Tompkins Av., Brooklyn! In other words, she's going to join her sister Mary Gillen, and her aunt, Mary Gillen Quinn, and all her cousins, the Quinns!

She plans on staying 8 years. She has a fair complexion and hair, and blue eyes, and was born in Castlebar.

Well, it's about time! Quinns in the 1930 Census

I have long struggled with finding census records for the Quinn family for any years after 1910. I know they're still in Brooklyn - I have photographs, death records, and Uncle Jack and Uncle Ted to tell me that. But I could simply never find their census records on Ancestry.com. Yesterday, after reading a post at Genea-Musings, I decided to try a "new" way of searching (i.e. to use Ancestry's old, rather than their new, search function). I'm frustrated with myself that I never bothered to do this before, because up popped the Quinn family's 1930 census return after almost no work at all on my part.

Their names are misspelled and mistranscribed, but they're there! (All except Molly, who, we know, is already married to Grandpa JJ and has 2 kids.)

The family is almost all the way at the bottom of the page, living at 64 Herkimer St. Mary (Gillen) Quinn is the head of household, and she gives her age as 62, which would give her a birth date of around 1868, fairly consistent with what she's always said. She's widowed, was first married at 25, is Irish-born, and is a naturalized citizen who immigrated in 1887. Agnes, shockingly, is called Agnes, not Nora, the way she usually was in the past. (See here and here.) She's 35, and a clerk, in "leather." Helen is listed under her married name (which was Kunze, though you'd be hard-pressed to get that from the handwriting here), as she and her husband Harry are both living with the family. She's 29 and was first married at 23. Harry Kunze is the same age - and, consequently, was married at the same age. Harry is American-born, as were his parents, and he's a shoe salesman. Martin Quinn (listed here as "Morton") is 28 and single. He's a jeweler. Terrence is 25 and single. His job involves something with telephones, but I can't quite make it out. It looks like it could say "wirerer." (Click to enlarge the census image and tell me what you think yourself.)

None of the men are veterans. They rent their house for $60.

A Slightly Less Confusing Quinn Family in 1910

By 1910, the Quinns have moved from 332 Bergen St. to 1498 Fulton St. Hugh J. and Mary are now listed as 40, having aged only 7 years in the past 10. They've been married 17 years - that's the same, and gives a wedding date of around 1893, so they were presumably married in the United States, not Ireland. Mary has given birth to 5 children, all still living. They are listed as Nora A. (might Agnes have been her middle name?), 15; Mary J., 13; Helen, 10; Martin J., 8; and Terence, 5.

Hugh now says he immigrated in 1885, though that's really not too far off of the 1886 he said ten years ago. Mary's immigration date is still 1887. Hugh is an Engineer in the industry "Building" and Nora/Agnes works as a Saleslady in a department store.

Also part of the household are Hugh O'Donnell, listed as Hugh's nephew, and Thomas Keane, listed as a boarder. According to Uncle Jack, Hugh O'Donnell was a cousin, a descendant of Martin Gillen, who was born and died in Ireland, living 104 years, from 1825 to 1929. Hugh O'Donnell immigrated in 1906 and has filed his Declaration of Intent to become a citizen (indicated as "Pa," for "First Papers," on the census). Thomas Keane immigrated in 1909 and is an alien. Hugh O'Donnell is working as a Motorman on a Streetcar, while Thomas Keane is a Bartender at a Liquor Saloon.

And that, folks, is the last census record you'll see of the Quinns, except for Molly of course being married to JJ in the 1930 Census. I know that Hugh dies in 1914, but I simply cannot find the rest of the family in 1920, or anyone but Molly in 1930.