Laight St.: How my sister's boyfriend accidentally solved a genealogy mystery

In December, my cousin got married in Hoboken, NJ. Rather than get a hotel room, we had planned to take the PATH train back to NYC afterwards. However, NJ's transit system was still suffering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy, and we had to drive home instead. On our way to Queens, we dropped off my sister and her boyfriend in Brooklyn.

This is all relevant only because we ended up taking a trip we had never intended to take, driving a route we'd never driven before and don't expect to ever have to drive again. My husband's iPhone had died, and my sister and I have phones that think T9 texting is high-tech*, so my sister's boyfriend Cayce was reading the directions off of his phone in the back seat:

"Continue onto Late Street," he read.

I whirled around. "Onto what street?!"

"Did I say it wrong? It's L-A-I-G-H-T. "Lite" Street, maybe? It should turn into Canal Street."

"It turns into Canal Street?!"

At this point, I'm sure it seemed that I was having an extraordinarily difficult time understanding some fairly simple directions. Luckily, I was not behind the wheel, because though I was thinking about roads, my thoughts were not on the road.

"That's it! Cayce, you just solved a mystery!"

I have in my possession a semi-anonymous account of the history of the Mulcahy family, transcribed on my blog here. It says that my great-great-grandmother, Mary Ann Madigan, "was born on Lake St. in Manhattan." This was always a stumbling block for me, because there isn't a Lake Street in Manhattan. As best I could discern, there had never been a Lake Street in Manhattan. The only address I've ever actually found for the Madigans in Manhattan is 482 Canal Street. It had occurred to me that someone had confused two bodies of water and said "Lake" where they meant "Canal," but that seemed an unlikely mistake.

Although the account I had, written by an unnamed cousin of my grandmother, is not perfect, it has proved to be relatively accurate over the years. The only things that appear to be incorrect are the assertion that James Madigan was the youngest child in his family (he seems to have been in the middle) and the spelling of Loretta Madigan's married name as Rickett instead of Rickert. That last one is key, because it means I already knew that someone was writing things as they sounded, not looking at the names on documents and transcribing them accurately. (I've been told that the research was done by this cousin's wife, so either she had collected stories from people who were still alive without having them clarify spellings, or she had read out pieces of her research to her husband so he could write out these notes for his cousins, and he wrote what he heard.)

I had been aware for some time, since discovering the proper spelling of Rickert and confirming that there was no evidence that there had been a Lake Street in Manhattan in the 19th century, that "Lake" could have been a phonetic spelling of a different street name, but I had no way of figuring out which one, and it clearly wasn't similar enough that Google would return it when I searched for "Lake Street."

When Cayce read us the directions late that winter night, it all became instantly clear. Not only did Laight Street sound very much like the Lake Street I was looking for, but it also is in the correct neighborhood, only blocks from the address where I've confirmed the Madigans lived a few years later. I still use qualifying language when I talk about it, because I have no proof, but I can also tell you that I really have no doubts. I'm about as certain about Laight Street as I can be about something for which there is no definitive evidence.

If not for the fact that all 4 of us in the car that night are too "frugal" (cheap?) to spring for a hotel room when we're only 30 minutes from home; if not for the unfortunate storm damage to the transit infrastructure in northern New Jersey; if not for the fact that none of us are familiar enough with that neighborhood to be able to navigate it without directions; if not for Ben's failure to charge his iPhone, so he wasn't reading directions silently to himself but having them read aloud; if not for Cayce's innate knowledge of how to pronounce "Laight,"** I might still have absolutely no idea where my great-great-grandmother was most likely living when she was supposed to be on the nonexistent "Lake St. in Manhattan."



*by choice
**I've since looked it up; it seems that "LATE" is the correct pronunciation, but I think I'd have looked at Laight and said "LITE," and maybe never made the connection.

Madigan Family, Records of St. Peter's Church

It's been a long time since I've posted. I gave up social media for Lent, and while Facebook use came back instantaneously, too easily - I really wish it hadn't - blogging, with it's content and forethought and effort has been a slower effort. Then I went away on vacation, and hadn't even started blogging again, much less been able to schedule posts for my absence. What blogging I'd been doing had been taken up by Ben's transcription blog, The Gleasure and Harber Letters, but that has lately been slow-to-nonexistent, too. If you haven't yet checked out the letters blog, I urge you to. My husband has perhaps hundreds of letters written to his great-grandfather between the 1890s and the 1960s, and they are an absolutely fascinating look at trans-Atlantic relationships between an immigrant and the family he left behind, not to mention providing some incredible insight into the personalities of the individuals involved.

What I have been doing in the interim is research. I've ordered records from the Family History Library, as well as discovered that there is precisely one repository in New York City that is open at a time when I don't have to be at work, and that is the New York Public Library. And the New York Public Library holds the microfilmed Records of St. Peter's Church, and St. Peter's is where my great-great-grandmother was baptized! So off I headed after work on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when the microfilm reading room is open late. (There's a chance another branch of my family entirely might have also interacted with St. Peter's Church, several decades later, but I haven't gotten to those records yet. I can't go tonight because sometimes the present has to take priority over the past, and we have no food in the house.)

I knew my 2x great-grandmother, Mary Ann Madigan, had been born c. 1868, so I started there and worked my way backwards through marriage records until I found the records of her parents, Mathew Madigan and Margaret Sullivan.

They were married 15 September 1867. Their witnesses were Simon Healy and Hanora Sullivan, who would later be the godparents of their eldest child. A Francis J. Healy was the witness to Mathew Madigan's naturalization several years later, and I'm really beginning to wonder who these Healys were. I've been told (but have no sources for the information) that Margaret Sullivan Madigan had a sister named Nora Sullivan Crowe. If that's true, Hanora Sullivan and Nora Sullivan Crowe are probably one and the same. I did notice that the priest's name was also Healy, so I e-mailed the diocese for information about the him. I got a brief bio in response. While I suppose there might be a relationship to the Simon and Francis Healy - who I don't yet know anything about - there's no immediately apparent connection to the Madigans.

Then I switched to baptism records, and picked up the search again in 1868 (using Mathew and Margaret's marriage record as a guideline, but not a firm one). I found Mary Ann Madigan, born 8 December 1868, being baptized on 13 December 1868:

 Her sponsors were Simon Healy and Hanora Sullivan, just as at her parents' wedding.

I had a good guess for when Mary's younger brother James was born, so I continued forward through the records, and found James M. Madigan, born 1 September 1870, being baptized 4 September 1870:

His sponsors were Simon Cunningham (I have no idea who this is) and Catherine Sullivan. My information (I wish I had sources; instead I have "information") says that Margaret's two sisters were the aforementioned Nora, and Bridgett Sullivan Consodine. Two brother, Conn and James, are also mentioned. I suppose Catherine could be a sister-in-law, a cousin, or an otherwise unknown sister.

I continued working my way through the baptismal records, expecting to find the youngest sibling, Margaret, who was born c. 1873, represented as well, but I was unsuccessful. The question is to figure out why. Where were they?

In 1870, they were living in Manhattan, having James baptized at St. Peter's.
In 1872, they were living in Manhattan, with a NYC Directory putting them at 482 Canal Street, near enough to be attending St. Peter's, though it's not the closest of the Catholic Churches currently in existence in the neighborhood.
In c. 1873, Margaret was not baptized at St. Peter's in Manhattan.
In 1875, they are not listed in the NYS Census in Brooklyn, which suggests the possibility that they were still in Manhattan. (1875 NYS Census returns for Manhattan were lost.)
In 1876, when Mathew was naturalized, his address was given as 85 Luqaar Street, Brooklyn.
In 1880, the Madigans are enumerated at 85 Luquer Street, where they or their descendants would remain through at least 1940.

Sometime between 1872 and 1876, the Madigans moved to Brooklyn from Manhattan. It would seem that it happened after the 1875 NYS Census was enumerated, but if that's the case, where were they living when Margaret was born? Where was she baptized?

Tombstone Tuesday: Here lies Mathew Madigan

Some time ago, I called up Calvary Cemetery to find the grave location of my great-great-great-grandfather, Mathew Madigan, but was told that they had no record of his burial, despite the fact that all indications - in his death certificate and his obituary - were that he'd been buried there. Commenter Mitch Waxman told me that there'd been a fire in the 1890s that destroyed some records, and suggested many useful work arounds, but I tried a different route. Knowing that Mathew's son James Madigan had died just a few years later in 1894, but not knowing where he was buried, I took a shot in the dark. I called up Calvary and asked for the location of James Madigan's grave, providing his date of death, and just keeping my mouth shut about the fact that I didn't actually know whether he was interred at Calvary at all.

I got lucky! Calvary was easily able to provide me with the location of James's gravesite. They were able to tell me that there are 8 people interred at the site, but couldn't tell me who without great expense. And then I got more lucky, and moved into my new apartment to discover that I could see Calvary Cemetery from my house! While I took a field trip down to Calvary the first week I moved in, and found the Madigan grave in just minutes.

 The front of the stone reads
"Erected
to the memory of
Mathew Madigan
Died Sept 11 1892
Aged 50 years
also his wife
Margaret Madigan
Born May 20 1837
Died July 13 1882
Aged 45 years
also Mathew Joseph
Aged 1 year & 7 months"

The back reads
"James
Madigan
Died Oct 9 1894
Aged 23 years
Mathew W. Roche
1907-1908
John Roche
1905-1910"

I had hoped that finding the grave would give me some information about Margaret Sullivan Madigan, but I never imagined I'd find a birth and a death date! I started my afternoon knowing less about her than any other member of the family, and ended up knowing more. Mathew Madigan remarried after Margaret died, and I believe young Mathew Joseph was his son by his second wife, unless he had a son named Mathew who died young in each of his marriages. The stone lists 6 names; Calvary told me there were 8 bodies. I suspect that the last two belong to two other children of Mathew and his second wife Johanna. Both young Mathew and a daughter named Josephine were recorded on the 1892 NYS Census and nowhere else, but Johanna's answers in 1910 to the question "Mother of how many children?" indicated 4 children born but only 1 still living. Loretta was the child who lived to adulthood, and Josephine and Mathew died young, but I believe that the 8th body is that of the still-unidentified 4 child.

I don't know exactly who John and Mathew W. Roche are. Mathew Madigan's second wife was a Roche by birth, but his daughter Margaret was a Roche by marriage, marrying a Michael Roche who may have been a relative of her stepmother Johanna. The two boys may have been Mathew and Margaret's grandsons, the sons of their daughter Margaret, or they may have otherwise been relatives of Mathew through his second wife Johanna.

The other interesting thing to note is that James Madigan's death date doesn't match the date that his sister gave in her application for letters of administration for his estate. According to the probate records, he died 9 Aug 1894. That was the date I gave the cemetery when I called. According to the gravestone, he didn't died until 9 Oct 1894. I don't have his death certificate, but the index at italiangen.org confirms the earlier date. My best guess is that there was simply an error inscribing the stone.

Where lies Mathew Madigan?

My great-great-great-grandfather was Mathew Madigan. He died 11 September 1892. According to the death notice in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, he was to be buried at Calvary - that is, Calvary Cemetery in Queens, NY.

According to his death certificate, he was buried at Calvary Cemetery, on 14 September 1892. The undertaker was Jos. L. Hart of 496 Court St.

But according to Calvary Cemetery, who I called this afternoon, they have no record of his being buried there in September of 1892. I'm not sure what to do next.

Mathew Madigan's Death Certificate - 11 September 1892

Yesterday afternoon, I received in the mail the death certificate of my great-great-great-grandfather, Mathew Madigan. He died on 11 September 1892 - the location appears to be given as 85 Lurfriese St., but it may actually be his home address, 85 Luqueer St. He died on the first floor of a house with 3 families.  His age is given as 51 years old, although his death notice in the Brooklyn Eagle gave it as 50. He was Irish-born, as were both of his parents, and had been in America for 30 years, or approximately since 1862. (I have yet to find immigration records for him, and his naturalization papers don't give an immigration date, but the earliest date on them is 1866.)

Mathew suffered from Gastro Enteric Catarrh for 3 months before his death, and was attended by his doctor, G.W. Welty, M.D., from 15 July 1892, through 10 September 1892. He died the morning of 11 September at 9:30. The secondary cause of death was Asthenia, or weakness.

He was buried at Calvary Cemetery on 14 September 1892. The undertaker looks like it was Jas. L Heart of 496 Court St.

I'm not 100% sure as to what Gastro Enteric Catarrh is. Catarrh is defined as a mucous buildup in the nose and throat, according to Google, but that's not gastrointestinal at all. The 1903 Text-book of the Practice of Medicine by James Meschter Anders indicates that it's a childhood diarrheal disease:

The 1907 A text-book on the practice of medicine by Hobart Amory Hare seems to indicate that in adults, it's more of a discomfort with possible vomiting:



Since the death certificate indicates that Mathew Madigan suffered from Gastro Enteric Catarrh for 3 months, it was clearly a somewhat chronic condition, not an acute attack of diarrhea or anything else, but I'm having trouble finding any definitions of chronic gastro enteric catarrh. The most "chronic" gastric distress I've ever had lasted about a week, and based on that experience, I am not remotely surprised that a 3-month bout of intestinal distress could contribute significantly to weakness and loss of strength, or asthenia.

Matthew Madigan Naturalization Reflections

There was so much formatting in the last post on Matthew Madigan's naturalization papers that I decided not to comment in order to keep it a little less confusing.

What do we get from these records?

First, I find it interesting that Matthew Madigan declared his intention to become a citizen in 1866 and actually became a citizen in 1876. This strikes me as unusual because I'm pretty sure that generally you had 7 years from filing your declaration of intent to complete the process of petitioning for naturalization; that is, to actually become a citizen. But I don't know if I'm entirely right about that, or, if I am, when those regulations came into effect. Anyway, it took Matthew Madigan 10 years to become a citizen.

Second, who do we think Francis J. Healy is? He lived at 13 Harrison St. in Manhattan - which is on the Lower West Side - and that is literally all we know about him, other than that he knew Matthew.

Third, what is that street written underneath "Luquaar"? I transcribed it as "McQuaid," but that's really just a guess. I can't tell exactly what it says. I wonder if it's possibly the street he lived on in Manhattan before moving to Brooklyn. We know that in 1870, the Madigans were living in Manhattan. In 1880, they were living in Brooklyn on Luqueer St. Could the name of the street that he used to live on been written down first and crossed out in favor of the street he had since moved to? Just a thought.

Matthew Madigan Naturalization Papers

A few weeks ago, during my last week working at the National Archives in New York before heading back to school sometime soon, I took my lunch break to print out a few naturalization records.

These are Matthew Madigan's naturalization papers. (They're negatives because of the format used to make reference copies of local court naturalization records; these aren't federal records.) Scanning the actual images was supposed to mean I wouldn't have to transcribe them, but they seem very difficult to read on the screen, so I'll tell you what they say, anyway:

New York Common Pleas
In the matter of
Matthew Madigan
On his naturalization

Affidavits, &c.

Filed in open Court Oct. 13 1876

At a special term of the Court of Common Pleas for the City and County of New York, held in the Court House of the City of New York, on the 13th day of Oct. 1876.
Present: Hon. H.W. Robinson, Judge

In the Matter
of the application of the within named
applicant to be admitted a Citizen of
the United States of America.

The said applicant appearing personally in Court, producing the evidence required by the Acts of Congress, and having made such declaration and renunciation, and having taken such oaths as are by the said acts required, IT IS ORDERED by the said Court, that the said applicant be admitted to be a Citizen of the United States of America.
Enter HWR

Court of Common Pleas
For the City and County of New York
In the matter of the application of
Matthew Madigan
by occupation, Car Man
to be admitted a citizen of the United States of America.

State of New York
City and County of New York

Francis J Healy, being duly sworn, says, that he resides in No. 13 Harrison Street, in the City of New York, and that he is well acquainted with the above-named applicant, and that the said applicant has resided within the United States for the continued term of five years, at least, next preceding the present time, and within the State of New York one year, at least, immediately preceding this application ; and that, during that time, he has behaved as a man of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the same.

Francis J Healy

Sworn in open Court this
Oct. 13 1876

Clerk
[unintelligible]

State of New York
City and County of New York
I, Mathew Madigan, residing in No. 85

-->McQuaid (Luquaar) St. Bklyn do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States ; and that I do absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign Prince, Potentate, State or Sovereignity whatever, and particularly to the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, of whom I was before a subject. Sworn in Court this Oct. 13 1876
Matthew Madigan
Clerk
[illegible]



State of New York
In the Court of Common Pleas for the City and County of New York
I, Mathew Madigan do declare on oath, that it is bona fide my Intention to become a Citizen of the United States, and to renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign Prince, Potentate, State or Sovereignity whatever, and particularly to the QUEEN OF THE UNITED KINDGOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, of whom I am a subject.
Sworn this 20th day of May 1866

Mathew Madigan

Nathaniel Jarvis, Jr., Clerk

Clerk's Office, Court of Common Pleas
for the City and County of New York

I certify, that the foregoing it a true copy of an original Declaration of Intention remaining of record in my office.
In Attestation Whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name, and affixed the Seal of said Court, this Thirteenth day of October, 1876

N. Jarvis Jr., Clerk

Tombstone Tuesday - Roches and Rickerts

When I talked to Betty and John a few weeks ago about my plans to go to Holy Cross and go grave-hunting, John said he thought the Roches and the Rickerts were buried there. He said he wasn't sure, but there was a tombstone for Roches and Rickerts in Holy Cross and he assumed it had to be related to our Roches and Rickerts.

I thought that was weird. He just knew that there happened to be a Roche/Rickert gravestone in Holy Cross? It's not a small cemetery - it's impressive to find a gravestone you weren't looking for, even if, as John told me, he did work there during college.

But then, a week and a half ago, as I pulled into Holy Cross and made a left turn, this stone - placed conveniently on the corner and with the last names in big, bold, block letters - screamed at me! "Roche! Rickert!" it yelled. "We're right here!" I pulled over in a hurry and jumped out of the car. They are, without a doubt, our Roches and Rickerts. The Roches are parents Michael and Bridget, and their children, John Roche, Michael Roche, and Johanna Roche Madigan. (That it's spelled "Joanna" here leads me to believe that potentially, she really did use that spelling.) Not listed is Mary, the younger daughter, who died sometime after age 10, which was her age on the 1880 census. The Rickerts are Johanna's only surviving child, Loretta Madigan Rickert (I never had a date of death for her - this gives it as February 8, 1978) and her husband, Joseph J. Rickert, who, according to this, died August 22, 1961.

The inscription confused me for a few minutes - it seemed to be saying that it marked the burial of the Roches and their "dear parents," the Rickerts. That's actually quite the opposite of what's the case, and in reality - as far as I can tell - the monument was erected by the Rickert children (Elizabeth, Fr. Joseph, and Fr. Gene), thus the reference to their "dear parents."

One other interesting absence is that of Johanna's husband, and Loretta's father, Matthew Madigan. Matthew was buried at Calvary, not Holy Cross. No mention, too, of whether their other (at least) 2 children, Josephine and Matthew, are buried here, or whether they were buried with their father, their deaths being much closer in time to his.

I was surprised, initially, to find that Johanna wasn't buried with Matthew. The more I think about it, though, the more it makes sense. She was married to him for less than 10 years. Probably closer to 5. She never remarried. She lost 3 of her 4 children very young. She lived another 30 years raising her one surviving daughter alone - likely very much with the help of her family, with whom she seems to have been close. I imagine Johanna and Loretta being a little like Lorelei and Rory in the Gilmore Girls. Matthew was dead by the time Loretta was 5. Father and husband though he was, what kind of influence might he have had on their lives in those 30 years after his death?

That was my rambling, discursive Tombstone Tuesday post, that I'll try to squeeze in under the deadline so it still qualifies for Tuesday.

Matthew Madigan death notice

Finally finally finally, I've found evidence of Matthew Madigan's death. I'd searched and search the Brooklyn Eagle for evidence thereof, and never with any luck. See how the name "Matthew" is broken across two lines? It doesn't come up in a search because of that. But when I finally thought to search for Johanna Madigan, up it popped, because her name is complete.

Let that be a lesson to you. Don't ignore anyone.

He died September 11, 1892. He was born in County Clare (Kilrush, we're told). The funeral was held at his home and at St. Mary Star of the Sea Church, and he was buried at Calvary Cemetery. No mention of his children, but likely, since he died only months after the family was recorded on the 1892 NYS Census, young Matthew and Josephine survived him.

He's listed as being 50 here, though he was said to be 51 on the 1892 NYS Census.

New Madigan children

On the left-hand column of the right-hand page of this 1892 NYS Census record, we find the Madigans. Mary Ann Madigan Mulcahy isn't there; she's already been married to Michael Mulcahy for about 4 years. I expect to encounter them shortly. However, we find lots of new information. One of the later census records of Johanna and Loretta Madigan showed that Johanna had given birth to 4 children, 3 of whom were no longer living. Today, we meet two of them.

The family is listed as parents Matthew Madigan, 51, a "cartman," and Johanna Madigan, 31. From his first marriage (we know this, though it's not evident on the record) are children Margaret Madigan, 19, and James Madigan, 21. From this second marriage are listed three children, Loretta and two others. Loretta is 4, Matthew (Jr.) is 2, and Josephine is 1.

I've encountered clues - that I'm looking to verify - that Matthew Madigan died in early 1893. If the information that Johanna had given birth to 4 children is accurate, either they've already lost 1 child, or she is currently pregnant - or about to be - with their last child.

Luck, Deduction, and Using All the Sources I Can Get My Hands On (via the internet)

Last week, I had to pull an all-nighter in order to finish a History paper by the deadline. If you know me at all, you'll know that that means that at 3 am, I was taking breaks after every paragraph to do super-quick (in theory) genealogy searches. I'd go to the Brooklyn Genealogy Information Page, choose a category, and then a page, and then do quick searches through the page for names in our family. Imagine my delight when, on the page relating 1893 Court News, I found a reference to a letter of administration "granted upon the estate of" Mathew Madigan.

I quickly copied it into an e-mail to myself and went on with my work. (Suuuuure I did.)

It was really an extraordinary bit of luck to come across it. The Brooklyn Genealogy Page is composed of transcriptions done by individuals, so it is not by any means complete. They don't have court news for every year; they don't have court news for every day of 1893. Luckily for us, they happen to have court news for April 10, 1893, which happens to be the day that the Brooklyn Daily Standard Union reported on the letter of administration for a Mathew Madigan.

Is he our Matthew Madigan? I think so.

I went back into Ancestry.com's Brooklyn City Directory database, and looked at the Madigans for the early '90s. (I love that genealogy means I can refer to the 1890s as the '90s in a context where other people will understand to what I am actually referring.)

1892 - Matahew Madigan, driver, h 85 Luquer St.
1893 - Matthew Madigan, carman, h 85 Luquer St.
1894 (drumroll, please!) - Jas. Madigan, truckman, h 85 Luquer St.

Could it be a coincidence? Yes. But while I do some more research, I'm banking on the fact that Matthew Madigan died in early April (late March?) 1893, and that his son James. took over the family business afterwards. Here's the relevant page of 1894's Brooklyn City Directory:

No Matthew, but James is a truckman at 85 Luqueer. What does this mean? Apparently, that Matthew was living at 85 Luqueer right up until he died. We're left to wonder how on Earth his kids from his first marriage got the house and his second wife and five-year-old daughter ended up around the corner.

The next stop, of course, is to look at the actual records! I believe they're available either at the NY Municipal Archives in Manhattan or at the Brooklyn Supreme Court Building; I'll have to call to double check. I don't know quite what a letter of administration would include, or what other records would be associated with it, but I sure can't wait to find out!

Tile Roof: The Experts Weigh In

An example of a Mansard Roof

Photo © 2005 Jupiterimages Corporation

Joe Griffin had this to say in response to the last post, about the Madigans living in the only house in Manhattan with a tile roof:

"I saw your tile roof post and had to quickly write. About that, I would imagine that the house had a Mansard roof, which would be pretty rare in Manhattan, whether or not is was literally the only one (the Irish do exaggerate, as I hear it). Being a fan of NYC architecture, I have some idea of the way things are and were and Mansard roofed houses would have been pretty common in Brooklyn, they're still common in Staten Island, but Manhattan has not had the space for the types of houses that get those roofs in a long time. Which is to say it probably was rare, and if it had a Mansard roof it was definitely expensive, but short of historical society visits or time travel I can't see how you would ever find out for sure."

To learn the basics about the Mansard roof, check out the Wikipedia page.

"the only house that had a tile roof"

Our "wife of a cousin" information source tells us that Mary Ann Madigan Mulcahy's parents, Margaret Sullivan Madigan and Matthew Madigan, "lived in Manhattan in the only house that had a tile roof." Even assuming accuracy, I have no idea how to go about finding the only house in 1870s Manhattan that had a tile roof. I wish I did, because that would be great to know.

Question: Does having a house with a tile roof imply wealth? Or just having enough tile to roof a house?

Johanna and Loretta Madigan, 1900 and 1910

The other day, when I realized I had to correct this post to make sure it reflected an accurate understanding of who died first - Margaret Sullivan Madigan or Matthew Madigan - I also realized that I had never searched for evidence of Matthew Madigan's second wife or the children of that marriage. And they have such beautifully unique names! Johannas and Lorettas are much rarer - and thus much easier to identify - than Margarets and Marys. So I went looking, and sure enough, they popped up easily on the first pages of my ancestry.com search. I'm having trouble uploading the census records of them in 1900 and 1910, so I'll add those to this post at a later date. Johanna is listed as a widow by 1900, so we do know that Matthew Madigan had died by then, and since Loretta was born around 1888, we know that Margaret Sullivan Madigan had died by then. Their birthdates are listed, in 1900, as November 1860 and February 1888, and Johanna is listed as having given birth to 4 children, only one of whom was still living. I wonder whether they were Matthew Madigan's children, or whether she, too, had been married previously. In neither of these censuses are these Madigans living at 85 Luqueer St. They live around the corner, at 75 Fourth Place, which they owned without a mortgage. (So we still have no idea why there were no Madigans or Mulcahys at 85 Luqueer in 1900.) You have to wonder what the relationship of the Mary Ann Madigan Mulcahy to her father's "new family," who lived around the corner. At some point they'd also lived in the same house, I believe, since there are Brooklyn City Directory records of Matthew Madigan at 85 Luqueer in between 1888 and 1900, but Loretta and Johanna apparently moved out when Matthew died, unless he and they had moved out earlier when he decided to give the house to Mary Ann and Michael, which seems more likely to me. When a man dies, his wife doesn't get displaced at the expense of his kids. In 1910, at age 22, Loretta was working as a clerk at an "office." In 1900, when she's 12, neither of them is working.

1870 Census - Madigans in Manhattan

This may be the 1870 census of the Madigan family. They were still living in Manhattan, and the census on the page prior says that it is enumerating Canal St., between Greenwich and Watt. This is an area of downtown Manhattan right around the entrance to the Holland Tunnel. We've been told that Mary Ann Madigan Mulcahy was born on Lake St. in Manhattan, but I've never been able to find evidence that there is or ever was a Lake St. in Manhattan, so I won't take that as the gospel truth just yet. This record shows what appears to be "Mat" and "Mary" Madigan and their daughter Mary, age 2. I know, I know, it doesn't sound like the right family - but could "Margaret" have been abbreviated "Marg" in handwriting where a "y" and a "g" are nearly indistinguishable? Yes, I'm taking a big leap there, and I know it, and I'm not relying on that information in any way, nor do I suggest that you do. However, having looked over a few of the other pages in this census, it seems that this census taker did make a habit of abbreviating "Margaret" as "Marg." Usually, yes, it was more clear than it is here, but hey, this is the penultimate page of the district. I'm sure he was tired. Also, this "Mat Madigan" is listed as a "carman," and really - how many carmen named Mat Madigan could have possibly been running around New York at one time? Remember that I say this knowing full well that our Julia and Patrick Mulvaney shared Brooklyn with another couple named Julia and Patrick Mulvaney at the very same time, and that Suffern once had a William O'Hara with a son named Kevin O'Hara in an entirely separate family than ours - coincidences do happen. Still, I present this on the possibility that it might be our Madigan family, and we'll see if we can find proof - though what that would entail, I'm not sure. I'll know it when I see it, I guess.

(interesting note, since I paged to the next and last image, that of the last page of the census for this enumeration district, where the census taker tallies the total number of inhabitants: 1246 inhabitants, of whom only a single 1 is non-white (a "colored male"). Imagine that!)

1880 Census - Madigans at 85 Luqueer St.

This is the 1880 census of 85 Luqueer St., showing the Madigan family (though it's spelled Maddigan). Matthew and Margaret both give their ages as 40, giving each an approximate birthdate of 1840. Both say they were born in Ireland, but all of their 3 children were born in NY. Margaret, at 7, has not yet attended school, but Mary, at 11, and James, at 9, both have. According to these ages, Mary was born around 1869, James around 1871, and Margaret around 1873. Matthew's occupation is "truckman," and Margaret is listed as "keeping house." Also listed with their family is 21-year-old Matthew Kelly, who must be a boarder, and who works as a "clerk in store."

What's even more interesting though is several lines further down the page. Also living at 85 Luqueer St., and also a "truckman" by trade, is Cornelius Sullivan, age 30, and his wife Margaret. If we look back to this information that we got from someone's cousin or something or other, we see that Margaret Sullivan Madigan had her siblings listed: Bridgett, Nora, Conn, and James. I have a suspicion - no proof, just a suspicion - that "Conn" is an abbreviation for Cornelius, and that this Cornelius Sullivan is Margaret's brother, working with his brother-in-law Matthew as a truckman. I haven't come across any evidence that Conn actually ever was used as an abbreviation for Cornelius, and Sullivan is a common name. Still, someone who shares a last name with Margaret and is working in her husband's industry while living in the building they own is just too tempting to write off entirely.

85 Luquer St.

Here are a couple particularly interesting pages from the 1897 Brooklyn City Directory:

The first shows a Maddigan, Marg't wid. Matthew h 404 Will'by av - the same address as a Maddigan, Jos P, lockfitter.

I haven't come across any other Matthew Mad(d)igans in the Brooklyn City Directory, so it's possible, but not certain, that this Margaret, widow of Matthew, is our Margaret Sullivan Madigan, Matthew Madigan's wife. And it seems that she's living with a brother-in-law, who would be one of Matthew Madigan's brothers. We don't know anything about Matthew Madigan's family, or whether he had any siblings, but it seems possible now that he had a brother named Joseph who was a lockfitter. Their only son was named James, not Joseph, so it's also possible that she's living with him and his name was taken down incorrectly. Knowing little to nothing about the family dynamics, I would think it more likely that she would move in with her son than with her husband's brother (or nephew, I suppose), but that doesn't mean she did.

The second shows a Mulcahy, Mich'l, liquors, 227 Hamilton av, h 85 Luquer

This is Michael Mulcahy. His home is 85 Luquer St, and his business - in "liquors" - is at 227 Hamilton Ave. (Which is just around the corner, according to google maps.) From 1888-1890 (as well as in several other years), 227 Hamilton is the only address listed for Michael Mulcahy and Matthew Madigan is still living at 85 Luquer. Michael and Mary Ann married right around then (October 2, 1888 is the date I have), so they either lived at/above/behind Michael's bar in the first few years of their marriage; moved in with Mary Ann's parents immediately upon marrying, but chose not to list their home address; or moved elsewhere upon marrying, but chose not to list their home address.

We now have proof, or near proof, that

a) despite not appearing at the address in 1900, the Mulcahys had, in fact, moved in there by at least 1897

b) Matthew Madigan appears to have died between 1890 and 1897

c) Matthew Madigan may have had a brother named Joseph

d) Margaret Sullivan Madigan outlived her husband and was still alive in 1897

UPDATE: When I wrote this, I forgot what we already think we know - that Matthew Madigan, in fact, outlived his wife, as evidenced by the fact that he remarried and had a child with his second wife. Second wife was supposedly Johanna Roche, and their daughter was Loretta Madigan. I've never tried looking for that part of the family. I think maybe I will.

Brooklyn City Directories

The majority of the 1890 census was destroyed in a fire and only fragments exist, none of them covering Brooklyn. Thus, ancestry.com has put together an "1890 Census Substitute," part of which consists of the 1888-1890 Brooklyn City Directory. So, since I'm going back in time (at least when I don't get caught up in death certificates and early censuses), and I've already brought the Mulcahys back to 1905, and looked for them in 1900, we're looking for 1890. When I went to find and post the City Directory links I'd found for Matthew Madigan and Michael Mulcahy, though, I discovered that ancestry.com has recently added to the U.S. City Directory records that they have published! They now cover 1879-1900. So, I'm going to be looking to see who else and what else I can find.
This, just off of a quick initial search, is Mathew Madigan, truckman, living at 85 Luquer St. As you can see from the image, there's really no other information included. We can hopefully use this to do things like figure out where the Toners lived in 1880, so we can find their census listing, figure out when the Mulcahys moved into 85 Luqueer St and when Matthew Madigan moved out (which would possibly be when he died), possibly even figure out when Michael Mulcahy immigrated, if he suddenly shows up in the city at some point.

Isn't this exciting?

Mulcahy Family Information

This is the information that got me started on my genealogical treasure hunt. My mom got it from Uncle Joe, and he got it from a cousin, and I transcribed what was written exactly, so all references, say, to "my grandfather" refer to the author/Joe, Betty, and Nan's grandfather. At the bottom is my transcription of a newspaper article about Papa and his brothers enlisting in the Army during WWI after their father died. If I can scan the copy of this article that I have at home, I'll upload that, too.

[From Uncle Joe:]
Laurie,
Enclosed is all the information I have on the Mulcahy family. The material which
begins “my grandfather” was written by my first cousin, so Michael Mulcahy is my and Kevin’s mom’s grandfather and Kevin’s great-grandfather. I hope this helps!
Joe

My grandfather
Michael Mulcahy
married Mary Ann Madigan
DOB:
POB: Palas Green, Limerick, Ireland
Died: January 20, 1917, Brooklyn, NY
His brothers and sisters were:
a) James Mulcahy married Molly _______
He came to the US and went to Chicago and became a policeman. He then left Chicago and came back to Luquer St. in Brooklyn where he and his family. He had daughters Margaret and Mary.
b) Patrick Mulcahy (he married Catherine Mahr)
He came to the US and stayed with Michael Mulcahy on Luquer St. in Brooklyn. He worked in Michael’s bar in Brooklyn and was subsequently fired by Michael. Patrick liked to drink and didn’t like to work to [sic] hard. He had the following
known children:
1) Margaret Mulcahy
2) Cathleen Mulcahy
3) James Mulcahy (worked for US [?])
4) John Mulcahy
c) John Mulcahy
Stayed in Ireland.
d) Johanna Mulcahy
Never married. She stayed in Ireland.
e) Catherine Mulcahy
Came to the US and stayed at Luquer St. She then went back to Ireland and lived in Tipperary. It is believed she married a man by the name of McMann.

Michael Mulcahy (my grandfather). His father was James Mulcahy and he married Margaret Ryan. My grandmother Mary Ann [Madigan] Mulcahy used to call my great-grandfather James Mulcahy “The Raine Druid” because he had red hair. Michael Mulcahy owned two bars in Brooklyn which he lost after they changed the beer.

My grandmother (married Michael Mulcahy)
Mary Ann Madigan (Mulcahy)
DOB: 1868
POB: Lake St. Manhattan
Died: April 11, 1927, Brooklyn, NY
Brothers and sisters:
Margaret Madigan (DOB 1872)
James Madigan (Youngest of the three. He never married.)
Her father was Matthew Madigan. Her mother was Margaret Sullivan. They were married in St. Peter’s Church in Manhattan. They lived in Manhattan in the only house that had a tile roof.

My great-grandfather, Matthew Madigan
Was born in Kilrush County Clare.
He was in the trucking business in New York and he also worked for a drug
company. Matthew Madigan married twice. His first wife was Margaret Sullivan.
His second wife was Johanna Roche. From his second marriage they had one child,
Loretta Madigan.

Loretta Madigan married Joseph Rickett and they had three children:
Gene Rickett (priest)
Joseph Rickett (priest)
Elizabeth Rickett (lives in New Hampsire)

Matthew Madigan had problems with the authorities in Ireland, so he went to England where he worked as a policeman for two years before he came to the US. He had no known brothers and sisters in the US.
My great-grandmother, Margaret Sullivan
Was born in Cree County Clare. She had the following brothers and
sisters:
Bridgett Sullivan (Consodine)
Nora Sullivan (Crowe)
Conn Sullivan
James Sullivan
Margaret Madigan, my grandmother’s sister, married _______ Roche and had three children:
1) Marge Roche
2) Frank Roche
3) Margaret Roche

[Also included: copy of newspaper article about the Mulcahy brothers]:

Mulcahy Brothers Enlisted Together
Three of Family of Seven Boys in Government Service
Mother Proud of Sons
Heeded Country’s Call After Father’s Death

Mrs. Michael Mulcahy, of 85 Luquer Street, has already given three out of her family of seven boys to the service of the country. The boys are James A., 27 years old, now in France with the Twenty-first Field Artillery, Battery C, Matthew V., 25 years old, in present at the Gunners’ School at the Navy Yard, and Joseph E., 21 years old, a second lieutenant of the Sixty-seventh Company, Sixth Replacement Regiment, Camp Gordon, Ga. They enlisted together in April, 1917, four months after the death of their father.
All of the boys were born in Brooklyn and all were educated in the schools here. James Mulcahy was graduated from St. Francis’ Parochial School and was employed at the Robins Dock until he left with his company. Matthew studied two years at St. James’ High School and then became a freight tracer at the Grand Central Station. Joseph is a graduate of St. Bernard’s School, and had studied two years at Commercial High when he entered the employment of Bochmand & Co., Twentieth st. and Fourth ave., Manhattan.
Five weeks ago, Mrs. Mulcahy says she received a card stating that James had arrived safely on the other side and she says they all write they are bing [sic] “treated fine.” The family is well known in South Brooklyn.