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.

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?

1920 census - Mulcahy family

This faint and slightly difficult to read (as always, click on the image to enlarge, although this one will still be faint and slightly difficult to read) image is of the 1920 census. The Mulcahy family is living at 85 Luqueer St., and they're the first family on the page. Michael Mulcahy, father, isn't listed - he died in 1917. The head of the household is Mary, his wife, and all of her children are listed: James A., Matthew V., Joseph E., Michael F., Mary V., John A., Gerard E., and Vincent A. You can remember that in the 1930 census, James, Mary, Gerard, and Vincent were all still living in one apartment at 85 Luqueer St., none of them married or with children, as far as we can tell, while Matthew was living in the next apartment with his wife and kids, and Joseph (Papa) was living at 648 83rd St., recently married to Nana. Between 1920 and 1930, we've lost track of Michael and John. A Margaret appears on the 1910 census (which I'll post soon), but as she'd be 30 by 1920, I assume she'd left and gotten married, and as I have no idea to whom - though someone else might - she's untraceable, for me. John and Michael I could try to find.

In 1920, only Gerard and Vincent - who were 11 and 12 - had been in school within the previous year. John, at 16, and Mary, at 18, the two next youngest, had not. Mary Ann Madigan Mulcahy, the mother, lists no employment, but all of her kids work, apparently in only 2 industries between them. James, Matthew, and Papa all have occupations of either "mail clerk" or "clerk" (Matthew) for a "Railway" or "R.R. Off." (again, Matthew's is the one listed in different format. Perhaps he worked for a different company, or in a different capacity, or...?) Michael and John list their industry as "tool office" - John's occupation is "clerk," but I can't read the first part of the description, and I'm not sure what Michael's says: "[something]-maker."

Clearly, speculation and guesswork increases as you go back in time.

1930 census - 85 Luqueer

This is a copy of the 1930 census for 85 Luqueer St. in Brooklyn. It's the house where Papa grew up, as well as the house where his mother, Mary Ann Madigan grew up. We believe it was built by her father, Matthew Madigan. On this census, both of Papa's parents, Michael Mulcahy and Mary Ann Madigan Mulcahy, have already died, and he is living at 648 83rd St., with Nana. They're newlyweds. In the house at Luqueer St., though, are several of his siblings - James, Mary, Gerard, and Vincent are all living together in the first apartment (listed as family 52), while the next family at the same address, presumably the next apartment in the building, is his brother Matthew Mulcahy with his wife Catherine and their sons Gerard, Matthew, and Eugene. As Gerard was one brother and Eugene was Papa's middle name, all three boys have family names from their father's family, it seems.

John Griffin and John Griffin visited the house at 85 Luqueer St. this fall:

John Sr.'s caption reads:
"The house on left that Betty & Your Nana's Great-Grandfather, Matthew Madigan, built for his family, the modern looking building was originally eight stables that later became garages and to the right of that structure are two more identical houses he built and rented. Their original family home is now a four family building."

(I believe that if you look closely, you'll see John in a blue shirt near the bottom left!)