Does that say what I think it says?!

There was a while when I was searching for the passenger manifest showing my great-grandfather, John O'Hara, returning to the US as a child after his family had spent a few years in Ireland. There were a couple of possible John O'Haras in the right time period, but I wasn't ever sure just which one was him. The most likely one showed up on the passenger manifest all by his lonesome, 4 years old, without any parents or younger brothers listed nearby, though it was noted that he was "going with father + mother." I thought I'd looked through all the pages of that manifest to find his father (and the rest of his family?) but either I meant to but didn't, or I missed them when I did. When it finally occurred to me that I should be searching on his brother Eugene's name instead, I got a hit, for Eugene, on the same ship, which sailed in 1902. The family of 5 is listed on 3 different pages.

Eugene and Patrick are on the first page of the manifest, almost obscured by damage:

As I said, Grandpa JJ is all on his own page:

And their parents, John and Mary, are on yet another page:

Now, it was months ago that I found these records, but it wasn't until last night - I wanted to look at their "place of last residence" to see if I could find them in the 1901 Irish Census - that I looked particularly closely at just what this manifest said. Next to John Sr.'s name, it says in big letters that he's a US Citizen. Written directly underneath that, though (and I mean underneath it, like the handwriting overlaps, not underneath it like on the next line), it says when he became a citizen!

I can't necessarily read the whole thing, but it says something like "Cit. paper of #29 something something Kings Co., NY, Oct 14/98."

Wait, for real? All this time, the exact date of John O'Hara's naturalization had been sitting right there in my files and I hadn't noticed it? I'd been looking at naturalization indexes this week, and, as per usual, the number of John O'Haras who had naturalized in NYC between the late 1880s and 1900 was staggering. (I can't even imagine how people research Smiths, when I have so much trouble with O'Haras!) There was one that seemed particularly likely, but I couldn't be sure and didn't know if I wanted to take the chance on ordering it. This morning, I searched on Ancestry for John O'Hara naturalized in 1898, and lo and behold, that John O'Hara that I'd been tempted by? That John O'Hara was naturalized 14 October 1898!

I think it's safe to say that I'll hesitate no longer!

1905 NYS Census - O'Hara Family

This is the 1905 New York State Census record of the O'Hara family. They're living at 586 Baltic St., only about a block and a half from where they lived at 527 Baltic St. in 1910. In the interim, however, they probably lived somewhere else entirely, as the church they attended in that neighborhood, St. Augustine's in Park Slope, has the 1905 record of their daughter Malinda's baptism, but not what should have been the c. 1908 record of their daughter Mary's baptism. Neither girl lived long enough to celebrate any of the other sacraments.

In 1905, the family is listed as John, 30; Mary, 29; John, 8; Eugene, 6; Pacey, 3; and Malina, 2 mos. Malina should be Malinda, and Pacey should be Patrick, although for all I know he may have been called Pacey. Both parents were born in Ireland, while all the kids are listed as American-born, though Patrick was actually born in Ireland in 1902. The family had moved back to Ireland and lived there between 1900 and 1902. In the column "number of years in the United States," John has answered 17 and Mary 16. I wonder if that's given as "number of years since immigration," or if it's been adjusted for the ~2 years they had spent in Ireland since they immigrated. If the former, they immigrated in 1888 and 1889, respectively. If the latter, it may have been more like 1890 and 1891. All are citizens. (I've yet to attempt to wade through the astronomical numbers of John O'Haras in Brooklyn at the turn of the century to find John O'Hara's naturalization papers.)

John is a stableman, and Mary does house work. John Jr. (my great-grandfather, AKA Grandpa JJ) and Eugene are "at school," but neither "Pacey," nor Malinda is.

Mary E. King O'Hara Death Notice, 1949

From the November 7, 1949 edition of the Brooklyn Eagle, via Fulton History:

O'HARA - MARY E. (nee King), of 505 6th Street, on November 5, 1949, beloved wife of the late John J.; dear mother of John, Eugene, Patrick and Joseph. Reposing McCaddin Funeral Home, 24 7th Avenue, until Wednesday 9:30 a.m. Solemn Requiem Mass, St. Saviour's Church, 10 o'clock. Internment Holy Cross Cemetery.

This one will be a new experience for me. Grandma Mary King O'Hara died so recently that her death certificate will have to be ordered from the NYC Department of Health, not the Municipal Archives, like I usually do. (1949 is the dividing line for where death certificates are held.) I haven't let myself spend money for a vital record in months. I'm getting so excited!

John J. O'Hara Death Notice, December 1946

From the December 4, 1946 edition of the Brooklyn Eagle, via Fulton History:

O'HARA - JOHN J., of 505 6th Street, December 3, 1946, beloved husband of Mary E. (nee King); devoted father of John J., Eugene W., Patrick F., and Joseph A. O'Hara. Reposing Henry McCaddin & Son Home, 24 7th Avenue, until Friday, 9:30 am. Solemn Requiem Mass, St. Saviour's Church, 10:00. internment Holy Cross Cemetery.

And as a treat to myself for finishing a paper I had due yesterday, I'm going to let myself order the death certificate! Stay tuned. . .

1920 Census - O'Haras at 303 Vanderbilt Ave

This is the 1920 census of the O'Hara family at 303 Vanderbilt Ave. They are listed as John, 47, Mary, 48 (didn't she used to be younger than he?!), John J., 23, Eugene W., 21, Patrick, 18, and Joseph, 5. John Sr., Mary, and Patrick were all born in Ireland. John and Mary say they immigrated in 1895 and naturalized in 1900, while Patrick is said to have immigrated in 1902, which is presumably the year they returned from their years back in Ireland. John is a hostler at a department store, while the boys are all clerks; Grandpa JJ at a "Prov. Co." (anyone want to guess what that means?), Eugene at a Bank, and Patrick at an "Engr. Co." Joseph, being 5, doesn't have a job. All of them are salaried employees.

1910 Census - O'Haras at 527 Baltic St.

This is the 1910 Census of the O'Hara living at 527 Baltic St. They're the last family on the page. Since we've last seen them, we know they've returned to Ireland and then come back again. We know this through family stories - Grandpa JJ telling us that he got teased for his Irish accent when he got back, and that his last memory of Ireland was being sent up the hill to the post office to mail a letter. We also know that Patrick was born there, though that is (incorrectly) not evident on this census.

The family is listed as John, 41; Mary, 35 (she's only aged about 8 years in the last 10); John Jr., 13; Eugene, whose age is hard to read, but who should be about 11; Patrick, 8; and Malinda, 6. There are also "boarders," John and Martin King, though I'm nearly certain that these are Mary's brothers.

The younger sister Mary is not on this census. I plan to post her death certificate next; I know this girl existed. Why isn't she on the census now? She should be about 2, and won't die (of Pneumonia) for another year. Her baptismal record also wasn't on file at St. Augustine's which it should have been, since she was born while they were living in the area (unless they moved out and back within 5 years, which, of course, is not impossible). I know she lived a short life, a mere three years, but there should still be more evidence of her existence than her death certificate and a memory passed on through Uncle Jack and Uncle Ted. Mary the mother is also listed as having only given birth to 4 children, which simply isn't true, unless her age was misrecorded on her death certificate (the difference between being 1 year old and being 3 years old is huge).

All the adults are listed as having been born in Ireland, while all the children are listed as having been born in NY, although this is not true; we know Patrick was born in Ireland. Now John and Mary both say they immigrated in 1891, which is different from the answer they gave ten years ago. John has been naturalized (Mary probably is, too, by marriage, though I'm not sure of the laws relating to this at the time). John and Martin King say they immigrated (possibly together?) in 1907, and are not naturalized. John O'Hara is listed as a stableman at a livery stable (which is similar to his earlier occupation of coachman), while John King is an Engineer for a Gas Co. and Martin is a fireman at a Gas Co. All the kids had attended school in the past year, except for Malinda. They rent their home.

1900 Census - O'Haras at 253 Clinton Ave

Here's the earliest O'Hara family census I've found. In 1900, the O'Haras lived at 253 Clinton Ave. John, age 31, says he was born in February 1869, and Mary E., 28, says she was born May 1872. Their two eldest boys, John J and Eugene, are 3 and 1 and their birthdates are given as June 1896 and December 1898. John and Mary say they've been married 5 years, which means they married some time around 1895. Mary's only given birth to the 2 children now living. They say they immigrated in 1890 and 1889, which means they were probably married in the United States. I'll be looking for further records of that. John has naturalized; the problem with relatives named John O'Hara is that 345209 other men named John O'Hara also lived in Brooklyn, and were also naturalized between 1890 and 1900. (That is why I focused my early efforts on relatives with names like Veronica Mulvaney - people I didn't have to pick out of a haystack.) I'd love to find those records, though. Neither boy has attended school in the past year. (They're 1 and 3. Duh.) They rent, rather than own, their home. John is a coachman, and both parents can read, write, and speak English.

They also, though, spoke Irish, according to Uncle Jack:

My grandparents did speak Irish but not when they came to the US. I never heard them speak in Irish. However, a story told by my grandmother: My Grandfather used to play Eueka (an Irish card game). His partner also spoke Irish. Their two opponents did not speak Irish. My Grandfather and his partner would converse in Irish about their game strategy. Alas, an Irish trick.