Great-great Grandfather's letter

Philada, July 14th/65

Transcription of a copy of a letter written by my great-great Grandfather, Patrick Carroll, to his brother, Coleman Carroll, in 1865:

While Patrick’s address is given in the body of the letter, there is no address given for the brother or for anyone mentioned in the letter. According to my best guess, based on the average of the ages given for Patrick in all the available census and death returns, Patrick was born in about 1821 in Middletown, County Cork, Ireland. I did find a baptismal record for a Patrick Carroll in Cloyne Parish, dated 9 February, 1821. I can’t be absolutely that this is the correct Patrick. I did not find a record for a Coleman Carroll, or of a John Carroll (mentioned in the letter,) with the same parents.
Patrick would have been 44 years old when this letter was written. He died in October of 1899, and his death record states that he was then 78 years old.

_______________________________________________________________________


Dear Brother Coleman

I am in
receipt of your letter which gives me
pleasure to hear that you and your
family are well and I am happy to
inform you that I and my family
are well Thanks be to god.

Dear Brother when you get this letter
please forget all my former and I would
say heretofore negligence in writing to you,
for I need not tell you that it was through
no indifference to your welfare that I did
not write to you – and dear Brother
though you made some sharp and
pointed remark to me in your letter
I loved and liked it the better for this
for I know your kindness and affection

I will now tell you a little about how
I am getting along. I have just
returned from the oil regions in
Western Pennsylvania where I have

Page 2 -
been for the last 3 months at work
and I intended to remain there until
November but the children got [sick[i]]
and of [course] had to come home. Now
They are getting well. Business is rather
dull in this city lately but I can [get]
a job any time I have done no work
on my own account for nearly 03 years
but being employed as foreman for other
Builders the man that I was [fore…]
died lately and I think it likely
I shall do something myself very soon.

I done very well by that contract
you wanted to know about – I made
about two thousand dollars clear
and I bought a little property, have now
is worth six thousand dollars to me.
My rents bring me 40 dollars a
month but taxes are very high at [present]
so that if I have my health I can make
a comfortable living for my family and
if I die they will have a little to assist them.

Page 3 -
There was some [gre-----s] [---] [[---]
[lately] and told that Brother John and
Mother were well john had a daughter
6 mo old named Mary. Our cousins
Patrick Michael and John Keefe are well
and their sister Johanna and husband
are doing remarkably well and
David Walsh and his sister are
well they are both married
I think I mentioned in my [previous?]
letter that Owen Keefe[ii] was killed in
the Battle of South Mountain he
was the oldest of the boys none of the
rest listed and David Walsh’s sister’s
son Edmund Lynch was killed at
The siege of Charleston.
As for my part I escaped all the drafts
and I had no fancy for volunteering
still there is hardly any of us [witness] their
kindred blood reddening and their bones
bleeching [in] some or other of the many
battle fields of this war.

Page 4
I have 4 children Coleman is going
in his 14^th year and Kate is
8 years And by my second marriage
I have two boys Joseph and
Charles Joseph 3 years and Charley
1 year old. I am living in the
(word crossed out) that I built for myself (word smudged)
1909 Carlton st. [iii]

I will conclude hoping this
will find you and family all happy
as it comes with it from us our
warmest love and affections for
you and your wife and children
and our best wishes for your
welfare – Your (confusing scribble) Brother
                                                                                Patrick

---

[i] Words in brackets are either unclear to me, or cut off at the edge of a page. Parentheses indicate that I am unable to read the words.
 In this instance, I would point out that Patrick had already lost two children by his first wife, so an illness would have been a very important reason to get home.

[ii] There was indeed an Owen Keef listed among the dead after the battle of Antietam, which Patrick here refers to as the Battle of South Mountain. Other than the fact of his death, and the name of the unit he fought with, nothing more was learned about Owen Keefe.

[iii] Notes later written onto the letter mention 3 later daughters – Mamie Burrows, Maggie Fox, and Lizzie McGonigle; and also that the Carlton st. address is near the Parkway museum and court area. (near 19^th and Vine, and the Logan Circle in Philadelphia.) At the bottom of the page it is noted that Patrick is William B. Lavin’s great grandfather on his maternal side. William was Lizzie McGonigle’s grandson. 

Old Newspapers

I have spent a good bit of time on my new favorite online playground, called Newspapers.com . Initially, I spent the time looking up death notices and other items connected to anyone in my extended family tree. One can search by name, date, or any other phrase one can think of to find anything that might appear in the newspaper. The papers range in some areas from the 18th century (you can find George Washington's 'Farewell Address' as originally published) to 2017 - at least in my local area. There are some gaps in the "searchable" pages, but in many of them you can browse. You can clip and save anything you find.

There was a piece about my Grandmother's house (the house my Mother grew up in) from 1923. It seems they confiscated three 15 gallon stills and a bunch of liquor. Who knew Grandmom was a bootlegger? Or perhaps it was all for personal use. That is, from wha I hear, certainly a possibility.

There were a series of Real Estate transactions whereby my Great-grandfather's brother in law (a real estate agent) sold a property, amounting to a city block, to a man who then sold it to my Great-grandfather's brother who then sold it back to the Brother in law - all on the same day and for a nominal fee. I'm not at all sure who made out on that deal, or how, but I suspect it was the Brother in law.

There was another ad, a few years earlier, place by the fore-mentioned Brother, who was seeking employment as a club pianist. Personally, I was pleased to see this as I am unaware of many musicians in the family tree, and sometimes it feels a little lonely. There are, however, no indications that my Great great-uncle found any musical positions. He later married and moved to Washington, D.C. where he worked as a contractor.

Having exhausted most of the intersting (to me) notices connected to my family, I started looking up various historical things to read the original news reports/ I have read about several 19th century minstrels and popular composers like Septimus Winner. I looked up reports on the Aurora Borealis. I looked up news reports (from London) on the trial or Williams Burke and Hare, and Burke's confession, as well as reports of his execution. I didn't realize his remains are still on display somewhere in London. Nr did I realize that William Hare was released from jail less than a year after some of the murders, and he and his wife disappeared with the aid of the authorities.

I also looked up the history of some of my old favorite bars.

So, while it does require subscription, it is wellworth it. I have been having lots of fun.

I am saddened

Mary, my cousin, is the girl sitting on the right side. As best I can figure, the picture was taken in 1960 or early 1961. The baby is either my brother of a cousin, born 9 months later than he. My brother would have been missing from the picture in that case. The woman holding the baby is not my mother. Perhaps she is my Aunt, looking much younger and different than I remember her.

    My cousin was called earlier today (or yesterday) by the police who found his sister in her apartment. She had been dead for some days - possibly 5 of them. My cousin's brother (also my cousin) called me this morning to give me the news. The cause of death is unknown. Mary had complained to a friend that she wasn't feeling well about 5 days ago, and said she would call the doctor. The friend received no answer when she tried to call the next day. 

     As sad as this is to me personally, I feel particularly sad for Mary's son. He is an actor living in a different city. I have met him two or three times in as many decades, but I can't say I know him well at all. I rarely spoke to Mary. The last time was my Uncle's funeral 4 years ago. I believe that was the last time I met her son, and likely the only time he'd remember meeting me.

     He, being the only child, and without a father, will have to make all of the decisions regarding the remains and whatever estate there may be. It will no doubt be tough for him, and my cousins. I know that Mary will not be buried from a church, and since her son and at least one of her brothers, live in cities far removed from her home, it remains to be seen what will be done in her memory.

     I will of course be awaiting news.

Well, two weeks ago my laptop was out of commission, as was of course my collection of digital images, so it was impossible for me to have posted this picture of my late lamented mother (which I would have done in honor of her birthday.) She would have turned 80 this month, and I have no personal recollection of her looking quite like this picture, but I can attest to the identity of the pictured and to the authenticity of the spirit of the lady in question.

     In a month and a week, it will have been 3 years since her passing, and yes one does still think of her from time to time.

     In other news, rehearsal for 'The Fantasticks' did not go quite as quickly as I'd hoped, but nothing went badly, so that's alright. The car is still in the shop (will be until at least monday). I had arranged for rides for the weekend (to rehearsals) and I notified the manager of Helloween to alter the schedule so that monday morning would be covered. I offered to work Saturday morning instead, which I am sure made her day.

 I was so proud of my nephew when I received this picture of him in his Halloween costume some time back. Partly, this was because I was pleased to see him expressing himself creatively, although I do not think (nor do I believe HE would) that I would normally consider my nephew to resemble a piece of shit - neither physically nor spiritually. I was also amused at how distressed my sister was by the costume and the picture. The nephew's girlfriend was similarly be-costumed as "Pee."

     I might also add that it is the first time my nephew really reminded me of (and I mean specifically his eyes and not because of the costume) my brother in law.

Distant Cousins

Years ago, my uncle had drawn up his notes – a family tree – which I later used as a springboard to start on my own genealogical research. When I was young, I always thought the family tree stuff was interesting, but it wasn’t until I was in my 30’s that I really started looking into it. By that time, my uncle was older, and his memory had begun to leave him. Sadly, by the end he had a hard enough time remembering me. He had moved in the 1970’s so most of the communicating we did was by telephone. Sadly, he died a few years ago.
I did not get much further than he did in my researches. I was able to flesh out the tree, and to put it into a family tree program. I managed to find documents to confirm and/or deny most of my uncle’s findings. His researches involved talking to his own Aunts and Uncles, I believe. I don’t know when he started, but his mother (my grandmother) died in 1969, and his father died in 1945. Much of the information in his tree was derived from personal knowledge.
In his notes, my Uncle mentions some distant cousins – the Piersons and the Lees. He does not tell exactly how they were related, and when I discussed it with him (and his siblings) there was no way to tell whether they were related through his mother or through his father. Indeed, no one knew whether they were first, second or third cousins.
One set of these cousins included a couple named Francis and Bridget Pierson. They had three children, to my uncle’s knowledge, named Gertrude, Jennie, and Francis (or Jiggy) Pierson, and they all lived on a farm in Harleysville, Pennsylvania. My Uncle told me that during the depression, he had been “farmed out” by his parents, which meant that for a while he went to live and work with the Piersons in Harleysville. This would, obviously have been during the 1930’s. My Uncle was born in 1919, and he would have been 9 years old when the stock market crashed, so I am assuming he was a little bit older when he went to Harleysville.
When I searched the Federal Census I did manage to find a couple named Francis and Bridget Pierson, and they did have the three children named, as well as two older sons named Thomas and Robert. They did not, at least up to 1930, live in Harleysville, though. They lived in Yeadon, Pennsylvania. Both of the older sons were living elsewhere at least until and after World War II.
Bridget Pierson died in 1929.
Francis Pierson died in 1934.
Jennie (or Jane) married a man named Robert Thompson, but died in 1933.
Gertrude married a man named Louis Warriner and died in 1943.
I never learned when Jiggy died. He had been working for the gas company in 1920 and 1930. He was born in about 1902. I suppose it is possible he bought a farm after 1930, but it seems kind of odd for someone to do that in his 30’s.
Anyhow, I’ve always wanted to figure out the story here. Was my Uncle mistaken about the farm? Maybe he was working with Jiggy on somebody else’s farm. After all, it was the depression. Jiggy could very well have lost his job with the gas company.
Since my Uncle never mentioned Thomas or Robert, I am assuming he didn’t know them. Likewise, he never mentioned Gertrude or Jennie’s married names, so I am guessing it wasn’t their farm. I don’t think there were any other siblings. My Uncle was vague when I asked them how old they were, but he did say they were older than he was, and he never mentioned any children his own age or younger. I am unaware of any children there might have been, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any.
Another question I have about this family that no one could answer is – How were they related to us? I have no information about Francis Pierson’s ancestry, but I did learn at least that Bridget Pierson’s maiden name was McLaughlin. I am guessing that they are related to us through the McLaughlin’s, but whether through my Heaney McLaughlins or my Carey McLaughlins, I can only wonder at this point.
My Aunt Mary once told me that she asked her father who only said, “A cousin is a cousin – after that it doesn’t matter.” Clearly my grandfather wasn’t a genealogist.

Genealogy

My intention was to someday post something about my family tree, so I might as well do it now. It isn't that I think that anyone other than myself and maybe some of my cousins will be even slightly interested, but one never knows.
On my father's side my family is descended from on Patrick Carroll, who emigrated - we believe from County Cork, Ireland - sometime about 1849, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Patrick had two wives. By the first, one Mary Hennessy, he had four children (two who survived childhood) - Coleman Carroll, who was named for his Uncle, Patrick's brother; and 'Katie" Carroll, who married one John Morrison. The Morrisons outlived all 6 of their children, but one of them was a Freeholder in the City of Camden, New Jersey when he died from a heart attack, while in his office.
Patrick Carroll's second wife was named Catherine Maloney. They were my 2nd great grandparents. Patrick and Catherine had 5 children, 3 of whom have living descendants. The children were Joseph, Charles (my great-grandfather), Mamie (married William Burrows), Maggie (married Michael Fox), and Lizzie (married John McGonigle.) All of them lived in Philadelphia, or nearby.
My great-grandparents were Charles and Catherine (Uleau) Carroll. Catherine's father, my ggGrandfather, was one Henry Uleau, who was from Kassel, Germany. Henry emigrated as a young man and enlisted in the US Marines. Originally he was stationed in Brooklyn. He was a clerk in the Quartermaster's office at the Navy Yard there. For a few years, about 1862-1866, he was transferred to California, where my great-grandmother and one of her brothers were born, but eventually the family returned to Brooklyn. When my ggGrandmother Sabina Uleau died, Henry remarried, to a woman named Mary Nolan. They had a son (Henry's 6th child) named Francis, who grew up to be a Priest in Brooklyn. Sometime in the 1870's, the family moved to Philadelphia, and Henry's sons and daughter remained in the area, but another daughter returned with her step-mother to Brooklyn after Henry's death in 1890.
By the way - one of the best things about having Henry Uleau as a ggGrandfather is that his name is completely unique. As far as I can tell, he was the only Uleau in the United States in his time. This means that any time I see that name, I can be reasonably certain that I am looking at a reference to some relative or other. Of course it is possible that some person named Uleau entered the country at a later time, but if so, the a) their name hasn't come up on any database searches and b) chances are that person would be related, too. I have never sone a search in Germany or France (I was always told that he was Alsation), but it does not seem like a common name anywhere.
Charles Carroll (pictured) was a carpenter like his father, and Catherine taught Piano. According to one of my distant cousins, Charles sang in the choir at the Cathedral of SS. Peter & Paul, and it is there that he met a man who later was to be his brother-in-law, the ancestor of said distant cousin. I heard from a cousin that Catherine played the organ at the cathedral, but I have not been able to have this confirmed.
More later on the Heaney side (from Dungiven) of my father's family, and on my mother's family, too.