Hello
from LittleShamrocks.com,
The
first Monday in September is the American holiday, Labor
Day, which is the three day weekend that is considered
to be the unofficial end of summer. This is the time
when
the kids go back to school and people get together for
one last cookout, one last pool party and one last hurrah.
Some of the summer restaurants, beaches and businesses
close for the season, with the rest holding out for the
foliage season, which ends on Columbus Day weekend in
October.
All
of the summer vacationers button up their cottages
and head back to the city, while local residents drain
their swimming pools and put away their patio sets
for the winter. You can see some leaves beginning to
turn
color, and the smell of autumn is in the air. There
will be a
slight lull in activity for a couple of weeks, until
the foliage seekers start flooding into the area from
all over
the world. It is a beautiful sight.
I
received a submission from Maura Foye Hall of Chicago
who was planning a trip to Ireland the first week of
August. Her grandfather had come from the Mohill area
of County
Leitrim and she asked if I could help her find the
farm where he had grown up. She had visited the area
about
thirty years ago and couldn’t remember where it was but
that it was called Ned Foye’s Field. After asking
her a few preliminary questions about her grandfather,
Edward ‘Ned’ Foye, I finally found him on the
1901 Leitrim-Roscommon Census. Ned was abandoned by the
people who had abducted his father, mother and sister,
and he was brought up in a local orphanage run by the Sisters
of Mercy. When he was seven years old, he was adopted by
a farmer from Clooneagh. Ned lived and worked there until
he was able to save enough money to emigrate to the United
States, where he settled in the Chicago area. I had emailed
Phil O’Brien to see if she had ever heard of ‘Ned
Foye’s Field’ and she replied that one of her
patrons was interested in the story and was going to look
into it. After Maura returned from her trip, I received
a lovely thank you note she had sent on behalf of herself
and her family. When they arrived in Mohill, they went
into O’Brien’s Tavern to see Phil, who was
not there, but they met with Jim. He got out some maps
and they figured out where the farm was located. I thanked
her for the note and told her that it was my pleasure to
help her. I’m fascinated with genealogy and delighted
when I find something, even if it’s not my family.
I
have collected a lot of history about my Casey and Willett
family connection. I recently joined Ancestry.com
and it has been a wonderful tool. I love the ‘hints’ they
give you. They may have 5 people who could possibly be
a link, so they tell you, you check them out and add
them if they belong to you. Some can be eliminated right
away, but I get excited whenever I get a hint.
The
information I found on Michael Casey
is incomplete on an 1846 list of Irish emigrants
arriving in Quebec, Canada. There is a Michael Casey,
wife and
children listed as a party of nine people; three
adult males, three
adult females, two children in the age bracket
3 to 12, and one infant. Anyone over the age of twelve
was
considered
an adult, so I wonder if our Michael Casey could
have been one of the adult males in a family that emigrated
together.
I need more information. These were destitute emigrants
being forwarded to Montreal on the steamship Lord
Sydenhall.
Their destination was L. Original. I tried to research
that name and only came up with a former prison
in
a small area of Montreal, L’Origine, which
may have been used as housing during the flood of
Irish emigrants.
Great-great
grandmother, Mary Ann Denning Casey,
was an Irish famine immigrant to Canada, and I
believe I found
her included on a partial ship’s passenger
index. I have a Mary Denning, born in Ireland in
1831, died in
Vermont 1870. It’s the right name and the right
time frame but the rest of the information is on
microfilm.
I found Mary Casey and four of her children on the
1870 U.S. Census for Vermont. The family appears
to have been
boarding at the home of Joseph Smith in Colchester.
Family members listed are Mary Casey (44), her son,
Michael Casey
(22), her son, Patrick Casey (18), her son, Edward
Casey (16), her daughter, Kate Casey (8). Anna was
old enough
to be employed as a servant, so it’s not a
surprise that she wasn’t listed, but I was
very surprised to see an older son, Michael. This
is the last U.S. Census
where Mary Ann was listed.
Last
month, when I reported that my sister, Marylou, had given
me information about our great grandparents,
Anna
Casey Willett and her husband, Edward Willett,
Jr., and their children, I didn’t realize that they were all
living together in the same house. In the 1880 Census,
it shows the head of household as Patrick J. Casey (26),
his wife, Lizzie D. Casey (24), their daughter, Kate A.
Casey (1), Patrick’s sister, Annie Willet (23), Annie’s
husband, Edward Willet (26), their daughter, Clara Willet
(4), their son, Charles Willet (2), their youngest son,
Jesse Willet (8 mos.) and Patrick’s brother, Edward
Casey (24). On this census, the name is spelled W-i-l-l-e-t,
with only one ‘T’, Anna is recorded
as Annie and Jerre (Jeremiah) is mistakenly recorded
as Jesse. The
only family member not listed is Catherine (Kate)
because she was employed as a domestic for the
George Towle family
in Burlington.
I
found my Willett great-great grandparents listed on the
1860 Burlington, Vermont Census. They
are listed as Edward
Willet born in Vermont (27), his wife, Adaline
Willet (24), their daughter, Adaline (10),
their son, Edward
(7), their
son, Joseph (6), their son, Felix (3), their
daughter, Louisa (2). On the 1870 census their
ages are off
a little
but it is the same family. Edward Willet (40),
his wife, Adaline Willet (38), their daughter,
Louisa
(13), and
their daughter, Florence (1). My other sister,
Andrea, told me
that there were a lot of children, some of
whom are not listed here, and several died very young.
The
1870 census reads, Edward Willett born in Vermont (40),
his wife, Adaline Willett
(38),
daughter,
Louisa (13),
Florence (1). Their son, Edward was not listed
but I found him working as a servant and
boarding with
the
John Pair
family in Fort Edward in upstate New York.
This town is directly across Lake Champlain
from Burlington,
Vermont.
The
1880 census lists both of Edward Sr.’s parents
as being born in Canada, which is the first time I’ve
seen or heard of that information. Listed are Edward Willett
(49), carriage upholsterer, wife, Adeline (44), daughter,
Louisa (18), son, George (16), daughter, Amelia (14), son,
Henry (13), son, Frank (10), daughter, Florence (8), daughter,
Ida (6). If you have noticed, in this twenty year span,
spelling of the Willett name is found different with either
one ‘T’ or two. Adaline is also spelled Adeline,
the ages are not consistent, and there are five more children
listed here. Just an amusing note; our grandfather, Jeremiah
Willett, married a very French Canadian named Elvira Loiselle.
Willett is actually an English name but she tried to make
it sound French. She added an ‘E’ on the end
and changed it from Wil’ - lett to Wil - lette’.
My father’s brother, Joe, kept the ‘E’ but
my father changed it back.
 |
Edward
Willett Jr.
|
The
1880 census was the last time that Edward Willett,
Sr.’s
family was listed. This was also the last time we saw
Edward, Jr. listed in Vermont. Anna and their children
were still living in Vermont but Edward was
found living
in North Jay, NY, near Plattsburgh, in upstate
New York. Edward was a very accomplished artist and we
were sent
two of his works by his friend’s family
member. One was a reverse painting on glass
of flowers in a vase. The
other was a self portrait in charcoal, circa
1890, that was so well done it looks like a
photo. My father’s
brother, Donald, didn’t look like my
father or his other brother, Joe, because he
looked just like Edward,
Jr.’s twin brother. Unbelievable! Edward
passed away in 1927.
Last
month I had learned that Terry’s great aunt,
Mary Kate Reynolds, had emigrated to Boston.
I made an educated guess that she traveled over with
grandfather
Terence in 1908 but I was wrong. She emigrated
in 1909, arriving in Boston on the S.S. Saxonia and Terence
met
her at the port.
I
hope that all of you will take advantage of the beautiful
foliage season coming up
and please
make
it a safe
and happy time. I will look forward to
writing the next newsletter
for the month of October in which I will
include a couple of recipes.
Until
next time ...
Sláinte,
Tyna
