References

Margaret Teresa Foley1863

Margaret Teresa Foley 1863

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Place of migration
Migrated to/Born in USA

Margaret Foley was born 1863-1864, likely at Erribul in the parish o, to Henry Foley and Susan/Johanna Cuggeran. Neither a birth record in Civil Registration nor a baptismal record in Kilmurry McMahon or Kildysart can be located. (Kilfiddane was not established until 1868, but I searched there, too, with no luck.) Henry and Joan had at least six children: Timothy (only known info is as informant/son on mother's death registration); Michael (b. abt 1848-d. June 08, 1871, buried in old Kilfiddane Cemetery); Mary (b. Jan. 1852-m. Timothy McCarthy on April 15, 1882--no children--d. September 06, 1887); Patrick (b. June 10, 1862); and John Joseph (b. May 09, 1869-d. October 25, 1908).

Margaret emigrated in 1882 to the United States, first living in Waterford, New York, with her father's first cousin, Ellen Gregg Welch (daughter of Thomas Gregg and Catherine Foley), who had emigrated about 1866 from Clare and was married to Richard Welch though to be of Kilkenny. By 1888 Margaret had moved south to Jersey City, New Jersey, where she married Patrick Coughlin (also from Clare, probably from Clondegad, the townland of Decomade) on October 11, 1888, at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church. The couple had three sons: Michael (named for Patrick's father); Henry Joseph "Joe" (named for Margaret's father); and John Henry. Patrick died on May 23, 1894, of tuberculosis, and Margaret remarried on July 14, 1895, to James Francis Davey (of Drummiskibbole, St. John's parish, Sligo). Margaret gave birth to first Mary Geraldine ("Mae") in April 1896, then two boys who died at hours and days old in April 1899 and April 1900 (both named James Francis), then a third boy, James Francis, who lived to adulthood. Mae was my grandmother.

Margaret's youngest brother, John Joseph, born at Erribul on May 9, 1869 (recorded both in Civil Registration and the Kilfiddane/Coolmeen parish records), emigrated to Jersey City in 1889 and married Margaret Moloney (born in New Jersey). Any information of their brothers Timothy and Patrick (may have emigrated to Jersey City, too, but not confirmed yet) would be appreciated.

Additional Information
Date of Birth 2nd Jul 1863 (circa)
Date of Death 1st Nov 1943

Comments

  • At Irishgenealogy.ie, you can see the death record for Henry Foley, registered as Henry Faly. He died 5 June 1879.
    NameHENRY FALY
    Year of Death1879 [5 June]
    Group Registration ID6806180
    SR District/Reg AreaKildysart
    Deceased Age at Death64
    The record says he was married (i.e., not a widower), so it seems the Susan Foley who died earlier (with witness Timothy, her son) can't be Johanna.
    I hope this is helpful. You can email me at glanvil3@aol.com.

    Patricia

    Monday 5th November 2018 04:30PM
  • Lovely family summary.  Thank you.  For me, it also touches on two of my brick walls:  Jersey City New Jersey as an Irish/Clare destination, and the unusual first and middle name combination of your ancestor.  And I'm hoping maybe we can communicate more to see where this will take us.

    1.  Brothers and I come from Brooklyn, New York as did all living family we knew.  Then I found our surname Irish emigrants in New York in 1860 census, a decade after their arrival, and in Brooklyn from 1880 on.  So, no question but that NY/Brooklyn was our American homeland I assumed.  But not so.  It was clearly Jersey City.  In recent years on Ancestry, I've found records that  proved our first emigrant parents traveled across the river to have children baptized and married.  Confusing!!!  Then I recently learned with help of lovely JC librarian that they evemtually left others behind in the family home in a lovely part of Brooklyn near Prospect Park to return to Jersey City to live and shortly after, to die.  And then all the traceable branches from their daughters went there after them.  This covered a period of at least fifty years.  So, oh my, Jersey City is clearly our American homeland.

    I'm convinced there was a community of Clare emigrants there, whether family or friends or neighbors, who offered nurturance originally and community for the rest of their lives and thereafter.  But I can't find any indication of who these immediate post-famine people might have been.  I would love to work together to try to find out more about the strong pull of Jersey City for Clare emigrants if you'd be willing.  Or to hear what you may already have found.

    2.   In all my decades of hunting through internet resources for genealogical discoveries, I have never seen another James Francis.  It's meaningful to me because I come from a direct line of three men with that name, and it was also my brother's, James Francis the IVth.  Do you have any idea of it's origins?  Devoted Jacobites? Influenced by Franciscans or animal loving St. Francis himself?  It must have been meaningful for it to remain so long in our family.  And I've always hoped it might be a lead to the home of our emigrants - because there are no records of them in Ireland, and any hope of old family stories was cut short by my father's father's death in the trenches of WWI.  But my brother's Y is dal Cassian, and our emigrant mother was a McMahon and her daughter-in-law an O'Brien, so my gut tells me it was Clare.

    I'd love to talk more.  Here, or personal email: jclevine@comcast.net.  Would so appreciate.  Jude 

    Jude

    Monday 5th November 2018 10:51PM

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