Margaret Tobin : Short Biography

Margaret Tobin was born in the Townland of Doon, the District of Shanrahan, in the Union of Clogheen, County Tipperary, Ireland about 1 June, 1851. She was baptized on 6 June, 1851 at the Clogheen Parish Church with John Tobin and Ellen Lonergan as sponsors.

She was the fourth child of James Tobin and Margaret Ahern. We know of two sisters, Mary born in November 1845, and Johanna born about 1850. She also had at least one brother, John born in July 1848.though there is a suspicion that she may have had other siblings as well. Her daughter, Mary Ellen Golden was supposed to have a first cousin with the last name Tobin, which could only happen if Margaret brother, or one of his sons also emigrated to the United States.

Nothing is known about Margaret or her family while living in Ireland, though it is presumed that she attended school and helped out on the family farm, identified as plot 49 in the Griffiths Valuation of 1856.

She departed Liverpool aboard the SS Pennsylvania and arrived in New York on 10 April, 1871, at the age of 20 and stated her profession as “Servant” which was common for the time. Her sister, Johanna followed her to the United States the following year, 1872.

Margaret, who referred to herself as “Maggie” in 1876 on a joint bank account application at the Emigrant Savings Bank with her sister in was apparently a responsible person who was careful with her money. They opened another joint accounts in 1874 for Johanna.

Margaret was married to Patrick Golden on February 5, 1882 at St. Vincent Ferrer Church in Manhattan, New York. As was customary, Margaret settled into the life of a married woman, keeping house and raising children while her husband worked as a “boatman” in the New York City waters. She bore seven children: Michael (1884-1938), James (1886 – 1925), Margaret (1888- 1895) Patrick (1889-1889), Hannah (1890-1891), Mary Ellen (1891-1954) and Ellen “Nellie” (1895-1952) of which only four survived to adulthood and even those passed at relatively early ages. During this time, Margaret lived with her family in the area of 62nd Street in a tenement apartment until the death of her husband in 1908.

Within two years after Patrick’s death, Margaret relocated to a predominantly Irish neighborhood in the Bronx at 387 East 138th Street, living there in 1910 to at least 1915. However, at the time of her death on September 20, 1917 she was residing at 1711 Pitman Avenue further north in the Bronx.

Margaret was buried in Calvary Cemetery on September 24, 1917 with her husband, Patrick.