Wolterman Genealogy - Week 31

My husband’s 3rd great-grandfather, William Duffy, was born in County Tipperary, Ireland about 1810. The only information I know about William is that he married Johanna Britton, also of Tipperary, and that they had at least one child: James born 1833. This information was obtained from the marriage record of James to Katherine Gorman in Canada.

Duffy Gorman Marriage

It is unclear if either William or Katherine emigrated to Canada with James. This is the end of the information I know of the Duffy family.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 46

For the writing prompt Random Fact, I am relaying a tidbit about my maternal 2nd great-grandfather Patrick Maher. Patrick was born about 1819 in Tipperary, Ireland, where he married Mary Flynn. Their first three children, Patrick, Julia, and Alice, were born in Ireland. The youngest three, Bridget (my great-grandmother), Mary, and Ellen, were born in the United States following the family’s emigration in 1855.

Patrick Maher was drafted into Civil War service in the Second Congressional District of Hamilton County, Ohio in May of 1863. He listed that he would be 44 years of age as of the 1st of July, 1863. It is interesting to note that a Michael Maher and a Timothy Maher, also both 44 years of age, appear on the same draft registration page as Patrick. Michael even lived on the same street as Patrick. Were they related?

My random fact about Patrick appeared in a 13 June 1866 article in The Cincinnati Enquirer. The post listed all the Fenians from Cincinnati and the surrounding area who had been captured by the United States steamer Michigan. Some background on the Fenians is as follows:

The Fenian Brotherhood was established in the United States in 1858, with the goal being to help fund a rebellion in Ireland. They wanted to help the Irish in their fight for independence from the British. Later, a group of Irish Americans decided to focus on a closer target: British Canada. At the end of the Civil War in 1866, the Fenians built an army of combat veterans. As over 150,000 Irish immigrants had fought for the Union, they had a large pool of men from which to draw.

On 1 June 1866 one thousand Fenians led an attack into Canada by crossing the Niagara River from Buffalo, NY. It was fairly unsuccessful, and on 3 June the officers and some of their troops were taken aboard the Michigan. The men were held until the Canadian government announced they would not seek extradition of them. Another unsuccessful raid took place on 7 June. The US government began to arrest known and suspected Fenians, and some of the remaining Fenians in Canada were transported back to the US on 12 June 1866. Many of them were later pardoned by President Johnson.

Patrick Maher was one of the men arrested. An article in the Cincinnati paper in 1870 listed Patrick as an officer in the local Fenian organization. Apparently he was not deterred by his previous arrest.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 35

For this week’s writing prompt, Back to School, I’m going back to the early to mid-1800s in Ireland. First, it’s important to understand a little bit about how children of the poor began to get educated in Ireland.

The Commissioners for National Education (National Board of Education) was established for the purpose of administering funds for education of the poor in Ireland. The Board was empowered to make grants to existing schools for the payment of teachers and the provision of equipment and to provide for the building of new schools, to appoint and pay inspectors and to establish a model school for the training of teachers.

Prison East and school location

It was through such a grant that the Prison School (also spelled Prizon School) was built. The name actually has nothing to do with any prison, but is derived from the townland in which it is located - Prison East. Located in County Mayo, Prison East is in Civil Parish of Manulla. The building of the school began around 1823, according to letters written by Father Patrick Nolan who helped to establish the school. The original dimensions were listed as 40 feet by 20 feet. In 1937 a new building erected on the same land just to the west of the old school. At some point the original building was torn down. The 1937 building is still standing today, but the school closed in 1970.

Prison School

The earliest records on the school are found in a report by the National Board of Education (NBE) from 1850. It mentioned that the Prison School had a male teacher and received funding of 10 pounds from the NBE that year. Both boys and girls attended the school, with the total number of pupils ranging from 56-65 during the school year.

Slates and chalk were the writing tools, and while some books were supplied to the school, it is unclear whether each student had their own or needed to share. The school had a timber floor with a large open fireplace for heating the space. Each student was required to bring a sod of turf each day to keep the fire burning.

Subjects studied at the school included reading, writing, spelling, grammar, arithmetic, music, geography, and history. For girls, sewing and needlework were added, and for boys, agriculture and book keeping. It was originally forbidden that students speak Irish in school. Those who did were punished. From that it would seem that a child who did not speak English would not be allowed to attend the school.

Attendance at the school fluctuated depending on the time of year. The older boys and girls would stay at home to help with the planting or harvesting of the crops. During winter months, attendance was higher.

According to a website on the history of Prison School, the first teacher at the school was a man with the last name of Carlos. He was followed by a man named Colgan from Bailefaidirin, who had been trained as a gardener. Colgan, it is said, had a very beautiful garden around the school. In 1864 Edward Colgan was listed as the teacher for the boys school, and Bridget Colgan (his wife) was shown as the teacher for the girls school. The one room school was split in half with a partition separating the boys from the girls. The website states that Colgan was a Fenian and was dismissed by the NBE, so he and his family emigrated to America.

Edward Colgan was my maternal 2nd great-grandfather. He was born 31 December 1834 in Drumadoon, Balla, County Mayo to Thomas Colgan and Catherine (Carroll) Colgan. On 26 December 1863 he married Bridget McHugh in Balla. They had eight children, with the first three (Catherine, Anna Marie, and Edward) being born in Prison. Children Charles, Barbara, Clara, John P., and John A. were all born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

As noted above, Edward and Bridget were both teaching at Prison School in 1864. I am guessing that Bridget only taught for that year (and perhaps only part of the year) as daughter Catherine was born 27 December 1864.

In our family it had been discussed that Edward was a member of the secret society Fenian movement, a band of warriors dedicated to overthrowing British rule in Ireland. They staged an unsuccessful revolt in 1867. Was Edward an active participant in that? Is that why he lost his teaching post at Prison School?

While I have not located any emigration or immigration documents for Edward, I did find information on Bridget Colgan. She was 23 when she arrived in New York on 19 November 1868 aboard the ship S/S Minnesota. With her were 2-year-old Ann and 1-year-old Edward. Also listed above Bridget on the ship’s manifest was 17-year-old Catherine McHugh, Bridget’s younger sister. Where were Edward and their 4-year-old daughter Catherine? Did they travel to the United States earlier to get a home established in Cincinnati before the rest of the family came over?

Life in the new world was not easy for the Colgan family. Little Edward died 9 December 1868, a month after arriving in America. One has to wonder if he contracted something onboard the ship. Anna Marie died in 1869 at the age of 3, Clara was only 9 when she died in 1872, John P. was less than a month old when he died in 1876, and John A. just a year old when he died in 1881. Only three of Edward and Bridget's eight children lived to be adults.

Edward continued to teach, at least initially, at a Catholic school in Cincinnati. The 1870 Cincinnati Directory lists him as a teacher, but by 1873 he was working as a bookkeeper. It would be so interesting to know what he thought about the educational system in Cincinnati versus what he left behind in his old country school.

The 30 September 1870 issue of the Cincinnati Daily Enquirer contained an article stating that 40 Irishmen met the previous evening to organize themselves into a section of the United Irishmen. Edward Colgan not only attended but was appointed temporary Treasurer. I wonder if he was again dismissed as a teacher due to his Fenian affiliation?

Bridget died 30 March 1886, and by 1910 Edward was living with his daughter Barbara and her family. He died 20 October 1921. Most of the family is buried in New St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Cincinnati.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 26

Black sheep is the writing prompt for this week, alluding to a family member who was a troublemaker or an outcast. While I may indeed have some black sheep in my family, I haven’t found any criminals yet. I do have a favorite story about an ancestor we thought was a bit of a troublemaker in Ireland, however.

Catherine Colgan's birth certificate

My maternal great-grandmother Catherine Colgan was born 27 December 1864 in Ireland to Edward and Bridget (McHugh) Colgan. Her birth certificate indicates that she was born in Prison, and that the dwelling of her father was also Prison. Edward and Bridget were both school teachers in Ireland, and Edward taught at a Catholic school in Cincinnati after they emigrated. My aunts told me that Edward was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood when he was in Ireland. We all assumed that he was arrested for that, and they threw him and his wife in prison for his transgressions.

When I traveled to County Mayo in 1997, with Catherine’s birth certificate in hand, I stopped into a local pub near Drumadoon where the Colgans had lived to ask about the prison. As I said to them at the time, I thought it unlikely that the prison still stood after all these years, but was it possible records still existed that could tell me why Edward and his wife had been thrown into prison?

Seeing the blank expressions on their faces, I showed them the birth record. They began to laugh, and exclaimed, “Prison is a village near here!” I laughed too, and said they had ruined our favorite family story as we had been making up tales, thinking he was in prison. The barkeep replied, “Oh and to be sure he was, just not the kind with bars on the windows!”

And so the family black sheep was no more.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 25

When I saw the writing prompt Same Name, I immediately thought of Michael Crusham (or Crisham, as it was more commonly spelled in Ireland). My maternal 3rd great-grandfather was Michael Crusham, and he was born in Tuam, County Galway, Ireland about 1811. He married Catherine Archer on 28 September 1826 in Tuam. They had the following children, all of whom were born in Tuam: Mary b. 1827, John b. 1832, Michael (my 2nd great-grandfather) b. 1833, Catherine b. 1835, Honor b. 1844, and William b. 1846.

My 2nd great-grandfather Michael Crusham married Mary Cruise on 15 October 1855 in Tuam. Their children included Michael (my great-grandfather) b. 1857, Peter b. 1860 and d. 1863, Judith b. 1861, Peter b. 1864, and Julia b. 1867. All the children were born in Tuam as well.

Michael and Catherine

Great-grandfather Michael Crusham emigrated to the United States ~1882, and he married Catherine Colgan in Cincinnati, Ohio on 21 July 1887. From their union the following children were born: Michael (my grandfather) b. 1887, Edward b. 1889, Mary b. 1892, Clara b. 1894, Charles b. 1896, Agnes b. 1899, Thomas b. 1902, John b. 1906, and Dorothy b. 1908.

My grandfather Michael Crusham married Mayme Metz in Cincinnati on 21 June 1911. Their children were Marie b. 1912, Edward b. 1913 and died 1913, Stella b. 1914, stillborn infant b. 1916, Catherine (my mother) b. 1920, Margaret b. 1922, Charles b. 1925, Elizabeth b. 1927, and twins James and Michael (my uncle) b. 1930.

Michael and Mayme

Uncle Charles Crusham and his wife Dorothy (Gronefeld) Crusham named one of their sons Michael. One of his other sons, Charles, has a son named Michael Crusham. Also, my Uncle Michael Crusham and his wife Rita (Murphy) Crusham have a grandson named Michael Crusham.

For at least seven generations there has been at least one male named Michael Crusham in the family tree. And five of those were directly father to son. That is pretty impressive! It also adds a degree of difficulty when trying to do genealogical research in an area where several of them lived in the same town during the same time period. Which Michael Crusham is in the record? It reminds me of the old television show, "To Tell the Truth". Will the real Michael Crusham please stand up?

Family History Writing Challenge Day 18

Peter & Bridget Metz

This post will cover one last Crusham ancestor from Ireland, as well as the one branch of the tree that came from Germany. As discussed in Day 6 and Day 8, the Cincinnati wedding of Michael A. Crusham and Mary Barbara (Mayme) Metz occurred in 1911. Mayme was born in Cincinnati in 1890 to Peter Metz and Bridget Maher Metz. Peter and Bridget married in Cincinnati on 3 November 1887.

Bridget Maher (my great-grandmother) was born in June of 1856 in Wabash, Indiana. Her parents were Patrick and Mary Maher, who were both born in Ireland but I do not know what county they came from, nor do I know Mary's maiden name. Patrick was born in 1820, and Mary in 1825. Their first three children were all born in Ireland: Patrick in 1847, Julia in 1849, and Alice in 1855.  As Bridget was born in Indiana in 1856, the family obviously emigrated to the United States sometime between 1855 and 1856. Two more children were born after Bridget: Mary in 1857 and Ellen in 1859. By the 1860 census the Maher family had settled in Cincinnati.

Peter Metz (my great-grandfather), the youngest child of Joseph Metz and Barbara Karch Metz, was born on 30 May 1862 in Insheim, Germany. Other children in the family included Nikolaus, born 1842; Anna, born 1843; Barbara, born 1846; Elisabeth, born 1849; Magdalena, born 1852; Joseph, born 1853; Rosina, born 1856; and Johannes, born 1859. Peter's father, Joseph, died in September of 1862 of bee stings. In 1866, Barbara boarded the ship Fulton leaving Havre, Germany and bound for America with six of her children. The ship arrived in New York on 6 November 1866. From there the family made their way to Cincinnati, where her three older children were living. Barbara died on 29 April 1893.

Insheim, Germany

Joseph Metz (my great-great-grandfather) was born on 11 October 1818 in Insheim to Peter Metz and Maria Buckel Metz. The Metz family tree has been documented back to my 5th great-grandfather. Barbara Karch (my great-great-grandmother) was born 29 March 1820 to Johann Karch and Maria Pfalzer Karch, also of Insheim. The Karch family tree has also been documented back to my 5th great-grandfather. There are way too many names to try to cover in this blog post.

Inseam train station

In September of 2013 I traveled to Insheim, Germany to see the town where the Metz and Karch families came from. I was met by the Mayor and several other historians who were eager to show me around. It was an incredible feeling to walk the streets that my ancestors walked.

They also took me to nearby Steinweiler, where the Schwein family lived. Apollonia Schwein married Andreas Metz (Peter Metz's father) in Insheim in 1777. I was able to not only see but go inside the home that was built by my 6th great-grandfather Ulrich Schwein in 1717! The markings on the house indicate that the home was built by Ulrich Schwein in 1717, and that he was a blacksmith. As I do house research as well as genealogy, I couldn't help but think how great it would be if in the United States each old building had the year it was built and by whom etched into it.

Schwein house

This part of Germany is a beautiful area, and I wondered again how these ancestors had found the fortitude to say to good-bye to their family and their homeland, knowing that most likely they would never see them again. It must have been heart-breaking.

Note: This will end my writing challenge as I will be unable to access the internet for the duration of the month. It has been fun to attempt to portray a little bit of the history of my Crusham family members for the past three weeks.

Family History Writing Challenge Day 17

On Day 3 of the Family History Writing Challenge I wrote about Catherine Colgan, who married Michael J. Crusham in 1887. I also talked about her parents, Edward Colgan and Bridget McHugh, as well as Catherine's siblings. But I did not discuss the parents of Edward and Bridget.

Edward Colgan, my second great-grandfather, was born 31 December 1834 in Drumadoon, a townland in County Mayo, Ireland. From Edward's death certificate I knew that his father was Thomas Colgan and his mother was Catherine Carroll. Thomas Colgan was born about 1796 and he died on 10 February 1866. Catherine Carroll Colgan was born about 1814, but I have been unable to locate any death information on her. She was only 52 when Thomas died, so I wonder if she stayed in Ireland or came to the United States like her son Edward and his family did in 1867. I have not found any records of her in Cincinnati, so it is possible she stayed behind. So far I have not found any birth information on siblings for Edward. It is hard to imagine that the Colgans only had one child.

Colgan land

When we visited the Mayo history center in 1987 they were able to provide me with the location of the property where Edward was born and his dad died. Located near the village of Prison, Drumadoon is a beautiful area of Ireland. We actually were able to drive onto the property, and it is a lovely farm with rolling hills and a view of a mountain in the distance. The property at that time was owned by a man from England, who told us that he had just plowed under the remains of two houses a couple of years prior to our visit. Too bad! He certainly did not understand my enthusiasm in wanting to walk the property. For me it was a thrill to be able to gaze out on the lands that my ancestors saw every day of their lives.

Right down the road from Prison is the village of Cregg where Bridget McHugh, my second great-grandmother, was born in February of 1844. Her father was Peter McHugh, born in Cregg in 1805 and died in Cregg 1 March 1875. On 26 January 1843, Peter married Catherine Long. Catherine was also born in Cregg around 1820. Bridget was their first-born, but they also had the following children: Patrick, born in 1845; Catherine, born in 1850; Winifred, born in 1852; John, born in 1853; Martin, born in 1857; Thomas and Michael, born in 1859; and Peter, born in 1865. Following her husband's death in 1875, Catherine Long McHugh emigrated to the United States. While I have not found her passenger list, she appears in the 1880 census in Cincinnati as the head of household along with her children Catherine, Martin and Michael. Interestingly, they lived at 57 Mill Street - the same building that Edward and Bridget lived in. That certainly was a popular residence for my immigrant families!

Family History Writing Challenge Day 16

Note: This Family History Writing Challenge began with the story of Michael J. Crusham, my great-grandfather, and his emigration to the United States around 1879. It covered his marriage and his children, continuing with my grandfather, Michael A. Crusham and his family. The next logical step would be to write about his daughter Catherine, my mother. But first I want to backtrack to information that I found while on a trip to Ireland with my husband in 1987. 

The National Archives in Dublin had no records of the family we know by the name of Crusham. The man at the archives essentially told me to go back to the United States and start over with my information. It wasn't until I went to the history center in Galway that I achieved success in learning the real names of Michael J. Crusham's parents. This time a young woman helped me, and she took the approach of putting into the computer Michael C with the parents Michael and Mary. (I had the information that his parents were Michael Crusham and Mary Heneghan from his death record, but she left off the last names in her search since Crusham wasn't coming up.) She got a hit, and it was a big one. She found Michael Crisham born the same date as Michael J. listing the father as Michael Crisham and the mother as Mary Heneghan. Jackpot! So the name was Crisham, not Crusham but it was much closer than we thought it would be. With the new names in hand she looked for further records. As with most old records, there were variations in the spelling of the name – Clesham, Cresham, Clisham – but Crisham was by far the most common, and also the name that the computer there gave as the root of the name. We spent about an hour with the genealogist and got copies of all the people we could place with our family. 

Tuam

From this information I learned that my great-great grandfather Michael married Mary Heneghan on 15 October 1855 in Tuam. Michael's father, my great-great-great grandfather, was named Michael as well. He was born in 1811 in Tuam, and he died on Tullindaly Road in 8 October 1883. The death was reported by his wife, Catherine Crusham, whose maiden name was Achard. Catherine was born around 1813 in Tuam, and died there on 23 January 1888. Michael and Catherine had the following children in addition to Michael: Mary born in 1827, John born in 1832, Catherine born in 1835, Honor born in 1844 and William born in 1846.

St. Joseph's Cemetery, Tuam

After leaving the history center I wanted to see the cemetery. We found St. Joseph’s Cemetery and in the pouring rain tried to locate any Clisham or Crisham graves. We found some Crishams from the 1950’s but none older than that. We began to wonder if there was an older cemetery somewhere. Unfortunately there was no one in the caretaker’s house, so we headed back into town to find St. Joseph’s rectory, called the Presbytery in Ireland. Hmmm…sounds pretty close to Presbyterian, doesn’t it? Anyway, a lady at the Presbytery advised us that all the cemetery records were held at McGrath’s store in town because he takes care of them. Mr. McGrath was in, and he went in the back room and brought out a huge old book in which all the cemetery plots are registered. As I was studying the book with him a lady in her mid-forties came into the store. He said to her, “Margaret, you’ll not be believing what name we’re looking up.” And she asked, “Who?” “Crisham,” he replied. She looked startled.  “Oh, go on with you now!” she exclaimed. He told her that I was there from the States looking for Crishams. As it turned out, her 95-year-old grandfather is a Crisham. She studied my records a bit, but none of the names looked familiar to her. She said that her grandfather was having a bad day, or she would take me to meet him. She gave me her phone number and told me to call her in a couple of days. Well, a couple of days later we were two counties away, so I couldn't call. I did, however, contact her when we got home, and mailed her our tree to review with her grandparents. They did not recognize any names, but emphatically stated that no one in Tuam had ever gone by any of the other name variations – it was always Crisham. 

Cathedral of the
Assumption

Mr. McGrath showed me where the cemetery plot would be located, and also described where the Crishams had lived so we could go look at that land. They are buried in Section D, Plot Line 9, Row 7. The records showed that a single grave 9’x4’ was purchased for Catherine Crisham for 1 shilling 6 pence in 1888. Back to the cemetery only to find that our Crishams had no headstone! Oh, the frustrating sides of genealogy… We also drove out to where the Crishams had lived and that area is all built up with new development, so there was nothing of interest there. 

The beautiful church on the left is where the Crisham family worshiped in Tuam. As I traveled the area and enjoyed all the natural beauty, I wondered again how our ancestors could stand to leave their family, friends and this lovely county behind.

Family History Writing Challenge Day 5

Fountain Square Cincinnati !876

After Michael and Catherine got married in 1887, they continued to reside at 57 Mill Street. Michael's mother Mary lived there as well, perhaps in the same apartment, as did Catherine's father Edward. Unfortunately, Catherine's mother Bridget had died in 1886 at the age of 42. How sad she must have been not to have her mother at her wedding!

Central Union Station

As mentioned earlier, Michael worked for the Cincinnati Southern Railroad as a freight truckman. His responsibilities would have included loading and unloading cars in the rail yard, and shifting freight in the freight-houses. The Cincinnati Southern Railroad is owned by the City of Cincinnati, the only municipality in the country to own an interstate railroad. Running from Cincinnati to Chattanooga, the first freight train completed the route on 21 February 1880, with the first passenger train following on 8 March. With the addition of rail routes into the city, a new train station was completed in 1883. The three story head house was on the corner of Third and Central, and the train shed was wide enough for eight tracks and five platforms. The station was called Central Union or Grand Central Depot.

The railroad yard was an easy walking distance from the Crusham's home on Mill Street, as can be seen on the map below. The approximate location of the home is illustrated by the black star, with the station indicated as Grand Central Depot on this particular map.

Cincinnati, Ohio

It must have been of great comfort to Catherine to have the extended family so close when her first child was born later in 1887. Michael Aloysius Crusham entered the world on 8 November 1887. He was at a minimum the fourth first born son to be named Michael in the Crusham family. Two years later the family expanded with the addition of Edward in 1889, and then Mary in 1892, Clara in 1894, Charles in 1896, Agnes in 1899, Thomas in 1902, John in 1906, and Dorothy in 1908. The children were all most likely born at home with the assistance of a midwife or a female neighbor.

Perhaps the size of the family is why they finally left Mill Street around 1906 and moved five blocks north to Hathaway Street. Also, Michael no longer had to take his mother into consideration. Mary had died of heart disease in 1902. She was 80 years old.

Michael and the ten other members of his family stayed at the home on Hathaway Street until 1913, the last year the Crushams lived in the City of Cincinnati. What made him leave the only area he had ever known in the United States?

Family History Writing Challenge Day 3

When Michael arrived in Cincinnati in March of 1879, he came to a city with a population of around 255,000 people. How astounding and overwhelming that must have been to someone coming from a town of 4,600 residents! He could not read or write, so perhaps his half-brother Patrick helped him find work as a laborer. He settled in an apartment downtown at 2nd and 4th Streets, which would have been very near the Ohio River. Cincinnati was the largest city in Ohio, and also the densest with an average of 37,143 people per square mile. The city was served by fifteen railroads, with the major industries being iron production, meatpacking, cloth production, and woodworking. There were 130 newspapers and magazines, a large public library, an art museum, opera house and a music hall. There were also more than two hundred churches and five hospitals.

City directories and census records indicate that Michael was employed as a laborer. True enough, as he worked for one of the railroads as a freight truckman. His job would have involved loading, unloading, and transferring freight. He had only lived in America for one year when his father, also named Michael Crisham, died on 18 July 1880 in Tuam, Galway, Ireland. Later that year, his mother, Mary Crisham arrived in Cincinnati along with his youngest sister Julia. The three of them lived together for several years at 57 Mill Street.

On 21 July 1887 Michael married Catherine Colgan. She was born in County Mayo, Ireland on 27 December 1864 to Edward Colgan and Bridget (McHugh) Colgan. Here is her birth record.

Catherine Colgan's birth certificate

Digressing for a moment, I have an amusing story about the birthplace of Catherine. The record indicates that she was born in Prison, so my family had a lot of fun trying to guess why Bridget was in prison when she gave birth. Edward was a member of the Fenian Brotherhood (a fraternal organization dedicated to the establishment of an independent Irish Republic) after the family arrived in the United States in 1867. Did some militant action land him, and by association his wife, in jail in 1864? When I visited the Mayo Family History Society in 2007, I asked if the prison was still standing. Or if not, perhaps records existed to indicate why someone was incarcerated? The genealogist helping me busted out laughing. When he could finally catch his breath, he explained that Prison was a nearby village! I told him he had ruined our favorite family story as we had been certain Catherine was born in a prison. His reply? "Oh, and to be sure she was. Just not the kind with bars on the windows!"

Prison School

Edward and Bridget were both teachers at Prison School in Ireland. The school was founded around 1835 and served children in Prison as well as the surrounding communities. It was a one room school with a curtain that was drawn across the middle to separate the boys from the girls. The Colgans had another daughter, Anna Marie, as well as a son, Edward, who were also born in Prison. The family emigrated to the United States in 1868, setting up their household in Cincinnati. Little Edward died later that year at the age of one. Five additional children were added to the family in Cincinnati: Charles, Barbara, Clara, John P. (who only lived one year), and John M. As the head of the family, Edward held many different jobs in their new homeland, including that of a school teacher.

The Colgans lived on Mill Street, just like the Crusham family. Did Michael marry the girl next door?

Family History Writing Challenge Day 2

The Irish Potato Famine occurred long before Michael Crusham was born. Begining in 1845 and lasting a disastrous six years, it killed over a million men, women and children. The famine eliminated the primary food source for peasants in the country, leaving those who survived faced with the decision to flee their homes in an effort to survive. Nearly two million Irish citizens emigrated to the United States in the 1840s. They, in turn, encouraged others to leave Ireland as they earned enough money to send for relatives and friends. Considering that the entire population of Ireland was around eight million, the emigration number is pretty staggering.

Many of these immigrants settled in existing Irish communities in America, where Catholic Churches had been built and cultural traditions were carried out. Like many immigrants, they went to towns and cities where their old friends, neighbors or relatives lived. Michael's family was no exception. His half-brother Patrick Henaghan left Tuam in 1872, possibly traveling with his sister Nora Henaghan. The siblings settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, a city that offered many opportunities to the Irish immigrants. There was work on the riverfront, railroad construction, and digging for the Miami and Erie Canal. The Irish men took jobs that were dangerous and unskilled with low pay. The women often found jobs as servants and nannies. Perhaps the promise of such work enticed Michael to follow his siblings to this part of America.

By 1870 more than 90 percent of immigrants traveled by steamship on their way to America. The fare would have ranged from 70 to 100 shillings, depending on whether they had accommodations in standard class or steerage. For the majority of immigrants, steerage was all they could afford. Undoubtably, Michael would have been with all the others below deck. Often called "coffin ships" about 1 in 7 passengers did not survive the crossing. Michael survived the journey, but would he survive living in the Queen City?

Cincinnati, Ohio

Family History Writing Challenge 2016

It's February 1st, so that means the Family History Writing Challenge begins today. I will be participating for the fifth straight year. The goal of the challenge is to help genealogists make the transition from just being keepers of family statistics and documents to telling the stories behind the numbers and papers. For the second time I will be posting my daily writing on this blog. Last year I wrote every day about John Murdoch, and it really helped keep me on track and make me accountable to myself. John is not a relative of mine, but I have been researching his St. Louis story for many years. It was a good exercise to help me understand what I need to make my own family stories more compelling.

The biggest decision in writing family history is where to begin. When you have over 4,000 people in your family tree, it is quite overwhelming to think about writing the family story. Obviously it is not something that can be accomplished in a month. It reminds me of that old joke - How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. So I will begin with my first bite, writing about one particular relative.

I got interested in genealogy when my mom died at the age of 69 in 1989. In a sudden, heart-breaking moment I realized that I could no longer ask her any questions about my grandparents or any other family members, for that matter. Instead I began asking questions of my mom's remaining siblings. So it seems logical to begin with my mom's grandfather, Michael Crusham. Here's how his story begins.

Michael J. Crusham

Note: While the family name has always been spelled Crusham in the United States, there are no records for that name in County Galway, Ireland. My aunts remember their grandpa telling them that a cousin of his came from Ireland for a visit and accused him of being "high hat" for changing the family name. From that we had deduced that the name had been changed. But from what? There was a lot of family discussion on what the name might have been. Cushin? Cushing? O'Cashan? Grisham? (Some deep-seated desire to find out we were related to John Grisham, no doubt.) During a trip I made to Tuam, County Galway, Ireland in 1997, I was able to find the family name predominantly as Crisham. Church records, however, also had it spelled as Cresham or Chrisham, sometimes within the same record that indicated the name was Crisham. I have been told by various sources that the true name was, and still is, Crisham.

Why did Michael leave Ireland? Did he really steal a horse? Was the law after him? Family lore says it is so, but I have not substantiated that fact. What I do know is that Michael J. Crusham left Ireland in 1879. While I have yet to find him on a passenger list, I believe he came to the United States by himself around the age of 22. His age at arrival is a little murky, however. His Petition for Naturalization through the State of Ohio, Hamilton County Probate Court, dated 11 March 1887, states that he arrived in the United States on 4 March 1879 "under the age of eighteen years." Later in the same record the witness for Michael states that he "knows that said applicant has resided in the United States three years next preceding his arrival at the age of twenty-one years."

Tuam, Ireland

A known fact is that Michael was born in 1857 to Michael Crisham and his wife, Mary Henaghan Crisham. His Roman Catholic baptismal record from Tuam in County Galway, Ireland lists the baptism date as 25 August of 1857. While Michael was the first child of Michael and Mary, he had two older half-siblings, Patrick and Norah, who were born from his mother's previous marriage to Michael Henaghan. Later additions to the Crisham family included Peter, Judith and Julia.

Church of the Assumption

The town of Tuam was the second largest in the county of Galway, boasting a population of nearly 4,600 people in 1862. Because the town was central in position with regards to the counties of Galway, Mayo and Roscommon, a good deal of traffic passed through the town. The Crisham family lived on Tullinadaly Road, which is indicated on the map above. They worshipped at the Cathedral of the Assumption, and visited the nearby town center. Their extended family all lived in the area as well.

Tuam

So what happened to make Michael leave all that behind in 1879?

Time Traveler

Yesterday's BlogHer prompt about my thoughts on the importance of roots I felt had already come through loud and clear on my other posts, so I did not write about them again. Today's question is regarding whether my ancestors had moved over time, and if so have I traveled to the place they lived. I have already talked about my visits to Ireland and my upcoming trip to Germany, so today I will share something closer to home.

Most of my extended family lives in Cincinnati, where the majority of my ancestors settled in the 1800s. My sister and I travel back there a couple of times a year for visits. Since our parents are deceased, it has become increasingly important to both of us to be able to see my mom's remaining siblings. They don't mind me picking their brains about family memories. The last time we were in Cincinnati they arranged for two of their cousins to meet with me so that I could interview them about their childhood. These elderly cousins lived with the first Michael Crusham to come over from Ireland. I captured it all on videotape so that I didn't need to concentrate on writing furiously. Normally when I am in town I also try to make time to drive by the homes where my ancestors lived and to visit cemeteries in search of their graves.

Recently I found a tiny root in my family tree that may tie us to very early settlers in Virginia. By early, I mean the 1600s around the time that Virginia became the first colony. If I can verify that this root leads to one of my branches, a road trip to Virginia is definitely in order as there are homesteads and monuments commemorating this family.

Getting Back to My Roots

Today's BlogHer prompt asks, "What does getting back to your roots look like to you?" I have been involved in tracing my family tree, including its roots while trying to avoid the weeds, since 1989. For me genealogy is not just about the names and dates on a page (or in the cloud). It is about the people and their stories. I like being able to travel to the towns of my ancestors, whether here in the U.S. or abroad. It is such a thrill to be able to walk where they walked, or to be able to look at the view they gazed upon every morning.

Colgan land in County Mayo, Ireland

I was able to travel to Ireland in 1997 with my husband and then again in 2005 with my sister. We visited some ancestral towns and villages while we were there, viewing the old homesteads, looking through cemeteries, and even worshipping at one of the churches. (And I have to say there is nothing more delightful than hearing Mass said and sung with an Irish brogue!) Those who live in Ireland seem to not quite get why we are looking for a piece of our distant past. They are living it every day so it is not a big deal to them.

In the fall I will be traveling to the Rhineland area of Germany, and perhaps down to Switzerland, with Family Tree Tours. This is a genealogy tour, with some sight-seeing thrown in of course, but the purpose is to help us connect with our families who emigrated from that area. I have provided the names of my ancestors and all the other pertinent information I have come across so far to the tour organizer. With the help of a man in Germany, the goal is to find someone from my town of Insheim who would be willing to meet with me and share information about the town and hopefully my ancestors. Since I do not speak German, this is truly an opportunity to do some research there and not have to worry about the language barrier. I am eager to see how far down my roots are entrenched in this part of the world.

Family Stories

Catherine Colgan's Birth Certificate

This was actually the BlogHer writing prompt for yesterday, but due to the fact that we were having 35 of my husband's associates and family members at our house for dinner last night, I was too busy to write on Friday.

My most interesting story involves my great-grandmother Catherine Colgan, who married Michael J. Crusham pictured in a previous post. One of my cousins had obtained Catherine's birth certificate which indicated that she had been born to Edward and Bridget Colgan on 27 December 1864 and listed the Place of Birth as Prison. The birth was registered in the District of Balla in the County of Mayo in Ireland. There was much speculation in the family as to why she might have been born in prison. Both Edward and Bridget were school teachers in Ireland before emigrating to the United States in 1867. Her father was rumored to have been a member of the Fenian Brotherhood, so perhaps he and his wife were thrown in prison because of that?

Catherine Colgan in the hat circa 1942

In 1987 my husband and I traveled to the Republic of Ireland, so one of my missions was to find out what I could about the prison birth. At the Family Research Center in County Mayo I showed the genealogist Catherine's birth certificate. I said that while I was pretty sure the prison was no longer standing, I was wondering if they had any records available so that I could see why the Colgans were in prison when they had their baby. He looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face, and then told me that Prison is a village! We laughed about the misunderstanding, and I told him that he had ruined our favorite family story as we had thought Catherine was born in a prison. He said, "Oh and to be sure she was, just not the kind with bars on the windows!"