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?