A Case Study Using Ancestry.com

Richard Reid

Friends of Irish Research

The Initial Contact

• Martin attended one of the School of Irish Genealogy seminars

• Private chat after the seminar

• Email request

• Follow up emails

• Goals determined

• Research commences – 3 hours

The Kelleher Family

• Six brothers in Ireland, County Cork

• Three brothers stay in Ireland

• Three brothers come to America

• When did they come to America?

• What happened to the three that came to America?

In Ireland

• FamilySearch, Find My Past and Ancestry all offer the Ireland Births 1864‐1958 Transcription Collection

• The key is the Baptism Parish Records

• Because I was trying to simply establish the initial family records of the six brothers and particularly tracking the three that came to America, I did not use the Parish Record images at www.registers.nli.ie.

The Six Kelleher Boys

• Daniel 1901

• William 1904

• Patrick 1906

• Jeremiah 1911

• Cornelius 1912

• Dennis 1914

Registration District: Millstreet, County Cork

Tracking Daniel, William and Patrick Kelleher

From this point on I am using Ancestry.com only

Coming to America

• William and Patrick leave for Boston on June 29, 1923

• William and Patrick arrive in Boston on July 6, 1923

• Daniel arrives in Boston on October 1, 1923

• Departure point for both trips was Queenstown

• The SS Samaria was the ship for both trips

SS Samaria

• RMS Samaria was transatlantic ocean liner built for Cunard Line. She served from 1922 until 1955. During the Second World War she was a troopship in the Royal Navy. Samaria was scrapped in 1956.

Ship Boarding Manifest for William & Patrick

William & Patrick – June 29, 1923

• Father identified as Denis Kelleher

• Both were headed to Salem, MA

• Both were from Millstreet, County Cork, Ireland

• Both speak English

• Both listed as laborers

Arrival in America – July 6, 1923

Citizenship Declaration

• William wasted no time in appearing in court to declare his intent to become a US citizen.

• He filed the necessary paperwork on August 7, 1923

• He lives at 60 Allen St, Boston, MA

• He is a pastry cook

• He is 5’8”, 159 pounds, blue eyes, brown hair

William’s Declaration

Patrick’s Arrival Data

Arrival Sourcing

Death Info for Patrick

Death Sourcing

Daniel’s Arrival

Daniel 1930 Census

1930 Census Household

1930 Details

• Lives on Washington St., Brookline, MA

• Rents the home

• He is a naturalized citizen

• He is a machine operator in the rubber industry

• Others are living in the house that are not of his household

1940 Census

1940 Household

1940 Census Details

• Now lives a 2 Village Lane, Brookline, MA

• He is now listed as a Proprietor

• Retail Ice and Fuel Oil company

• His wife uses Patricia for her name and not the Theresa she had used before (likely the enumerator not understanding her name because of her accent)

Death Record for Daniel

Ancestry Can Only Take You So Far

• After 1940 records are scarce

• For more recent information use newspapers

– Obituaries

– New stories

– Wedding Announcements

Modern Newspapers 2005

Theresa Kelleher, 100 YARMOUTH — Theresa Kelleher, 100, of Salt Box Road, South Yarmouth, formerly of Attleboro and Brookline, a loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, died Tuesday, June 28, 2005, on Cape Cod. She was the beloved wife of the late Daniel D. Kelleher. Born in County Donegal, Ireland on Dec. 29, 1904, Mrs. Kelleher was a daughter of the late John and Margaret Doherty. Mrs. Kelleher was raised in Ireland and settled in Brookline in 1925. She was employed in the School Department for the Town of Brookline for over 20 years, retiring in 1971. A resident of Cape Cod the past two years, Mrs. Kelleher formerly resided 75 years in Brookline and later 10 years in Attleboro. She was a communicant of St. John the Evangelist Church in Attleboro and enjoyed her family.

2005 Obituary Continued

Mrs. Kelleher is survived by a daughter, Phyllis and her husband, Donald MacIntyre, of South Yarmouth; a son, Daniel D. and his wife, Susan Kelleher, of Melrose; a daughter-in-law, Gretchen Kelleher of Yarmouthport; her grandchildren, Carla and her husband, William Dunn Jr., of Attleboro, Robert Kelleher of Brighton, James Kelleher of Arlington, and Kathryn and her husband, Michael Luzader, of Wallingford, Vt.; and her great-grandchildren, Tayla Dunn, William Dunn III, Karley Theresa Dunn of Attleboro, and Adam Luzader of Vermont. Mrs. Kelleher was also the mother of the late William J. Kelleher, Francis J. Kelleher, and Robert S. Kelleher. Family and friends are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial on Tuesday, July 5, 2005, at 9 a.m. in St. John the Evangelist Church, 133 North Main Street, Attleboro, conducted by the Rev. Msgr. Daniel F. Hoye, pastor. At the request of the family, visiting hours are respectively omitted. Burial will follow in St. Joseph's Cemetery, West Roxbury.

St. Joseph's Cemetery, West Roxbury

The Next Step

A Family Reunion

Friends of Irish Research Partners