Ellen McCarrick Doherty Boland

My Great Great Grandmother died on June 23, 1926. Cause of death was cardiac and renal failure. Address where she died was 4807 Ridge Avenue. What is a new discovery is I now know her parents' names. Her father's name was Michael McCarrick which makes sense as she named her first child from her first marriage Michael ()Doherty. Her mother's name was Bridget Walter so I guess I know why my great grandmother was named Agnes Bridget (Boland) but known to all by Bridget.

Leigue Cemetery in Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland

"Leigue cemetery is one of the largest burial grounds in County Mayo with over 3,000 graves.  The "Friends of Leigue" organization chaired by Ballina town councillor, Johnnie O'Malley, has done a remarkable job of restoring the cemetery over the past decade.  There are about 300 headstones in the two older sections of the cemetery: the old graveyard around the ruins of Kilmore Church, and the Old Leigue Cemetery inside the walls at the top of the hill where many graves are unmarked. The majority of the headstones are in the new section where the headstones date back to about 1900.

Kilmore Church is the oldest church in the area, dating back to the 7th century, and is said to have been founded by St Patrick.  In the top photo, Kilmore Church ruins are covered in ivy.  The newer section on the left is the Lindsay family vault built out of stones from the ancient church ruins.  The special entrance (in the foreground) provided a place for the pall-bearers to rest the coffin as they entered the graveyard."

http://goldenlangan.com/graves-le.html 

Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland, Ancestral Home of the Bolands, Dohertys, Caffertys

Ireland

It has been a busy weekend getting ready for our trip. We stopped at Macy's and Kohl's for a few articles of clothing we may need, a stop at Best Buys so Bill could update his cell phone, CVS for toiletries, Boscov's for travel pillows times three, and a nice lunch outdoors on Saturday followed by a nice outdoor brunch on Sunday. We are packed. We are nearly ready and despite all the grief over the last few days, I am excited.


I am looking forward to going to St. Patrick's Cathedral and Trinity Church in Dublin. Of course we will be in the historic Templar Bar area were is it known for its pubs and shops. Trinity Church has underground crypts that go back to the middle ages. I am sure when I come home I will be writing about all the history.


Good Friday we will drive Northwest to Donegal and stay at the castle. Bill wants to drive further North then travel South along the coast where there are magnificent cliffs that meet the ocean. We will visit the town of Adara where the Gallaghers are from and Lough where the McCaffertys (McCafferys) are from.


County Mayo will be the area we explore starting on Easter Sunday with Killala and Ballina towns at the forefront. This is where the Bolands, Caffertys and Dohertys are from.  Lots of open farmland complete with thatch houses (we will stay in one) and more cliffs that meet the ocean. If we have time, we will travel further South into Galway.


The final leg of our trip will take us back to Dublin before we fly to Boston then to Philadelphia,


We do not do group tours. We are renting a car so we can travel at our pace and mix in with the locals. I am more interested in meeting family, experiencing culture, and gaining an understanding of the Irish life. I do not need to visit places that make crystal or kiss stones:)

Son of John and Ellen Boland McLaughlin

According to the burial records at Westminster Cemetery, John was four months old at his time of death and the family resided at 5238 Pulaski Ave. John is interred in Section Eleven, Lot 335. Date of burial was July 12, 1920. Of interest, Ellen was my grandmother's aunt and youngest sister to my grandmother's mother, Agnes Bridget. My grandmother lost her mother at age three years old when Bridget died from a ruptured appendix in 1915. I heard a lot of folklore stories regarding Ellen and the death of her son. I was told she suffered a deep depression when her son died, and was even placed at Byberry. I cannot verify any of this information about Ellen, and so far I cannot find Ellen and her Husband in the 1920, 1930, or 1940 census records even though there is other evidence that they did reside in Philadelphia those years. I was told they only had one child. However, I cannot verify that information. It took several years and many sources to discover the information I can verify such as marriage records, social security death records, and the burial record of the child. My next step is to go over to Westminster Cemetery and have the burial record pulled to see if the parents are interred with the child. Of interest, all the other Boland children of John and Ellen Doherty Boland are interred in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

Ellen Boland McLaughlin, youngest Daughter of John and Ella Doherty Boland

Name:	Ellen McLaughlin
SSN:	163-50-4127
Last Residence:	19120 Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Born:	28 Jun 1894
Died:	Oct 1977
Marriage	Pennsylvania (1973)

Killala County Mayo Ireland

If you look closely at the middle top portion of this map of County Mayo, you can find the location of the town known as Killala, birth place of the Boland Family. Killala has a population of only 500 people, which makes it great for me because it will be easier to trace records of the family in this town. As a matter of fact, I contacted the diocese of Killala recently for the baptism records of Agnes Bridget Boland and the marriage records of John & Ella Boland. If you look south of Killala, you will discover the town of Ballina, birth place of the Cafferty family and home of the Boland family just before they immigrated to the United States. Ballina has a population of 10,000 people.
You are probably asking yourself the question, "how did I know Killala was the birth place of our Bolands and Ballina is the last location where they lived before immigrating over to the United States?" The answer is in their ship records.

The last address listed in Ireland for Bridget Boland McCaffery was the residence of her step-brother Michael Doherty in Ballina, County Mayo Ireland. This was the same address listed for all the Bolands with the exception of Bernard & Mary Boland Cafferty whom lived in Ballina at the time of their immigration but not with Michael Doherty.

Ella (Ellen) Boland was born Ella McCarrick. She married Michael Doherty and had at least one child before her husband died. That child was Michael Doherty. Ella McCarrick Doherty then married John Boland and as far as I know they had four children together. However, I have questioned whether or not the child known as Mary Boland Cafferty was a Doherty or a Boland? Bernard & Mary married in Ballina, County Mayo Ireland and their first child Michael Cafferty was born in Ballina before the family immigrated to the United States.

If I can locate the marriage records of Bernard & Mary Cafferty, then that question would be answered.

At this time, I do not know if Michael Doherty ever immigrated to the United States but I believe he remained in Ireland.

Killala, County Mayo Ireland was a seaside village located at the Killala Bay. During the famine, the village was hit hard. While researching this town, I came across an article which stated that over 140 bodies layed out on the roadside and were buried in a mass grave during the Great Famine. It should also be noted that the town of Ballina was also hit hard during the famine. Ballina had vast farmlands.

Other background history of Killala;

Killala is a picturesque seaside village six and a half miles North-West of Ballina in North County Mayo, famous in Irish history for the part it played in the 1798 rebellion.
History
In August of 1798 General Humbert arrived into Kilcummin pier from France and combined with the Irish forces against the English forces in the area. This year is chronicled in Irish history as the Year of the French and a book and television history celebrate this unique event.
Consequently, Killala has become a popular location for the historian and in fact was used as a major location for the 1981 multi million pound film "The Year of the French". In 1998 Killala celebrated the bicentenary by twinning with a town in Chauve in France.
Killala's skyline is dominated by a round tower, dating to the twelfth century. There is a Church of Ireland cathedral, which was built in the 17th century over the remains of a ruined Catholic cathedral.
The area is rich in archaeological remains such as:
Moyne Abbey
Rosserk Abbey
Rathfran Abbey
Meelick Castle
Humberts Rock
Céide Fields (the oldest enclosed farms in the world) are a short distance away near Ballycastle.

McCaffery Breakthrough

Over the last two months, I discovered two more distant cousins as in "distance", one lives in China and the other lives in Indiana. Bill Siejna (China) is a descendant of Bernard & Mary (Boland) Cafferty and Eileen Dougherty Russo (Indiana) is a descendant of Collum & Catherine McCaffery. Both came across my website during a "goggle" search and contacted me "via" email.

I was able to share a lot of Boland/Cafferty information with Bill. His mother currently lives up in NorthEast Philadelphia and Eileen gave me a ton of information on the McCaffery family. It is because of her that I now know grandmom's father, John McCaffery was Collum McCaffery Sr. younger brother who immigrated from Letterkenny, Donegal, Ireland on May 29th, 1907 on the ship "Columbia" through Ellis Island in New York. I reviewed his ship records myself just yesterday and realized why this family was difficult to trace. The McCaffery family are actually the McCafferty family dropping the letter "T" from their name when they came to America. All this time I have been researching McCaffery and McCaffrey never realizing the proper spelling was indeed McCafferty. Our great grandfather John McCaffery was one of thirteen children with only four immigrating from Donegal to Philadelphia. The four that immigrated were Collum (Uncle Coll's father), John (grandmom's father) and two sisters Ellen and Mary. Collum must have been one of the older of the thirteen children because he came over from Donegal between 1875 and 1878. Ellen came over around 1904. I am not sure when Mary came over but she was Ellen's contact in 1904. And of course our direct descendant John came in 1907 and his contact was Collum who at the time resided at 104 Dawson street in Manayunk. By 1909, John McCaffery was living at 115 Hermit Lane in Manayunk. Of course John McCaffery and Agnes (Bridget) Boland married in 1911 and grandmom (Anna Marie McCaffery Gallagher) was born in 1912. By that time they lived on Cresson Street.

According to John's ship records he was 5 "9" with light brownish hair (most likely reddish) and gray eyes. Our grandmother, his daughter had red hair, green eyes and a ton of freckles. It appears grandmom favored her father more in physical looks than her mother who was blue eyed and black haired.

Another interesting piece of information Eileen had was a copy of grandmom's mother's death certificate and it stated that Bridget died of an intestinal obstruction in the diverticulum which closely resembles the cause of death grandmom told us "appendicitis". It also gave the maiden name of Bridget's mother's as "McCarrick". This is another valuable piece of information because I just recently discovered that Ella (Ellen) was first married to a "Doherty" and even had at least one child named "Michael" before she married John Boland and had four other children. As far as I know, Michael Doherty remained in County Mayo and did not immigrate to Philadelphia.

Some more details just recently discovered; Collum McCaffery Sr. died on March 7th, 1926, twenty-two years after his wife (Catherine) died in 1904. He is interred at Westminster Cemetery along with his daughter Anna Pester and son John Edward McCaffery & wife Gertrude. Collum's wife Catherine is interred at St. Patrick's Cemetery in Norristown. Even though I found an Obit that also listed the daughter Catherine as being interred at St. Patrick's in 1905 at the age of 20 yrs old, this information is "questionable" because the cemetery supposedly does not have that record.

Another valuable piece of information is the name of the parents of Collum, John, Ellen and Mary. It appears their names were James & Catherine. It also appears that we have a ton of cousins still living in Donegal.

Eileen told me she visited grandmom in 1989, a year before grandmom's death and talked to her about her McCaffery side of the family. Eileen will be coming here to Philadelphia on June 10th to spend a few weeks with her parents who currently reside in the area. It is at this time, I along with my mother will meet the McCaffery clan.

And for my first cousins out there on the West Coast, there are McCaffery relatives out there in California....

Stay tune...

Ship "Friesland" Departed Queentown August 27th, 1908, Arrived Philadelphia September 6th, 1908

The last recorded Bolands to arrive in Philadelphia from Ireland were John & Ellen Doherty Boland and their two youngest children, Ellen and John Jr. Also listed as arriving with them is their 3 yr old grandson Michael McCafferty, child of Bernard & Mary Cafferty who came to Philadelphia without their son in 1906. Click on to enlarge.

Nicholson

I went over to Westminster Cemetery to obtain burial information and pictures of the Nicholson grave site. In addition, I took another series of photographs which I will share later of the cemetery in general which included some more Keller and Ritter grave sites which may or may not be related to us. After I research the various names, I will be able to tell you whether or not there is any family connection.

Nicholson is the married name of grandmom, Anna Marie (McCaffery) Gallagher's first cousin on her mother's side. Helen (Malervy) Nicholson was the daughter of Daniel and Katherine (Aunt Kate) (Boland) Malvery. Aunt Kate was the sister of Bridget (Boland) McCaffery and the woman who took grandmom into her home after her own grandmother Ellen (Doherty) Boland died sometime in 1920. Bridget McCaffery died in 1915.

Because Helen and my grandmother were raised together, this was the closest of any sibling grandmom would ever know. Both girls were only children.

Helen E. Malvery married Mahon Nicholson and they resided on Manayunk Avenue their entire married lives. Mahon Nicholson (1914) died November 14the, 1972. Helen (1915), his wife died May 2nd, 1988. Just recently on December 22nd, 2005 their daughter Regina (Jean) died. She left one sister also named Helen. Both Nicholson sisters never married and lived at the same Manayunk address as their parents. Helen still lives in that house today.

About one year before Regina (Jean) passed away, I had the great opportunity to speak with her and she was instrumental in providing me much needed background information on the Boland family. As a matter of fact, if it was not for her I would have never known that John and Ellen (Doherty) Boland lived in Lower Merion Township (once West Manayunk) in the year 1910. It was this informational tip that lead me into the correct research direction. I only wished she survived long enough for me to have provided her the missing links, she so desired of her parents' past.

Mahon, Helen and Regina Nicholson are interred in Lot 89, Grave E 1/2 number 2 in Section "Barmouth". The Barmouth Section of Westminster Cemetery overlooks Belmont Avenue. Mahon and Helen have a headstone. As of today's date, there is no headstone for Regina.

In a post note, I also revisited Bethany German Lutheran Cemetery and took more pictures of the grave-stones. I also photographed the old Bethany German Lutheran Church where our Keller, Voigt and Ritter relatives once worshipped at. All pictures will be posted at a later date.

Oh Me Oh My, What Fine Webs We Weave

Remember that name I came across on the records of Ellen Boland (1858)? That name known as Michael Doherty? Well, I investigated it a little further. Instead of just reading the Text "via" computer translated by a third party, I took a very close look at the ACTUAL ship passenger document itself.

And what I found out was a very valuable piece of "buried" family history.

That document dated September 6th, 1908 had the name Michael Doherty written next to the Boland names but what was written on that document was not the same information given in the "text translated version".

Michael Doherty was not listed as the step-brother/step-brother-in-law of Ellen/John Boland but he was listed as the son/step-son. In case it was a mistake, I looked up the children of Ellen & John that traveled over on that ship, "Friesland". Right there in black and white, the name Michael Doherty was listed as step-brother to the children.

So what does this all mean?

It means our great great grandmother Ellen Boland was married before in Ireland and had a son. I traced Michael Doherty's birth as being in 1877. Because divorce was illegal in Ireland, I am positive Ellen's first husband died.

Furthermore, the documents I read clearly stated that Michael Doherty was still in Killala, Ireland at the time his mother/step-father and step-siblings went to Philadelphia. I am curious as to know if Michael Doherty really ever came to Philadelphia and if he did was it for a visit or to live.

Then there is the question of Ellen Boland's maiden name. My entire life I was told it was Doherty. However, it now appears that Doherty was not her maiden name but the married name of her first husband.

Of interest, Ellen and John Boland's first born child Mary was born in 1884.

One Plus One Equals Two

Ellen (Doherty) Boland born 1858 in Farrah Cobrayo Ireland was grandmother to my grandmother Anna Marie McCaffery Gallagher.

Records show that Ellen came to Philadelphia from Killala, Ireland on September 6, 1908. She arrived on the ship "Friesland" with her husband John (1858), daughter Ellen (1892), son John (1895) and a grandson Michael Cafferty (1905).

What I found interesting in these ship records was the name Michael Doherty who was listed as one of the people already in Philadelphia which the above family were to meet. Michael Doherty was listed as "step-brother" to Ellen Doherty Boland. At the time, I did not have any clue to what, who or where this Michael Doherty came from, was related too. However, I found him in the 1910 Census Records as living on 3741 Sharp Street (near the 3700 block of Cresson) as a boarder who came to Philadelphia from Ireland in 1908, worked as a Laborer in a Foundry and had listed as a fellow boarder Daniel Melvery.

Guess who Daniel Melvery was? Katherine Boland's future husband. Katherine or better known as Aunt Kate was the daughter of John & Ellen (Doherty) Boland, sister to Bridget Boland McCaffery and Aunt to my grandmother.

Ahhh, family connections and why XYZ married XYZ. Daniel Melvery (1895) came to Philadelphia from Ireland in 1907. Guess who else came to Philadelphia from Ireland in 1907?
Yes, you guess it, Katherine Boland.

This all makes me think that the Boland, Doherty, Cafferty and Melvery Families all knew each other before they even immigranted to America. Fantastic. Really.

Anyway, there was one other name listed as the original contact person here in Philadelphia for Bernard & Mary (Boland) Cafferty when they came to America from Ireland on April 30, 1906. The contact person listed was John Boland's brother Martin Boland who at the time resided at 186 Calumet Street in the East Falls Section. I researched Martin Boland's immigration records and it appeared Martin Boland has been in this country since 1888. He was born in 1863.

John and Ella (Ellen) (Doherty) Boland

John and Ella (Doherty) Boland lived at 11 S. Osborne Street Philadelphia PA. 19127 which was once located in the spot where this wall was built to separate the railroad from the neighborhood.

My grandmother Anna Marie McCaffery was born in this house on July 5th, 1912 and when her mother died in 1915, Anna returned to live in this house with her maternal grandparents until the age of seven when her grandmother Ella died.