Brian McCaffery Death Record

Brain McCaffery was born in April of 1953, son of Coll and Francis Bernerdo McCaffery Jr. who died on December 24, 1954 of Meningococcemia and WaterHouse-Friedricksen Syndrome at Roxborough Memorial Hospital. An Autopsy was performed and the child was not interred until January 26, 1955 at St John the Baptist Churchyard. Address at time of death was 618 Rittenhouse Street.

Meningococcemia is caused by a bacteria called Neisseria meningtidis.

WaterHouse-Friedricksen Syndrome is failure of the adrenal gland to function as a result of bleeding into the gland generally caused by a severe infection.

Adrenal Glands are small glands located on top of each kidney that produces important hormones in which we cannot live without.

James Malervy

James Malervy was the father of Daniel Malervy. Daniel was the husband of Catherine Boland. James Malervy died at the age of 66 years old from Heart Disease on June 19, 1925 and was interred at St. John the Baptist Cemetery on June 23, 1925. Within ten years, Daniel would also die from heart disease. What is interesting about this certificate is it names the parents of James. Staying with Irish custom, James named his first born son after his own father not self.  I just noticed that James Malervy's occupation was listed as a "Gentleman". Upon further research, I came to the conclusion that this particular part of the family were of independent means which explains a lot as my grandmother was raised by Daniel & Catherine after the death of her mother. Grandmom always said she was from the "Irish Lace Curtain" side of the family. Photographs of my grandmother as a child further explained the financial means of this family as all my grandmother's clothes were of high quality and the furniture in the home was also of high quality. Interesting how facts come together.

Genealogist Update

I came across some burial records for both Leverington and Westminster Cemeteries. A few things caught this genealogist's attention. Graves were reopened and relocated much more often than I expected and August 1900 was a horrible year for Diphtheria as there was an epidemic that hit through Manayunk and East Falls. What stood out to me was a family at 3339 W. Clearfield Street where four members of that family died from Diphtheria in a single day. The Flu Epidemic in 1918 resulted in hundreds of deaths and it appears the median age in Philadelphia was those under ten years old especially those under two years old. My journey began when I came across information for the Silverthorns. James Rowley Silverthorn died in 1942 and was interred at Leverington which I thought was strange as his wife Grace Gallagher Silverthorn who died in 1930 was interred at St. John the Baptist. It makes a person wonder why the wife was interred in one cemetery while the husband was interred in another cemetery. Did St. John's run out of space? I know James and Grace had five sons, two whom died as infants in 1906 and 1911 so were they interred at St. John's? Is that why there was not room for James twelve years later? I will probably never find the answers because there were no personal journals written or saved. We can only go by the official records. Some information was verified on Grace Gallagher Silverthorn and some additional information discovered such as Grace was born in April 1880 in Scotland and the exact location was Camghouran. My question is "why did Patrick and Hannah leave Donegal, Ireland and how did they end up in Camghouran, Scotland? Why did they leave Scotland in 1882 and come to Philadelphia? As far as I know, they came to America on their own without other family members. Forget about ever finding the exact year Patrick was born. I cannot find one single record that verifies his birth or even the age he was when he died in the summer of 1910. No age is indicated. Weird. So Gallagher! On the other hand, I can find the age of Hannah. When she died in 1926, she was listed on the records as being 65 years old. Another person of interest was from the Boland Clan. I am not sure if it was 1897 or 1900 but I came across the nephew of John Boland. Edward Boland died as a baby and was interred at Westminster. His father was William Boland who lived on Laboratory Hill. Years later I would come across several Bolands living on or around Laboratory Hill and one of them was my great-grandmother's brother and John's son, John Boland. John would reside on Laboratory Hill with his wife and children and my great great- grandparents until my great great grandmother died in 1926 (Ellen) and their relocation to Germantown.

Maria Cannon

Maria Cannon was born December 23, 1901 and died of Endocarditis at age 13 years old on July 3, 1914. She was the child of George and Mary Gallagher Cannon. Address at time of death was 207 East Street. John McCarron was listed as undertaker. Maria was interred on July 7,1914 in St John the Baptist Cemetery.

James Cannon

James was born to George and Mary Gallagher Cannon on August 9, 1909 and died of diphtheria on January 19, 1915. Address at time of death was 207 East Street. James was interred in St. John the Baptist cemetery on January 20,1915. Immediate burial was a result of the contagious nature of his disease. John McCarron was listed as undertaker.

St John The Baptist Church Burial Ground

Behind the stone wall and black iron locked gate lies a burial ground that could be known as the Irish Grave Yard since most of the names if not all of them as written on the headstones were of Irish descent. So among all the McBrides, Donahues, Gallaghers, Doughertys and Murphys are those who were once parish members of St John's and lived, worked and prayed in this little town called Manayunk.

This tiny church cemetery was hard to walk in because of its steep hills. Many times I had to remove my shoes to get more leverage so I could avoid falling and rolling down the hill myself.
It made me wonder how those bodies of the decease were interred on those hills and from the look of some of those headstones which have fallen down over time it was a wonder they could be erected on those hills at all.

We have relatives interred here but like most of our relatives there is not a headstone to indicate their burial place. However, since I did research the cemetery records I have the location and have photographed it anyway.

Relatives interred here are John and Sally (Keller) Gallagher and Baby Brian McCaffery. I have been told that John and Ellen Boland are interred here. However, I have not yet found records to substantiate that claim.

Walking Tour Of St John The Baptist Burial Ground

This is the tomb of Father Eugene Murphy Godfather to Mary (Keller) Gallagher.

John and Sally (Gallagher) Keller are buried here along with baby Brian McCaffery.

Views Of Manayunk

Railroad that runs along Cresson Street towards St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.
Here at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, my grandparents William Gallagher and Anna McCaffery were baptized and married. Their first four children William, John, Eugene and Mary were baptized.
New Condos that have replaced 19th century mills along the canal.
A mixture of the old and new along the canal.
Manayunk

Around Town

Popular staircases seen throughout the area that take you from the bottom of the steep hills in Manayunk to the top of the steep hills in Roxborough.
Roxborough Avenue is considered the street that divides Manayunk from Roxborough. In the 19th century, those who lived in Roxborough own the mills whereas those who lived in Manayunk were the mill's workers.
St. John the Baptist Parish Churchyard Cemetery. Buried within its walls are John and Sally (Gallagher ) Keller.
Railroad track that runs across the Schuylkill River at Shurs Lane and Main Street.
St. John the Baptist Catholic Grade School. The 2005-2006 school year will be its last. William and Anna (McCaffrey) Gallagher attended school here as did their first three children William, John and Eugene.