Genealogy: Some Thoughts

I have two cousins and one shirt-tail cousin that I didn't even know ten years ago who have done incredible genealogical research. The shirt-tail cousin is Cindy MacSuibhne, a woman who married a Sweeney relative (the family changed their last name from the Anglicized "Sweeney" to the very Irish-Gaelic "MacSuibhne"). Cindy has done research into the Fitzpatrick-Broghan-Sweeney branches of the family, my mother's paternal side. Research on the Coughlin side has been pursued by Sam Galioto, Jr. Sam is a Coughlin descendant through my grandfather Connie Coughlin's sister. The other great family researcher has been Jack Pendergast, a 3rd cousin, who, like me, is a descendant of Daniel Coghlin (later "Coughlin") and Mary Crowley. Before Jack and Sam's research, all I knew is that my great grandfather Cornelius Coughlin was born in County Cork, Ireland. I didn't know his parents, Daniel and Mary, and I didn't know Cornelius had siblings, Jeremiah, Bartholemew, and Catherine. And amazingly, I didn't know the family had all settled in Scipio Town, Cayuga County, New York. I can't for the life of me figure out why that information didn't come down to me.

I think a lot of Jack's research has been done the old-fashioned way, sending for records and even combing through books, lists, etc. In fact, I think he has done research in parish and diocesan files in Ireland, trying to figure out where exactly in West Cork our Coughlin's came from (that puzzle has not been solved).

I have had an idea for using the power of Google searches to do some genealogical research. Recently I've been trying to use certain names in Google searches to see if these families show up in the same area in County Cork. I do indeed find families like Coughlin's, Crowley's, Lavin's, McCarthy's in West Cork. But here's an oddity: in my preliminary searches I have found a cluster of these families outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee [check out http://www.tngenweb.org/hamilton/cemetery/catholic.htm]. The Mt. Olivet Cathlic Cemetery, three miles outside Chattanooga, lists a Daniel Crowley from County Cork (1810-1860), Rose Coughlin, Patrick and Bridget Lavin, and Joseph McCarthy--and lots of other Irish and Cork names. I still need to pursue these searches more and follow up on them. I think the intelligent use of Google can help in genealogical research. And in coming years more and more records are going to be available online. I know that lots of critical Irish records were burned and destroyed (I think in the 1916 Rising and the civil war that followed). But I imagine that people are trying to cobble together remaining bits and pieces of land and church records, and some day we might be able to access this material via computer.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Shona Duit! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here's how to pronounce the Irish: /LAW AY-luh PAWD-rick HUN-uh DIT/ which, word-for word, means "Day of-feast of-Patrick happy to-you," that is, "Happy St. Patrick's Day!"

Cleveland's St. Patrick's Day parade was observed by some 400,000 people on the most beautiful March 17th in Cleveland history, with uncharacteristic blue skies and temperature around 70 degrees. Alas, I was teaching during the parade. The evening of March 17th was spent at the East Side Irish-American Club in Euclid, Ohio, where we heard the band "Fergie and the Bog Dogs," with Johnie Ferguson, his son, and my friend John Connell (aka John Mac Connell), from County Cavan, Ireland. Johnny Mac has a very beautiful voice, and plays a fine button-box accordian as well as guitar. John teaches math and staffs the math lab where I also teach. John is married to Marlene, the most-Irish Slovenian on the face of the earth--"more Irish than the Irish! John has told me that my Fitzpatrick ancestors are probably from County Cavan. We haven't pinpointed that for sure. My Mother thought the Fitzpatrick's were from somewhere near Dublin. Of course, parts of County Cavan are not that far from Dublin!

Genealogy of Fitzpatrick and Coughlin Families

I've found some interesting genealogical sites. One that gives basic information for all Irish surnames is http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/. For the name "Coughlin," this site shows the distribution of the name throughout Ireland and the meaning and history of the name (the site will do this for many other Irish names as well; I've also tried it for "Crowley," "Sullivan," and other family names).

Another fascinating website is for those of Fitzpatrick ancestry: http://www.fitzsoc.com/ . An interesting feature of this website is the DNA research that Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick is doing. Here is what is said about Dr. Fitzpatrick and her studies:

"The Fitzpatrick DNA study coordinator is Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick PhD, author of Forensic Genealogy and co-author of DNA & Genealogy. Colleen is actively recruiting new participants for the study. If you would like to participate in any of these studies you are invited to contact her at cfitzp@aol.com and you can visit her website at http://www.forensicgenealogy.info/"

Fitzpatrick Family Party

I haven't posted anything on this blog in a while, why I'm not sure. The holiday season was very very busy with parties and family activities. It was really a wonderful time and a busy time. I can't count how many parties I was at! Or how much food and drink I consumed! Other than that, I don't have any excuses for my writer's block.

The day after Christmas, the Cleveland Fitzpatrick's had a family party at a condo party room in Highland Heights (eastern suburb of Cleveland). The party organizers were the children of Uncle Skip (Fenton Sr.) Fitzpatrick and Aunt Mary (nee Allen), two of the most wonderful people who have ever walked the earth. Skip and Mary had 9 children, about 25 grandchildren, and now, about 25 great grandchildren. Luckily they invited the Coughlin's, Brock's, and Langer's, and other Fitzpatrick relatives. At first I thought I would be an interloper there, but I was greeted with open-arms by my cousins and their spouses. As I talked to folks at the party, ate their food and drank their beer, I started thinking: Hey, I'm as much a Fitzpatrick as anyone here! My mother was the daughter of Margaret Ann Sullivan Fitzpatrick and Jack Fitzpatrick. The other guests were children, grandchildren, great grandchildren of Fenton Fitzpatrick (Sr.) and Mary Allen, and Fenton Sr. was the son of Margaret Ann Sullivan Fitzpatrick. So I belonged there--and was treated as if I belonged.

I can't remember everyone at the party, but I do recall seeing cousins Tim, Eddie, Dick, Mike, Joe, Chris, and Suzanne Fitzpatrick. Fenton Jr. and Mary Joan were not able to attend, making their homes in Florida and Texas. Also at the party were the wives and husbands of my cousins, and I love the spouses of my Fitzpatrick cousins as much as the cousins themselves: Queenie, Pat (born in Westport, County Mayo), Gary, Pattie, Karen, Nancy, Tom, Linda.

This family all came from our grandfather Jack Fitzpatrick, born January 3rd, 1880 in the now-gone quarry village of Bluestone, in Euclid Township, and Margaret Ann Sullivan, born 1885 in the quarry township of Brownhelm, near the city of Amherst, Lorain County, Ohio. Jack became a yard conductor for the New York Central Railroad in the Collinwood neighborhood of Cleveland, and Margaret was a housewife, raising her children, Al, Julia (named after her grandmother, Julia Broughan Fitzpatrick), Skip (formally, Fenton, named after his grandfather who emigrated from Ireland), identical twins Dick and Don, and the baby of the family, my mother, Margaret Ann.

This was a blue-collar family: Al was a railroad engineer; Julia was a housewife (and held other jobs); Skip was a machinist/welder for New York Central Railroad; Don worked for Republic Steel in quality control; Dick did all sorts of things--and at times did no paying work--I remember when he worked in the Euclid sewer system; my Mom spent her life as a housewife.

The children of the above had the last names Fitzpatrick, Brock, Langer, and Coughlin (I am one of those children). We have a tremendous range of professions: Fenton, Eddie, and Mike worked for the railroad; Tim worked for AT&T; Dick was an accountant; Joe a telephone worker; Chris, who has Downs Syndrome, has worked off an on (there are some funny stories there!); I think that Mary Joan and Suzanne have spent much of their lives as housewives--a position of honor in our families, let there be no doubt. The Brock children have had all sorts of interesting jobs: Maggie made a great career as a radio personality on major stations in Chicago and in the Phoenix area. Susie is a Ph.D. psychologist; Luke, I think, is a carpenter and cabinet maker; Bill is a computer specialist for Cleveland State University.

The children of Al Fitzpatrick and Catherine (nee Pellerin) Fitzpatrick have known a lot of tragedy: Tommy was killed in Vietnam at age 21 (in April 1969); Jack was murdered in Cleveland (in an astonishing scenario that I have described elsewhere in this blog) December 21, 1971; Jerry lives in Florida and I think her worked for the telephone company; Sheila married Big Eddie Langer, and though now divorced, has wonderful children and grandchildren.

The Coughlin part of the Fitzpatrick clan has also done well: Bob a college teacher; Denny a car mechanic in San Diego; Mary Ellen a school secretary in Medina County; Kev a foreman in a roofing company in Willoughby; and Jimmy maintains and repairs printing presses. There are lots of Coughlin children, with Denny and Mary Ellen having grandchildren.

This Fitzpatrick-Brock-Langer-Coughlin clan has really been something, has maintained closeness and a great love of family, and has made much progress educationally and economically.

(I realize that I have said very little about the spouses of the clan! I hope I can get to it some day soon!).

Sullivan Fitzpatrick Coughlin Genealogy

[It might be difficult to follow the genealogical information below in narrative form; at some point I'll link to a genealogical tree or chart so the information can be followed more easily.]

As mentioned in previous blog entries, my mother, Margaret Ann Fitzpatrick Coughlin, was the daughter of John Francis Fitzpatrick and Margaret Ann Sullivan. In this entry, I will focus on the Sullivan side of the family.

My mother's mother, Margaret Ann Sullivan, was born in Brownhelm Township in 1885 (she died on March 18, 1940). Brownhelm is flat and fertile farmland in Lorain County, Ohio, about 30 miles west of Cleveland. It is right near the great Amherst stone quarries, where the famous and beautiful Berea Sandstone was mined. Margaret's father was John J. Sullivan, born in 1860 in Montreal, Canada. He died very young, in 1899, in Brownhelm. John J. married Sarah Buckley on November 6, 1882. Sarah had also been born in Montreal in 1860, the daughter of John Buckley, born on June 24, 1834, in Tellamore, County Offaly, and Mary Keenan, also born in Ireland in June of 1832. There were seven Sullivan children: Frank (born 1883), Margaret Ann (1885), Mary Ellen (1887), Sarah (1890), Elizabeth (1892), Florence (24 Oct. 1895), Edward Michael (23 Jan. 1898). I knew Great Uncle Ed Sullivan because he lived with his wife Helen and children Mary Ellen, Sally, Johnny, and Mickey next door to my Coughlin grandparents on Hayes Avenue in Willoughby, Ohio. Note how the name Mary Ellen came down from Great Aunt Mary Ellen Sullivan, to Ed and Helen's daughter Mary Ellen, to my own sister, Mary Ellen Coughlin. And of course Margaret Ann Sullivan Fitzpatrick gave her name to my mother and to Maggie Brock (Margaret Ann Brock). We can go one more generation back with the Buckley's. John Buckley, my great great grandfather, was the son of Michael Buckley, born in 19 November 1800 in Ireland, and Mary Handy, also of Ireland. Michael Buckley (my great great great grandfather!) lived a long life and died on April 24, 1892, in Brownhelm Township. His son John died 30 August 1923, in Elyria, Lorain County, Ohio.

Fitzpatrick/Sullivan Genealogy

My last blog post talked about my mother, Margaret Ann Fitzpatrick Coughlin. In this posting, I will sketch out what I know about Mom's genealogy. I realize that most people find it easier to follow a genealogical chart or tree. At some point I'll try to link to something like that, but for now, it's a genealogical narrative.

Her Parents . . .
and my maternal grandparents were John Francis Fitzpatrick (whose middle name is rendered "Fenton" on some documents, after his father, and whose name is sometimes rendered FitzPatrick, with the "P" capitalized), and Margaret Ann Sullivan. John was born January 3, 1880, in Bluestone, Ohio. Bluestone was a quarry village on the Euclid Creek, where the current cities of Euclid and South Euclid, Ohio now exist. Local bluestone, a siltstone or fine sandstone of a bluish-gray hue, was quarried along the Euclid Creek and in a couple neighborhing areas. The product was used primarily for building foundations and sidewalks. The name "Bluestone" persists in street names in South Euclid and Cleveland Heights, but the Bluestone post office is long gone. The quarry must have employed hundreds of Irish, Slovenian, and other ethnic immigrants in its heyday. John died in 1949, in South Amherst, Ohio and is buried in St. Joseph Cemetery, about a mile out of town, near his inlaws and some of his wife Margaret's relatives. He remarried after his wife Margaret died--Hilma Hunt, not-so-affectionately known as "Chicken." Hilma was left widowed by John's death in 1949. It is thought that Hilma got our grandfather's papers, photos, much of the Fitzpatrick memorabilia. It is so strange that John is buried near his in-laws, about 40 miles from our grandmother, his first wife, Margaret. Margaret Ann Sullivan Fitzpatrick is buried at St. Paul's, Chardon Road, in Euclid.

John F. Fitzpatrick's parents were Fenton Fitzpatrick, born in Ireland just after the famine, in 1852, and died in Euclid in 1897. His wife was Julia Broughan, born 1857 in Euclid, and died 1936--possibly also in Euclid. Fenton and Julia are buried at S. Paul's Cemetery in Euclid, near Margart Ann Sullivan Fitzpatrick. Julia's parents were Michael Broughan, born 1828 in Kildare, Ireland, died 1898, possibly in Euclid. His wife was Mary Sweeney, born 1834 in Donegal, Ireland, died 1901, possibly in Euclid. Michael and Mary are buried at St. Paul's. Mary's parents were Michael Sweeney and Bridget. Michael was probably born in Donegal. We don't have any information on Bridget.

Many of the names I've mentioned repeat throughout the generations. Great Grandfather Fenton Fitzpatrick's son is listed as John Fenton in some sources (John Francis in most sources). John had a son named Fenton Robert (known as "Skip")--this Fenton was my Uncle Skip; Skip had a son named Fenton (also known to many as "Skip")---this Fenton is my first cousin; and he in turn has a son named Fenton. My mother, Margaret Ann Fitzpatrick Coughlin, named her youngest son James Fenton. So the name clearly runs strong in the family.

The name Julia goes back at least to my great grandmother, Julia Broughan Fitzpatrick, and also appears again in John's daughter Julia Fitzpatrick Brock (known as "Dudie" from a child's mispronunciation of "Julie"), and in my own daughter Julia Rose Coughlin. There is another Julia, I believe. Aunt Julia (Dudie) Fitzpatrick Brock's son Luke has a daughter named Julia. The names keep repeating as a way to honor beloved elders and beloved deceased.

Margaret Ann Sullivan Fitzpatrick, my grandmother, was born in 1880 in Brownhelm Township, Lorain County, Ohio, also near quarries. The famous quarries around Amherst and South Amherst mined the beautiful "Berea Sandstone." And they too employed hundreds of Irish, German, and other ethnic immigrants. Her parents were . . . [will continue]