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Johanna's Half Brothers and Sisters

Johanna’s Family Chart

Johanna had six half-brothers and sisters. They were Mary, William, Joseph, Patrick, James and Bridget (Tree 1).

Mary

Mary was born on 15 January 1886 at her grandmother’s house at William Street in Carrick on Suir. Family lore1 suggests she went to the USA as a nun. No US records have been found to date. She may have died in the 1940s or 50s.

William

William was born in December 1889 and baptised in Owning church on 19 December 1889. He left home to emigrate to the United States at the young age of 16. He sailed from Queenstown, Co. Cork (now known as Cobh) to Boston, arriving there in October 1905. His destination was Stapleton on Staten Island, New York, where he joined his cousin Nicholas Phelan.

From census records we know that he became a naturalised citizen in 1910, and married Anita Mulgrew in 1916. Anita was from New Jersey and their union had two children, Anita and William. He worked in various jobs, including as a salesman for one of the main brewing companies on Staten Island, the Rubsam and Horrmann Atlantic Brewing Company, which remained in operation until 19532. William Senior lived on the island for the rest of his life, and died suddenly from a heart attack while playing golf in 1960, when he was 70 years old. He is buried in St Peter’s Cemetery in New York together with his wife, who lived on until 1982.

William’s son died at the relatively young age of 45 in 1962. His daughter Anita married a Joseph J Flannery in 1942 on Staten Island. They had five children, and seven grandchildren, all alive at the time of her death in 2006 in Palm Beach Florida.

Joseph

Joseph was born on 2 January 1892 at Jamestown. Family lore3 suggests he was a nice, easy going guy. He followed William to New York, arriving on 11 September 1910 on board the SS Cedric. His immigration records identified our Grandmother Johanna as his next of kin. He applied for a passport to visit home 1920. His cousin Nicholas vouched for Joseph on the application.

His first job in the US (from census information) was as a conductor on a trolley bus. Later he worked as a collector for a public utility. He became a US citizen in 1918 and was drafted in World War I and World War II. He was called up in World War I and enlisted from September 1918. He worked in a chemical warfare factory in Ohio until he was demobbed on 16 December 1918. He married Julia Roche from Mitchelstown, Co. Cork in New Rochelle, New York on 5th November 1932.

Joseph suffered from poor health and Joseph and Julia returned to Ireland in the 1940s. Joseph went back to his family in Jamestown while his wife returned to her family in Co. Cork. Joseph remained in Jamestown and reportedly got on well with his nieces and nephews. He died suddenly on 24 August 1948. Family lore4 suggests he enjoyed going to Shea’s house nearby for a drink and collapsed and died on the way home. The cause of death was recorded as “probably asthma and cardiac arrest, no inquest required”. Joseph and Julia do not appear to have had any children.

Patrick

Patrick (Paddy) was born on 15 July 1893 in Jamestown. He married Alice Sexton from Brenar in Owning church on 6 March 1916. They had five children – Bridget, James (Jimmy), Elizabeth (Lily), Mary Jo and Agnes (Aggie). Patrick inherited the house in Jamestown and reared his family there.

Family lore5 reports that Paddy was quite a character. He was often found cycling into Piltown to spend time in Anthony’s pub. He would always call by the house at the Tower on the way home and entertain Johanna’s children. He was frequently involved in escapades related to his drinking. One typical tale is that he was sent into Carrick-on-Suir to get his teeth fixed but drank the money instead. He was afraid to go home and hid in the house in Piltown until he sobered up. Paddy became ill with emphysema in 1968. He was admitted to the infirmary in Waterford but discharged himself and went home. His health dis­improved and he was readmitted to the infirmary where he died on 12 October 1968, at the age of 75.

James

James (Jimmy) was born on 12 January 1895 at Jamestown. He attended secondary school at the monastery in Carrick on Suir and stayed for some time at the house at the Tower in Piltown. He went to work for Carroll’s shop in Waterford and worked there until he retired when he was over 70. Carroll’s was a Drapery and Clothes shop on The Quay in Waterford. He probably joined them in the 1910s, a little after the photograph alongside, which was taken in the 1900s.

He worked in the same position, only stopping work when the shop closed6. He married Mary Ellen (Nellie) Kylie on 5 August 1940 when he was 45 and Mary Ellen was about 21. They were married at Fenor church, near Tramore, Co. Waterford. They lived in Luke Wadding Street in Waterford and had five children – Seamus, Noel, Sean, Mary and Thelma7. James died about 1970 in Waterford. Jimmy and Nellie are in the picture with their sister Bridget below.

Bridget (Bridie)

Bridget was born on 31 January 1900 and baptised in Templeorum church on 2 February 1900. Her birth wasn’t registered until 6 March so it shows an incorrect birthdate on the civil records. Bridget (known as Bridie) came to live at the Tower in Piltown around 1909 and stayed there until she went to Carysfort College for teacher training about 1919. She was in Piltown when her uncle Richard died in 1922. She qualified as a teacher and went to work in Dunfermline in Scotland where she met Patrick Mellon, her future husband.

While she was working in Scotland, she came home every year for the school holiday and stayed with Johanna‘s family at the tower. Pat Mellon emigrated to Canada, and Bridget followed him, sailing from Greenock in Scotland to Québec in 1927. Bridget and Patrick were married in St Patrick’s Church in Québec, Canada on 1 March 1930. Patrick’s sister Sarah was one of the witnesses. They had four children – Elizabeth, Patrick, Margaret and Monica. Based on census information Bridget continued as a teacher in Canada and Patrick was a taxi owner. They visited Piltown between 1965 and 1970. Patrick died on 5 April 1978 and Bridget on 18 July 1985.