Week 20: Nature #52Ancestors

The reasons for our ancestors’ immigration to America are explained as either “push” or “pull” factors. The most common “push” factor for those with Irish descent was the Great Famine (1845-1848). In the years leading up to the Great Famine, the Irish experienced a population explosion like no other. In 1700, the Irish population was about 1 million.[1] By the time of the famine, the Irish population had grown to 8.5 million.[2] After the famine, it is estimated that about 500,000 Irish had moved to Britain, 1 million emigrated to North America, and 1 million men, women, and children perished.[3]

My 2ndgreat-grandfather, Michael J. McDonough, came to the U.S. in around 1846. Likely, he was responding to the “push” from the famine, but perhaps also the “pull” of owning land. By 1850, Michael and his new wife, Bridget (call me “Delia”) Dunigan were living in Clinton, Essex County, New Jersey and Michael was a “gardener.”[4] I haven’t yet determined why Michael and Delia settled in that particular place. Did they go there because of friends, family, neighbors, or associates from Ireland? The 1850 census shows 219 other Irish-born people living in Clinton, but no other McDonoughs or Dunigans.

 The various records I have found for Michael identify him as a “horticulturist,” “gardener,” and “capitalist.”[5] In other words, a farmer. I grew up with the story that he was a famous strawberry farmer. A memoir about that time confirms this. G. Clifford Jones wrote about his childhood growing up in the area. He remembered Henry Jerolaman and Michael McDonough “were rivals in growing strawberries and likewise in making claims as to who pioneered most in developing the luscious fruits.”[6] Jones’ memories also included sledding down “McDonough’s Hill” after the “Great Blizzard” of 1888.[7]

Michael must not have been as successful as Jerolaman who was dubbed (or dubbed himself) the “Strawberry King of the United States.” Jerolaman acquired the farm of Seth Boydon, engineer and prolific inventor, who is claimed to be the originator of the first large stawberries in the world. [8]

 Michael and Delia’s three sons joined their father in farming, although two of them all moved on from farming, one becoming a policeman and one a sewer inspector. My great-grandfather, Michael Sarsfield continued farming for some time, although likely not on his own land.

The awesome thing researching your family history is that the area where Michael and Bridget settled in is now called Maplewood – my own hometown! I remember as a kid going to an old amusement park (Olympic Park) which was built on or near the McDonough family farm. Most of the farm property now consists of an elementary school (Seth Boyden Elementary) and houses. 

 As of today, Whitepages.com shows only three McDonoughs living in Maplewood. If they are related to Michael and Bridget (and, of course, I just have to assume that they are), that means a McDonough/Dunigan has lived in this part of New Jersey for over 169 years! How cool is that?

[1]Maurice Gleeson, MB, “My Ancestor Came From Ireland…But From Where?,” Irish Research-A Practical Guide (Ontario, Canada : Moorshead Magazines, Ltd, 2018), pp. 12-13.

[2]Ibid.

[3]Ibid.

[4]1850 U.S. census, Essex County, New Jersey, population schedule, Clinton township, p. 323B (stamped), dwelling 250, family 244, Michael McDonough; image, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com: accessed 20 May 2019); citing National Archives microfilm publication M432, roll 450.

[5]1900 U.S. census, Essex County, New Jersey, population schedule, South Orange, p. 9B (penned), enumeration district (ED) 189, dwelling 178, family 178, Michael McDonough; image, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com: accessed 20 May 2019); citing National Archives microfilm publication T623, roll not noted. 1860 U.S. census, Essex County, New Jersey, population schedule, Clinton township, p. 3 (penned), dwelling 20, family 20, Michael McDonough; image, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com: accessed 20 May 2019); citing National Archives microfilm publication M653, roll 690.

[6]G. Clifford Jones, “Hilton Boy,” Helen B. Bates, Ellen S. Uptegrove, Mary O. Dawson, eds., Maplewood, Past and Present (Maplewood, New Jersey : Friends of the Maplewood Library, 1948), 131.

[7]Ibid., p. 128.

[8] “Read This First,” American Gardening (18 Sept. 1897), p.659; image, Google Books (https://play.google.com/books : accessed 20 May 2019).

Michael J. McDonough. Photo taken by Ludwig Schill, Newark, NJ between 1890 and 1903. Digital image private held by author.

E. Roberson, Atlas of Essex County, New Jersey (New York : E Roberson, 1890), a section of plate 33; image and database, “U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918,” Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 May 2019).