Week 28: Multiple #52Ancestors

One of my favorite family photos shows four generations in my husband’s family: his uncle, his grandmother, his great-grandmother, and his second great-grandmother. Multiple generations in one photograph is too special not to share along with a brief sketch of some of those pictured.

The youngest person in the picture is little Edward Lee Baty, born in February of 1919 while his father served in the U.S. Army.[1] The oldest in the picture is Catherine (aka Kate) Fitzgibbon, Eddie’s great-grandmother on his mother’s side, born in 1847. Since Kate died in 1927 and Eddie looks to be about two, I would date this picture from 1921-22.

The other women in the picture are Kate’s daughter, Mary Quinlan (standing) and Mary’s daughter (Eddie’s mom), Kathryn Ann McCormick (on right). I am sure you’ve noticed all of the Irish names. Indeed, half of Eddie’s great-grandparents were Irish born. At that time of this photo, all three of the women’s families lived in Parsons, Kansas, in homes an eight- to five-minute walk from each other. 

So how did all those Irish people wind up in South-East Kansas? 

Starting with the oldest in the picture (seated on the left), Kate Fitzgibbon was born November 10, 1847 in Fall River, Massachusetts to John and Mary (Finn) Fitzgibbon.[2] John and Mary were born in Ireland: John in County Clare and Mary in County Cork.[3] I have not discovered where and how they met nor have I found evidence of their marriage. Mary had a son from a previous marriage who immigrated with her to New York in 1834.[4] That early of an immigration date means she was not a victim of the Great Famine. What drove her to emigrate without her husband and two other sons is still a mystery.[5] John immigrated to Boston in 1842 and settled in Fall River.[6] That date of emigration is also a bit early to be blamed on the Great Famine. However, a huge increase in the Irish population from 1801 to 1841 (50%) put great stress on the poor and densely populated western counties including Clare.[7] Further, in 1839 and again in 1842 the west of Ireland experienced severe food shortages that the British government was ill-equipped to handle. As an example, in 1842 there was only one work house for the three hardest hit counties, Clare, Kerry, and Mayo.[8] It is no wonder John left when he did. 

John and Mary lived in Fall River for about ten years where John was a “laborer” and they had six children.[9] The family then moved to Marshall county, Illinois where they had two more children and John became a farmer, owning about 150 acres of land.[10] It is in Illinois where John and Mary’s second child, Mary, met and married John Quinlan an Irish immigrant from County Cork. 

 Born in Kilworth, County Clare in 1835, John Quinlan survived most of the famine with his mother, aunt, sister, and other relatives.[11] His father had died by 1851 and his brothers, Michael and Daniel, had immigrated to Boston in 1849.[12] Both brothers settled in Plymouth county, Massachusetts, where they worked as bootmakers.[13] The family story is that John immigrated to New Orleans in about 1857 and never made his way to his brothers in Boston. It is not known if John and his brothers ever reunited, but his daughter appears to have visited some of Michael and Daniel’s descendants in 1910. 

 John settled in Illinois and served for a brief time in the 104th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War.[14] Discharged in January of 1863 because of a disability, he and Kate Fitzgibbon married the following year.[15] By 1880, the family had moved to Labette county in south-east Kansas.[16] A farmer for a time, John also worked for the railroad in Parsons. I’ve mentioned Kate and John’s large family before – they had thirteen children, the oldest of which was Mary, the woman standing in the picture. 

 Mary married Edward McCormick, another first-generation American in Parsons on August 21, 1889.[17] Ed’s parents Richard and Bridget (Conroy) immigrated from County Mayo, although from different parts and they likely met in Illinois where they married.[18] This family also made their way from Illinois to Parsons, which is where Edward and Mary met and married. The youngest woman seated in the picture is their eldest daughter, Kathryn who met and married Lee Baty in Parsons.[19] The toddler Eddie was the oldest of their four children. 

 My husband is Kathryn’s grandson and his Ancestry.com DNA “Ethnicity Estimate” of 50% Ireland/Scotland is no lie. 

[1] Kansas State Board of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, certificate of birth no. 250 2162, Edward Lee Baty (1919), Office of Vital Statistics, Topeka.

[2] Kansas State Board of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, death certificate no. 250 3101, Kate Quinlan (1927); Office of Vital Statistics, Topeka. This is some question as to Mary’s maiden name. This certificate says “Finucane” but some records show it was likely Finn.

[3] John Fitz-Gibbons petition for naturalization (6 November 1848), file no. 379A, Police Court, New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts; digital image, “Massachusetts, State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1798-1950,” Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 July 2020). Illinois State Board of Health, physician's certificate of death no. 3563, Mary Fitzgibbons (1890); Cook County Clerk, Bureau of Vital Records, Genealogy Unit, Chicago. 

[4] Manifest, S.S. William Glen Anderson, 31 May 1834, third page, 147 and 148, Mary and Dennis Haggerty, ages 25 and 0; digital image, “New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957,” Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 July 2020).

[5] I suspect they died in Ireland, but to say so would be pure speculation. I think this will be an interesting story if I can dig it up.

[6] John Fitz-Gibbon petition for naturalization (1848), file no. 379A.  

[7] Christine Kinealy, “The Rags and Wretched Cabins of Ireland 1845,” This Great Calamity: The Irish Famine 1845-52 (Boulder, Col.: Roberts Rinehart Publishers, 1995), 9.

[8] Ibid, 29.

[9] 1850 U.S. census, Bristol County, Massachusetts, population schedule, Fall River, p. 10B, dwelling 1039, family 1760, John Fitzgibbon; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 July 2020); citing National Archives microfilm publication M432, roll 308. 1860 U.S. census, Marshall County, Illinois, population schedule, Lacon, p. 71, dwelling 548, family 526, John Fitzgibbon; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 July 2020); citing National Archives microfilm publication M653, roll not noted.

[10] 1880 U.S. census, Marshal County, Illinois, agricultural schedule, Richland, p. 13. John Fitzgibbon; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 July 2020.

[11] Josephine Masterson, County Cork, A Collection of 1851 Census Records (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1994), 30.

[12] Manifest, S.S. Bark Regulus, 15 June 1849, third page, Daniel and Mike Quinlan, ages 15 and 19; digital image, “Massachusetts, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1963,” Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 July 2020).

[13] 1865 Massachusetts state census, Plymouth County, population schedule, Abington Center Ward, [no page no. visible], dwelling 261, family 318, Michael Quinlan and Daniel Quinlan; digital image, “Massachusetts, State Census, 1865,” Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 July 2020).

[14] Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Illinois, vol. 5 (Springfield, Illinois: Phillips Bros., 1901), 658; digital image, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/reportofadjutant05illi1 : accessed 15 July 2020).

[15] Ibid. Illinois, Marshall County, marriage license, John Quinlan-Kate Fitzibbons (1864); copy obtained from Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD), Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois.

[16] 1880 U.S. census, Labette County, Kansas, population schedule, Walton township, p. 10B, dwelling 79, family 81, John Quinlan; digital image, Ancestry(http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 July 2020); citing National Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 385.

[17] Probate Office, Labette County, Kansas, Marriage License, Edward McCormick-Mary Quinlan (1889), p. 174; digital image, “Kansas, County Marriage Records, 1811-1911,” Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 July 2020).

[18] Will County, Illinois marriage license, no. 01650, Richard McCormick-Bridget Conroy (1852); copy obtained from Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD), Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois.

[19] Montgomery County, Illinois Marriage license, no. 6670, Lee Baty-Kathryn Ann McCormick (1918); Kansas Division of Vital Statistics, Topeka.

From left to right: Catherine (Fitzgibbon) Quinlan (1847-1927); Edward Lee Baty (1919-2003); Mary (Quinlan) McCormick (1866-1936); and, Kathryn Ann (McCormick) Baty (1892-1982).