Library Forum

150 years ago on January 27, 1864 Patrick Real along with three other Irishmen from the 6th District of New York volunteered to serve in the 1st Regiment New York Volunteer Engineers for a “period of three years, unless sooner discharged by proper authority”. They were sworn in by J.H. Cornwell, a r...

After doing a google search on Michael Condon and New York Engineers and Civil War, I was very surprised to find that the U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center (USAHEC) had a photo of Michael Condon in their archives. It took several months for the photo (see attached below) to arrive – most likely ...

After receiving the Declaration for Widow’s Pension for Mary Real, the U.S. Pension Office (or perhaps a pension attorney) would independently verify that Mary Murphy Real had indeed been married to Patrick Real. The rector at the Church of St. Peter, New York completed a Certificate of Marriage (se...

Hi Mgallery, thanks for that Link – I enjoy reading about Irish who fought in the American Civil War. At the same time as submitting the Declaration for Widow’s Pension, a Certified Copy of Entry in the Register Book of Deaths also dated 19 April 1913 was completed for Patrick “Rails” – see attached...

Patrick Real (“Reil”) died in Kilcarroll, Kilrush on 6th March 1913. His widow Mary Murphy “Reil” would apply for a widow’s pension the following month – see below record. Witnesses to this declaration were Michael O’Shea and Joseph McNamara both of Kilrush who knew Mary Real for 20 and 10 years, re...

Back again with the next document in the Patrick Real pension file. This one is dated from July 1907 and was signed by Patrick McDonnell of Limerick City and John Mangan of Killimer, County Clare who knew Patrick Real for 20 and 25 years, respectively. This affidavit provides the same personal descr...

Hi Miriam, thank you very much for your comments. Great that you have been able to track down some direct descendants as your friends in Kilrush are definitely the great grandchildren of Patrick Real. The second part of the 1903 questionnaire (see below) provides a list of his 7 living children and ...

One follow-up to the first post with the Invalid Pension document dated April 1892: In 1890, the U.S. Bureau of Pensions had relaxed the previous required connection between disability and war time service. Thus, just about any veteran still living in 1890 and not in perfect health would be eligible...

Hello, I’ve been researching Rial ancestry under various spellings with links to Limerick, Clare and New York. I obtained the Civil War pension file for Patrick Real from the National Archives in the hope of finding a possible link and more details where the Rial / Real families originated from in C...