Information is wanted of Thomas McNamara, of Glandree,

[Sduddy]

Hi Jimbo

You have done amazing work. To have found that

Thomas S. McNamara, b. Clare 1828 ?
McNamara, Thomas S. 37 bookkeeping, [physical description] grey-black-dark 5'6"
Rondout NY 19 Sep 1865 14 Inf, 32nd Inf Co. I ?
discharged 11 Oct 1868 Wilmington Cal. [now a Los Angeles suburb]
(quote from posting by Sharon Carberry on 14 May - see above on this page)

would also enlist in Petersburg, Virginia, in January 1869, described as

born in Clare, Ireland, at the reported age of 37 years, occupation bookkeeper, grey eyes, black hair, dark complexion, height of 5 feet six inches

is quite amazing.
Also to find that, in the meantime, he was taken prisoner and court martialed at Camp Cameron, while soldiering in Arizona.

Also to find that he had served in the Civil War (that is, if he is the same Thomas S. McNamara who enlisted at Richmond, Virginia, on 25 April 1861).

I had to look up “galvanized Yankee,”which will tell you how little I know about the Civil War, and about Confederate soldiers fighting as Union soldiers.

I wonder if the record of the court martial proceedings will include a motive. I imagine there will be just the offence and the testimony of a witness and the sentence delivered. But even that much would be interesting.

Sheila

P.S. Although McNamara is a very, very common name in Co. Clare, we must bear in mind that the Tithe Applotment Books shows that only half the McNamaras in Ireland (who were liable for Tithes) lived in Co. Clare, and Griffith’s Valuation (1855) shows that, of the 4,340 McNamaras/MacNamara lease-holders in Ireland, only 1,904 lived in Co. Clare.

[smcarberry]

Jimbo, i echo Sheila's view of your outstanding research on this Thomas S. McNamara. I am not so surprised by his widespread travel, after viewing the old soldiers' home records for Civil War veteran John Carberry, who managed to get onto the books of those institutions in Maine, Texas, NY, and CA, and points in-between.

As to why this Thomas would be in Virginia, my extensive McNamara files don't hold a clue. I checked Missing Friends, obits, Richmond research notes, etc. I have zero on Petersburg (now knowing of Clare-born soldier John will be a great addition to the Library database, thanks). As to Richmond itself, you may recall that I have looked into the Clare community there, a close-knit group from the Kildysert area, who attended the same church and served as pallbearers in each others' funerals when that time came. That Daniel McNamara family had relatives (Cornelius, etc.) from NJ who came to visit, and some in-laws went to Buffalo NY to visit, with many also in Washington.D.C./Northern VA. Names included Connors, Clancy, Donohoe, and McMahon. Those folks in the very early 1900s seemed very ready to travel and see the country, carrying on from the hardy road experiences of the Civil War veterans. What a cultural shift from the homebound nature of Clare village life of the earlier 1800s for most folks in an agricultural society.

As for me, this may be the day I travel back to my new state (Tennessee) to get the keys Thursday to my new house. Maybe Friday -- it's taken a lot of phone calling to get clerks to commit to a day certain. My new town was founded by the grandparents of Davey Crockett, in a region that abounds with locations named after Daniel Boone. Very historic but nowhere close to Washington, D.C. for a quick trip to the National Archives. Maybe later after the heat of summer...

Sharon C.

[Sduddy]

Hi Jimbo

I am harking back to your mention of Keanes Dry Goods Store in San Francisco. I see that store mentioned in a posting by Sharon Carberry, June 2013, entitled “Patk Boland of Kilrush, 1902 San Fran. CA death: obit, photo”: http://www.ourlibrary.ca/phpbb2/viewtop ... f=1&t=5079
The newspaper report she includes says “At the age of 23 he came to California and entered the employ of his uncle Thomas Keane, of Keane Bros. and worked his way up until he became a partner in the dry goods firm.”
I think now that you were probably right in thinking that Michael W. Stacpoole was related to those Keanes, or connected to them in some way.

Sheila

[Jimbo]

Sheila and Sharon, thanks for the feedback. And hopefully the move to Tennessee went smoothly. Despite having owned a skin coon cap (from Disneyland), I still confuse Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, and had to do some quick academic research to refresh my memory:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bff8NCdTl-A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1e26lKTWLs

Sheila, regarding the representation of McNamara/MacNamara in Griffith Valuation reports, keep in mind that not only lease-holders, but also lessors are reflected in your numbers. Thus, a McNamara who, say, was the lessor of an entire block in the City of Limerick, might distort your county percentages. Ignoring the methodology weakness, the percentage of McNamara's in County Clare at 44 percent (1,904/4,340) is still significant. With a total of 32 counties, the normal distribution would only be 3 percent. Plus, when the purpose is trace back to county of origin, I reckon a higher percentage of Irish from County Clare left Ireland for America, Australia etc then from let's say those living in Dublin. Also, certain American cities appear to have been favored by County Clare immigrants. As an example, a McNamara from New Haven, Connecticut, I reckon would have a far greater likelihood to be from County Clare than the 44 percent reflected in Griffith Valuation.

But I was incorrect to suggest that Irish born Thomas McNamara (≈1841—1879) of San Francisco, the McMahon Grenadier Guard, whose headstone stated that he was born in County Kilkenny, might actually have been from County Clare (see page 35 for this discussion and family tree). This Thomas McNamara, son of Michael and Catherine McNamara, was living in Albany, New York in the 1850 census, with neighbors James McNamara and Ellen Gagan. James and Ellen McNamara would later become the proprietors of McNamara House on Bush Street in San Francisco. James McNamara died in San Francisco on 19 February 1869, and with an expanded search of the newspaper archives, I discovered a more detailed description of his life, including county of origin, published two weeks after his death:

Proceedings of the Jeffersonian Society respecting the decease of James McNamara.

D.J. Oullahan, Esq., Chairman of the Special Committee on the subject, made the following report, which was unanimously adopted and ordered to be published in the DAILY EXAMINER, and the Secretary was directed to present a copy thereof to the family of the deceased.

James McNamara, late a member of this Society, was a native of County Kilkenny, Ireland, from whence, at a very early age [born about 1818, arrived by 1845, "very early age" is unlikely], he emigrated to Albany, New York, where he grew up to man's estate, accompanied by the esteem and respect of all with whom his varied vocations brought him in contact, and enjoying the warmest affections of his more intimate acquaintances.

His career in California has been marked by all those ennobling characteristics that attract so much attention from his neighbors and fellow-citizens in his earlier years at his former place of residence. He was in a remarkable degree distinguished for his great probity, and his entire unselfishness and unostentatious but unbounded benevolence. As a lover of his native land—of her ancient traditions and former glory—he was excelled by none. In his early youth he drank at her purest fountains of patriotism and religion, and when transplanted to a new country, never forgot his early teachings—guarding with a jealous care, his faith and his opinions, while permitting the greatest latitude of free thought to those who might differ with him.

As a citizen of his adopted country, he loved with a devotion seldom equaled and never surpassed, her institutions of freedom and of progress—always an ardent supporter of her Constitution, as handed down to us by its immortal founders, fully imbued with the firm conviction that, under its ample folds, the true destinies of America and the most complete happiness of her children of all sects, castes, and races could be most effectually accomplished.

And whereas, Our friend and late fellow member, James McNamara, has, by the degree of Divine Providence, been removed from us—

Resolved, That by his death, this Society has lost one of its most worthy and useful members, and society at large an esteemed, honorable and honest citizen.

Resolved, That this Society tender it sincerest sympathies of condolence to the bereaved family and friends of our deceased member.

The San Francisco Examiner, 5 March 1869, page three

Also in Albany, a Michael McNamara, age 29 (≈ 1834), born in Ireland, laborer, married, enlisted on 10 April 1863 with the 7th NY Heavy Artillery, Battery B. He would have been the correct age to be the son of Michael and Catherine McNamara, living in Albany, New York. Michael McNamara was killed in action on 3 June 1864 in Cold Harbor, Virginia.

The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign, and is remembered as one of American history's bloodiest, most lopsided battles. Thousands of Union soldiers were killed or wounded in a hopeless frontal assault against the fortified positions of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army (per wikipedia).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cold_Harbor

The Thomas McNamara, who enlisted as a private on 4 June, 1863 at Washington County, Virginia with Company B of the 30th Battalion, Virginia Sharpshooters, was wounded near Cold Harbor on 4 May 1864. He was in hospital at the time of the Battle of Cold Harbor. He would later be taken as a prisoner of war and switch sides.

The Thomas S. McNamara of the Richmond Fayette Artillery (possibly, he later joined 14th/32nd Infantry Regiment and fought in Arizona), would have participated at the Battle of Cold Harbor. The Fayette Artillery included two 10-pound Parrott rifle cannons and two 3-inch steel rifle cannons (captured from the Union) at the time of the battle in 1864.

10-pounder Parrott rifle cannon, at Gettysburg (wikipedia).jpg (30.57 KiB) Viewed 35547 times

3-inch ordnance rifle cannon, model 1861 (wikipedia).jpg (20.84 KiB) Viewed 35547 times

The Fayette Artillery battery was attached to Major James P.W. Read’s Battalion at Cold Harbor. "General Pendleton, then Chief of Artillery, singled out the battalion's part in the fighting on June 3: Read's guns, on Hoke's line . . . though exposed to a fierce fire of infantry and artillery, were used with great energy and success" ("Richmond Volunteers, The Volunteer Companies of the City of Richmond and Henrico County, Virginia, 1861-1865", by Louis H. Manarin and Lee A. Wallace, Jr., 1969).

When the 14th Infantry Regiment arrived in San Francisco in late 1865, the local newspapers appear to relish the reporting of any misbehavior by the soldiers stationed at the Presidio (see page 37). San Francisco was so distant from any of the Civil War battles that its residents appear to have no appreciation for the sacrifices and trauma the veteran soldiers of the Civil War would have experienced. One soldier of the 14th Infantry, a veteran of the Civil War, wrote a letter to the Wilmington Journal (Los Angeles), with an impassioned defense of his regiment and highlighted the terrible sacrifices in men killed and wounded during the war. After reading this anonymous letter, I reckon the behavior of the citizenry of Frisco, through their lack of patriotic support for the American troops stationed at the Presidio, was far more shameful than a few drunken incidents by the soldiers of

THE FOURTEENTH REGULARS.

The San Francisco papers gave this regiment, some sixteen companies of which are now in Arizona, such a hard name that our people were prepared for lively, if not dangerous, times, but thus far, we believe, the men have conducted themselves with propriety, and those of our citizens who were with the company from Fort Whipple on the recent scout towards the Verde, say they will make excellent Indian fighters. One of the members of the Fourteenth has contributed the following record of the regiment to the Wilmington Journal. It is a record of which any regiment might well be proud.

DRUM BARRACKS, February 28, 1866.
Mr. Editor—Knowing by past experience that you are a friend of the soldier, and always ready to advocate his claims, I will venture this short epistle in favor of the much abused Fourteenth Infantry, of which the subscriber has been a member since the commencement of the late rebellion. I am far from endeavoring to make out a case for those members of the Fourteenth Infantry, who, by committing outrages upon the public, forfeit all claims of companionship with the true soldier; but public sentiment in the part of the country has practiced great injustice toward the Fourteeners, (as the press frequently styles us,) and you will therefore readily open your columns to this protest of a soldier.

The Fourteenth United States Infantry was organized early in the summer of 1861, and its first battalion entered the field in October of the same year; since then, and up to the close of the war, the regiment has been a part and portion of the Army of the Potomac. The regimental records show upwards of 3,500 enlistments, independent of the present number of men stationed on this coast, and it is a deplorable fact that over one-half of this number was lost on fields of battle during the late war. During the campaign of General Grant in front of Richmond, commencing on the fourth of March, 1864, and ending with the capture of said city, the Fourteenth United States Infantry lost in killed, wounded and missing, twenty-eight officers and nearly seven hundred enlisted men. The regiment has taken part in the following engagements:

1862—Siege of Yorktown, Va. [Virginia]; battles of Hanover Court House, Va.; Mechanicsville, Va.; Gaines Mills, Va.; Turkey Bend, Va.; Malvern Hills, Va.; Bull Run (2d), Va.; Antietam, Md.; Leetown, Va; Snicker's Gap, Va.
1863—Battles of Fredericksburg, Va.; Chancellorsville, Va.; Gettysburg, Pa.; Whapping Heights, Va.; campaign to Mine Run, Va.
1864—Battles in Wilderness, Va.; Laurel Hill, Va.; Spotsylvania, Va.; North Anna river, Va.; Cold Harbor, Va.; in front of Petersburg, Va.; at Weldon Railroad, Va.; Hatcher's Run, Va.
1865—Capture of General Lee's army, Va.

This is a glorious record, Mr. Editor, and will go far towards raising the "14—er" in the estimation of an honest and loyal man, and if the reader of your valuable journal thinks hereafter of the Fourteenth United States Infantry, let him think of it by its record, and if he should happen to see one of its erring members, who has strayed from the path of strict sobriety, let him not see in him a worthless good-for-nothing, but rather a fallen hero.

"Take him up tenderly,
Lift him with care," etc. *
SOLDIER

Arizona Miner, Fort Whipple, Arizona, 28 March 1866

* From the 1844 poem "The Bridge of Sighs" by English poet Thomas Hood (1799 - 1845)

The veteran soldiers of the 14th Infantry Regiment had fought at many of the most important Civil War battles, including at Cold Harbor. If within the year of the Civil War ending, ex-Confederate soldiers had enlisted within the 14th Infantry, it is understandable that tensions between the troops would arise. Perhaps explaining the Christmas Day fighting of 1865 (previously mentioned on page 37), when a "row, which came near resulting in bloodshed, occurred between members of the First and Third Battalions, Fourteenth Infantry, near the Presidio, Monday. Loaded muskets were brought out on both sides but the disturbance was quelled before shots were fired, though a number were severely beaten". If Thomas S. McNamara of the Richmond Fayette Artillery, whose success at Cold Harbor was at the expense of Union troops, had indeed enlisted with the 14th Infantry Regiment, it would have been very wise for McNamara not to share this fact with his fellow soldiers.

Sheila, regarding whether or not the records for the court martial trial of Thomas S. McNamara at Camp Cameron in December 1866 / January 1867 will provide a motive, from reading a few of the court martial proceedings of those soldiers who were executed, I reckon there is a very good chance. The court martial records are very long and detailed. An example from one trial, "That Private John McMahon, of Company F, 99th Regiment, New York Volunteers, did willfully and with malicious intent, raise a loaded musket and aim the same at Private Michael Dolan, of the same company and regiment, and speaking in a calm and deliberate manner: 'Dolan! God have mercy on your soul!' and then fired, the contents of his gun passing through said Dolan's body, who died fifteen or twenty minutes later".

Court martial records for John McMahon; NARA Series M1523, Roll 3; page 366 to 380.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... cat=404614

The murder occurred at Camp Hamilton in Virginia on 29 January 1862, only a month after the men had enlisted in New York. McMahon pled guilty and never provided an explanation or motive, which can only be gleaned from the witness questioning: "Have you ever heard that Dolan had sexual intercourse with the mother of the accused?". Also, "Did Dolan ever unbutton his pantaloons in your presence and illustrate the manner in which he had connexion with the accused's mother?". The initial newspaper accounts stated that the "motive is said to have been an old family grudge" (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 30 January 1862). The newspaper accounts of McMahon's execution on 13 June 1862, stated that McMahon, who had pled guilty to the charge of willful murder, "up to the very last he appeared indifferent as to his fate, and refused to make any explanation of the object of his act, which therefore remains a secret" (NY Daily Herald, 14 June 1862).

Hopefully, the court martial proceedings for Thomas S. McNamara at Camp Cameron in the Arizona Territory will provide the same level of detail. And quite possibly support the theory that Thomas S. McNamara of the 14th/32nd Infantry was a Confederate veteran of the Richmond Fayette Artillery.

Thomas S. McNamara enlisted with Company E of the Twenty-first regiment on 14 January 1869. As a veteran of the 14th / 32nd Infantry Regiment with three years of military service, his reported occupation as "book keeper" should have stated "soldier". Three months later, Thomas S. McNamara would return to California:

The general orders just issued from the headquarters of the army, consolidating the regular infantry into twenty-five regiments, makes some important changes on the Pacific coast. . . . The Twenty-first regiment, now in Virginia, will proceed by rail to California, and consolidate with the Thirty-second, now there. The officers will be Col. George Stoneman, Lieutenant Col. Frank Wheaton, . . .

The San Francisco Examiner, 22 April 1869, page 1

The 21st Infantry Return, as of 30 April 1869, reported that Company E was at Omaha, Nebraska, then the eastern terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad. The 21st Infantry was the very first military unit to be transported using the Transcontinental Railroad and five of its ten companies were at the "golden spike" ceremony on 10 May 1869 at Promontory Summit, Utah. Unfortunately, Thomas S. McNamara missed out as Company E was not included in the ceremony.

Laying the Last Rail and Driving the Last Spike
Summit Promontory, May 10.

. . . [long article describing the ceremonies and who was there] . . .

There were present 352 soldiers under command of brevet Brig. Gen. M. Cogswell, consisting of Companies F, G, H, I, and K, 21st Infantry.

The Daily Bee, Sacramento, 11 May 1869, page 3

EN ROUTE.— . . . Companies F, G, H, I and K, of the Twenty-first regiment U.S. Infantry arrived here about noon today on a special train of the Central Pacific Railroad. They are under the command of Col. Cogswell. The regimental band is with them. They left Richmond, Virginia, on the 1st instant [unlikely, they were in Omaha on the 30th of April], and this afternoon took passage [across SF Bay] on the steamer Chrysopolis for San Francisco.

The Daily Bee, Sacramento, 13 May 1869

Thomas S. McNamara of Company E must have arrived in Sacramento / San Francisco a few days after the 21st Infantry companies that had arrived on 13 May 1869 on the "special train" after participating in the golden spike ceremony. Thomas S. McNamara was discharged by order from the 21st Infantry on the 16th of May at the Presidio according to the 21st Infantry Return. Was the reason for his dismissal, as I had previously assumed, due to being older than his reported age upon enlistment? Or perhaps, based upon further research, his potentially having served in the Confederacy? The Adjutant General Order, "per S.O. M 89 A.G.O. April 16, 1869", would provide the reason.

Transcontinental Railroad 75th Anniversary 1869 - 1944 USA postage stamp.jpg (94.82 KiB) Viewed 35547 times

County Clare born Thomas S. McNamara, who was crushed to death while digging at the corner of Cemetery Avenue and California Street in San Francisco on 7 September 1871, upon further research, ended up having a far more interesting and adventurous life than I would have ever imagined. It's only slightly disappointing that he wasn't at the Golden Spike ceremony on 10 May 1869 for the opening of the Transcontinental Railroad.

[Sduddy]

Hi Jimbo

On the subject of the likelihood of a McNamara coming from Co. Clare, I think all the points you make are good and I agree with them.
And I agree that it appears there is a good chance that the motive for Thomas S. McNamara’s crime is included in the report of the court martial, and that, if that motive was connected with having been in the Confederate army, it will provide some evidence that he and the other Thomas McNamara (who switched sides) were one and the same.
Thanks for all the extra information in your post – all very interesting. My book of illustrations has several pictures on the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific railway and on the driving of the last spike:

The final spike was slid into place. Leland Stanford was to have the honor of driving it home, with a special silver-headed maul. THE SIGNAL WILL BE THREE DOTS FOR THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE BLOWS [this was the message sent to Washington by the telegrapher]. Stanford swung the hammer high above his head, brought it down – and missed! The telegrapher closed the circuit anyway: “DONE!” (The West: An Illustrated History, by Geoffrey C. Ward).

Sheila

[Jimbo]

Hi Sheila,

The Thomas McNamara, who enlisted as a private on 4 June 1863 at Washington County, Virginia with Company B of the 30th Battalion, Virginia Sharpshooters, could not possibly be the Thomas S. McNamara, who enlisted on 25 April 1861 at Richmond, Virginia with Company B of the Richmond Fayette Artillery (38th "Read's" Battalion).

Thomas S. McNamara of the Fayette Artillery was reported as "present" on the Company Muster Role for January / February 1865 (dated 15 March 1865), and there is no reason to believe McNamara was not with the Fayette Artillery until the end of the Civil War in April 1865. The last report in his record file had the subject of "C.M." (as in "court martial"), and stated that Thomas S. McNamara appears in the record "G.O. [General Order], Paragraph 3, Department of Richmond / Elzey", dated 25 January 1864.

To recap, the only reason to believe that Thomas S. McNamara of the Fayette Artillery (1861 - 1865) and Thomas S. McNamara of the 14th/32nd Infantry Regiment of the Arizona Territory (1865 - 1868), who re-enlisted with the 21st Infantry at Petersburg, Virginia (January 1869 - May 1869) and discharged soon after in San Francisco, are the following: (1) The middle initial "S". (2) A Virginia connection: he initially enlisted with the 14th Infantry in New York, but re-enlisted with the 21st Infantry in Virginia. The court martial records from the Arizona Territory might prove this theory. However, whether or not they are the same soldier, neither could possibly be the Private Thomas McNamara of the Virginia Sharpshooters.

The story of Thomas McNamara of the Virginia Sharpshooters, who became a Galvanized Yankee, is an unusual and interesting one; below is what was previously known from page 37:

Another Thomas McNamara enlisted as a private on 4 June, 1863 at Washington County, Virginia with Company B of the 30th Battalion, Virginia Sharpshooters, as a substitute for William H. McCormick. Place of birth was not reported, but since McNamara had enlisted as a "substitute" he was likely both poor and foreign born. On a company roll sheet, Thomas was reported "near Cold Harbor" on 4 May 1864 with the remark "seriously in leg". He was admitted to Stuart Hospital in Richmond on 4 June 1864 with disease of "vulrius sclopet" (a gunshot wound). On 27 June 1864, Thomas was transferred to Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond with "v s left leg". He was returned to duty on 29 July 1864. A private "T McNamary" of Company B, 30th Battalion was captured at Fisher's Hill by Union troops on 22 September 1864 and sent to the Union prisoner of war camp at Point Lookout, Maryland, on 1 October 1864. A "Roll of Prisoners of War" at Point Lookout stated that "Thos Macnamara" of Company B, 30th Battalion, was captured at Fisher's Hill on 22 September 1864 and was released on 15 October 1864, "on joining the United States service". Included in his "file" was a note summarizing Thomas McNamara's service (excluding his capture and subsequent release) with the 30th Battalion and stating "Report made to Pension Office, June 8, 1900".

Sheila, you had mentioned that you had never heard of the term "Galvanized Yankee", it is not a well-known term. I had only learned of this term in relation to Tucker's Confederate Regiment, of Union prisoners of war who fought for the Confederacy (including another Thomas McNamara, a Union soldier, who I have not researched and have no further information). The more common definition of a "Galvanized Yankee" is a Confederate soldier who became a prisoner of war and agreed to fight for the Union, such as Thomas McNamara of the Virginia Sharpshooters.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanized_Yankees

"The Compiled service records of former Confederate soldiers who served in the 1st through 6th U.S. Volunteer Infantry Regiments, 1864-1866" are available on-line with Family Search:

https://www.familysearch.org/search/cat ... %20Library

Scroll down to the 4th U.S. Volunteers, and their alphabetical listings, Roll 37 K-M, the service record for Thomas McNamara, Company B, starts on page 883 through 905.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... &cat=78749

Thomas McNamara, 4th US Volunteers, Enlistment 15 October 1864 (National Archives; FamilySearch).jpg (110.01 KiB) Viewed 35427 times

The 4th U.S. Volunteer Infantry Regiment was slow in getting started, never achieved its full strength, and from the time it left St. Louis until it reached the upper Missouri was exposed to so many exaggerated rumors of horrors endured by the 1st [U.S. Volunteer Infantry] Regiment that practically every officer and man viewed his prospective service in Dakota with forebodings.

Although the 4th did not reach the West until May 1865, its history began eight months earlier in October 1864 when General Benjamin Butler was authorized to recruit a second regiment at Point Lookout. To command his new regiment, Butler selected another of his protégés, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles C.G. Thornton and instructed him to recruit prisoners for "service in the North West".

After several weeks of effort, Thornton was able to organize only six companies, and the quality of these men was not as high as those of the 1st Regiment. In hopes that more prisoners would soon be available for recruiting, Butler transferred the six companies to Norfolk, and there they remained with very little increase in numbers until the war ended. Urgent calls for troops in the West in April 1865 finally led the War Department to issue orders transferring the 4th to General Sully's command in Dakota.

The Galvanized Yankees, by D. Alexander Brown (1908 - 2002), University of Illinois Press (1963), page 112. A 1986 edition exists, but, oddly, had already been checked out of the library.

For Thomas McNamara, after enlisting with the 4th at the prisoner of war camp at Point Lookout, Maryland, on 15 October 1864, the monthly company muster roll sheets, included in his compiled service record, unfortunately do not provide a location. However, included were provost court records, minor stuff, but they confirm his location as Norfolk, Virginia. On 2 December 1864, the provost court stated that Thomas McNamara "became intoxicated by the voluntary use of intoxicating liquor and while in that state did behave in a noisy manner" on or about the 1st of December at Norfolk; he was sentenced to hard labor, not sure for how long.

On April 30 [1865], Thornton and his six companies traveled by sea to New York [via the steam transport Illinois per NY Daily Herald], by rail to St. Louis, and on May 10 were aboard the steamboat Mars, en route [up the Missouri River] to Sioux City to report to [General Albert] Sully. Partly because of the quality of the men, partly because of the stories they were hearing of the 1st Regiment's ordeal at Fort Rice, more than one-tenth of the command deserted before the Mars reached Sioux City on May 28.

Ibid., pages 112-113.

The cavalry would capture most of these deserters. Thomas McNamara remained true to his pledge of allegiance of 15 October 1864 and did not desert.

As [General] Sully planned to start his summer expedition northward in June, he ordered the 4th Regiment to precede him on a slow overland march [Sully would have traveled by steamboat up the Missouri River], which he hoped would put the former Confederates in condition for frontier soldiering. On June 19 the 4th arrived at Fort Sully, which was then garrisoned by companies of the 6th Iowa Calvary. When General Sully arrived he added the Iowans and three companies [A, C, and D] of the 4th to his column [continuing north to Fort Rice], and placed Lieutenant-Colonel Thornton in command of Fort Sully, leaving him the remaining three companies of the regiment [B, E, and F].

Ibid., page 113

So Thomas McNamara of Company B remained at Fort Sully and did not partake in General Sully's "summer expedition" which traveled west to the Black Hills and then northeast to Fort Rice, on the upper Missouri River. "The object of the expedition appears to be to open a wagon road through the Black Hills to the gold mines, the troops are chiefly for an escort for the [wagon] train, and the General wishes to have a talk with the Indians, and try to form a treaty with them" (The Tipton Advertiser, Iowa, 6 July 1865).

The companies stationed at Fort Sully on garrison duty "protected settlers from Indians, restored stage and mail service, guarded survey parties for the Union Pacific Railroad, escorted survey trains, and rebuilt telegraph lines" according to a National Archives introduction to their compiled service records. There was a more immediate threat than hostile Indians to the U.S. troops stationed in the Dakotas, unlike anything that Thomas McNamara would have ever experienced in Ireland.

A Grasshopper Plague Coming.

Gen. Sully, in a private letter from Sioux City, gives the following interesting account of the grasshopper plague which is desolating the region of country he has traversed. He says: "The only thing spoken about here is the grasshopper. They are awful they actually have eaten holes in my wagon covers, and in the 'paulins [tarpaulin] that cover my stores. A soldier on his way here laid down to sleep in the middle of the day on the prairie—the troops had been marching all night. His comrades noticed him covered with grasshoppers and woke him. His throat and wrist were bleeding from the bites of these insects. This is no fiction. Last year, about five days' march from the Yellowstone, we met the army of grasshoppers on their way East. After that I suffered greatly for grass, and many of my animals died. The grasshoppers made a general cleaning down to this place, and here disappeared. This year they appeared very small, at first, but they are fast growing, and getting wings, when I suppose they will start somewhere else. These insects that have appeared this year are no doubt from the eggs of those last year, for there are none above [Fort] Randall, or far east of this. I wonder what the Quartermaster General in Washington would say, if he should receive a report of tents, wagon covers, and 'paulins unserviceable and condemned, eaten up by grasshoppers."

Chicago Tribune, 18 June 1865

The "summer expedition" of General Sully never had as its goal to kill as many of the Plains Indians as possible, but this was not understood by the newspapers back east:

Gen. Sully's present Indian expedition has so far cost the Government seven millions of dollars, and resulted in killing two Indians. Our troops did better than that in the Seminole war, why by actual estimate a dead red-skin cost by $100,000.

The Pittsburgh Daily Commercial, Pennsylvania, 7 August 1865

GEN. SULLY'S INDIAN EXPEDITION.—A gentleman who lately arrived in St. Louis, having left Fort Rice three weeks ago, says that Gen. Sully was expected at Fort Sully every day. There was no news of importance from the expedition. Nothing has been done, so far this season, by the troops towards cleaning out the red skins. There had been no disturbance worthy of note above Yankton; but, a short distance this side, the Indians attacked a party of men engaged in making hay, and killed three or four of them. The Indians were prowling about the country in small bands, killing whomsoever they could. They seem to be doing pretty much as they please. In the upper country it had rained incessantly for three weeks. The health of the troops was not good, a slight form of scurvy having made it appearance. There was a great scarcity of vegetables, which was keenly felt by the troops. There were thousands of grasshoppers that would probably devour most of the vegetation.

Detroit Free Press, Michigan, 14 September 1865

Per the 4th U.S. Volunteer muster roll, Thomas McNamara starting 7 September 1865 was "absent sick at Sioux City, Iowa". He appears on the Hospital Muster Roll at Sioux City for September and October 1865. The cause of sickness was not reported, but likely due to scurvy as noted by the above newspaper account.

During September 1865, companies A, B, and D of the 4th Regiment left Fort Sully and were sent down the Missouri to Fort Randall. Thomas McNamara was discharged at Sioux City due to convalescent disability on 21 November 1865 per G.O. No. 77, according to the Post Return for Fort Randall of November 1865. A total of eight soldiers of the 4th were discharged during November 1865 for disability; McNamara of Company B was reported second from the last on the Post Return:

Fort Randall, Dakota Territory, Post Return for November 1865.jpg (171.32 KiB) Viewed 35427 times

Thomas McNamara, the Galvanized Yankee, spent a total of 13 months with the 4th U.S. Volunteers: 6½ months in Virginia; one month travelling to Sioux City via New York and St. Louis; only three months at Fort Sully in the Dakota Territory; and 2½ months in hospital at Sioux City. Thomas McNamara, accustomed to the mild winters of Virginia, was fortunate that he never experienced a freezing winter in the Dakota Territory. The remainder of the 4th Regiment were mustered out at Fort Leavenworth the following year in June and July of 1866. The last of the Galvanized Yankee regiments were mustered out by November 1866.

From reading the history "Galvanized Yankees", Thomas McNamara would never have been that keen of an "Indian fighter". "Thus it was that early in their period of service on the Missouri, the Galvanized Yankees of the 4th Regiment developed a rather jaundiced view toward their mission. Their philosophy was that 'they hadn't lost any Indians.' If the Indians wanted to live in such a grim place as Dakota, then why not give it back to them? The 4th had none of the esprit de corps of the 1st, and after the regiment was divided among three forts, it soon lost what little sense of cohesion Lieutenant-Colonel Thornton had tried to impart among the men."

The enlistment of Thomas McNamara on 15 October 1864 stated that he was born in Ireland, was 32 years old, and his occupation was a mason. Very important clues. Would this be enough information to determine where the Galvanized Yankee, who had fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War with the 30th Battalion, Virginia Sharpshooters, ended up after being discharged at Sioux City for disability on 21 November 1865?

To be continued.

[Sduddy]

Hi Jimbo

When I read that first sentence this morning I felt so weak I had to go back to the kitchen and have another breakfast. I thought you were undoing the great work you had done to show that Thomas S. McNamara, discharged in San Francisco on 11 Oct 1868, was the same Thomas McNamara, who enlisted in Virginia on 14 Jan 1869. I was in much better shape when I returned to read your posting more carefully. All you are saying is that Thomas S. McNamara, who enlisted in Richmond, Virginia, in April, 1861, is not the Thomas McNamara, who enlisted Washington County, Virginia, in June 1863.
And it is good that you came upon that Thomas (without the ‘S’), as his story is interesting too. As you say, he is not one and the same as Thomas S. who died in San Francisco in 1871 – a “report made to Pension Office, June 8 1900” suggests that Thomas-without-the-‘S’ was alive in 1900. Also, his occupation on enlistment in the U.S. army is given as Mason, not Bookkeeper.
General Sully’s letter about the grasshopper plague reminded me of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s description of the later grasshopper plague of 1874 in Minnesota. Jimbo, you may remember that a large part of my knowledge of American history comes of reading the Little House on the Prairie books*. The grasshopper plague is in On the Banks of Plum Creek). I see now that the grasshoppers were actually locusts – Rocky Mountain locusts (Melanoplus spretus).
• I mentioned this in the topic of “McInerney 1898 postcard from Killawinna to Belgium”: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7101

When those galvanized soldiers were mustered out in November 1866, does that mean simply that they had fulfilled their contract? I’m not sure how on earth you are going to find that Thomas-without-the-S ever again, but I’m looking forward to the next episode anyway.

Sheila

[smcarberry]

The amount of detail found on these Thomas McNamara soldiers is amazing, the product of hours of searching and reading. I am almost reduced to silence, except I know of some potentially useful resources. In no particular order and with no claim that any of these McNamara men are actually related to either Thomas of VA researched by Jimbo:

1. In 1859, a Thomas McNamara of NYC placed an ad in the Boston Pilot, seeking his brother John Sheedy McNamara, who had immigrated about 12 years earlier from "Carragara" in Co. Clare; the likeliest location is Carrigerry, in the civil parish of Kilconry, (general Dromoland area).

2. The University of Richmond (Virginia) has an online transcription database of Civil War era news articles from The Daily Dispatch, a Richmond newspaper, with a search engine but no links to any actual page images: https://dispatch.richmond.edu/browse/dispatch.php
You will also see a search facility for something called "Richmond Civil War books." In the newspaper, you can find articles with detailed accounts of casualties after specific battles, including who was wounded where (on body). The displayed attachment shows a transcribed news account found on an earlier version of this website -- today's displayed return would look slightly different. However, a Francis McNamara of Richmond has several mentions in the newspaper for violence against his family members in the mid-1860s. I can see no relation of that family to the one I described here a little while ago, the one from West Clare residing in the Fulton neighborhood of Richmond, with relatives in NJ and Baffalo NY.

3. And, just because the target family was in Feakle, I throw in another Boston Pilot ad, for a Knocknahannee family.

SMC

1859 ad for John Sheedy McN by bro Thos in NYC.jpg (26.16 KiB) Viewed 35377 times

1860 Mary McN of Fkle, ENG, & NJ, by sis Mrs. Holleran in CT.jpg (35.41 KiB) Viewed 35377 times

1861 Francis McN of Richmond, Conf. army deserter.jpg (74.42 KiB) Viewed 35377 times

[Jimbo]

Hi Sheila,

Apologies for the confusion. The opening paragraphs of my last posting were meant to refute your prior comment that the court martial records "will provide some evidence that he and the other Thomas McNamara (who switched sides) were one and the same". By "he", I assumed you meant Thomas S. McNamara of the Richmond Fayette Artillery, who most certainly never was a Galvanized Yankee. Sheila, living in Ireland you might not be aware of this, but to be called a "Yankee" is a deep insult for a Southerner. Especially, for Thomas S. McNamara of the Richmond Fayette Artillery who had such a long and loyal service record with the Confederacy.

Regarding the muster out date, taking the 4th U.S. Volunteer Regiment as an example. These soldiers enlisted in October 1864 for a three year term. They were all mustered out by July 1866, which was prior to their contracted term ending October 1867. Likely, the U.S. government wanted to reduce their military budget as was also noted in the Arizona Territory in the same time period. Plus, the Civil War was over, and there was likely pressure from the state governments of the South to return these soldiers to their families.

Hi Sharon,

Thank you for the three new bits of information. The John Sheedy McNamara who was missing, with a brother named Thomas McNamara in New York, was especially interesting. For Thomas McNamara of the Virginia Sharpshooters, who enlisted as a prisoner of war with the 4th Regiment of Volunteers, and was stationed in the Dakota Territory in 1865, the most important clue was that his occupation was a mason. Sharon, not to go all Da Vinci Code in searching for this Thomas McNamara, but there is an important clue in your new home state of Tennessee. When in Knoxville, if you visit St. James Episcopal Church, and enter the nave of the church, and go to the right side, check out the first stained glass window, of St. Philip and St. James the Less (the window is divided in two parts). At the bottom of the depiction of St. Philip, the stained glass contains the Masonic double eagle! A symbol that you would never find, of course, in a Catholic Church, except when reading a novel by Dan Brown. Why was there a Masonic symbol on this stained glass window? Who paid for the stained glass window and who was it a memorial for?

In searching for a Thomas McNamara, born in Ireland in 1832 (with no level of "exactness"), I used "mason" as the keyword, and checked the exact box. There were only two results in the USA census:

#1) A "stone mason" named Thomas McNamara, born about 1832 in Ireland, living at Lawrence Street in Hartford, Connecticut in the 1880 census.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFCN-Q5T

In the 1880 census, Thomas McNamara (age 48) and Mary McNamara (age 50) were the parents of four children, three of whom were born in Ireland, John (age 21), Annie (age 18), and Patrick (age 12), as well as one daughter born in Connecticut, Mary (age 5). Another daughter, Agnes (age 16, born in Ireland) was a domestic servant in a nearby household. With a child born in Ireland as recent as 1868, the mason Thomas McNamara of Hartford could not possibly have been the Galvanized Yankee.

Having recently commented that McNamara's of New Haven are very likely to be from County Clare, a few family trees on ancestry state that the McNamara's of Hartford were from County Mayo. But no actual evidence is provided to support this theory. The civil birth record of a Patrick born about 1868, to a father named Thomas McNamara, with an occupation of mason or laborer, would be good evidence as to their county origins.

#2) A "brick mason" named Thomas McLamire, born about 1837 in Ireland, living at Rockwood, Roane County, Tennessee in the 1880 census.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDW7-CKF

"McLamire" was a census enumerator's attempt at "McNamara" in the 1880 census. Skipping ahead twenty years to the next census in 1900, Thomas McNamara, widower, stone mason, born May 1833, was living with his son John L. McNamara, a coal miner, his daughter-in-law, and one 9 year old grandson, in Oliver Springs, Tennessee.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSCY-7K6

With a very broad search for any Thomas McNamara living in Tennessee, I discovered the military pension record index for Thomas McNamara, a veteran of Company B, 4th U.S. Volunteers Infantry, filed in Tennessee, filing date 1 August 1888. There was more than one Thomas McNamara living in Tennessee during this time period. However, a Knoxville newspaper provided conclusive evidence that Thomas McNamara of the Virginia Sharpshooters and 4th Regiment Volunteers ended up in Oliver Springs, Tennessee:

Thomas McNamara, an honest old Irishman of Oliver Springs, was granted a pension of $12 per month. He certainly is entitled to it.

The Knoxville Sentinel, Tennessee, 29 March 1892

The timing of the news article in 1892, which was 3½ years after his U.S. federal pension application was filed in 1888, would easily confuse a reader into assuming that Thomas McNamara obtained a Confederate pension from the state of Tennessee. The Tennessee Board of Pension Examiners started approving pensions starting in 1891 and 28,000 applications were received from individuals, both ex-Confederate soldiers and their widows. A Confederate veteran of a Virginia unit living in Tennessee was eligible for the TN pension program, but, presumably, Thomas McNamara would not have been eligible since he was already in receipt of a federal pension. No McNamara applied for a Tennessee confederate pension:

https://sos.tn.gov/tsla/guides/tennesse ... ers-widows

Thomas and Margaret "McLamire" in Rockwood, Tennessee in the 1880 had two sons reported: "Christa", age 13 [ish], and "Karry", age 9. Margaret McNamara was "Margaret Giles" according to the death record for John L. McNamara. The age reported of the two sons would indicate that Thomas McNamara had married Margaret Giles about 1866. Thomas McNamara of the 4th Regiment was discharged from Sioux City, Iowa in November 1865, so the marriage timing would have been possible. However, the census enumerator appears to have mistakenly reported "Chista" as a son in 1880, when he was most surely "Christopher Giles", a stepson. "Margaret Jiles", age 48 as widow in 1870, but only age 28 when married in 1860 as Margaret "Caroline" Giles, was living with five of her children in Rockwood in the 1870 census, including "Christofer" who was reported as age 8 (but more likely age 5):

1860: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8TG-98L
1870: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDZ1-QSJ

I could not locate the marriage record for Thomas McNamara of Owen Springs, Tennessee. However, the evidence to prove or disprove the marriage and children of Thomas McNamara, the veteran of Company B, 4th U.S. Volunteer Infantry, would be in the National Archives with his application for a federal pension filed on 1 August 1888; application number 666,645, certificate number 723,670.

1.0 Thomas McNamara (≈1832 - after 1900) was married to the widow Margaret Butler Giles (≈1832 per 1860 census; died prior to 1900). The timing of the marriage was likely soon after the 1870 census.

............ ?.? "Christa McLamire", a son, "age 13", in 1880 census. A census enumerator mistake. He was most surely "Christopher Giles", the step-son of Thomas McNamara. Born on 5 March 1865 in Roane, Tennessee, to James Giles and Margaret Butler, according to his death record of 11 September 1921.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N9PT-BFK

Christopher Giles (1865 - 1921) had an older brother Columbus "Lum" Eli Giles (1862 - 1920), who had a grandson named "Johnnie Mack Giles", named after his great uncle John McNamara?

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/392 ... mack-giles

............ 1.1 "Karry McLamire", a son, age 9 in 1880 census, so born about 1871. Most likely, "Karry" should have been "Larry", as in John Lawrence McNamara, the only child of Thomas and Margaret McNamara of Oliver Springs. Born in December 1870, according to 1900 census. Born on 25 February 1869, to Thomas McNamara and Margaret Giles according to 1963 death record.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2HD-Y1LZ

McNamara, John L.—94, Oliver Springs, died 1:30 p.m. Friday at St. Mary's Hospital. He was a member of Omega Lodge No. 536 F&AM, Oliver Springs. He was a member and Elder of Cumberland Presbyterian church. Survivors: wife, Mrs. Sallie Butler McNamara; one grandson, Fred McNamara, Knoxville; niece [his wife's], Mrs. Geneva Pemberton, Dayton, Ohio, five great-grandchildren. Funeral service 2 p.m. Sunday at Sharp Funeral Home Chapel, Oliver Springs. Interment Oliver Springs Cemetery. Masonic rites will be performed at the grave. The body will lie in state at the funeral home until time of service.
Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tennessee, 20 January 1963

......................... 1.1.1 William Thomas McNamara, born on 29 September 1890, according to death record of 16 July 1955. His engagement to Mildred Katherine Wilton was announced in 1921 and stated, "Tom Mac, as best known by his many friends, is well liked for his cheerful and pleasant personality and is very much a favorite among his boy friend associates. He has served in the regular army for eight years and in several different states. He is the son of John McNamara, of this place [Oliver Springs]" per Knoxville Sentinel of 17 February 1921.

McNAMARA—William T., age 64, of Knoxville, Tenn., passed away Saturday, July 16. Formerly of Medford, Mass. Employed as engineer, Carbide & Carbon Co., of Oakridge, Tenn. Survived by a widow, Mildred Wilton McNamara, son Fred T., all of Knoxville. Services, Rose Chapel, Knoxville, Tenn., Monday, July 18, Rose Funeral Home.
The Boston Globe, Massachusetts, 17 July 1955

....................................... 1.1.1.1 William L McNamara (age 15 in 1940, born in Medford, MA)
....................................... 1.1.1.2 Frederick McNamara (age 13 in 1940, born in Medford, MA)


Like his father before him, John L. McNamara was a mason in the 1910, 1920, and 1940 census reports. However, in 1900, John L. McNamara's occupation was reported as a coal miner. In 1890, John L. McNamara would have been about 20 years old. If he had been working as a coal miner in the early 1890's, then he may have taken a part in the Coal Creek War. The coal companies had fired all their paid coal miners and brought in convicts from the Tennessee prison system to work the mines. The coal miners rebelled. Oliver Springs is about 15 miles south of Coal Creek and was the location of a convict stockade, which was liberated on 2 November 1891:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_Creek_War

OVERRUN WITH LIBERATED CONVICTS
Two Hundred More Are Released at Oliver Springs, Tenn.

Knoxville, Tenn., Nov. 2.—At an early hour this morning 200 convicts at Oliver Springs were liberated by a band of armed and mounted men who rode into that place from the direction of the mountains. After liberating the prisoners the stockade was set on fire and burned. The convicts for the most part were furnished with citizens' clothes by their liberators. The band had no trouble in setting the convicts free. The guard was evidently overawed and offered no resistance.

It is reported that it is the intention of the miners to liberate the convicts now confined at Tracy City. . .

Buffalo Weekly Express, New York, 5 November 1891

Not sure if the Coal Creek War would be well-known outside of Tennessee, but interesting American history certainly seems to have followed Irish born Thomas McNamara of Oliver Springs. Whether or not John L. McNamara partook in the Coal Creek War, it would have been difficult to avoid the violence of this era. And the story of the Coal Creek War would likely have been told by John L. McNamara to his son, grandsons, and great-grandchildren over his 90 plus year life. The Appalachian Storyteller (J. D. Phillips) tells this same story in this excellent 7 minute youtube documentary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i67igxgFvhA


One great mystery is what happened to Thomas McNamara, the Galvanized Yankee? He was reported as a 67 year old widow, living in Oliver Springs with his son in the 1900 census, but then goes missing. No death record, newspaper obituary, or cemetery record can be found. His pension file at the National Archives should state when his pension payments stopped and some documentation on his death.

Back in 1870, Thomas McNamara, the Galvanized Yankee, has a very good chance to be the 32 year old Irish born Thomas McNamara at Hunnewell Furnace in Greenup, Kentucky, at a boarding house of about 20 or so railroad workers, mostly Irish born:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXW7-QVC

John L. McNamara appears to have always lived in Oliver Springs over his 90 plus year life. But in 1910, a Knoxville newspaper reported that he took a trip to Kentucky to visit "home folks". I'm assuming the newspaper make a mistake and "returned to Kentucky" should be "returned from Kentucky". Or maybe John L. McNamara had a cousin or uncle John McNamara who lived in Kentucky and visited Oliver Springs? Who were these "home folks" in Kentucky? And where was this old Kentucky home far away?

Oliver Springs, Nov. 4 [1910]. Mr. C.J. Jones is in Knoxville this week. —Mr. John McNamara has returned to Kentucky after spending a few days with home folks. —Mrs. Lindawood, of Wind Rock, was here Thursday.—Rev. Mr. Morton of Kentucky, preached in the Presbyterian church Sunday morning and evening.—Miss Mary Wiley had the misfortune of falling Monday and dislocating her hip.— . . .

Knoxville Sentinel, Tennessee, 5 November 1910

Was the Irish born Thomas McNamara from County Clare? The most important clue is that Thomas McNamara had the occupation of "mason", which might well provide a link back to his origins in Ireland. The legacy of this McNamara family, including the importance of their livelihood as masons over generations, can be found at St. James Episcopal Church in Knoxville:

Episcopalians To Dedicate Window and Receiving Basin

A memorial window will be dedicated at 9 a.m. and a silver receiving basin at 11 a.m. Sunday at St. James Episcopal Church. The ceremonies will be conducted by the Rev. John H. Bull, rector.

The memorial window depicting St. Peter and St. Andrew, is given by Mrs. James T. Speer . . .

The silver receiving basin was given by the late Mrs. William T. McNamara as a memorial to her husband and their son, William L. McNamara, who died in 1949 as a result of a World War II illness.

Mr. Bull said two other memorial window will be installed next spring. One window depicting St. Mark and St. Luke has been given by Mrs. Kenneth Haws as a memorial to her husband. The other window, depicting St. Philip and St. James the Less, was bought with a fund provided by Mrs. McNamara before her death last spring. This window will be a memorial to Mildred C. and William T. McNamara.

The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tennessee, 24 November 1956

The St. James Episcopal Church in Knoxville has an excellent website, including history on its architecture and stained glass windows. Follow the link for a photo of the beautiful stained glass window dedicated to the McNamara's:

https://www.stjamesknox.org/architecture

4. “St. Philip, the Apostle and St. James, the Lesser”. St. Philip holds a basket of bread, reminding us that he was present at the feeding of the five thousand and a staff with a cross; below him are the patriarchal cross and arrow symbols. St. James the Lesser is shown holding a fuller’s bat, with a saw below him; according to tradition, both were instruments used in his death. Note the Masonic Double Eagle and Order of the Eastern Star emblems.

Dedication: In loving memory of William T. McNamara and Mildred C. McNamara.

Will the important clue that Thomas McNamara of Oliver Springs was a mason (as in the occupation, unlike his descendants, there is no evidence that Thomas was a Mason) provide a link back to County Clare?

To be continued

[Sduddy]

Hi Sharon

Thank you vey much for the link to the Richmond newspaper – I could have sat reading all day.

Hi Jimbo

No need to apologize – it seems it was I who confused you, but, having a better constitution than me, you didn’t need a second breakfast. I am aware that people from the Southern States don’t appreciate being called Yankees, but not sure when that awareness came to me - certainly not when I was young in the 50s and 60s, when “Yanks” was used in Ireland to describe all visitors from America. There was always a great flurry of painting and varnishing, not just in the house they were visiting, but in all the houses they might visit in the course of their stay. They probably came from Chicago, Boston and New York, so calling them yanks was not insulting (hopefully). You will be glad to hear that the parcels that came once or twice a year were always called the American parcel, or simply “parcel from America” – with no mention of Yanks. In his book, Nothing Quite Like it, Nicholas Grene offers the opinion that these parcels were prompted by the Marshall Plan.

I didn’t have to wait very long for the next episode of the life of Thomas McNamara, of the Virginia Sharpshooters (or Thomas-without-the-S). Once again, I am amazed by your research, and by your finding him in Oliver Springs, Tennessee. His son, John L. McNamara, who lived to a great age, was a member of Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and a Freemason. As you say, the Masonic symbol would not have appeared in a Catholic Church, but some Catholics did join the Masons – see Margaret Gallery’s reply to Sharon Carberry’s posting on the topic of “Westropp on Freemasonry”: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4870. The priests did not like Freemasonry because it was a secret organization.

Thank you for the link to information on St. James Episcopal Church, which includes explanation of the symbols depicted in the windows. And the story of the Coal Creek War is very interesting. The pictures are just wonderful. At the moment I am becoming conscious of how poor my knowledge of Australia is, much poorer, even, than my knowledge of the U.S., but I am reading a book that has lots of pictures and it is a great help in filling the void: it’s The Story of Australia, by Don Watson. It’s meant for children, but it’s also perfect for me. On this forum, Paddy Casey once said that, in his opinion, when you find some ancestors, you should also try find out how they lived. I think the same applies to finding ancestors in America and Australia (and Argentina, South Africa, etc, etc.). It’s good to find out a little about the events they lived through. So thank you again, Jimbo, for giving us the results of all your exploring – even if the McNamaras sometimes missed the more famous events, they were always nearby.

I am looking forward to the next episode. Will we be moving to Kentucky?

Sheila

[smcarberry]

I also await the rest of the story on the Thomas of TN who seems connected to Thomas of the VA Sharpshooters. However, there are familiar elements in the story about the 1910 John McNamara who came visiting either to or from Kentucky. That year is the same time as the travels of a mystery John McNamara of Cincinnati OH and later Alabama, according to his descendant Barbara who first posted this account on the Genealogy subreddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Genealogy/comm ... 1884_d_17/

That John, born sometime from 1875 to 1884, had a father who suddenly died supposedly in a courthouse murder. Barbara, who posted a second time this past month, is still unable to find any record of her grandfather John before 1906 when he was in Cincinnati OH. However, as of that time he was a member of a fraternal/insurance organization called the Royal Arcanum Society, usually limited to sons of existing members. Barbara has no sure idea of John's parents' names but has a record indicating that John was born in Lexington KY. His marriage in early 1910 was in a Covington KY Reformed Church to a woman of non-Irish heritage, a native of that city. John belonged to a Masonic Lodge.

I provided Barbara with info on a John McNamara of Cincinnati involved in a lawsuit to settle the estate of a bachelor Patrick McNamara of KY whose 1902 death was reported in relation to having an insurance policy pursued by Cincinnati relatives.

I have not posted about the 1900 census (Winchester Co. KY) of a widow Mary Dudley with nephew John Mack b. April, 1875. That Mary Dudley seems to be the same one who had been living in Lexington KY in 1880 as wife of a Dr. Dudley, who died in 1884. That whole family was non-Irish and non-Catholic. I have a 1899 news item stating that "Master John C. McNamara of Lexington" visited his aunt Mrs. Kate McNamara in Louisville, then a 1902 news story on the minor injury of a John Mack during streetcar work in Paducah, followed the next month by the story detailing the death of the old man Patrick McNamara in Paducah, the one whose estate needed settling by his Cincinnati relatives.

Lots of dots here and there in the right states at the right times, but not enough to make sure lines joining all into a solid, cohesive story.

[Jimbo]

Hi Sheila, thanks for the story of your relatives' preparation for when American relatives visited Ireland as well as American parcels sent to Ireland.

Hi Sharon, thank you once again for the McNamara odds and ends leading into Kentucky. As masons, the Tennessee McNamara's would work on the construction of the Cincinnati & Southern Railway which went from Cincinnati, Ohio, passing through Lexington, Kentucky, and ending up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. So you are "right on track" with the McNamara's of Lexington and Cincinnati.

When you mentioned "died in a courthouse murder", I immediately thought of the "Red Mack" family of Lexington. In researching McNamara's in Kentucky, or in Tennessee and Ohio, it would be impossible not to stumble upon the family of Mathew McNamara, known as "Red Mack", as they frequently made the newspapers, often in association with a murder. I read the latest Reddit discussion posted by Barbara Jean requesting information on her grandfather John McNamara (≈1884 - 1947) and was impressed that so much detail was provided in order for us to solve the "brick wall" in her family tree:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Genealogy/comm ... ther_john/

It appears that the sons of "Red Mack" are the focus on finding the father of John McNamara (≈1884 - 1947). "Learning more about the Williams end of the McNamara story would be a good direction in and of itself, if not also leading to something on the McNamara generation you need" was very good advice given to Barbara Jean. In order to see if the McNamara's of Lexington had any connection to the McNamara's of Tennessee, I followed this same research approach. The family tree started off small and then got bigger and bigger through cousin and uncle/aunt relationships noted in the newspapers.

None of the McNamara's ever provided the Irish county where they were from in any USA documents; but fortunately the death record of James Williams, a brother of Bridget Williams McNamara, provided both his father and mother. This led back to Drumcollogher Parish in County Limerick and luckily their parents just made the cut-off for the start of marriage records in that parish. Whether or not Matthew McNamara was also from County Limerick remains to be seen. And still not sure if there is any connection to the McNamara's from Tennessee. Anyways, it was just plain good manners to help an 83-year old McNamara from the South who had been searching for six decades. And I truly reckon this effort will provide some needed clues, or perhaps just good luck, in the ongoing search for the missing Civil War soldier Thomas McNamara of Glandree, the good Lord willing and the creek don't rise.

With regards to the suggestion that the 25 year old John Mack, who in 1900 was living with his aunt Mary Dudley in Winchester in Clark County, Kentucky, might be Barbara Jean's grandfather John McNamara? Y'all, that dog won't hunt. The race of John Mack was reported as Black in the 1900 census, same for Mary Dudley and the entire household living at Mack's Alley. Mack was a common surname for African-Americans in the South:

1900 census: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9W5-M17

Barbara Jean went to Lexington in 1960 and interviewed a Catholic priest and relative of the Riley's, both in their 90's, who knew the McNamara family, her findings were summarized in this reddit discussion:

Judge Riley was Executor of the Estate of Bridget Williams McNamara. Bridget's heir was her only living child, Anna 'Dolly' McNamara. Dolly married Harlan Wesley Curtis on 28 Nov 1927. Judge Riley had Dolly declared mentally incompetent and committed to a mental institution in Florida where she died on 2 Jul 1962. Judge Riley then seized control of the entire McNamara estate. All of Red Mack and Bridget's children were deceased except for Dolly and King (and no one knew where he was). Judge John J. Riley died on 12 Jun 1923, and his entire estate went to his common-law-wife Maude Blandin (one of the saloon women)!

Judge John J. Riley was the first cousin of Bridget Williams McNamara, a fact which Barbara Jean is aware of. When Bridget Williams McNamara died in August 1908, four sons (one in hiding) and two daughters were still living, Anna "Dolly" McNamara was not the only heir. Bridget Williams McNamara inherited an estate valued at $40,000 when her husband died in 1887, but by the time of Bridget's death, much of the wealth had been spent (from various newspaper accounts). I reckon two different stories are being combined above as some of the dates don't make sense. In the 1910 census, Judge John J. Riley was shacked up with Maude Blandin, a saloon woman, and had likely been living with her soon after his mother had died in September 1905. The census taker reported John J. Riley and Maude Riley as "married" but this was not accurate as they went to Hamilton County in Ohio and got married in April 1911. When Judge John J. Riley died on 12 June 1923, newspaper accounts of the probate headlined "HOUSEKEEPER GETS ESTATE", which was both mean-spirited and inaccurate as they had then been married for over 10 years.

When Maude Blandin Riley died in 1950, Anne McNamara Curtis would have indeed been the only McNamara heir then living, and she was indeed in a mental institution in Florida by 1950. But Judge John J. Riley, who died in 1923, certainly didn't put her there. Another cousin, Miss Elizabeth J. Smith, filed a suit that Maude Riley was in a poor mental state when she made her final will in 1949 (if no will, the estate would go to surviving cousins of Judge Riley). 'Public Scandal,' Woman Says of Cousin in Suit Over Will, was the newspaper headline; "Miss Smith testified that she and other members of her family didn't 'recognize' Mrs. Riley before her marriage to the Judge but were friendly with her after the wedding. . . . . His life (Judge Riley's) and hers was a public scandal, so naturally we didn't visit her. But my father urged Judge Riley to marry her because he had lived with her for so long, and we visited with her frequently after the marriage" per Lexington Leader of 28 February 1951. When Barbara Jean visited Lexington in 1960, it was this scandal and controversy over the Riley estate that I reckon would have been fresh on the minds of those she interviewed.

Daley and Williams Families of Drumcollogher Parish in County Limerick and Kentucky:

1.0 Bridget Daley (≈1810 in Ireland - after 1881) married Thomas Williams on 15 February 1831 in Drumcollogher Parish in County Limerick; informants Gulielmus "William" Gura (sp?) and Jeremiah Carty; by Rev. J. McMahon (Daley transcribed as "Dawley"). The 1907 death record of their Irish born son, James Williams, of Lexington confirmed parents as Thomas Williams and Bridget Daley.

In the Griffith Valuation (not sure of the exact year) for the town Dromcolleher, in the parish of Dromcolleher, a Bridget Williams had a small house & garden, plot 7c, valuation 10 shillings, which she was sub-leasing from Patrick Fitzgerald (of plot 7a, 118 acres, valuation £44); the primary lessor was Robert Jones Staveley.

Based upon the Griffith Valuation and baptism records, it appears that Bridget Daley Williams was a widow with fairly young children. She immigrated to the USA, since Bridget Williams appears as a witness at the marriage of her daughter Catherine Williams to Michael Sullivan in 1858 in Kentucky. In the 1870 census, a Bridget Williams, born in Ireland, widow, reported age 55, was a grocer living in Lexington, along with a Kentucky born Millie Williams, age 9 years. Relationships are not shown in the 1870 census, but "Millie Williams" was most surely her granddaughter "Mollie Sullivan", born on 19 June 1860.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MX71-1SB

In the 1875 Lexington city directory, a Mrs. Bridget Williams, widow, grocery, is reported at S. Mullberry, opposite Market house. In the 1881 Lexington city directory, a "Williams, Mrs. Bridget, grocery", was residing at "s e c Water and Limestone", the same address as saleslady "Mollie Sullivan", who must be her granddaughter. This same Bridget Williams, must be the widow, Irish born, grocery keeper, living at Branch Alley in Lexington in the 1880 census; her age was only 48 years (born ≈1832), but age accuracy appears to have been very poor in the Kentucky census.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCCF-FDY

............ 1.1 Mary Williams (1834 - 11 February 1927), Mariam was baptized on 7 January 1834, at Drumcollogher Parish in County Limerick; father Thomas Williams; mother Brigida Daly; sponsors Egan? (unclear?) and Mary Daly. Married to John Sexton (≈1833 in Ireland - 5 May 1892), unknown marriage record.

The John and Mary Sexton family lived on Oldham Street in Louisville, Kentucky which is about 80 miles west of Lexington. Mary's sister, Bridget Williams, appears to have been living with them in the 1860 census. Bridget Williams McNamara's daughter from Lexington would visit her cousins in 1901:

Miss Dollie A. McNamara, one of Lexington's prettiest girls, arrived in the city Thursday from Nazareth Academy, where she has been pursuing her studies, to spend several days with her cousins, the Misses Sexton, Oldham Street, where she has received much social attention.
Kentucky Irish-American, Louisville, 22 June 1901

Mary Williams Sexton of Louisville was reported as age 26 (≈1834) in the 1860 census; as age 35 (≈1835) in 1870; age 42 (≈1838) in 1880; age 55 (December 1844) in 1900; age 65 (≈1845) in 1910; age 73 (≈1847) in 1920; and age 80 years (≈1847) according to her obituary; when, in fact, Mary Williams Sexton would have been 93 years old when she died on 11 February 1927.

......................... 1.1.1 Thomas Sexton (age 22 in 1880)
......................... 1.1.2 Mary Sexton (age 2 in 1860 census, died young)
......................... 1.1.3 Bridget Sexton (age 19 in 1880)
......................... 1.1.4 John Sexton (age 15 in 1880). A Louisville detective.
......................... 1.1.5 Daniel Sexton (age 12 in 1880). A Louisville policeman. Death record of 7 September 1927 reported parents as John Sexton and Mary William.
......................... 1.1.6 Patrick Sexton (age 8 in 1880)
......................... 1.1.7 Mary Sexton (age 7 in 1880)
......................... 1.1.8 James Sexton (age 5 in 1880)
......................... 1.1.9 Ellen Sexton (age 1 in 1880)

............ 1.2 Catherine Williams (1836 - 6 October 1902), Catharinam was baptized on 30 December 1836, at Drumcollogher Parish in County Limerick; father Thoma Williams; mother Brigida Daly (transcribed as "Daby"); sponsors Johannes Griffin and Catherine O'Connxxx (scribbled).

Michael Sullivan, of Anderson County, Kentucky; born in Ireland; about 26 years old, and Catherine Williams; of Anderson County, Kentucky; born in Ireland; about 19 years old, were married on 23 September 1858 in Franklin County, Kentucky by the Rev. James M. Lancaster of the Catholic Church (of Frankfort); witnesses were her mother Bridget Williams, and a James Williams (likely her brother).

Civil marriage license (3 pages) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2QD-3PY9

In 1860, Mike and Katie Sullivan, and their two Kentucky born children, were living in Jessamine County with four others: James Williams (age 24), not stated but surely Catherine's brother; Michael Longue (age 24); John Donhoe (age 45); and Mary Donohoe (age 60). The birthplace for these four was reported as "ditto", below the young Sullivan children, and thus "Kentucky" in databases, when surely they were all born in Ireland.

In later census periods, Michael Sullivan was not living with Catherine Williams Sullivan in Lexington in either the 1870 census (marriage status not reported) nor the 1880 census when she was reported as a widow. Her two daughters living with Catherine Sullivan in 1880 were living elsewhere in 1870. In the 1875 city directory for Lexington she was "Mrs. Catherine Sullivan, widow, h. 164 Brisby, in Davis Bottom".

"Catherine Sullivan sues Mrs. B. McNamara on a note for $450" per The Daily Leader of Lexington of 16 August 1895. Not stated in the newspaper, but Catherine had sued her younger sister Bridget.

"AXLE BREAKS: The Chemical Engine Broken Again on Run to a Fire. . . . The cause of the alarm was the burning of the two-story frame grocery store and residence of Mrs. Catherine Sullivan on de Roode street in Davis Bottom, mother of William Sullivan, driver of the chemical engine of the fire department. . . " per the Lexington Leader of 23 July 1901.

Catherine Sullivan, "age 60", born in Ireland, living at de Roode street, died on 6 October 1902; parents not reported on "copy of certificate of death". No obituary discovered (on-line newspaper coverage for Lexington is hit and miss).

......................... 1.2.1 James Sullivan (age 1 in 1860; age 11 in 1870; age 21 in 1880). Family was living in Jessamine County in 1860, so was not baptized at St. Paul's in Lexington, unlike subsequent children. Likely double counted in the 1870 census, as living with mother in the 1870 census taken on 19 August 1870, and living with uncle Mathew "Red Mack" McNamara in the 1870 census taken on 5 July 1870.

Reported Dying. At 3:30 this afternoon James Sullivan, nephew of Mrs. M. [Mathew] McNamara, was reported dying in his room on Vine Street. Several years ago Sullivan was shot through his body by a pistol in the hands of John Lowe, a former policeman, at the Cincinnati Southern passenger depot, and the effects of this wound is said to be the cause of his present condition.
The Kentucky Leader, Lexington, 21 November 1889

......................... 1.2.2 Mary "Mollie" Sullivan, was born on 19 June 1860, and baptized on 4 July 1860 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors Michael Lyons and Bridget Williams; by the Rev. Peter Perry. In the 1860 census taken on 17th of July, her reported age was 1 month. Most likely in 1870, she was living with her grandmother Bridget Daley Williams (age 55) and reported incorrectly as "Millie Williams" (age 10). Mary Sullivan was reported as "age 17" in 1880. In the 1881 Lexington city directory, "Mollie Sullivan" was a saleslady residing at "s e c Water and Limestone", the same address as "Williams, Mrs. Bridget, grocery", who must be her grandmother. "Mollie Sullivan" in 1877 and 1882 was a baptism sponsor to the children of her aunt Bridget Williams McNamara.

......................... 1.2.3 Ellen Sullivan, was born on 12 January 1862, and baptized on 26 April 1862 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsor Ellen Ready. Not living with mother in 1870 census taken on 19 August 1870, nor with her aunt Bridget McNamara in the census taken on 5 July 1870, nor with her grandmother Bridget Daley Williams. Possibly living with uncle James Williams as cannot locate their household in the 1870 census. Reported as "age 16" in 1880. Was married to a "Barnett" when she visited her aunt in 1889 and 1891, but then later was married to Fred J. Sinclair and they were living in San Francisco in 1910 and 1920.

Mrs. Ella C. Barnett, nee Miss Ella Sullivan, formerly of this city, but now of Niagara Falls, is in the city the guest of her aunt, Mrs. M. McNamara.
The Kentucky Leader, Lexington, 30 May 1889

Mrs. Ella Barnett, who has been at Niagara Falls this summer, is in the city with her aunt, Mrs. B. McNamara. She will leave next week for her home in New Orleans.
The Courier-Journal, Lexington, 7 November 1891

SINCLAIR—In this city, August 14, 1920, Ella Cecilia, dearly beloved wife of Fred J. Sinclair, a native of Lexington, Kentucky. The funeral will take place today (Tuesday), at 10 o'clock a.m., from the chapel of Halsted Bros., corner Divisadero and McAllister streets. Interment private, Holy Cross Cemetery.
The San Francisco Chronicle, 17 August 1920

......................... 1.2.4 Michael Sullivan, was born on 10 November 1863, and baptized on 2 December 1863 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors Matrino Spurt (sp?) and Catherina Williams (mother reported as Marie Williams, in error, Marie was the sponsor). Living with mother in 1870 (age 5), 1880 (age 15), and 1900 (age 28) . Death record of 28 April 1915 stated father as William Sullivan (in error) and mother as Katherine Williams.

......................... 1.2.5 Thomas "William" Sullivan, Thomas was born on 15 August 1865, and baptized on 18 September 1865 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors Denis Sullivan and Cath. Henney; by the Rev. L.D. Helle (Wille?). Later whereabouts of "Thomas Sullivan" are not very clear. In 1870, possibly living with uncle James Williams of Lexington, whose household I haven't found yet in the 1870 census. "William Sullivan" appears to have had a close relationship with his Williams cousins, he lived with them from at least his WWI registration until the 1940 census. If he also lived with them in his youth, it might explain why "Thomas Sullivan" went by "William Sullivan" since there was already a "Thomas" in the James Williams household.

His mother, Catherine Sullivan, appears to have been a widow in 1870. Yet, in the 1880 census, she had an 8-year old son, "William Sullivan", born in 1872? Very unlikely, no baptism record exists for this child. Catherine Williams in the 1900 census, was the mother of five children, four living (first born son, James, appears to have died in 1889, although not confirmed with a death record). "Thomas Sullivan", born in 1865, must be "William T. Sullivan" who was reported as having varying ages in census reports: in 1880 (age 8, born ≈ 1872), in 1900 (age 25, born ≈1875). In 1900, William T. Sullivan was double-counted living with his mother and at the firehouse where he worked.

"William Sullivan", with an occupation of fireman, was reported as the nephew of Mrs. Mary Williams in her 1903 obituary, most likely because she raised him as a child. Living with cousin "Ellie Williams" at the time of WWI registration with a birth date of 10 March 1875. In 1930 and 1940 was a "roomer" in the household of Dan Williams in Lexington, his cousin. Death record of 1949 stated father as James Sullivan (in error) and mother as Catherine Williams.

............ 1.3 James Williams (≈1838 - 29 June 1907), unknown baptism record, and uncertain birth order in relation to his sisters. If born in 1835, James would be a year older than sister Catherine born in December 1836.

James Williams was reported as a witness at the marriage of Michael Sullivan to Catherine Williams, his sister, in 1858 in Jessamine County. And James Williams (age 24) was living with Michael and Katie Sullivan, and their two children in Jessamine County in the 1860 census.

The birth year for James Williams in USA records was fairly consistent: ≈1836 in 1860; unknown in 1870; ≈1839 in 1880 census; ≈1835 in 1900 census; ≈1840 per 1907 obituary death at age 67. Initially thought to be the "Jani" baptized in 1844, see below, but then he would have been too young to be the marriage witness in 1858 for sister Catherine Williams. Plus, "Jani" is more likely a "Jane"?

James Williams and Mary Coughlin (≈1847 in Ireland - 5 May 1903) were married on 3 August 1864; obtained their civil license in Jessamine County, Kentucky (just south of Lexington); witnesses Daniel Coughlin and John A. Willis. Not sure what church they were married in (they do not appear in the marriage register of St. Paul's Church in Lexington).

Civil marriage license (3 pages) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q28D-FL4R

According to Mary William's 1903 obituary, "Mrs. Williams was the wife of James Williams, formerly of the fire department and the aunt of William Sullivan, who is now a member of the department." (The Morning Herald, Lexington, 9 May 1903)

The informant on the 1907 death record for James Williams, who reported his parents as Thomas Williams and Bridget Daley, was John J. Riley, his first cousin.

......................... 1.3.1 Thomas Williams, was born on 18 July 1865, and baptized on 17 September 1865 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors Michael Hayes and Mary Connors.
......................... 1.3.2 Ellen Williams, was born on 25 December 1866, and baptized on 1 February 1867 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors Thomas Lestor (sp?) and Honor Coughlan.
......................... 1.3.3 Mary "Mamie" Williams, was born on 8 November 1868, and baptized on 22 November 1868 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors Michael Luby (sp?) and Mrs. Mary Lynch.
......................... 1.3.4 Daniel Williams, was born on 11 June 1870, and baptized on 27 June 1870 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors John Riley and Mrs. Ellen Coghlan.
......................... 1.3.5 Bridget Williams, was born on 28 January 1872, and baptized on 23 March 1872 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors James Roche and Mrs. Johanna Roche.
......................... 1.3.6 Honora "Annie" Williams, was born on 19 October 1873, and baptized on 14 November 1873 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors Patrick McNamara and Bridget Savage. "Honora" must be the six year old "Annie" in the James Williams household in the 1880 census.
......................... 1.3.7 Margaret Williams, was born on 27 May 1876, and baptized on 21 June 1876 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors John Fitzgerald and Julia Ahern. "The engagement is announced of Miss Margaret Williams to Mr. Herbert [Hood] Jones . . . at St. Paul's parsonage. . . Miss Williams is the attractive daughter of Mr. James Williams and niece of Mrs. M. McNamara." according to the Lexington Leader of 16 November 1903.
........................................ 1.3.7.1 Nellie W. Jones (age 14 in 1920)
........................................ 1.3.7.2 Nathaniel D. Jones (age 8 in 1920)
......................... 1.3.8 Elizabeth "Bessie" Williams, was born on 12 October 1877, and baptized on 26 October 1877 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors Patrick McAuliffe and Annie Coughlin.

............ 1.4 Joannam Williams (1839 - ? ) was baptized on 22 February 1839, at Drumcollogher Parish in County Limerick; father Thoma Williams; mother Bridget Daly; sponsors Thaddous Carty and Jana Williams.

"Joannam" was likely a "Johanna" which could be shortened to "Hannah". A "Hannah Ryan" (age 45, born in Ireland) and "Mary Ryan" (age 16, born in Kentucky) were living with the Mathew "Red Mack" McNamara family in the 1870 census. Similar to Bridget Williams McNamara, who was also reported as age 45, see discussion below, the ages could be very incorrect. The "James Williams" (age 10, born in Kentucky), who was living in the same household in 1870, was a nephew of Bridget Williams McNamara (see above). Thus, there is a very good chance that Hannah Ryan was also a relation.

............ 1.5 Bridget Williams (1842 - 15 August 1908) was baptized on 24 April 1842, at Drumcollogher Parish in County Limerick; father Thomas Williams; mother Bridget Dawley (transcribed as Dacely); sponsors James Williams and Mary Dawley; by JBM.

Bridget Williams married Mathew "Red Mack" McNamara (≈1822 per 1870; ≈1845 per 1880 census - 29 June 1887) at St. Paul's in Lexington on 9 February 1864, witnesses James Williams (likely her elder brother) and Margaret Connell.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q28D-6WSX

Bridget Williams (age 35, born ≈1825) was living in Louisville with her sister, Mary Williams Sexton, in the 1860 census. A married Bridget Williams McNamara, living in Lexington, was reported in the 1870 census at the consistent age of 45 (born ≈1825). However, ten years later in the 1880 census she was only 31 years old (born ≈1849). Bridget McNamara had a daughter in 1882, she was most definitely not born in 1825, and I'm confident she was baptized in 1842 at Drumcollogher Parish.

Bridget McNamara's death record of 15 August 1908 appears to have been completed by her daughter Mary or possibly son Matt. The record stated mother as "Bridget Williams", father was left blank. Date of birth was reported as 3 November 1855 and age of 53 years; birthplace was Ireland and Bridget had been in the USA for 57 years (longer than her age!).

......................... 1.5.1 Bridget McNamara, born 13 November 1864, baptized on 23 November 1864 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; baptism sponsors Thomas O'Day and Mary Fitzgerald. Appears to have died young as not with family in 1870 census.
......................... 1.5.2 Mathew McNamara, born 19 April 1866, baptized on 3 July 1866 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; baptism sponsors John Hoolihan and Mrs. Bridget Hoolihan. A Lexington city councilman and later the city weigher. Bred and raced horses. Died in Lexington on 18 September 1912 of acute heart trouble; informant John J. Riley.
......................... 1.5.3 Thomas Michael (or W?) McNamara, born 7 September 1867, baptized on 22 September 1867 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors James Williams (uncle) and Mary Horan. A "prominent Democratic politician" who died of gunshot wounds inflicted by Robert McNamee at the brothel run by the madam Blanche Patterson on 23 March 1910.
......................... 1.5.4 John William "Jady" McNamara, born 10 June 1869, baptized on 20 June 1869 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors Charles Gormely and Anna McLoughlon. William McNamara was a Mayor's Clerk in 1897, and later Magistrate, a position he resigned after firing at and wounding George Knickerbocker, a black soldier, in a saloon brawl. Was shot and killed by John Meagher at J.W. Darby's saloon on Wilson street on 17 August 1901; a grand jury dismissed all charges against Meagher.
......................... 1.5.5 Francis Edward "Ed" McNamara, born 1 December 1870, baptized on 4 December 1870 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors James Shannon and Mrs. Bridget Savage. Engaged in the saloon business, died on 11 March 1914 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
......................... 1.5.6 James Bernard "Bert" McNamara, born on 16 August 1872, baptized on 5 September 1872 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors John Sexton (his uncle) and Mrs. Mary Clohessy (sp?). Died on 12 January 1897 of pneumonia.
......................... 1.5.7 Albert McNamara, born on 19 July 1874, baptized on 23 July 1874 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsor Kate Welch. Died prior to 1880 census.
......................... 1.5.8 John Henry "King" McNamara, born 15 September 1877, baptized on 5 October 1877 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors John Riley (mother's cousin) and Mollie Sullivan (his cousin). Murdered Jacob S. Keller in 1899, and when released on bond by Judge J.J. Riley (his godfather and mother's first cousin) he went into hiding. In 1912, turned himself in after 13 years "on the run"; he had been living for several years in Louisville as "Dr. James Baker". Granted parole for good conduct in December 1914.
......................... 1.5.9 Mary McNamara, born on 4 August 1879, baptized on 14 August 1879 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors John Sexton (her uncle) and Bridget Williams (her grandmother?). Died on 19 September 1908, only one month after her mother.
......................... 1.5.10 Anne "Dolly" McNamara, born on 24 December 1882, baptized on 23 January 1883 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors John Sexton (her uncle) and Mollie Sullivan (her cousin). Graduated from Georgetown College in Washington DC. "Mr. John Henry McNamara announces the marriage of his sister, Miss Anna Cleophas McNamara, to Mr. Harlan Willis Curtis of Los Angeles. The wedding took place Tuesday, December 20, in Toledo, Ohio. . . . " The Courier Journal, Louisville, 10 January 1928.


............ 1.6 "Jani" Williams, baptized on 8 August 1844, at Drumcollogher Parish in County Limerick; father Thomas Williams; mother Brigida Dawley; sponsors Patrick Dawley and Maria Willey (possibly Williams); by P Quin. Jane Williams? Possibly their son James Williams, see 1.3 above?


2.0 Elizabeth Daley (≈1821 in Ireland - 8 September 1905) married John Riley (≈1830 in Ireland - 24 May 1895) on 28 May 1857 at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Lexington; witnesses Timothy Connell and Mary Daley; by the Rev. Peter McMahon.

Civil marriage license on 27 May 1857 in Woodford County (to the west of Lexington).
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKJS-JW4Y

The marriage witness, who confirmed that Elizabeth was of a legal age, was a James Williams. Her nephew, James Williams, if indeed born in Limerick about 1838 would have been old enough to be a marriage witness. An alternative theory: at the baptism of Bridget Williams in 1842 at Drumcollogher Parish, one sponsor was a James Williams. In the 1850 census in Louisville, Kentucky, there was an Irish born 26 year old James Williams, born about 1824, an inmate at the County Jail, his occupation was "Bar Keeper".

Mrs. Elizabeth Riley, mother of Judge John J. Riley, of the Police Court, died at 11:35 Thursday night at the residence of her niece, Mrs. B. McNamara, at the extreme age of 84 years.

Mrs. Riley had been ill for some time, suffering from the infirmities of age, but her death was not expected when it came. She had been a resident of Lexington for 50 years having come from Ireland. She was a devoted member of St. Paul's Church and was distinguished for her many acts of charity.

The funeral of Mrs. Elizabeth Riley will take place from the residence of Mrs. McNamara of Loudon avenue Saturday morning and the service will be held at St. Paul's Church at 9 o'clock. The procession will leave the house at 8:30. The interment will be in the family lot in the Catholic cemetery.
Lexington Leader, 8 September 1905

............ 2.1 John J. Riley (13 September 1860 per death record - 12 June 1923) married Maude Blandin, residence Palace Hotel, on 26 April 1911, in Hamilton County, Ohio.


3.0 Patrick Daley (≈1828 in Ireland - prior to 1880) was married to Mary Cummins (≈1830 in Ireland - 11 October 1903) on 22 January 1853. The civil marriage license was issued in Franklin County, Kentucky and provided no details on where married or witnesses; the bond was paid by Patrick Dailey and John Coughlan. They likely were married in Frankfort, Franklin County, and their daughter Mary, born ≈1856, was likely baptized there also.

Civil marriage license records from Franklin County:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2QD-347B
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2QD-3P9B

"Mrs. Daly was seventy-eight years of age, and has been a resident of Lexington for a great many years. She was the mother-in-law of Mr. Thomas Smith, of the Home Construction Company, and an aunt of Judge John Riley" according to obituary (The Morning Herald, Lexington, 12 October 1903).

............ 3.1 Unknown Daley. Mary Cummins Daly (age 75) in the 1900 census was reported to be the mother of 7 children, 1 living (Catherine Daly Smith). Parents married in January 1853, it's possible that a child was born between late 1853 and 1855, and who died prior to 1860 census.

............ 3.2 Mary Daley (≈1856 per 1860 census - died prior to 1870?). Could not locate baptism record at St. Paul's Church in Lexington, whose records start in November 1854, so likely baptized in Frankfort.

............ 3.3 Catherine Daly (1857 - 23 August 1927), born on 22 September 1857, baptized on 25 October 1857 at St. Paul's Church in Lexington; sponsors John Reilly and Elizabeth Daly.

Kate Daly married Thomas Smyth (≈1842 - prior to 1927) on 5 May 1881 at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Lexington; witnesses Joseph Keenan and Anna Smyth; by the Rev. Ferdinand Brossart (on-line marriage register).

Fayette County civil marriage license: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG1D-TQZ2

Mrs. Smith was the widow of Thomas Smith, president of the Home Construction Company, and widely known Lexington business man. She was a native of Washington County, Kentucky, but had been a resident of Lexington for many years. Surviving. . . Lexington Leader, 23 August 1927.

Death record of 23 August 1927 for Mrs. Catherine Smith, informant her son Thomas Smith, correctly reported parents as Patrick Daley and Mary Cummins, both born in Ireland.

......................... 3.3.1 Margaret Smith (age 36 in 1910)
......................... 3.3.2 Mary Smith (age 33 in 1910)
......................... 3.3.3 James Smith (age 28 in 1910), died prior to 1927.
......................... 3.3.4 Luke Smith (age 25 in 1910)
......................... 3.3.5 Elizabeth J. Smith (age 24 in 1910). In 1951, she contests the will of Mrs. Maude Blandin Riley, stating on the witness stand "that her maternal grandfather was a brother of Judge Riley's mother" per Lexington Leader, 28 February 1951.
......................... 3.3.6 Tom Smith (age 22 in 1910)
......................... 3.3.7 Katherine Smith (age 18 in 1910)
......................... 3.3.8 Edward Smith (age 17 in 1910)
......................... 3.3.9 Anthony Smith (age 13 in 1910)

............ 3.4 Timothy Daley (age 9 months in 1860, age 10 in 1870 census), unable to locate baptism record. Not living with widowed mother in 1880 or mentioned in her 1903 obituary. Unknown baptism record. Was Timothy the first born son?

............ 3.5 Michael Daly, born on 19 September 1863, baptized on 29 September 1863 at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Lexington; sponsors Thomas and Margaritta O'Dea. Appears to have died prior to 1870.

............ 3.6 Eliza Daley (1865 - 5 February 1889), born on 4 October 1865, baptized on 8 October 1865 at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Lexington; sponsors Michael Buckley and Kate Murphy.

............ 3.7 Unknown Daley, see comment at 3.1.


The mysterious John McNamara (≈1884 - 1947), a Mason, whose parents are unknown, was said to have had auburn hair according to his granddaughter; in the WWI registration, the physical description was gray eyes with light hair and a medium build. Mathew McNamara, known as "Red Mack", of Lexington, Kentucky, obviously also had red hair.

John McNamara (1870 - 1963) of Oliver Springs, a Mason, who had "home folk" in Kentucky, was too old to register for the WWI military draft which would provide a physical description, including hair color. However, his father, Thomas McNamara of the Virginia Sharpshooters, who enlisted as a prisoner of war with the 4th Regiment of Volunteers, and was stationed in the Dakota Territory in 1865, his 4th regiment muster roll sheets provide his physical description as blue eyes, light hair, light complexion, and height of 5 feet 8 inches:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... &cat=78749

Who were the "home folks" in Kentucky of John McNamara (1870 - 1963) of Oliver Springs, Tennessee mentioned in the 1910 Knoxville newspaper as having been visited? Is there any family connection to the Red Mack family of Lexington or to the mysterious John McNamara (≈1884 - 1947) who lived on a farm near Eaton and then later Cincinnati/Covington and finally Alabama?

To be continued,

Edit 1: reflect discovery of St. Paul's Church baptism and marriage records (see next posting).

[Sduddy]

Hi Jimbo

You have done great work there. I read it three times and all seems to knit together very well, although I have failed to make sense of the information given to the census enumerators in the paragraph that says:

Bridget Williams (age 35, born ≈1825) was living in Louisville with her sister, Mary Williams Sexton, in the 1860 census. A married Bridget Williams McNamara, living in Lexington, was reported in the 1870 census at the consistent age of 45 (born ≈1825). However, ten years later in the 1880 census she was only 31 years old (born ≈1849). Bridget McNamara had a daughter in 1882, she was most definitely not born in 1825, and I'm confident she was baptized in 1842 at Drumcollogher Parish.

It was very lucky that the record of the death of James Williams gave his parents’ names. But how on earth did you set about tracing those parents and how did you find them in Dromcolliher?

Sheila

P.S. I was interested to see that James Sullivan was recorded twice in the 1870 census. I did not know that the US census was taken over a period of time until I found a relative of my own recorded twice and this was explained to me. Our census (Britain and Ireland) was supposed to be taken on one particular night, but I have found a couple of instances of people being recorded twice, which makes me think that some people completed the form either before, or after that night. The only instance I can remember right now is of Silvy Neylan who was recorded as one of the household of his uncle, Michl Daveren, Ballymurphy (Noughaval DED): http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/p ... y/1067339/, and also recorded as living with his mother, Anne Neylon, in Drumcliff (Ennis Rural DED): http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/p ... f/1069143/

[smcarberry]

Now that a day or two has passed so that readers of this thread can see that Jimbo's latest post has been made, I am happy to chime in with my accolades for such a thorough effort to resolve discrepancies in the records for a family group and specific individuals. That is a model lesson in what to do, as well as indicating that it takes such a large investment of time and attention. Great results, though, and also a good, clear explanation. Thanks for laying that out so well for us readers.

Jimbo, when you refer to solving Barbara Jean's mystery, does that mean you have communicated with her ? I know your story here about your findings has another installment yet to be posted, but I am wondering if now Barbara has the benefit of your entire effort. I myself am not in communication with her.

Sharon C.

[Jimbo]

Hi Sharon,

Regarding solving the mystery of who were the parents of John McNamara (≈1884 - 1947), I was pleased that Barbara Jean had provided in her reddit postings such a great level of detail "in order for us to solve" the mystery or brick wall. The prepositional phrase "in order to" is another way of saying "so that it is possible to" and shouldn't suggest the completion of the action. Very similar to the usage in the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution, "in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility . . .". "Domestic Tranquility" obviously had not been completed upon the signing of the Constitution since the United States had a bloody Civil War in the following century.

Barbara Jean has been researching this mystery for six decades and I'm certainly not going to discover the parents of John McNamara (≈1884-1947) in this posting or the next one. So this is quite early in these efforts and I've made no attempt yet to reach out to Barbara Jean yet. I reckon she would be quite impatient with my piddlin over such topics as whether Mary Williams Sexton was 80 years old (as per obituary) or 93 years old (as per Irish baptism). Barbara Jean is still quite young in comparison but unable to travel nowadays, so she made this request in her December 2021 posting on reddit:

. . . I feel strongly that if my grandfather was the child of one of Bridget's [Bridget Williams McNamara's] sons, Bridget would have had the baby boy baptized. The baptism records for St. Paul's are not online. I wrote to the church and they sent me a copy of baptism record for 'King' McNamara, thinking he was the person I am researching. Not knowing the EXACT year of my grandfather's birth, I cannot request a specific baptism search at that church. Dates could range from 1874 to 1887, but he definitely was born on April 30th—year unknown! I am unable to travel at my age, but if you know of someone in Lexington who could research St. Paul's baptism records for a baby boy named 'John', bon on 'April 30', between years 1874-1889, mother's name 'Mary McCoy'—possibly father's name unlisted or surname 'McNamara'.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Genealogy/comm ... ther_john/

St. Paul's Catholic Church played a major part in the lives of the Daly/Williams/McNamara families of Lexington. I was curious what it looked like so searched the ebay auction site for an old postcard. Nothing. Which is unusual since the sending of postcards was very popular in the late 19th / early 20th century in America. And Catholic churches were a common postcard topic, especially for a city the size of Lexington. Perhaps in Kentucky the sending of postcards was never that popular? Kentucky was a slave state, but during the Civil War declared itself neutral. As a border state, some Kentuckians fought for the North and some for the South. Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky, but then so was Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. Geographically it sits between North and South, but culturally I reckon it would be more Southern. One stereotype of the South is of "Southern hospitality" and a high level of politeness. I wonder if the culture in the South as far as communication would be to visit the homes of family and friends and it would be rude to send a postcard with a short silly message. Perhaps postcards were considered a Yankee invention and if you had to communicate by the post it would be more polite for a Southerner to send a proper letter?

Anyways, to cut to the chase, the search for a postcard of St. Paul's Catholic Church in Lexington led me to check out the excellent parish website of "Historic St. Paul", and to their "History Projects" page:

https://saintpaul.cdlex.org/history-projects

Where I was instructed to "Check out the St. Paul History Project link at the Lexington Library":

https://www.lexpublib.org/digital-archi ... collection

"St. Paul Community Collection contains a variety of items from the church's historical archive. It contains multiple church directories, event pamphlets, scattered weekly bulletins from the 1950s and 1960s, photographs of pastors and events, and some of the original ledgers with parish baptisms and marriages" according to their website. St. Paul's baptism and marriages starting November 1854 are all available on-line to view, Barbara Jean doesn't need to leave her home in Alabama to view the records. Truly an excellent website and very unusual for a Catholic parish to coordinate with a city public library to make such records freely available. It's so unusual that you would not even think to look.

Using the baptism and marriage registers for St. Paul's, I updated the Daly/Williams/McNamara family tree from my last posting through Anne "Dolly" McNamara born on 24 December 1881. In the years I reviewed, there were a few children born out of wedlock. But I didn't check for a John McNamara past 1881, not out of laziness but it would be more fittin to allow Barbara Jean to do her own search of the baptism records for her grandfather. Plus, truth be told, I reckon Barbara Jean might be barking up the wrong tree with the Red Mack family line of research. But I could well be proven wrong.

I am not a member of Reddit, so I would appreciate it if a Reddit member would please send a message, I think a private message might be possible, to Barbara Jean's account to let her know of the Clare Past Forum findings. She'll be very pleased to view the St. Paul's church records on-line.

Obtaining the baptism and marriage records for St. Paul led to some new revelations which have been reflected in the family tree from my last posting:

1) Marriage. I had previously found most of the civil marriage records in Kentucky and assumed the marriage took place in the same county. However, that is incorrect. For example, Elizabeth Daly and John Riley obtained their civil license in Woodford County, presumably where they were living, but went to St. Paul's Church in Lafayette County to get married. The Catholic marriage register had a column "Published or Licensed", and "Licensed" was written down for nearly all couples.

2) McNamara baptism sponsors. Mathew "Red Mack" McNamara appears to have had no McNamara relatives living in Lexington. The baptism sponsors who were relations were from the Daley and Williams side of the family. Their one child of ten, who I didn't know the identity, was named "Albert".

3) Bridget Daly, who married Thomas Williams at Drumcollegher Parish in 1831, was previously noted to be living in Lexington in the 1870 census (age 55, but likely older) with a "Millie Williams" (age 10). This was definitely her granddaughter, Mollie Sullivan. Bridget Williams (grocer) and Mollie Sullivan (sales lady) were also living at the same address in the 1881 Lexington City directory. Bridget Williams was likely the baptism sponsor for her granddaughter, Mary McNamara, in 1879.

4) Catherine Williams Sullivan in the 1880 census was living with an 8 year old, William Sullivan. This was always strange as Catherine appeared to have been a widow in the 1870 census. The age must be incorrect and "William T. Sullivan" was actually the "Thomas Sullivan" baptized in August 1865. Catherine's children were probably not at home when the census enumerator came around in 1880. The large age discrepancy could be a simple mistake, or maybe Catherine wanted to appear younger, or maybe as a widow with a 14 year old it would be too obvious she was a Civil War widow?

Was Michael Sullivan, the husband of Catherine Williams, a Civil War veteran? It is a very common name in the USA and even in Kentucky. A Michael Sullivan, a private in the U.S. army (no other detail), died on 23 December 1864, and is buried at Cave Hill National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky.
https://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/ngl/ngl#results-content

Another Michael Sullivan, born in Tralee, Ireland, fought for the Battery E of the 1st Kentucky Light Artillery. He received a $300 signing bonus for re-enlisting for a 3 year period. On the muster roll sheets he was absent without leave in November and December 1864, but returned to his unit and was mustered out after the end of the war.

It would be difficult to determine if Catherine Williams Sullivan was a Civil War widow; she doesn't appear to have received a widow's pension. Regardless how her husband died, she appears to have been a widow with five young children in 1870. Two sons (James and Michael) remained with her; James was also reported living with his aunt Bridget Williams McNamara due to the census timing. Daughter Mary was living with her grandmother. Their uncle James Williams of Lexington likely took in Ella and Thomas/William, but I cannot locate this household in the 1870 census. The important point is that the children were all taken care of within the large family network.

This was a very different scenario than the orphan John McNamara (≈1884 - 1947) who was sent to an "uncle" and "aunt" on a farm miles away from Lexington in Eaton.

The Lexington Public Library also has the St. Paul's Church directory for 1902, listing families and individual separately, in alphabetical order. It gives an interesting history of the parish at the beginning. The church directory includes lots of advertisements, but none for saloons.

https://rescarta.lexpublib.org/jsp/RcWe ... se_start=0

Mrs. Mary Daley is there at 70 Patterson. Mrs. Catherine Sullivan is at 36 de Roode. James Williams is at 103 Constitution, but misreported as John Williams. However, was disappointed when searching for the McNamara and Riley families that their pages had been torn out; the directory skips from John McKeever all the way to John Rogers. This reminds me of the missing pages from the Tulla baptism register.

Sheila, your confusion regarding the ages reported for Bridget Williams McNamara is too be expected as the census reporting was completely cattywampus. If Bridget had been born in 1825, as reflected in the 1860 and 1870 census reports, then she would have married at age 39 in 1864 (which is okay), but then went on to have 10 children between the ages of 40 and 56 years old, which would be impossible biologically. Thus, Bridget was not born in 1825; the baptism record of 1842 is very reasonable.

I took a similar approach in reviewing her elder sister Mary Williams baptized in 1834. Mary Williams Sexton was the mother of nine children born between around 1858 and 1879 (I don't have the Louisville baptism register for exact births). Her youngest two children, James and Ellen, would have been born when she was about 41 years and 45 years old, respectively. Ellen might have been a surprise for the Sextons, but perfectly possible. Sheila, I suspect that you have watched the BBC series Downton Abbey. Cora Crawley (née Levinson), better known as Lady Grantham, was born in Cincinnati in 1868. The youngest of her three daughters, Sybil, was born in 1895. About 18 years or so later, in 1914 it was, Lady Grantham became pregnant again at the age of 45 years old. The same age as Mary Williams Sexton. I recall Lady Grantham having a discussion with Dr. Clarkson on the surprise of her pregnancy. Sheila, I won't ruin the plot in case you've never watched the show, but it involves the lady's maid, Miss O'Brien, she has an Irish surname but was born in England.

Who were the "home folks" in Kentucky of John McNamara (1870 - 1963) of Oliver Springs, Tennessee mentioned in the 1910 Knoxville newspaper as having been visited? Is there any family connection to the Red Mack family of Lexington or to the mysterious John McNamara (≈1884 - 1947) who lived on a farm near Eaton and then later Cincinnati/Covington and finally Alabama?

To be continued,