Looking for ancestry help. re: James Vaughan, wife Catherine, son John F. Vaughan Immigrated to NY 1900

Andrew,

I think I can see your family in the 1910 US Federal census. They were at East 136th St, NY. John was a boiler maker for a railroad company. According to that census, he was 38 (so born c 1872), born in Ireland and arrived in the US in 1900, she was 29 (so born c 1881), born in Ireland and arrived in 1895. They had been married 4 years. They had no children at that point.

So they must have married in the US around 1906. You need to try and locate their marriage or death certificates to get their parents names, plus Catherine’s maiden name.  There were 72 people named James Vaughan in the 1901 Irish census, so it’s common enough. Without his parents names you can’t be sure of finding the right birth in Ireland. And without Catherine’s maiden name, as well as her parents names, there’s no chance of tracing her.

Dear Andrew:

Thank you for your post to the Ireland Reaching Out website.

You might also consider looking at the baptism register for Ennistymon which is available online through the National Library of Ireland.  The link is below:

https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0621

You will note that the parish was also known as Kilmanaheen (it's Civil parish name).  The registers available only cover the period between 1870-1880.  There is an earlier register, but it was not microfilmed and at present, is unavailable for anyone to view.

In addition, you might also look at the Civil registration records at the Irish genealogy website.  These records began in 1864, and it is likely that James' civil birth was registered.  Again, as Elwyn stated, without at least a father's name, it may be difficult to narrow down the various Vaughan families.

As you mentioned that you had a tree on Ancestry, you might consider looking for a naturalisation record.  Often, these records give more details about where an emigrant grew up, parents' names, etc. and this is a good way of narrowing down your search. 

In addition, if they came through Ellis Island, it is well worth searching that database (which is free).  The link is below:

https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/passenger

Finally, Clare Library has a wonderful online genealogy and family history section which you should look at.  There are lots of different sources that have been voluntarily transcribed, and it will be a great benefit to you as you continue your research.  The link to this site is below:

http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/genealogy/genealog.htm

The very best of luck with your research.  If you would consider creating an Ancestor profile under the XO Chronicles at the top of the page, please do so.  Often, these profiles will attract the attention of others researching the same family, and it can lead to sharing and further collaboration.

Kind regards,

Jane.

I will explore these links and I will create an Ancestor profile shortly. Thank you very much for the help. I did edit my original message with a little more info I found. I was able to find Catherine's maiden name was Kelly, her parents were John Kelly and Mary Crowley. I have not found death records for any of those people at this time. Also, I found the parents names for James Vaughan which are Michael Vaughan and Anne C. Vester. Also, no death records found yet for them. Elwyn, what I'm hoping to do is go further back in my ancestry. John F. Vaughan was my grandfather, but he was born in 1918 and died in 1969. I've identified James & Catherine as his parents. Some of the info you mentioned is close, but the rest would not match up. Now I've found another piece to the puzzle, the parents of both James and Catherine. So the research continues. Hopefully I can find death records for James / Catherine and birth & death records for Michael Vaughan, Anne C. Vester, John Kelly and Mary Crowley :)

Hi Andrew

I found a marriage record for Michael Vaughan & Anne Nestor 3 Feb 1874 in Ennistymon, Co. Clare

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_re…

The record lists both their ages at the time of marriage & both of their father's names.

I also found the first child of Michael Vaughan & Anne Nester/Vester

Susan Vaughan born 17 Dec 1874

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_retur…

James Vaughan born 1 June 1876 > Your Great Grandfather??

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_retur…

Hope this helps

Andrew,

On rootsireland I can see a marriage between John Kelley and Mary Ann Crowley on 31.3.1878 in St Patrick’s in Waterford City.

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1878/11112/8067799.pdf

Likely sibling for their daughter CATHERINE was Patrick Kelly born 7.9.1880 in Ballybracken, Waterford. Father was a pig buyer.

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_returns/births_1880/02859/2047801.pdf

Also James Joseph Kelly born 5.5.1883 at Philip St, Waterford.

Dear Andrew:

Thanks for your additional information--it has helped identify more information for you as Eliza has included in her post.  I believe that the surname of Mary C. may be "Nestor" instead of "Vester" as the Nestor surname was a common one in that area (along with Vaughan).

The very best of luck with your research, and please let us know if you have any further questions.

A very Happy Holiday to you!

Kind regards,

Jane

Wow, once again thank you so much for this info. I see a place of residence listed for Michael Vaughan and I cannot quite make it out. Killaspug....is it Killaspugborne?

Also, I'm curious about some descrepancies I'm fiding and would welcome opinions. Several documents of different sorts show a year and date of birth for James Vaughan to be 1880, one specifically shows May, 5, 1880. Most of these are U.S. documents and I found them on Ancestry.com. The links that Eliza pointed me to show a date of birth to be June, 1, 1876. I feel fairly certain that this is the correct James Vaughan, should I be concerned about the difference in those dates? Also, I see slight discrepancies with the letter E in names such as Ann / Anne and Kelly / Kelley. Is there cause for concern here?

I do agree, Nestor rather than Vester thank you again for clearing that up.

Andrew,

Not all the US sources give James a year of birth of 1880. The 1910 census makes him born c 1872. Variations in age like that are very common. People didn’t celebrate birthdays, frequently didn’t know how old they were and just guessed. (Plus some information might be supplied by a 3rd party and that also increases the error factor).

Variations in spelling of names like Ann/Anne and Kelly/Kelley are also very common. Ann may also appear as Agnes or Nancy. All are variants of the same name and folk would switch between them as the mood took them. All very normal. You get Catherine, Katherine & Kate and there are many others.

Accuracy in spelling or ages was not something that folk in Ireland bothered about in the 1800s.

Dear Andrew:

The name is most likely Killaspuglonane which is the name of the civil parish.  Here is a link on the Clare Library website which will give you further information about this area:

http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/places/killaspuglenane.htm

You will see that the name Nestor is in the parish as well as the name Vaughan.  The surname Vaughan is also in the townland of the same name (Killaspuglonane). 

The best of luck with your research!

Kind regards,

Jane

I ran across something else as well I'm not sure about. I can across a marrige document for John Kelley and Mary Anne Crowley and in the column where age would be listed it simply said FULL. I saw a few people with actual ages listed, but many that said FULL. Is this also in relation to what you said about Irish folk not keeping track of when they were born?

Thanks again, I made very good progress finding lots of helpful info based on the links and suggesstions you all have made. Maybe I'll even find some relatives in Ireland!

Hi Andrew

I found that the age is often not recorded on the civil marriage records. For the most part it is either left blank or says "full", which just means that they were of legal age to be married. Even when the age is on the record, it is not always accurate. As was previously said, age isn't something Irish people were overly concerned about.

All the best with the rest of your searching.

Eliza. I thought for sure that the record you found for John Kelly and Mary Ann Crowley was the link I needed. After connecting with another decendant for that family I have come to the conclusion that this is not a relation. I was able to find quite a lot of information by following the line of John / Mary Ann Kelly (nee Crowley)....but no record at all of a daughter named Catherine or any dirivitive of that name. I have found several US census records and a military draft card showing the name Catherine or Katherine. No middle names, no variations ever listed, so I feel certain I'm looking for a Catherine and I think her family name is Kelly. I'm working to try and find a marriage certificate for Catherine / James in New York which will hopefully show the names of one or both of her parents. I know the date they were married in 1907. I've spent quite a bit of time searching through civil parish records and other records online using the suggessted links, though I admit I've had some difficulty.

Hey Andrew

Sorry to hear you had no luck with the marriage of John Kelly & Mary Ann Crowley (1878). I didn't find this record for you, Elwyn did :). Have you found any death or burial records for either James Vaughan or Catherine Vaughan nee Kelly? The death records may help to narrow down onCatherine Kelly's year of birth

The marriage record that Elwyn found, is the only one that I can see between John Kelley & Mary Crowley in Ireland. Sorry I couldn't be of any more help

Eliza

Dear Andrew:

Another avenue to research is to look through immigration and naturalisation records if you have an Ancestry.com account.  Often these records give further information such as place of birth, date of birth and date of emigration from those seeking to obtain citizenship.  You should search for Catherine Kelly and/or Catherine Vaughan (her maiden name and her married name). 

Please let me know how your research is coming along.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

All the best,

Jane