Looking for ancestral family info

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Hello Glenn,

I’m not related but found a great deal of information about Hugh Scollins that you’ll be interested in.

I accessed the Scollins Family Tree from your message to Ireland Reaching Out, and saw that Hugh Scollins had married Ellen M. Slattery. Knowing this I then accessed a copy of the original marriage record at Ancestry.com. This marriage document is actually entitled, “Additions to and Corrections in the Copies of Records of Marriages returned to the Secretery of the commonwealth from the City of Boston.”

I do not know what the corrections or additions were to the marriage record, which shows that Hugh and Ellen were married in Boston on October 24, 1890. At the time of marriage both Hugh and Ellen were 25 years old. Hugh’s occupation was “Gardner,” while Ellen was employed as a “Domestic.” The marriage record also shows that Hugh was born in Ireland and that his parents were George and Margaret, though Margaret’s maiden name is not recorded in the marriage record. Ellen was born in England. Her parents were Patrick and Sarah, though again, Sarah’s maiden name is not recorded in the marriage record. The marriage also shows that this was the first marriage for Hugh and Ellen The clergyman who married Hugh and Ellen was the Rev. P.M.F De Frains. You may already have this marriage record but in case you do not, it is attached to this reply.

Knowing the manes of Hugh’s parents, even though the marriage record did not record the maiden name of his mother Margaret, really opened up the research possibilities for uncovering more information about where he was born in Ireland. But, I still wanted to see if I could find out where in Ireland he was born before looking for his birth and or baptism record.

I found the county in Ireland where Hugh was born in his Naturalization records from Ancestry.com. His naturalization took place in the Circuit Court of the United States in Boston. At the time her was naturalized he was living on Waldron Street.

His naturalization records also show he became a citizen on October 19, 1887, and also show he was born in County Fermanagh, Ireland on 6 December 1863, and that he arrived in the U.S. “on or about the Fourth day of March in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and seventy three,” when he was a minor under the age of 18 years. Both pages of the naturalization documents are attached to this reply.

I also found a naturalization index card for Hugh at Ancestry.com. See the index below:

U.S. Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791-1992 (Indexed in World Archives Project)
Name: Hugh J Scollins
Birth Date: 6 Dec 1863
Birth Place: Ireland
Age at event: 23
Court District: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont
Date of Action: 19 Oct 1887

Source Citation
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Index to New England Naturalization Petitions, 1791-1906 (M1299); Microfilm Serial: M1299; Microfilm Roll: 109
____

A copy of the index card is also attached to this reply. The original index card shows that at the time of naturalization Hugh was living at 30 Waldron Street, Boston, and that he was born in Ireland on December 6, 1863.

Hugh’s naturalization record is off by 9 days about his arrival in the U.S., as I found Hugh “Scollen” and his mother Margaret in a ship’s passenger list arriving in Boston on board the ship Olympus on 13 March 1873. At the time of arrival Margaret was 30 years old and Hugh 9 years old. Hugh’s father George is not recorded on the manifest of the Olympus.

See the ship’s passenger list indexes for Margaret and Hugh are below.

Massachusetts, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1963
Name: Margt Scollen
Gender: Female
Age: 30
Birth Date: abt 1843
Departure Place: Liverpool, England
Arrival Date: 13 Mar 1873
Arrival Place: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Ship: Olympus

Source Citation
The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Series Title: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, 1820-1891; Record Group Title: Records of the U.S. Customs Service; Record Group Number: 36; Series Number: M277; NARA Roll Number: 084
____

Massachusetts, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1963
Name: Hugh Scollen
Gender: Male
Age: 9
Birth Date: abt 1864
Departure Place: Liverpool, England
Arrival Date: 13 Mar 1873
Arrival Place: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Ship: Olympus

Source Citation
The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Series Title: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, 1820-1891; Record Group Title: Records of the U.S. Customs Service; Record Group Number: 36; Series Number: M277; NARA Roll Number: 084
____

A copy of the original Olympus manifest page is attached to this reply. They are the 14th and 15th passengers listed on the manifest.

I also found a ship’s passenger list for a George “Scollan,” at Ancestry.com but I don’t know if this pertains to Hugh’s father, as George arrived in New York on board the ship Europa on 10 June 1872. At the time of arrival he was 26 years old, placing his year of birth circa 1846. His port of Departure was Glasgow Scotland. The index of the ship’s passenger list is below:

New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957

Name: George Scollan
Arrival Date: 10 Jun 1872
Birth Date: abt 1846
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/ Nationality: Irish
Place of Origin: Ireland
Port of Departure: Glasgow, Scotland
Destination: United States of America
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Ship Name: Europa

Source Citation
Year: 1872; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: M237, 1820-1897; Microfilm Roll: Roll 360; Line: 2; List Number: 578
____

Attached is a copy of the original ship Europa manifest page for George Scollan.

From Hugh’s naturalization records, I knew that he was born in County Fermanagh on 6 December 1863. With this detail, and knowing that his parents were George and Margaret, I now had enough information to look for his baptism record in Ireland. There won’t be a civil registration birth record for him in Ireland, as civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths for all religious denomination did not commence in Ireland until 1864.

The next search took place at the Find My Past (FMP) website, where I located a transcription of the baptism for Hugh “Scollon,” showing he was baptized in the Magheraculmany Catholic Parish, County Fermanagh, on 7 December 1863. If you recall, Hugh’s naturalization record shows he was born on December 6 1863. The baptism transcription further shows that Hugh’s parents are George Scollon and Margaret Maguire.

The transcriptions at FMP are under copyright and are lengthy, but you can access the transcription at the following FMP link: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F2097988

You may have to establish an account with Find My Past to access the transcriptions and other records from the FMP website. Establishing an account is free, as is accessing Catholic baptism, marriage, and burial transcriptions.

The Magheraculmany Catholic Parish is alternatively known as Cuil Maine, Culmaine, and Ederney. The more recognizable of these names I believe is Ederney.

Attached to the FMP transcription is a copy of the original baptism record for Hugh Scollon held by the National Library of Ireland on Kildare Street in Dublin City. You can access the register where his baptism can be found by going to: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000632830#page/57/mode/1up

There are two facing pages to the baptism register. Hugh’s baptism is the last entry on the right hand page. You can enlarge the baptism register by means of round icons in the upper center/ right of the screen. The icons are white with green backgrounds. You can also access the full-screen function by clicking on the last icon on the right with the two arrows pointing northeast and southwest.

The handwriting in this register is terrible, but you can make out that Hugh’s godmother was “An” Laffarty. A godfather does not appear to have been recorded.

Next is the FMP marriage transcription for Georgeus “Collin” and Margarita Maguire. They were married in the Magheraculmany Catholic Parish on 11 November 1862. George’s surname was not transcribed properly because of the handwriting in the original Magheraculmany Church marriage register. See the transcription at: https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FMAR%2F0461063%2F1

George and Margaret’s marriage is on the left-hand marriage register page, 4th entry up from the bottom of the page at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000632829#page/101/mode/1up

The witnesses to the marriage were Charles Scollin and James Monaghan.

In looking at the Scollon name in the marriage register, you can see why the name may have been erroneously transcribed as “Collin,” because the handwriting is faded and difficult to read.

I did not locate the baptism transcriptions for any more children of George Scollins and Margaret Maguire in Ireland at the FMP website.

But coincidentally, I did uncover another, but earlier Magheraculmoney marriage record at the FMP website for a George “Scollan” and Margaret McGuire. They were married in 1844 but the FMP transcription just gives the day of the marriage as 23, but not the month in 1844 when the marriage took place. See the transcription at: https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FMAR%2F0461211%2F1

A copy of the original marriage record is the third entry up from the bottom of the right-hand marriage register page at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000632830#page/36/mode/1up

One of the witnesses is Bernardum Scollan. I couldn’t make out the first name of the second witness, but their last name is Bogan.

I don’t know if the George Scollin and Margaret Maguire in the 1862 marriage, and the George Scollan and Margaret McGuire in the 1844 marriage were related, or if the couple in the earlier marriage record fits into your direct Scollin line.

To see if I could find out where Hugh Scollin and his parents may have lived in County Fermanagh, I looked for George Scollin in an Irish property tax record known as Griffiths Valuation. Griffiths Valuation was enumerated in the 32 counties of Ireland between 1847 and 1864. The valuation for County Fermanagh was completed by the year 1862, the year before Hugh was born.

Unlike a census, Griffiths Valuation did not enumerate individual members of a family, such as husband, wife, and children in a household residence. Those named in the valuation were individuals who paid to lease property, such as land, houses, and outbuildings. Each person who paid to lease the property was called an “Occupier.” The other person listed in Griffiths Valuation was the person who owned the property, or who worked as the middleman for the owner. This person was called the “Immediate Lessor.”

You can access Griffiths Valuation transcriptions and original copies for free at the askaboutireland website link at: http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml

I found one person named George “Scollon,” leasing property in the townland of Drumgrenaghan, Civil Parish of Drumkeeran. I didn’t expect the Scollin family to be living in this townland, as the Magheraculmany/Ederney Catholic Parish is in a different, but nearby Civil Parish by the same name, Magheraculmany.

But, a book by Brian Mitchell called, “A Guide To Irish Parish Registers” shows that during the 19th century Catholic parishioners living in townlands located in the Civil Parish of Drumkeean, did not have their own parish church, but worshiped in one of the nearby Magheraculmany Catholic Parish churches, and so this made sense.

A George Scollon is actually recorded four times leasing property in Drumgranahan. These may refer to the same person. But, I can’t be sure if this George Scollon is the person who married in 1844 or if he's Hugh’s father.

One Griffiths Valuation entry is for a house and garden, while the other three entries are for land only, which he leased in common with other residents of Drumgranahan.

I’ve transcribed the entry for George Scollon below for the house and garden he had leased in Drumgrenaghan:

No. and Letters of Reference to Map: 13d
Civil Parish: Drumkeeran
Townland: Drumgrenaghan
Occupier: George Scollon
Immediate Lessor: The Misses Barton
Description of Tenement: House and garden
Area of Land: 20 Perches
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land: 5 Shillings
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings: 15 Shillings
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property: 1 Pound
____

Griffiths Valuation shows that George Scollon leased a house and garden from the Immediate Lessors named, The Misses Barton, who may have been sisters. The garden was under an acre in size and valued at 5 Shillings, while the house was valued at 15 Shillings. The total valuation of his lease was 1 Pound. He would not have had to pay a tax on this property as only those leases over 5 Pounds were subject to the tax. The map reference number, 13d, is a map identifier that refers to the location of George’s lease on an Ordnance Survey Map of Drumgrenaghan from that time period. The Ordnance Survey Map for Drumgreaghan can be accessed from the Ask About Ireland website, but I have not been able to link, copy, or attach these maps to replies such as this, but I did access the map and found the location of George’s property in Drumgrenaghan.

I can show you the approximate location of his property on a similar Ordnance Survey Map from the 1837 to 1842 time period. This map comes from the free GeoHive website. You can access the map at: http://bit.ly/2LUC6F3

Under the name Drumgrenaghan in block letters, you’ll see the numbers 137, 1, and 10. These show that the town was 137 acres, 1 Rood, and 37 perches in size. Below the number 10 you’ll see plots of land beneath which are small oblong boxes that are shaded in gray. These boxes represent houses in Drumgrenaghan. George Scollon lived in one of these houses, and I would venture a guess that his son Hugh was born in one of the houses. The map also shows that Drumgrenaghan is actually located on Boa Island, which is situated in Lower Lough Erne, County Fermanagh. Lower Lough Erne is actually north of Upper Lough Erne. To read more about the loughs go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lough_Erne

You can see Boa Island and the Lower Lough Erne on another map from the GeoHive website link at: http://bit.ly/2RZo4pz

For a description of Acres, Roods, and Perches and how they pertain to the taxation of land, go to the lochista.com website link at: https://lochista.com/understanding-acres-perches/

Below I’ve described the other three entries for George Scotton in Griffiths Valuation. These leases pertain to land only:

George Scollon leased over 7 acres of land in common in Drumgrenaghan with another Occupier named Mary Monaghan. George’s portion of the land was valued at 2 Pounds. Mary’s portion of the land was also valued at 2 Pounds. This acreage was also leased from the Misses Barton.

George Scollon, Mary Monaghan and Patrick McGoldrick leased more plots of land in common over 3 acres in size from the Misses Barton.

George and Mary Monaghan, along with Occupiers named Patrick McGoldrick and William Corr, leased several more acres of land in Drumgrenaghan from the Misses Barton. The land that George and the other Occupiers leased may have been used for farming.

For a Google Map of Drumgrenaghan, Boa Island, go to: https://is.gd/vT3xzE

For a Google Street View of Drumgrenaghan, go to: https://is.gd/EugEB2

I can’t say with complete certainty that the George Scollon recorded in Griffiths Valuation pertains to Hugh’s father, as I don’t know if the George Scollon in Griffiths Valuation is the person who was married in 1844, or the George who was married in 1862, or perhaps not directly related at all. What the earlier baptism, marriage, and Griffiths Valuation records do show however, is that your Scollins had lived in either the Civil parish of Magheraculmoney or in Drumgrenaghan, Boa Island, Civil Parish of Drumkeeran, County Fermanagh. You can see the location of the two Civil Parishes in Fermanagh on the Civil Parish map from johngrenham.com at: https://www.johngrenham.com/browse/county_civil.php?county=Fermanagh

The Civil Parish of Drumkeeran is number 11 on the map, while the Civil Parish of Magheraculmoney is just below at number 19.

The next thing I wanted learn about Hugh and his family is, which church might they have worship in? From past experience with Catholic parishes, I knew that in many cases there had been more than one Catholic Church located in the same Catholic Parish. Earlier you saw that Hugh Scollins was baptized in the Magheraculmany Parish, and that his parents were also married in this parish, which was also called the Ederney Catholic Parish. Today the Catholic Parish is called Culmaine.

According to the Culmaine Parish website there were three chapels in this parish during the time period that the Scollon family had lived in County Fermanagh. One of these chapels was called Blackbog, located in the townland of Monavreece/Moneyvriece, just north of Ederney. By 1957 this chapel was closed and replaced by St. Joseph’s Chapel in Ederney.

Other chapels were located in the townlands of Montiagh and Bannagh, both west of Ederney. Both chapels are still used as places of worship. The chapel in Bannagh is called St. Patrick’s, while the chapel in Montiagh is called St. Mary’s. Hugh was likely baptized, and his parents married in one of these three chapels.

You can read more about the history of the chapels at the Culmain Parish website’s History page at: http://www.culmaine.co.uk/history.html

To view photos of St. Joseph’s Chapel in Ederney, St. Patrick’s in Montiagh, and St. Mary’s in Bannagh, go to the Culmaine Parish churches link at: http://www.culmaine.co.uk/churches.html

I couldn’t find the location called Monavreece/Moneyvriece on a Google Map, where the Blackbog Chapel was located, but it would have been just north of Ederney, as mentioned earlier.

You can see the location of the Black Bog Chapel and Ederney on an Ordnance Survey Map from the 1837 to 1842 time period at: http://bit.ly/2ElfCsk

The Black Bog Chapel is situated in the northern center part of the map, while Ederney is on the lower center of the map. A Google Street View shows where the Black Bog Chapel was located: https://is.gd/T9ddfj

Another Google Map shows that St. Patrick’s Chapel in Montiagh is 13.1 miles east of Drumgrenaghan, Boa Island: https://is.gd/yfhJxA

A Google Map also shows that St. Patrick’s RC Chapel is 4.3 miles northwest of Ederney: https://is.gd/ABZ0FV

For a Google Street View of St. Patrick’s Church and graveyard, Montiagh, go to: https://is.gd/v891VJ

An Ordnance Survey Map from the 1837 to 1842 time period also shows the location of St. Patrick’s R.C. Chapel: http://bit.ly/2spvFmz

The third R.C. Chapel that the “Scollon” family may have attended is St. Mary’s, Bannagh. A Google Map shows that St. Mary’s is 3.3 miles east of Drumgrenaghan, Boa Island: https://is.gd/oBTGuj

A second Google Map shows that St. Mary’s in Bannagh is 4.8 miles west of Ederney: https://is.gd/OWp3en

For a Google Street View of St. Mary’s Church, Bannagh, see: https://is.gd/7x0AaU

For an Ordnance Survey Map showing the location of St. Mary’s R.C. Chapel, go to: http://bit.ly/2RUltx6

I wish I could have pinpointed exactly where your specific Scollin family had lived in Fermanagh. Indications are they had resided somewhere between Ederney and Drumgrenaghan, Boa Island. On your next trip to Ireland you may want to consider visiting both Ederney and Boa Island, as well as the locations where the three churches were/are situated as described above.

THE SCOTLAND CONNECTION
Earlier you saw that George Scollan arrived in New York from Glasgow, Scotland on 10 June 1872. He arrived on the ship Europa. This makes sense after I found 7 year old Hugh, his 30 year old father George, and 26 year old Margaret in the 1871 Scotland census living at 32 Castle Street, Paisley High Church, Renfrewshire, Scotland. The census shows that George, Margaret, and Hugh were all born in Ireland. George’s occupation was “Ag Labourer,” that is, Agricultural Laborer. Also in the household with the Scollan family is a 26 year old lodger named Catherine Wood, also from Ireland.

The census comes from Ancestry.com. But there are only transcriptions of the census for each family member, not a copy of the original. See the transcriptions for each member of the Scollan household in the 1871 census below:

1871 Scotland Census (No Image)
Name: George Scollan
Age: 30
Estimated birth year: abt 1841
Relationship: Head
Spouse's name: Margret Scollan
Gender: Male
Where born: Ireland
Registration Number: 573/1
Registration district: Paisley High Church
Civil Parish: Paisley High Church
County: Renfrewshire
Address: 32 Castle Street
Occupation: Ag Labourer
ED: 20
Household schedule number: 32
Line: 8
Roll: CSSCT1871_102
____

Name: Margret Scollan
Age: 26
Estimated birth year: abt 1845
Relationship: Wife
Spouse's name : George Scollan
Gender: Female
Where born: Ireland
Registration Number: 573/1
Registration district: Paisley High Church
Civil Parish: Paisley High Church
County: Renfrewshire
Address: 32 Castle Street
Occupation: Ag Labourer
ED: 20
Household schedule number: 32
Line: 8
Roll: CSSCT1871_102
____

Name: Hugh Scollan
Age: 7
Estimated birth year: abt 1864
Relationship: Son
Father's name: George Scollan
Mother's name: Margret Scollan
Gender: Male
Where born: Ireland
Registration Number: 573/1
Registration district: Paisley High Church
Civil Parish: Paisley High Church
County: Renfrewshire
Address: 32 Castle Street
Occupation: Ag Labourer
ED: 20
Household schedule number: 32
Line: 8
Roll: CSSCT1871_102
____

Name: Catherine Wood
Age: 26
Estimated birth year: abt 1845
Relationship: Lodger
Gender: Female
Where born: Ireland
Registration Number: 573/1
Registration district: Paisley High Church
Civil Parish: Paisley High Church
County: Renfrewshire
Address: 32 Castle Street
Occupation: Ag Labourer
ED: 20
Household schedule number: 32
Line: 8
Roll: CSSCT1871_102

Source Citation
Parish: Paisley High Church; ED: 20; Page: 8; Line: 11; Roll: CSSCT1871_102
Source Information
Ancestry.com. 1871 Scotland Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.
____

Paisley High Church is a reference to Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. You can view a Google Map of Castle Street in Paisely at the following link: https://is.gd/hFc7uF

For a Google Street View of Castle Street in Paiseley, see : https://is.gd/QbHMxf

I next found 38 year old George, 36 year old Margaret, and 17 year old Hugh Scollins in the 1880 census living in Boston. George is shown to be employed as a laborer. Margaret is keeping house, while their son Hugh was at school. The census doesn’t give too many more details other than all three family members were born in Ireland. The 1880 census index for the family shows their residence at 124 Terrace Street in Boston, but the name of the street is not recorded on the census page where the family is enumerated.

The 1880 census is attached. The Scollins family begins on Line 7 of the census, which is attached to this reply.

A Google Map shows that Terrace Street is in the Roxbury section of Boston: https://is.gd/5mBmGy

For a Google Street View of present day124 Terrace Street and a three decker sadly in need of a paint job, go to: https://is.gd/ZDDQve

I next found the death record of 49 year old Margaret Scollins, wife of George Scollins. Margaret died on September 25, 1894 at 1 Heath Pl., Boston. The cause of death was “Catarrhal, Pneumonia, Heart Failure.” The death record also shows that Margaret’s “mn,” that is maiden name, was McGuire. The death record further shows she was born in Ireland and that her father’s first name was Patrick, and that her mother’s first and maiden names were Catherine Laferty. Catherine’s death record is attached to this reply.

If you recall, Hugh’s 1863 baptism record shows that his godmother was An Laffarty, who was likely related to Hugh’s mother, Margaret, perhaps her sister.

I looked for Heath Place, Boston, on a Google Map, but couldn’t find it. There is a Heath Street in Boston, but I’m not sure if this is the same street that had been Heath Place in 1894.

Margaret’s death record does not state that her husband George was deceased as of 1894, and so I looked for more information about George Scollins at Ancestry.com and also at the FamilySearch websites.

I found that a George Scollin had petitioned to become a naturalized citizen, dated the “first Wednesday of September 1887.” The petition shows he was living in Salem, Massachusetts, on what appears to be Franklin Street, and that he was from “Bow Island,” in “County Fermanagh” Ireland. Bow Island, I believe, refers to Boa Island. The naturalization clerk who recorded his residence in County Fermanagh may have heard it as Bow. It’s also possible residents who came from Boa Island pronounce it as Bow Island, rather than Bow-ah Island.

I have questions about whether this George Scollin was Hugh’s father, as I hadn’t uncovered any other information that Hugh’s family had connections to Salem, Mass. But to continue…

The naturalization petition also states that George was born on 15 September 1845, and that he arrived in Boston on 20 May 1870. With this information I looked for him on manifests of ships sailing into Boston for all of 1870, but didn’t find him. I also went back to the Magheraculmoney, Fermanagh Catholic baptism registers to see if I could find his baptism in September 1845, as well as for all of 1845, but again without luck.

There are two pages to the petition, which is attached to this reply.

Below is the index of the petition, which does not give all the information that the original two pages do:

Massachusetts, State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1798-1950

Name: George Scollin
Petition Age: 43
Record Type: Petition
Birth Date: 15 Sep 1845
Birth Place: Bow Island
Arrival Date: 20 May 1870
Arrival Place: Boston
Petition Date: Nov 1887
Petition Place: Salem, Massachusetts, USA

Source Citation
National Archives at Boston; Waltham, Massachusetts; ARC Title: Copies of Petitions and Records of Naturalization in New England Courts, 1939 - ca. 1942; NAI Number: 4752894; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: RG 85
____

Two of the witnesses to the petition were John P. Monaghan of Salem, and William Hetherman of Southwick Street. I found both Franklin Street and Southwick Street in Salem on a Google Map, which you can view at: https://is.gd/ldV4z6

For a Google Street View of Franklin Street, go to: https://is.gd/LnAm7a

The mystery is, were there two George Scollins born around the same time who immigrated to Massachusetts from the same area in County Fermanagh? If so, were they related? It appears they were two different individuals, as I found George “Scollon,” living at 15 Franklin Street, Salem, in the Salem Directory for the tear 1880. His occupation was, “Peddler.” In 1880, Hugh, his father George, and his father Margaret were living in Boston, according to the 1880 census. The Salem directory entry for the George Scollon in Salem comes from Ancestry.com. You can view the directory entry below:

U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
Name: George Scollon
Residence Year: 1880
Street address: 15 Franklin
Residence Place: Salem, Massachusetts, USA
Occupation: Peddler
Publication Title: Salem, Massachusetts, City Directory, 1880

Source Information
Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
____

I didn’t find the Salem George Scollon at 15 Franklin Street in the 1880 census.

I next found 63 year old widower George Scollans in the 1910 census living as a boarder in the household of 62 year old James Brady on Lake Street in Boston. George is shown to have been born in Ireland and employed as a laborer in a milk dairy. He must have worked for James Brady as James Brady’s occupation was milk dealer. James Brady was also from Ireland. The 1910 census further shows that George Scollans had immigrated to the U.S. in 1872 and that he was a naturalized citizen. The census is attached to this reply. The Brady household begins on census Line 73.

Previously you saw that the New York ship’s passenger list for George Scollan showed that he arrived in New York from Glasgow, Scotland in 1872. This matches his immigration year in the 1880 census, though years of immigration in these old census returns are not always accurate.

A Google Map shows that Lake Street in Boston runs by Gallagher Park and Saint John’s Seminary. Lake Street also ties into Kendrick Street. If you look at the 1910 census, the street enumerated after Lake Street, is Kendrick Street. See the Google Map at: https://is.gd/VphSeJ

George Scollins died on May 8, 1918 in the Psychopathic Hospital, Boston. At the time of his death however, his residence was 71 Oakland Street in Boston, according to a typed copy of his death in the Boston death register for that year. His occupation at the time of death was “Farm-Hand.” The informant who reported his death was H.J. Scollins, who of course would be his son Hugh. The cause of death was Bronchopneumonia, Chronic Myocarditis, and Chronic Intestinal Nephritis (With Cysts). The attending doctor was C.G. Rounsefell.

George’s mother and father are not recorded in the death record. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery on May 9, 1918. The undertaker was J.P. Cleary & Son. The Boston death register is attached. George’s death is Number 5223 in the register.

For more information and photos about the Boston Psychopathic Hospital, go to the following links:

https://www.abandonedamerica.us/boston-psychopathic-hospital
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Psychopathic_Hospital
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/234384
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boston_Psychopathic_Hospital.jpg

The death record for George Scollins shows that he had been living on Oakland Street in Boston. A Google Map shows that Oakland Street is just north of Lake Street and Rogers Park: https://is.gd/SoRW7D

I found Hugh and Ellen Scollin and their children in the U.S. census returns for Boston for the years 1900 to 1940, but have not included the census returns here. You may already have these enumerations in your records. If not, they are available at Ancestry.com. A note on the 1940 census however. This enumeration shows that Hugh and Ellen’s daughter, 37 year old Marion D. Raines is in the household. The census lists her marriage status as “D,” meaning divorced. The Scollins family was living at 15 Fairview Street in Boston. A Google Map shows the present day location of 15 Fairview Street in Boston, but the house numbers may have changed since 1940: https://is.gd/XpJJ8M

For a Google Street View of Fairview Street go to: https://is.gd/h69APv

Glenn, I’m going to close in just a bit. I’d like to get this information to you as I’m not sure when you are leaving for Ireland.

I haven’t had the chance to look for Ellen Slattery’s line in England or for the family of Nora F. Keefee, because of all the information online that was available for Hugh Scollins and his family in Ireland, Scotland, and America.

Indications are, from the records unearthed thus far, that your Scollin line came from County Fermanagh, rather than from County Monaghan.

In your message you had noted that you had traced your father’s ancestors back to County Monaghan and possibly Killeevan. I had not mentioned earlier that I did find a Hugh Scollins born in the townland of Annamakiff, Killeevan Civil Parish, as well as Killeevan Catholic Parish, County Monaghan, but he was born in the year 1878 to John Scollins and Mary Moore. Annamakiff is on the border with County Fermanagh. I’ve attached the birth record for Hugh Scollins who was born in 1878. The birth record comes from the free irishgenealogy.ie website. His birth is the last one recorded in the register.

The Scollins in County Monaghan and the Scollins family in County Fermanagh may have been related, but all evidence points to your direct Scollins’ ancestors coming from the area around Ederney and Drumgrenaghan, Boa Island, Lower Lough Erne, County Fermanagh.

Best Wishes,

Dave Boylan

Hi Dave, 

I'm at a loss for words. This is lightyears beyond the kind of help I was expecting. My mother's side of the family was easy to trace but I was beginning to lose hope about learning more about my father's side...and then you sent this message. The level of detail and intricacy of your research is incredible and must have taken you a while. The fact that you were so willing to go above and beyond by spending your own time to help a complete stranger without asking for anything in return nearly brought tears to my eyes. My father is going to be absolutely blown away when he sees this, (the house where Hugh and Ellen raised their kids on Fairview st. is a two minute drive from the first house where my family and I lived!!!)

Your effort here has done nothing but affirm my feeling that the Irish are some of the nicest, genuine, and caring people in the world. I can truly say with a full heart that I’m proud to be Irish and can’t wait to learn even more about where I came from. I believe I'll be back in Ireland in next November. I don't know how I'll be able to repay you, but if we are somehow able to meet up, the pints are on me. Again thank you so much for all you did for me and hopefully we can keep in touch! Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Glenn Scollins

You're welcome Glenn, and many thanks for the kind words and for your quick response. No repayment is necessary.

I hope you and your family have a fantastic time on your next trip to Ireland when you visit the areas where your ancestors had lived.

All the best for a Merry Christmas.

Dave