The Kearney Brothers

The sad story of James Goodbody Kearney may not have been the only tragedy for this family. James, the youngest child, had at least four brothers. Patrick appears to have died in infancy in Ireland. Edward died at age 21.[1] John and Matthew, born in Ireland, settled in Jersey City, New Jersey, married and had families.

John married Margaret Finerty on 1 March 1870 at St. Peter’s Church in Jersey City.[2] They had at least five children, Laura, Sarah, Mary, Mathew and John, born between 1871 and 1879.[3]

Matthew married Eliza Grumley on 5 October 1873 at St. Michael’s Church in Jersey City.[4] They had at least two children, Margaret in born 1876 and James born in 1879.[5] The gap between the date of marriage and the date of birth of the first known child suggests that there may have been other children who did not survive.

Matthew died on 1 April 1890 of phthisis pulmonalis (a wasting disease; tuberculosis).[6] John died on 8 February 1901 of exhaustion from chronic [illegible].[7] What did these brothers have in common? They both died at Snake Hill Lunatic Asylum! Their brother, James, died in 1910 at the facility previously known as New Jersey State Lunatic Asylum. Admission to these institutions was an easy process while a release was difficult to obtain. Patients were admitted for a variety of ailments and, in some cases, merely being difficult to handle was cause for admission.[8]

Snake Hill is located on the grounds of the Meadowlands in Secaucus, New Jersey. While the facility no longer exists, many patients who died at the facility were buried in a potter’s field on the grounds. A memorial plaque recognizes the many patients whose bodies were disinterred and re-interred during construction of the Secaucus Interchange of the New Jersey Turnpike.

Fortunately, these brothers were not buried on these grounds. John and Matthew were buried with their parents in Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, while James was buried with his wife’s family in Princeton, New Jersey. It is comforting to know that they were not forgotten when they were placed in these dreadful facilities.

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[1] Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York, St. Peter:K:011, burial of Edward Kearney, date of interment 31 December 1871; letter from cemetery dated 29 January 2009.

[2] Return of Marriage, New Jersey State Archives, New Jersey, Hudson County, Jersey City, marriages May1869-May 1870, no. 118, marriage of John Kearney and Margaret Finerty, date of marriage 1 March 1870; microfilm transcription (4 November 2009).

[3] 1880 U.S. census, Hudson County, New Jersey, population schedule, Jersey City, ED 2, p. 45D, house 85, dwelling 48, family 190, household of John Kearney; digital images online (www.ancestry.com : 31 May 2015) citing NARA publication T9, roll 782.

[4] New Jersey Marriages, 1678-1985, Hudson County, New Jersey, Jersey City, ref. 320: p. 27, marriage of Matthew Kearney and Eliza Grumley, date of marriage 5 October 1873; index (familysearch.org : 26 May 2010).

[5] 1880 U.S. census, Hudson County, New Jersey, population schedule, Jersey City, ED 36, p. 60, house X, dwelling 441, family 618, household of  Matt Kearney; digital image online (www.ancestry.com : 31 May 2015) citing NARA publication T9, roll 784.

[6] Death Certificate, Hudson County, New Jersey, Secaucus, New Jersey State Archives, 1889-90:42-K182, death of Matthew Kearney, date of death 1 April 1890; microfilm.

[7] Death Certificate, Hudson County, New Jersey, Secaucus, New Jersey State Archives, 1901: cert. 6194, death of John Kearney, date of death 8 Feb 1901; microfilm.

[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_Hill : 12 June 2015.

Children of Matthew Kearney and Hannah Goodbody

With clues provided by several sources, the family of Matthew Kearney and Hannah Goodbody has been identified.[1] Matthew Kearney and Hannah Goodbody were married on 1 November 1839 in Mountmellick, County Queens (now Laois), Ireland.[2] Baptismal registers have been useful in identifying the children. However, daughter, Margaret, was listed in the registers as Margaret Carney while all of the other children were identified with the Kearney name.

My great grandfather, James Kearney, was the youngest of nine children born over a seventeen-year span. Edward, Sarah, Elizabeth and James immigrated with their parents in 1868.[3] Immigration records have not yet been located for the older children.

Margaret baptized 27 September 1840

Mary baptized 5 May 1842

Patt baptized 5 August 1843

John baptized 15 September 1844

Matthew baptized 23 August 1846

Edward baptized 23 December 1849

Sarah baptized 9 November 1851

Elizabeth baptized 30 July 1854

James baptized 1 November 1857

St. Joseph’s, Mountmellick R.C. Baptismal Records, Co. Queens, Ireland

Future blogs will follow each of these children with the exception of son, Patt [Patrick]. It is likely that he died in infancy. He was not mentioned as a child of Matthew Kearney in the letter written by James Goodbody nor has he been found any other records to date.

Katherine Hannah, who immigrated with the family, has not been identified through baptismal records as a child of Matthew and Hannah. She may be related but it does not appear that she is a member of this particular family.

Many records were used to identify the children of Matthew Kearney and Hannah Goodbody. Some of them appear in census and immigration records. Some appear in personal correspondence. Some are easily followed as they married and had their own families and some are not but they each have a story.

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[1] Baptism of children of Matthew Kearney and Hannah Goodbody,  Mountmellick, Co Queens, Ireland Baptisms, FHL, film 926121, microfilm of original registers, St. Joseph's, dates of baptism: various; on site FHL : 1 February 2012.

[2] Church Marriage Record, Mountmellick, Co Queens, Ireland, marriage of Matthew Kearney and Hannah Goodbody, date of marriage 1 November 1839; online database, (www.rootsireland.ie : 23 March 2015).

[3] “New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957,” entry for Matthew Kearney, date of arrival 20 March 1868, New York aboard the City of London; digital images online, (www.ancestry.com : 18 February 2015).

Matthew Kearney of Derrycloney

Several years ago, a query and good fortune connected me with a distant cousin in England. I posted a query searching for information about Matthew Kearney who married Hannah Goodbody. Michael Goodbody was writing a book about the Goodbody family and had some tidbits about my Kearneys. I knew that Matthew Kearney was born about 1813 possibly in Co. Queens (now Co. Laois). He died on 17 June 1899 in New York City.[1] Several of their children were listed with them on the passenger list in 1868.[2]

  

Cousin Michael shared a letter he had acquired written by Hannah’s brother, Matthew, a guard for convicts in Western Australia. Just before his death in 1905, at the age of 85, Matthew stated that his “brother-in-law Matt Carney” took his family to New York, “his daughter Mary became ladysmaid to Mrs Hatok, banker & took her in the continent & presented her with gold timekeeper. Margaret got married to a native of New Jersey. Matthew a ferryman, Ellise & Nellie & Lawrence serving at Fairbank & Co.”

Michael also shared a statement written by James Goodbody of New York in 1912. According to him, “Hannah married Matthew Kearney of Daryclony (Derrycloney) adjoining Mountmellick. He was a Catholic and was married in 1838. Their children were as follows, Margaret, Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah, John, Matthew, Edward and James. They came to America in 1868.”

My brick wall was suddenly a family! They were known to people on three continents but were a mystery to me. New to me was daughter, Margaret, who will get her own blog post. While searching for records for these children, I also discovered another child, Patrick, who likely died in infancy. While Matthew Goodbody’s statement has some name errors, much of his statement matches what is known about the family. Ellise, Nellie and Lawrence are likely Elizabeth, Sarah and James. James did, in fact, work for Fairbanks Scale Company.

Michael Goodbody published his book about the Goodbodys, an Irish Quaker family, in 2011.

This well-documented family name, previously only a mysterious middle name for my great grandfather, James Goodbody Kearney, has led to wonderful clues about my Kearneys. A lingering question remains. Who was Katherine Hannah (click here to view passenger list) who immigrated with the family? I think I know.

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[1] New York Department of Health, 1899, No. 17329, death of Matthew Kearney, New York City.

[2] “New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957,” entry for Matthew Kearney, date of arrival 20 March 1868, New York aboard the City of London; digital images online, (www.ancestry.com : 18 February 2015).

James Goodbody Kearney

Many questions have been asked about James Goodbody Kearney, my paternal great grandfather, through the years. The family story was that he suffered a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized when his children were quite young. Since no one talked about him and apparently my grandfather knew little of him, he became the brick wall. This is my surname and I knew so little of this line beyond my grandfather, Matthew J. Kearney. Something had to be done!

Starting with the known, a death notice was located for James Kearney. He died on 26 January 1910 in Trenton, New Jersey.[1]

Since his death occurred before the 1910 United States census was recorded, the 1900 census was searched. James Kearney was enumerated in 1900 in the New Jersey State Hospital at Trenton. Listed as a salesman, he was 43 years old, born about 1857, in Ireland.[2] My grandfather was born in 1896 and only four years old when his father was in New Jersey State Hospital.

James Goodbody Kearney

Working backwards, the 1890 U.S. census was destroyed leaving a gap between the 1880 and 1900 census records. In that gap, on 20 August 1884, James G. Kearney became a naturalized citizen.  Living at 232 East 46 Street, New York City, he was a clerk born in 1858. His date of arrival in the United States was 1868.[3] With this clue for his immigration, the passenger list for James and his family was located.[4] 

Traveling in Steerage, the family arrived in New York (through Castle Garden, the point of entry prior to Ellis Island) on 20 March 1868. 

 Matthew Kearney, 50, Labourer; Katherine Hannah, 20, Spinster; Hannah, 48, Wife; 

Edward, 18, Labourer; Children - Eliza, 7; Sarah, 8; James, 6.

James Goodbody Kearney can now be placed in context within a family structure. However, records can be confusing. James is only 6 when other records indicate he would have been about 10 or 11 in 1868. Was the cost of passage a factor? Did the family give younger ages for the children to pay a lower fare? Why is there a gap of ten years between Sarah and Edward? Are these all members of the same family?

James was a father, husband, son and brother. I knew he was my great grandfather but he was also such a singular, detached member of the family. It is good to place him with his parents and siblings. But, what kind of life did he lead? What prompted his admission to the hospital? I have some clues!

To be continued….

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[1] Death Notice, Trenton Evening Times, New Jersey, Trenton, death of James Kearney, date of death 26 January 1910, p. 7; digital image online, Genealogybank.com (www.genealogybank.com : 18 February 2015).
[2] 1900 U.S. census, Mercer County, New Jersey, population schedule, Trenton, ED 44, NJ State Hospital at Trenton, James Kearney, p. 11A; digital image online, (www.ancestry.com : 5 March 2015) citing NARA publication T623, roll 981.
[3] James G. Kearney, Petition for Naturalization (1884), petition file no. 175, Court of Commons Pleas at New York County, vol. 551; National Archives – Northeast Region, New York.
[4] “New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957,” entry for Matthew Kearney, date of arrival 20 March 1868, New York aboard the City of London; digital images online, (www.ancestry.com : 18 February 2015).