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Ireland (Historical Counties) => Ireland => Topic started by: jackjohn on Wednesday 30 March 11 19:52 BST (UK)
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Hello All
I am at a standstill trying to locate any info on my grandfather's family (or any info on my grandfather's birthplace , etc...)
His name : William Joseph Massey
Born : 29 Sept. 1876 (varies from '76 to '79 depending on source)
the birthdate comes from his WW1 draft reg. - I know this one is his because the address he gave is the same one at the time of his death
Birthplace : Ireland ????
Immigration : Unknown - he died at age 40 (or up to42 , again , depending on source of birth year)
his death cert states he was a resident of US (and NYCity) for 36 years (which would have him arriving 1879/80 (or up to 1884 depending on source) , yet on 1910 census it states his year of immagration as 1892 ???????
I've checked Ellis Is. database with no luck
Father: William Birthplace : Ireland ????
Mother: Julia O'Herlihy Birthplace : Ireland ????
birth years/marriage year unknown for Wm. and Julia
the father and mother info came from my grandfather's death certificate from 1918 (image attached)
unfortunately , my living relatives are as clueless as I am :'(
when I had a subscription at anstry , I tried all ways I could think of for info (I had the 'world' subscription) and I've tried LDS (1 of the 5 census are definitely my g'father (1910 census) , 1 is a very , very strong (99.9% certain)possibility (1900 census) , NJ State census a possibility and other 2 ruled out .
None of the birth or marriage records seem to match my g'father or his parents .
As I said in the header of my message , I know this is a real shot in the dark but seeing some of the amazing results you all seem to have in finding the 'needle in the haystack', I wanted to put this up and give it a whirl .
I want to thank everyone , in advance , for taking some of your time to read/research/respond to this .
Thank You
jackjohn
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no direct link for William, but there is a possible sibling listed in the extracted records on familysearch :
name: Helena Maria Massey
birth date: 29 Sep 1878
birthplace: Cork
parents : William Bennett Massey & Julia O'Herlihy
This record doesn't mention where in Co. Cork ... but it may be possible to find a matching civil BMD index record. These details can be used to order a birth cert - which will give a more precise location. e.g. a street, village or townland
Shane
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There's a good full name match for that extracted record in the BMD Index. The registration district is Cork, which is quite large so doesn't really narrow down the location. It covers the city and also a large area of the county including towns such as Cobh, Ballingcolling, Blarney, Glanmire, Passage West and Watergrasshill
Name: Helena Maria Massey
Registration district: Cork
Event type: Birth
Quarter and year: Oct-Dec 1878
Volume : 5 / Page : 117
I dont see any good matches for Williams birth in the Cork area on either the extracted records or the BMD Index.
See :
Introduction to Irish Records (http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,442233.0.html)
Ordering Certs from GRO Roscommon (http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,433040.0.html)
Details included on a Birth Cert (http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,433041.0.html)
Shane
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and a possible marriage cross-match from the BMD index for the parents :
Name: William Bennett Massey
Registration district: Cork
Event type: Marriage
Year: 1876
Volume : 20 / Page : 85
name: Julia O'Herlihy
[same references as William]
Shane
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Hi Shane
Thanks for the super fast response(s) . I had seen that entry a while back . I think I may have mistakenly dismissed it because I had it stuck in my head that fathers had the habit of naming their sons after themselves (i.e. my g'father Wm. Joseph named his first son Wm. Joseph , my father was John Patrick and he named me John Patrick) . But I have read here that that naming pattern is not always the 'norm'. The birth date would fit perfectly (if g'father did in fact die at 40 y.o. in 1918) and other than the middle name of Bennett , everything else fits nicely ... and I never gave it a thought that he could have been a 'twin'. And thank you for the additional follow-up replies !! I hadn't even finished typing my reply to your first response and you replied twice more !! Amazing ;D I will have a look at BDM index again with this info .
Thank You so much !!!!
jackjohn
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Not certain if this is the same person (there's several William B. or Bennet Massey's listed in the BMD Index records around that time), but there's a William B. Massey, artist listed in Slater's directory of 1881, with two addresses in Cork city
102 Patrick St and 66 North Main Street
The listing section is titled Artists - portrait, miniature, landscape &c and painters. He's also listed under booksellers & stationers
Shane
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Wasn't your William Joseph Massey a photographer in New Jersey? perhaps father was an artist...
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Hi aghadowey
I was just going to respond to Shane's reply that in the 1900 NJ census (one I was unsure of) Wm. J's occupation was listed as a photographer and I know he made a living as a sign painter later in life . He's listed as a 'sign painter' on 1910 census and as a 'painter' on his death cert .
Again , thank you so much for all this information . I think I may be finally finding some answers to my questions .
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a couple questions about the Slater's directory ....
1) was the Slater's directory a sort of pre- telephone type directory for the city/town ?
2) would the listing of the two addresses be a home address and a business address ?
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a couple questions about the Slater's directory ....
1) was the Slater's directory a sort of pre- telephone type directory for the city/town ?
2) would the listing of the two addresses be a home address and a business address ?
Slater's is a trade/street directory and like other's includes officials, prominent people and certain trades. There's are some other Cork directories searchable online - see the Cork resources section of RootsChat for links. The two addresses are probably business listings, but the family could have lived over one of these.
there's a possible connection on the 1901 census- another Massey household with one of the same trades as William B. - a bookseller named Nassau (mistranscribed as Nassan).
Massey household - 1901 (http://census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Cork/North_East_Ward/Ballinamought_East/1101373/)
Shane
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found a listing in the alphabetical index of Guy's directory of 1884 (http://www.corkpastandpresent.ie/places/streetandtradedirectories/1884citycountyalmanacanddirectoryguys/) of the Cork Past and Present website mentioned in the resources link. W.B. and Nassau are mentioned with 5 address between them.
The directory probably has a trades or street listing included, but I haven't found this yet..
see : Massey (http://www.corkpastandpresent.ie/places/streetandtradedirectories/1884citycountyalmanacanddirectoryguys/1884pages168to209/CorkCity&County1884Pages180%20to%20185.pdf) (pdf file - see page 2 of 3)
Shane
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there's a marriage for Nassau & Jane in the extracted collection on familysearch - might be useful to have in case he turns out to be a brother or other relation of William B.
Groom: Nassau Massey
Bride: Jane Peasley
Marriage date: 26 Aug 1852
Marriage place: Cork
groom's father Samuel Massey
bride's father: William Peasley
Shane
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could actually be W.B. father
found Nassau Massey in Civil Registrations
Nassau Massey
Cork
DEATHS
Apr - Jun 1912
Est. Birth Year: 1823
Age (at Death): 89
born about 1823 ... if my g'father was born 1878 and Nassau married in'52 , W.B. could have been born '52 - '58 or so , married in '76 ....... had g'father (and Helena Marie it seems) in '78
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May have been more than one with that name- marriage bond for a Nassau Massey and Catherine Shea in 1815:
http://www.osheaclan.org/mlb.pdf
Obituary of Nassau Massey, bookseller, Cork.
http://sources.nli.ie/Search/Results?lookfor=nassau+massey&type=AllFields&submit=FIND
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found Julia O'Herlihy listed at 66 No. Main street in 1875-76 in a Cork City's Residents listing . http://digdatgenealogy.com/cork75o.htm
This address comes up in the 1881 Slater's Directory listing for one of the addresses listed for W.B. ... as referenced by shane in an earlier reply in this thread (reply #5)
curious if this was a residence above a type of shop (according to what I could find) , that address is a retail shop presently
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Hi
I Recently came across a picture of Cork's South Mall showing the Imperial Hotel in 1872 on the NLI website. The picture can be magnified, so I decided to have a look down the side street called Pembroke Street. Thinking here was to see if I could identify the shops and thus positively date the picture using the information in Guy's street directory for 1875.
This I succeeded in doing. The shop visible here facing the end of Pembroke St was occupied by a bookseller named Nassau Massey. It's blurry but you can make out the words N Massey over the first floor window, and the sign on the downstairs retail shop (trust me) says School + College Books.
He was gone from this premises by 1881, and the shop is now occupied by the Cobbler, a shoe repair and leather goods shop just diagonally across the road from the Cork GPO.
Here's the link to the NLI photo. http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000339590
Lots of interesting things to be seen in the front view of the Imperial, also. Photography was in it's infancy and there are a dozen or so ghostly images of Imperial Hotel bystanders . Enjoy.
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Helena Maria Massey born Sep 29th 1878 no twin to William Bennett Massey,Photographer and Julia O'Herlihy of 102 Patrick St,Cork
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_returns/births_1878/02936/2075776.pdf
appears to have married William V Cronin in Manhatton 1898
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F67K-441
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WW6-VDD
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WHL-FGV
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WZS-NN6
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2W8F-L52