The computers at the census bldg were finally working and I saw your tree. The Ballydougan location for Jane Hopps is extremely clear. All the Wm Hopps entries in Griffith seem to be references land owned by one man.
James McAvoy arrived in 1905 to go to brother Joseph saying then that he was born 1881 and later 1883.. He promptly calls himself Harry and rents a home and heads back to Ireland to get married to Elizabeth Bell who is probably from Ballyhannon. He returns and becomes James H. McAvoy and she arrives in 1906. However, she goes back to Ireland about 1910 probably before her first baby Lucy is born. He lived with some ex-Knocknamuckley folk at that time. The ellis island entry of her return confused me and I will get to this. They go on to have Jessie, Joseph H., Eunice. Elizabeth, and Mabel and move to a nearby town. They return to visit Ireland in 1951. James is not in the 1901 census, but by a long stretch, may be in Stevenson, Ayrshire in 1901.
Joseph McAvoy claims to be born July 28, 1884 and also in 1887. A Ballydougan/Portadown man lives with him in 1910 and he has married a Cloncore Elizabeth Symington. He moved to the Bronx by 1930 and lists a middle initial of J, not H. His gravestone says "C' which could be a penmanship error or could indicate a mother's maiden name. He moved to Springfield, MA after having children Ida, Lawrence J. and Howard. The Joseph H. that appears in the Amsterdam newspapers may be the son of his brother, aiding in my confusion. Joseph's emigration is not obvious on ellisisland unless he stayed a bit in Glasgow. The Elizabeth arriving to Jos H. McAvoy, husband, was actually going to Jas. H. McAvoy, my mistake. In 1942, Joseph claimed he was born in Belfast, but claims are often distorted by then. There was a tree available at ancestry at one point, but seems no longer available. I have asked the Symington researcher whether she knows more, but the message isn't smoothly reaching her.
There was extremely high level of recruitment of Knocknamuckley families by an Amsterdam carpet mill especially in 1903. Most of the Irish arriving at that time were from there. Portadown people were flowing to So. Manchester, Connecticut at the same time. Things were very localized. Families went to friends, associated with those friends in the new home, and then moved on to other locations as opportunities arrived. Springfield and nearby Holyoke,MA and Paterson, NY were typical.
I am very interested in the Lewis as the middle name of one of Matilda and James's children. I really think there is a connection, and Thomas renting to Lucas/Lewis is typical of a father/ son rental which this is not. Did you see that Bernard's home was similar but opposite? Also that it runs at an angle to the street which reduced taxes early on. Possibly that means the houses were there for some time and this is a family that moved in before the tax structure changed in
year. (Windows facing the street were taxed, so oldest houses are often at an angle to the street.)
I need to order tapes and will try for the marriage record from Banbridge.
