Thomas Joseph Frain born Mayo bapstised Sligo and Emigrated to the US in 1896

[gaffy]

NLI has the original RC baptism entry for Thomas Frain scanned and available to see online, just search  for "Kilmactigue" at the link below, then choose Microfilm 04226/09 (Baptisms 01 July 1864 to 24 July 1880), then look under date of baptism 9 December 1877:

http://registers.nli.ie/

(It's on page 204, the year is in the top left hand corner of each digitised page image)

Edited to add: The baptism for Martin (previously posted) is also recorded in this register, page 232, 9 November 1879.

[aghadowey]

It's argued that there were or were not "No Irish Need Apply" back in those days. Irishmen had a hard time finding work, regardless. My thought is that saying he was an American rather than a recent immigrant made job searches easier. Connecticut, to a less educated person, might not seem as close to the docks as NYC would have.

He probably kept it up because it's hard to untell a lie like it's hard to unring a bell. It's just a guess; I can't ask him. He died when I was six.

Making up your birthplace as 'Connecticut' and then sticking to it does appear strange, especially as his accent would have been a dead give-away- unless he had been in Connecticut or had some connection to it. I'm wondering, if he isn't the Thomas in 1880 census, if he is connected to the Middletown family.

[cowboydan]

I thought for years that the Middletown, CT TJF was my grandfather, but the David and Honora from Cork didn't line up with the County Mayo I'd always heard.

His death certificate shows Dominick and Mary, so being as I've found records from the Mayo/Sligo area, I'm going to go with that until I learn differently.