Coughlin Pier Danahy strange possible connection please help

[oldohiohome]

here is the Dennis Danahy in 1900 with the names that fit the obituary, including Mr Thomas Reese. To be sure he was Bridget's sister you'd still need a few more records, but I like the part about being an officer of Danahy Packing.

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/records/32395198


On my links with ancestrylibrary in them - just remove the "library" from the link and it should work.

[oldohiohome]

for Richard Peer of Buffalo NY
died 29 May 1912
his obituary: Peer - In this city, May 29th, Richard, husband of Mary Peer and brother of Michael Peer of Erie, PA.


This stuff comes from ancestry's hints. It looks like it hangs together, but I didn't look at it thoroughly.

They say his wife Mary was first married to a John Coughlin who died 1877 in Buffalo. Daniel, John, and Ellen (in the household as Pier in 1880) are all said to be John Coughlin's children and are listed as such in 1892. Daniel's SS information says his parents were John Coughlin and Mary Leary.

Mary Leary is said to be this person:

Mary Leary, baptized Schull West Parish 27 March 1844, father's first name is missing
mother: Nelly Mahoney. one of the witnesses is a Coughlin
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61039/records/5807452

[oldohiohome]

for Michael Peer of Erie PA in 1912

Pennsylvania Death Certificate
died 27 March 1926, Erie, PA, at 726 West 2nd St
parents: Richard Peer, Ellen Driscoll
spouse: Mary Mahoney
informant: Mary E Peer of 726 W 2 St
buried Trinity Cemetery

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/5164/records/4289374

Richard Peer and Ellen Driscoll should sound familiar.

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If you send to NY State for records, have you tried the city of Buffalo first? It used to be cheaper and faster to get the records at the local level if they are still held there. I guess a lot of them might be archived at the state level by now.

[MurphyK91]

I think that must be a different Dennis. I found this one who worked for Danahy Packing and was active in Democratic circles. The age and time spent in Buffalo work out also. You'd have to find his wife and children.

obit March 9, 1925 . Died March 8

How would it be a different Dennis if the obituary literally mentions him being survived by a sister named Mrs Bridget Coughlin? It was also in Buffalo. Thank you

[MurphyK91]

for Richard Peer of Buffalo NY
died 29 May 1912
his obituary: Peer - In this city, May 29th, Richard, husband of Mary Peer and brother of Michael Peer of Erie, PA.


This stuff comes from ancestry's hints. It looks like it hangs together, but I didn't look at it thoroughly.

They say his wife Mary was first married to a John Coughlin who died 1877 in Buffalo. Daniel, John, and Ellen (in the household as Pier in 1880) are all said to be John Coughlin's children and are listed as such in 1892. Daniel's SS information says his parents were John Coughlin and Mary Leary.

Mary Leary is said to be this person:

Mary Leary, baptized Schull West Parish 27 March 1844, father's first name is missing
mother: Nelly Mahoney. one of the witnesses is a Coughlin
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61039/records/5807452

That is fascinating! John Coughlin the Alderman never married or had any children, but this is all incredibly interesting regardless. Perhaps we might be dealing with two families that commonly intermarried with each other?

I have that with my Gardinier/Willick/Vickerd families. My great grandparents were Earl Gardinier and Ruth Vickerd. Ruth's cousin married Earl's sister! Multiple other close relatives married other members of the same family so we have loads of double cousins and double second cousins. Haha. I'm guessing this was probably more common the further you go back in time.

[oldohiohome]

I found two men named Dennis Danahy in Buffalo in that time period.

this is the one who died in 1904:
 Dennis Danahy (c 1848, Ireland - 1904)
    1875: age 30, fireman, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7250/records/1365717605
    1880: age 36, keeps a boarding stable, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6742/records/38434206
    1900: age 52, proprietor, livery stable, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/records/18731780
    1904: survived by brothers John and Timothy, and a sister Mrs Bridget Coughlin
  + Ellen Mahoney
     - Francis (c 1873 - )
     - Dennis Danahy (c 1875 - )
     - Edward Danahy (c 1877 - June 22, 1931, Detroit)
            death record says parents Dennis Danahy and Ellen Mahoney, both born in Buffalo
     - Gertrude Margaret Danahy (c 1879 - )

obituary https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/363233670/

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this is one who died in 1925
    - Dennis Danahy (c Apr 1843, Ireland - 8 March 1925, Buffalo)
          1892: age 48, butcher, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3212/records/683948
          1900: b April 1843, foreman, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/records/32395198
          1910: with the Reeses, foreman, packing company, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7884/records/17414174
          1920: with the Reeses, foreman, meat company, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061/records/86964995
          findagrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/264026547/dennis-danahy
               findagrave says he was the brother of Michael and Matthew, the meat packers
       + Flora (c 1845, Ireland - ) on 1892 census but died before 1900
            - Marie Danahy (June 1872 - )
              + Thomas J Reese (February 1873 - )
            - Josie Danahy (c 1878, US - )
              + George Walter
            - William Danahy (c 1872, US )
            - Margaret Danahy (August 1883 - ) single in 1920
            - Alice Danahy (November 1885 - ) single in 1920

You might need to look at the death records to sort them out for sure, hopefully.

[oldohiohome]

This might be Bridget Pier/Danahy in 1855. the information matches, but there is no way of knowing for sure.
1855 Census, Buffalo, Ward 2, E.D. 2
July 3, 1855
dwelling 400, family 430, image 31
Bridget Unknown, 22, servant, born in Ireland, in Buffalo 5 years, alien, "cannot read or write" was not checked off
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9BPY-XNC?wc=M6G3-T2S%3A237409201%2C237482301%26cc%3D1937366&lang=en&i=30&cc=1937366

I browsed Wards 1 and 2 of Buffalo in 1855 and didn't find any Danahys. They don't show up in the index. I wonder if they were in an orphanage or being raised by other families and listed under those names. I have no idea. I'd think they would be listed on the census if in an orphanage.

When they start showing up again in 1860 and 1865 they are with relatives - In 1860 Michael, Dennis, and Timothy are with Bridget and Timothy Coughlin.

Then in 1865 Matthew is with his brother Michael.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVNN-JYCY?lang=en

[oldohiohome]

a possible Danahy arrival on the Columbus from Liverpool, arrived 8 October 1849

might show up indexed as Deneley

Dennis Denehy, 50, workman   [matches 1850 census]
Johanna Denehy, 49
Mary Denehy, 19                   [does not match Mariah's age, but might not be her anyway]
Daniel Denehy, 17, workman   [matches 1850 census]
Mick Denehy, 13                    [off by 2 on 1850 census]
Dennis Denehy, 7, child          [matches 1850 census]
Mathew Denehy, 5                [off by 2 on 1850 census]

image 7.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7488/images/NYM237_84-0259?queryId=53a767e5-6363-48f7-af3e-397bac009c99&usePUB=true&_phsrc=cQQ462&_phstart=successSource&pId=1023633586

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If that is them, then daughter Mary left the household, Johanna died, and Dennis remarried to Mrs (widow) Pier - mother of at least Bridget and maybe Mariah. Then Mrs Pier died. All between October 8, 1849, and July 25, 1850, when Dennis, Bridget, and Dennis' children were enumerated on the census.

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You mentioned going to a familysearch library. Besides baptisms, do they have the records of marriages and deaths at the same parish or nearby? I'd look for anyone named Danahy who died or married between 1849 and 1850. And anyone named Pier who died maybe 1845 to 1850, and any Pier who married between 1849 and 1850.

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Another puzzle is that in 1855 Maria Coughlin's information said she had been in Buffalo only 3 years. And in 1865 and 1875 the information said she was born in Canada. She probably wasn't, but did her family arrive in Buffalo via Canada, and that is why whoever provided the information thought she was born there? Still, I didn't find a trace of her or the Piers in the Canadian records and the BMD records are pretty thorough and on line.

[MurphyK91]

I found images I took some years ago when I went to the Buffalo library. One of a baptism of an Ellen Coughlin with parents listed as Timothy Coughlin and Bridget Pier. The sponsors are William Pier and Mary Anne Callahan.

Have a picture of a baptism of Mariah Coughlin of Timothy Coughlin and Bridget Danahy in 1854 was at the top of the page. Sponsors are Jer Collins and Ellen Danahy.

From what I recall there weren't many marriages or deaths to be found in those particular records for those years.

I found a lot of information on William Pier in particular. He had what I suspect is a sister Elizabeth married to a Cornelius Mehigan. They can be found close in the earliest census records I found for them in 1860. Through a death notice of Catharine Pier Kelly, she is her daughter, but I don't suspect she married a Pier as her name is listed in baptisms as Pier. I think they'd still use her maiden name and they lived very close to William Pier born between 1815-1825.

Interestingly enough there that William Pier had a son Richard Pier in the 1855 census. There is a Richard Pier in the 1880 census who changed to Peer later on who appears to have came from West Schull.