From Dungannon, Tyrone to Chicago via Glasgow and Other Distractions

Two weeks ago I began the almost futile search for some or any Irish records of my relatives.  I started with my Murphy side. 

I initially found two of the seven children’s baptisms. Yay.. we come from Gortgonnis, Dungannan, Tyrone. It is described in Irish parish records as being in the Diocese of Armagh. Dungannan is in the south East of County Tyrone in Northern Ireland.  It had a population of 3800 in the 1840s and was known for its agriculture and linen production. Dungannon comes from the Irish Dun Geanainn meaning Geannann’s stronghold.  2/3 of the population was catholic. Gortgannis town is 1.44  km square. 

Dungannon in Northern Ireland

This is quite a breakthrough finding the family cross matched with the name McConville (Convill in all its forms). We also know the deceased father James Murphy is a farmer.  I can't find him listed as the main tenant on the Griffith valuations. It is highly likely they were some of the Irish emigrants who came to Glasgow during aftermath of the potato famine.  A pretty miserable time as the great Irish famine- Gorta Mor -was a period of mass starvation. Ireland was a place of evictions, starvation and harsh living conditions.  It's a period of Irish history where the population of Ireland fell by 25% with families either dying of starvation or taking any way out of there.

Based on matching the family with various residential records we know that the Murphys came to Glasgow before 1851. Quite possibly their father James died before they arrived in Glasgow. Their widowed mother is Hannah McConville and she with daughter (possibly step daughter) Elizabeth and sons Michael, John, Joseph, James, Patrick are living in a crowded tenement in 53 Greater Hamilton St in the 1851 census. It is important to note that these are illiterate agricultural people originally - the dates of birth are all over the place. 

Hannah and family in 1851 Scottish census

The family continues to make their new life finding work in Glasgow, marrying, starting families etc. Michael the older son married Catherine Sorley and later Elizabeth McNamara. His family line has been documented in my great grandmother Mary Ann Murphy’s story. http://robynandthegenies.blogspot.com/search/label/Murphy%20Family%20history Basically a few years after coming to Glasgow he had married, had a child Hannah with Catherine and 8 children with Elizabeth McNamara. Several died in infancy, some are traced and the rest are a work in progress (everyone is called Murphy!!)

I had already managed to flesh out the trees of brother James who married Ann Dunion. He was the rag trader and metal broker with nine children. His family has been quite well researched and details can be easily cross referenced to prove his mother is Hannah and brother was Michael.

John, another brother, married Elizabeth Moffitt in 1872 and the couple had two children – Lizzie (step daughter) and John Francis. He was an iron molder and later a spirit merchant. Research shows him living with his mother in the 1861 and 1871 census and witness at his brother’s second marriage to Elizabeth McNamara.

A few Ancestry hints sent me off to investigate Elizabeth who may have married Patrick McDevitt and had five children. DNA may prove this one day. Her marriage record appears to be missing so this is still under speculation. There are 4 Elizabeth Murphys in this story!

Patrick and his life in Glasgow is still to be found. I had no leads on Joseph until a relative made contact via Ancestry. This distracts me from my Irish research.

This delightfully quirky Chicago relative, Susie, reached out for some insight into the daughter of Joseph Murphy or rather the German son-in-law. She’d seen I had made some progress on the Murphy tree. I got waylaid with the German side of her story. However she kindly provided me with details of Joseph’s marriage to Elizabeth McAuley and there was a resulting three children- Catherine, John and Joseph. I do admit I did get a little side tracked when one of the sons, James turned up as an army deserter from the 1st Lanark corps in 4/3/1878. Some kind people on a Genealogy Facebook page supplied me with the necessary document and a description of the lad.

I went exploring the German/ Scottish marriage of Joseph’s daughter Catherine to Theodore Bloch AKA Block and their subsequent immigration to Chicago. Catherine, a mill worker had married a recently emigrated German cabinetmaker possibly from Berlin or Baumberg. Theodore had anglicised his name to Block. They married on 29 December 1876 in Cathcart not in a Catholic or Lutheran Church but in the United Presbyterian Church. Many Irish families at the time tried to hide their Catholic backgrounds and blended in with Scottish protestant churches.

Catherine Murphy marries Theodore Block 1876

What was Block doing in Glasgow and what was his background?  I threw a few questions around Strictly Scottish Genealogy Facebook page and speculation about Theodore and his parents was rife that he may have indeed have had a Jewish or Polish background based on his mother’s name of Blasinski. What was he doing in Scotland??? After their marriage Catherine and Theodore had two children- Alena Elizabeth b 1877 and Catherine b 1881 in  Scotland before heading off to Chicago in 1883. Being able to link the family to Ireland, Germany, Scotland and then USA was gold.  So often unknown details of immigration and/or place of origin is the brick wall for completing many trees.

Many emails later I extracted more details from Susie. They ended up in Illinois where Alice was born in 1883 followed by Josephine 1885, William Theodore 1888, Minnie 1892, John 1893, Charles 1894 and George in 1897.

Drawing a blank with Susie’s request for more information on the husband’s German birth I promise to put the details on my online tree and watch for hints. Ever curious I wondered why the Blocks chose to go to Chicago in the 1880s. A google search discovered that Scottish and German migrants to Chicago were plentiful in the late 1800s.  The 1900 Census showed 15.8% of people in the Chicago surrounds had German Ancestry. In fact Germans are the largest ethnic group in 80% of Chicago's suburbs. Research also showed that a large percentage of the German immigrants were Catholic with Protestant and Jewish numbers being much smaller. So possibly Theodore wasn't of Jewish background. 

As to the Scottish immigration it seems transatlantic crossings were possible because of the regular services by ships between Scotland and USA. At the time they left Scotland, Chicago was a flourishing economy seeking skilled workers in high paying jobs in housing and new industries. There should have been plenty of work for Theodore with his carpentry skills. 

Most immigrants located to the north east of Illinois on the south west shores of Lake Michigan. The early censuses show new towns and neighbourhoods populated with the immigrants and the ancestry records show many intermarriages between German families. Some of them Anglicised their names. Interestingly the Blocks are sometimes known as Bloch and the Catherines have changed their name from a “C” to a “K”.

To add a new disruption into the mix I was fiddling with my DNA matches while I got my head around these “Murphys”. High up on my list is a girl named Sharon who had a 100 centremorgan with six segments DNA match. I had previously discounted her as her smallish tree only had German names which didn’t fit with my mostly Irish, Scottish and English. This time I saw that her small tree featured the name Bloch. What previously seemed too hard now seemed like I could be close. She was from one of the Block daughters born in Scotland. She was a second cousin of Susie into the bargain. I found she had some knowledge of the Murphy background but she admitted she was unsure of how to put a tree together.

Distracted, preoccupied or engrossed- call it what you will- I decided to do it myself. Clearly limited by the UK plus ancestry package I subscribe to I made notes about what USA records to follow up using the free Ancestry Worldwide subscription at my Council library. Too many notes later I gave up and researched how much would cost me to upgrade to Worldwide membership. Having negotiated a good price I start to work on this now American Block family.

I discovered lots about the family with a whirl through the very detailed census documents the USA has taken over the years. Often they were found living with a sibling or the extended family. This is particularly so as two of the daughters became widowed and lived with their single brothers. As usual the “cookies” tracking my research began throwing up hints. Catherine and Theodore  died in the 1924. I am able to find records for marriages, births, deaths for children and grandchildren.

Theodore Block and Family in US 1910 census

A few things that pop up in the hints are the World War I and ll Draft documents. Then I’m distracted again- Susie had told me about William. You already know I’m interested in vaudeville and the stage because it’s the Block’s second cousins who have been involved in Music Hall in England and Scotland. Also I had been told that William Block suffered from dwarfism. So when I found a World War I and II draft registration document for him I was intrigued as to whether he was signing up ( only to be discharged because of his disability), being assigned for special duties or if he  was an entertainer for the troops. I knew he had been in the circus and I was intrigued to see how someone with dwarfism fared in the early part of the century. The WWI record just shows he was of short stature single and a performer. He declares he has no disability.  Go William! He does however show his employer and place of employment.

 

William T Block WWI draft  

I did a little side research…. His employer was quite a powerful person in the entertainment industry. William worked for Marcus Loew in the Putman Building in New York. He had founded Loew's Theatrical Enterprises, New York City, 1910, and acquired Metro Pictures Corporation, Hollywood in1919 later opening the 3500-seat flagship Loew's State Theater in Times Square, New York City in 1921. He later acquired and merged Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, Louis B. Mayer Productions and Metro to create Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). So in appears William was working for a huge entertainment company which grew from a New York City theatre circuit presenting vaudeville and early moving pictures into one of Hollywood's most successful integrated film corporations.

William had married and divorced and he was living with his brother in the 1930s -occupation actor. Apparently though when the depression began a period of out of work actors began. This would have been tough times for a person with dwarfism. As a follower of Keynesian economics I liked what came next.

The World War II draft card  gives his physical statistics and shows him working for The Works Projects Administration (WPA) which was established by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 as part of the New Deal attempt to combat the Depression. This included the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) which is noted on William’s form. This Project was an attempt to offer work to theatrical professionals and to boost the economy. Over a thousand theatre productions took place in twenty-two different states. Many of these were given free in schools and community centres. Although performers were only paid $22.73 a week, the FWP employed some of America's most talented artists. Arthur Miller explained in his autobiography, Timebends - A Life (1987): "To join the WPA Theatre Project it was necessary to get on the welfare rolls first, in effect to be homeless and all but penniless... and conniving to get myself a twenty-three-dollar-a-week job." William obviously qualified by 1939.

William T Block -WWII draft

After this his story dries up. A death record certificate shows him dying in 1962 in Massachusetts. I presume he had been on the road again with his acting and performing. Hopefully this blog will “bait” a little bit of information a photos or a bit of film.  I’m most intrigued by WT as it is his cousins the McBrides who I have previously written about.

Yes, this journey takes me from country to country, through American  entertainment history, American immigration and connects me through DNA. It’s been a collective effort and Susie has given me a run for my money- checking and querying research. She’s found a Chicago cousin or two. But it’s quite journey. As I explained to Susie at the outset, Americans often find it difficult to connect back to British and Scottish roots. Often Aussies have little chance to find the immigration patterns of our Scottish, Irish or English relatives to a vast country like America or Canada. If you are an Aussie like me you also need big maps. There’s still unanswered questions but the answers may come with collaboration, more research and those delicious “cookies”. I love to share what I know and appreciate the collaboration and assistance given by specialist Facebook groups. Space precludes me from giving all the details of the Murphy and Block families but here’s a link to my online tree .    Contact me if you have more to add.   

Hint of the week:

Doing genealogy research you never know how knowledgeable you’ll be by the end of the journey. I started in Ireland and discovered the Murphy roots. Disappointingly there is little to go on to go back any further. I move to Scotland and I discovered the Scottish German journey to Chicago and a place I knew little about. My knowledge of immigration patterns is improving. Moving on I get to follow the story of the Blocks and in the process discover another music hall actor/ Performer for my collection. Distraction at its best.

You may think I am my father‘s daughter but “by prevailing over the obstacles and distractions one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination” – Christopher Columbus

Achieved:

ü   ONE “extremely high confidence” DNA match to a fourth cousin

ü   Expanded Murphy tree with links to America

ü   Found the birthplace of the Murphys back in Ireland- I’ll go to Dungannon on the next holiday

ü   One more vaudeville actor performer

 The rest is as always a work in progress.........

If you are interested here are previous blogs on the Scottish vaudeville relatives http://robynandthegenies.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/treading-boards-scottish-music-hall-and.html part 1

http://robynandthegenies.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/mcbride-siblings-greasepaint-in-their.html  part2

http://robynandthegenies.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/mcbride-siblings-greasepaint-in-their.html part 3

http://robynandthegenies.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Scottish%20Music%20Hall part 4