Edward's Family Ties

This post will define the family connection of Edward O'Connor's parents, wives, and sister.  Edward was the son of Scots-Irish immigrants Thomas Joseph O'Connor and Jane Boland, or Jennie as she was more commonly referred to.

Thomas O'Connor was born on February 12, 1868, in Scotland and probably arrived in America sometime between 1884 and 1891.  Thomas' parents were Edward O'Connor and Nora Carlton, both from Ireland.   

Jennie Boland was born in Ireland around 1864-1866 and immigrated sometime between 1884 to 1887.  Jennie's parents were John Boland and Mary Cavanaugh, also both from Ireland. 

Thomas and Jennie married around 1896 and were probably living in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey at the time of the birth of their first child, Edward Aloysius O'Connor, on July 23, 1897. Born at St. Mary's Hospital in Jersey City, Edward was christened five days later on July 28th.  Anna Margaret, their second child, was born in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, on November 17, 1900.  During this time, Thomas' family of four lived in tenement housing on Wyckoff Avenue in Brooklyn, New York.

New York City street scene, early 1900's.

Edward's mother, Jennie, passed away July 26, 1904, at the age of 40, just three days after Edward's seventh birthday. About three years later, Thomas married a woman named Helen, maiden name unknown, who had a daughter by a previous marriage, Helen C. Mackin, born around 1891. Thomas and Helen did not have any children together. It is not known when Thomas moved but during his marriage to Helen, they lived in tenement housing on Smith Street in Queens, New York.

Anna Margaret passed away on September 19, 1911, two months short of turning 11.  Edward had graduated from a New York City public school earlier that same year, then attended Newtown High School for two years but quit when it became necessary for him to go to work.  It may be assumed that Edward had to go to work at such a young age due to his father's health issues and subsequent passing on February 3, 1913.   From 1915 to 1918, he worked at Standard Oil Company in New York City mostly as a clerk-stenographer in their Foreign Sales Department. 

After Thomas' death, Edward continued to live with his step-mother Helen even when they moved in with Helen's married daughter Helen C. Forbes, son-in-law Harry J. Forbes, and their two children Virginia, age 4 years, and Harry Jr., age 7 months.  In the 1915  New York State Census, all six people are recorded as living in the Richmond Hill area of Queens, New York, and Edward is listed as 17 years old with an occupation of "Typewriter."

 

Edward enlisted in the U.S. Army on July 9, 1918, at Fort Slocum, New York, two weeks before his twenty-first birthday.  He must have felt compelled to join America's "Call to Duty" for World War I.

Afterthoughts:

1. Did Thomas O'Connor name his firstborn, Edward Aloysius O'Connor, after his father who was born in Ireland? The Irish used a very particular naming pattern for children for about two centuries, beginning in the late 1700s and going through the early to mid-1900s. This is how the Irish (both in Ireland and the first and second-generation Irish immigrants to America) named their children for two centuries:  Sons—The eldest son was named after the child’s paternal grandfather.  The second son was named after that child’s maternal grandfather. The third son was named after the father. The fourth son was named after the child’s eldest paternal uncle. Subsequent sons were named after other paternal uncles, in order of the age of the uncles.  Daughters—The eldest daughter was named after the child’s maternal grandmother. The second daughter was named after the child’s paternal grandmother. The third daughter was named after the mother. The fourth daughter was named after the child’s eldest maternal aunt. Subsequent daughters were named after other maternal aunts, in order of the age of the aunts. https://ancestralfindings.com/irish-naming-patterns-discover-irish-origins-names-family/

2. Did Edward name his firstborn child, Margaret Lord O'Connor,  after his sister Anna Margaret O'Connor?  Does anyone know?

3.  How did Edward get his job at Standard Oil Company? How did he travel from the tenement housing on Smith Street in Queens to the Standard Oil Company office at 25 Broadway in Lower Manhattan?  According to current Google Maps information that is about 20 miles by car and 90 minutes by public transportation using today's technology. Imagine what route he would have taken in 1915 and by what mode of transportation. The subway, which was in its infancy, or the elevated trains were probably the best options for him at that time.  He must have been a very determined young man, perhaps just thankful to have obtained such a job, to have ventured that far to secure long term employment.

Next Blog:  What happened to Thomas, Jennie, and Anna? An in-depth look into the lives and fates of Thomas Joseph O'Connor, his first wife Jennie Boland, and their daughter Anna Margaret O'Connor in New York City after the turn of the 20th Century.