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Connors Family from Ireland to America
The
Census of 1860 shows a 22 year old Patrick working in
Saratoga County, NY as a farm laborer and living with
Mary Connors, age 50. This is the point at
whic
What then of the mystery? Ages listed on Census records can be very misleading and should not by themselves be taken as proof. For instance, in 1870 Annie Connors is 33 years old, but in 1880 is clearly listed as 30! Patrick was 35 in 1870 and only 42 ten years later. Everything depended on who was answering the questions when the census enumerator came to call. Usually, it would be the woman of the house during the day. She would know her children's birthdays exactly, but maybe not the age of her husband. Also, they may have given wrong dates on purpose for one reason or another. Sometimes I think the census taker just guessed. All this leads me to make an educated guess that the Mary listed with Patrick in 1860 is the mother of Michael. If she died when he was a child and father remarried Annie, then all the records are consistent. Family understanding has been that Patrick remarried after Mary died. A woman 50 years of age married to a 22 year old is unusual. More unusual is it that she would have a child at 57. Unusual, but not impossible. More probable is it that the enumerator got the age wrong in 1860. Michael Connors worked at road construction and traveled a great deal. In 1898 he was living in Mossgrove, PA outside Pittsburg, where Raymond Connors was born. The 1910 Census has the family living in Montour Falls, NY:
Marguerite was born in Philadelphia and Blanche and Raymond in Montour Falls, New York. Another child, Anne, was born in Hector, Schuyler Co., New York in 1893 and died in infancy. We will not quickly forget her. We first saw her picture, taken in her little coffin, as the photo fell from the family Bible. This custom of photographing the dead was not uncommon at the end of the 19th C. and has faded now. For
some reason, Michael was alienated from his family of
origin. Possibly this was due to his father's
second marriage. Whatever the reason, he was on his
own at an early age. In his late years he came to live
with his son, Raymond. Tension was evident there as
well. During his earlier life Michael was working
construction and was away from home often. Also,
Michael and his wife Eva Everts each married outside
their religion. Eva was Episcopal and Michael
Catholic. Perhaps this caused a rift. In any
case, Michael's contact with his family was
minimized. In the late 1950s two of Michael's half
brothers appeared at the Raymond Connors house. They
had not had contact for many years. They were Edward
and William O'Connor. At some time they had
resumed the original name. Noone but Michael knew of
these brothers. Contact was renewed but Michael
died soon after and Mary Harrison Connors, his
daughter-in-law, maintained letter writing with
Edward for a time, but contact has now been lost. To
the best of my knowledge, there were no children from
any of Michael's siblings. |
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onnors, of
course, is a derivation of O'Connor. It is one of the
most common names in America and in Ireland. We know a
great deal about the O'Connor family in Ireland. Rory
O'Connor was high king, the Ard Re. They are a
very big clan with hundreds of well known members from
entertainment to the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, we
know but little of our original Connors immigrant to
America. Naturalization records indicate that Patrick
came to this country from Ireland in 1850 via
Liverpool, England. There is only one entry in the
book set Famine Immigrants that matches. On
November 6, 1850 the ship 
h
a mystery must be addressed. Michael Connors,
Patrick's oldest son and direct ancestor of this
family, was born in 1867. His death certificate says
his mother's name was Mary Taafee. However, all
subsequent census files show Patrick's wife as Annie.
1870 finds Patrick Connors living in Greenbush,
Westchester County, New York with Annie, his wife
and two children, Michael and John. Patrick is
employed a "foreman of blasters". Several men listed
on the same page of the census are called "blasters".
Obviously, heavy construction was underway in
Westchester County. The census of 1880 for Troy, New
York shows Patrick Connors living there and working in
a stove factory. He now has six children: