Ohio – Colleen & Jeff's Roots

#52Ancestors: Great Grandmother Sarah Kennedy, a Tough Woman to Research

Kennedy Sarah Headstone — Buffalo Cemetery, Cheektowaga, Erie County, New York. Lot 3, Section F, Grave 1.

My 3rd entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” family history blogging challenge for 2015.

The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.

Amy’s 2015 version of this challenge focuses on a different theme each week.

The theme for Week 3, Tough woman — Who is a tough, strong woman in your family tree? Or what woman has been tough to research?

Sarah Kennedy Prayer Card — Prayer card for Sarah Kennedy Flanagan.

My 3rd ancestor is my great grandmother, Sarah Kennedy (abt. 1898-1930), and she has been one of the toughest people for me to research.

The main reason Sarah is so difficult to research is that my grandfather Michael John Flanagan (1927-1997), her youngest child, never knew his mom. Sarah died of tuberculosis in 1930, orphaning him at 3 years old. Her husband, my grandfather’s dad, Patrick Thomas Flanagan (abt. 1897-1928) died of the same disease just 1-1/2 years earlier. Two months before her death, Sarah had become so ill that Grandpa and his four older brothers had to be committed to an orphanage, the German Roman Catholic Orphan Home in Buffalo, New York. After the boys’s brief stay at the GRCOH, they were split up, with Grandpa never really knowing his brothers well– except for one who reunited with him much later in life.

Records Challenges

Aside from Grandpa not knowing his mother, the biggest difficult in researching Sarah has been my failure to locate records for her, and inconsistencies in the records I have found for her.

I have not been able to get a death certificate for her from Erie County, New York. She died in the city of Buffalo.
I have not been able to confirm her birth year or location, or obtain a birth or christening record for her. While most other records indicate that Sarah was born in Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland, the GRCOH records state she was born in Hyman, Pennsylvania — a locality I cannot even find. The census, death, and marriage records I have for Sarah even list conflicting birth years.
Sarah was not truthful on her marriage record to my great grandfather about a previous marriage. She indicated none, despite marrying first husband Frank Ward 12 years prior.
No other family — of Sarah’s, or of her husband’s — appear to be buried in the same cemetery as her. Someone paid to bury her in the Buffalo Cemetery (this was not an indigent cemetery or grave). The current cemetery operators confirmed Sarah’s site and service were paid for, but they don’t have a record of who paid, and they don’t have a record of any other family buried there.

No Other Researchers

Often I can use clues provided by other family members or even from strangers researching the same person or family to help break through my own genealogy ruts. But these stepping stones just aren’t available for Sarah.

None of my grandfather’s siblings are living, and few of his siblings had children of which I am aware. Because the siblings were split up and became lost to teach other, I don’t even really know which of his siblings had children and might still have living descendants.
- The brother that Grandpa reunited with late in life has some living children, but my branch no longer knows how to contact them.
- Grandpa’s half sister (who was of adult age when their mother died) does have descendants living, with whom I am in contact on Facebook, but they don’t have any info on Sarah.
I have not identified a single other descendant of Sarah who is on Ancestry Member Trees or other genealogy forums. I see her name pop up on some other public trees, but in just a brief reference as a collateral family member– no one has any real facts and records for her, or seems to be actively researching my Sarah. Just me.

Next Steps

Other than finding birth records for her three oldest children (Wards, half-siblings of my grandfather), I didn’t have any Sarah breakthroughs during my research trip last year to the Family History Library. I go again next month, so I will keep looking.

I am pretty sure that further breakthroughs will have to wait until I have the money and time to visit the localities I have identified for her, so I can search for leads and records in person.

[contentblock id=14 img=html.png]

#52Ancestors: My Grand Uncle Leonard Luther Ward

Leonard Luther Ward. Birth record transcribed from the Bellaire Health Department. Manuscript, Family History Library. — Birth record transcribed from the Bellaire Health Department. Manuscript, Family History Library.

My 33rd entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks family history blogging challenge.

The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.

I have fallen way behind in this challenge again due to continued health issues the last few months, but I am trying to catch up by the end of the year.

My 33rd ancestor is my grand uncle Leonard Luther WARD (1917-?). Leonard was the middle brother of my grandfather. I never met him.

I know almost nothing about Leonard. I did not even know Leonard existed until I found that very first lead about my grandfather’s family history, the 1930 U.S. Census record. As I’ve shared many times, my grandfather was orphaned as an infant (his father died in 1928, when Grandpa was only 1 year old) and toddler (their mother died in 1930, when Grandpa was only 3 years old), and never knew his parents. Raised on a farm by a foster family, Grandpa’s brothers ran away, and Grandpa grew up not really knowing his brothers — especially the older ones, those born to Frank Ward. I knew about an Uncle Pat, but I had never heard of an Uncle Leonard.

Leonard is listed on the 1930 U.S. Census record with his brothers at the German Roman Catholic Orphan Home in Buffalo, Erie County, New York. Leonard is 12 years old at this time. The boys’ mother died three months after this Census record was taken. Leonard’s stepfather (my great grandfather) died two years prior.

Leonard Luther Ward. 1930 U.S. Census Record, German Roman Catholic Orphan Home. Courtesy of Ancestry.com. — 1930 U.S. Census Record, German Roman Catholic Orphan Home. Courtesy of Ancestry.com.

The brothers’ orphan records state that Leonard was baptized at the extended family’s hometown church, St. John’s Catholic Church in Bellaire, Ohio.

The only other reference I find to Leonard is that illusive 1920 U.S. Census record I mentioned in my last blog post. He is 2 years 1 month old, identified as the grandson of Catherine DARNLEY Fabry (1878-1926). Leonard along with his older sister Catherine and older brother Joseph are living with their mother Sarah KENNEDY (1898-1930), Sarah’s half brother Andrew QUINN (1906-?), and grandmother. The family lives in Bellaire, Ohio. Leonard’s father, Frank D. WARD (1895-1967) is not living with the family.

Leonard Luther Ward. 1920 U.S. Census for Darnley-Kennedy-Ward Family. Image courtesy of Ancestry.com. — 1920 U.S. Census for Darnley-Kennedy-Ward Family. Image courtesy of Ancestry.com.

Sometime after the 1925 christening, in Bellaire, of Leonard’s younger brother Patrick Joseph, and before my grandfather Michael John was born in 1927, Leonard moved to Buffalo, New York with his mother, stepfather, sister, and brothers.

As mentioned in my recent post about Leonard’s grandmother Catherine Darnley, I think Leonard’s mother Sarah may have named Leonard after her stepfather, Leonard Fabry.

I do not know if Leonard ever saw his father Frank J. Ward again.

Sadly, I have no further information about Leonard. He simply disappears after running away from the boys’ Buckley foster family.

[contentblock id=10 img=html.png]

Finding Great Grandma Kennedy Under Wrong Surname on 1920 U.S. Census

Since my visit to the Family History Library this past February during the 2014 RootsTech conference, I have been focusing more on researching my maternal grandfather’s Flanagan and Kennedy lines. These lines have always been problematic for me due to my grandpa being orphaned as a young toddler and then separated from his older brothers. Grandpa knew almost nothing about his parents and his family history.

Sarah KENNEDY (1898-1930) was my grandfather’s mother, who died from tuberculosis when he was just 3 years old. I assume Sarah caught TB while nursing my great grandfather Patrick Thomas FLANAGAN (1897-1928), who died from that disease when Grandpa was only 1-1/2 years old.

What I have been able to piece together about Sarah’s early life is very little:

Born circa 1898 most likely in Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland.
Living (1 year old) with her father Joseph KENNEDY (1876-?) in Lonaconing, Aellgany County, Maryland at the time of the U.S. Census. Her mother was living apart, with her parents and siblings in the same town.
Married first husband Frank J. WARD (1895-1967) on 25 June 1913 in Mahoning County, Ohio.
Was residing in Poland, Mahoning County, Ohio at the time of her wedding.
Gave birth to daughter Catherine Mae WARD in 1914.
Gave birth to son Joseph A. WARD in 1916.
Gave birth to someone named Walter WARD in 1916 (possibly the legal name of Joseph, possibly a twin that died, possibly a 2nd son born within the same year).
Gave birth to son Leonard Luther Ward in 1917.
By 10 April 1925, she married her second husband (my great grandfather) Patrick Thomas FLANAGAN.

I have been unable to find Sarah yet on the 1910 U.S. Census.

And until June of this year, I had been unable to find Sarah or her children on the 1920 Census. I solved this mystery when searching for the 1920 U.S. Census record for Sarah’s mother Catherine DARNLEY (1878-1926). Even Catherine was hard to find initially, but I managed to identify her enumerated under the surname of her third husband Leonard L. FABRY (1877-?).

It was while reviewing this census record that I discovered Sarah and the children living with Sarah’s mother at this time. Oddly, neither Catherine’s husband Fabry nor Sarah’s husband Ward are indicated as living in the home. I assume from this omission that Sarah had separated from and/or divorced Frank Ward by this time.

Although the children were recorded under the correct last name, that of their father Ward, my great grandmother Sarah was mistakenly recorded under her stepfather’s name Fabry. No wonder I could never find a 1920 Census record a Sarah Ward or even a Sarah Kennedy! I don’t understand why the census enumerator recorded Sarah’s last name as Fabry, since Sarah is described as “married” at this time.

1920 U.S. Census, courtesy of Ancestry.com.

The following details are extracted from the Fabry household census record:

Date: 10 January 1920.
Location: Pultney Township, Bellaire, Belmont County, Ohio.
Address: 3355 Franklin Street
(Line 82) Kathryn Fabey
- Head of household / Renting
- Female / White / 41 years old / Married
- Able to read and write / Speaks English
- Born in Ohio
- Father born in Scotland (speaks Scottish)
- Mother born in England (speaks English)
- Housekeeper for private family
(Line 83) Sarah Fabey
- Daughter
- Female / White / 21 years old / Married
- Able to read and write / Speaks English
- Born in Pennsylvania
- Father born in Maryland
- Mother born in Ohio
- Not employed
(Line 84) Andrew Quinn
- Son
- Male / White / 14 years old / Single
- Able to read and write / Attending School / Speaks English
- Born in Oklahoma
- Father born in Maryland
- Mother born in Ohio
- Not employed
(Line 85) Kathryn Ward
- Granddaughter
- Female / White / 6 years old / Single
- Attending school
- Born in Ohio
- Father born in Ohio
- Mother born in Maryland
(Line 86) Joseph A. Ward
- Grandson
- Male / White / 3 years 2 months old / Single
- Born in Ohio
- Father born in Ohio
- Mother born in Maryland
(Line 87) Leonard L. Ward
- Grandson
- Male / White / 2 years 1 month old / Single
- Born in Ohio
- Father born in Ohio
- Mother born in Maryland

Google Street view of home location. — Google Street View of block where Darnley/Fabry/Ward home was at 3355 Franklin Street.

[contentblock id=14 img=html.png]

[contentblock id=11 img=html.png]

#52Ancestors: Grand Uncle Patrick Joseph Flanagan Desperately Reunites with My Grandfather

My 30th entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks family history blogging challenge.

The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.

I have fallen way behind in this challenge again due to continued health issues the last few months, but I am trying to catch up by the end of the year.

My 30th ancestor is my grand uncle Patrick Joseph FLANAGAN (1925-1981).

Flanagan Patrick Joseph and Wie Mary — Uncle Pat and Aunt Mary, 1970s.

Patrick is the only one of my orphaned grandfather’s siblings I ever met. Despite Uncle Pat dying in my tween years, my memories of him are vague. When I was a child, he lived near my grandpa, Michael John FLANAGAN (1927-1997), in Southern California. I remember Uncle Pat and his children visiting my grandparents’ home on occasion. But, due to my young age, I am sure I never paid much attention to them. The most vivid memory I have of Uncle Pat though is of his death…because Mom would not allow me to attend the funeral. She didn’t think funerals were too appropriate for young kids unless it was their immediate family.

And I definitely remember Grandpa crying…a lot. Grandpa was a huge softie, he cried often. But this was a different type of crying, obvious even to a young tween granddaughter. I learned why once I started wanting to learn about my grandfather’s family history, after Grandpa died. Grandpa was crying over the loss of his brother. But, more significantly, Grandpa was heartbroken over the loss of the only biological family member with whom he ever had a real relationship.

Uncle Pat was Grandpa’s youngest sibling, his immediately older brother. Both boys were born to my great grandparents Patrick Thomas FLANAGAN (1897-1928) and Sarah KENNEDY (1809-1920), and were possibly the only ones in the big sibling group who were the biological children of both Patrick and Sarah. The other siblings were from prior marriages, and the parentage of brother Harry J. Flanagan (1920-1981) remains a mystery. Pat and Mike were orphaned at a very young age, with both parents dead by the time Pat was 5 years old, and my grandfather was 3 years old.

Uncle Pat was the last of the siblings born in Ohio, on 6 June 1925. Bellaire, Ohio, to be exact — the multi-generation Flanagan family hometown since at least 1920, where I still have cousins. Pat was also the last of the siblings to get baptized in the Flanagan family church, St. John’s Catholic Church in Bellaire, on 12 July 1925. A fun bit of family history scandal trivia… my great grandmother Sarah was already pregnant with Uncle Pat when she married my great grandfather on 10 April 1925.

Bellaire St John Church 2014 — St. John’s High School (left) and St. John’s Catholic Church (center), 2014. Creative Commons-licensed photo from Flickr user Joanne C. Sullivan.

The family moved to Buffalo, New York sometime between Uncle Pat’s July 1925 christening date, and my grandpa’s birth on 23 May 1927, since Grandpa was born in Buffalo.

After their mother, the last living parent, died in 1930, the boys were all placed in a Buffalo orphanage, and were shortly after placed with the Buckley foster family on a nearby farm. Life was not kind to Grandpa or his brothers on the Buckley farm (with the exception of their relationship with foster brother Vern and his wife Edna). Pat and his older brothers all ran away multiple times, although I am told by my mom and her siblings that Uncle Pat remained the longest at the farm, with my grandfather.

Michael Flanagan Patrick Flanagan Harry Flanagan — Uncle Pat (left), Grandpa (center), and I think their older brother Harry (right). Grandpa looks like he is in his late teens or early 20s here, so this appears to be one of the times the brothers reunited again briefly after the older brothers ran away. Grandpa was left alone at the foster family farm during his teens.

But, eventually, even Uncle Pat fled for good, leaving Grandpa alone (by at least age 12) without any biological family. They lost touch in their teens, with Grandpa joining the Navy at age 17, serving abroad during and after WWII, marrying in California, moving to Michigan for a while, then shortly moving back to Southern California, where he and my grandmother raised their children.

Mom tells me often how desperate she remembers Grandpa was to find his brothers while Mom was growing up. He had heard that his brother Pat moved to the Pittsburg area. So Grandpa started calling every Pat Flanagan he could find listed in Pittsburg. One day, he reached the right one — his brother. According to Mom, the brothers were so overjoyed to find each other again and so desperate to be together again, that shortly after that phone call, Uncle Pat packed up his entire family and moved to Southern California near Grandpa.

So when I saw Grandpa crying so intensely over Uncle Pat’s death in 1981, I understand now that Grandpa was also mourning for the parents he never got to know, and all of the siblings he did not get to grow up with.

Uncle Pat is buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California.

[contentblock id=34 img=html.png]

WWI Draft: Step-Great Grandfather Frank J Ward

After finding that 1920 city directory I discovered yesterday for my great grandmother Sarah KENNEDY (1898-1930) and her first husband Frank J. WARD (b. 1895), I spent some time looking for additional records on Ward that might provide more information about my great grandmother and her children.

I came across Frank Ward’s WWI Draft Registration card.

Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.

Frank Ward registered for the draft in Belmont County, Ohio on 6 June 1917, at the age of 22. He identifies himself as a natural born citizen, born on 19 May 1895, in Bellaire, Ohio (also his current home). Frank worked in a brickyard, for the Suburban Bridge Company, and had no prior military experience. He is described as Caucasian, of medium height and build, with blue eyes and auburn hair (not bald), and has a corn on a toe (seriously?).

At the time of the draft, Frank was married — to my great grandmother Sarah. He also indicated two dependent children, this would have been my grandfather’s sister Catherine Mae WARD (1914-1994) and his oldest brother Joseph A. WARD (1916-?). Since son Leonard Luther WARD was born in 1917, and this draft registration was conducted in June of that year, Sarah was pregnant with Leonard at this time.

#52Ancestors: Was Great Grandma Kennedy Having an Affair with Great Grandpa Flanagan?

My 29th entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks family history blogging challenge.

The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.

I have fallen way behind in this challenge again due to continued health issues the last few months, but I am trying to catch up by the end of the year.

My 29th ancestor is my great grandmother Sarah’s first husband, Frank J. WARD (b. 1895).

I have yet to find a divorce record for my great grandmother Sarah KENNEDY (1898-1930) and her first husband Frank, who were married on 25 June 1913 in Mahoning County, Ohio. Aside from just wanting that record as part of Sarah’s history, I desperately want it because I am hoping it will help clarify if my orphaned grandfather’s older brother Harry is a Ward (from Sarah’s first marriage), a Flanagan (from my great grandfather’s first marriage), or a Ward/Flanagan (from Sarah’s second marriage, to my great grandfather). No one in our family is certain about Harry’s parentage. Harry could be the biological child of my great grandparents, or of just one of my great grandparents.

Sarah married my great grandfather Patrick Thomas FLANAGAN (1897-1928) in 1925, while Sarah was already pregnant with another one of my grandfather’s brothers, Patrick Joseph FLANAGAN (1925-1981). Sarah already had a least three children from her first husband: Catherine Mae WARD (b. 1914), Joseph A. WARD (b. 1916), possibly a twin Walter WARD (b. 1916), and Leonard L. WARD (b. 1917). Patrick already had at least two children from his first wife, Mary LONG: Charles Edson FLANAGAN (b. 1915) and a living daughter. Since documents tell me that Sarah was already pregnant with Patrick Joseph when she married Patrick Thomas, that leaves Harry. I can’t find a birth record or baptism record for Harry.

Knowing the birth order of all the children, Harry was born after Sarah and Patrick were married to their respective first spouses, yet five years prior to their own marriage.

Well, today I came upon a 1920 city directory record for Sarah and her first husband Frank Ward, living at 3349 Franklin Street in Bellaire, Ohio. The directory lists Frank’s occupation as bricklayer.

US City Directory — Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

This record indicates that Sarah and her first husband Frank were still living together in 1920, and I would assume, were still married. Yet Harry was born in 1920. So this makes even more of a mess to figure out:

Is Harry the biological child of both Sarah and Frank, since they might have still been married and living together in 1920, the year he was born?
Was the city directory compiled and published after Sarah and Frank split up, mistakenly listing Sarah still living with Frank?
Did Sarah and Frank split up shortly after the city directory was published, with Sarah meeting Patrick soon after?
Is Harry the biological child of just Patrick (and his first wife)? Meaning he wasn’t part of the family unit living at this residence in 1920.
Or is Harry the biological child of both Patrick and Sarah, which per this city directory would mean that Patrick and Sarah were having an affair while she was still married to Frank. Again, unless the Sarah and Frank had split prior to the directory actually going to publication.

From what I know about my great grandmother Sarah and my great grandpa Patrick, both seemed to have fallen short of the moral standards of their day. My grandpa would have gotten a kick out of knowing this about his parents.

Google Street View of 3349 Franklin Street, Bellaire, Ohio.

[contentblock id=14 img=html.png]

#52Ancestors: Walter Ward (b. 1916), My Grandfather’s Mystery Brother

My 12th week in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” family history blogging challenge.

The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.

I’m a few weeks behind in this series. Just been very busy. But I’m determined to chronicle at least 52 Ancestors this year, so I’m playing catch-up.

This 12th ancestor is Walter Ward (born 05 May 1916), a recently discovered sibling of my grandfather Michael John Flanagan (1927-1997). I had never even heard of Walter until I spent a couple of days scouring through transcriptions of birth records from the Bellaire (Ohio) Health Department during my trip to RootsTech and the Family History Library last month. Going through all birth entries for the surname Ward — my grandfather’s mother Sarah Kennedy (d. 1930) was first married to Frank J. Ward prior to her marriage to my great grandfather Patrick Thomas Flanagan — I came across an entry for an unknown Walter Ward, born to Frank Ward and Sarah Kanedy [Kennedy].

Since returning home, I have gone through all of my Ward and Flanagan records, and I still find no other mention of a Walter. Searching records in both Ancestry and FamilySearch, I find other Walter Wards from Ohio, but nothing cross-referencing any of our family names to verify further biographical details. I can’t imagine there was another set of parents named Frank Ward and Sarah Kennedy in Bellaire, Ohio at this the time Walter was born. So this Walter has to be part of my family.

As far as I know, Sarah Kennedy Ward Flanagan gave birth to 5 or 6 (or now 7) children:

Catherine Mae Ward (b. 1914): Father Frank Ward. Birth record confirmed.
Joseph A. Ward (b. 1916): Father assumed to be Frank Ward. No birth record found. Orphan records identify him with surname “Flanagan”, as the son of Patrick Flanagan.
Leonard Ward (b. 1917): Father Frank Ward. Birth record confirmed. Despite orphan records identifying him with surname “Flanagan”, as the son of Patrick Flanagan.
Harry J. Flanagan (b. 1920): Unknown if father was Frank Ward or Patrick Flanagan, or if he is Patrick’s son from a previous marriage (meaning not Sarah’s son at all). No birth record found yet. Patrick and Sarah were married 5 years later in 1925. Orphan records identify him with surname “Flanagan”, as the son of Patrick Flanagan.
Patrick Joseph Flanagan (b. 1925): Birth and baptism certificates record father as Patrick Flanagan.
Michael John Flanagan (b. 1927): My grandfather. Baptism records father as Patrick Flanagan.

This Walter discovery confuses things even more. Because he was born in 1916, and definitely to Sarah and Frank. Yet my orphan records for the Flanagan boys indicate that Joseph was also born in 1916. I find Joseph on the 1920 Census living with his mother Sarah, sister Catherine, brother Leonard, grandmother Catherine, and uncle Andrew. But there is no Walter living with them on the 1920 Census, and I find no 1920 Census record for father Frank to see if Walter was living with him instead.

1920 U.S. Census for Darnley-Kennedy-Ward Family. Image courtesy of Ancestry.com.

Most confusing is that Walter does not appear on the orphan records for all the boys when their parents died. Unlike older sister Catherine, he would not have been old enough to be living on his own. At his age, he would have been institutionalized with the rest of his brothers.

1930 U.S. Census Record for the brothers, while living in the German Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum in Buffalo, New York. Image courtesy of Ancestry.com. Click image for a larger view.

Could Walter Ward really be Joseph Ward, for some reason recorded under a different first name at birth? I haven’t found a birth record for Joseph. Or even a birth date for Joseph, just an estimated birth year. Or could Walter possibly have been a twin of Joseph’s that died young? In which case, why is there a birth record for Walter, but not for Joseph?