Author: Kathleen Murray

Mary Ellen Watson (1855-1899)

Family tree drawn by Virginia Brown Murray

I first learned the name of my great-grandmother, Mary Ellen Watson (1855-1899),  from a family tree drawn by my mother, Virginia Brown Murray. She wrote “Watson” in parentheses, with a question mark above. She also wrote “Pembroke” below her name, perhaps as a reference to where Mary was born.

The Parish Register for St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Ogdensburg, New York records the marriage of Mary Watson and my great-grandfather, Patrick Brown (1839-1901), on  7 August 1884. Mary was about 29 and Patrick was about 45.

Mary Watson was a Protestant and a dispensation was granted to allow, Patrick, a Catholic, to marry Mary in the Catholic Church. The dispensation is noted in the parish register by the priest who performed the marriage. (I note that the priest recorded the letter “S” prior to Mary’s name. I’m not certain what that means.)

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Norway & Germany 2017

Tony and I spent two weeks in Norway in August 2017. We were coming back after a 10 year absence and had plans to visit with Tony’s cousins in Rakkestad and Nesna.

We also visited four towns in Germany from which Tony’s maternal ancestors emigrated: Arnstein, Essleben, Wernshausen, and Niederschmalkalden.

We left Dallas on the heals of the Dallas Genealogical Society’s 2017 Summer Seminar. Lisa Louise Cooke had presented a session on video creation. I was struck by the statistics that in 2016 60% of Internet traffic was video and that this was expected to rise to 80% by 2018.

I figured I needed to get with program or risk being left behind!

On Lisa’s recommendation, I downloaded the Adobe Spark Video app, which I used to create the following short videos of our visit. Amateur productions for sure but a lot more fun to create than writing a travel journal!

NORWAY

Video 1: A Day in Oslo (0:48)

Video 2: Oslo to Rakkestad (1:40)

Video 3: Østfold County (2:24)

Video 4: Herset & Nordland County (1:59)

Video 5: Fishing (3:01)

Video 6: Nesna Cousins (1:33)

GERMANY

Video 1: Wernshausen & Niederschmalkden (2:59)

Video 2: Arnstein (Without the Churches) (2:16)

Video 3: St. Georg in Essleben (1:05)

Video 4: City of Arnstein: St. Nikolaus & Maria Sondheim (3:04)

Video 5: Near Arnstein: St. Margareta and St. Laurentius (2:59)

19th c. Ancestors in Prussia, Belgium, & Baden

John Reuter (Edward John Hubert Reuter) and Pauline Pirotte (Pauline Marie Gaspard Pirotte) are my maternal great-grandparents. John was born about 1822 in Cologne (German: Köln), Prussia. Pauline was born about 18241 in Fiphelens (Dutch) (French: Fexhe-lins), Liége Belgium. They married about 1850 and had three children:

1.  Stephanie, born 1851 in Liége, Belgium

2.  Armand, born 1852 in Antwerp, Belgium

3.  Edmond, born 1857 in Karlsruhe, Baden

They emigrated to Montreal, Canada between 1853 and 1857.

I wrote the following to provide a high level backdrop for their lives vis-à-vis Prussian and Belgium history.

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Reuter and Pirotte Immigration

John E. Reuter and Pauline Pirotte are my maternal great-grandparents. They emigrated from Europe to Montreal, Canada between 1853 and 1859. They immigrated to the United States of America around 1880. This is an overview of their movements.

Their Lives in Europe

I found the earliest records for my maternal great-grandparents, John Reuter (Eberhard Johann Hubert Reuter) and Pauline Pirotte (Pauline Marie Gaspard Pirotte), at the FelixArchief in Antwerp, Belgium.

– John E. Reuter arrived in Belgium on the 4th of April 1850 and lived in Liége (Walloon: Lidje; Dutch: Luik; German: Lüttich). I don’t know if Pauline Pirotte was already living there. I estimate they were married around 1850 but I do not know the location. Their daughter, Stephanie was born on the 3rd of February 1851 in Liége.

– In February of 1851 John Reuter came to Antwerp, Belgium from Liége.  (It is not clear to me if his wife and daughter came at the same time.)

– On 17 April 1852 the family of three officially changed their residence from Liége to Antwerp and John registered as a foreigner residing in Antwerp. Their second child, Armand (Armandus Joannes Hubertus Reuter), was born the 29th of May 1852 in Antwerp.

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A Farmer in County Down

Hugh Murray

According to the 1888 History of Washington County Missouri [1], my great grandfather, Hugh Murray, “was born in County Down, Ireland, December 18, 1839 [i]. His father, Michael Murray, also a native of Ireland, was a farmer by occupation; he married Catherine Murray, a native of the same place, and they had ten children, five sons and five daughters.”

Hugh Murray (1838-1916)

Question

Where was Michael Murray’s farm in County Down?

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The Bedfords on Broadway

Mary Jane (Ryan) Hardie – c. 1917

My cousin gave me this photograph of our great grandmother, Mary Jane (Ryan) Hardie. It was enclosed in an envelope postmarked 1917 and addressed from MJ Hardie in East Liverpool, Ohio to Mrs. Edw. L. Murray c/o Mrs. John Bedford at 4824 South Broadway in St. Louis, Missouri.

Mrs. Edw. L. Murray was Frances Diamond (Hardie) Murray, Mary Jane Hardie’s daughter and my grandmother. In 1917 Frances Murray, her husband Edward L. Murray, and their children were living on Virginia Avenue in St. Louis, about a 12 minute walk from 4824 South Broadway.

Questions
I don’t know why Mary Jane Hardie sent this picture in care of Mrs. John Bedford on South Broadway rather than directly to her daughter, Frances. My cousin remembered her mother mentioning the “Bedfords on Broadway”. But who was Mrs. John Bedford and what was the connection between the Bedfords and my great-grandmother Mary Jane (Ryan) Hardie?

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Marriage of Mary J Taylor & Daniel Hardie

Question:

When and where did Mary Jane Ryan and Daniel Hardie get married?

Background:

Mary Jane Ryan (1841-1926) married John O’Neil on June 5, 1859 in St. Louis, Missouri.[1] John O’Neil is presumed to have died between 1859 and 1866.[i] Mary Jane and John O’Neil had a son, Eugene John O’Neil, born March 4, 1860[2] in St. Louis. Eugene died on March 30, 1890[3].[ii]

Daniel Hardie (1838-1916) married his second wife, Elisabeth Ferguson on April 8, 1867 in Pollokshaws, Renfrew, Scotland[4]. They had three daughters: Janet, born September 6, 1867 in Pollokshaws[5]; Isabella, born September 4, 1869 in Pollokshaws[6]; and Elizabeth, born July 23, 1872 in Cincinnati, Ohio[7]. Elizabeth Ferguson died on March 17, 1874 in Cincinnati[8].

Mary Jane (Ryan) and Daniel Hardie had their first son, Daniel Eugene Hardie, in Cincinnati on October 17, 1878[9]. I guessed that Mary Jane and Daniel Hardie married between March 1874, when his wife died, and October 1878, when their son was born. Continue reading “Marriage of Mary J Taylor & Daniel Hardie”

St. Louis Locations for the Murray Family

For the 2011 Murray Family Reunion, I created a list showing locations where the Murrays lived. Much of the data came from St. Louis City Directories between 1891 and 1923. Often, the occupations and workplaces of individuals were listed. Some additional data are from US censuses, death certificates, and WWI draft registration forms.

List of Murray Family Addresses

Three places often recur in the lives of the Murray family: St. Thomas of Aquin Church, the St. Louis Coffin Company, and the Gebken-Benz Funeral Home. Murray Brothers was a family-run grocery store in business from about 1904-1912. Both Edward and Paul worked there.

2011 Murray Reunion

A reunion of the descendants of Hugh Murray (1839-1916) and Mary Moloney (1842-1912) was held in St. Louis, Missouri on July 2-3, 2011. Hugh and Mary were married on Sunday, September 10, 1865 at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in St. Charles, Missouri. Their nine children were born between 1866 and 1883 in Potosi, Missouri. Their 44 grandchildren were born roughly between 1926 and 1966. About 33-37 were living in July 2011 and 24 attended the reunion, many with spouses and other family members.

Direct Descendants – 2011 Murray Reunion – St. Louis, MO

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