On Saturday-Sunday, July 2 -3, 2011, a reunion of the descendants of Hugh Murray and Mary Maloney was held in St. Louis, Missouri. On Saturday morning attendees journeyed to Potosi, which is about 70 miles southwest of St. Louis. Most, if not all, of Hugh and Mary’s nine children were born in Potosi.
St. James Parish
Hugh and Mary’s nine children were likely baptized at St. James Church. The present church, located at 201 N. Missouri St., dates from 1859. The Parish Cemetery is located nearby at 213 N. Missouri St.
St. James Catholic Church – Potosi, MO
Mary Murray and Bernard Flynn
Hugh’s sister, Mary (Murray) Flynn (1832-1899), and her husband Bernard Flynn (1828-1892) emigrated from County Down, Ireland in 1851. They settled in Potosi, where Bernard worked as a wagon-maker. They had eight children, 6 boys and 2 girls, born between 1854 and 1873.
Mary and Bernard Flynn, as well as some of their children, are buried in St. James’ Cemetery, just north of the parish church.
Murray Farm in Barnamaghery, Killinchy, Down, Ireland
Michael Murray (1799-1865) was a farmer in county Down, Ireland. He and his wife, Catherine (nee) Murray (1802-1882), had 10 children, five boys and five girls. In 1888 Hugh Murray, their seventh child, was a wagon maker and undertaker residing in Potosi, Washington County, Missouri, USA.[1]
One Son of Michael & Catherine Murray
Question: Who were Michael and Catherine Murray’s other nine children?
This question is challenging for two reasons. Firstly, civil registration of births began in Ireland in 1864, a few decades after the children were born. Secondly, the family was Catholic and parish sacramental registers that might identify the children’s baptisms were inconsistently kept and preserved in Ireland in the 1800s.
Adding to these challenges was the fact that only the Irish county of residence for Hugh and his parents was known at the outset, namely county Down. Identifying the townland and civil parish for Michael Murray’s farm in County Down was an essential key to unlock Irish records.
In mid-19th century Ireland, there were 70 civil parishes and 40 Catholic parishes within county Down.[2] Civil parishes in Ireland are administrative units that in the 1800s generally corresponded to the parishes of the established Church, namely the (Anglican) Church of Ireland. Civil parishes are comprised of townlands and many records of historical and genealogical interest are organized by townland and/or civil parish.
Catholic parishes in Ireland are organized by diocese and often cross civil parish boundaries. In some cases, the Catholic parish registers identify an individual’s townland in baptismal and marriage entries. Hugh Murray’s 1838 baptism was recorded in the baptismal register of the parish of Carrickmannon and Saintfield. The register also recorded BM (Barnamaghery) as the family’s residence.[3] Barnamaghery townland is in the civil parish of Killinchy in county Down.
These two location facts, townland and civil parish, enabled research access to Irish valuation, land, probate, census, and civil registration records for the family. Additionally, detailed obituaries in Irish newspapers proved vital to identifying three of the female children.
Ultimately, including Hugh Murray, nine of the ten children of Michael Murray and Catherine Murray were discovered. Additionally, 47 of their grandchildren were identified.
Ella Moloney is Ellen Moloney (1849-1920). She is my great-grandaunt, the younger sister of my great grandmother Mary Moloney (1844-1912), the wife of Hugh Murray.
To the best of my knowledge, her parents were Michael Moloney (c. 1812-1870+), a shoemaker born in Ireland, and Ann Geraghty or Anne Garrity (c. 1816-1895), also born in Ireland. They had 8 children: Ann (b. 1838 in NJ), Andrew (b. 1842 in NY), Mary (b. 1844 in NY), Michael (b. 1846 in CT), Ellen (b. 1849 in CT), Thomas (b. 1851 in CT), Daniel (b. 1854 in CT), and Charles (b. 1855 in CT).
When did the Moloneys move from Connecticut to Missouri?
