Good neighhors: The Tierney family and St. John the Baptist Parish, Quincy, Mass.

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St. John the Baptist Church on a beautiful day in 2008
(Photo thanks to "Slim" at Quincy Daily Photo)

It was in 1909 that my great-great-grandmother Catherine Tierney and her family moved to Gay Street from another home in Quincy (pronounced Quin-zee), Massachusetts. They resided at 52 Gay Street for several years, then moved to 32 Gay Street in 1912: just one house down and across the street from the rectory of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. The church and the Tierney family would be good neighbors for many decades.

The location of St. John the Baptist Church and rectory in relation
to the Tierney family residences at 52 and 32 Gay Street, Quincy
(Click to enlarge)

The family had moved to Quincy from Boston's North End a few years before Catherine's husband Patrick's death in 1900. They were probably already well-acquainted with the parish around the time of this 1890s era photograph below.

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in 1893

Over the years the Tierney family would form many connections to the church and many family milestones would be passed within its care. Catherine's daughter Margaret (my great-grandmother) married George William McCue within St. John's rectory on October 11, 1911.

This announcement appeared in the Quincy Patriot Ledger
after my great-grandparents' wedding in the parochial residence of
St. John the Baptist Catholic Church on October 11, 1911

Catherine Tierney was able to purchase her home at 32 Gay Street in 1923. The matriarch of the family known as "Gran" to her family passed away in 1934.

The obituaries of two of her daughters, my great-grandmother Margaret (Tierney) McCue and her sister Elizabeth "Betty" Tierney, tell of their involvement within St. John's Blessed Virgin Mary Ladies' Sodality. A cousin who visited them often as a child (and enjoyed milk and cookies at their home while his father visited with his older sisters) remembers that "both ladies were very active in all facets of the church activities".  Each of their requiem funeral Masses, held in the early 1960s, had at least three priests in attendance. This may be a testament to their long involvement with the church.

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St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, its rectory and also the Tierney home at 32 Gay Street each have historical and architectural significance.

St. John the Baptist, built in 1853 to serve the many Catholic families who had arrived in the area to work in the granite quarries, was the second Catholic church in Quincy. The church was expanded in 1873.

The church backs up to the rectory,
but is located at 44 School Street

Its rectory is located just behind the church on Gay Street. According to the Quincy, Massachusetts Historical and Architectural Survey: "This large house has been the rectory for St. John's Church since at least 1876 and may have been originally built for that purpose." The survey continues:

"When this residence was built in the 1860s it was considered very modern for it imitated the latest French building fashions. It was concomitant with the Italianate and the Gothic Revival Styles which were part of the Picturesque movement. The distinctive roof (which could be convex, concave or straight as in this house) was named for a 17th century French architect, Francois Mansart. In the 1850s, the style was revived in France by Napoleon III, hence the term 'Second Empire' or 'mansardic' for modest structures." 

The porch and a series of additional rooms were added to the rectory during the 1920s. Unfortunately, during the siding of the building with aluminum most of the original exterior features of architectural significance were removed.

The priests' residence at 21 Gay Street

Unlike the priests' residence, the long-term residence of Catherine Tierney and her children at 32 Gay Street has kept its architectural integrity. According to the Quincy survey:

"This residence is one of the fine Greek Revival cottages in Quincy which has retained most of its architectural integrity. Built in the 1850s as gable-end-to-street one and one half story cottage with the typical cornice board around the house and under the eaves and a recessed side entrance, it had added to it during the Italianate period two one-story angular, bracketed bay windows. The windows have stylized pediments atop them; the entrance is framed with pilasters and on top is the same type of lintel as the windows; the door has sidelight to floor level. The house rests on a granite foundation. Unlike the other Greek Revival property listed in the South Quincy inventory list which has been resided with vinyl to its detriment, this cottage has retained its wood clapboards and its architectural integrity. It is a fine component of the Gay Street streetscape."

The Tierney family resided at 32 Gay Street from 1912
until the latter part of the 20th century

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This article is part of the "Doors of Faith" series on our ancestors' Catholic parishes. Visit The Catholic Gene to learn how you can share photos and stories of your family's "Doors of Faith" in honor of the upcoming Year of Faith 2012-2013.

An American treasure: St. Stephen's celebrates 150 years

It's bell was cast by Paul Revere.

It is the only remaining church designed and built by the renowned Charles Bulfinch, the first native-born American architect (who also completed the creation of the U.S. capitol building).

But Charles Bulfinch and Paul Revere have nothing to do with the special anniversary celebrated this week by St. Stephen's Church, though the well-renowned neoclassical architectural treasure is a frequent stop for tourists in Boston's North End partly because of the fame of these two men.

This Sunday St. Stephen's will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its acquisition by the Catholic Church and its origin as a place of worship for Irish Catholics in Boston's North End.

My great-great-grandparents Patrick Tierney and Catherine Kennedy were among those Irish Catholics served by St. Stephen's in the first decades after its conversion to a Catholic parish. They were married at St. Stephen's by the Rev. John W. McMahon on August 16, 1874.

Patrick Tierney and Catherine Kennedy were 32 and 26
at the time of their marriage at St. Stephen's in 1874.

One-hundred-and-fifty years ago, on September 23, 1862, the church made the transition from Unitarian to Catholic. A place of worship was first built on the site as early as 1714: the Middle Street or New North Meeting House, church home to Paul Revere and his father. The year 1804 saw the completion of the current building designed and built by Charles Bulfinch. It was first named the New North Congregational Church and later the Second Church, Unitarian.

This plaque is one of several mounted on the church
building that tells the history of St. Stephen's

By 1862, the North End had become home to thousands of Irish immigrants and the church building began its new identity as St. Stephen's, in honor of the first Christian martyr. Among those Irish who attended the church over the years were Boston's first American-born Irish Mayor John F. "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald and his daughter Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, mother of President John F. Kennedy.

St. Stephen's is located at 401 Hanover Street, across Paul Revere Mall from the Old North Church, another frequent stop on the tourist trail. My great-great-grandparents and their family lived only a two-minute walk from the church, like many other Irish immigrants who populated the North End during the second half of the 19th century. The map below shows their home in 1877 at Rear 448 Hanover Street, just up the road from the church.

Patrick & Catherine Tierney and their family lived a
2-minute walk from St. Stephen's (Click to enlarge)

St. Stephen's has seen many changes over the years, including a complete 6-foot lift of the entire building (during the widening of Hanover Street), and its return to the original level designed by Bulfinch during a large restoration in 1965.

St. Stephen's Church prior to
its 1965 restoration

Though it was changed by the Diocese of Boston from a full parish into a "chapel" about fifteen years ago, Mass is still held daily at St. Stephen's. It is one of three former parishes administered by St. Leonard's Parish. It is also the headquarters of the Missionary Society of St. James the Apostle.

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The 150th celebration of the parish's founding will be at the 11 a.m. Mass on Sunday, September 23 at St. Stephen's. All are welcome.

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"The North End's changing ethnic and religious groups have always had a good friend in St. Stephen's Church..." - from a St. Stephen's Church plaque

This article is part of the "Doors of Faith" series on our ancestors' Catholic parishes. Visit The Catholic Gene to learn how you can share photos and stories of your family's "Doors of Faith" in honor of the upcoming Year of Faith 2012-2013.

"So grant him life...": Reviving the memory of Patrick Tierney

Having researched the life of suffering and trial of my Irish-immigrant great-great-grandfather Patrick Tierney and recently having shared his naturalization papers

"...swear by the oaths he swore..."

while I treasured his personal signature on those documents,

"...subdue your pen to his handwriting..."

having remembered that it was only sixty years after his death that most of his descendants had no knowledge of even his name,

"...let his forgotten griefs be now, and now his withered hopes..."

and searching now for documents, histories, anything that might give me a glimpse into his life,

"...assemble tokens intimate of him..."

I renew again my intent to share his story here at A light that shines again

"...blow on a dead man's embers and a live flame will start..."

in the hopes that his life of courage and fortitude will inspire those who come after him, giving them strength for their own lives. 

"...so grant him life..."

Patrick J. Tierney

1841-1900

Born in Tipperary, Ireland

Son of Michael and Mary (O'Neil) Tierney

Died in Quincy, Massachusetts, USA

Childhood survivor of the Great Famine

Immigrant to America at age seventeen

Laborer, trader, peddler and grocer in Boston's North End

Husband to Catherine (Kennedy) Tierney

Father of seven

May he rest in peace while the memory of his life lives on

~

Italicized excerpts above are from the poem by Robert Graves entitled To Bring the Dead to Life.  You can find it in its entirety below.  Thanks to Terry Thornton of Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi for bringing this poem to light and offering a challenge along with it to "bring the dead to life by using words to fan the embers of those long dead bones and let the resulting flame illuminate their life and times".  

To Bring the Dead to Life

~ Robert Graves

To bring the dead to life
Is no great magic.
Few are wholly dead:
Blow on a dead man's embers
And a live flame will start.

Let his forgotten griefs be now,
And now his withered hopes;
Subdue your pen to his handwriting
Until it prove as natural
To sign his name as yours.

Limp as he limped,
Swear by the oaths he swore;
If he wore black, affect the same;
If he had gouty fingers,
Be yours gouty too.

Assemble tokens intimate of him --
A ring, a hood, a desk:
Around these elements then build
A home familiar to
The greedy revenant.

So grant him life, but reckon
That the grave which housed him
May not be empty now:
You in his spotted garments
Shall yourself lie wrapped.

Tierney family treasure: Patrick's naturalization papers, 1876

It was one-hundred years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  It was the year that the Sioux and Cheyenne defeated Custer and his troops at Little Big Horn.  It was the year that baseball's National League was founded, and that prominent Boston resident Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone.

The year 1876 was also of personal importance for another Boston resident, my great-great-grandfather Patrick Tierney. On September 14, 1876 Patrick Tierney (and his wife Catherine by virtue of their marriage two years previous) became citizens of the United States.

Patrick's Declaration of Intent to become a citizen and Petition for Citizenship, which I obtained from the National Archives,  are both very special family treasures for several reasons.  One of those reasons is the mention of Patrick's birth in County Tipperary, Ireland.  I find it very interesting to compare Patrick's naturalization papers with those belonging to my grandfather (on another branch of my family tree) who attained his citizenship in the early 20th-century.

Probably my favorite part of Patrick's documents is his signature. We have no photographic image of my great-great-grandfather, and no written description of what he looked like. His signature is the closest that we can get to an "image" of him. Here it is as it appears on his citizenship papers:

Patrick Tierney's Declaration of Intent and Petition for Citizenship are shown below followed by their transcriptions.

The document reads:

U.S. District Court
Boston, Mass. Vol 95 Page 5 5

United States of America
55

To the Honorable Judges of the Circuit Court of the United States, begun and holden at Boston, within and for the District of Massachusetts.

Respectfully represents Patrick Tierney of Boston in said District Laborer an Alien and a free white person; that he was born in County Tipperary, Ireland the 14th day of March in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and forty-one and is now about thirty-five years of age; that he arrived at Buffalo, NY in the District of New York in the United States of America, on or about the tenth day of April in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and fifty-eight being then a minor under the age of eighteen years; that it then was, and still is, his bona fide intention to reside in and become a citizen of the United States of America, and to renounce all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign Prince, State, Potentate and Sovereignty whatsoever – more especially to Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,

whose subject he has heretofore been. [Struck out: All of which appears in the record of the Honorable…Court,…to wit, on the…day of…A.D. 18…]

And the said petitioner further represents that he has ever since continued to reside within the jurisdiction of said United States; that he has never borne any hereditary title, or been any of the orders of nobility; that he is ready to renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign Prince, Potentate, State or Sovereignty whatsoever; and particularly to Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom and Great Britain and Ireland,

whose subject he has heretofore been; that he is attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States of America, and well disposed towards the good order and happiness of the same.
[Struck out: And the said petitioner further represents that he enlisted in the Armies of the United States, and was honorably discharged therefrom.]

Wherefore, your petitioner prays that he may be admitted to become a citizen of the said United States of America, according to the forms of the Statutes in such case made and provided.

x Patrick . Tierney
[Signature of Patrick Tierney]

187 Sworn to by said Petitioner,
Before me,
John G. Stetson,
Clerk.

Key to Transcription

Black = pre-printed on form
Blue = handwritten
Green = stamped on record
Red = not in record; my notes

~

Below is Patrick's Petition for Citizenship.



The document reads:

U.S. District Court
Boston, Mass. Vol 95 Page 5 5 A

United States of America

Massachusetts District, to wit: City of Boston, Sept. 14th 1876.
We Austin Quigley and John Mitchell All of Boston
and both citizens of said United States, severally depose and say, that we have known the foregoing petitioner for five years last past, during which time he has resided in said
Boston
and that he has resided within the State of Massachusetts one year at least; and has conducted himself and behaved as a man of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed towards the good order and happiness of the same.

Sept 14, 1876 Sworn to by Austin Quigley
the above named witnesses, John Mitchell
Before me,
John G. Stetson
Clerk.

Oath Taken by Petitioner

I, Patrick Tierney do solemnly swear, that I do absolutely and entirely renounce and adjure all allegiance and fidelity to every Foreign Prince, Potenate, State or Sovereignty whatsoever, - particularly to Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,

whose subject I have heretofore been; and that I will support the Constitution of the United States of America, - so help me God.

United States of America

District of Massachusetts, to wit:
At a Circuit Court of the United States, begun and holden at said Boston, on the fifteenth day of May in the year of our Lord 1876, to wit, on the 14th day of September A.D. 1876, the said Patrick Tierney took the aforesaid oath and was admitted to become a citizen of the United States of America; and the Court ordered that record thereof by made accordingly.

Attest:
John G. Stetson Clerk.

Key to Transcription

Black = pre-printed on form
Blue = handwritten
Green = stamped on record
Red = not in record; my notes

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This article originally appeared here at A light that shines again.  I have republished it as part of the 17th edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture on "Irish genealogy treasures".

"Denying famine a future": Blog Action Day 2008

It is hard for my imagination to grasp what the childhoods of my great-great-grandparents Patrick Tierney and Catherine Kennedy must have been like. Patrick was six years old during the worst year of the most infamous Irish famine in recent history. The year was 1847, later known as "Black '47". Catherine was born in that year or shortly thereafter. Her babyhood must have been a true trial for her mother.

As a mother myself, I cannot fathom the worry that both Patrick and Catherine's parents must have faced as they struggled to provide food for their young children, the rest of their families, and themselves during this horrific time.

"...Sick! Sick! Sick!
With an aching, swimming brain
And the fierceness of the fever-thirst
And the maddening famine pain..."

~ From The Song of the Famine, published by The Dublin University Magazine: A Literary and Political Journal, July - December 1847, p. 102-104

As they watched neighbors, friends and family succumb to the effects of the death-dealing famine, how did my ancestors keep up hope that they and their children would make it through those dark days? And what mathematical odds did my great-great-grandparents overcome to make it possible for me and their other descendants to be living today?

I have other ancestors who may have experienced poverty and near-poverty during their lifetimes, yet when I first learned of Patrick and Catherine's childhoods during this infamous time in Ireland's history, I was struck with awe.

According to The Oxford Companion to Irish History, famine may be defined as "a persistent failure in food supplies over a prolonged period. It is something experienced by society, whereas starvation is something that affects individuals... The causes are complex."

Much has been written about the causes of The Great Hunger, as the Irish called the famine of 1845-1849 (An Gorta Mor in Irish Gaelic). Much will continue to be written about its causes and its impact on Ireland. It is clear today that the suffering of the Irish people during this time could have been significantly lessened if grain and other exports from Ireland had been restricted earlier and if more comprehensive measures had been taken to provide relief to those in need.

According to the International Famine Center at University College Cork "...it is important to note that famine occurs not only because a chain of events disposes to a famine outcome but also because nothing, or at least nothing effective, is done to break the process. It has been rare for the governments of famine-prone countries to possess the means with which to intervene to prevent famine."

Thankfully, the Irish famine was over long ago, although it will continue to live on in the collective memory of the Irish people for centuries. Yet, famine is still with us today in the suffering of many nations and peoples. The list of countries impacted by devastating food shortages continues to grow. Today people are in serious need in:

• Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, and more of east Africa


• Sierra Leone and more of west Africa


• Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and more of southern Africa


• Haiti


• Dominican Republic, Honduras and more of Central America


• Afghanistan


• Myanmar


• Other parts of the world

Few corners of the world are immune to poverty. In fact, many nations are now facing famine, or are on the verge of such a dire situation.

It is truly humbling for me to study the famine of mid-19th-century Ireland, particularly because I know that my family was impacted by this harrowing turn of events in such a direct way. It is also humbling to look at the current statistics that indicate that at least 800 million people in the world today face hunger. One quarter of those are children under five years of age.

Overwhelming as it might seem to consider the fact that one in five members of the human population suffers in this way today, there is hope. I am heartened by the fact that modern global communication allows us to be aware of those hurting in other parts of the world, and gives us the means to do something about it.

On this Blog Action Day 2008 focused on poverty, I hope you'll join me in taking the time to educate yourself about poverty and famine throughout the world - and take steps to do your part to change it.

According to the website of the International Famine Center at University College Cork (quoting Michael Glantz' 1987 Drought & Hunger in Africa: Denying Famine a Future):

"Preparing for famine so as to prevent it, although not a new idea, is one that we should be thinking about and working to realize. The reasons are humanitarian, social, economic, and political. We can both protect development and promote it by preparedness planning to 'deny famine a future'."

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What You Can Do

Here are some ways that you can do your part to make a difference in the life of someone who is living with or close to poverty today:

• Help keep a small business owner in the developing world out of poverty by making a micro-loan at Kiva.org
• Help feed the hungry while you and/or your kids test your knowledge at FreeRice.com
• Join Catholic Relief Services in praying, learning, participating and speaking out
• Donate to those in need through Food for the Poor
• Purchase items created by local artisans throughout the developing world at Ten Thousand Villages, which ensures that the artisans receive fair compensation for their work through fair trade
• Print a letter to your President or Prime Minister through the Poverty.com website
• Get involved in World Food Day - October 16, 2008
• Learn about other ways to make a difference in the lives of those in need

Special thanks to my daughter for her help with suggestions and revisions for this article. Her knowledge of the current global challenges continues to motivate me to learn more and do more to make a difference in the lives of those in need.

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Blog Action Day is an annual nonprofit event uniting the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters as they post about the same issue on the same day. This year's goal, according to the Blog Action Day website, is to raise awareness of poverty and trigger a global discussion.

If you'd like to read more about poverty, visit the Blog Action Day 2008 website for links to the words of more than 12,000 participants worldwide, including another of my articles at 100 Years in America: "Finish your dinner!": A grandmother's wise words on poverty.

From "hard knocks" to Harvard

A station agent for the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company, George William McCue was only 37 years old when he passed away (cause yet unknown to me) in 1923. His wife Margaret, age 36, was left to support herself and her five young children. The children, two boys and three girls ages four to ten years old, must have found it hard to understand the sudden loss of their father.

The eldest, George Roger McCue, was now the "man of the family" at age ten. I grew up hearing stories of how he helped to support his family at a very young age. I don't remember too many of the details, but delivering newspapers may have been one of the jobs that he took on to help support his family in their time of need.

At the time of George W. McCue's death, the family was living in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Soon thereafter, Margaret moved herself and her children back home to live with her mother and sister in Quincy, where they remained for the rest of their childhoods. Census and other records show this family of women breadwinners working hard to make a living. Their resourcefulness and support for eachother surely got them through the trying years of the Great Depression. Margaret sometimes worked as a bookkeeper, a job that she had held before her marriage to George. Her sister Betty worked as a seamstress. Their mother, Catherine, may have performed many of the household tasks and also helped with the children.

When I asked George Roger McCue about his ancestors many years ago, he didn't remember the names of his grandfathers or his other grandmother, but his grandmother Catherine Tierney's name was still very much present in his memory. Growing up within the same household as their grandmother and Aunt Betty, the children must have felt like they had three mothers.

George, the young breadwinner helping to earn money for his family, went on to be the first of the McCues and Tierneys to attend college. The grandson of an Irish famine survivor who had immigrated to America, George went on to earn a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard University, class of 1936. Over the course of many years, he had a successful career in marketing and management for the W.T. Grant Company, a retail department store chain, retiring from the company as regional manager.

George Roger McCue

(Photograph privately held by the author)

I often wonder how the loss of George's father at such as young age and the hard work he performed to help support his family might have helped to shape his character and work ethic. It is amazing how the childhoods of one generation of a family can be such a stark contrast to those of even the very next generation.

My hope is that the descendants of George William and Margaret McCue will take the time to look back and remember the struggles of their forebears, and be reminded of the true joy of the blessed essentials of our lives that we so often take for granted today.

What the "matchmaker" wrought

I've been enjoying the Irish Family History blog's Valentine focus this week. I was interested to learn that I'd done four unlucky things the day of my own wedding (I'm so glad I had two lucky ones on the list!). I've also enjoyed the posts on matchmaking and Irish weddings.

In honor of St. Valentine's Day today I thought I would remember some of the married couples in the Tierney/McCue family tree whose wedding dates I know (and some I don't).

Here's to all the loving couples in this extended family (several generations back). Without them there would be no family tree!

Michael & Mary (O'Neill) Tierney

Ralph & Bridget Kennedy

Frank & Catherine (Rogers) McCue

Patrick & Catherine (Kennedy) Tierney
Married August 16, 1874 at St. Stephen Catholic Church, Hanover Street, Boston, MA

George William & Margaret Helen (Tierney) McCue
Married October 11, 1911 at St. John Baptist Catholic Parochial Residence, Quincy, MA

John P. & Adeline (Sullivan) Tierney
Married in Oakland, California

Leo & Margaret (Wuerth) Tierney

Valentine image thanks to raggyann2 and eBay Forums.

A remembrance: the Tierney family of Quincy, 1908

One-hundred years is a long time. In the case of the Tierney and McCue families and their descendants, one-hundred years had erased all memories of the lives and in many cases even the names of those who had lived just a few generations earlier. That is, until I started looking through U.S. Census records to learn more about my great-grandmother and her family. Basically all I knew was that they were Irish and they lived in Massachusetts.

I had a few names to begin my search, but no stories, no pictures - nothing to tell me about the lives of these family members who had passed only a century (or less) before me. In the process of adding a little more here and there to the puzzle of my family's history, I began to make amazing discoveries. Missing pieces began to fill out the picture of a family, a life in America, and a survival of what was one of the most devastating times in the history of Ireland: the Great Famine that began in 1845 and the subsequent exile of the suffering Irish.

With the help of the U.S. Census, city directories, obituaries and other records, I began to unravel the forgotten story of the Tierney and McCue families of Boston and Quincy, Massachusetts.

Here, thanks to those records, is a remembrance of my ancestors who were living their lives one-hundred years ago in 1908.

The patriarch of the family, Patrick Tierney, had passed away at the age of 59 only eight years before (in 1900). By the year 1908, fifty-one years had passed since Patrick had emigrated from Ireland as a 17-year-old young man. In 1908 the Boston subway, the first of its kind in the nation, had been running for a decade. The nation saw its fifth World Series that year, having ushered in the tradition with the first ever series in Boston in 1903.

The year 1908 found Patrick's widowed wife Catherine (Kennedy) Tierney acting as head of the household. She was 61 years old and the mother of at least seven children who ranged in age from 31 to 17. (There may have been eight children, according to the 1900 & 1910 U.S. Censuses.) Around the year 1895 the family had moved from Boston's North End to the town of Quincy. 1908 found them spending their last year residing at 312 Quincy Avenue, Quincy, Massachusetts before moving to a home on Gay Street. The family had lived in this home at least since 1903, as listings in the Quincy City directories show.


The children of Patrick & Catherine (Kennedy) Tierney were as follows in 1908:

Catherine J. Tierney (age 31) - the eldest child that I have found, she was the namesake of her mother. Catherine was born at the address Rear 448 Hanover in Boston's North End on April 22, 1877. Her occupation is unknown but in 1908 and for the rest of her years she lived with her mother and siblings.

Ann (Annie) P. Tierney (later Haley) (age 29) - the couple's second child, Annie, was born at Rear 442 Hanover Street in Boston's North End on April 22, 1879. (Interestingly she and her older sister share the same birthday.) Annie was a nurse. In 1910 she was single and living with her mother and siblings so I assume that she shared their home at 312 Quincy Avenue in the year 1908.

Elizabeth (Betty) Tierney (age 27) - Betty was born at 78 Cross in Boston on January 11, 1881. An accomplished seamstress who never married, Betty was very close to her younger sister Margaret, with whom she shared a home from the 1920's until her death over forty years later. Betty more than likely helped Margaret raise her five children after the untimely death of her husband. In 1908 Betty was living at home with her mother and siblings. She was probably already working as a seamstress in a dress shop as she was in 1910. Betty was a member of the Blessed Virgin Mary Sodality of St. John's Parish, the Catholic church down the street from her home.

John P. Tierney (age 24) - probably the first son of Patrick & Catherine Tierney, John's birth at Chelsea on February 26, 1884 seems to have foreshadowed his life. He appears to have been born away from home and, interestingly enough, he went on to move to many different places during his lifetime. His birth also occurred in the very year that the Fore River Shipyard began business in Quincy, Massachusetts. Fore River was where John began his long career in the shipbuilding industry. An employee of the shipbuilding industry for many years, John had probably worked at various odd jobs and was already a shipfitter at the Fore River shipyards by the age of 24 in 1908. (Although I also found him working as a laborer in a pancake factory at the age of 16 in 1900). During his time as a young man in Quincy, probably including 1908, John was a member of St. John's Catholic Church Knights of Columbus and Holy Name Society.

Margaret Helen Tierney (later McCue) (age 22) - a lifelong companion to her older sister Betty, Margaret was born into the Tierney family at 468 Commercial in Boston's North End on August 23, 1886. In 1908 she was living with her mother and siblings and probably already working as a bookkeeper, soon to be moved up to chief bookkeeper at the Gallagher Express Company in Quincy Center. Margaret was, along with her sister Betty, a member of the Blessed Virgin Mary Sodality of St. John's parish.

Joseph G. Tierney (age 20) - probably the second son in the family, Joseph was born at 468 Commercial in Boston's North End on December 12, 1888. In 1910 he was an apprentice at the Fore River shipyard, so I assume that he was doing the same type of work as an 18-year-old in 1908 and following in the footsteps of his older brother John.

Leo E. Tierney (age 17) - Leo, the youngest child in the family, was born at 66 Mercer in Boston's North End on September 28, 1891. In 1908 he was probably already working as a helper at Fore River where his brothers were employed. Leo would go on to complete 45 years of service in the shipbuilding industry, spending much of this time at Boston Naval Shipyard in Charleston, Massachusetts.

As you can see by reading the summaries of each of the Tierney family members in 1908, the family had come a long way since their father Patrick's arrival from Ireland and his start as a poor laborer in Boston's North End. By 1908 the family was clearly a "shipbuilding family", one of many who received their income from the Fore River shipyards in Quincy. (If you are interested, a list of the vessels created at the shipyard in the year 1908 can be found at this webpage.)

In the end, John Tierney was the only one of his siblings to leave the Boston area, sharing his skills as a steel hull builder and moldloftsman with various shipyards throughout the nation before later going on to own and operate the Blackstone Hotel in California. John's brothers Joseph and Leo continued to work in the shipbuilding industry in Massachusetts while his sisters Annie, Betty and Margaret continued their work as nurse, seamstress and bookkeeper.

If he had lived a few more years, their father Patrick would have been able to see them each begin their respective careers. I'm sure that he would have been very proud.

"The hill remains..."

From the fields of Tipperary to the crowded streets of Boston's North End, Patrick Tierney's two worlds were different yet very much the same. The struggle for daily bread was a part of every day of his short 63-year life.

Probably looking toward a better life, he and his family moved around 1895 to the town of Quincy (along with many other Irish immigrant families).

Quincy, Massachusetts (pronounced Quin-zee, if you want to say it like a native) is seven miles southeast of downtown Boston. Known as the home of John & Abigail Adams (John was our nation's 2nd president) and their son John Quincy (our 6th president), the "city of presidents" gave way to the city of the Irish: Patrick and his family among them.

The Seal of City of Quincy includes these dates:

1625: Settlement at Mount Wollaston by Captain Wollaston.
1640: Separation from Boston "to be a town called Braintree."
1792: Incorporation of the North Precinct of Braintree as the Town of Quincy.
1888: Incorporation of the Town of Quincy as the City of Quincy.

The Manet on the seal is explained as follows:
"The hill remains, connecting the present with the past,
The city remains, continuous in its history and development,
The free spirit of it remains,
The fame of it remains, and will remain forever."

The move to Quincy was a good one for the Tierney family. Although they lost Patrick only about five years after their move to Quincy, the family resided there for many years, finding work in the famed Fore River Shipyard and in other local Quincy industries.

Patrick's two daughters, Margaret and Betty, both were still living in Quincy at the time of their deaths in 1963 and 1964, when the city of Quincy was thriving.

There may still be Tierney family descendants living in the area. If you are one or you know of one, please let me know.

As I mentioned here, the last of the homes of the Patrick & Catherine Tierney family in Quincy is still standing. Although no longer in possession of the family, it is good to know that a place where our family members spent so much of their lives is still there "...connecting the present with the past...".

Growing pains for Boston

As I mentioned in my last post, the Tierney family moved to Quincy around 1895. They were one of many, many Irish families who exited the North End when the influx of European Jewish settlers began taking over the area. South Boston soon replaced the North End as the area of the majority of Irish settlement. Quincy and other areas outlying Boston also gained many Irish residents.

This map, circa 1880 (click on it to view it up close), shows the date that various areas were annexed by Boston. It is a good overview of the city during this pivotal time of growth, when Patrick & Catherine Tierney were in the midst of raising their children in the crowded and difficult world of the Irish North End of Boston.

Home sweet homes

Whether or not an Irish Catholic like Patrick Tierney should have ever set foot in Boston, he went on to make it his home for the rest of his relatively short but very full life. However, for some reason (or several reasons) he and his family did not stay put in one residence. His children's civil birth records and many city directories indicate the places in which the family moved. Here is a timeline showing the Tierney family's known addresses in Boston beginning in 1877 (although Patrick was residing in Boston earlier):

• 1877 - Rear 448 Hanover
• 1879 - Rear 442 Hanover
• 1881 - 78 Cross
• 1886-1890 - 468 Commercial
• 1891 - 66 Mercer

About 1895 the Tierney family moved to Quincy along with many other Irish immigrant families who were leaving the North End for the outskirts of Boston. Here are family's addresses in Quincy (Patrick passed away in 1900):

• 1897-1898 - 101 Quincy Avenue
• 1903-1908 - 312 Quincy Avenue
• 1909 - 52 Gay Street
• 1912-1964 - 32 Gay Street (the house pictured above)

Here is a photo of the house at 32 Gay Street taken in 2003:

Tierney family treasure: Patrick's naturalization papers, 1876

It was one-hundred years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  It was the year that the Sioux and Cheyenne defeated Custer and his troops at Little Big Horn.  It was the year that baseball's National League was founded, and that prominent Boston resident Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone.

The year 1876 was also of personal importance for another Boston resident, my great-great-grandfather Patrick Tierney. On September 14, 1876 Patrick Tierney (and his wife Catherine by virtue of their marriage two years previous) became citizens of the United States.

Patrick's Declaration of Intent to become a citizen and Petition for Citizenship, which I obtained from the National Archives,  are both very special family treasures for several reasons.  One of those reasons is the mention of Patrick's birth in County Tipperary, Ireland.  I find it very interesting to compare Patrick's naturalization papers with those belonging to my grandfather (on another branch of my family tree) who attained his citizenship in the early 20th-century.

Probably my favorite part of Patrick's documents is his signature. We have no photographic image of my great-great-grandfather, and no written description of what he looked like. His signature is the closest that we can get to an "image" of him. Here it is as it appears on his citizenship papers:

Patrick Tierney's Declaration of Intent and Petition for Citizenship are shown below followed by their transcriptions.

The document reads:

U.S. District Court
Boston, Mass. Vol 95 Page 5 5

United States of America
55

To the Honorable Judges of the Circuit Court of the United States, begun and holden at Boston, within and for the District of Massachusetts.

Respectfully represents Patrick Tierney of Boston in said District Laborer an Alien and a free white person; that he was born in County Tipperary, Ireland the 14th day of March in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and forty-one and is now about thirty-five years of age; that he arrived at Buffalo, NY in the District of New York in the United States of America, on or about the tenth day of April in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and fifty-eight being then a minor under the age of eighteen years; that it then was, and still is, his bona fide intention to reside in and become a citizen of the United States of America, and to renounce all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign Prince, State, Potentate and Sovereignty whatsoever – more especially to Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,

whose subject he has heretofore been. [Struck out: All of which appears in the record of the Honorable…Court,…to wit, on the…day of…A.D. 18…]

And the said petitioner further represents that he has ever since continued to reside within the jurisdiction of said United States; that he has never borne any hereditary title, or been any of the orders of nobility; that he is ready to renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign Prince, Potentate, State or Sovereignty whatsoever; and particularly to Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom and Great Britain and Ireland,

whose subject he has heretofore been; that he is attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States of America, and well disposed towards the good order and happiness of the same.
[Struck out: And the said petitioner further represents that he enlisted in the Armies of the United States, and was honorably discharged therefrom.]

Wherefore, your petitioner prays that he may be admitted to become a citizen of the said United States of America, according to the forms of the Statutes in such case made and provided.

x Patrick . Tierney
[Signature of Patrick Tierney]

187 Sworn to by said Petitioner,
Before me,
John G. Stetson,
Clerk.

Key to Transcription

Black = pre-printed on form
Blue = handwritten
Green = stamped on record
Red = not in record; my notes

~

Below is Patrick's Petition for Citizenship.



The document reads:

U.S. District Court
Boston, Mass. Vol 95 Page 5 5 A

United States of America

Massachusetts District, to wit: City of Boston, Sept. 14th 1876.
We Austin Quigley and John Mitchell All of Boston
and both citizens of said United States, severally depose and say, that we have known the foregoing petitioner for five years last past, during which time he has resided in said
Boston
and that he has resided within the State of Massachusetts one year at least; and has conducted himself and behaved as a man of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed towards the good order and happiness of the same.

Sept 14, 1876 Sworn to by Austin Quigley
the above named witnesses, John Mitchell
Before me,
John G. Stetson
Clerk.

Oath Taken by Petitioner

I, Patrick Tierney do solemnly swear, that I do absolutely and entirely renounce and adjure all allegiance and fidelity to every Foreign Prince, Potenate, State or Sovereignty whatsoever, - particularly to Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,

whose subject I have heretofore been; and that I will support the Constitution of the United States of America, - so help me God.

United States of America

District of Massachusetts, to wit:
At a Circuit Court of the United States, begun and holden at said Boston, on the fifteenth day of May in the year of our Lord 1876, to wit, on the 14th day of September A.D. 1876, the said Patrick Tierney took the aforesaid oath and was admitted to become a citizen of the United States of America; and the Court ordered that record thereof by made accordingly.

Attest:
John G. Stetson Clerk.

Key to Transcription

Black = pre-printed on form
Blue = handwritten
Green = stamped on record
Red = not in record; my notes

Boston and its North End in 1880

Just for reference, here's a map of Boston circa 1880. At the time this map was published, Patrick and his wife Catherine were expecting their third child and were living on Hanover Street, one of the main arteries of the North End. He was a peddler.

A happy day in 1874: The wedding of Patrick & Catherine (Kennedy) Tierney

On August 16, 1874 Patrick Tierney and Catherine Kennedy, both of Boston, were married. To the left is a transcription of their marriage record from the Massachusetts archives. At the time of their marriage, it had been twenty-nine years since the first year of famine and sixteen years since Patrick had arrived in the United States. It must have been a very happy day for Patrick and Catherine.

The couple's marriage took place at St. Stephen Catholic Church on Hanover Street.. Plans for the church had started in 1802 and the famous Boston born architect Charles Bullfinch (the nation's premier architect) had designed the building. (The church is the only Bullfinch church to survive the Boston fire of 1872.) The church is now part of the famous Freedom Trail in Boston.

The building had originally housed the New North Congregational Church. The Unitarian congregration gave way to the Irish Catholic population during the Civil War and in 1862 the Catholic Church bought the church building for $35,000 and dedicated it to St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr.

According to the couple's marriage record, Patrick's parents' names were Michael & Mary (O'Neil) Tierney (Mary's maiden name is listed on Patrick's death record).  Catherine's parents' names were Ralph & Bridget Kennedy. I have not yet been able to find any further information about either of these couples (Patrick & Catherine's parents), even whether or not they emigrated from Ireland along with their children. Were they able to watch as their children marry that day in 1874, or did they remain behind in Ireland when their children left for America in search of a better life?

"Never."

I took a nice trip to Scotland years ago. My friend and I traveled with large backpacks on our backs, took trains and stayed in youth hostels along the way. It was a memorable trip for many reasons, not the least of which was the beautiful Scottish scenery that surrounded us wherever we went.

My most striking memory of the trip was how awestruck I was by the fact that everything was so green - in shades so vivid that they seemed to be unreal. It was a beautiful place and I'd love to mingle with the friendly people and the Highland cows again sometime.

I've always imagined Ireland to be even more beautiful than the Scotland that I knew then. Photography of Ireland (in several volumes that rest on my bookshelves) certainly assures me that it will be. Quaint Irish villages with little thatch-roofed homes, green fields as far as the eye can see, cliff views of the ocean that defy the imagination. I would love to take a long, leisurely trip to the land of my heritage. I even daydream sometimes of living there for a year or so. I had often been saddened to think that my great-great-grandparents, Patrick Tierney and his wife Catherine (Kennedy) Tierney had been forced to leave such a beautiful land. Both had left after spending their childhoods during the famine years.

Imagine my interest when I discovered a letter a couple of years ago written in 1985 by my Great Aunt Mary (McCue) Primiano. Her letter, addressed to my grandparents, described a recent trip she had taken to Ireland by way of France & England.

Of specific interest to me was her description of a short conversation that she had once with her grandmother, "Gran", Catherine (Kennedy) Tierney. It reminded me that the land of Ireland not only has its beauty but a harshness that has made its people strong over the generations.

"We took an overnight trip on the Irish Sea last year. Talk about being a bad sailor. I can get queezy on a ferry and the storm on the Irish Sea darn near did me in.

"I remember asking Gran one time if she ever wanted to go back to Ireland. She laughed and said, 'Never.' After that trip I can now understand why."

Now I know what "Gran", who died on February 4, 1934 in her mid-eighties, would have said if given the chance to go back.

I'll just have to take the trip for her - but I'm sure my stay will be a much more pleasant one than she had.

Let's never forget

This famine memorial in Boston, Massachusetts remembers the lives of those who suffered during such a sad time in Irish history and calls us to look toward those in the world today who may be experiencing similar suffering.

This blog is dedicated to the memory of my great-great-grandparents Patrick Tierney of County Tipperary, Ireland and his wife Catherine (Kennedy) Tierney, who survived the Great Famine and came to Boston in search of a better life.

Their humble lives are remembered here with fondness and appreciation. It is our hope that the little that we learn about their lives will strengthen us for our own times.