A Shot in the Dark

[jackjohn]

Hello All

I am at a standstill trying to locate any info on my grandfather's family (or any info on my grandfather's birthplace , etc...)

His name : William Joseph Massey
      Born   : 29 Sept. 1876 (varies from '76 to '79 depending on source)
the birthdate comes from his WW1 draft reg. - I know this one is his because the address he gave is the same one at the time of his death

Birthplace : Ireland   ?

Immigration : Unknown - he died at age 40 (or up to42 , again , depending on source of birth year)
his death cert states he was a resident of US (and NYCity) for 36 years (which would have him arriving 1879/80 (or up to 1884 depending on source) , yet on 1910 census it states his year of immagration as 1892    ?
I've checked Ellis Is. database with no luck


Father: William              Birthplace : Ireland    ?
Mother: Julia O'Herlihy   Birthplace : Ireland    ?

birth years/marriage year unknown for Wm. and Julia

the father and mother info came from my grandfather's death certificate from 1918 (image attached)

unfortunately , my living relatives are as clueless as I am 

when I had a subscription at anstry , I tried all ways I could think of for info (I had the 'world' subscription) and I've tried LDS (1 of the 5 census are definitely my g'father (1910 census) , 1 is a very , very strong (99.9% certain)possibility (1900 census) , NJ State census a possibility and other 2 ruled out .
None of the birth or marriage records seem to match my g'father or his parents .

As I said in the header of my message , I know this is a real shot in the dark but seeing some of the amazing results you all seem to have in finding the 'needle in the haystack', I  wanted to put this up and give it a whirl .

I want to thank everyone , in advance , for taking some of your time to read/research/respond to this .

Thank You

jackjohn

[shanew147]

no direct link for William, but there is a possible sibling listed in the extracted records on familysearch :

 name:   Helena Maria Massey
 birth date: 29 Sep 1878
 birthplace:  Cork
 parents : William Bennett Massey & Julia O'Herlihy

This record doesn't mention where in Co. Cork ... but it may be possible to find a matching civil BMD index record. These details can be used to order a birth cert - which will give a more precise location. e.g. a street, village or townland


Shane

[shanew147]

There's a good full name match for that extracted record in the BMD Index. The registration district is Cork, which is quite large so doesn't really narrow down the location. It covers the city and also a large area of the county including towns such as Cobh, Ballingcolling, Blarney, Glanmire, Passage West and Watergrasshill

 Name: Helena Maria Massey
 Registration district:   Cork
 Event type: Birth
 Quarter and year: Oct-Dec 1878
 Volume : 5 / Page : 117

I dont see any good matches for Williams birth in the Cork area on either the extracted records or the BMD Index.

See :

  Introduction to Irish Records
  Ordering Certs from GRO Roscommon
  Details included on a Birth Cert


Shane

[shanew147]

and a possible marriage cross-match from the BMD index for the parents :

 Name: William Bennett Massey
 Registration district: Cork
 Event type: Marriage
 Year: 1876
 Volume : 20 / Page : 85

  name:   Julia O'Herlihy
  [same references as William]


Shane

[jackjohn]

Hi Shane

Thanks for the super fast response(s) . I had seen that entry a while back . I think I may have mistakenly dismissed it because I had it stuck in my head that fathers had the habit of naming their sons after themselves (i.e. my g'father Wm. Joseph named his first son Wm. Joseph , my father was John Patrick and he named me John Patrick) . But I have read here that that naming pattern is not always the 'norm'. The birth date would fit perfectly (if g'father did in fact die at 40 y.o. in 1918) and other than the middle name of Bennett , everything else fits nicely ... and I never gave it a thought that he could have been a 'twin'. And thank you for the additional follow-up replies !! I hadn't even finished typing my reply to your first response and you replied twice more !! Amazing    I will have a look at BDM index again with this info .

Thank You so much !!!!
jackjohn

[shanew147]

Not certain if this is the same person (there's several William B. or Bennet Massey's listed in the BMD Index records around that time), but there's a William B. Massey, artist listed in Slater's directory of 1881, with two addresses in Cork city

  102 Patrick St and 66 North Main Street

The listing section is titled Artists - portrait, miniature, landscape &c and painters. He's also listed under booksellers & stationers


Shane

[aghadowey]

Wasn't your William Joseph Massey a photographer in New Jersey? perhaps father was an artist...

[jackjohn]

Hi aghadowey

I was just going to respond to Shane's reply that in the 1900 NJ census (one I was unsure of) Wm. J's occupation was listed as a photographer and I know he made a living as a sign painter later in life . He's listed as a 'sign painter' on 1910 census and as a 'painter' on his death cert .

Again , thank you so much for all this information . I think I may be finally finding some answers to my questions .

[jackjohn]

a couple questions about the Slater's directory ....

1) was the Slater's directory a sort of pre- telephone type directory for the city/town ?

2) would the listing of the two addresses be a home address and a business address ?