Luke O'Grady

[bibliotaphist]

I'm trying to trace my ancestor Luke O'GRADY. I have done a little bit of work but I'm fairly new to family history research - can anyone suggest any pointers?


My great-grandfather Frank O'Grady (later Frank CORR) b. 1888, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England.

His birth certificate - and later his marriage certificate - both give his father as Luke O'Grady, occupation "glass embosser (journeyman)".

Frank O'Grady's mother was Emily Corr née FARLEY (and later TILBROOK/TILLBROOK) b. 1854 - she is down on his birth certificate as Emily O'Grady, but I suspect this *might* have been a polite fiction for the registrar's benefit - I certainly can't find any marriage between Emily and any O'Grady.

My great-grandfather kept the name O'Grady until adulthood before changing it to Corr. I can't find any definite information about Luke O'Grady before or after my great-grandfather's birth.



Some potential leads all with "Grady" rather than "O'Grady" - nothing to confirm that any of these are the same person:



Luke Grady b. 1867, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England (GRO 6b 414).

1871 census @ 80 Temple Street, Wolverhampton: Luke Grady, aged 3, son of William GRADEY, aged 40, occupation "shoemaker", b. Ireland.

1881 census @ 80 Temple Street, Wolverhampton: Luke Grady, aged 13, occupation "scholar", son of William O. Grady (poss. O'Grady!), aged 50, occupation: "cordwainer", b. Armagh, Ireland.

I can't find any matching marriage or death entries for this Luke Grady.

William Grady, occupation: "bootmaker" of Temple Street mentioned in a court case involving his daughter in 1880 - "STAFFORDSHIRE ASSIZES - YESTERDAY". Birmingham Daily Post (Birmingham, England), Tuesday, July 20, 1880; Issue 6876; Page 5.

William Grady d. 1884, aged 54, Wolverhampton (GRO 6b 325).

U.S. petition for naturalisation document for a Luke Grady occupation "laborer", former nationality English, at New York Common Pleas Court on July 20, 1894. (Arrived in U.S. August 10, 1888. Address in New York: 419 East 22 St, New York City).

Finally there are two UK birth records for other people called Luke Grady which both seem less likely:

1848 in Holbeach, Lincolnshire (GRO 14 397);
1856 in South Shields, Co. Durham (GRO 10a 438).

...

And that's me exhausted! Does anyone have any leads or can anyone suggest where I go next: particularly on where I might look for evidence whether the Luke GRADY above is my 2-greats-grandfather or not?

Many thanks,

Paul

[jim1]

Hello Paul & welcome
You say his mother is named as Emily O'Grady on his birth.
If she was married or passing herself off as married it would state her maiden name, so does it ?
What I can see so far is that Emily married Edward Corr 1872 16 years prior to Frank's birth & Frank is living with his Grandmother in 1891 & in 1911 he's married & calling himself Corr.
Is this correct.
In 1891 Emily is with her 3 Corr children, Edward having died in 1887.
A possible scenario is that after Edward's death Emily took in Luke O'Grady as a lodger, with 3 young children & no income this is quite feasible.
I would say Luke did exist as he's mentioned on both the birth & marriage certs but without him still being in the area it going to be almost impossible to trace him.
It's also quite possible the Luke from Staffs. is the father as he was pretty much all alone in the world by 1888.His mother was Jane Spooner.

jim

[bibliotaphist]

Hello Jim and many thanks for your reply!

If she was married or passing herself off as married it would state her maiden name, so does it ?

Yes, she's recorded on the birth cert as "Emily O'Grady formerly Farley". Luke O'Grady is named as the informant, of 2 Back 135 Brearley Street Birmingham (which is also the place of birth).

What I can see so far is that Emily married Edward Corr 1872 16 years prior to Frank's birth & Frank is living with his Grandmother in 1891 & in 1911 he's married & calling himself Corr.
Is this correct.

All correct. Frank O'Grady-now-Corr and Lily née Bowden, married by the time of 1911 census & with their first 2 children, ended up having at least 9 more, including my grandfather.

A possible scenario is that after Edward's death Emily took in Luke O'Grady as a lodger, with 3 young children & no income this is quite feasible.

Sounds very plausible, and would explain the age difference between Emily and Wolverhampton Luke. It sounds even *more* likely when you notice that Emily Corr later married Charles Tillbrook, who was recorded as her "boarder" on the 1901 census. She obviously had a habit of getting friendly with her lodgers :-)

His mother was Jane Spooner.

Thank you - Jane's surname was a detail I didn't have.

I suspect I'll never be able to prove that Luke Grady of Wolverhampton = "my" Luke O'Grady. (The oddest detail is that that family seems to have always been recorded as Grady, *never* O'Grady, consistently over many years - so why would he give his own name as O'Grady when registering the birth?) I'd also love to get some clue about what happened to him in New York (if that was him) after 1894.

Still, it all hangs together and makes for a good story!

Cheers,

Paul

[jim1]

When with his family Luke & his father were variously recorded as O'Grady & Grady.
It's not uncommon for the "O" to be dropped on Irish names.
What was Luke's occupation on the birth cert?

[bibliotaphist]

What was Luke's occupation on the birth cert?

"Glass embosser".

[jim1]

That would be a skilled job. The Luke that emigrated was a labourer, not that I can find him on the US census anyway.

[bibliotaphist]

Yes, that bothered me too. If that's not him, where did he disappear to!?!

[MargP]

Hi

"Yes, she's recorded on the birth cert as "Emily O'Grady formerly Farley". Luke O'Grady is named as the informant, of 2 Back 135 Brearley Street Birmingham (which is also the place of birth"

If  Luke O'Grady was the informant on the birth certificate, I would say that O'Grady is his correct name

Margp

[jim1]

Can't see him in Australia either.
Agnes is the only one I can find anywhere.