John Fagan / Mary McFarland -- Needle in a haystack?

[kfagan]

I've been searching for the Irish immigrant link to move my research to the island and have hit a major brick wall.  I'm completely at a loss so I'm hoping someone here might have some advice?

The death certificate for my GG-Grandfather John Henry Fagan (b. 1859 in New York) lists father John Fagan and mother Mary McFarland -- both born in Ireland.  His marriage certificate lists no parent names and no birth certificate for him seems to exist.  All I have to go on are his parents' (quite common) names. 

Any advice on how to pin down this John and Mary? 

I found an immigration record showing a (both 16-year-old) Mary McFarland and a John Fagan traveling to the USA on the same ship (Colonist) arriving in January 1851.  I'd love to believe they fell in love onboard and later married, but aside from these possibly-coincidental names I've found nothing I can use to pin down this John and Mary Fagan.  Nothing seems to fit them from the 1860/1870 US censuses.

Somewhat strangely... I'm also seeing a probate listing in London from 1933 relating to John Henry Fagan's death in 1932.  Strange considering he was born in the US and appears to have lived there throughout his life?

Any advice or encouragement is welcome!

[aghadowey]

First bit of advice is to forget about Mary McFarland for now. Just because someone named Mary (an incredibly common Christian name) is on the same ship as your ancestor does not mean that they married each other. Do you actually know that the John Fagan you found on that passenger list is the correct one?

The English probate record merely means that John Henry Fagan had some sort of property in England that had to be sorted out when he died. This could be real estate, inherited property or something like shares so it doesn't mean that he ever lived there. The entry mentions a Will and there should also be a copy of it in New York probate records (probably town of Mamaroneck if that's where he died and resided).

If you could John Henry Fagan in the 1860 and 1870 census records it would be a tremendous help but there are possible reasons you haven't located him. The surname could be mi-stranscrobed of spelt phoenetically, he could be an orphan in an institution or staying with another family or perhaps his parents weren't John and Mary.

It seems that the only record of John Henry Fagan's parents being John and Mary is, so far, from his death certificate but it's entirely possible that the informant was mistaken. Who was the informant? The fact that his parents were not listed on his marriage certificate leaves open the possibility that he didn't know his parents' names.

Have you tried contacting all possible descendants/relatives to see if they've been handed down any different details about the family?

[taramcdsmall]

Hi There and Welcome

What did John Henry Fagan name his children, in birth order ?

Tara

[taramcdsmall]

What census' DO you have John Henry on ?

What was his occupation ?

Tara

[taramcdsmall]

On the 1900 Census, in New York, there is a JOHN HENRY FAGAN b 1847 IRELAND !

Has this person been ruled out or is he coincidental

Tara

[taramcdsmall]

This one is a total long shot BUT it's interesting ~

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FXCG-8JM

If John didn't know whom his parent's were he MAY also have gotten his birth place wrong !

Tara

[taramcdsmall]

Was he married to Sarah Morris ?

Tara

[aghadowey]

Here's the correct John Hery Fagan in some U.S. census records-
1900: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MSVJ-V99
1910: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M572-1QL
1920: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MJ15-W6M
1930: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X4G4-3W6

Marriage (1878): https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F6QJ-CYT

[kfagan]

Thanks for all of the replies!

The informant on the death certificate was his wife Mary who it seems should be a relatively good source for his parents' names.

John Henry Fagan married Mary Louise Fitzsimmons in New York City in 1878 as aghadowey discovered in the NYC marriage indexes.  No parents are listed on the marriage cert for either of them and they definitely moved in with the bride's family after the birth of their first son so her parents were known but for whatever reason not listed on the marriage certificate.

Their children were named (in order):
  - John H(enry?) Fagan - Born 1878
  - Nanette C Fagan - Born 1880
  - James J Fagan - Born 1882 (my G-Grandfather)

I have found him and his wife in the following censuses (with occupations listed):
1880 US - Manhattan - Waiter in Hotel - Living with wife's family and young son John
1900 US - Manhattan - Engineer, Stationary - Living with wife, 3 kids, and daughter Nanette's child John
1910 US - Mamaroneck, Westchester (outside NYC) - Engineer, Stationary - John and Wife living with Nanette and her husband.
1915 US - Mamaroneck, Westchester (outside NYC) - Gardener - John and Wife living with Nanette and her husband.
1920 US - Manhattan - Engineer, Machine Works - living only with wife Mary back in the city.
1925 NY - Manhattan - Engineer - with wife and son James J who seems to have split with his second "wife" (my G-Grandma)
1930 US - Mamaroneck - Retired Engineer - Back in Mamaroneck living near daughter Nanette.

My G-GF James was a bit of a drifter/womanizer it seems and disappeared from his family when the kids were young and so the Irish part of my verbal heritage was essentially lost.  I've tried tracing the side branches down further to see if I can find any other living relations down other lines but so far no luck.