In another thread located on the County Louth and County Tyrone boards, “Carrolls and McCarrolls – where to start,” Tony found a comment about my grand parents’ marriage and most likely came up with something that we have been searching to fill some gaps.
My grandfather was Michael Joseph McCarroll, and he was born in Corkhill, County Tyrone, in 1879. He left Ireland around 1899 for San Francisco to join his brothers Thomas and Patrick. He became a “Carroll” in America, and I think he may have been a saloonkeeper.
My grandmother was Agnes Bridget Gaffigan. She was born in San Francisco, California in 1889 to John Gaffigan and Maggie Crennan. Somehow Aggie and Mickey met in San Francisco. A lot of the records we would normally rely upon burned in the San Francisco Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906, more devastating than Dublin’s Four Courts disaster.
The next thing we “knew” was that they got married at St. Patrick’s in Dundalk, County Louth, July 29, 1912 (and NO! it was not a shotgun marriage as my father was their oldest child and he came in 1914). I have been puzzling about how and when, and where, they met and traveled, then tied that knot because St. Patrick’s was not either one’s church.
Then Tony came up with an arrival, that happened three days before that marriage, and it looked like a piece of the puzzle might be falling into place. A Miss Agnes Gaffigan, a U. S. citizen, had left the states on the Celtic and disembarked at Queenstown, July 26, 1912. She was listed as being 23, which was close to my grandmother’s birthdate. We have no idea of how she traveled to Dundalk overland or by boat to Liverpool and then to Dundalk, or if this was my grandmother – but it surely does seem so.
I asked Tony if Michael had traveled with her, and the answer was negative. Then he found a “Michael Joseph Carroll,” a saloonkeeper (which he was, at least after that, and brothers and cousins were also publicans) had arrived in Liverpool in 1908 on his way to Ulster – but his recorded age was ten years off (listed as being 39, while he was 29). That would have eliminated him; but then it could have been a scrivener’s error.
We did not treat it as a recorder’s error (and you know that does happen with these things) so we had to dismiss this at this time. But, when had Michael McCarroll returned to Ireland? We know that he may have been here before Agnes, but have not found any record of his coming home, or where he might have been staying in County Tyrone.
Now, I have been thinking about this and would raise these issues. We do know that Patrick, (his brother, born 1873 in Corkhill), traveled frequently between San Francisco and the Fintona and Eskra areas, probably going through Cork’s port Queenstown. Could this have been just a visit by Michael, and possibly one made with another brother? That is, if there was a mistake made regarding his age (it was only off one digit, not just 10 years!).
We have been unable to find just what Michael and Patrick did for a living in America (Thomas, another brother was busy raising a family in San Francisco, having married Catherine “Kitty” Daly from Newtownsaville). But they did have money, they traveled, and it did not come from farming. I know, there are such things as legacies.
These are the types of questions we must ask ourselves and others (if living) who possibly might know, if we are to unravel some of the mysteries of our ancestors.
If anyone on the Cork board has any clues to this mystery I would really be happy if you could share them.
By the way, another Carroll, Honora or Nora, married a Hounihan of Donaghmore; she was a great, great grandmother on my mother’s side. Funny how these things get mixed up.
