McPaul Family

[XLaura]

Hello everyone,

I am looking for information on my g-g-grandfather, Patrick McPaul.  The only instance I have of his name is on my great-grandmothers death certificate.  Julia was born in 1889 in Ireland, and her mother remarried in Philadelphia in 1896, so Julia was very, very young and knew nothing of her father.

Through the LDS Family Search I found one Patrick McPaul, born in 1867 to John McPaul and Margery Swiney.  He had many siblings:  Grace, Catherine, Mary Anne, Edward, Margery, Bernard, Margaret and Sarah.  I can go no further back than John and Margery, though one ancestry.com subscriber has John's father listed as "Neal McPaul".  I can't find anything on him, either.

I do have a Pat McPaul arriving in America in September of 1890, but no listing of a wife (Lizzie Bradley) or daughter.  Lizzie remarried in 1896 to a Robert McCall (a rhyming last name, just to make things more FUN!)  So Julia was very, very young when Patrick died.  (Lizzie sent Julia to be raised by "friends" from Ireland because she thought Robert would reject her if he learned she had a daughter.  So Julia wasn't raised by Robert McCall and didn't speak to her mother again until she was in her 30's)

In the early 1800's, some McPauls were caught stealing sheep and sentenced to Australia, so some families emigrated there to NSW, where I have read that four brothers have produced over 2,000 descendents.  I do not think this line is directly related to me.

If anyone has any suggestions where I can get more information, I would be most grateful.  I am sorry for the long-windedness of this, I am just hoping some little detail might help.

Thanks,
Laura

[aghadowey]

Welcome to Rootschat. It's good that you've included the details that you've found in your post but I think it might be a good idea to start looking over everything to see if all the information fits together.

Starting with your great-grandmother, Julia McPaul: her death certificate contains information provided by an informant so there might be errors on it. Since Julia was born after the start of civil registration of births in Ireland you can oder her birth certificate which should list names of both parents and an exact place of birth (townland).
www.groireland.ie/apply_for_a_cert.htm
From there you can order the marriage certificate of Julia's parents which will give you a date and place (most likely a church which will be useful in searching for church records) and the names and occupations of both their fathers.
The IGI (on LDS site) has some, not all, Irish borths 1864-c1882 so the Patrick McPaul you found details on may not even be Julia's father (Patrick's marriage certificate should confirm his father's name).

You mention that Julia was born 1889 in Ireland (birth certificate should confirm this) but her mother sent her back to Ireland when she re-married. Are you sure that the mother Lizzie actually brought Julia to America? could Julia have been left behind when her mother went to America?

[maryderry]

wondered if these were relations.


MARRIAGE. ROBERT MCPAUL TO CATHERINE MOOR 7-1-1853 KILMACRENAN,DONEGAL.

BIRTHS. ROSE ANN 27-3-1874. HANNAH 18-4-1874 KILMACRENAN,DONEGAL

PARENTS. JAMES MCPAUL & MARGARET PATTON/PATON.



                                                 regards mary.

[aghadowey]

Have just been through index to Philadelphia marriages 1885-1916 and only marriage for a Robert McCall is a Robert F. McCall in 1912 (bride Ryan). Also checked McCaul and then McPaul- nothing for either so it looks like the marriage might have taken place outside Philadelphia.

This could be Julia returning to U.K.:
24 Sept.1902 "Furnessia" from New York going to Glasgow, Scotland-
Julia McPaul, age 16, landing at Moville (Donegal, Ireland).

And Julia in 1900 census- Philadelphia:
Julia McPaul, boarder, born May 1887 Ireland, to US 1890, parents born Ireland
In household of Mary McDermont with 3 other boarders

[XLaura]

Wow!  This is exciting, to have replies already!

Maryderry - I suspect that Robert McPaul and John McPaul (Patrick's father???) were either brothers or cousins.  That is my best guess. 

Aghadowey - Thank you for the information on obtaining Julia's birth certificate in Ireland.  I will check there later today.

I come from a very small family.  Julia & John Gallagher had 3 children - only one married and had children, my grandmother Margery.  So all relevant paperwork came directly down to me, with no other relatives to grab anything.  That being said, I have only one relative still living, my aunt Rita, who is 70 years old and blind.  She has an incredible memory, and has provided many clues. 

Julia was indeed brought to America.  When her father died and Lizzie met Robert McCall, she left Julia on a Philly street corner and told her that if she wasn't back in 5 minutes, go into the tea room right there and ask for Mary.  Of course, Lizzie didn't come back, and Julia went inside.  Mary McDermott (from the 1900 census) raised Julia ... the story goes that Mary McDermott and Lizzie knew each other back in Donegal.  This explains the 1900 census.

Mary McDermott never married, and she did indeed take Julia back to Ireland when Julia was 14, where they stayed for about a year.  I have the ship manifests for this.  You might have noticed that one of the boarders was also named Mary McDermott --- Julia called them Big Mary and Little Mary.

This story made such an impression on both me and my aunt, we cannot imagine leaving a child on a street corner.  In Philadelphia no less!  After she married, Julia found her mother, who with Robert McCall had three more daughters, and forgave her.  McCall was very upset and said he would of course had taken Julia in.  And Julia was the only one with him when he died.

I really appreciate your lookup on the marriage, as well.  I do not know exactly where they were married.  Elizabeth's maiden name was Bradley, so she might have been Elizabeth Bradley McPaul, or just Elizabeth Bradley since she "lied" to Robert McCall.

!!!  This is so exciting!!!

[aghadowey]

I can see where you'd remember hearing Julia's story about her mother.

Seems as though the 1900 census entry and passenger list entry for Julia McPaul that I found last night are for the correct person.

The Philadelphia marriage indexes are online (free). I searched for McCall/McCaul and McPaul without results. If Lizzie married Robert McCall/McCaul his name should have shown up in index with bride's name in brackets. There are probably lots of Bradleys but you can troll through them.
http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=2;c=1388247;t=browsable;w=

Wonder if Robert, Lizzie and daughters shouldn't be in U.S. census records and if there'd be any more clues there?

[derrylass]

Julia returned to USA with Mary McDermott in 1903; the manifest states that she was born in USA.

[aghadowey]

The passenger list derrylass just posted makes it a bit more complicated.
Think I've found Julia in later census records- XLaura you'll have to confirm that I've the correct person.

1910- Ottumwa, Wapello, Iowa:
Julia M. Gallagher, 21, born Pennsylvania, parents born Ireland, married 4? years
husband and 2 children also listed

1920- Chicago, Cook, Illinois:
Julia Gallagher, 30, born Ireland, to US 1892
husband and 3 children listed (Nevelle? 12 and Kathleen 10 born Iowa, Margary? 9 born Indiana)

1930- Chicago, Cook, Illinois:
Julia Gallagher, 41, married age 18, born Irish Free State, to US 1891
husband and three children listed (Charles N., Kathleen, Marjorie)

If this is the correct Julia then it's hard to know where she's born Ireland (most likely Donegal?) or Pennsylvania (most likely Philadelphia?)

[XLaura]

Hi everyone,

Of COURSE everything gets more complicated! 

Julia was for sure born in 1889 - one hundred years before my own daughter.  All of my life I have been told that she came to America at 2 years old, crossing the Atlantic on the "SS Devonia".  I have scoured the passenger lists from 1890-1893 and can find absolutely nothing; I would naturally think this was just an error of memory, except that Lizzie named her fourth daughter (3rd with Robert McCall) Devonia, supposedly in honor of the ship that brought her to America.

The 1910 US Census lists Robert, Elizabeth, Laura, Georgeanna and Devonia as living in Marion, Indiana, with Elizabeth immigrating to America in 1891.  That jives with Julia being 2 years old.

Aghadowey, you do indeed have the right woman.  John and Julia's son Neville died in 1930 of Lou Gehrig's disease; Kathleen never married; and Marjorie was my grandmother.

Today I will contact the Irish records office you gave me the link to, and see where that takes me.  I understand that while "Gallagher" is ridiculously common, "McPaul" is a very rare Irish surname.

You all are amazing!  Thank you!