BOOHAN Birth Lookup please

[denmcn]

Hi,

I wonder could some kind soul see if they can find a birth for a male (possibly call William), born to a Margaret Boohan in 1922.

Margaret lived in Alleghany, Wilkinsburgh, Pennsylvania in the 1910, 1920 & 1930 (Margaret Boohan Smith) censuses, though she may have been back in Ireland at the time of his birth.

She definitely had a son called William born at this time but I dont know if he was born in PA or Ireland...if it was Ireland  then there are no birth or church records for him as he tried to find one in the 1980s to get a passport.

Best wishes
Denise

[shellyesq]

Is he deceased?  As you may know, Roots Chat has a policy against posting about living people.

There are no Pennsylvania birth records online that I am aware of.  Here is information about ordering birth certificates from Pennsylvania:  http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/cwp/view.asp?a=168&Q=229939  As only immediate relatives can order them, I don't think just anyone could do a look-up.

[denmcn]

He is dead since 1991, and he's my FIL so maybe SIL can get in touch with them.

Thanks a million for your help,
Denise

[Lisa in California]

Hi Denise:  I don't see a William Smith, born c1922 with a mum named Margaret in Wilkinsburg on the 1930 census.  Was he perhaps not living with her in 1930?

If he was on the 1930 census, it should state his place of birth.

[Lisa in California]

I believe I do see Margaret in 1930 (William is not living with her), so perhaps he was back in Ireland.

I do not see your Margaret Smith, born c1882, on a Philadelphia passenger list after 1922.  (I did see Margaret Boohan on this list in 1908 and 1914.)

[denmcn]

Hi Lisa,

We always presumed that William was born in Ireland. At the age of 6 or 7 he was put into an Industrial School by his mother and she went to America, got married and stayed there for the rest of her days.

Since I started looking into to it I have found Margaret on boats into US from as early as 1904 and she was over and back every couple of years until about 1914 or so.

She is in the 1910 and 1920 censuses as Margaret Boohan, then is got married to Smith in 1929, he was killed in a car crash very soon after they got married and she's is in the 1930 census as Margeret Boohan Smith.

We have a blank from 1920 to 1929, we dont know if she came back to Ireland before or after William was born and if after, then did she come home purely to leave him here and go back to marry Smith.

If he was born in Ireland there are no records of the birth..but that would not have been unusual for a birth outside of marriage, particularly in rural Ireland at that time.

Best wishes
Denise