The Family News Letter          Vol. 3

    Articles:

Remembering Catherine Smith

How We Relate

The ins and outs of family relationships

Here And There

The Mallon and Duffy families Part 1

Sullivan's Travels

News from Ed and Patte Sullivan



                   Sarah Duffy Cush, Mrs. Hyland, and Mary Duggan in front of the      ancestral home in Reaskmore, Drumnafern, Ireland


 

 
St Gobnait - Harry Clarke
   

Remembering Catherine Smith

     On Wednesday October 27, I received the sad news that my cousin Catherine Smith had passed away.  Although I never had the chance to meet Catherine, or Kate as she is known to friends and family, I did feel a family bond as well as warm friendship that accompanied a common interest in our family history.  The Sullivan family here in America owes a debt of gratitude to Kate and family.

    In January of 2003 my Mother became ill; I traveled to Michigan to keep vigil during her final days.  My brother Ed had just passed along a family tree on a sheet of paper and I was astonished by what I saw.  This was a Sullivan family tree with names most of which I had never seen before and at that moment we had reclaimed two generations heretofore unknown to us. I was always intrigued by my father's family, maybe it was because we all knew so little about them and I considered it a mystery waiting to be solved.  It might also have been the stark realization that with my mother's passing, that this was the end of an era. And that like it or not, I (we) became the link to the next generation.  It was then that I began to follow through on a promise I had made to myself fifteen years earlier when I visited the grave of my grandparents for the first time.  I will do my best to find out who they were, and to make sure that they receive the recognition they deserved.   

     Catherine and I had been introduced to each other through my brother Ed early in 2003 and began a correspondence that fondly grew over the years.  She was generous with her time and more than patient when it came to my inquires. Together little by little we recovered the missing pieces of our lineage, eventually revealing the rich mosaic of a proud family. I was moved by her acceptance of me and the warmth she showed towards me as if I had been a lifelong friend. It was a relationship which grew stronger through the bond of a shared ancestry, and the desire to insure that those that came before us were not forgotten.  Together we did our best to keep that trust.

     In June 2006 after 45 years of marriage, Catherine lost her beloved Alan.   Although I did not know Alan, it was clear to me just how much he meant to Catherine and family.  He was not only a husband and father of her children, but her best friend and partner in life.  It was only a few short weeks after Alan's passing that we planned to meet while Ellyn and I were in London on July 7.  We had not taken into consideration of the significance of that day.  She was prepared to meet us but her family was uneasy about her traveling to London on the first anniversary of the London train bombings.  Upon realizing this, I had a flashback to my own  experience on September 11, 2002 when I accepted contract work within a few hundred feet of the World Trade Center site, and how nervous I was to be one of the few people that showed up for work on that day.  We spoke on the telephone that day and agreed that under the circumstances it was not a good day to be traveling but I remember how delighted I was to have the opportunity to hear her voice for the first time.  I had hoped that I would have an opportunity to meet with her when I was in Ireland again, but as was the case with my cousin Cecilia who passed away last year, it will never happen.    

 How We Relate

One thing that always intrigued me when I was growing up was the web of family relationships.  I always felt I needed a score card to keep me straight on just who was who in the family tree, even though it seemed like a small circle of aunts and uncles.  Or at least that was what I thought at the time. My father had two sisters, Mary and Margaret (Aunt Peggy as we knew her) and three brothers, Joe and Arthur as well as a brother Bill who passed away when I was two years old.  But at some point in my young life I found out that I also had an Uncle Paul, and that’s when things began to get interesting.

     On my mother’s side was her brother John Duffy who lived on 10th Avenue in Windsor Terrace in Brooklyn as well as her cousin Rose Mallon who lived in a small apartment a block away on Prospect Park SW.  Add more Duffys, Luke and Pat my godparents, Luke’s brothers Terence and James and Sister Evelyn, and more Malllons: Rose, Arthur, Charles and James Mallon and it begins to get more difficult keeping track of who’s who.  I wish that it were a Julie Andrews moment and I could just start with do re me, but it just isn't that simple. Family relationships are far more complex, and when it comes to researching Irish families, it can be just plain exasperating.

     Like most individuals who started somewhere else and came here, there is difficulty determining who was left behind in the old country and how they related to the family member here.  My paternal grandparents' families were unknown to us because there were almost no firsthand accounts passed on to my generation.  My Aunt Mary, who seemed to have more than a basic knowledge was unaware that at some time in the future there might be an interest and we also missed an opportunity to ask her about what she knew.

     In my mother's case it was less complicated because she came here at a young age (17), and because most of her siblings including her father had survived well into my lifetime.  She also kept a steady correspondence with her mother, until she passed away in 1942, and then her sister Sarah, and then Sarah's daughter Cecelia.  She saved the letters she received from home, and so we have what amounts to almost seventy years of the news back home in Reaskmore, and a documented history of family events both large and small ( Letters From Reaskmore ).  We are also fortunate to have many photographs of her family including some of her childhood pictures, as well as firsthand accounts her early life in Ireland and Scotland.  

     Rose Mallon, James Mallon, Arthur Mallon, and Charles Mallon are decedents of John Mallon and Mary McCann.  Terence Duffy, Michael Duffy, John Duffy and Bridget Duffy are all descendants of Daniel Duffy and Bridget Kelly.  Here and There is an effort to chronicle the Mallon and Duffy families in America as well as those family members that remained in Ireland. The first part of this series explores the Mallon family, those descendants of John Mallon and Mary McCann who came to the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1923.   To help better understand just how we relate to each other I have included a descendent tree of James Mallon (b.1831)  Here and There has a few faint personal recollections as well as some information from public records.  My preference will always gravitate towards the personal memories when possible, but in this case the memories are sparse so I must rely on what I have found in letters, State, and Federal records.  

Here And There - The Mallon and Duffy Families Part 1

     My mother, Bridget Duffy entered the United States on December 7, 1929 on the passenger ship Letitia a little more than a month after the Great Depression began.  It is a fact, as she told us so.  But mere facts do not begin to explain the story about her American experience or that it was part of a larger family migration to the North American Continent.   She had began to prepare herself at the age of eleven while working in her Uncle Mick Duffy's shop in Glasgow Scotland and later at a small country Inn in the town of Liphook (below left), in Hampshire England. After three years in Liphook she had saved enough money make the trip to North America.  Although she made her life here, my mother would always refer to Ireland as home and my brothers will confirm that as true. But in fact after she left Reaskmore in 1929 she returned only once in 1935, and not again until 1962.  In that time much had changed.   

      At the age of seventeen she joined her brother John, who had arrived just nine months before in New York.  I always thought of my mother and Uncle John as the pioneers so to speak, but in studying the family history I find just how wrong I was.  As far as I can tell, it was Michael Duffy who led the way out of Reaskmore landing in New York in 1911.  As of this writing, I have not been able to find the exact date of sailing, the year was determined from information lifted from the 1930 Census.  He was followed by his older brother Terence two years later in 1913.  Both Terence and Michael married and raised families in New York City. 

      The next generation of immigrants begins with James Mallon in 1923, followed by his siblings Arthur, Charles, and Rose as well as John and Bridget Duffy. When they came here they used a system of sponsorship vouching for the character of the new arrival with the goal obtaining a work permit and eventual citizenship.  One name that appears repeatedly on arrival papers is that of John McCann a cousin to the Mallon and Duffy families of Reaskmore.  Although I cannot remember meeting John or his wife Mary, I certainly remember my mother speaking of them many times as a child in the mid 1950's.  As of this writing, I have not been able to say for sure if John survived until that time, but I am fairly certain that he and Mary did and that I met her on at least one occasion at our house in Richmond Hill.   For a more detailed explanation of the family relationship see Hugh McCann Descendants compiled by Rosemary McCann (Mary "Minnie" McCann - Jack Mallon).  I was able to find the McCann families John and Mary, Mick and Jane Frances, as well as James and Annie Mallon all listed on the 1930 US Census living at 393 17th Street in Brooklyn, NY.  Also living with James and Annie is James McGeachy, Annie's Brother.

See CI1930NY_K-ED24-1046-14A.jpg

     Jack Mallon Mary McCann had six children that I am able to document at this writing.  Rose, James, John, Arthur, Henry, and Charles were all born in London England.  Sometime before the 1901 Census of Ireland the family moved back to Reaskmore from London and it was from there that Rose, James, Arthur and Charles came to the United States.   Jack was my Grandmother Alice Mallon's brother and his parents were James Mallon and Jane Mallon.  Jane Mallon (Mallon) may have a common ancestor with James but that may never be determined.  With the exception of Rose Mallon, I have little or no memories of the Mallon clan from Brooklyn, NY.  But here is what I do remember along with a few details I have been able to uncover in the public records.

Mallons HereMallons Here

James Mallon - Born January 30, 1895 London, England  Spouse Annie McGeachy Born July 3, 18999

    Since I was the youngest of three children, and preschool, I had the advantage of traveling with my mother while my brothers were in Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Richmond Hill. Some of those daytime excursions were into Brooklyn to visit relatives.  We would pack our things and walk to the Lefferts Boulevard station of the Fulton Street elevated line and take the train to Brooklyn.  For some reason, I can't explain why, I was fascinated with trains and since we did not own an automobile, it was probably the only reason I remember the visits at all.  I don't remember a whole lot about the Mallon family in America, but I do remember visiting Annie Mallon or Aunt Annie as we called her, somewhere in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn in the early 1950's along with my mother.  What makes this event important (to me at least) is a direct link to the Mallon/McCann connection almost forgotten by my generation.  The source for James Mallon's birth date is taken from his draft registration card.    Since I was the youngest of three children, and preschool, I had the advantage of traveling with my mother while my brothers were in Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Richmond Hill. Some of those daytime excursions were into Brooklyn to visit relatives.  We would pack our things and walk to the Lefferts Boulevard station of the Fulton Street elevated line and take the train to Brooklyn.  For some reason, I can't explain why, I was fascinated with trains and since we did not own an automobile, it was probably the only reason I remember the visits at all.  I don't remember a whole lot about the Mallon family in America, but I do remember visiting Annie Mallon or Aunt Annie as we called her, somewhere in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn in the early 1950's along with my mother.  What makes this event important (to me at least) is a direct link to the Mallon/McCann connection almost forgotten by my generation.  The source for James Mallon's birth date is taken from his draft registration card.

    As my mother advanced in age and her memory began to fade, my brother Dennis attempted to put some names to some of her old family photographs.  The photo on the right is one of those she identified as the Mallon Children.  The address for the studio (565 5th Ave Brooklyn, NY) is consistent with the neighborhood in Park Slope in which the family lived.  According to Annie Mallon's naturalization papers dated October 30, 1941, she and James already had two sons John and James, and a daughter Ann. If anyone can verify the children in the photograph as belonging to James and Annie Mallon it would be greatly appreciated.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 The Mallon Childrenn

    James Mallon and James McGeachy both work for the Pfiser Chemical Company in Williamsburg Brooklyn, and I believe it was James Mallon who was instrumental in helping to get Luke Duffy (father: Terence, grandfather: Daniel) a job at that company.    James Mallon and James McGeachy both work for the Pfiser Chemical Company in Williamsburg Brooklyn, and I believe it was James Mallon who was instrumental in helping to get Luke Duffy (father: Terence, grandfather: Daniel) a job at that company.

James Mallon and Annie McGeachy were married in Brooklyn, NY on April 15, 1928

James Mallon became a citizen on December 2, 1930.

James Mallon Naturalization Pg11     James Mallon Naturalization Pg22                                                                                                                                                

James Mallon Naturalization Pg3James Mallon Naturalization Pg3    James Mallon WW2 Draft Registration 

Annie Mallon became a citizen on March 10, 1942.

Annie Mallon Naturalization Pg11      Annie Mallon Naturalization Pg22      Annie Mallon Naturalization Pg33      

Charles Mallon - Born October 24, 1901 London, England  Spouse Jean McGeachy Born December 2, 19044

       I’ve found that my interest in genealogy has had a stimulating effect on my early memories in a way I never envisioned.  Seemingly isolated incidents become small windows in time that can be verified in a ships list or a simple city directory linking them together into a cohesive timeline of events and personalities.  One such case is Charles and Jean Mallon.          I’ve found that my interest in genealogy has had a stimulating effect on my early memories in a way I never envisioned.  Seemingly isolated incidents become small windows in time that can be verified in a ships list or a simple city directory linking them together into a cohesive timeline of events and personalities.  One such case is Charles and Jean Mallon.   

    Very early on (possibly around 3 years of age) I remember visiting the Mallon  family in Brooklyn, NY and one of the few things I remember about it is they had three daughters one named Mary. I remember that she had showed me a doll by the same name dressed in blue denim overalls.  Something else I remembered, which must have seemed like magic to a small child of three and rare in the 1950’s, was television control.

    I would like to reconnect with his daughters someday if I can find more information about them.

Charles Mallon and Jean McGeachy were married on October 19, 1929 in Brooklyn, NY.  Jeanie and Annie were sisters married to brothers.  Not unusual in our family history, as my paternal grandfather Christopher Sullivan and his brother Ed were also married to sisters.

Charles Mallon became a naturalized citizen on September 19, 1933.  He died on September 13,1955.

Charles Mallon Naturalization Pg11     Charles Mallon Naturalization Pg22      

Charles Mallon Naturalization Pg33     Charles Mallon Naturalization Pg44

Jeanie Mallon became a citizen on March 10, 1942.

Jeanie Mallon Naturalization Pg11      Jeanie Mallon Naturalization Pg22      Jeanie Mallon Naturalization Pg3

Arthur Mallon - Born August 27, 18966

    I have no direct memories of Arthur Mallon other than my mother mentioning him when I was very young.   I do know that he came to New York on September 24, 1927 and settled in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn.  By the time my uncle John Duffy came on March 6, 1929 they were both living in the same building.   Arthur is a work in progress and I hope to have more about him in the future.    I have no direct memories of Arthur Mallon other than my mother mentioning him when I was very young.   I do know that he came to New York on September 24, 1927 and settled in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn.  By the time my uncle John Duffy came on March 6, 1929 they were both living in the same building.   Arthur is a work in progress and I hope to have more about him in the future.

Arthur Mallon WW2 Draft RegistrationArthur Mallon WW2 Draft Registration

Rose Mallonn - Born March 23, 1890 London, Englandd

    Of all the decedents of John and Mary Mallon my memory of Rose Mallon is most vivid.  Rose, the eldest of the four children of Jack Mallon and Mary McCann outlived her brothers by almost twenty years.  She and my mother would get together every now and then and talk about family and friends and it was always a lively affair.  My Aunt Rose was a jovial sort and she could tell a story that would keep the two of them laughing for hours on end over a bottle of beer and kippers.  I acquired my taste for kippers and pecan cookies as a result of her visits, the beer of course would have to wait a few years.  She also had a sense of humor as evidenced in the thank you letter below dated 23 December 1942.    Of all the decedents of John and Mary Mallon my memory of Rose Mallon is most vivid.  Rose, the eldest of the four children of Jack Mallon and Mary McCann outlived her brothers by almost twenty years.  She and my mother would get together every now and then and talk about family and friends and it was always a lively affair.  My Aunt Rose was a jovial sort and she could tell a story that would keep the two of them laughing for hours on end over a bottle of beer and kippers.  I acquired my taste for kippers and pecan cookies as a result of her visits, the beer of course would have to wait a few years.  She also had a sense of humor as evidenced in the thank you letter below dated 23 December 1942.

    There was however, something intriguing that I was unable to figure out back then and that was Rose's manner of speech.  It was clearly English, and even a child of six was able to discern the difference between the Irish and the English dialect.  I was blind to my mother's brogue, having grown up in a household that emphasized proper diction (I was always a tough case, and it must have been a source of never ending frustration).  But I was attuned to her Brother John's manner of speech and it was clearly Irish in tone.  Her friends and neighbors Reaskmore, John and Lizzie Lucas who settled in Long Beach NY, were also frequent visitors to our house and that also sharpened my senses to their manner of speech.        

Picture Right:   Ed Sullivan's graduation from St John's University. Rose Mallon, Ed Sr., Ed, Vera Sullivan, and Sister in Law Anne Sullivan        

    So how did Rose acquire the decidedly English accent to begin with?  Well I always thought, she was educated in England and that of course was true.  Not uncommon, end of story.  That is what I assumed all these years, but as is often the case, there is much more to the story. This is where the Hugh McCann Family Tree is so significant, because it filled in the missing gaps of the Mallon family as well as my understanding of the McCann relationship which was always a mystery to me.                                                                                                                                

    Rose, the daughter of Jack Mallon and Mary McCann, was born London, England on March 23, 1890.    Jack had gone to London to work and when he returned to Donaghmore, married Mary McCann and the couple left for London. By 1901 Rose, John, Arthur, and Henry were living with their grandfather James Mallon and Aunt Alice (my grandmother) in Reaskmore as shown in the 1901 Irish Census.   http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai001201502/   I am not sure why they relocated, but this is around the time Charles is born and that may or may not have had something to do with it.   Also noted is the absence of James Mallon on the list.   

    My Aunt Rose liked to travel.  And she made at least three transatlantic trips between 1923 and 1954 interrupted only by the war.  While overseas she did manage to travel from London to Ireland to visit with her relatives at Reaskmore, and there are several references to her in the Letters From Reaskmore page.  One of those trips and probably her last was in 1954. 

What are all these people looking at??

It's the return of the Ryndam from Southampton, England to New York on March 1, 1954. I remember it.It's the return of the Ryndam from Southampton, England to New York on March 1, 1954. I remember it. Passenger List (Rose Mallon)

    I have found three New York addresses for Rose between 1940 and 1972. The first in the borough of  Manhattan at 1435 Lexington Avenue, and two in Brooklyn that I remember.  Sometime in the late 1940's or early 1950's Rose moved from her apartment in Manhattan to a small basement apartment at 46 Prospect Park South West just across from Prospect Park. I remember the trolley busses that ran around Pritchard Square past her place on their way towards Coney Island. And the small alleyway between the houses that led to her backyard door.  Around 1961 my mother helped to move her into a nicer apartment across Pritchard Square at 195 Prospect Park West where she remained until 1970 when she could no longer care for herself. 

    My mother helped get Rose in a care facility in 1970, where she spent her final days.   She died on January 28, 1975.

Rose Mallon became a naturalized citizen on January 13, 1944. 

Rose Mallon Naturalization Pg11     Rose Mallon Naturalization Pg22     Rose Mallon Naturalization Pg33     Rose Mallon Naturalization Pg44

More about the Mallon family in this extract from the Hugh McCann ancestry chart:

    Mary (Minnie) MCCANN  was born on 6 Jun 1869 in Tyrone, Ireland. She was buried in Donaghmore, Tyrone, Ireland. Mick's sister Mary (Minnie) had 8 children and lived in Carland It's said that Mary hated being called Minnie.  Mary was very beautiful, and one day a young man told her he was on his way to London to work on a horse drawn trolley and would return in 2 years to marry her. It's said that people were skeptical about that promise, but sure enough, he returned in two years time, and they got married.  That horse drawn trolley driver was Jack Mallon from Reaskmore Tyrone.  Jack is Charlie and Jimmy Mallon's father. 

    Mary (Minnie) MCCANN and John (Jack) MALLON were married on 15 Aug 1888 in Donaghmore, Tyrone, Ireland.   John (Jack) MALLONN was born in 1851 in Townland  Tully Leek,Tyrone, Ireland OR Reaksmore, Tyrone, Ireland.  John was a horse drawn trolley driver who broke his leg after a horse from a horse drawn bobbed.  He died in Belfast, Northern Ireland (Royal Victoria Hospital).

Mary (Minnie) MCCANN and John (Jack) MALLON had the following children::

    Charles (Charlie) MALLON, born 24 0ct 1901, London, England; married Ireland; married Jean, ?; died on 13 Sep 1955, Brooklyn, Kings, New York, USA.

     James (Jimmy) MALLONN, married Annie, ?., married Annie, ?.

     Rose MALLONN died on 28 Jan 1975 in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, USA. She was buried in St. Charles Cemetery, Long Island, New York, USA..

   Note: Not on the list are Arthur, John, and Henry Mallon   Note: Not on the list are Arthur, John, and Henry Mallon

 

             Happy New Year 2011                Happy New Year 2011   

     Sullivan's Travels

     Dear Friends and Family     Dear Friends and Family

     This Christmas finds us back in Portland after our nine month sabbatical. We started 2010 in Oaxaca, Mexico where we enjoyed three sunny months of wonderful food, spectacular museums, interesting archaeological sites, and the warmth of the Mexican people and culture.  Ed continued to study Greek and Latin, and Patte studied Spanish for three weeks at a language school. We entertained family and friends and enjoyed sharing our experience with them.  We took a side trip to Central America and visited Panama, Nicaragua, and El Salvador.  Ed also had a speaking engagement in Germany with a side trip to Belgium and the Netherlands, and Patte enjoyed an eco-tour hiking trip to the small town of Santiago Apoala with friends.  We also made it to Puerto Escondido, a beautiful destination. The six-hour ride over the mountains was an adventure in itself.

     After Spring break week in Portland, we traveled to Dubrovnik, Croatia.  Our apartment was located ten minutes from the beach in one direction and the harbor in another.  A short bus ride took us into the Old Town.  We enjoyed three months of sunshine, wonderful restaurants, clean air, beautiful scenery, a spacious apartment with friendly landlords, and visits from good friends and family.  We took a weeklong tour through the Balkans.  We spent time in Montenegro, Albania,   Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia and Bosnia.  It was quite an adventure, which we shared with Ed’s tutor, Henry, and Lars, Ed’s German Godson.  Patte was able to spend a week in Germany with a former teaching partner and her family.  Ed also had a quick trip to Germany to pick up a new BMW, which he sent to Portland to await our return. 

Picture left: Rainbow in Dubrovnik    Picture right: Danzantes, Monte Alban

         Patte returned to Portland on July 1 after spending a few days in Venice with Amy and Molly who schlepped the bags on the bus from Dubrovnik to Venice where we crossed many a canal until we finally found our cleverly hidden B&B in the heart of the Old City.  Ed returned on a road less traveled through the Caucuses, Sri Lanka, the Maldives Islands and Korea.  He arrived in Portland on July 11 and was back to   work the next day.  It was a wonderful sabbatical and it was hard to leave Henry and the relaxed, yet adventure-filled, life we experienced during those nine months.  Still, it was good to be home again.             

     After some adjustments during the summer, we are back to our usual routine.  Patte is supervising student teachers at Lewis and Clark College and enjoying her volunteer work as a docent at the Portland Art Museum.  Ed is working as hard as ever and continues to travel for speaking engagements and meetings.  He studies Latin and Greek in his spare time in the hopes that he will not lose what he gained during the sabbatical. 

     The grandchildren continue to grow and change.  We now have two more drivers in the family.  Mary completed her nursing degree at University of Rochester and was home for three months during the summer, which was a wonderful treat for the whole family.  She is now in Taos, New Mexico making snow at the ski resort and keeping her eyes open for nursing jobs after the ski season ends.

     Ed will end the year with a trip to Nepal, which will allow him to reach his goal of visiting 100 different countries.  Patte will take a less exotic trip to Taos to see Mary.  We will all be together for Christmas.  We wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year from Cathy and Ellyn

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above

Top: Jessica, Dennis, Bridget

Middle: David, Brian, Mike

Bottom: Jennifer, Teagan, Jan, Jacob, Dennis, Andrew, Tannis, Brendan

 

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