Summary of research on Patrick Joseph Hannigan

Here is the information that I know —

Patrick Joseph Hannigan was born about 1840 in County Limerick, Ireland. He died in September 1884 of gastroenteritis in New York and was buried at St. Raymond’s Cemetery in the Bronx. According to his death certificate
from NYC – he had been in the US for 16 years when he passed. His parents are listed at Cornelius and Mary.

Catherine /Kate/ was born in 1855 and passed away on October 31, 1925 in the Bronx, New York. She was buried at St. Raymond’s Cemetery next to her family – without a grave marker. Her death certificate lists her parents as James O’Neil and Bridget Murphy. She passed away due to Pneumonia of the left lung having suffered since October 22.

No marriage records for Patrick and Catherine have been located. Additionally, none of the birth records for Mary or any of the other children have been located. The only clues to their marriage and Mary’s birth come from the 1870 census indicating Mary is 2 years old on August 13 1870 when the census was taken. The census indicates Mary was born in New York.

The 1880 Census indicates Patrick and Catherine with their 5 children, but no death certificate or additional information about Mary has been located.

Cornelius was born after the 1870 Census and appears in the 1880 Census at age 9 on June 8, 1880 when the census was taken. Additional children include Mary (11), James (7), Lizzie (Elizabeth) (5) and Rosanna (3).

Unfortunately, because of the problems with the 1890 Census – no records (except City Directories) are available to provide information between 1880 Census and 1900 Census.

In addition to Patrick passing away in 1884, Elizabeth passed away on December 6, 1891 due to heart disease. On April 16, 1903, Dennis M. died as a result of a train accident in North New York City. He was a Brakeman for the New York-New Haven-Hartford Railroad. His death certificate indicates he was married and living in New Haven at the time of the accident and his death.

Three years later on March 5, 1906, James passed away at St. Joseph’s Hospital in New York. His mother is listed as “Katy O’Neill” born in Ireland. He had a lung problem that listed as Asthma as a contributor. His place of residence prior to his sickness was unknown. There are several James Hannigan listed in NYC Directories and in the 1900 Census.
Since he passed away in NYC – I would image he remained in NYC and came home to his mother’s address before he passed away. An interesting sidelight that might have contributed to his health issues is a rather extensive file with the New York Criminal Justice system that begins with his father sending him to Reform School in June 1884 and several other sentences with Blackwell Island and other correctional facilities.

In the 1900 Census (taken January 7, 1900), Catherine (44 – August 1855) is cared for by Cornelius (29 – October 1870) with two sons in the US Army. John Joseph (my great grandfather) was born June 6, 1880 and Denis Michael was born March 1883.

Kate and Cornelius are listed in the 1910 Census, while John Joseph has married and has his own family. Kate is listed as the mother of seven children with four children living. By process of elimination, those would be Mary (42); Cornelius (40); Rosanna (33) and John Joseph (30). Mary Ellen dies in July 1915 in Trenton and was buried in an unmarked grave at St. Raymond’s Cemetery with two daughter and eventually her husband; Cornelius dies on March 6, 1917 and is buried at St. Raymond’s Cemetery in the same grave as his mother; Rosanna death was ruled died an apparent accidental death following a corner’s inquest and is buried in San Mateo County, California; and Catherine is listed in the NYC Directories by nothing has been located in the 1920 census. At her death on October 31, 1925 records indicate she was living with her son, John Joseph and his family, although the 1920 census for the family does not reflect her living with them at that time.

In 1926 John Joseph is the soul survivor of the Bronx clan and he retires from the FDNY to become the Fire Chief for Norwood, Massachusetts. He dies in 1947 while living in Watertown, Massachusetts and is buried as part of the Spanish-American War graves on the hill at Fairview Cemetery in Hyde Park, Massachusetts.

Staten Island Hannigan clan

An interesting discover years ago was the Naturalization Paperwork for Patrick. His witness was Michael Hannigan of 35th Street in Manhattan. What little information I could find (at the time) indicated he had come from Ireland, was married and worked in the hotel district as an Ostler – someone who tended to horses. I guess he was the modern day taxi driver/mechanic.

As the research grew on Michael, I discovered his great-grandson was Francis P Hannigan. Frank Hannigan grew up on Staten Island and was very proficient at golf. He later became a sports writer for the Staten Island newspaper and ultimately reach the most prominent position of his career as the man in charge of the US Golf Association (USGA). For years it had been a question of my dad’s and for years the brick wall of family relations blocked the path.

With the release of the Parish Records in Ireland for public examination, I found out Patrick’s parentage and he had at least three siblings. His younger brother was named Michael with another younger brother named John. There was also a sister name Mary or Mariam. They were all baptized in the same church parish in a small rural area of County Limerick.

The connecting point was when Michael married Mary Ann Quin in County Tipperary and his brother Patrick was his best man. Immediately after the wedding they headed for either Liverpool or Cork to board the SS John Clarke for the journey to the Big Apple. Michael and Mary Ann’s only child was birthed on the waters of the Atlantic Ocean on June 30, 1864 during the transit to Castle Garden’s at the Port of New York. He was baptized in New Jersey a month after disembarking the SS John Clarke and appeared in the early 1870 Federal Census for Westchester County, New York.