Barney Patrick Moran (Murrin) Jr., Aviator
Bernard “Barney” Patrick Moran was born on October 12, 1892, to Barney (Murrin) Moran and Kate Askin. Barney Sr. died in 1909 and we assume his wife was also dead by this time. Barney Sr. previously lived in Belvidere, Illinois, and his sister, Catherine Murrin McGonigle, is our ancestor. Barney Jr. was our grandmother’s (Adelaide McGonigle Ryan) first cousin. The eldest living child, Kate (Moran) Rittenberry, assumed guardianship over her two youngest siblings, Mabel Moran and Barney Patrick Moran, after Barney Sr.‘s death. Later, Mabel married Isaac Wharton and she sued in court to remove her sister Kate as guardian. The court approved it.
Aviation School in Miami
In 1912 young Barney grew restless with Birmingham society life. Barney and his siblings were wealthy and well connected in social circles. Barney left Birmingham and enrolled in the Curtiss School located at Miami, Florida. This school trained aviators. Much like the 1960s astronauts, aviators were considered dashing and danger-driven souls.
The following airplanes were used in the 1912 Curtiss School training:
Curtiss School Aviation Graduates
The following snippet appeared in the Historical Association of Florida Magazine regarding the 1912 aviator class (author, Linda K. Williams): “Classes began on January 12 and lasted through April. The four graduating students were Barney Moran, Augustine Parla, W. W. Vaughan and Senor martini. Witmer’s stay in Miami was brief, just a few months in 1912 and possibly another visit in 1916, and he eventually settled in Santa Barbara, California. However, a letter from Witmer to Curtiss dated July 31, 1921, enhanced with photographs of the hydroplane, remains to show a fragment of life in Miami in 1912.
After a few introductory remarks, Witmer writes:
“Now about the school for famous flyers. I am afraid that if we gave the real history of every one shown in the picture you sent me (see Photograph above), it would read like a hard luck story. On the left is myself, Charles Christian Witmer, etc., etc., etc. Then Barney P. Moran who never made a flight after leaving the school in Hammondsport but was a very good pilot. Then C.A. Vaughan from Virginia, who could handle the plane after his first two hops and was a good flyer before he left the school. He was quite wealthy and upon his return home from the school his mother prevailed upon him and he gave up flying and, as far as I know, never flew again. Then next chap (Beachy Lincoln) is a bird from Elmira, N.Y. …”
1914 Miami newspapers indicated Barney Moran was a “famous aviator”. We found several news articles reporting Barney’s social activities. It appears Barney left New York and traveled back to Florida and lived in Miami for quite some time. One news report said Barney traveled frequently to Central America and the West Coast. In the early years, Barney resided at one of the local hotels when visiting Miami.
Barney and his Aviator Friends
We found few aviation references on-line for Barney Moran; however, some of his aviator friends were famous in their time. In 1912 Charles C. Witmer taught Barney how to fly, and Witmer’s picture appears above.
The following year Charles Witmer went to Russia and spent several years there training pilots. Charles K. Hamilton was said to be Barney’s bosom buddy. He was a famous aviator too. On June 13, 1910, he made the first round trip airplane flight between New York City and Philadelphia, then considered a great distance. Charles Hamilton died in 1914 from fractured ribs.
Barney also befriended another aviator, Thomas L. Beckwith. In 1916 Thomas was appointed general agent of the Seaboard Air Line at Havana, Cuba. That might explain Barney’s trip to Havana.
WWI Draft Documents
The following facts appear correct. Barney registered for the draft on June 4, 1917, in Detroit. His draft papers stated he worked as an aviator for the Packard Motor Company out of Detroit, Michigan. Barney indicated his birthplace as “Birmingham, Alabama” and marital status as “single”.
These documents suggest Barney completed 3 years at Alabama Polytechnic Institute, which is now known as Auburn University. Barney was a ‘Private’ while attending college, probably through ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps). He was described as a tall white male, medium build, brown eyes with black hair.
We do not know if Barney was drafted during World War I; however, he would have been a good candidate based on his education and aviation training.
Pictured below is a Packard Motor Company Airplane and Automobile.
Barney Travels Abroad
There is an Ellis Island record dated April 23, 1915, which shows Barney traveling from Havana, Cuba, to New York City. His marital status shows “single”. Finally a December 1941 ship manifest showed Barney Moran landing at New Orleans shortly after Pearl Harbor. This record indicates Barney was “single” and living in Washington, DC. The ship carried passengers from Panama and makes you wonder what Barney’s job was at the time. This latter fact is unknown.
A Fantastical Story
Here is where the “Barney Patrick Moran” story gets murky. Was Barney harboring a “secret life“? A Florida marriage record dated September 1913 shows one “Barney P. Moran” married “Inez de Costa” in Duvall County, Florida. Jacksonville is located in Duvall County. Miami news reported Barney and his friends did travel to Duvall County during this time period.
Recently we received a marriage record dated April 27, 1933, which showed a marriage between “B.P. Moran” and “Edna Ney”. Edna Ney’s descendant sent it to us. Moran’s birthplace is indicated as Birmingham, Alabama, and shows he was divorced in 1926. Edna Ney’s descendant describes her ancestor as a “Merry Widow” or “gangster moll”. Edna was born in Lithuania and moved to New York City with her folks. All Edna’s husbands, except for “Barney P.” either died mysteriously or were jailed. One of her husbands was jailed during World War I for being a German spy. Edna’s descendant believes “B.P. Moran” is the same person as our “Barney Patrick Moran”, being born about the same time in Birmingham, Alabama.
Ney family lore says Edna met ‘B.P. Moran’ at a society party in Miami. Edna was wearing a blue organdy dress and ‘B.P.’ was smitten. ‘B.P.’ left the party, came back later with a new convertible sporting the same color as Edna’s dress. ‘B.P.’ then gave Edna this car. The rest, they say, is history.
Edna was a “drama queen” who attempted suicide many times to get attention. Typically she threatened suicide only if she knew relatives or friends would come over and stop her from killing herself. One night Edna called nearby relatives and threatened suicide. The relatives said they would be right over. Edna went down to her garage, climbed in her car and started the engine. Unfortunately, her relatives were delayed due to a raging storm outside. At long last Edna’s suicide plan finally succeeded. Was she still married to Barney Moran at this time? Unknown, but she definitely was separated from him at this time. We know our relative, Barney Moran, appears to have spent a lot of time outside the country.
Is this tale true? I tend to discount it since the Ney family suggests B.P.’s nickname was ‘Jimmie’. However, I add it here in case I am proved wrong later. Any family members have anything more to add Barney and his family?
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November 2011