Census Information explained on St. Patrick's Day
Happy St. Pat's Day! Laurel and I celebrated St.
Patrick's Day at Opal Divine's, a local pub. We didn't have anything to
drink but did have some of the Irish fare being served. This weekend
Austin has something going on called South by Southwest, which is a
music and movie festival. It is a pretty big deal down here. Anyway,
Opal Divine's had outdoor Irish music for most of the day. We missed
the Bagpipe and fife group.
I attached several pictures that I took with my camera. You can't
really tell from the pictures but there were a lot of people there and
most were 'wearing the green'!
Tim & Laurel
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The Stories Surrounding Census Data
The census information to your right reflects the Smith family presence in the United States from 1850 to 1890. In the 1850 Brooklyn census, we can see the McCabes, Terence Green (Greenan), and the Smiths all living together on Walworth Street. The way the three groups were listed in the census leaves us to believe that they shared one room. The small homes on Walworth generally had a common parlor and kitchen shared by all the tenants, and generally housed 3 to 4 family units. Even the basement became a "home" for many immigrant families.
In 1858, we saw Catherine Smith apply for a homestead in Wisconsin, specifically the Bear Creek area. By 1860, we see the family listed in the U.S. Census. In this census, you will see "John Smith" living with John Bryan. For those of you who have gone through Irish John Smith's Civil War documents, you may have noticed that John Bryan inquired about John Smith's health while being held in captivity during the Civil War. In the 1860 census records, we also see other names that have been associated with our family such as King, McPhillips, Rooney and other Smyths.
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The American Myth
We had believed that John Smith's mother remained a widow throughout her life in America, but by 1860, she had married William Rooney. Even John Smith's letters never referenced that his mother had remarried, and one of the few comments he did mention referred to her only as "a widow woman." John's brother, Owen, lived with the Rooneys. Although we'll never know, it seems that he may have had a disability; and the family created a story that Owen (Eoin) was a priest. It helped explain why no one ever saw him...
Owen is buried next to Catherine Smith Rooney.
Frank mentioned that Bridget, John Smith's sister, may have also lived in the Bear Creek area. At some point, it seems that she may have either moved to northern Wisconsin or Michigan. As with the story surrounding Owen proved false, we are not certain if she came West with the rest of her family...or remained in Brooklyn. Hopefully there are old letters or documents remaining that may provide some clues.
Finally, the 1895 census documents show that the McPhillips and Smith families were still living around Bear Creek. The Smiths referenced in these documents were cousins of John Smith, and the McPhillips noted were Susan's family.
Enlarging Documents
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Census Data
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