The Well Dressed Woman of 1916

This lovely little piece was found in the Detroit Free Press (29 Oct 1916)

Banner from Page 101 of 108; Detroit Free Press (29 Oct 1916)

The "Fabric Bags" poem

The original page 101 of 108; Detroit Free Press (29 Oct 1916)

Details on the bags Page 102 of 108; Detroit Free Press (29 Oct 1916)

52 Ancestors No.41: Nurse Agnes (Broderick) Casey

This week's post is about my 1st cousin 2x removed  Agnes Broderick (1904-1984) who was the daughter of Patrick Broderick (1871-1943) and Clara Moynahan (1882-1919).

Agnes' parents Patrick and Clara (Moynahan) Broderick

Agnes is a unique "double cousin" as we were related through both the Brodericks and the Moynahans.

I decided to make this blog post about her because, like her grandfather Martin Broderick (1839-1915), I recently located new documents about Agnes in the Detroit Free Press archives.

Agnes Broderick
(circa 1909-1910)

Agnes' mother Clara (Moynahan) died in 1919 at the young age of 37 years (after a lingering illness) leaving her husband Patrick with five children aged 18 months to 15 years. Agnes was the eldest.

Birth certificate: Mary Agnes Broderick
Source: Archives of Ontario; Series: MS929; Reel: 168
Ancestry.com. Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1913 [database on-line].
Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.

Agnes and her sister Genevieve
(circa 1909-1910)

1925

At 21 years of age, Agnes (who was working as a nurse) married Michael Joseph Casey who was born in Armascaul, County Kerry, Ireland

Source: Archives of Ontario; Series: MS932; Reel: 712
Ancestry.com and Genealogical Research Library (Brampton, Ontario, Canada).
Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928 [database on-line].
Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Windsorite: Holy Name of Mary Church on Windsor’s West Side
celebrated its 95th anniversary in 2012

The church that they were married in was called, "Our Lady of Prompt Succor" which is unfamiliar to me. I found it interesting that it was later renamed by Fr. Rooney in 1943 to "Holy Name of Mary Church" due to problems pronouncing the name (and the youth of the Parish disliked being referred to as Prompt Suckers).

Holy Name of Mary Church on McEwan Street celebrated its last Sunday mass in June 2012. The Church was founded on May 17th, 1917 and was originally called Our Lady of Prompt Succour.  Michael and Agnes would have been married at the first church which was located at the corner of Curry and Martin Avenues. The second church (on McEwan) was built in 1927.

Source: Essex Free Press Nov 6, 1925

1930 Census

The census records tell us a lot. In 1930, Michael and Agnes had two children: John and Mary and they owned the house they lived in which was valued at $8000.00.

Also, Michael's brother John (single, 24 years old, also from Ireland) was living with them at the time.

We also learn that Michael immigrated to the U.s. in 1921, Agnes immigrated in 1922 and the brother John immigrated in 1924. Both Michael and John are working in an auto factory at the time. Michael as a serviceman and his brother John as an electrician.

Agnes is shown as not having an occupation though we know that at the time of her marriage she was a nurse. She is home taking care of the two children (John 3 6/12 and Mary 2 2/12) and a third child, James Patrick, would be born in 1936.

1930 Census

1943-1966

Nurse Agnes (Broderick) Casey

We know (from the obituary below) that Agnes retired from nursing at Mt Carmel Mercy Hospital in 1966 after 23 years in a supervisory post.

Agnes studied nursing at the old St. Mary's Hospital (later Detroit Memorial)

Source: The Windsor Star (Windsor, Ontario, Canada) · 6 Jun 1925, Sat · Page 10

There are no other nurses in our Essex county relatives so Agnes is unique. I can't help but wonder what drew her to become a nurse? Was it her mother's lingering illness and death that she witnessed at the young age of fifteen? Did she have an experience in her younger years? It would be wonderful to know.

Mt Carmel Mercy Hospital where Agnes worked for 23 years

1975

Michael and Agnes lost their last born child, James Parick Casey, in 1975 at the age of 37 for reasons not known to me.

Source: Detroit Free Press Feb 1, 1975

1980

In September 1980, Agnes lost her beloved husband of fifty-nine years. Michael Joseph Casey was 81 years old.

Source: Detroit Free Press September 23, 1980

1984

This is the Detroit Free Press news clipping that inspired this post. I only knew that Agnes was a nurse but knew nothing about where she nursed or when. This was a delightful find!

Source: Detroit Free Press Tue Apr 24 1984

I could not find a headstone online for the Caseys because the Holy Sepulchre Catholic Cemetery is only half photographed to date (at 53% of the 16,479 interments).


Links

• Detroit's Hospitals, Healers, and Helpers
• Holy Sepulchre Catholic Cemetery 25800 W. 10 Mile Road Southfield, Michigan

52 Ancestors No. 40: 100 Years After His Death - A Wonderful Find - Martin Broderick's photo

Thanks to Michigan Family Trails, I spent the day searching through the Detroit Free Press (DFP) and found some incredible articles that I will be sharing over the next little while.

Michigan Family Trails announced that the DFP was available online from 1837 to September 2015. http://freep.newspapers.com/ I signed up immediately for the monthly subscription option for $7.95 and within minutes I had found many articles on my Detroit Moynahan ancestors.

A surprise came when I came across an article on Page 11 from the DFP on Tuesday, October 12, 1915 about my great great grandfather Martin Broderick.

Search result page at Detroit Free Press archives

I had written about my great great grandfather Martin Broderick (1831-1915) three times before:

1. Martin Broderick (1831-1915) 
2. 52 Ancestors # 34: Mary (Hussey) Broderick
3. 52 Ancestors No.17: The Broderick "Crayon Portraits"

I had only ONE picture of him (a crayon portrait) and an obituary from the Essex Free Press (Oct 15,1915)

New Information Found 

In The Detroit Free Press Archive

The Detroit Free Press had a photo I had never seen before and extra information about Martin's life that was not known to me previously.

Source: Detroit Free Press, Page 11
Tuesday, October 11, 1915

New information:

• "Life in the country did not suit the young Broderick, and after three years of pioneer life he became a sailor. He sailed the lakes for some years until the call for volunteers to fight against the Fenians went out."
• "For his services in the raid Mr Broderick was given a grant of land and a medal. The latter was, he considered, his most valuable possession, and until three days before his death, he was seen on the streets with the trophy pinned to his breast."
• "Mrs Broderick died two years ago, This bereavement caused the husband much sorrow, as he expected soon to celebrate their golden wedding."
• "A keen politician since the day he was given the franchise. Mr Broderick followed the fortunes of the Conservative party until his death."

What a wonderful ancestor treasure to find on the 100th anniversary of Martin Broderick's death.

52 Ancestors No. 39: The Coughlin's 1940s Sing-Along! Part 1

I was so excited to receive a CD in the mail from Michigan from my cousin Gail Kinsel. The recordings are from the 1940s and feature my Coughlin ancestors singing and carrying on.

I converted the CD tracks from .cda files to .mpg files so that I could upload them to my SoundCloud.

The Coughlin clan, including my great-great grandmother Elizabeth (Annal) Coughlin (1884-1953) and great-great grandfather William Henry Coughlin (1872-1952) (seated in photograph below) are waiting for their euchre game to start and decide to sing a few songs first.

They sing:

• Song 1: "We Won't Be Home Until Morning" 
• Song 2: "The Old Grey Mare She Ain't What She Used To Be"

Then the Coughlin clan signs off with: "This is the first Sunday that Uncle Danny (Coughlin) has been here. It won't be the last"

What a delight! My intention is to create a blog page featuring details on all seven tracks, but for now, here is Track 6 for your listening pleasure:

The Coughlin clan featured in the recordings

Uncle Danny - who is featured in the clip

On This Day In History - 1943

 For weeks and months, Leo Broderick's mother, Clara (Gignac) Broderick, knew only that her 22-year-old son was missing...I can't even imagine how she must have felt

Leo Joseph Martin Broderick reported missing after air operations overseas.

http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2014/09/52-ancestors-32-rcaf-leo-joseph-martin.html

1921 - Eugene Moynahan Deserves Your Vote

Library of Congress
Richmond daily register., July 30, 1921, Image 6

For Moynahans that I discover through my research who have no direct relation that I am aware of, I will label them with tags: "One-Name Study" and "Moynahan" 

One-Name Study: Moynahan

From the Guild of One-name Studies:

"A one-name (or surname) study is a project researching all occurrences of a surname, as opposed to a particular pedigree (ancestors of one person) or descendancy (descendants of one person or couple). Some ‘one-namers’ restrict their research geographically, perhaps to one country, but true one-namers collect all occurrences worldwide. "