Ellen Walsh in Killure, 1901

At the time of the 1901 Irish Census, Ellen Walsh was living with her older sister, Bridget, in Killure, Kilmacteige, County Sligo.  Her sister Bridget had married Austin O'Hara the previous year and it is believed she may have gone to stay with Bridget because Bridget was about to give birth.

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Note Austin O'Hara signs the census sheet with his "X" mark.

Killure Townland is only a few miles from the Knockahoney Townland, where Ellen and Bridget Walsh's mother is living in 1901.  I have looked for Ellen Walsh in the 1901 Census for a number of years.  Not until Patrick O'Hara, grandson of Bridget and Austin O'Hara, shared that his grandmother Bridget lived in Killure, was I able to locate Ellen.

Why Did Thomas McIntyre not stay in Ireland in 1923?

In 1923, Thomas and Ellen (Walsh) McIntyre and their five children traveled to Ireland to visit Thomas' parents, Lawrence and Mary (Ginty) McIntyre, on their farm in Lislea, County Sligo.  Elsewhere in this blog is information about that trip including the passport from the travels.

My Dad, Larry McIntyre, over the years told the family he really believed they might stay in Ireland when they went there in 1923. He said he thought the farm was wonderful and remembered being in the field behind the house and suddenly being confronted with a bull which chased him until he jumped over the fence to safety.  He thought it was great fun.  His brother, Fr. Tom, told me that the family never intended to move to Ireland but was only visiting.  At the time of the visit Dad was about 10 and Tom was 4.  My Dad also said his sister Mary hated the farm and definitely didn't want to live there.  She was 12 at the time.

On our trip to Ireland in 2011, I had the opportunity to meet a second cousin Patrick O'Hara.  Pat is the great-grandson of John and Bridget (Cawley) Walsh.  John and Bridget are also my great-grandparents.  Pat's grandmother Bridget (Walsh) O'Hara, sister of Ellen (Walsh) McIntyre, told his family the story about what Thomas said when his father asked him if he wanted the farm. Pat has graciously shared the story with me and allowed it to be video taped.

Note: Pat refers to Thomas McIntyre's wife as Bridget, but her name really is Ellen.  Filmed on the Walsh Family farm, July 26, 2011, in Knockahoney, County Sligo.

Mary Cecelia McIntyre, 1911

The first child of Thomas and Ellen (Walsh) McIntyre was born on June 23, 1911 in Chicago, Illinois.  The birth certificate notes that the parents were living at 2541 W. Monroe, Chicago at the time of Mary's birth.  The father, Thomas, was working as a motorman for the Street Railway Company.  It also provides the place of birth of the two parents and confirms family history.

By the time Mary was born, her father was already 32 years old and her Mom was 28.  The birth certificate, which was not uncommon for the time, does not include a first name.  However, Mary's baptismal record has been located and it states Mary was born on June 23, 1911 and baptized on July 16, 1911.  The sponsors were Thomas' siblings, Mary McIntyre and Laurence McIntyre.  Mary Cecelia was baptized at St. Malachy's Church in Chicago.

Although Mary lived in California, she was in Arlington Heights for Thanksgiving when she died on November 18, 1994.  Her body was cremated and as of 2009, her ashes had not been buried.

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Celebrating 100th Anniversary of McIntyre Citizenship

On October 7, 2010, the extended McIntyre family enjoyed a celebratory get-together at Russell's Barbecue in River Grove, Illinois, in honor of the 100th anniversary of Thomas and Ellen (Walsh) McIntyre becoming American citizens.  Russell's, who is itself celebrating 80 years in the restaurant business, was (and still is) a favorite spot for a meal.  A grandchild, three great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren of Thomas and Ellen, along with spouses and extended family, savored beef and pork sandwiches dripping in Russell's own sauce.  A cake topped off the meal.

Photos courtesy: Elaine McIntyre Beaudoin

Origin of Walsh and McIntyre names

Walsh

 This famous national locational and descriptive nickname surname derives from the pre 7th Century Olde English and Anglo-Saxon word "waelisc", meaning "foreigner" or perhaps more likely in the passage of time, "stranger". Be that as it may it is one of the ironies of history that the invaders from North Germany and even the later Vikings, should apparently refer to the people that they conquered or at least drove from their original homes, as 'The Foreigner" and even more so that the name should have stuck. The surname is popular in many areas and countries, there being a large "Walsh" contingent in Ireland, where it is the fourth most popular surname, and even a small number in France, originally in the Nantes area. The modern surname is recorded in a wide variety of spellings, including Welch, Welche, Welsh, Walsh, Walshe, Walch, and Wellish. The early surname development includes examples such as Walter Walsheman of London in 1279, Simon Welshe of Bedford in the year 1279, John Walsh of Roxburgh, Scotland, in 1330, Margery Wellis in the 1327 Pipe Rolls of the county of Essex, and Lawrence Walsh of County Mayo, Ireland in 1588. The first recorded spelling of the family name is from Ireland. This is believed to be that of Haylen Walsh, the son of Phillip the Welshman, and dated 1171. He is recorded as being with Strongbow, earl of Pembroke, in his initial invasion of Ireland in that year. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

McIntyre

Information on the origin of the McIntyre name can be located at the McIntyre/Ginty Genealogy Blog.

Source: The Internet Surname Database.  Accessed June 5, 2010.

Ellen Walsh McIntyre, Death Certificate, 1941

Helen (Ellen) Agnes Walsh McIntyre died on the day before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, November 26, 1941 at 10:00 a.m. in her home at 4737 W. Gladys Avenue, Chicago. Her death certificate says she lived on Gladys for 15 years and owned her home. Ellen did not work outside of the home, at least since the start of Social Security and her death certificate states she did not have a Social Security number. Her birth date is recorded as October 26, 1883. From her birth certificate, we know she was born in 1881 and on the birth certificate is states her day of birth as October 12.

Her son, Thomas J. McIntyre, is the informant on her death certificate. He gives her birth place as County Sligo, Ireland; father as John Walsh also of County Sligo; and, only a first name for her Mother, Ellen. We have since learned that her father is in fact John "Jack" Walsh, but her mother is Bridget Cawley. Her son Thomas was living with her on Gladys Avenue at the time of her death.  He was only 22 years old at the time.

She died of uraemia, due to chronic nephritis and hypertension.  Prior to death she had influenza which probably intensified her health issues.

Helen/Ellen was buried, alongside of her husband Thomas J. Sr., in Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Illinois on November 28, 1941, the day after Thanksgiving.

For additional information and a transcription of Ellen's death notice see Thomas and Helen McIntyre, Mt. Carmel Gravestone and Obituaries

Ellen Walsh, 1910 US Census

I'm not sure I have actually found "our" Ellen Walsh, but this Ellen Walsh, age 27, living at 215 W. Forty-Fifth Street, Chicago, Illinois is as close as it gets. Today, this location is in the middle of the Dan Ryan Expressway. She is the only Ellen Walsh in Chicago that is close to "our" Ellen's age. Our Ellen would have been 28 on April 16, 1910, the date of the census. But, depending on who provided the information, and as you can see from other documents (when they gave their ages at the time of their marriage Ellen is suddenly 2 years younger than actuality) being one year off is pretty close. This Ellen Walsh is single, born in Ireland as are her parents. The document states that this Ellen Walsh immigrated in 1908. I have yet to find a record of "our" Ellen Walsh's immigration. She is working as a servant and living with James J. and Edna Roach who are themselves only 23 and 22 years old respectively.

In the 1910 US Census, Thomas J. was living with his brother Lawrence J. at 2136 Park Avenue, Chicago. Ellen and Thomas J. McIntyre were married later in the year on September 2, 1910.

Ellen Walsh, Birth Certificate, 1881

Ellen Walsh was born on October 12, 1881, or so her birth certificate states. I have not been able to locate a baptismal record for her and wonder, if like her husband Thomas J. McIntyre, was her birth reported several months after the actual birth. But, for now, October 12 is the "official" date.

She was born in Knockahoney, a small townland in County Sligo, only a few miles from Lislea, where Thomas J. McIntyre was born. Her father was Jack Walsh and her mother Bridget Cawley Walsh. Jack was a farmer. From her birth certificate, it shows that her mother was the informant on the birth certificate and since she signed her name with an "X" she was mostly likely illiterate.

When I was in Dublin in 1998, I went to the General Register Office and requested a copy of her birth certificate which you see above. In Ireland, in the1880s, births were recorded in "Register Books" so this image is a contemporary copy, hand written in 1998 from the original Register Books.

McIntyre-Walsh Marriage Certificate, 1910

Thomas McIntyre and Helen Walsh applied for a marriage license on September 2, 1910. The certificate states that Thomas and Helen both lived in Chicago and he was 29 and she was 26. In reality, Thomas was 32 and Helen was 28. The bottom of the certificate is filled out by the priest, Rev. Edward F. Rice, who married them on September 4, 1910 at the Nativity of Our Lord Church located at 653 W. 37th Street, Chicago.

McIntyre-Walsh Marriage Church record, 1910

The marriage of Thomas and Helen, September 4, 1910, was entered into the Marriage Register on page 23 of the Nativity of Our Lord Church, Chicago. The priest noted that Thomas was baptized on April 14, 1880 at Tourlestrane Church, Co. Sligo. Although he does not include the exact date, he notes the year '83 as Helen's baptismal year and that she also was baptized at Tourlestrane Church, Co. Sligo. Thomas' parents, Lawrence McIntyre and Mary Ginty, are listed as are Helen Walsh's parent, John Walsh and Bridget Cawley. On the next page, witnesses Lawrence McIntyre, Thomas' brother, and Mary Walsh, a possible relation of Helen, are listed.

Thomas J. McIntyre, Death Certificate, 1939

Thomas died in St. Anne's Hospital on Christmas Eve, 1939 from a cerebral hemorrhage. The onset of the stroke occured a week earlier on December 19. The death certificate notes that he also had hypertension and arteriosclerosis. On this document, his birth day is still April 14, but the year is 1879, one year later than his actual birth. He had retired from his position as a Motorman on the Chicago Surface Line two years prior to his death. The death certificate says that he was employed at the chicago Surface Line (today's CTA) for 34 years. At the time of his death, he was living at 4737 W. Gladys. Thomas was buried at Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois on December 27, 1939.

See also the following posting on this blog for additional information: Thomas and Helen McIntyre, Mt. Carmel Gravestone and Obituaries

McIntyre-Walsh Wedding Photo,1910

Thomas and Ellen were married on September 4, 1910 at the Nativity of Our Lord Church in Chicago. Witnesses were Laurence McIntyre, Thomas' brother, and Mary Walsh, a possible relative of Ellen's.