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

Thomas J. McIntyre, Petition for Naturalization, 1910

Having completed his Declaration of Intention in 1908, Thomas is now completing his naturalization process.  The top part of the first page of his Petition for Naturalization is filled in with the information supplied on the original Declaration of Intention.  It is noted that he filed his first papers in Chicago, Illinois in the Circuit Court of Cook County.  He is now filing his Petition in the Superior Court of Cook County.  This portion of the paperwork is dated May 26, 1910.

Two individuals are required to sign an "Affidavit of Witnesses" each stating he is a citizen and that each personally knows Thomas McIntyre to have resided in the United States for a period of at least five year continuously immediately preceding the date of filing as well as in the State of Illinois.  They also swear that Thomas is a person of good moral character, attached to the principles of the constitution of the United States, and that he is in every way qualified to be admitted a citizen of the United States.

James Joseph Hallinan, a conductor who lives at 740 Irving Ave, signs the document first.  Hallinan was probably a co-worker of Thomas' at the Chicago Surface Line.  The second witness is William Madden, a police officer residing at 2958 Lee Avenue, Chicago.  Madden is Thomas' first cousin.  He is also the brother of the Patrick Madden, the person Thomas states on the ship's passenger manifest he is going to join when he came to America in 1904.  


On October 7, 1910 Thomas McIntyre swore his Oath of Allegiance:
"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, and particularly to George V King of Great Britain and Ireland of which I have heretofore been a subject, that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic; and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same."
Signed: Thomas McIntyre

Certificate of Naturalization No. 142375

Of note is the last section "Order of Court Admitting Petitioner".  It says to "Insert on following lines marriages and births occurring after petitioning and before naturalization.  Since Thomas and Ellen/Helen were married between these two occurrences what is written is:

"Helen Nacacahoone reside in Chicago Ill married Sept. 4, 1910."

When I saw this I was confused until I tried to pronounce Nacacahoone and realized it was Knockahoney, the townland where Ellen Walsh was born.

If Thomas McIntyre had not made the one week trip across the ocean in 1904 and then filled out the paperwork to become a citizen of the US in 1910, we might be in a very different place in our lives.  We are all very fortunate. 

So on October 7, 2010 the McIntyres will give thanks and celebrate the 100th Anniversary of our immigrant ancestor's decision to become an American Citizen.

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.

Thomas J. McIntyre, C.M., 1919-2009

Father Thomas J. McIntyre, C.M.
August 17, 1919 - November 29, 2009.

Father Thomas J. McIntyre, C.M., 90, died of natural causes on Sunday, November 29th in Silverado Care Center, San Juan Capistrano.  The son of Thomas J. McIntyre and Ellen Walsh, he was born in Chicago on August 17, 1919.

Fr. McIntyre entered the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentian Fathers and Brothers) on October 17, 1942 and professed perpetual vows in the Congregation on October 18, 1944.  He was ordained a priest in the Congregation of the Mission at St. Mary's Seminary, Perryville, MO on June 4, 1950.

"Father Mac" had been resident assisting priest at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic church in Laguna Beach from 1990, when he retired from active ministry, until August of 2008 at which time he moved into assisted living at Belmont Village in Corona del Mar, CA.

Prior to his retirement, Father McIntyre served as associate pastor (1982-1990) at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Huntington Beach, CA, in the Diocese of Orange.

Most of "Father Mac's" priestly ministry was within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, beginning in 1951 when he was assigned as teacher and Dean of Students at Our Lady Queen of Angels Preparatory Seminary in San Fernando. He served there until 1957.  He also served as Superior and Rector of St. Vincent's Preparatory Seminary in Montebello, CA from 1959 to 1965.  From 1975 to 1979 Father McIntyre was Pastor and Superior of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Parish in Montebello, CA. Over the years he also served in several administrative capacities for the Vincentian Fathers and Brothers, Province of the West.

His warmth and humor attributed to his popularity wherever he served.  He was recognized as one who tried to be faithful to the charism of St. Vincent de Paul by organizing and leading programs of outreach to the poor in the various parishes at which he served.

A vigil Mass was celebrated for Father McIntyre at St. Catherine's in Laguna Beach on the evening of December 3rd. A memorial Mass was also celebrated at St. Catherine's on Friday, December 4th.

The Vincentian Fathers and Brothers, and his family and friends celebrated the Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m. on December 4th in the Doheny chapel at DePaul Evangelization Center in Montebello, CA.  Interment followed at Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Obituary provided by Father William Piletic, C.M.

Above photo is from ordination day, 1950.

 Thomas' Ordination Day Invitation, June 4, 1950.