John J Cunniff
- Born
- 1 Jan 1837
- Died
- 1 Dec 1902
- Gender
- Male
- Place of migration
- Migrated to/Born in USA
My great, great grandfather, John Cunniff/Cuniff/Cunniffe, was born in 1837, in county Roscommon, Ireland, to John and Catherine Cunniff. He was bapitised in Glinsk Roman Catholic Church, the son of John Cunniff and Catherine Nolan on May 11, 1837. No townland was stated and I am still searching. As multiple civil parishes are within the are of Glinsk RC parish. Also that it lies partly in Roscommon and partly in Galway has further complicated the task.
John Cunniff arrived on April 21, 1855, in the port of Boston, Massachusetts on the S.S. D. Webster from Liverpool with his mother, Catherine, age 35, his sister, Catherine, age 20, and his brother, James, age 10. Catherine Cunniff and the two boys were listed soon after arirving in the state census of 1855 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her 1872 death record lists her parents as James and Mary Nolan. It is not known if John's father, also John, died in Ireland or immigrated earlier and either died prior to 1855 or never managed to rejoin the family. Most likely he died in Ireland before the family emmigrated.
He married Jane A. McDermott, who was also born in Ireland, in 1862 and they had four children together before her death in 1872. Their children's names were Thomas F. (1862-1899), John James (1865-1933), Joseph H. Cunniff (1868-1899)and Mary Jane (1870-1871). Jane's parents were Patrick and Mary according to her death record. I have done further research into Jane's place of birth and family which I will post seperately.
In 1885, John married Mary Ann Condon and had an additional 4-5 children. These children were named Edward Francis (1885-1971), Henry Thomas (1887-1855), Roland Lee (1889-1918) and Gertrude M (1892-1985). He died on December 1, 1902, in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, at the age of 62. Cause of death: intestinal obstruction, peritonitis (2 days) and gastric ulcer, hemorrhage. On his death certificate, his parents are listed as John Cunniff and Mary Nolan.
Daughter Catherine's whereabouts at the time of the 1855 Massachusetts Census is not known. It was later discovered through Catherine Nolan's 1872 probate that daughter Catherine was in San Francisco, California, married to man named Daniel Cutter. Also relvealed in the prbate was her daughter Ann, who was living in Cambridge, Massachusetts and married to a Michael Smith.
Any information that could lead to finding living relatives of this family and/or the possible townland of origin for the family would be greatly appreciated.
