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Mystery of Mary Burke, Possibly from Oola, Limerick

LimerickOola (Limerick)

Hello! My family and I are facing a longstanding brick wall, and I am hoping that you all can help us knock it down.

We are searching for our great grandmother, Mary Burke. The problem is that we know relatively little about her and, with such a common name, it is difficult to locate any reliable information.  Since we have been stuck for several years, I am posting here to get a new set of eyes on the mystery. Here is what we do know:

Mary Burke was born in Ireland around 1872 (as late as 1874, based on 1910 census).  She moved to the United States in 1900 (according to 1910 U.S. Census record), and settled in Hartford, Connecticut.  She married Frederick Lotze in 1909 and, according to the marriage record, her parents were John Burke and Mary (no maiden name given). Her death record lists John Burke as well, and no mother.  She died in 1915 of tuberculosis in Hartford, CT, leaving behind two children and her husband. We also have one photo of her, which is attached. 

This is all we know for sure about her; however, as of this morning, we may have a lead.  I searched all the passenger manifests for people named Mary Burke arriving in the northeast—Boston, Philadelphia, and New York—between 1898 and 1902, and born around 1872. I found one likely candidate: a Mary Burke born in Oola, Limerick. I did some research using Roots Ireland and, sure enough, there is a Mary Bourke (spelled a bit different) born in Solohead and Oola, 24 Dec 1873, and to top if off, she was born to a John Bourke and Mary Doherty. I know Bourke is an alternate spelling of Burke.

Is anybody else is researching the Bourke family from Oola? It would be nice to learn what happened to this Mary Bourke so that I might narrow down whether she might be “our” Mary Bourke.

I thank you in advance for any help you can provide!

Mark 

markddeming@gm…

5 replies

Mark:

Welcome back!

I can tell you more about the John Bourke/Mary Doherty family but it won't be enough to conclusively determine if the Mary Burke you found is your ancestor. John Bourke and Mary Doherty were married in the RC parish of Solohead/Oola on February 25th 1873 and had Mary later that year. There were two other children Michael in January 1875 and Bridget in September 1876. ( I obtained the marriage from Roots Ireland and the baptisms from Roots and www.familysearch.org I can't yet determine the townland where they lived. Below isi the civil marriage index record. You would have to write to the General Register Office and get a copy for four euros and it should show the names of the fathers of the bride and groom and where the bride and groom were living in 1873. let me know and I can provide instructions.

I took a look at the 1901 census for the Oola DED and requested all Bourkes. www.census.nationalarchives.ie   I did not see a Mary Bourke about 27 in that area 

Let me know what questions you have.

Roger McDonnell

 

First name(s)MaryLast nameDohertyRegistration year1873Registered Quarter/Year1873Registration districtTipperaryVolume3Page689County-MarriageFinder™Mary Doherty married one of these people
John Magrath, Thomas Crowe, Patrick Hannon, John Bourke

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Hello Roger,

Thank you so much for your reply and for your work. This is all excellent information and, collectively, it does seem to confirm that this Mary may very well have moved abroad (and therefore could indeed be the same Mary Burke that I located in the passenger manifest). Yes, could you please send the link to the GRO page? I thought I found the page, but it says it costs 20 Euro for copies of marriage records. Either the price went up drastically, or I have the wrong page. 

Also, in the passenger manifest I located for the Mary Burke from Oola, Mary said she would be staying with a cousin with the surname Londergan in Thomaston, Connecticut. I found 2 Londergan families living in Thomaston and, in the 1910 census, a cousin named Edward Burke was living with one of the families. This is also good news for three reasons: Mary was no longer living there in 1910 and therefore could be my Mary; another Burke was living there, meaning I hopefully found the correct Londergan family; and, further, Thomaston is relatively close to Hartford, Connecticut, where my Mary Burke lived. I will trace Edward to see if I can establish a connection that way.

Thank you again for your assistance!  

Best regards,

Mark  

markddeming@gm…

Mark:

Go to this link https://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Apply-for-Certificates.aspx    Print out the form for a marriage record. Fill out the form to the best of your ability. Make sure you indicate you only want a copy ( A copy is 4 euros and a cert is 20 euros). Include the info from the index record-- Year of marriage, registration district (Tipperary) and volume and page number ( 3 and 689).

You have to mail the request to GRO in Co. Roscommon ( address is provided on the instructions when you print the form). You can ask GRO to e-mail the copy to you. Usually takes 10-14 days. I include my credit card number and I have never had any issues. Let me know if you have questions.

Roger

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Hello Roger,

Thank you for the link and instructions! I will send out the request this week. I aprpeciate all the help--thanks again for your efforts! 

Mark

markddeming@gm…

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