Together they had ten children.  There will be an initial post on each of them with subsequent posts to follow over time.

John McCauley

(6/29/1872 – 7/26/1888)

John McCauley was the fourth born child to Anne Carron (this time spelled Kerrin on the county birth ledger).  He might have remained undiscovered if not for the irregularity in the spelling of the second born; that being Catherine vs Katherine.  I was working to eliminate a theory that there were two Catherines; one born and given Catherine with a “c”, who died as an infant and the other born later and named Katherine spelled with a “K”.   I listed the birth dates of all the children and searched the birth and death records where there were seemingly longer gaps between births.  When examining the death records to include the various spellings of McCauley.  I came across the death entry for John.

John McCauley died at the age of fifteen from Morbus Coxae and it appeared he had the condition for a year.  I looked up the term in medical texts and it appears to have a generalized reference to Morbus Coxae as being osteoarthritis of the hip. While this is typically found in older people, we are not aware of what factors complicated his illness, whether they be environment, nutrition, or the hard life of a rural farmer.  The entry indicates that his mother, Anne was present at the time of his death.  His older sister Catherine would have been 19 years old at that time and assisted in John’s care. His death may have had a great impact on her and may have been the impetus for her to leave Ireland for America less than two years later.  Had it not been for Catherine, I might not have found out about John’s existence.  Did her spirit, if you believe in this sort of thing, guide me to find him?  After I found John’s death record, I did the math and was able to locate John McCauley’s birth record and he indeed was born in the “Tate”; What is today Newtate Road in Fermanagh County, Northern Ireland.