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

Susan McCauley Carraher

(1879 -1970)

Susan McCauley was the seventh Child born to Bernard McCauley and Anne Kerrin.  Susan acquired the affectionate moniker “the Chief” from her family.  This is, in part, due to her ability to take control and tightly manage family life.  A necessary skill when raising eight sons. The other part I learned from her grandson Richard Carraher.  His family stories say that Susan first came to America with a family relative to work as an Au pair.  The family relative settled in the western part of the United States, perhaps one of the Dakota territories.  Susan would describe going into town for supplies and her wonder that there were more Indigenous people in the town than other settlers. 

My ongoing mystery for this branch of the family is locating a marriage certificate for her and her husband James Carraher and understanding how and where they met.  I could not find a marriage certificate for them in New York State and wondered if they returned to Ireland to be married.  I also have contradictory information on James Carraher’s birthplace.  Susan’s birth entry for Fermanagh County is presented below.  At the time of the 1910 United States Censes they had been married for 4 years.  James had been in the country since 1894 and Susan since 1888.  I wonder if for Susan this included her time as an Au pair.

Although I have never met her, Susan McCauley Carraher became special to me as I witnessed through documents and understood through family stories of her efforts to care for my great-grandfather Bernard McCauley (II) when he was injured and became disabled.  She also assisted my grandfather in getting settled when he was released from the orphanage. She had to have been a very strong person.

Two years ago, I acquired a photo of Susan McCauley Carraher from Richard Carraher and am happy to share it here.