This Blog is dedicated to research and discovery regarding my ancestors.
They consist of the McCauley, Brownson, Korn and Glasheen family lines from which I share a biological connection. I will discuss methods of research and share documents with my reactions and suppositions. My intent is to provide a centralized location for my discoveries, share them with other decedents and offer a forum for other descents and interested parties to share their documents, stories, and photos and expertise. I hope this will create a rich environment for the sharing of our research and experiences. The lives of the four Bernards span over 180 years of history.
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.
Together they had ten children. There will be an initial post on each of them with subsequent posts to follow over time.
Patrick Joeseph McCauley(1871-1925)Civil Birth Entry below
Patrick Joseph McCauley was the third born Child of Bernard McCauley and Anne Kerron. His date of birth being September 21, 1871. He emigrated to the United State on June 15, 1893, according to his citizenship application. He would have been Twenty-one years old. His older brother Edward McCauley had already been living in New York for approximately nine years. Patrick was a general contractor and later became President of the Fenlon Construction Company.
The name Fenlon appears to be taken from his wife’s family name. He married Sarah Fenlon in 1897. The Fenlon family have roots in Kingston, NY. The couple went on to have 9 daughters and two sons. Patrick died in 1925 at age 54. His wife passed away in 1973 at the age of 97. This would be a trend for the McCauley men to pass away before their spouses.
As with many families, the second world war would place a strain on families back home. Anna McCauley would become a single parent to Bernard and Patricia. Above is a family photo presumably taken in July 1943 as Bernard left for service. At this time Bernard III would have been 31 years old, Anna McCauley age 29, Bernard IV, 8 years old and Patricia 5 years old.
During a recent conversation with my brother, Colin McCauley stated that our father, Bernard McCauley IV, had to help support the household while grandpa was in service by working in a diner bussing tables. I do remember him talking about the working in the diner and giving his pay over to his mother, but I always that that was when he was older and in high school. My brother indicated that Bernard IV said it was during the war when money was not regularly sent home. Colin McCauley said that our father would sit on the back steps of the diner during breaks and could hear the other children playing baseball a few blocks away. He wished he was playing baseball with his friends rather than working.
At that time the family was living at 321 Columbia street. Just down the block was a diner that is still there today. Behind the diner are the Coyne baseball felids. These could have been there during the war. I would have thought my father worked in that diner while in high school. If he worked there during World War II, he would have been 9 or 10 years old. There were no strict labor laws in those days and he probably worked “under the table”. Bernard IV was home helping the family make ends meet.
Four Bernards & Their Clans 