My Old Ohio Home

In 1941, Mrs. Felix Tarsney of 63 Willow Street, Glen Ridge, New Jersey, received a letter from Gaillimh (Galway City), County Galway, Ireland. What can we learn about Mrs Tarsney? Was she from Galway?

Compared to some other postal covers I have looked at, this family was relatively easy and well documented. There were also a few family trees at MyHeritage.com, and I think at ancestry.com as well. So I will just summarize what I found and maybe include a few things I didn't see on the trees at MyHeritage.

In 1940 Felix Tarsney, 54, and his wife Barbara, 52, were living at 63 Willow St, Glen Ridge, New Jersey. In 1910 they had been at 40 Newell St, Brooklyn.

On September 17, 1911, Barbara Tarsney and her sister Delia "Bridget" Devestern arrived on the SS Lusitania. Barbara was headed to 40 Newell St. Their last place of residence had been Moycullen, Ireland.

There is a record of a marriage of Felix Tarsney to Barbara Hynes in Brooklyn, NY, on June 28 1908. Her parents were Lawrence Hynes and Mary Bain. Various trees on line had identfied Moycullen as Barbara (Hynes) Tarsney's place of birth. So it was no surprise to find that the Residents of house 31 in Ower (Wormhole, Galway) on the 1901 Census of Ireland included a Barbara and Bridget Hynes, with their parents Lawrence and Mary, and a number of siblings.

What I didn't find on any of the family trees was the arrival of Barbara Hynes in 1905, the year in which she usually said she had immigrated. This was probably because the indexes at familysearch.org, libertyfoundation.org, and elsewhere, had the right ship but the wrong date. By starting at stevemorse.org and searching for the ship I found that Barbara had indeed arrived on the SS Oceanic, but on April 6, 1905, not April 5. She was age 20, a housemaid from Galway, and was headed to her uncle Frank Hynes' home at 179 Java St, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY. She said she had been in the US before, in 1899. I didn't find that voyage.

Manifest of the SS Oceanic, dated April 6, 1905

So yes, Barbara (Hynes) Tarsney, the addressee of the envelope, was from Galway.

The Tarsneys

Felix's family was a little more difficult, but interesting. When he registered for the World War II draft in East Orange, NJ, Felix said he was born in County Monaghan. His brother Charles, when registering, said he was born in County Louth.His sister Norah, when she arrived May 29, 1909, on the SS Campania, said she was born in Carrickfergus, Monaghan.

A tree at ancestry.com, said that Felix' father James, who died in Brooklyn in 1911, had been born in County Armagh on 22 Nov 1854 to Arthur McAtarsney. There was an Arthur McAtarsney on Griffith's Valuation of Armagh the in parish of Loughgall and the townland of Annaghmore. And in 1901 there was a Felix McAtarsney, 54, in Annaboe, Kilmore, Armagh, who looks like a relative. Annaboe is an 11 minute drive from Annaghmore. So evidently, Felix' family was originally from Armagh. Then his father James left home to find work, went to Louth for a while, then to Monaghan, before emigrating to Brooklyn.

Combing through familysearch, findagrave.com, the Ellis Island records, etc., I found these siblings of Felix: Mary, Charles, (Felix), Catherine, Norah, Lucy, Agnes, and James. He had three half-brothers: Peter, John, and Frank.>

There is more information about the Hines and Tarsneys in the Other Trees section of this website.

Endnotes

An image of the envelope to Mrs. Felix Tarsney was once on the Jim Forte Postal History site.

Sources

"United States Census, 1940
United States Census, 1910
NYC Marriages at familysearch.org
Ellis Island Records
World War II Draft Registrations
Griffith's Valuation, at askaboutireland.ie.
1901 Census of Ireland, house 31 in Ower (Wormhole, Galway)
1901 Census of Ireland, house 13 in Annaboe (Kilmore, Armagh)