Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Obituary & Death Notice of Wilfred "Junnie" DeRoche

A few weeks ago, I was Google searching various names in my family tree just to see what came up as results. In the past, I have had some luck with some names and not so much with others. The former was the case with Wilfred DeRoche. It was actually his mother, Mary (Meagher) DeRoche, that I googled and the obituary for Wilfred, Mary's son, came up as a result on newspaperarchive.com.

Wilfred's obituary is one that I have long been searching for. Prior to finding it, I only knew a few details about Wilfred. He was the son of Fred DeRoche and Mary E. C. Meagher. His nickname was Junnie. He was married and had kids. And his death was a result of suicide.

Having his obituary, I now know when and where he died, where he was born, and where he is buried, among other things.

Wilfred J. "Junnie" DeRoche is my 1st cousin 2x removed.

Friday, November 7, 1975Lowell Sun - Page 25

Friday, November 7, 1975Lowell Sun - Page 25


Copyright © 2013, David J. McRae

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Parish Records for the Marriages of Bridget Theresa Kane

Lately, I've been trying to find out more about my 2nd great grandmother Bridget Theresa Kane and where exactly it is she came from in Ireland.

This past Saturday, I went to the Boston Irish Festival in Canton where The Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA) had a tent set up to provide assistance for those researching their Irish heritage. One of the suggestions they had for me was to find the parish records for each of Bridget's marriages. They said it was possible that these parish records might provide more information as to where exactly Bridget came from in Ireland.

To do this, I would have to contact the Archdiocese of Boston Archives with the names of those who married, the date of the marriage, the city the marriage took place in, and the name of the minister who performed it.

I e-mailed him yesterday with this information and he e-mailed me back fairly quickly with the parish records that I was looking for. While the records didn't provide any more information as to where Bridget came from in Ireland, they were nevertheless still good to have.

Parish Record for Bridget Kane's marriage to John McCormack.

Parish Record for Bridget Kane's marriage to James R. McRae.


Copyright © 2012, David J. McRae

Monday, June 10, 2013

A Late Night Discovery Before Bed...

So I was puttering around on FamilySearch, looking for some information but not really getting my hopes up when I found the marriage record for my 2nd great grandmother Bridget Theresa Kane's marriage to her first husband, John McCormack!  Whoo-hoo!

Having found this document, some burning questions have been answered. I now know that Bridget and John were married in America (as opposed to already having been married when they came here from Ireland). They married on January 10, 1875 in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

I also know now that the maiden name of Bridget's mother, Kate, was Downy.

Another interesting thing is that Bridget's age is listed as twenty, which would make her birth year approximately 1855. Other documents I have found have always insinuated that Bridget was born in the late 1840's. It's an interesting piece of information to look into.

Below is the image of the marriage record for Bridget and John. Theirs is second from the top.

Marriage record for Bridget Kane & John McCormack.

To view the original link, click here.

Copyright © 2012, David J. McRae