Who were the parents of Anna Orr Coyle of Zanesville, Ohio ? 

In my ongoing research regarding sisters Margaret and Ann Sheils who were born in County Roscommon, Ireland and emigrated to Zanesville, Ohio, I encountered the household of Thomas and Anna (Orr) Coyle in a 1893 newspaper death notice. The funeral of Mrs Margaret Orr (presumed wife of John Orr and sister of Ann) departed from the Coyle home on Zane Street. That made me wonder if Margaret could possibly have been Anna’s mother.

I have quite a bit of information regarding other members of Margaret and Ann Sheils’ birth family, most of whom lived in New York State. The sisters were 2 of the 10 children born to John Sheils (who died on the transatlantic voyage in 1853) and Hannorah Feeney (who died in New York in 1870).  Their brother John was a prosperous hotelier in Ulster County, New York who hosted many Tammany Hall cronies of their NYC Alderman brother Thomas.  Quite a bit has been documented and published regarding these brothers. A local biographical sketch of John, published in 1896, noted that his sister Margaret had married an Ohio foundryman, John “AWER”. 

I have found records of John and Margaret Orr living in Zanesville but they are incomplete and somewhat conflicting regarding their children. I did not find assumed daughter Anna living with her parents in any census record.  Could it be that Anna was with her mother in the 1860 census but mistakenly listed as Emma, born Ohio? From other records it seems that Anna may have been born in New Jersey. In 1863 she married Thomas Coyle and is listed in many records of her children as Anna Orr Coyle. She died in 1897, not too long after her mother. I have found no death record for her father, John, but assume he outlived Margaret whose death record listed her as married. Thomas and Anna Coyle were likely buried at Mt Calvary Cemetery but no findagrave listings or photos have been found; uncertain about Margaret and John Orr. The search continues.

What happened to the Moran and Bennett families of Glasco, NY ??

 Irish born John Bennett and Mary Moran married in Saugerties, Ulster, New York about 1870.  Mary had arrived with her mother Elizabeth and older brothers in 1853 joining her father Michael who had emigrated 2 years earlier. The Morans all worked in the local brickyard as did John Bennett. I have discovered no immigration information for John and wonder if the younger (by 12 years) Thomas Bennett listed with he and Mary in the 1870 census might be a brother or other relative.  No record of the three has been found after that census.  

Curiously, Mary’s parents, Michael and Elizabeth Moran, have two young Bennett grandsons with them in the 1880 census, James 8 and Michael 3. I assume they must be the sons of their only daughter Mary and her husband John Bennett. But what happened to the couple?

 

The Moran grandparents died in 1881 and 1882, when the boys were both under 10 – so, who took them in then? Mary Moran Bennett’s brothers had problems of their own and may not have been able to step-in to care for the boys. 

 

            Her brother James was murdered in 1879, leaving his wife with 5 young children.

            Her brother Michael Jr died in 1882 also leaving 5 children.

            Her brother Patrick married in 1881 leaving no further record of he and wife Mary.

            Her youngest brother Thomas married in 1880 and soon had several children himself.

 

So the mystery of the Bennett brothers is still open. The older son, James, has not been found in any record after 1880. Michael, however, seems to have joined the military in 1899 serving in the Spanish American War in the Philippines. In 1901 he married Irish immigrant Emily Catherine Blue in Brooklyn. And then their trail ran cold …..

The Mysterious Natalia Acosta 1861 - 1945

I first encountered the name Natalia Acosta while researching my Lake family members Maria Lake and her husband Robert Carley.  Maria (1839 -1917) was a daughter of Schuyler Lake and his wife Caroline Morse, the 5^th of their 10 children born in Ulster County, NY.I  Maria and Robert married in 1854 and raised their 4 children in or near Fallsburg, Sullivan County.

In my effort to link as many family members together as possible, I review Findagrave entries and add parental information and maiden names, if known.  Maria Lake Carley’s FAG entry #176176881 was rich with information.  She was linked to her parents, 7 siblings, her husband and all 4 of her children; none were new to me. However, I was quite puzzled when I looked at the attached photo and clearly saw the name Natalia A Acosta listed with Maria and Robert. Unfortunately her dates were not visible and she did not have a FAG record. The NY Death Index listed: Natalia A Acosta, 27 July 1945, Fallsburg which was a start, but it didn’t really identify her nor provide a link to Maria and Robert.

In reviewing Maria Lake Carley’s census records I found that a 13 year old niece named Nettie Lake was with them in 1875. Who was she?  Could this be Natalia? She was not with Maria in the 1880 census, but I wondered if she was the dressmaker, Netty Lake, recorded in NYC as a boarder. I decided to see if I could find a Natalia Acosta in New York and work backwards.