James Pat Gallagher
James is my 2nd great-grandfather.
About 1837 - April 15, 1898
James and his wife Lucy are the link to our English heritage. That being said, while James and his parents were all born in England, the name Gallagher is an Irish one dating back to the 10th century. So, at some point, before the birth of James' parents, his paternal family line came from Ireland.
 |
| Manchester Town Hall in the 19th century. |
As for James, he was born in Manchester, England in either late 1837 or early 1838 to parents James Sr. and Amelia. James was the eldest of at least six children. He made his way into the world at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom. Manchester, in particular had seen a boom by the turn of the 19th century, moving from what was once a small township to an urban center that specialized in textiles. Because of the invention of the Spinning Jenny, which revolutionized the process of transforming cotton imported from the United States into fabrics, people swarmed to Manchester for work.
By the time James was born, 10% of the population in Manchester was Irish. Many of which lived in a district known as "Little Ireland". While I don't know about James' living conditions while he lived in England, the majority of the Irish who lived in Manchester, "found themselves living in poverty. They often crammed into houses with little air and light. A tax on windows caused many landlords to block up as many openings as possible, making the houses dangerously dark and lacking ventilation. Overcrowding forced many to live in the cellars of houses where the conditions were damp, dangerously dark and lacking sanitation. A report found that 18,000 Irish inhabitants lived in Manchester cellars. (1)
The Industrial Revolution created great wealth for some in Manchester, but for many, including most of the Irish who lived there, life was hard. So, it's not surprising that some of these people fled in the hopes to find greener pastures in America.
By the time James was born, 10% of the population in Manchester was Irish. Many of which lived in a district known as "Little Ireland". While I don't know about James' living conditions while he lived in England, the majority of the Irish who lived in Manchester, "found themselves living in poverty. They often crammed into houses with little air and light. A tax on windows caused many landlords to block up as many openings as possible, making the houses dangerously dark and lacking ventilation. Overcrowding forced many to live in the cellars of houses where the conditions were damp, dangerously dark and lacking sanitation. A report found that 18,000 Irish inhabitants lived in Manchester cellars. (1)
The Industrial Revolution created great wealth for some in Manchester, but for many, including most of the Irish who lived there, life was hard. So, it's not surprising that some of these people fled in the hopes to find greener pastures in America.
 |
| St. Clement Danes, London |
It is interesting to note that on their wedding license, James was considered a "bachelor" while Lucy was a "spinster" prior to their nuptials.
Shortly after the wedding, the first of their eight children was born. Their eldest was a son named Henry. There was an eight year gap between Henry and their next child on record, however, the Gallaghers had four children that did not survive infancy whose names are not recorded. It's possible they were born during this time frame.
In 1871, the Gallaghers made their way to America by steam ship. They stepped off the boat in Baltimore, Maryland.
In 1873, Thomas was the first of three children born in Missouri. Their next child, a daughter named Ellen, was born a year later and in 1877 another son was added to the family when Eddy was born.
The family stayed in the Mid-West for a few years, however, California called the Gallaghers to her and by 1879, they had moved to the Golden State. Initially, they lived at 611 Adeline Street, then 814 Filbert Street and later they purchased a home at 652 Linden Street, all in Oakland.
Their daughter Annie, was their first child to be born in the Bay Area, in December of 1879, just in time for the Christmas season. Three more children made their way into the world, as well. George was born in 1881. Then on June 12th, 1885 Walter was born. Walter is our direct-line ancestor, and Bette's father. One more child was added to the burgeoning family in 1889. A daughter named Bessie completed this family of ten.
FINANCIAL CHALLENGES:
James and Lucy owned their home on Linden. However, beginning in the late 1880's they moved in and out of having financial difficulties that would last throughout the remainder of his life. For example, he was sued in 1887 for $400 because he allegedly kept his sheep near Mt. Diablo on the property of a woman named Kate McLaughlin. I do not have a record showing the result of this suit.
In 1889 one creditor came after them for $492, and he was sued by another creditor whom he owed $403.19. Just to give perspective on these dollar amounts, in today's money, $400 is close to $10,000.
He made some headway with his finances when a year later, James was gifted a piece of property from a Mr. John Sweeney in Oakland. I am uncertain of their relationship and why James was given this property, but even after this gift was received, James still had financial challenges.
In 1892 he had a claim against him at City Hall for $12.00 and in February of 1898, a lien was put on James and Lucy and many of their possessions had to be sold at a Constable's Sale to pay off an $81 debt.
EDUCATION & FUN:
James worked from the time he was a young boy. Because of this, he wasn't able to attend school and he could not write. Presumably he couldn't read either, but that box was not checked one way or the other on the census to give me irrefutable proof. While he was not formerly educated, at least some of his children did attend school, including Henry (their eldest) and Walter (our direct ancestor). The other children may have attended school, as well, but I did not look that heavily into their records.
California may have been his adopted home, but on Admission Day in 1895, he was one of many "Oaklanders" (as they were called in the newspaper article) who journeyed to Sacramento to celebrate the 45th anniversary of California's entry into the Union. He was one of the folks who told the reporter that he enjoyed the festivities.
PROFESSION:
By the time James was 12 years old, he had a job as a railroad clerk in Manchester. During the Industrial Revolution, children often worked at very early ages, so it is likely, especially considering he never attended school, that he had been employed for years at this point. He and his father were the bread winners for their family when he was a child.
As an adult, he was a laborer. I do not have any records of his employment history in Missouri, but I do know that while he lived in California he held various jobs. He was a plumber. He applied for a permit to whitewash the basement and clean the granite at the Hall of Records. He also applied for a position as a sewer flusher in 1897.
In December of 1890, James made the local newspaper, the Oakland Tribune, when he shocked himself while working on an electric light wire on Blake Block at Washington Street. The wire belonged to the Oakland Electric Light and Motor Company. I am not certain if he worked with them or not. However, I do know that he was able to walk away from the incident without a scratch.
Despite the fact that James had these odd jobs, he considered himself to be a stone mason. According to Gen Guide, stone masonry was considered a skilled trade in the 19th century. While I am uncertain what James specialized in, a stone mason is someone who takes a rough piece of stone and creates either blocks for buildings, particularly cathedrals and other imposing edifices, or smaller objects such as tombstones or works of art.
Shortly after the wedding, the first of their eight children was born. Their eldest was a son named Henry. There was an eight year gap between Henry and their next child on record, however, the Gallaghers had four children that did not survive infancy whose names are not recorded. It's possible they were born during this time frame.
In 1871, the Gallaghers made their way to America by steam ship. They stepped off the boat in Baltimore, Maryland.
In 1873, Thomas was the first of three children born in Missouri. Their next child, a daughter named Ellen, was born a year later and in 1877 another son was added to the family when Eddy was born.
The family stayed in the Mid-West for a few years, however, California called the Gallaghers to her and by 1879, they had moved to the Golden State. Initially, they lived at 611 Adeline Street, then 814 Filbert Street and later they purchased a home at 652 Linden Street, all in Oakland.
FINANCIAL CHALLENGES:
James and Lucy owned their home on Linden. However, beginning in the late 1880's they moved in and out of having financial difficulties that would last throughout the remainder of his life. For example, he was sued in 1887 for $400 because he allegedly kept his sheep near Mt. Diablo on the property of a woman named Kate McLaughlin. I do not have a record showing the result of this suit.
In 1889 one creditor came after them for $492, and he was sued by another creditor whom he owed $403.19. Just to give perspective on these dollar amounts, in today's money, $400 is close to $10,000.
He made some headway with his finances when a year later, James was gifted a piece of property from a Mr. John Sweeney in Oakland. I am uncertain of their relationship and why James was given this property, but even after this gift was received, James still had financial challenges.
In 1892 he had a claim against him at City Hall for $12.00 and in February of 1898, a lien was put on James and Lucy and many of their possessions had to be sold at a Constable's Sale to pay off an $81 debt.
EDUCATION & FUN:
James worked from the time he was a young boy. Because of this, he wasn't able to attend school and he could not write. Presumably he couldn't read either, but that box was not checked one way or the other on the census to give me irrefutable proof. While he was not formerly educated, at least some of his children did attend school, including Henry (their eldest) and Walter (our direct ancestor). The other children may have attended school, as well, but I did not look that heavily into their records.
California may have been his adopted home, but on Admission Day in 1895, he was one of many "Oaklanders" (as they were called in the newspaper article) who journeyed to Sacramento to celebrate the 45th anniversary of California's entry into the Union. He was one of the folks who told the reporter that he enjoyed the festivities.
PROFESSION:
By the time James was 12 years old, he had a job as a railroad clerk in Manchester. During the Industrial Revolution, children often worked at very early ages, so it is likely, especially considering he never attended school, that he had been employed for years at this point. He and his father were the bread winners for their family when he was a child.
As an adult, he was a laborer. I do not have any records of his employment history in Missouri, but I do know that while he lived in California he held various jobs. He was a plumber. He applied for a permit to whitewash the basement and clean the granite at the Hall of Records. He also applied for a position as a sewer flusher in 1897.
In December of 1890, James made the local newspaper, the Oakland Tribune, when he shocked himself while working on an electric light wire on Blake Block at Washington Street. The wire belonged to the Oakland Electric Light and Motor Company. I am not certain if he worked with them or not. However, I do know that he was able to walk away from the incident without a scratch.
Despite the fact that James had these odd jobs, he considered himself to be a stone mason. According to Gen Guide, stone masonry was considered a skilled trade in the 19th century. While I am uncertain what James specialized in, a stone mason is someone who takes a rough piece of stone and creates either blocks for buildings, particularly cathedrals and other imposing edifices, or smaller objects such as tombstones or works of art.
 |
| Poster from the organization. |
Many stone masons belonged to fraternal organizations and James was no exception. James was active in the Keystone Lodge No. 64 A.O.U.W. (or Ancient Order of United Workmen), which according to Wiki was one of the first fraternal groups in the country that provided mutual social and financial support after the American Civil War and was the first fraternal organization in the country that offered insurance benefits, including policies for illnesses, accidents, deaths and for burial assistance. Moreover, Wiki claims that members were charged a $1.00 initiation fee. Upon a members death, the family received the insurance benefit. By the late 1890's, the sum would have been $2,000. In today's terms, that correlates to receiving close to $60,000. After his death, his obituary added an invitation for all of his fraternal brothers, as well as the women in the sister organization to attend his memorial.
 |
| April 15, 1898 ~ "Not lost but gone before" The line ends at "before" without any punctuation. It's possible this was all that was intended, or the sentence was left uncompleted for some unknown reason. |
James passed away on April 15th, 1898. His funeral was held two days later at the lodge and then at the home he shared with Lucy. He is interred at Mountain View Cemetery on plot number #40 in Oakland (in the old section near the fence). His youngest daughter, Bessie, is buried next to him.
The Cross on the top of his tombstone implies that he was a Christian. Bette was brought up as a Protestant, so it's possible her grandfather was Protestant, as well. I know that he was married in Lucy's church, which was Church of England (Protestant). However, I have no other record pertaining to his own religious affiliation.
When I discovered that James was buried next to his youngest daughter Bessie, I took out a yellow flower from his bouquet and added it to the top of her tombstone. Bessie had been married to Frank Muszi, and her death certificate had her married name, but her tombstone lists her maiden name. She passed away on February 12, 1918, three years before Bette was born.
SUPPOSITION:
* The Industrial Revolution began in Manchester around 1800. People flocked to the new urbanized city after that. While the Gallaghers may have lived in Manchester for several generations, it makes sense that whomever immigrated from Ireland originally, would have come when there was work to be had, which was around 1800. So, it's possible that it was James' grandfather or both grandparents who were the first to make their way to England.
* In my research I discovered that the United States and Europe had been through what was known at the time as The Great Depression from 1873 to 1896. It was known as The Great Depression until 1929, when the stock market crash created what we know today as The Great Depression. That being said, it is possible that the Gallaghers had financial instability due to the financial crisis of the era.
* I wonder if Bessie's grave site was actually meant for James' wife Lucy. Lucy was cremated at the time of her death in 1928, and it occurred to me that she and James may have purchased their graves together while he was alive, but when Bessie died before she did, their daughter was interred there instead.
INTERESTING FACT:
* I learned through 23andMe that through the Tunney paternal line, we are related to Niall of the Nine Hostages, who was crowned High King of Ireland in 379 a.d. I also learned that the Gallagher family line is related to him, as well. He may or may not be a direct line ancestor, but we are related in some fashion. Moreover, Niall apparently was quite prolific in the baby making arena and today, he has 2 - 3 million descendants living around the globe.
* I wonder if Bessie's grave site was actually meant for James' wife Lucy. Lucy was cremated at the time of her death in 1928, and it occurred to me that she and James may have purchased their graves together while he was alive, but when Bessie died before she did, their daughter was interred there instead.
INTERESTING FACT:
* I learned through 23andMe that through the Tunney paternal line, we are related to Niall of the Nine Hostages, who was crowned High King of Ireland in 379 a.d. I also learned that the Gallagher family line is related to him, as well. He may or may not be a direct line ancestor, but we are related in some fashion. Moreover, Niall apparently was quite prolific in the baby making arena and today, he has 2 - 3 million descendants living around the globe.
Personal Name Meaning: James ~ A
classic boys' name derived from the Hebrew name Jacob. It means "supplanter,"
or one who takes over. In the 17th century the Scottish king, James VI, inherited the English throne and became known as James I in England. He was the first monarch who ruled all of Britain, and the
name was much more popular after that.
 |
| Gallagher coat of arms |
An interesting note: even though Northern Ireland in general is predominantly Protestant, County Donegal, which is in Northern Ireland, is 85% Roman Catholic, and only 15% Protestant.
The Gallagher Motto in Latin is Mea Gloria Fides, which can be translated as, "The Faith is My Glory"
(1) Excerpted from the Pride of Manchester Blog
Comments
Post a Comment