Judge Marcus Doherty and his family 2

Judge Marcus and Elizabeth O'Halloran had a large family of 12 children, and of these, ten survived childhood, only three of whom married and had children. One became a nun, one became an accountant and three became lawyers. Clearly, Judge Marcus' children were well educated. I write generally of his family here. Now, I want to give what information I've found about his children who survived to adulthood.

The eldest child of Judge Marcus and Elizabeth O'Halloran was Ellen Elizabeth (1844-1919). My great-great aunt Catharine Dougherty was Ellen's godmother, according to her baptismal record. Ellen appeared in censuses with her family until 1891, when she appears in that census as a lodger in a Church-run facility, together with other women and men, in Beloiel, Quebec, (about 35 minutes drive from Montreal today).

She appears there also in the 1901 census. That census form includes a column to identify those with what we today call challenges or disabilities. In that column, Ellen is identified as "mental". How sad.

Ellen next appears in the 1911 census as a lodger in a similar facility in Montreal, not far from where family members lived at the time. But in this case, the entire last column has been ripped away from the rest of the page. Ellen died in Beloeil in 1919, and is buried there in the cemetery of Eglise St-Mathieu.

Thomas James Doherty
c 1867

Next was Thomas James (1845-1894), who bore the names of his paternal grandfather and great grandfather. My 2nd great grandfather Marcus Dougherty and his daughter (my great great aunt)Isabella Dougherty McHugh, were his godparents. Thomas followed his father's footsteps and became a lawyer. He died unmarried in his 49th year, as reported in the 7 Feb 1894 edition of The Gazette in Montreal:

DOHERTY - At Colorado Springs Col. (USA) on the 5th inst. Thomas James Doherty Q.C. justice, Superior court, and brother of Hon. Mr. Justice C.J. Doherty. Funeral from his brother's residence 282 Stanley, St. on Saturday, 20th of February, at quarter to nine a.m. to St. Patrick's Church.

14 Feb 1894 True Witness & Catholic Chronicle

A much more detailed story about his life and death, written in the florid 19th century style, was published in the 21 Feb 1894 edition of The True Witness and Catholic Chronicle (col 3, pg 2). The story notes that he died in Colorado Springs "where he had gone to recuperate if possible, from the shocks that his system received from the disease which unfortunately proved fatal".

Thomas' sister Mary Louisa Cecilia (1851-1919) was known as Louisa. She married a Montreal insurance executive. P. Walter Kavanagh (1853-1905) on 10 Jul 1879 in Sherbrooke, while her father was stationed there as a judge. Louisa and Walter had three children:

• Mary Elizabeth (1884-1973) 
• Mary Louisa Eleanor (Ellen) Margarita (1886-1890)
• Walter Patrick Henry Joseph (1891-1916)

Mary Elizabeth Kavanagh
obit, Montreal Gazette, Apr 1973

Louisa's daughter Mary Elizabeth lived in New York for the rest of her life after her marriage (she had two children), but upon her death in 1973, her funeral and burial were in the city of her birth, Montreal. I haven't been able to trace her descendants. Yet. 

Next was Daniel O'Connell (1853-1878), about whom I've learned little. Did he suffer from issues similar to those of his older sister Ellen? I'm just speculating. The death notice below is interesting in that the funeral procession went from the hospital to the church, rather than from the family home, as was the custom of the time, meaning there was no wake at the family home. He was only 24. 

Daniel O'Connell Doherty obit 1878

Daniel was named after Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847), called the Emancipator or the Liberator, for his ongoing efforts seeking rights for the Irish people. 

Judge Marcus' third born son, Charles Joseph had a very illustrious career as a lawyer, judge and politician. Separate blog posts will address his life. 

Anna Maria (1857-1944), known as Annie, never married. Her sister Margaret Agnes Mary (1859-1894) took vows with the Order of Jesus and Mary in Fall River, Massachusetts, and became known as Rev Madam Mary of the Annunciation. When she died at the age of 35, her passing was also recorded in an obituary in The True Witness and Catholic Chronicle in its 31 Oct 1894 issue (col 2, pg 9, middle). Her death came six months after her brother Thomas' death, a fact the obituary notes in 19th century extreme. 

Their sister Elizabeth Mary (1861-1926) married a Henry Walter Mulvena (1855-1926), a lawyer who was later appointed to the bench in Montreal, in 1895. They lived in Sherbrooke, where Judge Mulvena was based, and had three sons, 

My great great aunt, Isabella Doherty McHugh was also godmother to Marcus Emanuel (1866-aft 1931) at his baptism. Marcus E. became a lawyer, and for a few years practised law with his brothers Thomas and Charles, and after he stepped down from the bench in 1891, his father Judge Marcus. The firm was called Doherty & Doherty. Marcus E appears in Canadian censuses through to 1891. The following year, according to the 1900 U.S. census, he moved to San Francisco, California. He worked as a stenographer, as reported in the 1897 city directory, perhaps going through a period of study to get his California Bar licence. In 1898, he enlisted in the U.S. Army -- but was dishonourably discharged six months later. What happened? The 1901 census records his occupation as attorney. He is living in a San Francisco hotel. After that, he disappears. 

Newspaper accounts of his brother Charles' 1931 funeral report that at that time, Marcus was living in the Philippines. What brought him there? Did he return to Montreal for any of his siblings' funerals? What kind of life did he live? Did he disappear from his family for his own reasons? 

Judge Marcus and Elizabeth's final child was Michael Joseph (1867-1907), who died at 40 in Montreal. He was an accountant. 

Elizabeth O'Halloran funeral mass 1884

Elizabeth O'Halloran Doherty died in November 1884 aged about 58. Among the clergy concelebrating her funeral mass at Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal were Judge Marcus' first cousin, Rev James Dougherty (1843-1906) who was born in Kingston, New York, son of his older brother Michael (abt 1810-1953).

Judge Marcus Doherty funeral mass 1903

Judge Marcus died on 4 Jul 1903, surviving Elizabeth by 19 years and aged as much as 87. Rev James Dougherty also concelebrated at his funeral mass. I write more about his remarkable life here.

Some of these Quebec church records don't survive as well as other records do. But in both these records, the signature of Rev James Dougherty can be seen.

What is clear to me is that the ties between the branches of the Dougherty/Doherty families were strong in the 19th century, despite the lack of modern technology to help stay in touch. In the 20th century, those ties became lost in the mists of time. I'm loving finding them anew in the 21st century.

The never ending story continues....

Judge Marcus Doherty and his family 1

As I've written here, Judge Marcus Doherty was a lawyer and distinguished jurist who served as a judge in the Quebec Superior Court from 1873 to 1891. He was appointed to the bench by the government of Canada's first prime minister, Sir John A. MacDonald.

Marcus met his wife, Elizabeth O'Halloran, the youngest daughter of immigrants from County Cork, when he was studying law at the University of Vermont in Burlington. Marcus was a classmate of one of Elizabeth's brothers. She was only 17, but Marcus was smitten and so they married in November 1843 and settled first in Granby, where they began their family, which grew to 12 children born between 1844 and 1867:

• Ellen Elizabeth (1844-1919) never married
• Thomas James (1845-1894) Q.C., never married
• Marcus (1847-1856)
• Mary Louisa Cecilia (1851-1919) m Patrick Walter Kavanagh, three children
• Daniel O'Connell (1853-1878) never married
• Charles Joseph (1855-1931), K.C., MP, married Catharine Lucy Barnard, five children
• Anna Maria (1857-1944) never married
• Margaret Agnes Mary (1859-1894) took religious vows, known as Rev. Madam Mary of the Annunciation
• Elizabeth Mary (1861-1926) m Judge Henry W. Mulvena, three children
• Sarah Curran (1863-1863)
• Marcus Emanuel (1866-aft 1931), lawyer, never married
• Michael Joseph (1867-1907) accountant, never married

3462 (formerly 38) rue Ste-Famille, 2016

By 1851, Judge Marcus and his growing family had relocated from Granby to Montreal. He was an active member of Montreal's St. Patrick's Society, serving as its president in 1858 and 1861, and earning a good reputation. By the 1861 census, they were living at 38 Ste-Famille, a house that still stands today, but re-numbered 3462.

During those years, Marcus had offices in what today we know as Old Montreal, in a building that till standing today, mentioned here. In the 19th century, the building's address was 59 Little St. James Street. Today the street is known as rue St-Jacques.

59 Little St James Street

Following his 1873 appointment, Judge Marcus was assigned to the St. Francis District, in which the city of Sherbrooke is located. While in Sherbrooke, Judge Marcus was regarded as a leading citizen, serving as a member of the Sherbrooke chapter of the St. Patrick's Society and giving the English language welcome when St Patrick's parish was dedicated at its first mass in 1873. Judge Marcus is mentioned in Pioneer English Catholic of the Eastern Townships, published in the 1930s by Rev T. J. Walsh, SJ.

The family lived in Sherbrooke, Quebec, from 1873 until 1882, when Judge Marcus was re-assigned back to Montreal.

Judge Marcus must have liked Ste-Famille a lot, because he moved the family into number 24 Ste-Famille in 1882, when they returned from Sherbrooke. That house also still stands today, as number 3442 Ste-Famille.

3442 (formerly 24) rue Ste-Famille, 2016 

With such a large family, the censuses of 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901 all included servants to help Elizabeth Doherty in running her household.

Three of Judge Marcus' sons also became lawyers: Thomas, Charles and Marcus E. They shared offices at 590 Sherbrooke St W, for many years, joined by their father after he stepped down from the bench in 1891. That building no longer exists. The space today is occupied by a large Universite de Québec à Montréal student residence at the corner of Sherbrooke and St-Urbain Streets, the always helpful staff at the Bibliotheque et Archives Nationale du Quebec (BAnQ) tell me. I walked this block during a recent visit to Montreal.

When he died in July 1903, Judge Marcus was memorialized in several newspapers, including this item in the July 6, 1903 edition of The Gazette.

Judge Marcus and several family members are buried in Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery on Mount Royal in Montreal.

The never ending story continues....

Our immigrant ancestors -- Judge Marcus Doherty QC

Judge Marcus Doherty

My 1st cousin 3x removed, Marcus Doherty (1815-1903) emigrated from Camnish, Dunvigen in what is now County Derry at the age of 18, arriving in Quebec City in 1833, and then travelling down to South Hero, Vermont, to join his uncles (my 2nd great grandfather) Marcus and (my 2nd great great uncle) James Dougherty.

Marcus was born in a house in Camnish, Dungiven, that was later occupied by the family of Irish nationalist John Mitchel.

The story is that Marcus was sent to Vermont by his mother after his father Thomas Dougherty died in Dungiven. He wasn't their eldest, but I think he was the brightest, and had attended grammar school in Dungiven, something one of my internet cousins tells me was quite rare for an Irish person to do in the early 19th century. One story has it that he was destined for the priesthood. Marcus attended college and also  taught at the Shefford Academy, where his uncle James was the principal. In 1838, he enrolled at  the University of Vermont where he received his BA and MA, and in 1848 was called to the Bar of Lower Canada in Montreal. He was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court in 1873. I've found many references in which Judge Marcus is mentioned. He first practised law as a newly minted lawyer in Granby, then moved on to Montreal. He was then posted in Sherbrooke for several years, before returning to Montreal.

Judge Marcus' eldest children were born and baptized in Granby. In my very early web research days, and before the Drouin Collection had indexed the Notre Dame de Granby parish records, another researcher, in an act of random genealogical kindness, pointed out to me that having a Marcus Dougherty and Marcus Doherty in the same small community at the same time was, well, no coincidence. My great grandfather John James and Judge Marcus were cousins.

In my family papers, we have for reasons still unknown to me, a copy the certificate attesting Judge Marcus' entry into the Bar of Lower Canada. The seal has been cut out. How did this come to be in my grandfather's possession?

Marcus was the first of six siblings to leave their Camnish, Dungiven home for America. Those siblings who came all used the Dougherty spelling. More about those siblings and their families will come. No, I don't know why Judge Marcus used the Doherty spelling. His siblings who remained in Ireland used both Dougherty and Doherty. Yes, all these same names do get confusing in the telling of stories.

Full disclosure: In 1998 and 1999, a woman posted on several genealogy message boards seeking relatives of Judge Marcus, and saying he was the brother of her late husband's great great grandfather. She even contacted me, saying we were related. But this was in my dark age of the genealogy research, and I brushed her off. Of course, it turned out she was absolutely right, but by then several years had passed, and I was unable to locate her. It was an early lesson to never make assumptions.

Montreal - Biographical Sketches

An early biography of Judge Marcus appeared during his lifetime in something called Montreal - Biographical Sketches. Note the inconsistencies about his year of birth and John Mitchel.

Here's another profile (in two images), from the Canadian Biographical Dictionary:

Note the inconsistencies in both with respect to Judge Marcus' year of birth and John Mitchel. It wasn't always easy in the mid 19th century to fact check, I guess. No Google, for one thing.

Judge Marcus died in Montreal on 4 Jul 1903. The Montreal Gazette carried a lengthy obituary about him and his remarkable career, which offers yet more conflicting information on his year of birth and other facts.

I will be writing more about Judge Marcus, his marriage and family. Note: For identification purposes in this blog, this Marcus will be called Judge Marcus, while my 2nd great grandfather will be referred to as Farmer Marcus. My small contribution to ending the confusion over the use of the same names even within the same generations.

The never ending story continues...

Joe Dougherty & Rosie Caroline

Notre Dame de Granby Parish register, 1876

My great grandparents, John James Dougherty and Rose Caroline (Joe -- no, I don't know why he was called Joe, but he was -- and Rosie), were married in 1876 in Granby.

Despite all of the research I've done, I really did start with a virtual blank slate in terms of photographs of my more immediate ancestors. Were photographs taken? Probably. What happened to them? Who knows.

This spring, a 2nd cousin once removed on my Caroline side called to say she realized that she had a photograph of Joe and Rosie. Was I interested in seeing this? Hello!! No one in my family had ever seen any photos. I was so excited. It felt like I was going to meet them. The photo took my breath away.  

(top) John & Rose Dougherty (bottom) Margaret & James Caroline
Sherbrooke, Quebec Aug 1877

Joe was a really big guy! He's the man standing with the incredible dark beard.

Cousins see a bit of one of my uncles in Rosie's face. I'm sure there are many more resemblances in their descendants.

When this photo was taken, Joe and Rosie had been married less than a year. Joe was 43 and Rosie was 37. This was his second marriage, Rosie's first. They had known each other all their lives, since their fathers farmed adjacent plots of land.

The seated couple are my great uncle James Caroline (1850-1928) and his bride, Margaret Murphy (1856-1928). They had just been married in Adamsville in the Eastern Townships, and this was taken while they were on their honeymoon, visiting Rosie and Joe in Sherbrooke. 

And Joe's face? My father and brothers have the same face. It was a jaw dropping experience for me. Here's my father as a young man.

My father was a redhead -- they tend to go grey early. Could it be that Joe was also a redhead? 

The seated couple are my great uncle James Caroline (1850-1928) and his bride, Margaret Murphy (1856-1928). They had just been married in Adamsville in the Eastern Townships, and this was their honeymoon. 

1871 Granby census

Joe's 1861 marriage to Mary Ann Gannon (1838-1871) had produced no children. Yet, the 1871 census in Granby for their household shows a 13 year old Mary Ann Dougherty living with them.

1877 Cincinnati directory

Is this the same Mary Ann Dougherty noted here that appeared in the 1877 Cincinnati city directory boarding at the same address (62 Barr St) as Joe's brother Joseph M? If so, Mary Ann would then have been 19 years old. Was she a niece to Joe and his brother Joseph? The 1871 census doesn't state her relationship to John and his wife Mary Ann Gannon, but I think she's his niece from Cincinnati, and the daughter of  James, or even the Marcus Dougherty also seen in this directory. And what about him? Both the Mary Ann in the 1871 census and 1877 city directory and the Marcus Dougherty both remain unsolved mysteries. What happened to them?

By 1881, Joe and Rosie had their only son, my grandfather, also John (1879-1953), and according to that year's census, they were running a boarding house in Sherbrooke and had two servants, and two roomers.

Baptism 3 Dec 1876, John James Dougherty

And here's another mystery. My grandfather's godparents are James Joseph Doherty and Margaret Anderson. This is a couple who also lived in Sherbrooke. But I believe that this James and Joe were cousins. I'm still trying to confirm this. Yet another unsolved mystery.

In 1891, the final census Joe appeared in, he, Rosie and their 11 year old son John are living in Compton, just outside Sherbrooke. His occupation is listed as gentleman. Joe died two years later at the young age of 59.

Rosie raised her son alone, as far as I've been able to discover. There must have been some money, because John was able to attend McGill University in Montreal. My father also told a story that his father had attended school for a time in Worcester, Massachusetts before going to McGill. Rosie is recorded as living alone in 1901 in Sherbrooke, and as noted here, in 1911 was living with my grandparents in Montreal. Rosie died in 1915. She, Joe and my grandparents are all buried in St Michael's Cemetery in Sherbooke.

The never ending story continues...