John J. Ducey, son of John Ducey and Ann Meehan, and Mary Ann Welch, daughter of James Welch and Catherine Moran, were married in North Brookfield, Massachusetts on July 1, 1882 by C. M. Foley, Catholic Priest, St. Joseph's Church.
John and Mary Ann lived on Church St. in West Brookfield and raised a family of 12 or 13 children. John, like his father was a Boot Maker. The area of town where they lived was sometimes referred to by West Brookfield folks, as "Gahway" because many of the inhabitants had come to the United States from County Galway, Ireland. John and Mary Ann Welch both claimed West Brookfield as their place of birth, and although no birth records have been found, it was likely true since both families were living in town when John and Mary were born.
Mary Ann's father, James was most likely born in Ballinakill, Queens County, Ireland. A Welch family researcher has evidence of the marriage of James' parents and the baptisms of some of his siblings there. John Ducey's father, came from County Waterford, Ireland, according to his naturalization papers. His mother, Ann, was also Irish, but I have been unable to discover more about her origins thus far.
My husband is a descendant of John and Mary Ann Ducey, and I have over the past 12 years, collected a great deal of information about them, their ancestors and their descendants, some of whom are living in West Brookfield today. I am always willing to share my research and love to hear from folks with similar interests.
A family tree with information on the Ducey and Welch families is located at http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=ls046&id=I01172
