Patrick's obituary, written in May of 1919, was really a rich source of information. Names of his surviving children, and sisters were provided. Patrick's Civil War service and his membership in GAR Post 10 were mentioned. Two sons who served during the Spanish American War, (one of whom died upon his return), and three grandsons who served during World War I were also mentioned.
The obituary also provided some wonderful insight into Patrick's political view by stating that he belonged to the "Friends Of Irish Freedom" and had hoped to see the day when Ireland had self-determination.
Our little research group continued to quickly find information about Patrick's children, and grandchildren; as well as, the living siblings mentioned in the obituary. The volume of information and the speed at which it was being found was sometimes difficult to manage, but we continued on, collecting obituaries of descendants, and trying to trace the family members found in that 1865 census in Ware. We found death records of Patrick's parents in Ware vital records at familysearch.org. Sister Angela, at All Saints Parish in Ware, helped with Old St. William Cemetery Records. We looked at census information from Winchendon, where two of Patrick's sisters had raised families.
The Moran family tree was filling out nicely, but we knew we were not at all finished. Then one day, while searching Moran vital records from Ware, a member of our group came upon an interesting death record. It was a death record for a Daniel Moran, born in Dingle, Ireland, who had died four years prior to Patrick's death, and who had parents with the same names as Patrick's parents. Was this a brother? Quickly, an obituary was found on genealogybank.com, and our suspicion was confirmed. Now we had a location in Ireland, more siblings, and much more work to do.
To be continued ...
The obituary also provided some wonderful insight into Patrick's political view by stating that he belonged to the "Friends Of Irish Freedom" and had hoped to see the day when Ireland had self-determination.
Our little research group continued to quickly find information about Patrick's children, and grandchildren; as well as, the living siblings mentioned in the obituary. The volume of information and the speed at which it was being found was sometimes difficult to manage, but we continued on, collecting obituaries of descendants, and trying to trace the family members found in that 1865 census in Ware. We found death records of Patrick's parents in Ware vital records at familysearch.org. Sister Angela, at All Saints Parish in Ware, helped with Old St. William Cemetery Records. We looked at census information from Winchendon, where two of Patrick's sisters had raised families.
The Moran family tree was filling out nicely, but we knew we were not at all finished. Then one day, while searching Moran vital records from Ware, a member of our group came upon an interesting death record. It was a death record for a Daniel Moran, born in Dingle, Ireland, who had died four years prior to Patrick's death, and who had parents with the same names as Patrick's parents. Was this a brother? Quickly, an obituary was found on genealogybank.com, and our suspicion was confirmed. Now we had a location in Ireland, more siblings, and much more work to do.
To be continued ...
