Michael,
Great post. I presume your grandmother is Anna
Shanahan! My grandfather is her brother Daniel. My mom is Alice
Shanahan. My wife and I have been doing some research on the
Massachusetts connection. With all of the comings and goings, it’s hard to clearly describe without writing a book. I’ll be more than happy to send you detailed information via email.
Here is what I know. Timothy was the son of Daniel and Margaret (nee
Shannahan). (Margaret’s Mom and Dad, from her death certificate, were John
Shanahan and Jane
Shanahan.) We believe they had 10 children: John, Timothy, Annie, Mary, Phillip, Jane, Daniel, Julia, Ellen, and
Jeremiah.
In 1875, Margaret sailed to
Boston with her daughter Ellen and sons Daniel and
Jeremiah. By 1880 they were living in a house in Mittineague, a section of West
Springfield, with another daughter, Jane, a grandson Daniel
Murphy (son Margaret’s daughter Annie) and a nephew Daniel
Shanahan (whose parents we have not yet figured out). By 1900, living in the home was Margaret, daughters Ellen and Annie, and grandsons John
Shanahan and Daniel
Murphy.
We have discovered nothing yet about 3 of the children - John, Mary, or Julia.
Timothy you know all about, since his family is the Arizona/California connection. Many of the Bocarna family went to work in the mines outside of Jerome,
Arizona. Over time some moved off to
California and beyond. My mom was actually born in
Arizona, but moved to NY at a young age after my grandfather died.
Annie married a Daniel
Murphy. They had 4 children, 3 of which had died by 1900. Her son Daniel had moved in with his Grandmother and aunts/uncles in Mittineaugue, and died single in 1956.
Phillip had married a Mary
Moriarty, from
Ohio. They had 3 children that we know of: John, Patrick, and Mary. Phillip died in
Boston in 1900. Children John and Mary both eventually lived in the house with
Uncles Daniel
Shanahan and Daniel
Murphy. John died in 1963. Mary died in 1952.
Jane married a Patrick O’Sullivan and moved to the town of
Springfield. They had 2 daughters, Helen, and Margaret who married James
Moylan (a police officer). James and Margaret had a son James.
Daniel, son of Margaret, never married and died in 1955. His sister Ellen never married and died in 1933. Brother
Jeremiah never married and died in 1897 – all in Mittineague.
We have been to the St Thomas the Apostle cemetery in West
Springfield, and did find the burial plot. We’ve also done research at the Archives for the State of
Massachusetts. There are some other Shanahans that we know are connected, but since we can’t figure out how yet, I’ve omitted the names.
We do have a lengthy family tree we can share, much of it started buy the cousins in
California.
Hope this has been useful.
John
Caffrey