Irish Famine Immigrants

 I recently found my great grandmother Sarah Montague in the 1855 New York census.  I must have missed this record earlier because it incorrectly shows the last name as "Montahue".This shows Sarah with her parents, Francis and Catherine, and a brother Michael. This child was previously unknown to me but I have located the birth and death records for Michael James Montague, and learned that he died on March 18, 1857 at the age of 2 from hydrocephalus. In the process of locating the death record for Michael, a record for another child was provided by the New York Archdiocese. One year old, Mary E. Montague died on July 26, 1857 from cholera and is buried with her brother in Old Calvary Cemetery, New York. What a sorrowful time for this family.

This census record helped verify when Sarah was born, her age and when her parents immigrated to the United States. Sarah was the daughter of Francis J. Montague and Catherine McCollough. I learned from this record that her parents came in different years, and they most likely married in New York. Catherine states in the census that she arrived in New York in 1848 at the age of 15. Francis arrived in 1851 at the age of 22. The Irish Potato Famine occurred between 1848 and 1852 which undoubtedly caused them to leave their homeland. Catherine never learned to read which might explain that her name was written with various spellings (Mccullough, Mccullah, Mccullom, Mccolsugh). Family information indicates that both Francis and Catherine came from Tyrone in Northern Ireland.

1855 New York State Census

Francis was a carpenter who become a skilled wheelwright and blacksmith. He is listed in the New York directories for 1855 and 1857. The Montague name looks like it could be French or English, but other census records confirm that Francis and his parents were born in Ireland.

1855 New York City Directory

Francis Montague, age 22, arrived in New York on The Typhoon on May 19, 1851. He was a steerage passenger on a ship holding 393 Irish passengers and he seemed to be traveling alone. His occupation is listed as carpenter. The Typhoon was an "extreme clipper ship" built earlier that year. It was 225 feet x 41 x 23. That's not very much space for all those people. The ship made its maiden voyage from Portsmouth, New Hampshire to Liverpool in March in 13 days and 10 hours. It set a sailing record. The return ship left Liverpool on April 20 and arrived 23 days later in New York with its cargo of Irish immigrants. Our second great grandfather must have had a spirit of adventure. This trip appears to be the only occasion that this ship carried passengers. It was intended to carry cargo. The ship's next voyage was a race with two others from New York to San Francisco. A trip that took 108 days! British artist Samuel Walters included the Typhoon in his series of famous clipper ships. The painting sells for more than $10,000. Cutty Sark anyone?

The Typhoon

In 1858, the Montague family are living in Chicago and Francis becomes known as Frank. He notes his occupation as blacksmith and becomes a citizen. Six more children are born to Francis and Catherine. The blacksmith shop and home located at 12th and Clark Streets would have suffered damage in the Great Chicago Fire in 1870. In 1875, the shop and home are located on South Canal Street.  Francis dies in 1882 at the young age of 53 from heart disease, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It is likely that his occupation as a blacksmith contributed to his health problems. Catherine lives until 1905 with her daughters, Mary, Margaret and Kate. Our ancestor, Sarah, marries John Dillon in 1879.