Jeremiah D. Reardon and Mary Elizabeth Horgan

Is this your ancestor Jeremiah? If so, his parents were named: John, Ellen Murphy.

Massachusetts death record
Name: Jeremiah Reardon
Gender: Male
Age: 77
Birth Date: abt 1825
Birth Place: Ireland
Death Date: 20 Apr 1902
Death Place: Canton, Massachusetts, USA
Father:
JOHN REARDON
Mother:
ELLEN MURPHY
(Source: Ancestry.com)

BAPTISM (rootsireland): A Jeremiah Riordan was baptized 29-Nov-1836 in the Catholic parish of Macroom, lived in Macroom, parents JOHN, ELLEN MURPHY. Sponsors: John Sullivan, Humphrey Butler. The date is 11 years later than the one you have.

Hi Patricia,

I have the Ancestry info on my Ancestry tree. I'm puzzled as to why he would have been baptized so many years after his birth? Perhaps life was so difficult that basic sacraments weren't being performed then? It certainly looks like him. He emigrated with his entire family, including John and Ellen via NY in 1855.

Thanks so much for this information. A small bit that helps me get closer to where they began.

All the best,

Cathy

Hi,

Either it's not him OR he used the wrong birth year.  It's actually pretty common in Irish research to find a wide variety of years and ages for the same person.  They weren't nearly as aware of birth dates, didn't celebrate birthdays, weren't asked for ID like we are. 

On the other hand, names repeated in families and areas. Maybe there was a second Jeremiah with parents John and Ellen Murphy?

I'm sorry I'm not more definite here.

Thanks again Patricia. What you say makes sense. Onward!