My father left me a book of our family and trying to confirm my ancestry

Hi, May be this is Johanna's father Denis Fenton.

Griffith's Valuation (askaboutireland.ie)

This is the map.
Coad Townland, Co. Kerry (townlands.ie)

John H Sheehan.......... what year and were did he pass on?

Margot

Hello Tom,

Based on other records you’ll see later in this reply, the following death record transcription appears to refer to your John Sheehan. The transcription was located at the free FamilySearch website, and shows that John Sheehan died on 10 March 1913 in Holyoke, Hampton, County, Massachusetts at the age of 78. At the time of death he was, “Widowed.” His place of birth was Ireland.

You’ll notice an error in this record, which shows that John was born on 24 June 1855. If that date of birth were correct, he would have been 58 years old when he died in 1913, rather than 78.

You’ll also see however, that John’s “Birth Year (Estimated)” in the transcription is 1835, which would be correct if he died at age 78 in 1913.

This shows there was either an error in the transcription, or an error in the original death record for John Sheehan.

The transcription further shows that John’s parents were Jeremiah Sheehan and Mary Sullivan.

See the transcription below:

Death • Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920

Name John Sheehan
Sex Male
Age 78
Death Date 10 Mar 1913
Death Place Holyoke, Hampden, Massachusetts, United States
Death Place Holyoke
Birth Date 24 Jun 1855
Birth Year (Estimated) 1835
Birthplace Ireland
Marital Status Widowed
Race White
Father's Name Jeremiah Sheehan
Father's Sex Male
Mother's Name Mary Sullivan
Mother's Sex Female
Event Type Death
Source Details 43

"Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N4NJ-PRJ : 17 November 2022), John Sheehan, 1913.
____

A copy of the original death record shows that John died at 302 Elm Street in Holyoke, and that the cause of death was “Chronic Myocarditis,” with a contributary or secondary cause of “Arteris Sclerosis.”

His occupation is just recorded as, “Retired.”

The informant who reported the death was John F. Sheehan, of 302 Elm Street. This is an indication that John F. Sheehan was the son who was present at his father’s death.

The name of the registrar who recorded the death is also John F. Sheehan, which means, as the Holyoke Registrar, he would have made the error in his father’s date of birth of 24 June 1855.

A check of the Holyoke City Directory for 1912, from the Ancestry.com subscription website, shows that both John Sheehan and John F. Sheehan were living at 302 Elm Street, the same address where John Sr. died a year later. John F. Sheehan’s occupation is, “City Clerk.” See the 1912 Holyoke directory listings below:

U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995

Name: John Sheehan
Residence Year: 1912
Street Address: 302 Elm
Residence Place: Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA
Publication Title: Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directory, 1912

Detail Source
Source Information
Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995

Name: John F Sheehan
Residence Year: 1912
Street Address: 302 Elm
Residence Place: Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA
Occupation: City Clerk
Publication Title: Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directory, 1912

Detail Source
Source Information
Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
----

Knowing that John Sheehan’s parents were Jeremiah Sheehan and Mary Sullivan, I looked for John’s baptism record at the Find My Past (FMP) website, and also at Ancestry.com, but didn’t find it. There won’t be a civil registration birth record for John. The Irish government began to record births, marriages, and deaths for all religious denominations in 1864.

John may have been baptized in a Catholic Parish church in County Kerry with records that do not go back to the year 1835.

Earlier I had mentioned that I believed the death record for John Sheehan was the person you were looking for based on other information.

Your records show that John Sheehan had married Johanna Fenton. I found Johanna’s death transcription at the FamilySearch website, showing she had died at age 60 in Holyoke in 1901, the same city where John died in 12 years later. The exact date of Johanna’s death in 1901 is not recorded in the transcription, which gives her estimated year of birth as 1841, and the names of her parents as Dennis Fenton and Ellen Grandfield. Her husband is also recorded as John Sheehan.

Death • Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001

Name Johanna Fenton
Sex Female
Age 60
Death Date 1901
Death Place Holyoke, Hampden, Massachusetts, United States
Death Place Holyoke, Hampden, Massachusetts
Birth Year (Estimated) 1841
Father's Name Dennis Fenton
Father's Sex Male
Mother's Name Ellen Grandfield
Mother's Sex Female
Spouse's Name John Sheehan
Spouse's Sex Male
Event Type Death
Source Details p112

"Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N46D-PYV : 14 December 2022), John Sheehan in entry for Johanna Fenton, 1901.
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A copy of the original Holyoke City death register, attached to this reply, shows that Johanna died on March 1, 1901. Her death is the 4th entry down from the top in the register, at number 165. Her husband’s name is recorded just below hers in the register. You’ll have to enlarge the register to read it.

Johanna died from “Diabetes Mellitus (Not Constant),” as well as “Gangrene of Foot.” Her address at the time of death was 75 Bond Street. Her occupation was, “Housewife.”

Back at Ancestry.com I wanted to see if John Sheehan and John F. Sheehan were recorded in the Holyoke City Directory in 1901 living at 75 Bond Street.

I found that they were. John’s occupation is “Board of Health.” John F. Sheehan’s occupation is “Clerk,” in the “City Clerk’s Office.” The 1901 Holyoke directory listings are below:

U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995

Name: John Sheehan
Residence Year: 1899
Street Address: 75 Bond
Residence Place: Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA
Occupation: Board of Health
Publication Title: Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directory, 1899

Source Information
Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
____

U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995

Name: John F Sheehan
Residence Year: 1901
Street Address: 75 Bond
Residence Place: Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA
Occupation: Clerk City Clerk's Office
Publication Title: Holyoke

Source Information
Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
----

I next looked for and located the marriage record transcription for John “Sheean” and Johanna Fenton at the FamilySearch website. They were married in Chicopee, Hampden County, Massachusetts on 2 November 1854.

At the time of marriage John was 20 years old, with an estimated birth year of 1834. His father is “Jerimiah Sheean.”

Johanna was 19 year old at the time of marriage, with an estimated birth year of 1835. Her father is Dennis Fenton. See the transcription below:

Marriage • Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920

Name John Sheean
Sex Male
Age 20
Birth Year (Estimated) 1834
Father's Name Jerimiah Sheean
Father's Sex Male
Spouse's Name Johannah Fenton
Spouse's Sex Female
Spouse's Age 19
Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated) 1835
Spouse's Father's Name Dennis Fenton
Spouse's Father's Sex Male
Marriage Date 2 Nov 1854
Marriage Place Chicopee, Hampden, Massachusetts, United States
Marriage Place Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States
Event Type Marriage
Source Details 302

"Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N4M5-WDP : 10 November 2022), John Sheean and Johannah Fenton, 1854.
----

You can view a copy of the original Chicopee Marriage register entry for John and Johanna at: https://tinyurl.com/37pkmmr2

The copy of the original marriage is the 3rd entry down from the top of the register at number 1564. The original gives the further information that John and Johanna were living in Chicopee at the time of the marriage, and that John’s occupation was “Laborer.” The marriage entry also shows that John and Johanna were from Ireland. The last name of the Catholic priest who married them looks like Champney.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Tom, your records shows that John Sheehan was born in 1834 in County Kerry, and that he joined the Union Army when he was 18. The American Civil War began in April 1861, and ended in April of 1865. In 1861 John would have been 26 years old, and so would have joined the army sometime in the 1860s when he was in his mid to late 20s.
By the time the Civil War started he and Johanna Fenton were already married for 6 years, and would have been married 7 years by 2 November 1861.

I found what I believe to be John Sheehan’s Draft Registration Record at Ancestry.com. This record shows he was inducted into the army in June of 1863 when he was 25 years old, and living in Chicopee, Massachusetts. His occupation was “Laborer,” and his birthplace was Ireland. He is recorded as being an “Alien,” when he registered with the army, meaning he hadn’t gained his U.S. citizenship by June of 1863.

It looks like his age was off by a few years when he went into the army in 1863. He would have been closer to 28 years old in 1863 rather than 25 years old if he had been born in 1835.

The Draft Registration Record is attached to this reply. John Sheehan is number 9 in the record.

CONCLUSION

When their Holyoke, Massachusetts death records had shown that John Sheehan’s parents were Jeremiah Sheehan and Mary Sullivan, and that Johanna Fenton’s parents were Dennis Fenton and Ellen Grandfield, I was hopeful that I would be able to locate their individual baptism records in County Kerry. I was disappointed that I didn’t find their baptism records. To cover more than one eventuality however, I also looked for their baptisms is neighboring counties, such as Clare, Cork, and Limerick, but without results.

As noted earlier, there will not be civil registration birth records for John or Johanna, as civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths for all religious denominations weren’t recorded by the Irish government until 1864, long after they were born.

Again, the absence of their baptism records is an indication that the Catholic Parish church(s) their families belonged to, do not have parish registers that go back to the 1830s and early 1840s.

With Kind Regards,

Dave Boylan

SOURCES

FamilySearch
Anncestry.com
Find My Past