William Gleeson of Loughmoe, Tipperary, and Boston, Massachusetts

WILLIAM GLEESON was born at Loughmoe, County Tipperary, Ireland on 1 May 1789 and died at 1 Oliver place, Boston,Suffolk, Massachusetts, on 12 October 1853.  He was married 24 November 1814 to JUDITH JOANNA CALLINAN, at the Roman Catholic parish of Thurles, Tipperary.  Witnesses at the marriage were Cornelius Callinan and Mary Kirwan. Joanna was born about 1793 in Ireland, perhaps at Ardbawn, Thurles, and died at Boston, on 21 September 1865. A message with more information about William Gleeson's wife Joanna Callinan has been posted under parish Thurles.

R.C. parish registers for Loughmore do not exist for 1789, and the names of William Gleeson's parents have not been proven by U.S. records. Naming conventions suggest that his father could have been John or John Lawrence Gleeson. William Gleeson named his first son John Lawrence Gleeson; he died at the age of twenty years. The youngest son of William and Joanna Gleeson was also named John Lawrence Gleeson.

 According to his naturalization record, William Gleeson was born 1 May 1789 in “Lackamore, Tipperara” [Loughmore, County Tipperary, Ireland].  The newlyweds immigrated to St. John’s, Newfoundland before 1815; by then he was married to Joanna Callinan, and their eldest son John Lawrence Gleeson was born there, and baptized at the Roman Catholic Basilica of St. John the Baptist, on 13 October 1815. The bapismal register records the child as John son of William Callanan [sic]  and Judith Callanan; sponsors Michael Meagher and Margaret Welsh.  This birth date matches family records and Boston church records, and the child was certainly John Lawrence Gleeson, who died 3 January 1836.

 William Gleeson and his wife immigrated to Boston 10 July 1817, their next eight children were baptized at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. They had a boarding house on Broad street, Boston, and William Gleeson served as a contact person for "missing friends" advertisements in the Boston Pilot newpaper.

William Gleeson was naturalized 15 January 1828; the naturalization record provides the following information:

Naturalization Record of William Gleeson, Place of Naturalization: Boston, Suffolk, Mass. (Boston Municipal Court Suffolk Co.), Date of naturalization: 15 Jan 1828, Place of birth: “Lackamore, Tipperara, Ireland “[Loughmoe, Tipperary], Date of birth: 1 May 1789, Date of Immigration: 10 Jul 1817, Certificate no. 279 vol. 16 (1828), Occupation: Trader, Witnesses: Michael Riley, Abr. Moore.

In 1824, he joined the Charitable Irish Society, proposed by Walter Welch; he served as Secretary, 1830;  Treasurer 1831-1832,  and Vice President in 1839. He was also a member of the Repeal Society.

 The family moved to East Cambridge, Massachusetts, about 1840. Five children were born there and baptized at St. Mary's Charlestown, because there was no church at Cambridge at that time. Parishioners walked from Cambridge to Charlestown to attend services on Sundays.  William Gleeson served on a committee with Bishop Fenwick, to establish the Roman Catholic church of St. John's at Cambridge.

William and Joanna then moved to Turnpike street, South Boston, where he had a grocery store, 1844-1853.

In 1853, they moved to 1 Oliver place, Boston, where William Gleeson died 12 October 1853.  There was a deed of transfer of property from son Michael H. Gleeson to his brother James A. Gleeson in 1853, which lists all of the surviving children of William and Joanna Gleeson.  The deed provided a place for Joanna to live the remainder of her life. Joanna lived with her son James A. Gleeson until her death in 1865.

After his death in October, 1853, a death notice appeared in the Boston Pilot newspaper:

DIED in this city on the 12th inst. Mr. William Gleeson, aged 65. Mr. G. was one of our oldest and most respectable citizens. He lived in East Cambridge for many years, from which place he removed to South Boston, and latterly resided in Oliver place in this city. He leaves behind him an unsullied name, and deep regret marks the feelings of his numerous friends at his decease. May his soul rest in peace.

William and Joanna Gleeson are buried at St. Augustine's Cemetery in South Boston (the oldest Roman Catholic Cemetery in Boston) with several of their children. Four of their sons were pharmacists.  William Gleeson was associated with people in Boston and Cambridge from all parts of Ireland, not just people from Tipperary. I have the baptisms with names of sponsors for all 14 children, so If anyone believes we are related, please get in touch.