Unlocking the Mystery of Rebecca McArdle

Researching my family roots became an obsession when I began to unravel the mystery of Rebecca McArdle and discover just how Irish I am. I knew a lot about my Irish heritage on my father’s side, including that his grandmother lived in County Westmeath and much of his family was from County Tipperary, but it wasn’t until I was planning a trip to Ireland that the family folklore on my mother’s side from County Wicklow began to take shape in documented stories as I searched for ancestors from the Village of Enniskerry.

My mother, Frances Shelley nee Johnson, shared many stories about relatives from Enniskerry that were retold at family gatherings at Granny’s house in White Plains, New York, about an hour north of New York City. My mother was born in White Plains in 1930 and Granny was her grandmother, Helena Catherine Weldon nee Flinn. Family folklore held that Granny was born to Rebecca McArdle and David Flynn in Manchester in November 1880 and baptized in Enniskerry in December 1881.

Rebecca emigrated to America from Enniskerry, leaving her daughter behind with her mother, also named Rebecca. Once in New York, Rebecca bore a baby boy in May 1893 and named him William Joseph O’Brien. Three years later, Rebecca called for her daughter, Helena, who arrived at Ellis Island in June 1896. William served in the army overseas during World War I, was honorably discharged in 1918, and worked at the local hospital in White Plains. He never married and died in January 1963. His stepsister, Helena, arranged his burial at Mount Calvary Cemetery in White Plains, where she would later be interred at age 92.

I began my search by reading Michael Seery’s 2011 book, “Enniskerry A History” that taught me a great deal about how the village developed over the past two centuries. The book brought to life the many stories my mother told about the Powerscourt Estate and our relatives that worked there. I found that Rebecca and Lawrence gave birth to their daughter, Mary, at Powerscourt in February, 1866. Reading about the evolution of the education system and its impact on literacy made me wonder if Granny knew how to read and write. And the history of women moving from rural areas to cities and towns brought to mind my great, great grandmother, Rebecca McArdle, who took the ferry to Manchester for work when she was in her late teens to early twenties, only to travel back to Enniskerry with her one-year old child born out of wedlock and unbaptized.

The only record of Rebecca McArdle’s existence I found online was in the Catholic Parish Registers of the National Library of Ireland, which revealed that Rebecca was born on November 6, 1857 to Lawrence McArdle and Rebecca Murphy, and baptized 8 days later in Enniskerry. Lawrence was from Rathvilly and Rebecca was from the nearby village of Enniskerry. Lawrence was 17 and Rebecca was 15 when they married on July 22, 1844. Less than a year after their marriage in Enniskerry marked the beginning of the famine years. The famine, or starvation as some would describe it, devastated Ireland and caused the first big wave of poor refugees ever to arrive in North America. Thinking about Irish refugees fleeing starvation in Ireland in the mid-19th century brings to mind the present day plight of millions of Syrian refugees and the hardships they endure merely to survive.

The Irish Family History Foundation’s website, rootsireland.ie, was instrumental in locating the children born to Lawrence and Rebecca McArdle. Through the Catholic Parish Registers I was able to find ten children ranging in birth year from 1848 to 1868:; Edward, Peter, Eliza, John, Rebecca, Lawrence, twins Catherine and Maria Anna, Edward (a second Edward), and Mary. Using the free search available on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ International Genealogical Index at familysearch.org, I found another sibling, Joseph McArdle, living with his niece, Rebecca, in White Plains in the 1930 US Federal Census. Also found was a US passport application he filed in 1920 that showed he was born September 14, 1851 and sailed from Liverpool to the US in 1871.The 1851 baptism records were missing from the Catholic Parish Registers.That resulted in 11 children found in the records born to Lawrence and Rebecca McArdle.

Among the most exciting finds was the entry in the baptism records for 1880 from the online Catholic Parish Registers. It showed, “Ellen Catherine Flinn of Walter Flinn and Rebecca McArdle born at Manchester on the 3rd of November 1880 and baptized at Curtlestown by Rev. Denis O’Bryan on the 5th December 1881.” My mother used to say she remembered family visitors, Paddy and Anna McArdle, telling Granny that she did not know her birthdate or her real name. It turns out, they were right! Granny’s grave-marker shows 1878 as her birth year and her name as Helena C. Weldon, when, in fact, she was born in 1880 and her name was recorded as Ellen Catherine.; Family folklore also claimed her father’s name was David Flynn and the record showed Walter Flinn.

Granny married Patrick J. Weldon from Brownstown, Clondalkin Parish, County Dublin in 1899.Patrick emigrated in 1892 at the age of 22, and Granny emigrated in 1896 at the age of 15. They lived for awhile in Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan on West 52nd Street and attended Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church before moving to White Plains. They worked together at Gedney Farm in White Plains, NY for the Howard Willets estate. They had five children including the oldest, Mary Rebecca Johnson nee Weldon, who is my grandmother.

Perhaps the most rewarding find was the link to Una Wogan’s article at “A Search for My Enniskerry Pedigree.” In the article, Una writes about finding her family member Patrick Joseph Wogan living with Catherine McArdle in the 1905 New York State Census.; Una writes, “Curiously the household is also home to a nephew William O’Brien born in the US and aged 13 in 1905. I have no idea who William belongs to!” Well, I contacted Una and let her know that William O’Brien was Rebecca’s son, and that Catherine was Rebecca’s younger sister. She informed me that Rebecca’s and Catherine’s niece, Rebecca, emigrated on the Majestic steamship out of Queenstown and arrived at Ellis Island on September 26, 1907. Una reported that the ship’s manifest stated she was going to visit her Aunt Catherine Hogan (the Wogan name is often mistaken as Hogan). I found Rebecca, the niece, to be the daughter of John McArdle. I accessed familysearch to find out what happened to the niece, Rebecca. I found she married Joseph Mowbray (1920 US Federal Census), also found as Joseph Mobray (1930 US Federal Census) and, in the 1930 census, she and her husband have two sons and living with her are her uncles Joseph and Edward H. McArdle.

Una also informed me that she had a copy of Catherine's death certificate.; Catherine lived in Manhattan for 22 years, married Patrick Joseph Wogan in 1904 and died at Manhattan’s Flower Free Surgical Hospital at 450 East 64th Street of pneumonia on May 19, 1914.

As for the whereabouts of my great, great grandmother, Rebecca McArdle, Irish records show she married Patrick O’Brien on March 3, 1891 in the Village of Enniskerry. Apparently, she emigrated to New York shortly after her marriage as the draft registration record for her son, William J. O’Brien, showed he indicated his birthplace in Port Chester, New York. The next time we see a thread is William living with his Aunt Catherine on the upper east side of Manhattan. Unlocking the mystery of Rebecca McArdle has opened many doors!