Edward Dwyer 1843 : Short Biography

First off... Bruff is a guess based upon a family member who was from there by another name. Kearney. That family and the Hayes family are all from Limerick, yet there is no documentation other than interment records to prove the names of the towns where each individual was born. A jumping off point.

One clue we have for Edward Dwyer’s beginnings is a bio from 1898 in "Our County and It’s People" a book that states Edward was born in Limerick. There are quite a few facts that are off. He was more likely born in 1843 not 1832, which is consistent in every census and on his death certificate and headstone. We are not sure about the "E" as middle initial. They state born in Limerick but we think it possible he was been born in another town and moved to Limerick. We believe the came in 1864 but have no proof as of yet other than the census. The information about his occupation and his farm is correct but likely embellished. Here’s the excerpt: Dwyer, Edward E., farmer, dairyman and milkman, was born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1832. His father was a farmer and Edward E. was obliged to help on the farm, having little chance to obtain even the rudiments of an education. In 1864 he came to America, and twenty-one years ago to Victory. Six years later he was married to his first wife, Mary Hayes, who was also a native of Ireland, and they had one son, Robert. Mr. Dwyer married a second time Margaret Burke of Victory, and they had six children: Catherine, Winifred, Alice, Fannie, Margaret and Thomas. Mr. Dwyer owns and occupies 277 acres of fine land, the cultivation of which he per- sonally superintends, beside the care and attention incident to the conduct of a large dairy of fifty cows. His rich grass lands in the river bottom afford fine pasture for his cattle insuring a superior quality of milk of which his entire product is dispensed among his regular customers at Schuylerville. Mr. Dwyer bears the reputation among those where he is best known as an honest, upright and thoroughly straight- forward citizen. 

The above bio leaves out the fact that he and Mary had a daughter Mary Ellen Dwyer 1873-1892 before the book was written. As a result of her passing, Mary Ellen's death certificate gave us a clue as to Edward's parents. This is only a guess assuming that because Edward could not read or write and was probably distraught while answering the questions for the coroner. When asked for the name of the father and mother, instead of giving his own name and his wife Mary, he answered Patrick Dwyer and Catherine Mullen. Most likely his parents.

Edward had a sister Ellen, likely born in 1839 and married to John Hayes, brother of his wife Mary. No documentation on her, only word of mouth and proof thru the census that John had a first wife named Ellen with no children. She passed sometime between 1865 and 1870. An 1880 census shows a brother John living in Edward's house who is 12 years younger born abt.1854. Then he disappears. I also have a hunch he had a brother Thomas who was a year younger than he... more to come on that.

I have no documentation of Edward's arrival in the US. I have no documentation for the marriage of Edward and Mary Hayes but I would guess they were married in the US. Mary Hayes (as well as my assumed Ellen Dwyer) shows up in the 1960 Census in Grangerville, Saratoga County NY with her family members and age: Patrick Hays 60, Mary (Leo) 65, John 35, Michael 30, Patrick 28, Mary 24, Ellen 29.  I have researched the Hayes back to Limerick, Ireland. I have interment records from St. Mary's Church of the Visitation in Schuylerville NY (built in 1871) Edward was listed as coming from Limerick, Ireland. He also had an Aunt Susan Lee, never married, who lived in his home in 1900 who was also intered with the church and from Limerick, Ireland. The church records  Hayes family also listed as from Limerick, Ireland as well as some other families that all lived near each other in Grangerville/Schuylerville NY area. The Kearneys, Winney, Leo, Rourke... to name a few. Some of the towns in Ireland associated with these others are, Bruff, Ballybricken, Killcoolen. 

I am a decendent of Edward's second wife, Margaret Burke born in Tipperary who he married in the US shortly after his first wife Mary Hayes passed in 1883. I believe the Hayes family is my link back to the mother land... I have a DNA connection to some Dwyer's here now that settled in Lynn, MA, USA and a clan that settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota that we believe are connected thru a 4th or 5th generation common ancestor. They have no ancestor info from Limerick but some of their ancestors were from Tipperary and Cork. Some of our current cousins have taken the FTDNA Big Y tests and are joining the Munster project and other projects... I'm diving in here! I will come back and update this small start as I have the time. I have an extensive tree on ancestry.com named