Patrick Henry Burns : Short Biography

Patrick Burns was born in approximately 1811 and was married to Ann Mulrooney about 1843. The Civil Parishes of Kilkeevin and neighboring Baslic appear to be the area where they were born, lived and raised a family Unfortunately, a search of the area Catholic parishes of that area, Tulsk (Now Ogulla) and Kilkeevin has failed to yield any record of our Patrick and Ann and their children who emigrated to West Orange, NJ in the United States. An attempt to search the church records from the parishes of Ballinameen, Frenchpark and Tibohine also yielded no real success. In the case of the first two of these, their records begin after the marriage of Patrick and Ann Mulrooney and the births of their children, so no luck there. A review of the Tibohine records, did find a few "Burns" instances and even one "Mulrooney." But no link to any of our Burns ancestors. So we are kind of stuck there, but leaning towards that they came from the Catholic parish of either Tulsk or Kilkeevin.

However, records of their daughter, Bridget Burns, who remained behind in Ireland with her husband Thomas Crane do provide specific evidence as to their location in Co. Roscommon. It is documented in the civil records that they resided in the PLU of Castlerea, the Civil Parish of Baslic, in the townland of Corlis. Corlis immediately borders the Civil Parish of Kilkeevin. Additionally, the church records of the Tulsk parish (now Ogulla) demonstrate that for several of their children, various Mulrooney family members served as baptism sponsors. Presumably, this demonstrates a close relationship between the Burns and Mulrooney families (e.g. uncles, aunts and/or cousins) A search for the Mulrooneys shows them living in a few different townlands in Kilkeevin, all near the Baslic border. This lends credibility to the fact that Patrick and Ann also originated in this area.

The vast majority of families living in these townlands rented their farms from the various Ascendancy landlords. Most of the tenants were “small” farmers, a term used to describe those leasing less than 30 acres, with most having fewer than ten. Civil records combined with surviving Catholic baptism records indicate the small townland remained a cohesive community with several generations of the same families living together over the decades.

One wonders how and why it is that any of our ancestors came to some one particular place in the United States, in Patrick's case, West Orange, NJ.

The how has become clear as a consequence of chain migration. In this case, not necessarily within a family, as was obvious with the Fahy family, but within a community of neighbors in the area. Apparently, some "next door neighbors" in Frenchpark became "next door neighbors" in the Oranges as well.

The why is also obvious as poor starving farmers found gainful employment in the hat factories of West Orange. At first, it could be presumed that the early comers "got them jobs" with their employers. In a city directory of 1874, so many of each of the spelling variations (Burns, Bierne and Byrne) were "hatters." But with further research, it was learned that the Oranges were the actual center of the hat manufacturing industry in the United States during 19th century, so, since jobs, well paying jobs, there were so plentiful. No referral was necessarily needed, and, simply, the lure of any guaranteed employment was enough to draw them off the farms.

Patrick and Ann (Mulrooney) Burns and 5 of their children, (Sarah, Peter, James, Catherine and William} arrived in the United States in the early 1860s. It is uncertain if they traveled together, or if they arrived in groups. An 1860 Census record shows Sarah Burns working as a “servant” and living with another family. By 1864, she had married a Stephen Hollenback and residing in West Orange. It would seem that the younger children would have traveled with their mother. His son, James, and his younger siblings would have been younger than 10 Years of age. His son James, according to the census records of 1900, 1910 and 1920 states his immigration as 1860, age 7, 1863, age 10 and 1862, age 9 respectively. His older brother Peter shows his immigration year as 1864 (age 15).

The census of 1870 shows the family residing in Orange, New Jersey. While Patrick is entitled “laborer.” James worked in a felt hat factory, as did his brothers, Peter and Willaim and sister, Catherine. However, by 1900 a slow down in the hat industry is reflected in that James was working a “sash and door” maker, while Peter was a “saloon keeper.” Sadly, both Catherine and William had passed away by that time. The Census of 1920 shows that James was employed as a carpenter working for a "Sash and Door" company. This fits family verbal history that he was a "hatter" and also a "sash maker."

Patrick Burns was born, as determined from the 1870 United States Census approximately 1810 or 1811 and is the first ancestor that has been identified as the first to arrive in the United States in the Burns family branch.

Somehow, Patrick Burns and Ann Mulrooney survived the famine, and in fact, raised at least six children from the height of the potato crop failure and on for another decade or more before they emigrated to the United States in approximately 1860. What they did, or how they lived during this period is anyone’s guess. Patrick Burns departed for the United States sometime before 1860. He supposedly preceded his wife and children by four months.

Little is known of Patrick and Ann's early years in this country, but apparently, as a family of poor Irish famine immigrant parents, it is reasonable to conclude that theirs was not a family of means. The Census of 1870 shows a value of Patrick's personal estate as $100. It is likely that they came to this country with little more than the clothes on their backs, so any thing they possessed would have been earned by the sweat of the labor of all the family members.

Perhaps this is a good reason that Patrick, at the age of 51 or so, would enlist in the Union Army to fight in the Civil War. He may have "bought out" the obligation of a wealthier draftee which could be done at the time for $300. We know that Patrick enlisted in the 2nd NJ Infantry, Company C of the Union Army on May 27, 1862 at the age of about 51 and served until June 21, 1864. Which agrees with family oral history that he enlisted at quite an old age.

According to the 1870 U.S. Census, he resided at 249 Burnside Street, in the town of West Orange, NJ, Working as a Laborer. Presumably, he lived there at the time of his death.

According to the Veterans Interment Officer Records for Essex County that are in the Mormon Church (LDS) in Utah, his date of death appears as April 19, 1878. He is buried in St. John the Evangelist Cemetery on White Street in Orange, NJ.