My father's father's father's father's father's father Tim...

Some 260 years ago, Tim Moriarty entered this world. He's the patriarch of the Moriarty line, the reason all of my known ancestors came into existence, the reason I'm here. Problem is, there just isn't much beyond his name that we know at this time.

It was my father's work that uncovered Tim as his 3rd great-grandfather, but he never got terribly far due to a lack of digitally available records from Ireland in the middle of the 18th century. Unfortunately, I've not been able to piece together any additional information to date. Building on this information is among the top priorities in my current research efforts.

What is known? I've no record of the sources of my father's information on Tim, but he is reported to have been born in Ireland in 1754. This is the same year that the French & Indian War began, with a young American-born major named George Washington playing a large role in the British efforts.

It is believed that he marries a woman with the name of Crimmins, which is one of the more uncommon Irish surnames, though most often found in southwestern Ireland, including the Moriarty clan's home turf of County Kerry.

There are two known children of Tim and his bride, a pair of sons named John and Patrick. Their dates of birth, and even their official birthplace, aside from presumably being in County Kerry, are not yet uncovered. For the purpose of this direct line, Patrick is the brother that matters. He marries an Irish lass named Mary Sullivan, though the year is not known.

Patrick and Mary have at least seven children together, three boys and four girls. Nothing is known about one of these kids, John T. Moriarty. There's no information as to when he was born, when he died, whether he ever married or had children, or if he so much as survived infancy. There is information on the other Moriarty children, however. Of these six, they were born as follows: Timothy, Julia, Mary, Margaret, Patrick, and Catherine.

The eldest, Timothy, is my great-great-grandfather. He was born 11 February 1824 in Alohart (sometimes spelled as Alohert), Beaufort, County Kerry, not far from the Gap of Dunloe and Killarney National Park.

Alohart is a pretty small place in County Kerry.

Timothy wed Catherine Murphy, 16 years his junior, in either 1857 or 1858. Soon enough, they started a family of their own with nine children: Patrick, John, Timothy, James, Daniel, Mary, Michael, Dennis, and Julia. All of the Moriarty kids were born in Ireland between 1859 and 1880, leaving for America in 1884. According to immigration records, they arrived in the Port of Boston, Massachusetts, on June 21, 1884, aboard the S.S. Cephalonia.

On May 13, 1892, Timothy passed away, aged 68, at his home on Pleasant Street in Southbridge, Massachusetts, which would become the adopted American hometown of the Moriarty family. According to his obituary, he had been a Southbridge resident for just eight years, but had "cultivated a wide acquaintance and made a host of friends." Timothy had an "attack of the grip, which finally developed into pneumonia, from which he died." Furthermore, he was described as "a thrifty and industrious man" that "took an interest in the welfare of the town and was always pleased to see improvements going on." His bride, Catherine, passed 19 April 1916 in Southbridge, aged 76.

Of Timothy and Catherine's children, it was his namesake and third-born, Timothy T. Moriarty, that is a member of this direct line. Born in County Kerry in December 1864, Timothy is found in state archives as coming to Massachusetts aboard the Samaria on May 28, 1883. A little more than a year after his father's death, Timothy married Catherine T. Sullivan in St. Peter's Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 15, 1893.

Timothy T. Moriarty & Catherine "Kate" T. Sullivan exchanged their wedding vows in St. Peter's Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 15, 1893. Timothy resided in Southbridge, some 60 miles southwest of Cambridge, where Kate lived at the time.

Timothy and Kate would settle in Southbridge and have ten children together, though a daughter named Margaret died as an infant. Between 1894 and 1908, they would add to Southbridge's population with the births of Catherine M., Mary Agatha, Timothy Joseph, Patrick Henry, John "Jack" Lawrence, Margaret C., Julia E., James Brandon, Daniel Edward, and Michael Eugene. Like many in Southbridge at the turn of the century, Timothy would work at the Hamilton Woolen Company, just down the hill from the family home on Pleasant Street.

Timothy T. and Catherine "Kate" (Sullivan) Moriarty surrounded by their sons and daughters circa 1930.

Timothy would passed at age 69, on November 7, 1934. Kate followed eight years later on September 28, 1942, at the age of 75.

Tim and Kate's youngest child, Michael Eugene Moriarty, was born on August 20, 1908, in Southbridge. In 1937, he would marry a pretty 22-year-old named Rita Catherine Hurley, the daughter of Michael Timothy and Louise Mary (Kearns) Hurley. The Hurley family came from the nearby town of Warren, Massachusetts. Mike and Rita had five children of their own, including my father, Michael Timothy Moriarty in 1942.

All of this made possible way back in the second half of the eighteenth century by a man that was probably a poor farmer in Alohart. Now it is on me to dig up the facts and stories of what has followed, and ideally preceded, since the time of my father's father's father's father's father's father Tim, and his bride, Ms. Crimmins.

Union Private Moriarty in the Civil War

The Civil War infamously pit brother against brother as more than 3.2 million Americans waged war against one another, with approximately 620,000 soldiers being killed in the process. Among those who fought in the Union Army were an estimated 150,000 Irish-born men. Patrick P. Moriarty, my third great uncle, was one of them.

Patrick was born in Alohart, Beaufort, County Kerry, Ireland on 23 April 1837, arriving in the United States in 1855 or 1856. At the time of his arrival, our nation was being led by its 14th President, Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire. President Pierce is pretty unanimously derided by historians as one of our worst Presidents, and served in the period ramping up to a war between the states.

Patrick was living in Webster, Massachusetts, when, on 9 June 1862, he officially enlisted to fight for his adopted country. He was mustered into Company H of the Massachusetts 34th Infantry Regiment. The regiment was organized in Worcester, Massachusetts, that August, heading south for the front lines. These men were involved in a number of battles, including Lynchburg, Cedar Creek, Petersburg, and ultimately Appomattox Court House, where Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant to effectively end the Civil War.

For Patrick, however, the most memorable conflict was assuredly the Battle of New Market in the Shenandoah Valley portion of Virginia. It was in the middle of a Sunday morning when, on 15 May 1864, when more than 10,000 soldiers from both sides descended on a town that, as of the 2010 Census, is home to a mere 2,146 people. The battle lasted throughout the afternoon, and featured a mud-covered orchard that became known as the "Field of Lost Shoes." Eventually, the Union troops retreated across the Shenandoah River, burning down the bridge to stop General John C. Breckinridge's rebel army from further pursuing them. In all, nearly 1,400 men laid dead, mostly from the Union side. Among those who were wounded was Private Patrick P. Moriarty.

As yet, I've uncovered very little about Patrick's wound, any medical treatment he may have received, and his recovery. What I do know is that less than one year later, the war had come to an end with the defeat of the Confederacy. Patrick would be mustered out of the Massachusetts 34th on 16 June 1865, returning home.

Patrick, working as a laborer, settled down in Southbridge, Massachusetts, and would soon begin his family. It was on Christmas Day in 1866 that he married Julia M. Lyons, an Irish immigrant from Coolcleave, Ballyfinnane, Firies, County Kerry (just a small ride northeast of Alohart), who had come to America just a year or so prior. Just under a year later, their family grew with the birth of their first child on 11 December 1867, a baby girl they named Annie. Unfortunately for Patrick and Julia, the next several years would be filled with the death of four children. In June 1869, they welcomed little Mary to the world, only to lose her to cholera 13 months later. In 1871, there was a boy, Patrick, who would pass as an four-month-old infant. In 1874, the same would hold true for their son Timothy, and then again the next year with baby John, who survived just 20 days in this world.

According to the 1880 U.S. Census, Patrick continued to work as a laborer into his 40s, while Julia worked in a woolen mill, presumably the Hamilton Woolen Company in Southbridge. At the time, the family lived adjacent to Hamilton Woolen at 51 Mill Street, a property which no longer exists. Julia, identified in that year's Census as unable to read or write, was joined by her mother, Ann at the Moriarty family home. Though no date of death has yet been uncovered, it is presumed that Ann had been widowed by her husband John. Annie, then 12-years-old, was in school. She was joined by a cousin who lived with the family, 10-year-old Nellie Mehar.

Now residing at 68 Fiske Street, a property he appears to have owned free and clear, 74-year-old Patrick died 15 May 1911, precisely 47 years after being wounded in a Civil War battle. The official cause of death was hemiplegia, presumably caused by a stroke. He would be buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in Southbridge two days later.

On 29 December 1911, Julia passed at age 75. It was just four days after what would have been their 45th wedding anniversary. They left behind their daughter Annie, then in her 40s. Annie would pass away at age 64 on 26 November 1932 in Southbridge. She never married and had no children, ending that branch of the family tree.

What the duck? Digging up the Drake line.

Several years ago, I began taking a look at my maternal grandmother's ancestry. She's the youngest of six children who were raised during the Great Depression, and the lone survivor of that family. Unfortunately, she just simply didn't have a whole lot of information to share regarding her parents or their ancestry. Older sister Esther would have been the best bet to know the genealogy of the Ellis clan, she informed me. Unfortunately, Aunt Esther had relocated to the Las Vegas area years before, and passed in 2010.

Armed with little more than the names of my grandmother's siblings and parents, and whatever dates and tidbits uncovered in their obituaries, I eventually uncovered some family trees on Ancestry.com that appeared to do the trick.

Trick proved to be the key word.

I knew my great-grandfather was Charles Cleveland Ellis, and his bride was an Sarah Drake. That was it as both had pre-deceased my arrival on the scene, and I've yet to uncover their obituaries as a result of not having definitive dates of death, and having not traveled to the public library of City Clerk's office in Worcester, Massachusetts, in an effort to track down vital records or newspaper microfiche that may feature their respective obituaries. What I uncovered online, however, was a handful of family trees assembled by other amateur genealogists that claimed to have the proper lineage for my great-grandparents. Over time, I explored these lines further with great interest, and built out my tree more and more.

In my newfound effort to better corroborate and document all entries and sources, with the goal of an infinitely more accurate and better assembled tree, I began looking at these trees. With a fine-toothed comb, I began looking at each and every line of U.S. Census data relevant to these people.

I decided to start with the most recent primary source materials, and work my way backward in time. While looking at the 1930 Census, everything appeared to line up just fine. That is, until I got to the recorded data for the places of birth for my great-grandmother's parents.

Data from the 1930 U.S. Census showing Sarah's father as Canadian-born.

According to the 1930 Census, Sarah's mother was born in Massachusetts. This was fine as it corresponded with the data I already had. What didn't quite jive, however, was the place of birth for her father. "Canada - English," it read. I cocked my eyebrow askew, as everything I had to this point was clear that Sarah and her father were born in Westfield, Massachusetts, some 50-60 miles west of Worcester. In fact, that Drake line had deep roots in Westfield. Canada? It made no sense.

I turned to the 1920 Census linked to Sarah & Co. in my family tree to see what it had to say on the matter. Sure enough, it matched up to this "new" data and conflicted with what I had long believed to be the case.

Data from the 1920 U.S. Census notes Sarah's father came from Nova Scotia.

Sarah's father was Canadian, not a native of Westfield, Mass. In fact, the 1920 Census further revealed that he was a native of Nova Scotia, a Canadian maritime province not far from the coast of Maine. Perplexed, I continued down the same path, now looking at the 1910 Census data linked to my great-grandmother. This primary source document affirmed the original assertion, and was in direct conflict with what I had just read. There was, however, a very glaring problem. According to the 1930 Census, Sarah had married Charles Ellis when she was 26-years-old, which puts the vows having been exchanged around 1919, maybe even 1920. The 1910 data would've been before the two had wed and started their family, and Sarah was a teenager at home with her parents and siblings — in Westfield. Clearly there was a disconnect, and it seemed to be the 1910s was where the problem was.

I combed through all of the other data and records relevant, searched through the family trees of others whom I had linked this data through. Ultimately, I came to a simple conclusion: this Sarah Drake from Westfield is not the same Sarah Drake that married Charles Ellis, and thus is not my great-grandmother.

Though I've had prior discussions with my grandmother, now aged 83, they had been largely fruitless. Eventually, I decided to give it another go all the same, and placed the phone call. She confirmed the pieces of data I already had and still believed to be true. Furthermore, she confirmed, again, that she did not know the names of her grandparents, my great-great-grandparents. When I explained the conflicting data I had been going over, she noted — for the first time in any of our discussions on her heritage, that "Nova Scotia is what I was always told growing up." She further confirmed that her mother was born in Worcester, and summarily rejected the possibility of her being born in Westfield — again the first time this piece had been shared with me, to my recollection.

Having dug around further with other census data, I believe to have found my Sarah's actual pre-marriage family in the 1910 Census, and more. While I need to further confirm this maiden Sarah Drake is the same who marries Charles Ellis, all signs point to my great-grandmother being one of six children bore to George R. Drake (born 1861 in Nova Scotia) and Elizabeth Lawson (born 1861 in Massachusetts). Furthermore, through independently assembled family trees by other amateur genealogists, a strong line of information appears to be available to check out the rest of the family.

Ultimately, however, one must remember to avoid the pitfalls of the quick and easy answers of these trees by verifying through whatever primary source documents possible. After all, I'd hate to end up on yet another wild Drake chase.

Digging Up & Replanting My Roots

I've always been a history guy, and have always had a keen interest in local history and family history. My interest was fostered by my father, who put together unthinkable hours documenting and researching our family history through his father's line.

I found the whole thing fascinating and began doing some of my own research. I co-opted what he had amassed and built upon it, even self-publishing a family history book for what we all knew would be his final Christmas while he battled lung cancer.

Since that time, my dedication to genealogical research has ebbed and flowed with the growth of my own family, professional commitments, and other extra-curricular activities. As late, the itch has demanded to be scratched, and scratched thoroughly. I've decided to re-examine everything I've got, from the bottom up, to improve upon what has already been done, correct any errors, and, hopefully, make some new discoveries. I've begun by cross-referencing data and primary source documents to corroborate or disprove the various family trees other amateur genealogists have compiled on websites and services like ancestry.com, geni.com, and so forth.

Along the way, I've decided to track the progress, or regression in some ways. Updates, road blocks, discoveries, and more will be shared here as the journey begins anew.

It's time to dig up those roots, take a close look at them, and determine which ones are to be replanted, and which invasive species had been erroneously planted before.