Finding my 3rd great grandfather in an insane asylum?

Is it true? Is this Thomas Mahoney in the looney bin the same Thomas Mahoney that is my 3rd great grandfather?

While doing some cleaning up of my family tree, I was going through U.S. Census data to confirm city residences and add in the street addresses, when available. The street addresses were not something I had bothered much with in the past, but with my recent genealogical reboot, it has become a tool I've incorporated to both help corroborate other sources and data, but also to give me a better idea of the world these ancestors lived in, and how that world looks today.

This evening, I was cleaning up my 3rd great grandfather, Thomas J. Mahoney. Born in May 1842 in Ireland, Census data indicates he came to the United States in 1855. He married a Bridget Sullivan, born 1844 in Ireland, and together they had five sons. Each of these boys were born in Connecticut, presumably in Norwich or its surrounding area. Just a few years after Patrick, the youngest child of the family, is born in Connecticut, the family is listed in the 1880 U.S. Census as residents of Richmond, Rhode Island, a town just more than 25 miles east of Norwich. By 1900, however, the family is about 70 miles north, living on Cambridge Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. Worcester is the city my grandfather's family, the Mahoney clan, called home for multiple generations.

While I have a decent amount of data on Thomas Mahoney's children living in Worcester, his time in the city is not terribly well documented thus far. In 1900, at age 58, he is widowed and living on Cambridge Street with the family of his son, Thomas. He is working as a day laborer.

I have no date of death for Thomas, so I began to look for him in the U.S. Census after 1900. I found a Thomas Mahoney in the 1920 Census, but I was immediately curious upon seeing the hand-written Census form: "Mahoney, Thomas. Patient."

Patient? Where? What happened?

Before I bothered going down this rabbit hole, I decided to seek confirmation this was the right guy.

Age? 78. That would put him as born circa 1842. That's a match.

Birthplace? Ireland. That's a match.

Birthplace of parents? Ireland. That's a match.

Marital status? Widowed. That's a match.

Everything appeared to be a match, leading me operate on the assumption that there is a very strong likelihood that this is my Thomas Mahoney.

He was listed as being on Belmont Street, so I began flipping back through the earlier pages looking for more information. After a few additional pages, I finally looked at the top of the page. "Name of Institution: Worcester State Hospital."

I had an inkling, but wanted to confirm that it perhaps wasn't just another name for one of the several hospitals in Worcester. A quick Google search confirmed what I already believed to be the case: Worcester State Hospital, sometimes known as the Worcester Insane Asylum, was a mental institution that closed its doors in 1991, more than 150 years after it first opened its doors.

In the end, operating under the belief this is the right man, I'm left wondering what happened.

Was he legitimately insane? Was it an issue of a 78-year-old man battling dementia or Alzheimer's Disease? Perhaps he was just viewed as a burden to his kids, who shuffled him off to the mental institution. Any of the above are viable possibilities.

I'm skeptical I will ever be able to learn what happened and why Thomas was placed into Worcester State Hospital. Any surviving records are surely not public. Barring it stemming from some sort of major incident that would've been found newsworthy, his admission to the asylum is not likely to be recorded in the newspapers. To my knowledge, there are no Mahoney family papers or diaries whatsoever. All the same, I will continue to dig in hopes of uncovering the circumstances.

Further Corroboration

The next step was to begin trying to see if I could find Thomas in either the 1910 or 1930 U.S. Census data.

I was immediately skeptical that he would be found in the 1930 Census after being found in the asylum in 1920. He'd be 88 by 1930, which was another factor making it increasingly unlikely he'd be found. Ultimately, no luck finding him in the 1930 Census.

As for the 1910 Census, there was no reason to believe he wouldn't be uncovered. I did find a Thomas Mahoney that seems to be a fit. Widowed, born in Ireland, and aged 68. Check, check, and check. Immigration year is listed as 1859, four years after what was listed in a prior Census report, but that doesn't seem to be terribly uncommon a discrepancy. This Census entry shows Thomas living with a son, William A. Mahoney, at 80 Temple Street in Worcester. Thomas does indeed have a son named William, and certainly the Worcester residency makes perfect sense. Furthermore, Cambridge Street and Temple Street are just about two miles apart, so this seems to work. The problem, however, comes with the rest of the Census data in comparison to what I previously had on file on William.

William, according to the original genealogical information, was born in Connecticut in May 1867. The 1900 Census data in Worcester clearly shows William as being born in Connecticut in May 1867, and that he's 33-years-old as of the Census recording in June 1900. However, the 1880 U.S. Census in Rhode Island, shows William as Connecticut-born, but aged 15 in June 1880 — that would put him as a newborn around 1865. This sort of discrepancy in Census data is not all that uncommon.

Regardless of whether William is born in 1865 or May 1867, the William A. Mahoney found in the 1910 U.S. Census is aged 37 — which means he would have been born circa 1863. Additionally, he's reported as having been born in Massachusetts, whereas the other Census data is clear that he should be listed as Connecticut-born. This William is married to a woman named Catherine, and is reported as having been married to her for nine years. Together, they have a son, Arthur, born about 1901. Also living with them is William's father, Thomas, as previously mentioned. Additionally, William's brother Daniel is living with the family on Temple Street. This seems to be a match to my previously existing data, though the birth year is slightly different. In this Census data, Daniel Mahoney is also born in Massachusetts, and is listed as 29-years-old, putting him as being born about 1881. In the previously uncovered Census data, Daniel was born in Connecticut in June 1875 (per the 1900 Census). The 1880 Census shows him as aged 6 and born in Connecticut; further corroborating the 1900 data.

Ultimately, this William and Daniel living with their father Thomas could be my 3rd great grandfather Thomas and two of his sons. It may very well not be them either, however. To find out, I will have to take a fresh look at William and Daniel to see what can be further confirmed and what seems to be erroneous information from data collection years ago.

The AncestryDNA Journey Begins...

I walked in the house this evening, and what did I see waiting for me?

Three AncestryDNA test kits, ready to be opened up so a little spit can help polish up the genealogical research.

You've probably seen the ads. There's the one with Kyle, who grew up with the understanding his family was ethnically German. Turned out, the ad claims, he wasn't German at all, but 52% Scottish & Irish. "So, I traded in my lederhosen for a kilt," he quips at the end of the commercial.

Based on the genealogical record, I'm not expecting this sort of complete curveball that I'm not primarily Irish in ethnicity. There is enough data to track the Moriarty family back to County Kerry, Ireland, and a few family members have even had the privilege of traveling back to the Emerald Isle; some even visiting the old Moriarty homestead, then in the hands of a since deceased second cousin, Jerry Gallivan. My paternal grandmother's maiden name was Hurley, while my maternal grandfather's surname was Mahoney. I think we've got the Irish piece locked down, so I'd be quite surprised to have the sort of experience of Kyle, the German-turned-Scotsman.

Kyle Merker not only learned he was Scottish rather than German, but, according to Ancestry.com, also found familial connections on both sides of the American Revolutionary War, and that his 15th great-grandfather was King James IV or Scotland.

My purpose in this test is the hopes of being able to dig up the sort of information that helped Kyle find ancestors from the Revolution, and I'd love to be able to find records and evidence that takes me back several centuries.

The AncestryDNA test, the company asserts, uses the latest autosomal testing technology to map your heritage, and also compare to other members and data. It tests on all 23 chromosomes, which allows it to explore both the X and Y chromosomes rather than simply going through the paternal line only.

I'll share my finds and discoveries as the process unfolds, wherever it may take me. Stay tuned.

Finding my fourth great-grandparents on the Drake line

It wasn't long ago that the genealogical information for my maternal great-grandmother's family line was identified as erroneous. There had been a number of red flags, and a clean slate was presented to rework this line. At last update on the Drake family line, I had tracked down my second great-grandfather, George R. Drake. I didn't know much other than he came from Nova Scotia, Canada.

Since then, there has been some modest progress.

George was born in Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia, in September 1861. He was a child when the family immigrated to the United States at some point between 1867-1871, according to conflicting information in U.S. Census data. The family had settled in Boston, Massachusetts, and 22-year-old George married a local woman, Elizabeth Lawson, the daughter of a Thomas & Elizabeth (Dowler) Lawson. Like George, Elizabeth appears to have been born in September 1861. She would pass way at some point before 1930, while George dies at some point after the 1930 Census was taken.

According to primary sources, George held a number of jobs over his life: a mason in 1885, a sawyer in 1890, a freight handler in 1899, a day laborer in 1900, an armorer at a gun factory in 1903 and 1910, and finally an operator in a woolen mill in 1920.

George was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and later resided in and married in Boston, before moving to Worcester, Massachusetts, at some point in the 1890s, and for the remaining 40 or so years of his life.

George and Elizabeth had at least six children together: Arthur Drake (1885-1976), John Head Drake (born 1890), Frank Drake (born 1897), Fred S. Drake (1899-1993), Charles O. Drake (born 1903), and my great-grandmother Sarah E. Drake (1894-1965).

Through U.S. Census reports, marriage records, and various other vital records and primary sources, it became clear that George was one of at least six children bore to John Head Drake and Elisabeth Ann Gould. John was born 10 January 1822 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada; months before the births of historical figures like Harriet Tubman, Ulysses S. Grant, and Rutherford B. Hayes. At the age of 5, John was baptized in Prince Edward Island on 22 January 1827.

Elisabeth, 14 years John's junior, was born 13 May 1836 in Lisbon, a town in southeastern Maine. Her father was a man named Charles H. Gould of Maine, and a woman whose first name appears to be Bertha, or some close derivative thereof. According to Massachusetts marriage records, John and Elisabeth were married on 20 September 1853 in Beverly, a city on the Commonwealth's "North Shore."

Massachusetts marriage records showing John Head Drake and Elisabeth Ann Gould's wedding in 1853.

Though the couple is married in Massachusetts, records indicate that the first four of their six known children are born Canada, with the two youngest later born in Massachusetts. The 1880 U.S. Census shows the Drake family residing in Boston, apparently at 27 Newman. There is no clarification of the street extension, which leaves us currently speculating as to where specifically the family resided. There is no Newman Street, Newman Road, or Newman Avenue in Boston itself, though there is a Newman Place; which is essentially a parking lot for the Newman School, a private high school in the Back Bay.

John passed away on 12 December 1883 at home as a result of pneumonia. By 1900, Elisabeth appeared to have moved in with her daughter Mary, now married to a John D. Walker in Worcester, Massachusetts. By 1910, Elisabeth is no longer living with the Walkers, instead residing at 61 Prospect Street in Worcester with her sons Arthur and Francis, as a well as an apparent grandson named Roland Lund. On 13 May 1916, apparently now residing at 65 Pilgrim Avenue in Worcester, Elisabeth passed away as the result of acute bronchitis with arterio sclerosis as a contributing factor.

Continuing the drive back through time and the Drake line, we reach a point where further research is needed. According to Massachusetts marriage and death records, it appears that John's parents were a Francis and Sarah (Head) Drake. Francis and Sarah are my fourth great-grandparents.

Further primary source documentation is necessary to substantiate the family trees assembled by other individuals. Currently, the extent of information beyond Francis and Sarah's names is that Francis was born in England, according to John's death records. This does not necessarily mean Francis was born in England itself, as this designation also may refer to English-controlled Canada.