The Brodericks leave Ireland

*Caveat - This is not about the actor with this same last name.

Patrick Broderick was born in Ireland, probably in Galway, around 1815-1820.  It has been determined that he married Catherine Boyle in 1836 in Killeenadeema, Galway and a John Broderick was a witness. I would like to think this John might be a brother, but know it could be his father, uncle, cousin or some other distant relative. This Broderick family lived in the Barony and Townland of Loughrea and in the parish of Killeenadeema, but it isn’t known if they originated there.  There were many Brodericks in Derrybrien as well. Catherine’s parents were Joseph and Catherine (nee unknown) Boyle. Their origins are still being researched as well.

They had at least 9 children.

They were:

Michael (bapt. Feb 15 1837) witnesses: Matt and Judy Broderick

John (bapt. Aug 23 1838) witness: Lawrence Broderick

Bridget (bapt. Mar 13 1840) witnesses: John Broderick and Anne Mooney

Matthew (bapt. Sep 10 1843) witnesses: James Boyle and Judith Scully

Laurence (bapt. Sep 25 1844) no witnesses listed

James (bapt. Aug 3 1845) no witnesses listed

Mary (1847) no witnesses listed

Matthew (Apr 1848) no witnesses listed

Catherine (May 14 1850) no witnesses listed

It is hoped that someday it will be found that the baptismal witnesses, Matt, Lawrence and John Broderick were brothers of Patrick. It is hoped, also, to find that James Boyle was the brother of Catherine Boyle.

Michael Broderick remains a mystery. He did immigrate, he did live in Boston and he did die in Boston, but not much of anything else can be found on him. He doesn’t seem to be found on any census, so there’s no record of where he lived. His death record indicates he was single, a laborer and COD was cardiac hypertrophy on Feb 17 1909 and that he was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden MA. The record lists Patrick and Catherine Boyle Broderick as his parents.  His ‘brother’ was the contact person, no name given. This was most likely Matthew, since John and James haven’t been found.

There are a plethora of John Brodericks – everywhere. So far, nothing has been found that would point out one of them as the son of Patrick and Catherine.

Bridget may have come to the States but nothing can be found to specifically point her out. Like the name John, Bridget was used frequently.  If she married before leaving Ireland, or if she stayed in Ireland, I doubt that she’ll show up any time soon. John, James and Bridget may have died young. I’m also hoping that the name Bridget turns out to be Patrick’s mother’s name.

The first Matthew must have died some time before 1848 when the 2^nd Matthew was born, but no death record has been found for him.

Lawrence, aka Laurence, arrived in New York City around the 19^th of March 1861, according to his Naturalization papers. He became a citizen on Feb 2 1874. In the 1870 census, Lawrence was age 25 and was found living in the home of Matthew Jordan, a cousin, in Hyde Park, MA.  Matthew’s mother was Mary Broderick who married Patrick Jordan. It has been suggested that Mary was the sister of Patrick Broderick, Lawrence’s father. This does seem to fit, but it has not yet been verified. Lawrence married Catherine Jordan, sister of Matthew Jordan in 1872 and they took up residence in Hyde Park as well. They had 3 children, Catherine, b. 1875, Patrick Joseph, b. 1877 and Lawrence b. 1879. Sadly, Lawrence, Sr., died in Aug 1879, at the age of 36, leaving his wife with three very young children. The cause of death was traumatic peritonitis. This was most likely caused by an injury on the job. It’s not known what kind of job he had as the 1870 census only lists him as a laborer. In the 1880 census, Lawrence’s widow, Catherine is age 27 and her children are 5, 3 and 1, but what a nice surprise to find another Catherine living with this family. Lawrence’s mother, Catherine Boyle Broderick, listed as a widow, has arrived on the scene and is now living with her son’s widow. So sometime between the two census reports, mother Catherine Broderick has immigrated and is living with this family. I’d like to think she had arrived before Lawrence’s injury and had some time to enjoy being with him and his family.

James is another sibling with no information.

On Aug 22 1872, Mary Broderick married Patrick Burke in Hyde Park, MA, who was age 28 and she was 25. Patrick’s occupation was listed as a mason. His parents were Edward and Catherine (Welch) O’Brien. All were born in Ireland. By the 1880 census, Mary was 33 years old and had given birth to six sons, John, Patrick, Michael, Martin, Edward and Thomas.  They lived in Hyde Park, MA which was then in Norfolk Co. The census was taken on June 7^th and by Aug 10^th, Mary died of dysentery. The oldest son, John died in 1887 of pericarditis. Patrick Burke did not marry again, but raised the boys by himself. He lived at 87 Child St. in Hyde Park, MA and died on Mar 8 1911 of sclerosis of coronary artery and cirrhosis of the liver. The information was given by his son Thomas.  His son, Patrick, married Mary McGuire and son Michael, married Catherine Finnerty. No wives have been found for Martin, Edward and Thomas.  Edward died in 1913 from Diacetic Acid Poisoning, most likely a job related accident.

Matthew was born in Apr 1848 and was 17 when he arrived in Boston in Sep 1865, according to his Naturalization papers. He became a citizen on Oct 15 1872.  He married Bridget Sheehan in 1874 and they too, lived in Hyde Park. They had at least 8 children, but have found names for only 7 of them. Their first son Patrick was born in 1875 but only lived about 6 weeks, dying of cholera. Their second son, Matthew, was born in 1876, but died at the age of 5 from dysentery. Patrick John (aka Jack, my grandfather) was born in 1879 in Dorchester MA. Next came Mary Ellen, b. 1881, then Catherine b. and d. 1884, Katie, b. and d. 1885 and Lawrence, b. 1887. Matthew, Sr., followed the railroad. A. P. Blake of Hyde Park was one of a group of men whose focus was building a railroad that would run from East Boston through Revere Beach and into Lynn, The Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad. It seems likely that a call for workers was announced in Hyde Park and elsewhere and the call was heard by Matthew and others seeking honest work. His family moved north into East Boston and by 1880, he was a section hand on the RR.  When the loop through Winthrop was developed, he was responsible for a great deal of the track that was laid in that town. Matthew had moved his family to Lynn MA, which is where his son Lawrence was born. He remained there for the next 30 years. By 1900, Matthew was called a Section Master for the RR. 1900 census held one more surprise as it listed an ‘adopted son’ named Michael O’Brien. At the time of that discovery, there had been no idea who Matthew’s sister Catherine had married.  Since she died in 1898, it became apparent that they had taken in her youngest son, Michael. The research has not been done, but I’m inclined to believe that this was not a formal, legal adoption.

                                     Matthew Broderick sometime between 1913 & 1917

The youngest child of Patrick and Catherine Boyle Broderick (that has been found) was Catherine (1850-1898). It was because of the adopted son entry for Matthew on the 1900 census that a new search was begun. I can only say that there were as many Catherine O’Briens as there were Catherine Brodericks, both very popular names. She married Michael O’Brien in 1875. Three children have been found for this couple:  Catherine (1877-?), Patrick (1881-1882) and Michael (1888-?). So far I’ve found no record for Michael, Sr.’s death, but Catherine was listed as a widow on her death record. She had been a washerwoman. I still need to track down the daughter Catherine O’Brien, but that’s another mission.

Bridget died in 1912. At some point in his later work life, Matthew had been hit by a switching engine and suffered a head injury. This was to plague him until he was admitted to the Hawthorn Hospital in Danvers, MA, where he died in 1917.