The Broderick Family’s 2nd decade as immigrants

At the end of the 1870’s, major changes had happened to the family. Lawrence had lost his life in a foolish dispute fueled by alcohol and had been buried in Mount Calvary Cem., in Hyde Park, MA. His wife Catherine Jordan Broderick was left with three small children, ages 4, 2 and 6 months. This must have been a difficult time for her as I’m sure there was no insurance payment to help smooth the way.  However, the 1880 census shows that the Broderick matriarch had immigrated and was now living with her dead son’s family. Unfortunately, this census doesn’t give the year of immigration so there is no way to be sure which of the many Catherine Brodericks, who entered the country, she is. It also shows that living in this household is a Catherine Fitzgerald who was 69 and a town pauper. Perhaps she received some stipend from the town to care for this woman. Catherine Jordan Broderick was employed at a hair factory, which doesn’t sound like a pleasant place to be.

So in:

1880 – Catherine Boyle Broderick is living with her daughter-in-law, Catherine Jordan                        Broderick and her children, in Hyde Park, MA.

          Matthew and Bridget Broderick were living at 211 Everett St. in East Boston, MA. He             was a railroad worker.

          Catherine Broderick and Michael O’Brien were living at 164 Everett St., East Boston,             MA. Michael was a laborer.

          Mary Broderick and Patrick O’Brien were living in Hyde Park. He was a stone mason.

          Mary Broderick O’Brien d. Aug. 10, 1880, from dysentery. She was buried in Mount              Calvary Cem., Hyde Park, MA. She left behind her husband and 6 sons.

          At the end of the year, 1880, of the five Broderick siblings who had immigrated, only             three were still living, the oldest, Michael, and the two youngest, Matthew and                       Catherine Broderick O’Brien. Nothing much has been found about Michael.

1881 – Matthew and Bridget Sheehan Broderick were living on Homer St., East Boston, MA

          Patrick J. O’Brien, son of Catherine Broderick and Michael O’Brien was b. in April                 1881.

          Mary Ellen Broderick, daughter of Matthew and Bridgeet Sheehan Broderick was b.               May 10, 1881, in East Boston.

          Matthew Broderick, son of Matthew and Bridget Sheehan Broderick  d. Aug. 13 1881             from dysentery, in East Boston. He was buried in Mt. Calvary Cem., Hyde Park, MA.

          Michael Broderick purchased a cemetery plot in Mt. Calvary, Hyde Park, MA and had           his brother, Lawrence, moved to the new location. Dec. 22 1881

                                                Part of downtown Hyde Park, MA

1882 –

1883 –

1884 – Matthew and Bridget Sheehan Broderick were living at 653 Saratoga St., East                        Boston, MA.

          Catherine Broderick, daughter of Matthew and Bridget Sheehan Broderick was b.                 Sep 22 1884 and she d. Sep. 24, 1884 from pulmonary collapse. She was buried in               Mt. Calvary Cem., Hyde Park, MA.

1885 - Matthew and Bridget Sheehan Broderick were living at 621 Saratoga St., East                       Boston, MA

          Catherine Boyle Broderick d. Jul 10 1885, at age 67, from pericarditis, in Hyde Park,              MA. She was buried with her son Lawrence in Mt. Calvary Cem. Hyde Park, MA.

          Katie, daughter of Matthew and Bridget Sheehan Broderick was b. Dec. 27, 1885 and           d. Dec 28 1885 of cyanosis, in East Boston MA. She was buried with her sister and               brother in Mt. Calvary Cem., Hyde Park, MA.

1886 – Martin O’Brien was b. Dec 14 1886 in Boston, MA.

1887 – Lawrence Joseph Broderick b. Jan 3 1887 at 621 Saratoga St., East Boston, MA. He             was the son of Matthew and Bridget Sheehan Broderick.

1888 – Michael O’Brien b. Jun 17 1888 in Charlestown, MA. He was the son of Michael and              Catherine Broderick O’Brien.

          Michael O’Brien (Sr.) d. Sep 11, 1888 of peritonitis. He was living at 1204 Tremont                 St., Boston MA at the time of his death.

         

                                                 East Boston, MA  Piers Park

At this point all known facts for this decade come to an end. Since there is no 1890 Federal census to refer to, the movements of the family are unknown until 1892 when we find Matthew and Bridget Sheehan Broderick living at 17 Sea St. in Lynn, MA and they remained there until 1899.  We do know that Matthew continued to work for the railroad and became an engineer in charge of laying out the tracks for the B. R. B. & L. (Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn) railroad as it made a loop through Winthrop. It is also known that my grandfather Patrick John Broderick, who used the name Jack, attended a parochial school associated with St. Joseph’s Church in Lynn, MA. Sometime after his brother Lawrence was b. in 1887, they moved from East Boston to Lynn.

                                                   Overhead view of Lynn, MA

At the end of the 1890’s comes the personal brick wall established by my gt. grandmother Bridget Sheehan Broderick. It has taken the better part of 30 years to unfold the information presented in this and the first blog, on this family.

Suffice it to say, the turn of the century brought out hard feelings that lasted for many years.

Broderick Family Timeline 1870-1880

My Irish immigrant family has long been an enigma. Not only are there brick walls created by time, distance and availability of records, but there are personal brick walls as well. Over the last 10 – 15 years, little by little, some of the personal brick walls have been chipped away. I use the word “personal” for want of a better way to describe something that was caused by an earlier member of the family for religious reasons. But I get ahead of myself. I’ll start with what is known and hope that it might generate new and different avenues of research.

In or near Loughrea, Galway, Ireland there were several families of Brodericks. There is currently no information, that I’ve been able to find, as to whether or not they were related. They all had the same given names, which only adds to the confusion. However, it is believed that a Patrick Broderick married Hanora Martin and that one of their offspring was a son, another Patrick Broderick. This Patrick married Catherine Boyle, daughter of Joseph and Catherine Boyle. Nothing has been discovered yet about this Boyle family. It is uncertain if they came from Galway.

Patrick and Catherine had 9 children, according to baptism records.  Five of those children immigrated to the USA, but apparently not all at the same time.  One of their children died young but there seems to be no information on the remaining children - John, Bridget and James. Four of them ended up in Hyde Park MA, a bastion of Irish immigrants. It seems likely that they settled there because other relatives lived there also, but no proof of this theory has been found. There were other Brodericks in Hyde Park, so anything is possible.

The eldest was Michael and he seems to have taken up residence in Boston and was living in Cambridge when he died in 1909. No marriage information has been found and his death certificate stated he was single.

Lawrence, Mary, Matthew and Catherine Broderick also immigrated, at different times, but settled in Hyde Park MAl. All four were settled there by 1870 and the following time line shows how the decade from 1870-1880 unfolded for them. Except where noted, all events take place in Hyde Park MA.

                                        Timeline

                                Broderick family

                                        1870 – 1880

As 1870 began:

1870 – Lawrence Broderick living at Hyde Park MA with his cousin Michael Jordan.                           Lawrence was a laborer in the census.

1871 – A quiet year

1872 - Lawrence Broderick married Catherine Jordan, his cousin, Apr 30 1872

           Mary Broderick married Patrick Burke, Aug 22 1872

1873 – John Edward Burke (s/o Mary Broderick and Patrick Burke), b. Jun 1, 1873

1874 – Patrick H. Burke (s/o Mary Broderick and Patrick Burke), b. Jun 13 1874

            Mathew Broderick married Bridget Sheehan, Sep 3 1874

1875 – Patrick Broderick (s/o Bridget Sheehan and Matthew Broderick), b. Jun 22 1875

           Michael Burke (s/o Mary Broderick and Patrick Burke), b. Aug 5 1875

           Patrick Broderick (s/o Bridget Sheehan and Matthew Broderick), d. Aug 7                      1875 COD Cholera

           Catherine Broderick (d/o Catherine Jordan and Lawrence Broderick), b. 1875

           Catherine Broderick married Michael O’Brien Oct 12 1875

1876 – Martin Burke (s/o Mary Broderick and Patrick Burke), b. Aug 1876

           Matthew Broderick (s/o Bridget Sheehan and Matthew Broderick), b. Sep 28 1876

1877 – Patrick Joseph Broderick (s/o Catherine Jordan and Lawrence Broderick),                             b. Mar 18 1877

          Edward Burke (s/o Mary Broderick and Patrick O’Brien), b. Sep 1877

          Catherine O’Brien (d/o Catherine Broderick and Michael O’Brien), b. 1877

1878 – Another quiet year

1879 – Patrick John Broderick (s/o Bridget Sheehan and Matthew Broderick),                                     b. Feb 23 1879, in Dorchester MA

          Lawrence Broderick (s/o Catherine Jordan and Lawrence Broderick), b. Feb 25 1879

          Thomas Burke (s/o Mary Broderick and Patrick Burke), b. Dec 9 1879

          Lawrence Broderick (Sr.) d. Aug 26 1879 COD Traumatic peritonitis

          Matthew Broderick was living on Marston Ave. in Dorchester MA at the time of his                 son’s birth and was working for the Railroad.

          Lawrence Broderick, at the time of his death, was also working for the Railroad.

Over the course of ten years, all four Broderick immigrants were married. Mary Broderick Burke gave birth to six boys. Matthew and Bridget Broderick had three boys, but the oldest son died. Catherine Broderick O’Brien had one daughter. Lawrence and Catherine Broderick had three children.

Lawrence Broderick met his untimely end, suddenly, on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 1879, in the evening, Lawrence went to a boot repair shop to check on his boots. An altercation ensued between Lawrence and Mrs. Margaret Gibbons, the owner’s wife. Witnesses stated that both parties had been drinking. Mrs. Gibbons apparently said something Mr. Broderick took offense to and he slapped her. She retaliated by grabbing a shoe knife and then lunging at him, stabbing him in the abdomen. She also lunged at his nose, slicing it and the upper lip to the bone. Lawrence staggered out and was then carried to his home at the corner of Central Park Ave. and Winter St. He was attended by a physician who stated that the wound would most likely be fatal. The Chief of Police arrested Mrs. Gibbons who didn’t deny the attack and stated she wished she had struck his heart.

Boston Journal – Wed., Aug. 20 1879

The hearing that was held brought forth several conflicting stories. Mrs. Gibbons maintained that she was struck 2 or 3 times and that the knife was not hers. She claimed she acted in self defense. Broderick claimed he never struck her. Mrs. Gibbons couldn’t post bail so was held over in the Dedham jail for Grand Jury in September. Lawrence Broderick was still alive but in poor condition.

Boston Journal – Sat., Aug. 23 1879

Lawrence Broderick died Tues., Aug 26, 1879. Mrs. Gibbons was still being held in the Dedham jail and the Medical Examiner will hold an inquest.

Worcester Daily Spy – Wed., Aug 27 1879

The autopsy of Lawrence Broderick showed that his small intestine had been punctured by a knife and the resulting infection led to the man’s death.

Boston Journal – Aug., 27 1879

Margaret Gibbons was acquitted of the charge of manslaughter in the Broderick case. In Sept 1880, Margaret Gibbons was found guilty of assault on a Mr. Kelly and was sentenced to two years in the house of corrections.

Boston Daily Advertiser – Wed., Sept. 15, 1880

Census Records

Birth, Death and Marriage Records

Boston Journal

Worcester Daily Spy

Boston Daily Advertiser

Memorials of Hyde Park