1870’s

Last week we featured the letter written by Edmund Hartley ( 1836-1915)     published in the New Ross Standard regarding his trip to Ireland in the summer of 1913. Edmund Hartley was accompanied home to Ireland by two priests, his son, Monsgr. James J. Hartley and his nephew, Father James E. Hartley. Monsgr. Hartley was the President of St. Bernard’s Seminary, Rochester, New York. Hoping that Monsgr. Hartley may have had records or photos of the trip we were disappointed to find that St. Bernard’s Seminary closed in the 1980’s. However, when we checked with the Archives of the Diocese of Rochester New York, Sister Connie Derby, Director of the Archives, located and copied a notebook kept by Monsgr. Hartley of the 1913 trip. Also found in the archive was a transcription of a letter written by a cousin of Monsgr. Hartley, Miss Mary Malone. Sister Connie also graciously forwarded good quality photos of Monsgr. and Father Hartley.

It is not known how Mary Malone’s letter came into Monsgr. Hartley’s possession and ultimately ended up in the archive. It is surmised that it was kept, hopefully cherished by her brother who received it in Glenmore in 1877, and when Monsgr. Hartley brought his father home to Glenmore in 1913 he was given the letter written 26 years earlier. The transcription with spelling errors and little punctuation is copied below as it was provided to us by Sister Connie. For such a short letter it is very poignant.

Mary Malone, Fairport, New York, to her brother, Glenmore, Co. Waterford, 24 January 1877

24 January 1877
Fearport January the 24, 1877
My Dear Brother      I take
the opportunity of writing to you
I hope you will forgive me for
not writing to you be fore this
but I was tost about         I left my
first place that I was in 2 years
and a half      I am now living near
my aunt          I have not but 1 Dolard aweek
this winter        this is a verry severe winter
in america. I got a letter from home about
two weeks after I got yours letter
they told me it was better for him to go now
than any other time but he is a
grate loss to my Father and mother
it is they feel his loss
but they tells me that they are not bad off

[page 2]

That you dont forget them    may
the Lord spare you your health
I do not get to healp them much
my wages is so little and I am not cap[a]ble
of earning big wages like other girls
who can cook and [do] the large washings and
fine ironings   I cannot do this    you know
I was not brought [up] to anny such thing
I was sent away frum my Mother when young
to the farmers to work out in the fields
and I never got much in sight about
house keeping or to be handy to sew
but I don’t have is anny one to blame
for that but my Sellf        I never tried
to lerren    I must onely do the best I can now
I am verry lonseom and down harted
I wish my Sister Margaret was here
if ever I can bring here out    if times
will get better I will try and do my
best for her

[page 3]

Dear brother     I would wish verry
much is you would send me your
picture and I will send you mine
I never had anny of my pictures taken
since I came to america   My aunt and
cussins are all well and my cussin
James Hartley is getting elong
splended with his studies
he expe[c]ts to be dordained in about 1 year
and a half from now.  You asked me
could I reed your writting      I could
with out anny troble   I hope you
will write to me soon again
I have no more to say at
preasant      from your affectionate
Sister      Mary Malone

Unfortunately the name of Mary Malone’s brother is not revealed in the letter. The only clues are that he lived in Glenmore, she lived in Freeport, New York, she had a sister named Margaret and cousin James Hartley who was to be ordained in 1878. It appears that Mary Malone may have emmigrated about 1875 as she was in her first place for 2 ½ years. Monsgr Hartley was not ordained until 1885, but the fact that the letter ended up in his possession suggests that Mary was related although the closeness of the kinship is not apparent.

Given the fact that Mary makes no reference to a husband or children it is assumed that Mary Malone was her maiden name. The 1880 Federal Census of Rochester, Monroe County, New York reveals that there was a Mary Maloney (sic) living in a boarding house on South St. Paul Street. She was born about 1842 and worked as a servant.  It is not known whether Mary Malone remained in New York or returned to Ireland. No further obvious census records were found in New York state. In Monsgr. Hartley’s travel journal one evening while in the Glenmore area the men had “supper” with Mary Malone. It is not known if the 1913 referenced Mary Malone was the same woman that wrote the letter home to Glenmore in 1877.

The Glenmore Parish records reveal that there were a number of Mary Malones born in the early 1840’s from Rochestown to Weatherstown. There is no obvious match of a Malone married to a Hartley or Kennedy (maiden name of Edmund Hartley’s mother). Also, there were much fewer baptismal records for a Margaret Malone. The best fit so far is the Michael Malone family of Weatherstown, Glenmore. Michael Malone and his wife, Catherine née Burke had a daughter Mary who was baptized on the 10^th of November 1841. Their daughter Ellen was baptized on the 27^th of July 1839 and their daughter Catherine was baptized on the 1^st of June 1849. However, no sons were discovered in the parish records for this union.

Perhaps a reader who descends from Mary and/or Margaret Malone can point us in the right direction.

As soon as we can transcribe the travel notebook kept by Monsgr. Hartley we will publish excerpts particularly the notes from their time in Glenmore. Monsgr. Hartley throughout his journal refers to his elderly father affectionately as Pa.

Special thanks to Sister Connie for all her help this week copying and sending on information and photos. The featured image is entitled Irish Immigration from Queenstown (Cobh, Cork) (1874 from the Miram & Ira D. Wallach Collection, Digital Public Library of America

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Ireland is again in lock down due to COVID 19. We shall attempt to provide more posts as we did last lock down. If anyone has a subject or idea, or has an article for our guest author page please contact us at glenmore.history@gmail.com.

Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh