Longevity - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Hannah (Dealy) Sullivan (1841? to 1919)

This post is part of a project called 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, created by Amy Johnson Crow.  The prompt for this week is longevity.    My longest living direct ancestor would be Hannah (Dealy) Sullivan .... maybe.

My great great grandmother, Hannah Dealy Sullivan was very consistent in reporting her date of birth as May 1, 1841.  When she died on October 31, 1919 her age was reported by her daughter Hannah as 87 years, 5 months, with a birth date of May 1, 1932.

In order to resolve this discrepancy I developed a time line for Hannah's life, as shown below:

Date	Event	Source
1832 May 1	Birth of Hannah Dealy	"Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920," database with images, Family Search
1850 February 7	Married at Bantry, Jeremiah Sullivan	“Church Records” database with images, IrishGenealogy.ie
1851 January 9	Baptism of daughter Mary	“Church Records” database with images, IrishGenealogy.ie
1852 October	Baptism of daughter Helena	“Church Records” database with images, IrishGenealogy.ie
1857 November 8	Baptism of son Jeremiah	“Church Records” database with images, IrishGenealogy.ie
1861	Birth of daughter Hannah, New York City	Notation in daughter Hannah’s will that she was born in New York City
1880	99 Pleasant St, Boston, Mass.; age 40	1880 United States Federal Census; Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints
1887	Naturalization, Boston; Birth date May 1, 1841, age 47	U.S. Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791-1992 (Indexed in World Archives Project); Ancestry.com
1888 May 23	Naturalization, Boston; birth date May 1, 1841, age 47	Massachusetts, State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1798-1950 Ancestry.com
1894 September 1	Arrival at Boston from Queenstown, Ireland; age 52	Boston Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1943; database with images, Ancestry
1900	180 Chelsea Street, Charlestown, Mass.; age 60	1900 United States Federal Census; Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints
1910	180 Chelsea Street, Charlestown, Mass.; age 70	1910 United States Federal Census; Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints
1919	Death of Hannah Dealy, Charlestown; age 87 years, 5 months	"Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920," database with images, Family Search

It seems pretty clear from the date of Hannah's marriage and the birth dates of her first two children, that 1832 is a more likely birth date.  There are not civil records from Bantry in the time from 1832 to 1841.  I could not find a baptism for Hannah in that time period either.

But why, other than for reasons of vanity, would a woman consistently report her age as 9 years younger on all available legal documents?  I believe the answer lies in this quote, taken from the Family Search Wiki on United States Naturalization and Citizenship.

The Act of May 26, 1824 allowed immigrants who arrived before their 18th birthday to, upon reaching age 21, petition for naturalization without filing a prior declaration of intention.  Petitions filed under this provision are usually called "Minor Naturalizations" because they relate to individuals who arrived as a minor (but who were an adult, age 21 or older, when actually naturalized).  They are also examples of "one paper naturalizations" because no declaration was required.  Many courts combined the declaration and petition documents into a form for this document which may or may not include the word "minor" in the title. Regular forms will cite the 1824 Act.  The minor naturalization provision was often abused and was repealed in 1906.

Because her Naturalization petition reports her arrival as May 5, 1858, she would have been age 17 years and 4 days on the date she arrived in America.  I think that starting with the 1880 census, this was Hannah's strategy for citizenship.  For this  reason, I am confident that her correct birth date is May 1, 1832 and she is my longest living recent direct ancestor.

Copyright 2018, Kathleen Sullivan. All Rights Reserved