McDermotts of Castlewrixon South

Richard Francis McDermott (1886 - ?)

My grandfather, Richard Francis McDermott, was born in August 1886, in Castlewrixon South, County Cork, Ireland.  I've been trying to piece his life together for quite a number of years.




Castlewrixon South

I had really hoped to find him in the 1940 census.   His whereabouts were a puzzle after my grandmother's death in 1925.  I hadn't found him in the 1930 census.  In that census his 3 sons were in a foster home in Woburn, Massachusetts, and his daughter was being raised by her maternal uncle and his wife, John and Nellie Scanlon, in Lynn, Massachusetts. 

I thought he may have returned to Ireland, but after a visit there in 2010, it seemed pretty clear that family there did not know what had happened to him either.  He registered for the World War II draft on April 27, 1942.  At that time he was living at 200 East 30th Street, New York City, and employed by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.  But the years between 1925 and 1942 remained a blank.



1940 Census

In the 1940 census, left,  Richard was living at Camp LaGuardia (Home for the Needy), Chester, Orange County, New York.  He was 53 years old, widowed, and a naturalized citizen.  These facts all agree with what we know about him.  He was a farm laborer on the New York City welfare project.  He had been out of work for 76 weeks and had worked 50 weeks that year on the farm.
Camp LaGuardia was established as a shelter for New York City’s homeless in 1934.  It was roughly 300 acre and located in the towns of Chester and Blooming Grove. The facility was built in 1918 and served as a correctional facility for women until 1934 when it was transferred to the City’s Welfare Department and named “Camp Greycourt.” The camp was renamed “Camp LaGuardia” in 1935. The purpose of the camp was to provide temporary relief for the unemployed.

My uncle Richard spoke of seeing his father for the last time on a work farm.  We thought it may have been the Billerica House of Correction, not far from Woburn where my uncle was living.  Now I think it may have been while he was at Camp LaGuardia.   Richard would have been 23 in 1940, and could have traveled to New York to see him.   I'll continue looking for what may have happened to him, both in 1930, and after 1942.  But I don't think this will have a happy ending though.

Copyright 2012 Kathleen Sullivan. All Rights Reserved