The Year of the McDermotts (Part 2)

The Visit 

I had emailed Tom, looking for a B & B in his area, and he insisted that Mary and I stay with him.  Checking FaceBook just before we left, I saw a post from Tom that he had moved!  He assured me he was still in Churchtown, but at a larger place.

We arrived bright and early in the morning on Sunday, and picked up our rental car.  We received a free "upgrade" vehicle which we really appreciated until we found out it was a delivery van with no back seat.  We set off to meet Tom for the 9 am Mass at St Nicholas in Churchtown.  We found Churchtown earlier than expected so we parked and walked around a bit to get some fresh air and stretch after the long night flight.  We were just wondering how we would find Tom, when we rounded a corner and saw a man standing in the middle of the road, talking on a cell phone.  He was saying "They just drove by, I don't know where they went."  I would have recognized Tom anywhere, since we look just alike.  Well, other than the fact that he is 18 years younger, a foot taller, and has much less hair!

We joined Tom for Mass and then went back to his house to freshen up and take a nap before joining the rest of the family for Sunday lunch at .Springfort Hall.  We had a lovely meal and I had the good fortune to sit next to Uncle Michael for dinner.  He told me about how the family look for my grandfather after losing touch with him.  They had hired a detective at one point to search for him in New York City, but were never able to locate him.  I explained to him how after my grandmother's death the children were separated and eventually abandoned by their father.



Above: U. S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, side 1; Image courtesy of Ancestry.com

Above: U. S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, side 2; Image courtesy of Ancestry.com



The last know residence I had found for him was 200 E 30th Street, New York City.  This was from his U. S. World War II Draft Registration card for what is called the old man's draft.  He was 55 years old and working for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.  None of us could find any further evidence of what became of him.

After Sunday lunch, Mary and I returned to Tom's house to chat and adjust to the time difference.  We really enjoyed Tom's new coffee machine!  In the early evening, the phone rang, and Tom answered in.  There was a quiet conversation, Tom hung up and turned to us.

"You've passed the test.  You have been invited to the house tomorrow evening!"




Back row: Michael McDermott, Claire McDermott, Tom McDermott
Front row: Bridie McDermott, Mary McDermott, Kathy Sullivan at Spring fort Hall

Copyright 2015 Kathleen Sullivan. All Rights Reserved



The Year of the McDermotts (Part 1)

My major genealogy goal for 2015 is to organize and document my McDermott family, starting with the children of Peter and Ellen (Roche) McDermott who had emigrated to the United States.  This will include, as far as I can tell now,  John, Thomas, Richard, Mary, Margaret, and to some extent, David and Catherine.

My grandfather Richard McDermott disappeared from the lives of his children sometime between 1925 and 1930.  Following the death of his wife on May 26, 1925, living arrangements became confused and the four children lived with various relatives or with foster parents and no one ever knew what became of Richard.  Because we had a copy of his citizenship papers, we knew his full name and birthplace.  Since McDermott is not a common name in County Cork, I was hopeful to make a connection.

My work on the McDermotts of Castlewrixon began in 2009 when I Googled my grandfather's name, Richard, and his birthplace, Charleville, County Cork.  I turned up an email address for a Fr. Tom McDermott, stationed in Churchtown, but originally from Charleville.  I emailed Fr Tom, explaining what I knew of my grandfather and asking about the possibility of being related.  Time went on and I waited, but no response.  After 3 weeks, I had pretty much forgotten about it, when I opened the reply from Tom, which started Dear Cousin Kathy, your grandfather and my grandfather were brothers!.  

Tom went on to detail how he had checked with his uncle Michael and found out that my grandfather had been missing from their family also and they thought he had stayed in America and lost touch.  I had been hoping he had returned to Ireland, so we were both disappointed.

As we corresponded it became clear that I needed to make a visit in person.  My cousin Mary McDermott and I planned to come the following September and spend a week in Cork and Kerry before driving to Dublin for a research week with TIARA (The Irish American Research Association).

On September 25, the 92nd anniversary of  Ellen (Roche) McDermott's death, Mary and I left Boston for Shannon.  Thus began the great adventure.

Copyright 2015 Kathleen Sullivan. All Rights Reserved