2024 Origins - Nancy Ann Simmons Family Origins

 2024 - Origins

Origins of Nancy Ann Simmons' Families

As a family researcher, it is not uncommon for someone to ask, "Where is your family from." And I usually respond, "What part of my family? " My father's Simmons, Rexroad, Michael, Moyers, Huffman, Propst, Voeglin, Heavener, and Arbogast families are all German but other families are also French, English, and Scottish. My mother's Martin, Larkins, Cronin, and Stackpole families are  Irish, but other families are English, and a wee bit of German.

 

To find your family's origins you must find the immigrant ancestor. To find my father's Simmons immigrant ancestor I had to research back many generations. My father's Simmons family is from Germany, but I had to research back seven generations to reach my 5th great-grandfather, Leonard Simmons, to find that he was born in Germany. 

Pedigree Chart
Nancy Simmons to Paul Simmons to Walter Simmons to Andrew Simmons to Peter Simmons to Henry Simmons to Immigrant Leonard Simmons; my 5th great-grandfather from Germany 

Leonard Simmons was born about 1738 in Germany. At this point, I am still searching for the name of his village. Leonard Simmons was on the South Branch of the Potomac River in Virginia by 1753 and claimed 257 acres of land. My father's immigrant great-grandfather, William Henry Leeton, was born in 1839 in France, and his wife, Margaret Newland was born in 1845 in West Virginia but her immigrant parents, William Newland and Elspeth Hall, were born in Scotland.

1880 U.S. Federal Census Wood County, West Virginia
Immigrant - Leeton, Henry 41 born in France, father born in France, mother born in France
Leeton, Margaret, 35, wife, born in WV, father born in Scotland, mother born in Scotland
Henry and Margaret are my great-great-grandparents

My father's mother is June Elizabeth Putman. I have traced the Putman line to 1747 in Culpeper County, Virginia, and from there back to Thomas Putnam born in 1646 in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England. June Elizabeth Putman's grandmother was Catherine Deck who comes from German stock. I have traced the Deck family back to immigrant, Johannes Nicholas Deck, my 6^th great-grandfather, born in 1695 in Germany.

Pedigree Chart
Nancy Simmons to Paul Simmons to June Putman to Cora Wilson to Catherine Deck to Jacob Deck to Christian Deck to Johannes Heinrich Deck to Immigrant- Johann Nicholas Deck; my 6th great-grandfather

 

Turning to my mother’s family, we have a dominance of Irish origins since her maternal grandparents, Denis and Bridgette (Stackpole) Cronin were both born in Ireland in the late 1850s. They both emigrated from Ireland to Detroit, Michigan in the 1880s.

Pedigree Chart
Nancy Simmons to Josephine Martin to Mary Cronin to Denis Cronin and Bridget Stackpole
Dennis Cronin born in County Cork, Ireland; my great grandfather
Bridget Stackpole born in County Kerry, Ireland; my great grandmother

 

My mother's paternal grandfather was Francis Arthur Martin, and his grandparents, Edward and Julia Martin were born in Ireland and married in 1829 in Kilmactranny Parish, Sligo County, Ireland. They emigrated from Ireland to Wayne County, Michigan in 1843. Since they are of the protestant faith, they are most likely Scotch-Irish.

But Francis Arthur Martin's maternal grandmother was Margaret Ann Davis, and she leads us back eight generations to immigrant Thomas Rogers, a Mayflower passenger who was born in England and married in 1597 in Northamptonshire, England.  

Pedigree Chart Nancy Simmons to Mayflower Ancestor
Nancy Simmons to Josephine Martin to Edward Martin to Francis Martin to Elizabeth Larkins to
Margaret Davis to Deborah Stephens 

Cont. Pedigree Chart Nancy Simmons to Mayflower Ancestor
Robert Stephens to Thomas Stephens to Josiah Stephens to Remember Tisdale to Anna Rogers to John Rogers to Immigrant Mayflower Ancestors - Thomas Rogers; 11th great grandfather from England

 

Based on my research, my origins are strongly Irish with heavy English and German lineages. There is also a small percentage of Scottish and French through my father's line.

 

I have tested my DNA with Ancestry and love their circle graphs. According to Ancestry's database, my father's origins are predominantly from England and Northwestern Europe, then from Germanic Europe, Sweden & Denmark, Scotland, and a trace of Wales. My mother's origins are over 50 % from Ireland, then England and Germanic Europe. The circle graph on the right shows my origins from Ireland, England, Germanic Europe, Sweden & Denmark, Scotland, and a trace of Wales.

Ancestry.com Circle Charts of Origins
Father's origins from England & Northwestern Europe, Germanic  Europe, Sweden & Denmark, Scotland and Wales
Mother's Origins from Ireland, England & Northwestern Europe, and Germanic Europe
My origins from Ireland, England & Northwestern Europe, Germanic Europe, Sweden & Denmark, Scotland, Wales

My Origins 
Ireland, Great Britain, Scotland, France, Germany, Norway and Denmark

 

My disclaimer on my research is that I have not been able to trace back far enough to find the source of my origins from Sweden & Demark or Wales as revealed in my DNA. But based on my research, I can state my origins are Ireland, England, Germany, Scotland, and France.

 

 

2024 Family Lore - Mary Catherine Cronin

Mary Catherine Cronin 1895-1952

Nancy Simmons

Josephine Martin - mother

Mary Catherine Cronin – grandmother

Blarney Castle, home of the Blarney Stone

 

Family lore has it that my grandmother, Mary Catherine Cronin, kissed the Blarney Stone on a trip she took with her parents in 1909 to visit relatives in County Cork.  As family lore, you wonder how true this family story is.

 

“The Blarney Stone (Irish: Cloch na Blarnan) is a block of Carboniferous limestone^[1] built into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Blarney, about 8 kilometres (5 miles) from Cork, Ireland. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of the gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery). The stone was set into a tower of the castle in 1446. The castle is a popular tourist site in Ireland, attracting visitors from all over the world to kiss the stone and tour the castle and its gardens.”  Wikipedia – The Free Encyclopedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blarney_Stone

 

My grandmother, Mary Catherine Cronin, was born on the 27th of October 1895 in Detroit Michigan. She was the fifth child and third daughter born to Dennis Cronin and Bridget Johanna Stackpole. She was probably christened at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Detroit where her parents were married. She made her first communion in 1907 when she was 11 years old.

 

Mary Catherine Cronin - First Communion about 1907

Family stories state that Mary Catherine had rheumatic fever and St Vitis Dance, known today as Sydenham Chorea (https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23077-sydenham-chorea), as a child, and it caused her to have heart damage. Due to her ill health, her parents decided in 1909 to take her with them on an ocean voyage to visit relatives in Ireland. Her mother was born in County Limerick and her father was born in Coolinarna, County Cork, Ireland. Coolinarna is less than an hour from Blarney Castle, so it is very possible that the family visited Blarney Castle and Mary kissed the Blarney Stone. The passenger list on their return trip states his daughter as Bridgette and is eleven years old when in fact she was 13 years old. Her father's passport lists her as Mary but also lists her as eleven years old.

 

Ancestry - UK and Ireland, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960

Ancestry - U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925

I have no documentation about where Mary attended school in Detroit, but the 1940 federal census states she attended four years of high school. She would have graduated from high school in 1912 and five years later the 28th of June 1917 she married Edward Jacob Martin at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church.

Wedding Picture June 28, 1917
Standing- Mary Ellen O'Rourke and Hubbard Walter Martin
Seated- Mary Catherine Cronin and Edward Jacob Martin

                                    

Mary and Edward had four children: Edward born in 1918, Nina born in 1920, Josephine born in 1923 and Beatrice born in 1929. Mary and Edward lived with his parents for the first couple of years of their marriage. Mary's mother died in 1924 and her father in 1925 leaving them a house on Bostwick Street where they lived for many years. In 1939, due to Edward's parents' failing health, they moved to Vinewood Avenue and lived in the flat above his parents. In 1948, due to Mary's heart problems, they moved to a garage home on Steadman Street in Dearborn. Unfortunately, Mary suffered a stroke on the first of October and due to her weak heart died on October 13, 1952. Mary Catherine is buried in Holy Sepulcher Catholic Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan.

Denis Cronin, Mary's father, Mary Catherine holding Josephine, my mother
Picture taken about 1924

Unfortunately, I was only five when my grandmother died and the only picture I have with her is a Mother's Day photo taken May 1952. I only have the stories that my mother shared with me about my grandmother. And one of those stories is that my grandmother, Mary Catherine Cronin, kissed the Blarney Stone! Based on the documents and the story, I do believe my grandmother, Mary Catherine (Cronin) Martin kissed the Blarney Stone on her trip to Ireland in 1909.

 

Mother's Day 1952
Mary Catherine, daughter-in-law, Julie (Marko) Martin, my mother, Josephine (Martin) Simmons
Mary's grandchildren: Edward Timothy Martin, Cathy Jean Simmons and Nancy Ann Simmons

Addition Family Photos of Mary Catherine (Cronin) Martin and her family

About 1921 at Belle Isle
Son Edward William 3 years, husband Edward Jacob Martin,
Nina Marie 1 year and Mary Catherine (Cronin) Martin

 

Sister Johanna (Cronin) O'Grady and Mary Catherine (Cronin) Martin

Martin Family about 1944
Daughters and son with his son and wife
Josephine Blanche, Mary Catherine, Edward Jacob, Beatrice Mary, and Nina Marie
Edward William holding son Edward Timothy and Julie (Marko) Martin

2020 Prompt - Same Name - Josephine Mary Stackpoole

2020 Prompt - Fire - Bartholomew Cronin

                                              

Pumper Wagon - Fire Department

Bartholomew Cronin 1870- 1944

My great-great uncle - Detroit City Fireman - Captain

Nancy Simmons 

    Josephine Martin 

        Mary Catherine Cronin  

            Denis Cronin to his brother Bartholomew Cronin                                                                    

My Irish ancestors must have had a burning desire to leave Ireland in the late nineteenth century.  One by one they left their parents, family and friends to come to America for a better life. My great grandfather, Denis Cronin, left in 1875 and settled in Detroit and in the next fifteen years his younger brothers, Daniel, James and Bartholomew, all left the Emerald Isle to join him. Bartholomew Cronin, the youngest, arrived in 1888 and started his life as a piper-fitter but eventually worked his way up the occupational ladder to becoming a Captain for the Detroit City Fire Department.

Johanna (O'Connell) Cronin and her son Bartholomew Cronin about 1888

Bartholomew Cronin was born August 16, 1870 to John and Johanna (O'Connell) Cronin in Coolinarna, County Cork, Ireland.[1]  He was baptized August 26, 1870 in the Cullen Catholic Church in the Millstreet Parish.[2] He immigrated to Detroit about 1888 and in 1891, he was living at 320 Abbott Street in Detroit with his brother, James, in an area called Corktown, southwest of the center of Detroit.  Here many Irish families from County Cork, Ireland were living including several of his siblings. He was listed as a fireman and his brother, James, as a policeman in the Detroit City Directory.[3]

Bartholomew Cronin & Brother James Cronin about 1890

The Wayne County marriage records states that Bartholomew married Jennie Hannah Leahy on February 13, 1893 in Detroit by Father William DeBever.[4] According to the 1900 federal census, Bart and Jennie Cronin were living at 462 16th Street in Corktown and Bartholomew is listed as a city fireman and they have had four children: Hannah born 1893, John born 1895, Genevieve born 1898 and Loretta born 1900. [5] Two more daughters were born later, Ursela in 1901 and Edna in 1903.

Detroit Engine House # 8

Detroit Pumping Wagon pulled by a three Horse Team about 1900

Bartholomew was a fireman from the early 1890s until his retirement about 1928.  Bart started in Engine House No. 8 and used horse drawn fire engines. In 1916, Bart was promoted to Captain at Fire House No. 37 at Central and Dix.[6]  At this time, he experienced the transition of driving a team of horses pulling the fire truck to a motorized fire truck.

Detroit Motorized Fire Truck about 1920

Another memorable fact about Bartholomew was a newspaper article that mentions that in 1910 he was elected president of the Firemen's Fund Association for the Relief of Disabled Fireman.[7]  This Association is a non-profit corporation and was first incorporated in 1867 and is one of the oldest corporations in Michigan.[8]  For over 150 years they have using dues and fund raisers to provide benefits to ease the burdens of disabled firemen and their families.  To have been elected president of such an organization expresses the respect the Detroit city firemen had for Bartholomew Cronin.

Bartholomew elected President of Firemen's Relief Fund Association
Detroit Free Press April 5, 1916

Detroit Firemen's Fund Association Certificate of Membership

Bartholomew and Jennie moved from 16th Street to Wabash Street where they continued to live in Corktown until 1920 when they moved to 2363 Pearl Street on Detroit's southwest side two blocks from Saint Gabriel Parish Church.  Jennie died on January 26, 1926 of kidney disease[9] and Bartholomew continued to live with several of his children.  Bartholomew retired from the Detroit Fire Department about 1928 and died November 19, 1944.[10]  As was the tradition of the times, the funeral was held in his home with a funeral mass at St Gabriel's Catholic Church and he was buried next to Jennie in Holy Cross Cemetery.

Bartholomew Cronin Cemetery Stone
Holy Cross Cemetery - Detroit, Michigan

Bartholomew Cronin's Death Certificate November 19, 1944








   

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[1] Ancestry.com. Ireland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1620-1911 [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

[2] Ancestry.com. Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915, [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

 Catholic Parish Registers, The National Library of Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; Microfilm Number: Microfilm 04267 / 07

[3] Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1995, Detroit, Michigan, City Directory, 1891, page 359.

[4] Marriage Records of Wayne County, Michigan, State Library, Book 4, page 369

[5] Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census, Detroit, Ward 10, Wayne, Michigan, ED 0110, page 7.

[6] Newspapers.com. Detroit Free Press, “Cronin Gets New Station”, 31 Oct 1916, page 2.

[7] Newspapers.com. Detroit Free Press, “Payments Total $18,658”, 5 Apr 1910, page 3.

[8] www.detroitfiremensfund.com/our-story, Detroit Fire Department Fund Association.

[9] Ancestry.com. Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1950, Jennie Cronin, 26 Jan 1926.

[10] Ancestry.com. Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1950, Bartholomew J Cronin, 19 Nov 1944.

2020 Prompt - Prosperity - Denis Cronin

                                                       

Prompt - Prosperity

Denis Cronin- great grandfather

Nancy Simmons to Josephine Martin to Mary Catherine Cronin to Denis Cronin - my great grandfather 

I thought of my great grandfather, Denis Cronin, when the prompt Prosperity was assigned. Prosperity usually means the type of success that comes from having a lot of money. But "a lot of money" is relative to how much you had to start with in life.  Denis left Ireland a poor 17-year-old boy and followed his siblings to Detroit with a dream of prosperity.

  

I used Denis’ death certificate to start researching him. Denis died in Sunland, Los Angeles, California Dec 21, 1925[1] at the home of his brother, Daniel Cronin. His death certificate stated he was 66 years old, born in Ireland and his parents were John Cronin and Johanna O'Connor. 

Denis was born in Ireland to parents that had survived the great famine. They had ten children and Denis was the 3rd child born in County Cork where years of political and religious dissention were prevalent.  In the mid-1870s widespread unemployment, poverty and appalling housing conditions existed.[2]

In 1877,[3] Denis decided to leave Ireland and move to Detroit, Michigan where he found work in a thriving industrial city. He married and raised a family of six children. He went from a poor Irish boy from Coolinarna, County Cork, Ireland[4] to a successful streetcar engineer and a leader among his peers.  He came to a country where he started working in a dangerous entry level job, was able to move up the ladder of prosperity due to his involvement in unionizing the streetcar employees and could practice his faith without conflict.

His baptismal record had his name is recorded as Dionysius Cronin.  He was baptized 16 Oct 1859 in the Catholic Parish of Cullen in Millstreet, County Cork, Ireland[5]. Dionysius is the Latin derivative of Denis used in the Catholic church records. Cullen is a small village located north west of Millstreet town in County Cork[6].

 

Denis' passport application states he immigrated in 1877. Many poor Irish immigrants could find work in Detroit in high risk occupations. He found work as a molder at the Peninsular Stove Company by 1882.[7]  This risky job earned between $18 and $21 per week[8]. (Footnote has website about Detroit as global capital of stove manufacturing).  A molder was a strong young male who worked in a dark, hellish environment with enormous cupola furnaces filled with hot blue smoke and pounds of glowing cherry-red molten iron.  The molder would be covered with black grime and soot and poor hot molten iron into molds.[9] Life as a molder was dangerous and harmful and over time molders often suffered from lung and heart problems.

 On June 2, 1886, Denis Cronin married Bridget Stackpoole[10],a young Irish immigrant. The same

year, Denis is listed as a car inspector and his home is at 175 Franklin Street.[11] Denis had found a job working as an inspector for a streetcar company. This job is probably much safer than a molder now that he is married.

In April 1891, Denis is working for the Detroit Urban Railway and is now a driver. He probably was caught up in the political aspect of labor unrest as the streetcar employees decided to strike.[12] Even though we have no record of Denis' direct involvement in this conflict, one wonders if he reported to work and drove his streetcar, or did he withhold his services and joined the strikers?

A month later in May of 1891, Denis profits from an agreement between owners and the workers.  The agreement gives conductors and drivers an 18 cent per hour wage with a 10-hour workday and one day off every 14 days.[13] This gives Denis a $46.00 a month paycheck or about $600 annual income.  

In the 1900 federal census, Denis is listed as a motorman with the street railroad, he can read and write, and he owns his home.[14] This illustrates that Denis is doing quite well working for the street rail system.  Denis and Bridget also have five children by 1900; Johanna is 13, Dennis is nine, Margaret is seven, my grandmother Mary Catherine is four, and William is two. They lost a two-year-old son in 1891.[15]

In 1906 Denis Cronin was very active in the street railway employee union since he runs for president of the streetcar employee’s union.[16]  Over 1100 workers voted but unfortunately Denis comes in second by 210 votes. [17]

Another event that occurs in 1909 that affirms Denis' growing prosperity was his ability to take a trip with his wife and young daughter to Ireland to visit his family. Denis applies for a passport and provides us with lots of personal information. In 1910 we find that Denis bought a second home at 719 Campbell street by auction for $3,300[18] and he moves from 211 Nineteenth Street to his new home.

In 1920 the census states Denis is still working as a motorman, lives at 719 Campbell street.[19]  Sometime after 1920 Denis retires and then on November 30, 1924 Denis' wife, Bridget, died.[20]  A year later, Denis decided to travel to Los Angeles to visit his brother, Daniel.  It is while he is in California that he died on December 21, 1925.[21]  His body is shipped back to Detroit and he is buried in Mt Elliott Cemetery next to his wife. According to my mother, when Denis died, he left a house for each of his children. 

Denis’ prosperity was measured by his ability to find work to earn a good wage, and his participation in a union to advocate for safe working conditions and a fair wage for all.  By working hard and investing he was able to purchase several homes to help his children.  And during his 48 years in Detroit, Denis and his family were able to practice their faith without conflict. He was an example of how an immigrant can attain prosperity!

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[1]Denis Cronin, death certificate Local Registered No. 194 (died 21 Dec 1925), Department of Public Health, San Francisco City and County, California.  

[2] Cork City Council, Cork City Libraries, Grand Parade, Cork, Ireland, Cork, Past and Present, accessed: 19 Feb 2020, http://www.corkpastandpresent.ie/history/historyofcorkcity/1700-1900/corkinthe19thcentury/

[3] Ancestry.com, U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925, Dennis Cronin, certificate 10227.

[4] Ancestry.com, Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915, Dionysius Cronin, residence: Coolnarna.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Google Maps- https://www.google.com/maps/@52.0908325,-9.1983506,11z?hl=en

[7] Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 accessed: 20 Feb 2020, page 317, Dennis Cronin; citing "Detroit, Michigan, City Directory, 1882.

[8] Department of Labor, Nineteenth Annual Report of the Commissioner of Labor 1905 Labor and Wages, page 711, Bureau of Labor, Google Books, https://books.google.com/books?id=p_ZKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA710&dq=1890s+Annual+Income+molder+Detroit&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjUy9XC-u3nAhVIRKwKHYZ9AUQQ6AEwAnoECAIQAg#v=onepage&q=1890s%20Annual%20Income%20molder%20Detroit&f=false

[9] “When stoves were the hot new thing”, The Detroit News, 24 Jan 2015, accessed: 20 Feb 2020, <https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan-history/2015/01/24/stove-capital-detroit-history/22234051/>

[10] Ancestry.Com, Michigan, County Marriages, 1822-1940, Denis Cranin (misspelled Cronin).

[11] Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989", accessed: 20 Feb 2020, page 429, Dennis Cronin; citing "Detroit, Michigan, City Directory, 1886.

[12] Detroit Transit History.info, The Pre-D.S.R. Years- Part II, Labor Unrest.  http://www.detroittransithistory.info/TheEarlyYears.html

[13] Ibid

[14] Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census, Detroit Ward 10, Wayne, Michigan, page: 10B; ED 107, Dennis Cronin, accessed: 13 May 2010.

[15] Ancestry.com, Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1950, John Daniel Cronin.

[16] 'Street Car Men Elect', The Detroit Free Press, 5 Dec 1906, Wed, p. 8; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3482663/denis-cronin-runs-for-president-of/)

[17] Ibid

[18] Denis Cronin house purchase, The Detroit Free Press, 18 Sep 1910, Sun, p.44; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45178589/dennis-cronin-house-purchase-719/)

[19] Ancestry.com, 1920 United States Federal Census, Detroit, Ward 16, Wayne, Michigan, page 5A, ED 495, Dennis Cronin, accessed: 13 May 2010.

[20]  Ancestry.com, Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952, Bridget Enzian (misspelled Cronin), accessed 20 Feb 2020.

[21] Denis Cronin, death certificate Local Registered No. 194 (died 21 Dec 1925), Department of Public Health, San Francisco City and County, California.