Person in this family

Barbera Brennan

10 June 1886 – December 1961

The woman is recorded as Barbara, not Barbera: St. Mary Star of the Sea baptized Barbara Brennan, daughter of Thomas and Catherine Lavelle, in 1886. Our family tree's “Barbera /Brennan/” and 1887–1963 dates are therefore partly wrong. Barbara’s baptism says “June 10 - 1886” and names sponsor “Patrick Powers”. Her marriage index and baby Margaret’s funeral entry then carry the family into a West 12th Street household in 1914: “83 W 12th St.”.

Proved by a record

Barbera Brennan, recorded as Barbara, was born in Bayonne on 10 June 1886, married James Leahey in 1904, and may be the Barbara Murphy who died in 1961.

Born at Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey Died at New Jersey

How is this person related?

Show the relationship to

Andrew John Leahey’s great-grandparent

Worked out from the recorded parents and marriages. No sex is recorded for anyone in this archive, so the wording stays neutral.

How this person is related to Andrew:
Barbera Brennan is your great-grandparent.

Life

Barbera Brennan is called Barbara Brennan in the contemporary records. St. Mary Star of the Sea recorded her birth on 10 June 1886 and baptism three days later. The register reads: "Barbara Brennan | June 10 – 1886 | June 13 – 1886 | Thomas | Cath. Lavelle | Patrick Powers." It identifies her parents as Thomas Brennan and Catherine Lavelle and names Patrick Powers as sponsor. The spelling recorded here "Barbera" and birth year 1887 are therefore contradicted by the church record.

The New Jersey marriage index (external address omitted for offline reading) records "BRENNAN BARBARA | LEAHEY JAMES | 24 | 141" in 1904. The index does not give the place or month, and the marriage return has not yet been obtained.

By May 1914, Barbara and James were living at "83 W 12th St." Their daughter Margaret's funeral entry names her parents as "James/US | Barbara Brennan/US" and says she was eleven months old when she died on 20 May 1914. James died twelve days later at age twenty-eight. His funeral entry still gave the same address and described him as married and employed as a train operator.

The 1912 Sanborn map, sheet 37 (external address omitted for offline reading) lets a relative picture their home rather than only read its address. Lot 83 held a yellow building marked "2½" and "D": using the Library of Congress key, a small two-and-a-half-storey wooden dwelling. The map documents the building in 1912; it does not by itself place the family there before their 1914 records.

A volunteer memorial identifies Barbara as Barbara Brennan Leahey Murphy, while the New Jersey death index contains the entry "MURPHY BARBARA" for December 1961. These two items suggest that she later used the surname Murphy, but this archive contains neither a second marriage record nor a death certificate proving that the indexed Barbara Murphy was James Leahey's widow. The reported second marriage, her precise death identity, and her burial therefore remain open questions.

How we know this: Documented for birth, baptism, first marriage, and the 1914 household; the later Murphy identity and December 1961 death are not yet proved. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Death and burial

Evidence distinction: [RECORD] means text read from the photographed stone. [COMPILED] means volunteer-typed memorial information and is only a lead.

Find a Grave memorial 99127677

Why this memorial is attached

Matched by exact documented birth date, marriage to James Leahey, and named children John and Margaret. Find a Grave memorial 99127677 (findagrave.com).

10 Jun 1886 | Spouse James Dennis Leahey 1886–1914 | Children John Joseph Leahey 1907–1980; Margaret Leahey 1913–1914

[COMPILED] Volunteer-typed memorial fields

These fields are leads, not civil or church records, and do not replace documented dates. Find a Grave memorial 99127677 (findagrave.com).

Name: Barbara Brennan Leahey Murphy Birth: 10 Jun 1886 Death: Dec 1961 (aged 75) Cemetery: Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum, North Arlington, Bergen County, New Jersey, USA Plot: Blk-64 Sec-A Gr-718 1A Family links: Spouse: James Dennis Leahey 1886–1914 (m. 1904). Children: Catherine C Leahey Chambers 1905–1970; John Joseph Leahey 1907–1980; George Edward Leahey 1909–1983; James Francis Leahey 1911–1983; Margaret Leahey 1913–1914; Marian Catherine Murphy 1916–1977; William Henry Murphy 1917–1997.

Photograph status: a photographed inscription is available and shown below. Find a Grave memorial 99127677 (findagrave.com).

[RECORD] Photographed inscription, transcribed verbatim

MURPHY 1886 BARBARA 1961 1916 MARIAN C. 1977 1905 CATHERINE LEAHEY CHAMBERS 1970

Citation: Find a Grave memorial 99127677 (findagrave.com); monument photograph credited below.

Cemetery photograph from Find a Grave memorial 99127677 — Photograph by Msully. Copyright remains with the photographer. From Find a Grave memorial 99127677 (findagrave.com).

Family

Where they lived

Use the place list first. The map below is optional.

Places listed on this page

Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey
North Arlington, Bergen County, New Jersey
Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington, Bergen County, New Jersey Cemetery or burial place
St. Mary Star of the Sea, Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey
United States
New Jersey

The map could not load. The complete place list is above it.

The pins show approximate places. The line only joins them in time order; it does not prove the route travelled. 2 of the places listed above are recorded only as a county or country, so they are not pinned. Cemetery and burial places have red pins.

Timeline

10 June 1886

Born

St. Mary Star of the Sea's register records Barbara Brennan's birth on 10 June 1886. [1]

Proved by a record

13 June 1886

Baptized

The same register records Barbara's baptism on 13 June 1886. [1]

Proved by a record

1904

Married

The New Jersey bride index records Barbara Brennan's marriage to James Leahey in 1904. [2]

Proved by a record

20 May 1914

Infant daughter's funeral entry

Margaret Leahey's funeral entry names James Leahey and Barbara Brennan as her parents and gives the household address as 83 W 12th St. [4]

Proved by a record

December 1961

Died

The New Jersey death index lists Barbara Murphy in December 1961. [6]

Proved by a record

1961

Photographed family monument

The monument names Barbara and the years 1886–1961. [8]

Proved by a record

Original records

New Jersey death index, Barbara Murphy, Dec 1961
An index is a list that points to where the full record can be found. It matters on this page because it records information connected with Barbera Brennan.
Open the larger document
Original source (archive.org)

1912 Sanborn map: 83 West 12th Street, Bayonne
This old record gives information about the person or family named here. It matters on this page because it records information connected with Barbera Brennan.
Open the larger document
Original source (tile.loc.gov)
**Credit:** Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division, Sanborn Maps Collection. Cropped from sheet 37. **Licence:** Public domain

What the records say

8 records transcribed.

Record exhibit