Person in this family
Catherine Lavelle
This entry is about Catherine Lavelle (Born about May 1894; death not recorded). For other family members with the same first and family name, see Catherine Lavelle (Dates not recorded).
Born about May 1894; death not recorded
Baptismal material names “Cath. Lavelle” as mother of Barbara and Catherine Brennan in two St. Mary baptisms: Catherine and Thomas brought Barbara to St. Mary’s three days after her June 1886 birth and Catherine one day after her October 1888 birth. However, this profile's user-tree birth of May 1894 makes it impossible for her to be the mother of Barbara (born 1886) or Mary Veronica (born 1884). Those maternal links are removed; this profile may be a later wife of Thomas Brennan or a conflation with an older woman. A separate page now holds the baptismal mother — see the other Catherine Lavelle — so that the evidence of the two baptisms has somewhere to sit without this profile's impossible date being forced onto it. Neither page has been merged away.
Proved by a record
Catherine Lavelle was the mother of Barbara and Catherine Brennan, whose Bayonne baptisms in 1886 and 1888 disprove a reported 1894 birth date.
Birth: From our family tree - no record found yet
How is this person related?
Andrew John Leahey’s great-great-grandparent's spouse (by marriage)
Gina D. Cacace’s connected in this tree, but not by a line this tool can name
Abigail Ann Leahey’s great-great-great-grandparent's spouse (by marriage)
Marie C. Fitzgerald’s connected in this tree, but not by a line this tool can name
Kevin Leahey’s great-grandparent's spouse (by marriage)
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:
Catherine Lavelle is the spouse of your 2× great-grandparent.
Life
Catherine Lavelle was recorded with Thomas Brennan as the mother of at least two daughters baptized at St. Mary in Bayonne; our family tree identifies Thomas as her spouse. Barbara Brennan's entry reads "June 10 – 1886 | June 13 – 1886 | Thomas | Cath. Lavelle," recording baptism three days after birth. Catherine Brennan's entry records birth on 6 October 1888, baptism the next day, and parents Thomas and Cath. Lavelle.
The younger Catherine's sponsors were Peter Lavelle and Anna McCabe. Peter's shared surname suggests a possible family connection, but the record does not state what that connection was.
Our family tree records Catherine Lavelle a birth date in May 1894. That cannot describe the mother in these baptisms, who had already borne a child in 1886. The date is therefore a bad merge or a bad date, not a usable fact about her life.
Barbara later appears as the mother of infant Margaret Leahey in a 1914 funeral entry, but that record adds nothing about Catherine herself. Catherine's birth, parents, marriage, residences, and death remain unknown.
How we know this: Two original baptisms securely identify Catherine as a mother and expose an impossible family-tree birth date, but little else is known about her. [1][2][3]
Family
Spouse
See this family in the family treeWhere they lived
Use the place list first. The map below is optional.
Places listed on this page
- Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey
- Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York
- England
- Germany
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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
Life event
Barbara later appears as a mother in the funeral entry for “Margaret | Leahey … 05/20/1914 | 83 W 12th St. … James/US | Barbara Brennan/US … Aged 11m.” [3]
Proved by a record
Original records
Tap to open a larger copySt. Mary Star of the Sea baptism register, Barbara Brennan, 1886
This is an entry in a church book, often naming a child, parents, and godparents.
Open the larger document
Original source (hudsoncountynjgenealogy.org)
Machine-read text (may contain errors) · Good machine reading
Automated reading aid only. The human-verified quotations elsewhere in the archive remain authoritative.
No. 59 Name of Date and Date of Father’s Sponsors Priest Marriage,
Person Place of Baptism Name etc.
Baptized Birth Mother’s
Maiden
Name
113 Mary Eliz. May 19 - June 5 - Francis Hugo A. Egan
Russell 1886 1886 Marg't Fitzpatrick
Turner Mary Turner
114 Mary Theresa May 26 - June 6 - Thomas Jos. Rickley "
Schinemens 1886 1886 Theresa Julia
Kigler Blaubuliel
115 George May 29 - June 6 - George Daniel "
Somers 1886 1886 Mary Scanlon
Whelan Elizabeth
Bull
116 Mary May 31 - June 6 - Edward John Welsh "
McGuire 1886 1886 Julia Cath.
Whelehan Herrick
117 Daniel Lehan May 28 - June 6 - John Patrick "
1886 1886 Honora Lehan
Connell Mary
Connell
118 James Kenny June 9 - June 13 - James William "
1886 1886 Rose Lynch
O'Donnell Mary Lynch
119 Thomas Lauth May 29 - June 13 - Adam Thomas "
1886 1886 Mary Hausein
Hausein Johanna
Lauth
120 Henry Reilly June 10 - June 13 - James Patk. "
1886 1886 Cath. Donahue
Donahue Alice Reilly
121 Barbara June 10 - June 13 - Thomas Patrick "
Brennan 1886 1886 Cath. Powers
Lavelle
122 William May 28 - June 13 - Michael Hugo "
Sweeney 1886 1886 Susan Savage
Brady Mary
O'Brien
Tap to open a larger copySt. Mary Star of the Sea baptism register, Catherine Brennan, 1888
This is an entry in a church book, often naming a child, parents, and godparents.
Open the larger document
Original source (hudsoncountynjgenealogy.org)
Machine-read text (may contain errors) · Good machine reading
Automated reading aid only. The human-verified quotations elsewhere in the archive remain authoritative.
No.27 Name of Date Date of Father’s Sponsors Priest Record of
Person and Baptism Name Marriage,
Baptized Place etc.
of Mother’s
Birth Maiden
Name
203 Elizabeth Sept Sept 23 William John A.M.
Trodden 19 - - 1888 Hughes Egan
1888 Mary
Anna Eliz.
McNally Hughes
204 James Sept Sept 23 Thomas Patrick " Married
Patk. 19 - - 1888 Magner Elizabeth
Magner 1888 Cath. Devine
Bannon Mary Apr 29 -
Lynch 1915 at
St. Peter
Brooklyn
by John
Devine
205 John Sept Sept 30 John Anna "
Nicholas 26 - - 1888 McMahon
Duane 1888 Anastasia
Pomfred Ellen
Doyle
206 Julia Aug Sept 30 Andrew John "
Dowd 20 - - 1888 Inglesby
1888 Catherine
Morton Marg't
Fahey
207 Mary Aug Sept 30 Andrew John Long "
Dowd 20 - - 1888
1888 Catherine Marg't
Morton Norton
208 Mary Sept Sept 30 James William "
Anna 14 - - 1888 Lee
Eakin 1888 Mary Lee
Marg't
Carroll
209 Catherine Oct 6 Oct 7 - Thomas Peter "
Brennan - 1888 1888 Lavelle
Cath.
Lavelle Anna
McCabe
210 Herman Aug Oct 7 - Joseph Herman "
Ottinger 31 - 1888 Hartung
1888 Minnie
Hartung Julia
Keating
211 Leo Brady Sept Oct 7 - Terence John "
23 - 1888 Brady
1888 Sara
Smith Jane
Brady
212 Matilda Sept Oct 7 - John Engelbert "
Brandt 28 - 1888 Olt
1888 Marg't
Heffner Matilda
HeffnerWhat the records say
3 records transcribed.
Record exhibit
baptism
This is an entry in a church book, often naming a child, parents, and godparents.
Proved by a record
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
Barbera /Brennan/ | Barbara Brennan | June 10 - 1886 | June 13 - 1886 | Thomas | Cath. Lavelle | Patrick Powers | Barbara Brennan, | June 10 - 1886, | 24 | 141 | CHIL | 83 W 12th St. | 121 Barbara Brennan | June 10 – 1886 | June 13 – 1886 | Thomas | Cath. Lavelle | Patrick Powers. | 121 Barbara Brennan | June 10 – 1886 | June 13 – 1886 | Thomas | Cath. Lavelle | Patrick Powers.
Record exhibit
1888
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Proved by a record
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
Cath. Lavelle | 209 Catherine Brennan | Oct 6 – 1888 | Oct 7 – 1888 | Thomas | Cath. Lavelle | Peter Lavelle | Anna McCabe. | 209 Catherine Brennan | Oct 6 – 1888 | Oct 7 – 1888 | Thomas | Cath. Lavelle | Peter Lavelle | Anna McCabe.
Record exhibit
1914 Dempsey transcription
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Proved by a record
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
James Leahey ... 06/01/1914 ... 83 W 12th St. ... John/US Margaret Mahoney/US ... Aged 28y ... train operator. | Margaret Leahey ... 05/20/1914 ... 83 W 12th St. ... James/US Barbara Brennan/US ... Aged 11m. | Dennis Leahey/Ire Ann Galvin/Ire ... Aged 38y, Born US ... Ordered by John Hedley. | Dennis/Ire Anna Galvin/Ire ... Aged 83y,1m,11d, Born US (Syracuse, NY), Widower.Show the full recordHide the full recordFull record, about 400 words
| Dennis/Ire Ann Rowlor/Ire, | John/US Margaret Mahoney/US | George | Hoffman | H155 | 02/05/1915 | 36 W 23rd St. … Bayonne y … unknown/Germany … unknown/Germany | HCCC | Aged 69y,2m, Born Germany, 35y resident of state, Married, Occupation stillman | in a small number of entries the dates may be of the date of burial and not the date of death | Edward | Hoffman … 12/19/1914 | 10 W 21st St. … George/US | Mary Lynch/US | HCCC | Aged 3m, Born US, Date of birth 9/22/1914, Buried in Block C, No. 1061 | Nov 1846 | Aged 69y,2m, | Edward | Hoffman … 12/19/1914 | 10 W 21st St. … George/US | Mary Lynch/US | HCCC | Aged 3m, Born US, Date of birth 9/22/1914, Buried in Block C, No. 1061. | Edward | Hoffman … 12/19/1914 | 10 W 21st St. … George/US | Mary Lynch/US | HCCC | Aged 3m, Born US, Date of birth 9/22/1914, Buried in Block C, No. 1061. | Margaret | Leahey … 05/20/1914 | 83 W 12th St. … James/US | Barbara Brennan/US … Aged 11m. | Margaret | Leahey … 05/20/1914 | 83 W 12th St. … James/US | Barbara Brennan/US … Aged 11m. | George | Hoffman | H155 | 02/05/1915 | 36 W 23rd St. … unknown/Germany … unknown/Germany | HCCC | Aged 69y,2m, Born Germany, 35y resident of state, Married, Occupation stillman. | Nov 1846 … Germany … 1880 | in a small number of entries the dates may be of the date of burial and not the date of death, | stillman | unknown/Germany | George | Hoffman | H155 | 02/05/1915 | 36 W 23rd St. … unknown/Germany … unknown/Germany | HCCC | Aged 69y,2m, Born Germany, 35y resident of state, Married, Occupation stillman. | George/US | Mary Lynch/US | Date of birth 9/22/1914, | Block C, No. 1061. | Catherine | Lynch | L520 | 10/11/1917 | 16 W 21st St. … John Griffith/Ire | Anna Shannon/Ire | Mt. Olivet | Aged 58y, Born England, Widow. | John Griffith | George/US | Mary Lynch/US | Catherine | Lynch | L520 | 10/11/1917 | 16 W 21st St. … John Griffith/Ire | Anna Shannon/Ire | Mt. Olivet | Aged 58y, Born England, Widow.
Historical context
These background articles explain the places, work, and events in this entry.
Bayonne and the Industrial Waterfront, 1870–1920
The Bayonne in these family records was a new city built around water, rails and heavy industry. Bayonne Township was formed only in 1861, uniting older settlements on Bergen Neck; it became a city in 1869. The…
What Sponsors and Witnesses Can Tell Us
Catholic registers often preserve the people standing just outside a family photograph. A baptism normally names the child, parents, date and sponsors or godparents; a marriage normally names the couple and wit…
A Stillman in Bayonne’s Oil Works
George Hoffman’s 1900 census entry calls him a “Stillman Oil Refinery” and places his family at 36 West 23rd Street in Bayonne. His 1915 funeral entry still gives his occupation as “stillman.” That was not a su…
A Train Operator in Bayonne, 1914
James D. Leahey’s funeral entry records a compact working life: married, American-born, age twenty-eight, living at 83 West 12th Street in Bayonne, occupation “train operator.” He died on 1 June 1914, twelve da…
What we still don't know
- Her actual birth date and place
- Her parents
- Her marriage date and place
- Her relationship, if any, to sponsor Peter Lavelle
- Her residences, death date, and burial place
- Her own identity remains thin despite the decisive correction to the tree. Find Thomas and Catherine Brennan in the 1880/1900 censuses, Bayonne directories, civil marriage index, and death records; test Peter Lavelle as a brother or other relative.
- Determine whether this 1894 Catherine Lavelle was a later wife of Thomas Brennan or whether her date/profile was conflated with the older Cath. Lavelle named in the Brennan baptisms.