Person in this family

Catherine Meaney Leahey

This entry is about Catherine Meaney Leahey (13 November 1871 – 16 August 1939). For other family members with the same first and family name, see Catherine Agnes Tobin Leahey (25 October 1873 (compiled) – February 1901 (compiled)), Catherine Leahey (Dates not recorded), Catherine Theresa Leahey (about 1874 (compiled) – 25 April 1955).

13 November 1871 – 16 August 1939

Catherine Elizabeth Meaney was born at Brooklyn on 13 November 1871, a daughter of Thomas Francis Meaney and a Catherine whose maiden name is not recorded. She married Matthew Sylvester Leahey and they had at least nine children in Bayonne, of whom two died small — Helena Veronica in 1900, in the year she was born, and Thomas at four in 1906. She outlived Matthew by five years and died at Bayonne on 16 August 1939, and is buried at Holy Name Cemetery in block F, section JA, grave 38.

Proved by a record

Catherine Meaney married Matthew Leahy at St. Mary’s R. C. Church in 1889; the newspaper named her sister Annie and best man James Finnan.

Born at Brooklyn, New York City, New York Died at Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey

Recorded as: Catherine Meaney, Catherine Leahy

How is this person related?

Show the relationship to

Andrew John Leahey’s great-great-grandparent's sibling'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 Meaney Leahey is the spouse of your 2× great-grandparent’s sibling.

Life

The Jersey City News reported on 15 June 1889: “Matthew Leahy and Miss Catherine Meaney were married by the Rev. Father Andrew M. Egan in St. Mary’s R. C. Church recently. The bridesmaid was the young lady’s sister, Miss Annie Meaney and James Finnan acted as best man.” The notice documents Catherine as Matthew’s wife and Annie as Catherine’s sister. Because it says “recently,” the publication date is the archive’s working marriage date while the exact ceremony date still needs the original return.

A Dempsey funeral-book entry reads: “Annie Leahey ... 8/6/1894 ... 95 Hobart Ave ... Tom Meaney / Catherine ... Aged 21y, deed to Dennis Leahy.” The shared Annie and Meaney names suggest that this may be Catherine’s sister and 1889 bridesmaid, perhaps recorded under Leahey after marriage or through a family association. That connection is an inference only: the funeral entry does not directly identify Annie as Catherine’s sister or explain the Leahey surname.

How we know this: The 1889 newspaper directly documents Catherine Meaney’s marriage to Matthew Leahy and names her sister Annie. Identification of the 1894 Annie Leahey funeral entry with that sister remains an inference. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]

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 184119540

Why this memorial is attached

Matched by spouse Matthew Sylvester Leahy and the archive’s 1889 marriage report naming Matthew Leahy and Catherine Meaney. Find a Grave memorial 184119540 (findagrave.com).

Spouse Matthew Sylvester Leahy 1866–1934 (m. 1888)

[COMPILED] Volunteer-typed memorial fields

These fields are leads, not civil or church records, and do not replace documented dates. Find a Grave memorial 184119540 (findagrave.com).

Name: Catherine Elizabeth Meaney Leahy Birth: 13 Nov 1871 Death: 16 Aug 1939 (aged 67) Cemetery: Holy Name Cemetery and Mausoleum, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, USA Plot: Blk-F Sec-JA Gr-38 1E Family links: Parents: Thomas Francis Meaney 1849–1917; Catherine Meaney unknown–1937. Spouse: Matthew Sylvester Leahy 1866–1934 (m. 1888). Sibling: Ann Meaney Leahey 1875–1894. Children:
Show the full recordHide the full recordFull record, about 100 words
Dennis C Leahey 1890–1968; Catherine Elizabeth Leahey Quinlan 1893–1940; Anna Estelle Leahey McNelis 1895–1964; Ellen Teresa Leahey 1897–1933; Helena Veronica Leahey 1900–1900; Thomas F Leahey 1902–1906; Bertha Marie Leahey Blackwood 1905–1953; Jean Cecilia Leahey Leary 1907–1981; Matthew Sylvester Leahey Jr 1912–1984; Matthew Leahey 1914–1914.

Photograph status: a photographed inscription is available and shown below. Find a Grave memorial 184119540 (findagrave.com).

[RECORD] Photographed inscription, transcribed verbatim

LEAHEY

Citation: Find a Grave memorial 184119540 (findagrave.com); monument photograph credited below.

Cemetery photograph from Find a Grave memorial 184119540 — Photograph by Susan Peltz. Copyright remains with the photographer. From Find a Grave memorial 184119540 (findagrave.com).

Where they lived

1939: Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey

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

Places listed on this page

Brooklyn, New York City, New York
Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey
Holy Name Cemetery, Jersey City Cemetery or burial place
New Jersey
New York
Holy Name Cemetery, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey Cemetery or burial place
United States
Hobart Avenue, Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey
Bayonne, Hudson County, 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. 3 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

15 June 1889

Married Matthew Leahy

The Jersey City News reported the marriage at St. Mary’s R. C. Church. Catherine’s sister Annie Meaney was bridesmaid and James Finnan was best man. [1]

Proved by a record

10 June 1889

Married Matthew Leahey

New Jersey marriage index, p351 m12: she was 17. The index places it at Atlantic, New Jersey, which does not agree with this family's Bayonne, and her memorial gives the year as 1888 — both are recorded rather than reconciled.

Proved by a record

6 August 1894

Possible sister Annie in funeral record

A Dempsey funeral-book entry for Annie Leahey at 95 Hobart Avenue names Tom Meaney and Catherine and says she was 21. Because the 1889 marriage notice calls Annie Meaney Catherine’s sister, this may be the same Annie, but the connection is an inference rather than a proved identification. [2]

Proved by a record

16 August 1939

Obituary proves Meaney family

Her obituary names brothers Thomas, Detective Daniel and Patrolman James Meaney, directly establishing her maiden family. [3]

Proved by a record

16 August 1939

Church societies

The obituary reports membership in the Rosary Society and Sacred Heart League of St. Andrew’s. [3]

Proved by a record

19 August 1939

Funeral and burial

The Saturday funeral left from Mrs. McNelis’s home at 135 Lexington Avenue; a solemn high mass was offered at St. Andrew’s Church at 9 o’clock, followed by Holy Name Cemetery burial under John P. Browne’s direction. [5]

Proved by a record

Original records

Matthew Leahy and Catherine Meaney marriage, The Jersey City News, 15 June 1889
This old record gives information about the person or family named here. It matters on this page because it records information connected with Catherine Meaney Leahey.
Open the larger document
Original source (loc.gov)
Full verified transcription — reproduced in full.
Matthew Leahy and Miss Catherine Meaney were married by the Rev. Father Andrew M. Egan in St. Mary’s R. C. Church recently. The bridesmaid was the young lady’s sister, Miss Annie Meaney and James Finnan acted as best man.