Person in this family
John Joseph Fitzgerald
This entry is about John Joseph Fitzgerald (2 September 1913 – 14 March 1981). For other family members with the same first and family name, see John Fitzgerald (about 1833 – 20 April 1903), John Fitzgerald (Born 1 January 1859; death not recorded), John Fitzgerald (5 October 1900 – 14 September 1971), John Fitzgerald (Dates not recorded).
2 September 1913 – 14 March 1981
John Joseph Fitzgerald was born in Jersey City on 2 September 1913 and registered for the draft there on its first day in 1940; registration does not establish military service.
Documented-And-Compiled
John Joseph Fitzgerald was born in Jersey City on 2 September 1913 and registered for the draft there on its first day in 1940; registration does not establish military service.
Born at Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey Died at St. Francis Hospital (location unverified)
Recorded as: John Fitzgerald
Death: From our family tree - no record found yet
How is this person related?
Andrew John Leahey’s grandparent
Gina D. Cacace’s spouse's grandparent (by marriage)
Abigail Ann Leahey’s great-grandparent
Marie C. Fitzgerald’s parent
Kevin Leahey’s spouse's parent (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:
John Joseph Fitzgerald is your grandparent.
Life
John Joseph Fitzgerald was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on 2 September 1913. His father, David Fitzgerald, was an Irish immigrant labourer from Cullane, County Limerick, and his mother, Catherine Condon, came from Flemingstown, County Cork. The 1920 and 1930 United States census indexes independently identify John in their Jersey City household with his sisters Mary and Margaret. Both census indexes round his birth year to about 1914. The draft registration index gives the precise date 2 September 1913, an exact match to the date preserved in the family tree; that exact match makes this a secure identification among the many men named John Fitzgerald. The more precise contemporary draft record is therefore preferred. The one-year census-index difference is retained as a minor conflict rather than silently discarded.
On 16 October 1940, aged 27, John registered in Jersey City on the first day of the first Selective Service registration, which covered men aged 21 to 35. Registering for the draft is not the same as military service. Every eligible man had to register. Nothing now in this archive establishes that John served, or identifies a branch, rank, or unit.
The Ancestry index identifies the card as record 301750207 and image 44025_03_00023-01417, but the card image is behind Ancestry's paywall and could not be transcribed. It should contain John's street address, employer and place of employment, next of kin, physical description, and signature. The image can be obtained through Ancestry, Ancestry Library Edition at a public library, or NARA; in particular, it could reveal his employer and physical description.
John married Margaret Mary Farley, herself the daughter of an Irish immigrant, according to the family tree. Their marriage record has not yet been found. The tree records his death on 14 March 1981 at a St. Francis Hospital, but neither the hospital nor an independent death record has been identified.
John was the site owner's grandfather. Despite that close relationship, he remains one of the least documented people in this archive. These three records are his first independent sources: they establish his Jersey City childhood, support his parentage, and confirm his exact birth date, but leave most of his adult life unknown.
How we know this: The 1920 and 1930 census indexes independently support John's parentage and Jersey City childhood, and the 1940 draft-registration index confirms his exact birth date and birthplace. His marriage, death, burial, and any military service remain unproved. [1][2][3][4]
Family
Parents
Siblings · birth order
Spouse
Children
See this family in the family treeWhere they lived
Use the place list first. The map below is optional.
Places listed on this page
- Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey
- New Jersey
- Ireland
- St. Francis Hospital, Jersey City
- United States
- 775 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey
- 200 18th Street, Jersey City, 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
Born
Born 2 September 1913 in Jersey City, New Jersey. The exact date and place are indexed on his 1940 draft registration. [3]
Proved by a record
Recorded in the United States census
John Fitzgerald, born about 1914 in New Jersey, was enumerated in Jersey City with parents David and Catherine Fitzgerald and sisters Mary and Margaret. [1]
Proved by a record
In the 1920 census
United States census, 1920, Jersey City Ward 10, enumeration district 223, sheet 13B, household 296. David Fitzgerald, 42, head, born Ireland, arrived 1897; Catherine, 42, wife, born Ireland; and three children born in New Jersey — Margaret 9, Mary 7 and John 6. His age of six agrees with his documented birth in September 1913.
Proved by a record
Recorded in the United States census
John J. Fitzgerald, born about 1914 in New Jersey, was enumerated in Jersey City Ward 15 with parents David and Cathrine Fitzgerald and sisters Margaret M. and Mary A. [2]
Proved by a record
Registered for the Second World War draft
Registered in Jersey City on the first registration day, aged 27. Draft registration was compulsory for eligible men and is not evidence that he served in the military. [3]
Proved by a record
Died
St. Francis Hospital
From our family tree - no record found yet
Original records
Tap to open a larger copyCivil birth register, David Fitzgerald, 28 Mar 1875, Cullane
Civil registration means an official government record of a birth, marriage, or death. It matters on this page because it records information connected with John Joseph Fitzgerald.
Tap to open a larger copyCivil birth register, Ellen Fitzgerald, 2 May 1873, Cullane
Civil registration means an official government record of a birth, marriage, or death. It matters on this page because it records information connected with John Joseph Fitzgerald.
Tap to open a larger copyCivil marriage register, John Fitzgerald and Bridget Fitzgerald, 12 Feb 1889, Ventry
Civil registration means an official government record of a birth, marriage, or death. It matters on this page because it records information connected with John Joseph Fitzgerald.
Tap to open a larger copyCivil marriage register, John Fitzgerald and Margaret Fraher, 25 Feb 1870, Kildorrery
Civil registration means an official government record of a birth, marriage, or death. It matters on this page because it records information connected with John Joseph Fitzgerald.
Tap to open a larger copyCivil birth register, Johanna Fitzgerald, 2 Dec 1878, Cullane
Civil registration means an official government record of a birth, marriage, or death. It matters on this page because it records information connected with John Joseph Fitzgerald.
Tap to open a larger copyCivil birth register, Patrick Fitzgerald, 10 Nov 1895, Cahirtrant
Civil registration means an official government record of a birth, marriage, or death. It matters on this page because it records information connected with John Joseph Fitzgerald.
Tap to open a larger copyCivil birth register, Richard Fitzgerald, 17 Apr 1872, Cullane
Civil registration means an official government record of a birth, marriage, or death. It matters on this page because it records information connected with John Joseph Fitzgerald.
Tap to open a larger copyCivil birth register, William Fitzgerald, 11 Jan 1877, Cullane
Civil registration means an official government record of a birth, marriage, or death. It matters on this page because it records information connected with John Joseph Fitzgerald.
What the records say
4 records transcribed.
Record exhibit
1920 United States census: David and Catherine Fitzgerald household
A census is a government list of the people who were living in a home.
Partly proved
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey: John Fitzgerald, born about 1914 in New Jersey, with parents David Fitzgerald and Catherine Fitzgerald and siblings Mary and Margaret.
Record exhibit
1930 United States census: David and Cathrine Fitzgerald household
A census is a government list of the people who were living in a home.
Partly proved
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
Jersey City Ward 15, Hudson County, New Jersey: John J. Fitzgerald, born about 1914 in New Jersey, with parents David and Cathrine Fitzgerald and siblings Margaret M. and Mary A.
Record exhibit
U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940–1947: John Joseph Fitzgerald
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Partly proved
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
John Joseph Fitzgerald; birth date 2 September 1913; birthplace Jersey City, New Jersey; registration date 16 October 1940; residence Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey. Ancestry record ID 301750207; image ID 44025_03_00023-01417.
Record exhibit
Jersey City directory — David and Cath Fitzgerald at 200 18th Street, 1925–1926
A city directory is an old address book that often lists a person's home and job.
Partly proved
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
[COMPILED] “Fitzgerald David (Cath) lab h200 18th.” [INFERENCE] “David (Cath)” is a strong match to the archive’s David–Catherine couple, but the row supplies no age or birthplace and is not joined to the 775 Newark Avenue row.
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…
Reading Irish Civil Registration
The year 1864 is the dividing line in this family’s Irish paper trail. Civil registration began in 1845 for non-Catholic and civil marriages, but from 1 January 1864 the law required registration of all births,…
The Irish Road to Ipswich, Queensland
Most branches on this site point toward New York or New Jersey. The Hickey–McGreevy–McGuire cluster points in the opposite direction, to Ipswich, Queensland. The Australian evidence is uneven: cemetery records …
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
- The draft registration index records a 2 September 1913 birth, while the 1920 and 1930 census indexes estimate about 1914; the exact draft-card date is preferred, but the minor conflict remains recorded.
- Did he serve in the Second World War, and if so in which branch? Draft registration does not establish service. Research routes: NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938–1946 at aad.archives.gov, filtered to New Jersey, Hudson County, and birth year 1913; Hudson County Second World War discharge records held by the County Clerk; and the VA gravesite locator, which gives branch, rank, and war when a veteran has a marker.
- Obtain the draft card image for his street address, employer and place of employment, next of kin, physical description, and signature. It is available through Ancestry, Ancestry Library Edition at a public library, or NARA.
- Find his 1940 and 1950 United States census entries.
- Find his marriage record to Margaret Mary Farley.
- Find his 1981 obituary and establish his burial place.
- Identify which St. Francis Hospital was meant and obtain a record of his reported death there.
- Do not assign John to 200 18th Street from the 1925–1926 directory: that row names only David and Cath, not their children.
References
- [1] 1920 United States census: David and Catherine Fitzgerald householdBack to citation 1a Back to citation 1b
- [2] 1930 United States census: David and Cathrine Fitzgerald householdBack to citation 2a Back to citation 2b
- [3] U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940–1947: John Joseph FitzgeraldBack to citation 3a Back to citation 3b Back to citation 3c
- [4] Jersey City directory — David and Cath Fitzgerald at 200 18th Street, 1925–1926Back to citation 4