A cluster of O'Brien connections

 

Pittsburgh Press. 10 July 1914.

Using the shared matches feature on my Dad's AncestryDNA results, identifies a block of DNA connections very clearly all descending from James J. O'Brien. With the new enhanced version, I can now see how these people are connected to each other. From this group, we likely have a common ancestor at the 4th-great-grandparent level or connecting into a brother of the father of my 3rd-great-grandfather John O'Brien.

According to his death certificate, James was born on 6 May 1847 (his year of birth could have been between 1843-1847) in Ireland, to James and Mary O'Brien. This was reported by his son, William P. O'Brien. I have not yet been able to find James in the 1870 US Census, or pinpoint his arrival into the US, which would help trace him back to Ireland and link him to my O'Brien line.

James appears in the 1880 US Census, living in Pittsburgh with his first wife Mary and children.

1880 US Census. Allegheny County, PA.

I so far have not found a marriage record for James and Mary. The death certificates for several of their children list Mary's maiden name as Nolan.

James and Mary had at least the following children:

• John O'Brien
• Daniel F. O'Brien
• Dennis John O'Brien
• Michael J. O'Brien
• Mary O'Brien
• Maggie O'Brien
• William Patrick O'Brien
• Thomas Francis O'Brien

I suspect Mary died about 1882, as in the 1900 US Census, James appears with a second wife, also named Mary, with a marriage date about 1883. James' obituary above lists his wife as Mary McPeake O'Brien.

The 1880 City Directory for Pittsburgh shows James as a "section boss", living at 29th and Jane, which matches with his 1880 US Census entry on Jane Street.

There's more to do in order to connect this James with my direct O'Brien line.