Pittsburgh rail

 

Pittsburgh. Margaret Bourke-White.

From James O'Brien's obituary, he had been a long time worker for the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie railroad. One can learn more about the railroad on the Great Allegheny Passage website. Several of James' sons also went into the railroad business, as Daniel, William and Thomas can be seen in the 1900 US Census with various jobs with the railroad.

Company records for P&LE railroad can be found at the University of Pittsburgh Library. It is highly possible there is more information on the O'Brien family in these records.

Historic Pittsburgh.

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. 

It's worth it

A quick note, and no screenshots until I blur out some information on shared matches because the new enhanced features really are a gamechanger. I needed a mental break, so I dug into family history research. I thought the new tools would help uncover the connections on the Dooner-adjacent side of my Dad's O'Brien line, and maybe they will with a bit more sleuthing. 

I was more surprised to see a huge cluster of DNA matches pop up very clearly centered in Pittsburgh, descending from a James John O'Brien born in Ireland sometime about 1843. I likely have a common ancestor around James' grandfather (or grand-uncle), connecting into my 3rd-great-grandfather John O'Brien. As he was born about 1793 in Ireland, I thought it was unlikely I'd be able to tie into this line of the tree. But we're close. Really close. There's more work to do, but I can see much more possibilities now with a clear tie to a big cluster of matches on the O'Brien line.

On my Mom's side of the tree, I've run into some complications and may need to redo my steps on the mysterious Cain-Flatt line.

As to whether it was worth it to pay the extra $10 per month for Pro Tools, so far yes, but I wish these features were included into the All Access we're already paying for. Enhanced shared matches alone is pretty amazing. Now roll out updated matches with DNA communities and we'll be really on our way. 

Pressing on

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Noordwijk, NL. 19 June 2022.

A dear friend received terrible news. I can only offer words of encouragement and await further information. Clearing out the calendar to provide space in order to help when the time is right. Most things seem small at the moment.

The shot above is from a hike along the Dutch coast, not far from where I took this kitesurfing photo. Happier times.

More hints

 

Google Maps. Roscommon & Longford area.

Looking again at my Dad's DNA communities, I'm drawn back to the top match "HD" with Gannon connections to Termonbarry, County Roscommon, Ireland. The Dooner family were also in the same area, which I wrote about in March 2024. While I have not found a marriage record for Patrick Dooner and Bridget, it seems more than a coincidence that my Dad has a DNA match with a traceable family line back to the same village. It's also the same small area where the Hanley family was living, matching the name of Bridget's neighbors in the 1850 US Census in La Salle, Illinois.

Ancestry. Griffith's Valuation entry.

Timothy Hanley was from neighboring Kilglass, but there are several Gannon and Hanley names in Kilbarry, as seen in the Griffith's Valuation entry above. HD's ancestor, Edward Gannon, was born in Kilbarry in 1849. His parents were Edward Gannon Sr and Bridget Gannon. Bridget was a very common name in Roscommon during this time.

Edward Sr. had brothers Daniel and Michael Gannon. Michael married Bridget Hanley in neighboring Kilteevan, County Roscommon in February 1824. Another Gannon-Hanley connection is also in the records. A man named Donnell Gannon had a daughter Bridget Gannon in 1824, and his wife is listed as Maria Hanley.

Ancestry. Griffith's Valuation. Termonbarry.