Who is Bridget Finnicane?
After finding the civil birth and death records for Timothy and Michael Crowley, I decided I wanted to find more information. I am especially interested in finding more about Mary Finnicane. Most records about her, don't list her maiden name and most records that do have several different spellings. You can read more about her here and here. So, I decided to write to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Archive and find the baptismal records for my grandfather John Thomas Crowley and his brothers Timothy and Michael.
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| Coat of Arms of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, used with permission. * |
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Archive is very short staffed and I had forgotten I had written to them until five months later I received the following response:
"Good Morning Ms. Price,
Thank you for contacting the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston archive. I hope my message finds you well. I am a new full-time staff member at the archive and have been going through our older reference inquiries. It appears that your message to us was left unresolved; we sincerely apologize for the great delay in our response to your request.
The Patronage of Saint Joseph was the only Catholic parish established prior to the year of your grandfather’s birth in 1872. In a volume of baptismal records from this parish, I located the record in question. It states that John Crowley, born November 15th, 1872, was baptized the same day. He was the son of Jeremiah Crowley and Mary Finnicane. His baptismal sponsors were Cornelius Keffe [sp?] and Bridget Finnicane. Rev. Chris T. McGrath officiated. There are no additional notations included.
In this same volume, I also located the following record:
Timothy Crowley, born June 5th, 1874, was baptized June 7th of the same year. He was the son of Jeremiah Crowley and Mary Finneane. His baptismal sponsors were Eugene Gormley and Margaret Hickey. Rev. Chris T. McGrath officiated. There are no additional notations included.
In searching for Michael’s record, I came across something that may be of interest. It is the record of an individual named Michael Crowley, born June 7th, 1877, who was baptized June 10th of the same year. He was the son of John Michael Crowley and Mary Cinikan [sp?]. His sponsors were Dennis Crowley and Bridget Cinikan [sp?]. Mary’s maiden name does not at all correspond with how it is written in the other records; however, I thought it was curious that this individual also has a sponsor named Bridget, like your grandfather. In your research, have you come across a Dennis Crowley? This relation might be the best way for confirming the accuracy of this record.
Thank you again for your patience. I look forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes,
MaryJo
MaryJo Donzella
Archive Assistant
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
66 Brooks Drive, Braintree, MA 02184"
Well, that was a surprise. I know that the record for Michael Crowley matches even though Mary's maiden name is spelled wrong and his father's name is wrong also because it is the same birthdate. I do not know of a Dennis Crowley in the family, yet anyway. I know that Eugene Gormley and Cornelius Keffe where neighbors also living on Fitchburg Street. But...who is Bridget Finnicane? A sister, cousin, aunt of Mary Finnicane? My daughters and I have searched but can not seem to find any records that would match her to our Mary Finnicane. We will keep trying.
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