Policeman John James Fennessy of Jersey City, N.J.

 


John's billy club engraved 12207

John was born in Brooklyn on May 11, 1875, to Irish immigrant parents Daniel Fennessy and Mary Mullany.[1] Dan and Mary were both baptized in Ardfinnan, County Tipperary, but immigrated several years apart.[2] John was the oldest of their five children. He married Mary Kinane at St. Bridget’s Catholic church in Jersey City in 1895 and lived there until his death in 1944.[3]

For the first few years of their marriage, John worked as a clerk. They lived on Mercer St. in Jersey City, moving up and down the street to different apartments. Back in the days before television and radio, people would come watch handball tournaments on Mercer St. There are newspaper articles online giving his score in those tournaments.[4] In 1901 and 1902 he acted with an amateur theater group at St. Bridget’s.[5] At the same time, “Johnny” became one of the experts in a new sport, ping pong, at the church.[6] But maybe after Daniel Joseph was born in 1897, and Agnes in 1898, a clerk’s salary wasn’t enough to support four people.[7] He tried being a porter in 1902. By the end of 1903 he joined the Jersey City police force.[8] Just like in the old movies from the 1940s, he walked the beat with a whistle and a billy club, but on the night shift. In the first few months on the job, he earned a commendation by rescuing three children from a burning building.[9] The many newspaper articles mentioning him give me the impression he usually worked all night long. Occasionally he worked in the daytime. There are so many stories about him rescuing people from burning buildings, chasing criminals, being attacked by strikers, that I wonder if reporters sought him out because he was easy to talk to.

His wife Mary must have had a difficult time keeping the children quiet during the day. Besides Daniel and Agnes, they had a daughter Marion in 1904, a daughter Virginia in 1907, and possibly a son James.[10] They might have had more children, but Mary was almost thirty when she married John.[11] I have never been able to find a record showing the death or burial of James. They also lost their daughter Marion when she was 14 to the worldwide flu pandemic in October 1918.[12] From his five children, he became the grandfather of only two grandchildren, so his was a small family.

When he registered for the World War I draft, he was described as 43, tall, stout, with blue eyes and gray hair.[13]

Although he rose to the rank of lieutenant, the job apparently never paid enough to buy a house. They always lived in an apartment. He retired after 25 years on the force, in 1929.[14] Only a year and a half later, his wife Mary died.[15] He was so well known that when he had a non-fatal heart attack in 1941, there was a newspaper article about it.[16] He died in 1944 of a stroke.[17]

 


[1] “Finnessy,” Birth certificate no. 2518, (1875), Brooklyn, Kings County, N.Y.

[2] For Daniel’s baptism, Catholic Church (Ardfinnan parish, Waterford and Lismore diocese, [Tipperary, Ireland],  Parish register, Baptisms Jan. 4, 1827-June 30, 1845; Marriages Jan. 24, 1827-June 26, 1845, unnumbered pages, unnumbered entries in chronological order, “Danielum Fenysy,” baptism, 14 May 1840; “Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655–1915,” database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: downloaded 1 August 2021) > Waterford and Lismore > Ardfinnan > 1827–1845 > image 110 of 188; National Library of Ireland microfilm 02457/04. For Daniel’s immigration, “New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island, 1820-1957,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 7 August 2021) > Date > 1864 > Jul > 19 > Edinburgh > image 5 of 8; Daniel Fennessy, passenger 208, Image 389 of 830, arrived 19 July 1864, citing NARA RG 36, pub M237. For Mary’s baptism, Catholic Church (Ardfinnan parish, Waterford and Lismore diocese, [Tipperary, Ireland],  Parish register, Baptisms Jan. 4, 1827-June 30, 1845; Marriages Jan. 24, 1827-June 26, 1845, unnumbered pages, unnumbered entries in chronological order, “Michaelem Mullany et Catherinam White,” marriage, 21 Feb. 1841; “Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655–1915,” database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: downloaded 3 Dec. 2022) > Waterford and Lismore > Ardfinnan > 1827–1845 > image 180 of 188; National Library of Ireland microfilm 02457/04. For Mary’s immigration, “1900 United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 2 August 2021) > New York > Kings > Brooklyn Ward 07 > District 0077 > image 8 of 40; Mary Finnesey, 399 DeKalb Ave., Ward 7, Brooklyn, Kings, New York, p. 4 (penned), sheet 184B (stamped), line 78, dwelling 30, family 84; from NARA, RG 29, publication T623, FHL film 1241046.

[3] Church records, 1870-1942, St. Bridget’s Catholic Church, Jersey City, N.J. item 2, marriages, confirmations 1870-1902; image 848, FamilySearch film 1403267, citing p. 14, no. 52, 28 November 1895, John Fennessy & Mary Kinane.

[4] “Local Handball Games,” Jersey Journal (Jersey City, N.J.), 17 May 1897, p.3, col. 7; images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 30 August 2020).

[5] “St. Bridget’s Lyceum Dramatic Union,” Jersey Journal (Jersey City, N.J.), 19 November 1901, p. 7, col. 3; images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 30 August 2020).

[6] “Ping Pong at St. Bridget’s Lyceum,” Jersey Journal (Jersey City, N.J.), 26 November 1902, p. 12, col. 2; images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 30 August 2020).

[7] “1900 United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 14 August 2020) > New Jersey >Hudson > Jersey City Ward 05 > District 0112 > image 37, 237 Mercer St., 5th Precinct, citing ED 112, sheet 188A (stamped), p. 19 (penned), dwelling 100, family 401, John Fennessy.

[8] “Board of Police Commissioners Official Proceedings,” Jersey Journal (Jersey City, N.J.), 7 December 1903, p. 6, col. 8; images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 14 August 2020).

[9] “Police Board,” Jersey Journal (Jersey City, N.J.), 11 April 1904, p. 8, col. 8; images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 14 August 2020).

[10] 1910 U.S. Census, Hudson County, New Jersey, population schedule, Ward 5, Jersey City, ED 121, p. 13A (stamped), 252 Mercer St., dwelling 48, family 202, John Fennessy; “1910 United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com:  accessed 28 August 2020), image 25 of 63; FHL film 1,374,903, citing National Archives microfilm publication T624, roll 890.

[11] St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Jersey City, N.J., Baptismal Register, unpaginated, 24 June 1866, Mary Canaan; FHL film no. 1403371, image 673, FamilySearch.org: viewed 19 Dec. 2017.

[12] “Died,” The Jersey Journal (Jersey City, N.J.), 22 Oct. 1918, p. 11, col. 7; images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 4 June 2023).

[13] “U. S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 21 September 2020) > New Jersey > Jersey City > 05 > Draft Card F > image 93; card for John James Fennessy, serial no. 5120, Local Board For Division 5, City of Jersey City, N.J.; citing NARA record group M1509, roll no. 1712208 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

[14] “Lieut. Fennessey Retires April 1,” Jersey (Evening) Journal (Jersey City, N.J.), 20 March 1929, p. 18, col. 6; images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 27 September 2020).

[15] “Died,” Jersey (Evening) Journal (Jersey City, N.J.), 11 November 1930, p. 10, col. 8; images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 28 September 2020).

[16] “Lieut. Fennessey Has Heart Attack,” Jersey (Evening) Journal (Jersey City, N.J.), 18 October 1941, p. 17, col. 2; images, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 30 September 2020).

[17] Hudson County, New Jersey, death certificate no. [unnumbered], (3 May 1944), John Fennessy; New Jersey State Bureau of Vital Statistics, Trenton, N.J.

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