ANCESTOR NO. 18: DANIEL FENNESSY (1840-1917)
Daniel Fennessy: An Irish Immigrant's Life in Brooklyn
Daniel Fennessy was born in May 1840 in Ardfinnan Parish,
County Tipperary, Ireland. Baptized on May 14, 1840, at the local church, he
was the son of John Fennessy and Mary Bushel.[1]
In those days, Catholic infants were typically baptized within a week or two of
birth, suggesting Daniel came into the world in early May of that year.
Daniel grew up in a large family in the Irish countryside
near Ardfinnan, a village in County Tipperary. Parish records reveal at least
four siblings: Mary, baptized in March 1827; Michael, baptized in September
1830; Edward, baptized in 1834; and Joanna, baptized in October 1837.[2]
The family likely lived in the rural areas surrounding the village, coming into
town for church services and shopping. Life in mid-nineteenth-century Ireland
was difficult for Catholic families like the Fennessys, who faced economic
hardship and limited opportunities under British rule. From 1845 to 1849, they
faced starvation due to a combination of the potato crop failure and British
policies that restricted access to other food sources. The country lost
millions to death and emigration.
The Journey to America
At age twenty-four, Daniel made the momentous decision to
emigrate to the United States. He departed from either Liverpool or Queenstown,
Ireland, aboard the steamship Edinburgh, which arrived in New York on July 19,
1864. He traveled in steerage, the cheapest class of accommodation, accompanied
by Mary Fennessy, an eleven-year-old girl, possibly his younger sister.[3]
The voyage took only eleven days, a remarkable improvement over the three-month
journeys required by the old sailing ships. Steerage passage cost thirty-five
dollars, a significant sum that represented months of savings for most Irish
immigrants.[4]
Daniel arrived in America during the Civil War, a time of
both chaos and opportunity for newcomers. Like many Irish immigrants, he found
work as a common laborer in Brooklyn, New York, where a substantial Irish
community had already established itself. The city's rapid growth and
construction boom created constant demand for unskilled workers willing to take
on the hardest physical tasks.
Building a Life in Brooklyn
On June 30, 1872, at age thirty-two, Daniel married Mary
Mullany at St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn.[5]
Mary had also been born in Ardfinnan Parish, indicating a connection between
them that likely predated their time in America.[6]
The marriage witnesses included James Pendergast, possibly a relation of Father
Prendergast, who had baptized Daniel in Ireland. The couple settled into life in
Brooklyn's working-class neighborhoods, beginning their family shortly after
marriage.
For several years, Daniel worked to establish himself in his new country. He became a naturalized United States citizen on October 11, 1875, in Brooklyn's county court.[7] The naturalization record reveals telling details about his circumstances: Daniel could not write his own name and signed with an X, as did his character witness, Edward Shelly, who lived at the same address. The process required him to swear allegiance to the United States, renounce his loyalty to the Queen of England, and confirm he had resided in the country for at least five years. Interestingly, Daniel claimed he had arrived before age eighteen, which would have been before 1858, though the passenger list and later census records show he actually arrived in 1864. This discrepancy was probably deliberate, as contemporary newspaper articles indicate that claiming arrival before age eighteen was a shortcut that eliminated the need to file a formal Declaration of Intention.
Family Life and Fatherhood
Daniel and Mary's first child, John (my grandmother’s
father) was born at home on May 11, 1875, at 382 Baltic Street.[8]
The couple hired Dr. William Wallace to attend the birth, suggesting they had
achieved a modest level of financial stability. The baby was baptized five days
later at St. Paul's Catholic Church with Edward Shelly and Sarah Hogan as
godparents.[9]
The choice of godparents was significant in Irish Catholic tradition, as these
were typically relatives or close family friends who would play important roles
in the child's life.
The Fennessys followed Irish naming traditions, giving their
firstborn son the name of Daniel's father. Their second son, Edward, was born
on January 28, 1878, and baptized on February 2 with Thomas Sheeley and Bridget
Moran as godparents.[10]
The family continued to grow with the arrival of Catherine on Christmas Eve,
December 24, 1879, baptized four days later with Michael and Maggie Mullany
serving as godparents—likely Mary's siblings.[11]
A second daughter, Mary Agnes, was baptized on January 1, 1882, with Denis and
M. Sheeley as godparents.[12]
Their last child was Daniel, born on October 30, 1884.[13]
In 1880, the Fennessy family lived at 210 Hoyt Street in
Brooklyn's Tenth Ward. Daniel worked as a laborer. They shared a five-family
building with neighbors of various occupations, from a shoemaker to a baker.[14]
By 1890, the family had moved to DeKalb Avenue, where they would remain for the
rest of Daniel’s life.
A Dangerous Occupation
Daniel worked as a hod carrier, one of the most physically
demanding jobs in the construction trade.[15]
Hod carriers climbed up and down ladders all day, carrying heavy loads of
bricks to the bricklayers working on scaffolds above. The work was exhausting
and dangerous, requiring strength and endurance. Contemporary images of hod
carriers show Irish immigrant workers bent under the weight of their loads,
often depicted in ways that reflected the anti-Irish prejudice prevalent at the
time.[16]
Hod
carriers, image, Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Albert-ebenezer-fox.jpg:
accessed 26 Dec. 2025)
In the early 1890s, Daniel's life took a devastating turn
when a trolley pole fell on his head while he was working. Though he suffered “only
a slight scalp wound and no broken bones,” the injury would have profound and
lasting consequences. His lawyer, Mirabeau L. Towns, filed a personal injury
lawsuit against the Brooklyn Heights Railroad on his behalf, seeking ten
thousand dollars in damages. At that time, there were hundreds of suits against
the Brooklyn trolley companies for damages due to reckless operation.[17]
Daniel’s case was settled in January 1894 for only $227.50, a disappointingly
small sum.[18]
Descent into Harassment and Mental Illness
Around 1896, Daniel became convinced that his lawyer had
defrauded him. His former employer, contractor P.J. Carlin, told Daniel that
the lawyer had actually received ten thousand dollars from the settlement.
Whether this was true or whether Carlin was deliberately misleading Daniel
remains unclear, but it set Daniel on a destructive path. He began persistently
demanding the money from his lawyer and other officials, engaging in what we
would now call harassment but was then termed "disorderly conduct."
Daniel's behavior grew increasingly erratic. He was arrested
multiple times between 1899 and 1904 for harassing lawyers, magistrates, and
city officials. To make matters worse, at least twice he was given bogus checks
by people who knew he couldn’t read. In October 1899, he appeared in court with
a check purportedly from Honoré de Balzac—a famous French novelist who had died
decades earlier—dated October 32, 1900, for ten thousand dollars. Again,
in September 1904, Daniel went to the police station complaining he couldn’t
get a settlement check cashed. It was for $20,000, payable to him, dated April
1, 1800, “chargeable to the account of E. Z. Mark.” Someone was clearly taking
advantage of Daniel's illiteracy and confusion, perhaps as a cruel joke or an
attempt to gaslight him into appearing insane.
On June 1, 1900, Daniel was living at the Long Island State
Hospital, a mental institution in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood. The census
enumerated him there as a married day laborer, though it also listed him at his
home address on DeKalb Avenue with his family.[19]
The census instructions permitted this dual enumeration if officials determined
the person had another usual place of abode. His confinement at what was then
commonly called a lunatic asylum would have carried significant social stigma
for the entire family.
In June 1901, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported that Daniel
had been examined twice at Kings County Hospital to assess his sanity.[20]
In September 1901, he was arrested for repeatedly calling on Bird Coler, New
York City's comptroller, making threats that alarmed officials, in the wake of
President William McKinley's recent assassination. Articles described him as
"an old man," though he was only in his early sixties, or “a man of
rural aspect bearing a resemblance to Uncle Sam” and noted that officials had
given him "fictitious checks," suggesting a pattern of mockery and
manipulation.[21]
Clifford Kennedy Berryman, “Uncle Sam as Hod Carrier,” 1940; image, National Archives (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6012219: accessed 26 Dec. 2025) > RG 46 > Berryman Political Cartoon Collection
Later Years
Despite his mental health struggles and periodic institutionalization,
Daniel remained close to his family. In April 1907, when his older brother
Edward, age seventy-three and widowed, entered the Kings County Almshouse,
Daniel was listed as his nearest relative.[22]
Edward died at the almshouse in June 1912, likely with Daniel attending the
funeral at Holy Cross Cemetery.[23]
Daniel lived with Mary and their children at 399 DeKalb
Avenue for the rest of his life. Except for my great-grandfather John, Daniel’s
adult children remained at home well into their twenties, typical of Irish
immigrant families of the era but unusual for American-born families. They all
worked and likely contributed to household expenses, supporting their aging
parents. With so many employed, the family maintained remarkable stability
compared to many New York immigrant families, living at the same address for at
least seventeen years. Many, for instance, my Kinane family, moved every year or
two within the same neighborhood. Kathryn worked as a telephone company clerk;
Mary worked as a dressmaker; and Edward and Daniel Jr. worked as expressmen/teamsters.
Final Days
Daniel Fennessy died at home on December 14, 1917. A doctor
had attended him for the final two days of his life. His family thought he was
seventy-two, though his baptismal record showed he was actually seventy-seven.
His cause of death was recorded as chronic myocarditis—heart disease—which he
had suffered from for two years. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in
Brooklyn on December 16, 1917. His wife erected this stone for him:
Find A
Grave, database with
images (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed 18 Dec. 2025), memorial 172747939,
Daniel Fennesey (4 Dec. 1917), Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn, Kings County, New
York; gravestone photograph by Inis Fada.
His death certificate identified his parents as John
Fennessey and Mary Brussell and noted he had been in the United States and New
York City for fifty-three years, confirming his 1864 arrival and Ardfinnan
baptism record.
Legacy
Daniel Fennessy's life embodied the Irish immigrant
experience in nineteenth-century America. He left his homeland during a period
of hardship and limited opportunity, endured a difficult Atlantic crossing, and
spent decades performing backbreaking physical labor to build a life for his
family. He achieved the American dream in modest but meaningful ways: he became
a citizen, married, raised children who all survived to adulthood and found
steady employment, and maintained a stable home for nearly two decades.
Yet his story also reveals the darker aspects of immigrant
life—the exploitation of illiterate workers, the lack of proper medical
understanding and treatment for traumatic brain injuries, and the vulnerability
of those who fell through society's cracks. The head injury that likely caused
his mental deterioration was dismissed as minor, and his subsequent behavior
was met with mockery, arrests, and institutionalization rather than compassion
and care.
Through it all, Daniel maintained his connections to his
Irish roots, his Catholic faith, and his family. He lived long enough to see
his children become established Americans, speaking English, holding steady
jobs, and making their own way in a country that offered them opportunities
their parents could never have imagined in Ardfinnan. His seventy-seven years
spanned from pre-Famine Ireland to World War I America, a journey across time
and space that represented one of history's great human migrations. In the end,
he rests in Brooklyn soil, an Irishman who became an American, his tombstone
bearing witness to both identities.
[1] 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/imageviewer/collections/61039/images/02457_04_0110?pId=2945249:
accessed 22 Dec. 2025) > Waterford and Lismore > Ardfinnan > 1827–1845
> image 110 of 188; National Library of Ireland microfilm 02457/04.
[2] For
Mary, ibid, image 5 of 188; for Michael, image 28; for Edward, image 63, for
Joanna, image 88.
[3] “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 22 Dec. 2025) > 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. Note: a search
for a Mary Fennessy of that age in the Ardfinnan parish register did not find
her.
[4] “Steam
Weekly to Liverpool,” The New York Times, 19 July 1864, p. 7, col. 3;
images, Newspapers.com
(https://www.newspapers.com/image/20435712/?terms=Edinburgh&match=1:
accessed 22 Dec. 2025).
[5] James
R. Reilly, comp., St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, Brooklyn, New York:
Baptism and Marriage Records, 1857-1900, Volumes I-II (Salt Lake City, UT:
Redmond Press, 1996), 18; “Brooklyn, New York, U.S., St. Paul’s Catholic Church
Marriage Records, 1839-1900,” database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1255/images/VRMUSANY1857_089977-00017?pId=925:
accessed 22 Dec. 2025) > 1857-1900 > F > image 2 of 4; 30 June 1872,
Dan Fennessy & M McLaney [sic].
[6] Ardfinnan,
Parish register, “Mariam Mullany,” baptism, 13 March 1842 image 124 of
188.
[7] “New
York, U.S., State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794-1943,” database with
images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 Dec. 2025) >
County Court of Kings County (1-333) > County Court of Kings County
(050-053) > image 1444; Daniel Fennessy, 11 Oct. 1875, V. 52, p. 4, record
429; NARA RG 21.
[8] Brooklyn,
Kings County, New York, birth certificate no. 2518 (1875), _ Finnessy; New York
City Municipal Archives; “Brooklyn Birth Certificates, 1866-1909; Birth
certificates no. 2201-5450 1875,” images, FamilySearch
(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2W31-KM4: accessed 17 Aug 2021),
citing FHL film 1324357, DGS 4200111, image no. unknown.
[9] Reilly,
77; image 7 of 26, Jno. Finnessy, 16 May 1875.
[10]
Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, birth certificate no. 892 (1878), _ Finnessy;
New York City Municipal Archives; “Historical Vital Records,” database with
images, New York City Department of Records & Information Services
(Doris) (https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/view/10343182:
accessed 4 December 2022) > B-K-1878 – 0000892; certificate image, _____
Finnessy, 28 January 1878, no. 892, citing NYC Municipal Archives Historical
Vital Records. For baptism, Reilly, p. 76.
[11]
Reilly, p. 76.
[12]
Reilly, p. 241. The record called her Toniery, but later records called her
Mary Agnes.
[13] Reilly,
p. 76.
[14] “1880
United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry
(https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 Dec. 2025) > New York > Kings >
Brooklyn > 080 > image 10; Daniel Fenisey, 210 Hoyt St., Tenth Ward – 4th
Electoral District, Brooklyn, New York, p. 11 (penned), sheet 105C (stamped),
line 42, dwelling 114, family 123, image 10 of 51; from NARA, RG 29,
publication T9, roll 845.
[15] “Fennessy’s
$10,000 Claim,” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 23 Oct. 1899, p. 3, col. 5;
images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/50347623/:
accessed 22 Dec. 2025).
[16] “1882
Irish Immigrant Ethnic Adv Card Goldvogel Jeweler Ny Bricklayer Hod Carrier,”
Antique Victorian Advertising Trade Card, Ancient Point
(http://ancientpoint.com/inf/42308-1882_irish_immigrant_ethnic_adv_card_goldvogel_jeweler_ny_bricklayer_hod_carrier.html:
accessed 24 Dec. 2025).
[17]
“Suits Asking for Nearly a Million,” The New York Herald, 18 Sep. 1893,
p. 5, col. 4-5; GenealogyBank.com: accessed 24 Dec. 2025.
[18] The
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 23 Oct. 1899, p. 3, col. 5.
[19] “1900
United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry
(https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 Dec. 2025) > New York > Kings >
Brooklyn Ward 29 > District 0549 > image 9 of 28; Daniel Finnesey, Long
Island State Hospital, Clarkson St., Ward 29, Brooklyn, Kings, New York, p. 5
(penned), sheet 135A (stamped), line 19, from NARA, RG 29, publication T623,
FHL film 1241068. Also, “1900 United States Federal Census,” database with
images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 Dec. 2025) >
New York > Kings > Brooklyn Ward 07 > District 0077 > image 8 of
40; Daniel 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.
[20] “Fennessy’s
Large Claim,” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 23 June 1901,
p. 48, col. 12; images, Newspapers.com
(https://www.newspapers.com/image/50360013/: accessed 22 Dec. 2025).
[21] “After
Mr. Coler Again,” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 30 September 1901, p. 3,
col. 6; images, Newspapers.com
(https://www.newspapers.com/image/50359934/: accessed 24 Dec. 2025). “E. Z.
Mark Took Bad Check,” New York Evening Journal, 19 Sep. 1904, p. 2, col.
6; image, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 24 Dec.
2025).
[22] New
York State Board of Charities, Census of Inmates in Almshouses and Poorhouses,
1835-1921, Series A1978, Reel 54, no. 481, New York State Archives; “New York,
U.S., Census of Inmates in Almshouses and Poorhouses, 1830-1920,” database and
images, Ancestry (https//www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 Dec. 2025) >
Kings > 1907 > image 477, Edward Fennessey.
[23] Department
of Health of the City of New York, Borough of Brooklyn, death certificate no.
12131, Edward Fennessey (1912); "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths,
1795-1949," database and images, FamilySearch
(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WNW-D61: accessed 26 August
2021), FHL microfilm 1,324,253, image 1102, Edward Fennessey, 18 Jun 1912.
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