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I am hoping someone might know of /or have some information on my grt uncle Francis Keegan. He was born in Houghton le Spring,Co.Durham 1907 and after the war emmigrated to Canada,(according to family) where he began his search for his parents who had emmigrated to usa 1911/12 and left him with his grandparents .Family has it that he did find them ,but don`t know any more than that,other than his parents and their children,all born in illinois,usa were living in springfield,illinois in 1945 because their relations in england got a letter from them.His parents were Mary Keegan and James Valentine Gallagher,who lived in Franklin,Illinois after they emmigrated and are on the 1920/1930 usa census records for Franklin. However apart from that letter there is no sign of them after that.
There is however a record of death for 2 of their sons(born over there) but nothing on Francis himself or Mary and James.
if any of this is recognised by anyone please get in touch,or if anyone can help to find him.
thankyou for reading this
cathy

This is one of those tough ones, Cathy.

Vital statistics records are not accessible in Canada for the periods in question here. Birth info, for instance, is protected for about 100 years in most provinces; marriages and deaths, about 70, usually. If Francis remained in Canada, his doings are not going to be in publicly accessible official records.

Keegan was already an established name in Canada by the time he arrived -- loads of them in the 1911 census, e.g. So there's be no way of distinguishing his descendants here, if any, from anyone with much deeper roots.

In the phone book for Ontario (where he would most likely have come), there are 127 Keegans today; 3 Fs and a Frank among them.

http://findaperson.canada-411.ca/person

You could always send out a form letter ... but apart from that, I don't have much to suggest.

A classified ad in a paper like the Toronto Star might be something people in this situation could consider:

http://thestar.livedeal.ca/index.jsp?kbid=2464


Of course, odds are probably that your Francis joined his family in the US. You could always try an ad in the Chicago Tribune, on that side!

Meanwhile, you've seen that someone at this site has a Francis Keegan born 1909 in Durham in his tree? Might be worth checking out, if you haven't.

Hi Kathryn
will check it out,and try the suggestions you have given
thankyou for your time and interest.
will post you if I have any success
cathy

Hi Kathryn
I hope you get this because I have today received some info on my `problem family` in usa/canada, quite unexpectedly!! and just had to let you know.
It appears that James Gallagher had family members (uncles/aunts)who had also emmigrated to usa/canada before him, and which might help to find him and Francis too. I am very hopeful,because as you well know i have hit dead ends with both James and Mary and Francis who went to find them.I am going to try to follow up on it and will let you know what /if anything I find.
regards cathy

That's a stroke of luck -- hopefully!

Feel free to post whatever you come up with here. You don't need to personalize the post. ;) Every time I click on "my threads" it shows me there is something new in any thread I've posted in.

Hi Kathryn
ok
well its early days and, as you have all taught me,i`ll wait and see.hope its ok to come back to you if i`m struggling with what i find.
thanks
cathy

Hi Kathryn
Hope you get this.
Today I spoke with a member of our family who I have only recently found.She was very helpful and was able to give some information on Mary and James children,albeit not all of them.
Well we`ll start with the boys:
2 of their sons were in the american army during ww2 and somehow ended up billited to Blackpool are of Lancs,so got in touch with their mothers family. They returned to America presumably after their posting in UK. Does this help to be able to search for them???
It is pobably Thomas and James she was talking about given their ages.
also..2 of their sons were in the NYPD not sure which ones though.Would this help????
Now to the girls:
Mary T. B.1916 (went by the name Theresa ) married someone with surname CAMP.and they had a son called Allen.
Sarah b.1921 (went by the name sally ann) married someone with surname TUCK.They moved to Florida and opened the 1st of many ice cream parlours.
Now Kathryn,all of these things happened before about 1945 because that is when the letters stopped coming. She has lots of photos from them and remembers the letters arriving,and all the family being excited about them.,sadly though the letters were not kept.I am hoping to go to meet her in person soon and listen to her memories,information on our ancestors.Apparently her mother (Mary Keegans sister Sarah) asked her just before she died to try to find "our mary,or what heppened to her" she had never got over the lost connection to her.So here we are again Kathryn trying a different search to find the elusive mary and of course james.
Sorry this is so long but needed to give you all that i had been told.Well most of it anyway but the rest is for another day and another search!!!
cathy

So, in order as they came:

2 of their sons were in the american army during ww2 and somehow ended up billited to Blackpool are of Lancs,so got in touch with their mothers family. They returned to America presumably after their posting in UK. Does this help to be able to search for them???

-- I doubt it a lot. Their military records would be too recent to be available, I would think.

Ancestry.com has enlistment and draft records from WWII. I don't pay for details, but search results show quite a lot of Keegans. A half dozen Thomases in Illinois. You could ask this specific question at the Records Office board, asking for a lookup.

The big problem is that you wouldn't know your boys in that situation if you tripped on them. You don't know birth dates, for starters. You trapped in an endless loop of needing this to get that, and needing that to get this.


also..2 of their sons were in the NYPD not sure which ones though.Would this help????

-- Now, when I see public sector workers, I always think Union!! The NY police have always been exceedingly fraternal. And of course Irish. One can only imagine how many patrolmen Keegan there have been.

If I were intent enough on finding someone who had been a NY cop, I would probably approach the fraternal thingy. Not that I hold any brief for them; I don't, nor does Amnesty International, I see. Right-wing yankee wackos. But they were into taking care of their widows and orphans and all back in the day, so they just might have records like you want.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraternal_Order_of_Police

an intro. You could start here:

http://www.nysfop.org/

If you're not used to wacko yankee right-wingery, it could be amusing. I'd go straight to the contacts section.

Oh hey -- they have chaplains. Both RC, it seems. Now that might be just the place to start. This sort of thing is their job, right?

http://www.nysfop.org/contact.htm

That's quite something. It's been a long time since I've seen a list of the entire executive of an organization, let alone of public employees, made up one hundred per cent of male names.

Anyhow, that's what I'd do. But even still, without even a *name*! Ask for some divine intervention while you're at it. ;) Them being brothers could conceivably help.


Other than that ... google found me you inquiring about the Florida Tucks at genforum ... thought I'd struck gold, for a nanosecond.


Whether you find the answer to this or not, enjoy your visit.

Went looking at Ancestry.com, just did a universal search for James Valentine Keegan born England died US. Two things -- I don't pay for access.



World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
Military
Name: James V Gallagher
County: Franklin
State: Illinois


California Death Index, 1940-1997
Birth, Marriage & Death
Name: James Valentine Gallagher
Birth: date - location
Death: dd mm 1989 - city


Now, the first is more likely to be relevant, no? You said they emigrated 1911/12. He would have had to register for the draft.

I doubt that the record would have anything of interest, but you never know.

So I'm going to PM someone who owes me one and call in a bit -- nah, she volunteered to do US records checks, and this is just a little bitty thing. So be patient.

Thanks Kathryn
will follow up the leads you`ve given -worth a try,despite my lacking so much of info needed,and i have to keep trying!!
cathy

Hi Kathryn
just reaised that i didn`t put the dates of birth on the post for the boys,although I did for the girls !!! so sorry
ok well thomas.e born 1914
james born 1919
Francis v born 1926
Joseph p born 1928
all were calculated from census records for 1920/30 when the family lived in Franklin,Illinois.
I also realised that although i still know all the facts you would not have in front of you all the deatails that i have put into posts whilst searching for this family.I am sorry.just shows my lack of experience and clear thinking sorry kathryn.
cathy

Hi lost for words
thankyou for that i am grateful, that you have taken the time and interest in my searching but, I do have the birth cert for Francis patrick and the marriage cert for mary and james.
thanks cathy

Hi again lost for words
i will be following up on the leads you have suggested,thankyou
cathy

Hi Kathryn
reading through the whole of this post to make sure i have given as much info as poss. i relised that on your replies (last ones) you had in mind the 2 brothers were called keegan but no they were gallagher.!! the one who i origionally was searching for was francis keegan,because he was obviously born before james and mary were married and was left to be brought up by marys parents when they emmigrated to USA.
his birth cert.states marys parents as his.
cathy

nudge

If this is still wanted:
California Death Index, 1940-1997
Name: James Valentine Gallagher
Social Security #: 341128595
Sex: MALE
Birth Date: 15 Apr 1919
Birthplace: Illinois
Death Date: 8 Nov 1989
Death Place: Riverside
Mother's Maiden Name: Keegan

World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
Name: James V Gallagher
City: Not Stated
County: Franklin
State: Illinois
Birthplace: Durham;England
Birth Date: 14 Feb 1891
Race: Caucasian (White)
Roll: 1613401
DraftBoard: 0
Age: 25
Occupation: Coal Miner, Old Ben? Coal Co.
Where Employed: West Frankfort
Nearest Relative:
Height/Build: short/medium
Color of Eyes/Hair: blue/dark
Wife, 2 children

Glad you came, Lisa! I had in fact somehow managed to miss Catherine's last posts, but I see you got it straight where I got it screwy. Hope that helps Catherine.

Hi Lisa and Kathryn
thankyou for the info and yes it is still wanted,I had decided though to try to focus on other problem areas of our tree,as I seemed to be getting nowhere with this family.
I am fired up again now so am back on the case....thankyou to both of you ,you have helped me so many times and i am very grateful...don`t stray far i will be needing you again !!! sorry to hear you have been ill lisa I hope you are recovered and its good to have you back
cathy
ps I got your message lisa thanks x

Hi Kathryn and Lisa
just had to post to let you know I have just received a copy of obit.in newspaper for James Valentine Gallagher died 1989 riverside california. He was one of James and Marys children !!! it gives the name of one of his sisters too and the place she lived...so off i go again in the hope i might trace her now too. It gives his wifes name and her 2 sons( obviously from a former marriage as they are said to be JAMES`S stepsons.
anyway thanks a million for keeping me going,i had just about given up on this missing family!!!!
will post if any further development
cathy x

Many hands make light come on -- congratulations. I shall keep telling people to do the work and find those obituaries, even though I know nobody ever does it. But you did all by yourself, sensible girl! The mark of someone who actually wants to know, and isn't just idly hoping the facts will drop from the sky if they post something on the internet ...

Do for sure keep us updated. I love a good family reunion.