Hometown Histories – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA – Mary Park

My great grandmother Mary Park was born in 1891 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Aside from Frankfurt, it is likely the most well-known birthplace in my family history. Her parents, Elizabeth and Robert Park came to the US in 1883. They had nine children while living in Philadelphia; seven of those children survived to adulthood.

Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania, and has the fifth largest population in the US. It was founded in 1682 by William Penn, and was created to serve as the capitol of Pennsylvania Colony. It currently covers an area of just over 141 and a half square miles. In 1890, the year before my great-grandmother was born the population had just passed the million mark. In 2014, it had reached 1.5 million, though at its height in 1950, it was over two million.

A panting supposedly showing William Penn and the Lenape signing a treaty

Before Europeans arrived in the area, it was the home to the Lenape (more commonly known as the Delaware) Indians. They had a meeting place which is within the boundaries of the current city that was known as Shackamaxon, from the Lenape term Sakimauchheen, meaning "to make a chief or king place." It was where the tribe crowned their sakima (their term for chief) and kitakima (clan chief). Some suggest it means "the place of eels," as it was an important summer fishing spot for the natives. Accounts say that William Penn signed a treaty with the Lenape in 1682 for the land, though no absolute proof has ever been provided. The Lenape were soon pushed out of their homelands, heading north and west as the Europeans pushed inland. Both the US and Canada have formally recognized the tribe. The tribe split into groups, and are now settled in Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and southwest Ontario. New Jersey has also recognized two Lenape tribes within their boundaries, and Delaware has recognized one as well. There are other Lenape groups throughout the northeast and midwest, though they have less recognition than the others.

Philadelphia was instrumental in the American Revolution as a meeting place for the Founding Fathers of the US, and served as one of the nation's capitals during the Revolutionary war. The city hosted the First Continental Congress, which was an important step in the War, and the Second Continental Congress, at which the Declaration of Independence was signed. It also hosted the Constitutional convention, which was a vital step to founding the US government as it now exists. After the war was over, it also became the fledgling country's temporary capital while Washington DC was under construction. It served as the Capital from 1790 to 1800.

The city is home to many of the US's firsts: It was the birthplace of the US Marine Corps; home to the first library, which was built in 1731; the first hospital, built in 1751; first medical school, founded in 1765; first stock exchange, built in 1790; first zoo, built in 1874; and first business school in 1881. It also boasts over eighty colleges, universities, and trade schools, including the University of Pennsylvania that claims to be the oldest university in the US. It is also home to many national historical sites relating to the founding of the United States, including Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, along with homes of many well-known figures such as Edgar Allan Poe and Betsy Ross.

Due to its location on the east coast, many immigrant groups came to the city, a number of whom stayed in the town, making it a major industrial center. Textiles, locomotive works, shipbuilding companies, and even the Pennsylvania Railroad were centered there. The first major immigrants were German and Irish, The boom caused by their settling in the city lead to an extension of the city area by another two square miles. Unfortunately, with immigration came a rise in nativism, which is a form of prejudice that suggests that those coming from other countries to live in a new area are less good or important as those who have lived there for a longer period of time. This was used particularly against the Irish immigrants to Philadelphia. At first, the backlash was more against the new Catholics fleeing the Irish Potato Famine, but it quickly encompassed all Irish in the Philadelphia area. The Irish and fugitive slaves were the bottom rung of Philadelphia society for many years, which lead to several riots, including the Lombard Street Riot in 1842 and the Philadelphia Nativist Riot in 1844. Today, Philadelphia has the second largest Irish American population in the US. Its Saint Patrick's Day parade is the second oldest in the country.

An engraved image of one of the riots in Philadelphia

By the time my great-great grandparents arrived in the area, this had died down a little, as more diversified groups had come to settle in the city, but the attitude did not fade for many years. When things became difficult in the early 1900s, Irish were one of the groups who were lashed out against once more. Though my family were Protestants, the fact that they were Irish meant they faced as much backlash as their Catholic neighbors. So finally, sometime in either 1910 or 1911, the family left the country and returned to Ireland, settling in Belfast.

When my great-great grandparents Robert and Elizabeth (Lizzie) Park came to Philadelphia, it was doing very well as a city. The worst of its growing pains after the Civil War had ended, and opportunities were open for all. Unfortunately, the life of an immigrant is never easy, even in an established community. Robert and Lizzie started their family soon after arriving. Unfortunately, their first two children were lost within only a few years. It took them four years to truly get their feet under them, when their son and Robert's namesake was born. The rest of their children were all born healthy, and Robert began to make good money as a carpenter in the area.

Robert & Lizzie Park and friend ca 1917

Unfortunately, by the early 1900s, things were beginning to be rocky in the US again. Robert hoped that Roosevelt becoming president would help things, but it only seemed to increase the nationalistic fervor for some, so the family left and returned to Ireland. The family chose to settle in the Belfast area, as both Robert and Lizzie had been born in Antrim, and I believe still had family in the area. However, this was a tense time in Ireland, too. Even before World War I, sentiment against the English was already bad. Between the Famine and constant pressure from the English, particularly when it came to religion, many were desperate to separate from England. Luckily, one of their girls had married and moved to Canada. The family still felt angry over how they had been treated in America, so they weren't too quick to want to return, but she assured them that Canada was nothing like the US in that respect, so they soon followed her and settled in Vancouver, BC.

Mary Park

It was there that my great-grandmother Mary met and married her husband, Bjarne. The two raised two boys there together and lived mostly happily until his death in 1950. Afterwards, she lived in the house she'd bought with her husband, moving in her sister so she would not be alone. When the two grew too old to be living on their own, her remaining son (the other had died during World War II) moved her down to Washington so she would be nearby. She was never happy about the move, though, hating to live in the country that had treated her family so badly.

Sources

Demographics of Philadelphia

History of the Irish Americans in Philadelphia

Lenape

Nativism

Park Family History

Park Family Tree

Partition of Ireland

Philadelphia

Shackamaxon    

Theodore Roosevelt

Matrilinial Monday – Lizzie Park

Robert & Lizzie & friend at Mary's wedding in 1917

Name: Elizabeth Curran

Called by Grandkids: Grandma Park, I think.

Birth: 1862

Death: 1954

Spouse: Robert James Park

Marriage: 1883

Children: Jennie Curran, Helen Brown, Robert Curran, Elizabeth, Mary Dunlop, Rhoda, Margaret, George Dunlop, Florence

Parents: Thomas Curran and Jennie Blair

Siblings: Anna, Sarah, John, Thomas, Sarah Jane, Joseph, Rhoda

About: Elizabeth was the eldest child of Thomas and Jennie Blair according to my records. She had seven siblings I know of, and it's possible there were more, though at one time, I only knew of her and two of her sisters, Sarah and Rhoda. She was born in Antrim, Ireland, possibly in or near Belfast, or possibly in the town of Antrim. Though I know little of her early life, I am pleased to have found this much, and hope to eventually find more.

She and her husband likely married in Ireland before emigrating to America and settling in Philadelphia, where they raised all their children. Two of their children, their eldest two died in infancy. They lived in a larger Irish immigrant community, but when times got difficult in America for immigrants, she and her husband decided to move the family back to Ireland. They settled in Belfast for a time, where most of their children grew into adulthood. They were there for less than ten years, though, when one of their daughters married and moved to Canada, then wrote letters back to the family speaking of her new home country in glowing terms, and so the rest of the family migrated there as well, settling in Vancouver, where most of them met their spouses and lived for the rest of their lives. Elizabeth and her husband lived happily in Vancouver until their deaths, his in 1930, and hers in 1954. She was lucky enough to meet three of her great-grandchildren before her death.

Lizzie (right) at grandson George's wedding, with his other grandmother Harde on the left, 1939

Surname Saturday 2.0: The Currans

The Curran Family

Though the Park family was the name I should think of when thinking of my "Irish branch" of the family, for some reason, it's the Curran name I always think of first, even though it was my great-great grandmother's side. Because of that, I often forget that it's not the main branch of the Irish branch of my family tree.

Like the Parks, I know very little about this line of my tree, but I know more than the Parks. My great-great-grandmother was born Elizabeth Curran to a couple in Northern Ireland, and for many years, I did not know much more than her birthdate and two of her sister's names: Sarah and Rhoda. I'd only managed that much through one of the cousins on that side who used to visit when we had family gatherings in Vancouver.

I was lucky enough to find death certificates for both Elizabeth and her husband, Robert, and in doing so learned her parents' names: Thomas Curran and Jennie Blair. Still quite common names, but through those names, I have managed to find a list of children I think may have been her siblings. I'm still not entirely sure how many children her parents had, nor have I been able to find a birth or christening record for her, but through those names, I have even managed to find their wedding date, and the names of their fathers. Quite a bit more than I had when I started my search. Only took twenty years to find it.

What I do know is that the family was in and around the Belfast area, and most or all the children are listed as born in Antrum, Ireland, which is the county Belfast is in.

The story I know picks up after Elizabeth and her husband left Ireland and settled in America. They lived in Philadelphia and had nine children there, two of whom died in early childhood, then moved back to Ireland when things became too difficult in the early 1900s, but eventually settled in Vancouver BC, where my great-grandmother met and married her husband, and they raised two sons there.

The Curran line as I currently know it is as follows, for those interested:

* Francis Curran and his as-of-yet unnamed wife had at least one son, Thomas Curran. Francis was born about 1814 according to records I have found, and died in 1877 in Antrim, Ireland.

* Thomas Curran was born 1840, and married Jennie/Jane Blair in 1840. They had 8 children I am aware of: Elizabeth, Anna, Sarah, John, Thomas, Sarah Jane, Joseph, and Rhoda.
+ Elizabeth Curran's line is detailed below.
+ Sarah Curran was born 1867 and married John Stevenson, but I know little more about her.
+ Rhoda Curran was born 1878 and married John Carruth, and I believe this is the mother or grandmother of the cousin that I met in Vancouver, but I have no specific information on this branch.
+ I know nothing else about the rest of the children, aside from birth dates.

* Elizabeth Curran was born 1862. She married Robert James Park in 1883, I believe, and the two emigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where they lived for almost thirty years and raised their children. They returned to Ireland for a few short years before emigrating to Canada and settling in Vancouver BC, where both died. She died in 1954.
+ Two children died at a very young age. I believe one was named Jennie Curran Park. As of yet, I am uncertain of the name of the other.
+ Robert Curran Park was born 1887, and died 1912.
+ Elizabeth Park was born 1889. She married Louis Phillips, and died in 1966.
+ Mary Dunlop's line is detailed below.
+ Rhoda Park was born 1891. She married Wesley Standlick, and died in 1982.
+ Margaret Park was born 1895, and she died in 2001.
+ George Dunlop Park was born 1897. He married Florence Williams, and died in 1993.
+ Florence Park was born 1903. She married Ross Sexsmith, and they had four sons, and those sons had 13 children between them. She died in 2001.

* Mary Park was born 1891. She married Bjarne Bordewick in 1917, and they had two sons: George Robert and Henry Norman. Henry died in World War II. George had two sons and two daughters, and two grandchildren, and has two great-grandchildren. Mary Died in 1982. George died in 1991. All of their descendants currently live in the greater Seattle area.

What I don't know:

* I would love to know the name of Francis's wife, or how many children they had.

* I would love to verify the children I have listed for Thomas and Jennie/Jane Curran, and to find a birth record for Elizabeth. I'd also love to know what became of the other children, and even more about the two daughters I do know aside from Elizabeth.

* I still want to find a record for Elizabeth and Robert's marriage beyond a possibility that only included his name and a range of three months.

* I also would love to know the names of the ships they took to the US, back to Ireland, and then to Canada.

Other information about this branch of the family:
Brick Wall Posts -
* Brickwall Ancestors
* Brick Wall Update #2
* Brick Wall Update
* Brick Walls: a Different Listing
* Brick Wall Update
* Brick Wall Update 2012
Old Surname Posts –
* Curran
Where We're From Posts –
* Where We're From – United States
* Where We're From – Canada
* Where We're From – Ireland
* Where We're From – The Unknown
Other -
* The Bordewick Family
* Four Generations
* New Discoveries
* Women's History Month – Week 2
* Heirloom Quilt

Womens History Month -- Week 5

March 27 — Do you know the immigration story of one or more female ancestors? Do you have any passenger lists, passports, or other documentation? Interesting family stories?

I know most of the immigration stories from each of my lines, and I've found one record at Ellis Island.

Elizabeth Park (nee Curran) was my first female ancestor in the US, and came over from Ireland with her new husband in the late 1800s. They settled in Philadelphia and had nine children here before things got too difficult and she and her husband decided to move the family back to Ireland, where the children finished their childhood, and ended up eventually moving to Canada, where my great-grandmother Mary Park met her husband.

Oline Hansen is the ancestor for whom I have an Ellis Island record, though it wasn't for her original immigration to America, but a trip she made coming back from visiting her family. She came here in the early 1900s from Denmark, though I'm not sure precisely when, but she returned to visit her family about the same time WWI started in Europe. Because of that, she was stuck in Denmark for a time, and another Dane who had been traveling home to visit his family decided to court her while they were there. The two were married about a year later.

The third major immigration story that comes to mind is that of my great-grandma Dora. My grandfather's family came here to the US in the mid-thirties because of the Nazi rise to power. The family was Jewish, and his father's businesses had failed do to their programs. When they arrived in Ellis Island, the uncle that was supposed to meet them (I'm not clear if this was her relation or her husband's, or one of their sisters' husbands) never showed, so they ended up getting help from a former neighbor from Frankfurt. After they caught up with the errant uncle, the family settled in Memphis (a location which leads me to believe it was her husband's sister's husband), where her husband suffered a stroke. Dora did all the work after that while her children finished their schooling, working as a cook in hospitals and other institutions.

I'm sure there are other immigration stories, but those are the ones that immediately stand out to me. Most of the rest moved to Canada.

March 28 — Do you remember your mother’s best friend? Your grandmother’s? How and where did they meet? How long were they friends? What activities did they share?

A number of answers came to me on this one, but none really seemed to fit the bill until I remembered Nana's friend Teeny. She and her husband were very long-time friends of my grandparents, and I remember thinking of her very much like an extra grandmother because we saw her so often throughout my childhood. I'm not entirely sure where they met, though my guess is that Teeny was at one point helping with the R Shoppe ladies, though I could be wrong. (I have a feeling my father will let me know if he does)

March 29 — Create a free Footnote Page or a Genealogy Trading Card at Big Huge Labs for a female ancestor. Some of you may have created your own card back in September 2009 following Sheri Fenley’s post over at The Educated Genealogist. This time, the card is for your female ancestor. Tell us about who you've selected and why and then post a link to what you've created.

I've been focusing so much on Dad's family, that I wanted to make sure more of the women in mom's family got in here, so I decided to do her earliest female Canadian Ancestor, Selina Howells, my great-great grandmother.

March 30 — Did you receive any advice or words of wisdom from your mother or another female ancestor?

I think the one thing I really got from both sides of the family, male and female, but most especially from Nana and my mom, was that learning was important. It's something I've carried close to my heart all my life, and been a guiding principle for me. If I could wrangle it, I would love being a "professional student," but it's not something that tends to make a lot of money… ;)

March 31 — Pick one female ancestor and write a mini-profile (500 words or less).

Had to think about this one and go back through all the previous posts before I could decide, but I think for this one, I'm going to go with Leonharde Bordewick, my grandfather's grandmother.

Leonharde Bordewich was born in Nordland in 1861. She was the second child of her father, Johan Petter Bordewich's second marriage. She grew up in the small town of Lyngvaer in the Lofoten Islands, where her father ran a small business. In 1887, she married a cousin, Henrick Bergthon Bordewick, and the two had three sons together: Bjarne, Harald, and Hans Henrik.

When fishing grew scarce in Norway during the late 1800s, her husband and his brother decided to try to set up a trading venture between Antwerp and the Lofoten Islands. Henrick and Leonharde moved their family from Lofoten to Antwerp to set up one end of the business. Unfortunately, their family name sounded too English to the Belgians, who had supported the Dutch in the Boer war, and the family was shunned. So they moved again, this time to Grimsby in England, where their sons finished their schooling. Before any of the boys could move on to university, though, the family moved again, this time to Vancouver, B.C, Canada, where Leonharde's younger brother was living and working at the time.

The couple settled there and lived there quite happily until their deaths; his in 1930, and hers in 1944. Leonharde lived long enough to see her grandson married, and a few years later, in 1942, met that grandson's eldest child.

Advent Calendar: Elizabeth Curran

Elizabeth Park nee Curren

Born August 12, 1862, Died April 27, 1954, aged 91
Lived in: Belfast, Antrim, North Ireland; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US; Ireland (uncertain, but Belfast most likely); Vancouver, Canada
Married: Robert James Park
Children:
(two unnamed children who died in early childhood)
Robert Park
Elizabeth Park
Mary Dunlop Park
Rhoda Park
Margaret Park
George Park
Florence Park

Like her husband, Elizabeth was born in a bad time in Irish history, though we know a bit more about her than about her husband. She was born to Thomas and Jennie (Blair) Curran in Belfast, Ireland, one of at least three, possibly as many as seven or more children born to the couple. She likely married before leaving Ireland due to the Potato Famine there, and she and her husband Robert settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where all their children were born. When life became difficult in the early 1900s, the couple and their children all moved back to Ireland. When one of their daughters moved to Canada, she sent back such glowing reports of the country that the rest of the family soon followed, and Elizabeth and Robert settled in Vancouver, BC, where she lived long enough to meet three of her great-grandchildren before dying in 1954.