In October 1980 I received a letter from Oregon.
It was a 'cold letter,' a letter sent soliciting genealogical information from someone I did not know, Charles E. Brock. Charlie was tracing a Cassidy family from Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Well my Cassidys were from Greenpoint.
Also he gave other surnames besides Cassidy: Main and Hyman, and McNeil. These reminded me of names in stories my dad would tell.
I called my uncle. My uncle confirmed that these were our Cassidys, so I forwarded a copy of the letter to him. Charlie, my uncle, and myself exchanged letters. My uncle was very curious about family; at the time I was not; I was busy going to school during the day and working at night.
Charlie, my uncle and several cousins still living in Greenpoint met for a dinner; as my uncle called it a gathering of the clan.
Fifteen years later I reread Charlies's letter and went to the New York City Library on 42nd Street and looked up my family in the 1900 Census.
I sent a copy of the 1900 Census to my brother. We started researching my family. It took several months but finally I relocated Charlie and we started exchanging information.
The research on these pages are a mix of my brother's, Charlie's, and mine research. Some is wholly Charlies some wholly mine and much is a mixture.
Several other 'cousins' have also supplied information: Robert Main, Lucy Jackson, Muriel Ferris, Frances Cassidy, Francis Cassidy, Steven Yurgel, and Erin Helbing.
John and Catherine Cassidy Family
Michael Cassidy and Elizabeth McCauley [McAuley] Family
Andrew Cassidy and Alice McDonald Family
Patrick McAree and Margaret McGee Family
John Pattison and Esther McNeil Family
Timothy Cox and Margaret Corcoran Family
James O'Brien and Catherine Smith Family
Terrence O'Rorke and Sarah-Jane Egan Family
Roman Catholic Priests of the Dioscese of Brooklyn.
Histories of Brooklyn Churches, from Henry Stiles' A History of the City of Brooklyn.
Roman Catholic Priests of the Dioscese of Brooklyn.
Churches found in the 1822 Brooklyn City Directory.
Some baptisms from the St. Pauls Roman Catholic Church
Churches, synagogues, and mosques found in the Brooklyn telephone book, 1999.
Statistics of the Irish in the City of Brooklyn, by wards.
Statistics of the Irish in the City of New York, by wards.
Irish-born population by decade 1860-1900 of NYC.
Brooklyn City Directory: 1796.
Brooklyn City Streets from the 1839 City Directory.
The Brooklyn Eagle, July 20, 1869: "The Fenian Movement."
The Great Whiskey War of 1869-1871, Ward 5.
Brooklyn Eagle, July 10, 1871: "Two Shop Girls Horsewhipped by Rich Man's Son."
"Murphy's Little Backroom" by Ed. Harrigan, a song about Irishtown.
1900 Comic Book starring Brooklyn and the East river
The Martyrs' Monument in Fort Greene Park.
Brooklyn City Weekly Health Reports for 1895.
Cassidys found in the 1822, 1823 and 1831 Brooklyn City Directory.
Cassidys and O'Briens found in the 1847, 1848 and 1849 Brooklyn City Directory.
Cassidys found in the 1875 Brooklyn City Directory.
Cassidys found in St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church records.
Bridget Cassidy death NYC, 1857.
Nazareth Trade School, Farmingdale, L.I., 1925 NYC Census.
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