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Children of Molly Quigley and William McLaughlin Sr.
John McLaughlin (1832-1922)

John McLaughlin and his twin sister, Helen (aka Ellen) McLaughlin (see below), were children of Molly Quigley and William McLaughlin Sr. The 1880 US census lists John McLaughlin as a blacksmith born in Ireland.

Notes in a Bible belonging to Rose McLaughlin Major say John McLaughlin married Mary McGrory, also from Desertegny, and that they sailed for the United States in 1851, arriving in New York on December 7 aboard a ship called Vanguard. They settled in Skaneateles, but moved to Louisville, KY, in 1858.

They had a son, Willie McLaughlin, who survived only 11 days after he was born, Dec. 12, 1858. Mary McGrory McLaughlin died in Louisville in 1864 at the age of 30. She and Willie are buried in Louisville's Portland Cemetery.

John McLaughlin returned to Skaneateles in 1868. His second wife was Mary Casey (1842-1907). They are buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in Skaneateles, NY. They had five children:

1. John McLaughlin (1869-1932) left Skaneateles and apparently lived in Solvay and the west end of Syracuse until he died. Little is known about his life. One piece of trivia: A blizzard forced a two-day postponement of his funeral, scheduled on March 7, 1932. Oddly, until then it had been such a mild winter that some towns hadn't used their plows in many weeks.
2. Catherine (Kate) McLaughlin (1871-1928) married John Deacy Jr. (1869-1955). They lived in Auburn, New York. The newspaper obituary said her early death was unexpected, that she began her last day feeling well, then became sick and died about five hours later. I did not find a cause listed. There were five children who survived Kate McLaughlin Deacy. I am not sure of their birth order.

Joseph Deacy (1898-1945) m. Mabel Truax (19??-1962). Deacy was a telegraph operator for the Syracuse Post-Standard for many years.

Mary Elizabeth Deacy (1931-1990) m. Joseph Testa. Mary Deacy Testa, a 1951 graduate of the St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing in Syracuse, was the school nurse for 24 years at Liverpool (NY) High School.
Anthony Testa (1951- ) m. Rebecca Snell
Gina Testa (1955- )
Mary Testa (1959- )

Marie Deacy (1901-1952) m. John W. Pratt (1901-1969). According to his obituary in the Auburn Citizen-Advertiser, John Pratt, a native and longtime resident of Auburn, moved to Lyons, New York, a few years after his wife's death. He had been employed at the Henry & Allen Company of Auburn, then went to work at the Newark State School, retiring in 1968. These children were listed as survivors in John Pratt's 1969 obituary:

John A. Pratt (1922- )
Edward B. Pratt(1927- ) m. Maude Pratt
Bernard Pratt (1948- )
Kathryn Pratt (1933-1993) m. John Szczerba
Ellen Rose Szczerba m. ?? Oliver, Ithaca, NY
Janice Szczerba m. ?? Morgan, Ithaca
Michael Szczerba, Ithaca
Robert Szczerba, Ithaca
Edward Szczerba, Ithaca
William Szczerba, Austin, Texas

Margaret Deacy (1903-1956) m. Frank Rice. They lived in Auburn.

Margaret (Peggy) Rice (1926-1985) m. Andrew Hribick (d. 1984) Obituaries below.
Andrew J. Hribick (1946-2003) m. Betty Jo Church
Wayne Andrew Hribick (1968- )
John Michael Hribick (1969- )
Lisa Marie Hribick (1971- )
Jean Rice m. John Kehoskie, Alamogordo, NM
Evelyn Rice (1933-1981) m. Thomas Bowman
James Sperlazza, Waterloo
Jacqueline Bowman m. Abraham Ratt
Geraldine Bowman m. Daniel Beaudoin
Joanne Bowman (1951-1971) m. Philip Woodman
Jinx Ann Bowman, Waterloo
Frank J. Rice m. Ilene ??
Franny Rice
David Rice
William T. Rice (1931-1993) m. Lena??
Randall A. Rice, Waterloo.
Dorothy Rice (1938-1996) m. Thomas W. Gilmore Sr.
Thomas W. Gilmore Jr. m. Barbara Hoff, Throop, NY.
Sara Gilmore
Craig Gilmore
Dana A. Gilmore m. Nicole ??, Auburn
Kelly Anne Gilmore m. Daniel Thomas. 2nd husband: Allan L. Brooks
Joshua James Thomas (1982- )
Joseph Andrew Thomas (1983- )
Steven Christopher Thomas (1985-1991)

William Deacy (1904-1957). Lived in Auburn.

Ellen Rose Deacy (1913-1982) m. Thomas Deuel. They were married in 1937 and lived for many years in Port Byron, NY. They had four children:

Barbara Jean Deuel m. W. Ronald Focht. They live in Statesboro, Georgia. She is with the School of Economic Development at Georgia Southern University.
Veronica Jean Focht m. James Wilson Burdett III
Alexandria Dorothy Burdett
Nathan Albert Focht
Samantha Breanne Focht
Timothy Walter Focht
Joshua Thomas Focht
Christina Marie Focht
Robert J. Deuel (1945-1991). A native of Auburn, he was a state corrections officer for 21 years and worked at the Camp Monterray shock camp in Beaver Dams since 1979.
Elizabeth Deuel m. Kirk Sprague
J. Thomas Deuel m. Nancy Poplawski
Krista Deuel m. David R. Plish; they live in Auburn
Elizabeth Ellen Plish (1997- )
3. Rose McLaughlin married John W. Major (1869-1940).

4. Elizabeth (Eliza) McLaughlin (1874-1922) married Martin Roe (1877-1941). He was a native of Skaneateles, lived several years in Auburn, then moved to Syracuse where he died. He remarried in 1924, to Mary Elizabeth Cummings.

Elizabeth McLaughlin and Martin Roe had three children:

Frances P. Roe (1895-1896)

Raymond Roe (1898-1968) m. Marie Piquet (1900-1999). She remarried, to Robert Daddaris (d. 1983).

Raymond Roe (1924- )
John "Jack" Roe (1931- )

Mary Ann "Marie" Roe (1903-1996) m. William C. Hoppe (??-1961). She was born in Auburn, but lived most of her life in Syracuse. She worked at Pass & Seymour in Solvay for many years before retiring.

5. Ellen "Nellie" McLaughlin (1876- ) married Louis Corbett (18??-1899) Corbett was an American soldier killed during the Philippine-American War that erupted in 1898. Later she married Glenn A. Smith, who was in the trucking business in Syracuse. He died in 1928.

Auburn Weekly Bulletin, June 5, 1900
Mrs. Nellie Corbett and Franklin Leroy Corbett, widow and son, respectively, of the late Louis E. Corbett of this city, who died in the Philippines while in the service of his country, have been granted pensions, for former of $12 per month permanently and the latter of $2 per month to continue until he is 16 years of age. Official notification of this good news a received from Washington Friday.

"Nellie" McLaughlin and Louis Corbett had a son:

Franklin Leroy Corbett (1898-1981) retired in 1952 from the Syracuse Police Department, then worked 11 years in security at Carrier Corporation. He was a veteran of World War 1 and is buried at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn.

 
Obituaries

Auburn Citizen, September 16, 1985
Mrs. Margaret Rice Hribick, 59, of 132 Franklin Street, formerly of 208 Perrine Ave., died Sunday, September 15, 1985, at Robert Packer Hospital, Sayre, Pa.

Born in Auburn, she was a life resident. Mrs. Hribick retired from the Columbian Rope Company in 1967 after 11 years as a machine operator. She was a communicant of St. Aloysius Church. Mrs. Hribick was an avid bingo player. She was the widow of Andrew Hribick who predeceased her in January of 1984.

Surviving are one son, Andrew J. Hribick of Auburn; two grandsons and one granddaughter. She is also survived by two sisters, Mrs. Jean Kehoskie of San Bernardino, California, and Mrs. Dorothy Gilmore of Auburn; one brother, William Rice of Waterloo. She was predeceased by a sister, Mrs. Evelyn Bowman and a brother, Frank J. Rice.

Burial will be in St. Joseph’s Cemetery.

1
 

So who's the real John McLaughlin?
One thing that jumps out at anyone researching Irish ancestors is how many people in the every extended family shared the same name. While looking for articles about my maternal great-grandfather, John McLaughlin (above), I came upon this article. I'm not sure whether — or how — all these John McLaughlins were related, but I wouldn't be surprised if all of them could be found on branches of the same family tree.

Syracuse Daily Courier, February 18, 1895
SKANEATELES, Feb. 17 – Skaneateles last Tuesday elected a no-license excise commissioner, John McLaughlin, and, as G. W. Hoagland, no-license, was elected a year ago, Skaneateles is assured for two years a prohibition regime.

All town licenses expire May 1 and the saloon-keepers expect to get no more. More than that they know Mr. McLaughlin well enough to know no licenses being granted every effort will be made to have the excise laws enforced. Saloons and saloon fixtures and saloon goodwill can be purchased at the lowest figure known in years in Skaneateles, possession to be taken May 1.

Some will keep open avowedly to sell small drinks and run their pool tables, really to see what the course of the commissioners is to be. If the law is enforced, most of them – and there are twenty of them – will close out, for the present regime is for two years at least, the next excise commissioner to retire being a license commissioner.

The saloon-keepers looking about for a means to escape the inevitable, have decided to push into court the claim that there are four men in Skaneateles named John McLaughlin and that the John McLaughlin who was elected was really John McLaughlin Jr. The claim is made that men can be brought into court who will swear they voted for other John McLaughlins.

It is understood that the saloon-keepers have raised $300 to press their case and that they will stand together not only on this point but also in defense of saloon-keepers who are charged with violation of the law in case they are prosecuted.

 
Helen McLaughlin (1832-1922)
Helen McLaughlin and her twin brother, John (above), were among the nine children of Molly Quigley and William McLaughlin Sr.

Helen McLaughlin is identified in "This History of the McLaughlin Family" as Mary Ellen McLaughlin, which likely is a mistake because that would have given her parents, Anna Quigley and William McLaughlin Sr., two daughters named Mary. It is possible she was named Ellen, though her name appears more often as Helen.

"This History of the McLaughlin Family" also says she and husband Timothy Donohue (1833-1913) and lived in Schenectady. That is not correct, though their son, Timothy E. Donohue, left his native Skaneateles and settled in Schenectady, where he worked for General Electric. In keeping with the It's-a-Small-World-After-All theme of this family project, Timothy E. Donohue was married to Margaret Major, a daughter of Charles J. and Margaret (Mallon) Major.

Helen McLaughlin Donohue and her husband remained in Skaneateles. Their other three children were sons, John P. (or T.) Donohue, who settled in Fulton, and Robert D. Donohue, who moved to New York City, and daughter, Anna, who remained in Skaneateles and lived with her parents, though she later moved to Utica. A few years after her husband's death (obituary below), Helen McLaughlin Donohue moved to Schenectady and lived with her son, Timothy.

Helen McLaughlin Donohue died in Schenectady on January 31, 1922, about 10 weeks before the death of her twin brother, John McLaughlin (1832-1922).

In 1915 Skaneateles staged an elaborate Old Home Week celebration. Among the activities was an Oldest Resident Contest. An article in the Syracuse Post-Standard (Friday, August 20, 1915) mentioned Mrs. Timothy Donohue, who thought she had resided continuously in Skaneateles longer than any other person — 61 years.

However, contest judges found other residents who had been there longer. The winner was Mortimer Newell, born in Skaneateles in 1832 and who claimed he was never absent from the town more than 20 days at a stretch.

Auburn Citizen, August 13, 1913
Timothy Donohue, 80, sexton of St. Mary's Cemetery at Skaneateles for 35 years, died yesterday afternoon at his home at Skaneateles. He was born in Ireland and went to Skaneateles 60 years ago.

He was sexton at St. Mary's Church for many years and when, the cemetery was opened in 1869 he was appointed sexton and held the position until his retirement from all active work. Besides his widow, Mrs. Helen McLaughlin Donohue, he leaves a daughter, Miss Anna Donohue of Skaneateles. three sons Timothy E. of Schenectady, John T. of Fulton and Robert D., of New York City.

Descendants of Helen McLaughlin and Timothy Donohue:
1. Anna Irene Donohue (1865-1939)

Auburn Citizen Advertiser, April 9, 1939
Miss Anna Irene Donohue of 923 Sunset Avenue, Utica, died Wednesday in a Utica hospital after an illness of several months. She was 75 years old. Miss Donohue was born at Skaneateles, a daughter of the late Timothy and Helen McLaughlin Donohue. She lived in that village until a year and a half ago, when she moved to Utica.

Surviving are three brothers, Timothy E. Donohue of Schenectady, John T. Donohue of Fulton and Robert D. Donohue of New York City, and several nieces and nephews, including Charles and Miss Helen Donohue, with whom she lived.

Funeral services will be Monday in St. Mary’s of the Lake Church, Skaneateles.

 
2. Timothy E. Donohue (1868-1953) married Margaret Major (1870-1944). Children:

Margaret E. Donohue (1900-1976), Schenectady

Raymond Donohue (1904-1958). was a detective with the Schenectady police department.

 
3. William Donohue (1871-1881)
 
4. John T. Donohue (1873- ) lived in Fulton.
 
5. Robert D. Donohue (1878- ) graduated from Cornell University and was a lawyer in New York City. His wife, Mary Geoghegan Donohue, died in 1919. After the death of their mother, the four children of Mary and Robert D. Donahue spent much of their young lives in Skaneateles with their aunt, Anna Donohue. Those four children:

Robert Donohue Jr. (1909-1939) married Blanche Wing (1905-1993) in 1935 in Utica, where Donohue was associated with a funeral home. Prior to her marriage Blanche Wing taught school in Boonville. She was an elementary school teacher for 40 years with the Syracuse City School District. They had one son:

Robert Donohue III married Priscilla Joan Van Alstine of Victory, NY. They had four children:

Lisa Donohue m. Kit Laird of Natchez, Mississippi. They live in Cut Off, Louisiana and have four children:
Tiffany Laird
Kara Laird
Matthew Laird
Caleb Laird
Robert D. Donohue IV m. Virginia "Ginger" Weaver of Vicksburg, Mississippi. They have two children:
Robert Daniel Donohue V
Virginia Leigh Donohue
Christopher Brendan Donohue m. Carla J. ??. They live in Vicksvburg; she has two children from a previous marriage:
Kayleigh Thorpe
Timothy Thorpe
Valerie Donohue m. Nathan Coventon of Oklahoma. They live in a suburb of Dallas and have three sons:
Austin Coventon
Noah Coventon
Cal Coventon

Charles Donohue lived in Los Angeles in 1939; in 1967 he was in Phoenix, AZ.

Joseph Donohue lived in New York City in 1939, apparently died before 1967.

Helen Donohue (1910-1967)

Marcellus Observer, February 23, 1967
The funeral for Miss Helen Donohue, 56, of Woodside, Long Island, a former Skaneateles resident, was held Saturday, February 18, at St. Theresa Church, Woodside. Spring burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Skaneateles, when a committal service will be held.

Miss Donohue, a native of New York and daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Robert Donohue, died Wednesday, February 15, at the Hospital of St. Rose, New York City, after a long illness.

Her father was a Skaneateles native, graduate of the Skaneateles High School Class of 1897, and after the death of her mother, she came to live with an aunt, the late Miss Anna Donohue of Austin Street. She later returned to New York and was employed as a telephone operator. She was a communicant of St. Theresa Church.

She is survived by a brother, Charles Donohue of Phoenix, Arizona; a nephew, Robert Donohue of Chicago, Illinois, and a sister-in-law, Mrs. Blanche Wing Donohue of Syracuse.

 

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