Thanks to St. Brendan the Navigator Parish in Camden, Maine, I have a few more details about the Flanagan family.The baptismal records come from St. Bernard's Parish in Rockland, but because of reorganization of parish offices, St. Brendan's is the name of the group of Catholic churches in Rockland, Camden and Belfast.
Paula Williamson of St. Brendan's mailed me photocopies of the records. Paula found all the relatives for which I was looking, which was not only difficult because I asked her about 15 people, she discovered many different spellings for "Flanagan" in St. Bernard's records.
Paula did not charge me anything for her efforts, but did ask that I make a contribution to the soup kitchen renovations. I will.
One of the many reasons I am grateful is that I have copies of records. The last time someone from St. Bernard's sent me information, I got the baptismal dates on a list and lost them.
The first is John Henry Flanagan. Despite what many documents and I think his gravestone in Thomaston says, he was born in 1869. The parish register gives no birth date, just that he was three weeks old when baptized on Nov. 15, 1869. It looks like godparents were Michael Smith and Mary McNamara.
NOTE: Double-clicking on the image of the baptismal record will allow each to be shown at a larger size. The images can be enlarged again by clicking on them.
The eldest, Kathleen Louisa Flanagan, is next. She was born in 1898 and I think she is the baby in the picture at the top with Mary Cushing Flanagan. Kathleen died of tuberculosis in 1919.
Eleanor Frances "Pat" Flanagan Rich, or "Auntie Pat," as many of us called her, is next, born in February 1900. Both "Flanagan" and "Frances" are not spelled the way she spelled them.
The first set of fraternal twins arrived in 1902, Mary Margaret and Richard Gerald. Richard's middle name is listed as "Gerard." His listing goes over to the next page. Richard died in 1904. Some members of the family said he died of a kidney ailment. Given the family history of diabetes, it's also possible he died from complications of the illness.
In 1904, William Cushing Flanagan was born. Thanks to my brother Joe's research on ancestry.com, we know that Mary Cushing Flanagan's father was William Gray Flanagan. We also know that the Flanagan children had an Uncle Will Flanagan, their mother's brother. So Uncle Bill Flanagan may have been named after on or both men. Or the name was just a popular one in the family. Uncle Bill had diabetes.
Eileen Elizabeth Flanagan was born in 1905. Her name is spelled as "Elizabeth Aileen." She died in 1928 of tuberculosis.
Agnes Cecilia Flanagan Fleagle was born in 1906. The entry also lists her marriage to Edward Fleagle at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City in 1947.
Fraternal twins John Henry and James Joseph Flanagan were born in 1908. Their entry is difficult to read because it looks like marriage information was scrawled across it. The Post-It note is from Paula Williamson, who said the cross-writing was in red ink.
The last set of fraternal twins arrived in 1909, Carol Loretta Flanagan and Anthony Judson "Jud" Flanagan.
Arthur Edward Flanagan was born in 1913. This entry lists Uncle Art's marriage to Kathryn Sweeney as 1962. A family member who posted a comment gave an explanation that had eluded me -- that year was when they married in the Catholic Church, but not when they first got married.
Rose Virginia Flanagan Webre was born in August, 1917. She married John F. Webre on May 29, 1948, at St. Bernard's.
1 comment:
Hi Michael I am your mother's cousin, Pat Boice. The 1962 date of Kay and Art Flanagans wedding was likely when they were married in the church. When they were married the first time it was outside the church because of Kay's previous marriage (s). They had to jump through a lot of hoops to be married in the church, and pay some hefty legal fees. Aunty
Pat gave them a hand with it as it was really important to Art.
Nice to have found your blog.
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