Liberty Township, St Joseph County, Indiana Irish Born Individuals and their Families in the 1860 Census
The 1860 Census for St Joseph County Indiana has the sections grouped by Townships. There were three families that had Irish immigrants living in LibertyTownship when the 1860 US Census was conducted, Liberty Township has a Walkerton Post Office and was clearly a farming community. The 1860 Census does not give street names or addresses that would have been helpful to differentiate the areas covered.
I am going to document these families alphabetically in one section as there don't appear to be too many Irish immigrants. Many of the Surnames appeared to have been spelled phonetically and some look like a wild guess; this would make them a challenge to find in a census search. My Great Grandparents are listed as Martin and Catherine Bowman (Brennan) and their neighbors and close friends the McNultys are spelled McAnulta. I am transcribing them exactly as I see them without correction. I will include the entire family if one individual was born in Ireland (many times the spouse and children were born elsewhere). The 1860 Census does not document how individuals listed at the same location are related to the head of the house unlike later census years, so it is impossible to ascertain if they are borders, related or even working for them.
One caveat: I think it is important to keep in mind that the 1860 census does not give the origins of their parents; or if or how those listed in the same residences are related. If a family happens to have arrived in the US earlier than the bulk of the Irish famine immigrants (such as Scotch Irish) then the descendents we see in this census may have been born in the U.S. but still have Irish roots. They will not be reflected in this compilation even if they have an Irish surname.
Regarding the Amos and Ellen Whitinger Family: I believe that Amos Whitinger, his wife Ellen and sons John (7), Amos (5) and Henry (3) were living in Amington, Wayne Indiana in 1850. They were living in Liberty township, St Joseph County, Indiana in 1860 (Amos, wife Ellen, children John, Henry, Anna, William and Alfred). Son John appears to still be Liberty Twp in 1900 with wife Martha Recce whom he married January 12, 1875 in St Joseph County, Indiana. The youngest son, Alfred may have gone on to marry Mary Anne Clark on October 31, 1879 in St Joseph County, Indiana.
| Father/ Male Adult | Mother/Female adult | Child/ Other | Miscellaneous |
|---|---|---|---|
| McCabe, M, 28 born in Ireland | McCabe, Mary 20 born in Ohio | McCabe, James 4 born in Indiana | M McCabe is a Farmer with $500 Real Estate and $200 Personal Estate. |
| " | " | McCabe, Eugene, 2 born in Indiana | |
| O'Conner, Joseph 50 born in Ireland | O'Conner, Charlotte, 48 born in England | O'Conner, Thomas 26 born in England | Joseph is a Physician with $1500 Real Estate Value and $600 Personal Estate |
| " | " | O'Conner, Mary Jane 19 born in Indiana | |
| " | " | O'Conner, Mary Ann born in Indiana | Elam Rice, Farm Laborer from Indiana lives with them. |
| Whitinger, Amos 36 born in Indiana | Whitinger, Ellen 35 born in Ireland | Whitinger, John 17 Farmer born in Indiana | Amos was a Farmer with $3000 Real Estate, $400 Personal Estate |
| " | " | Whitinger, Henry 15 born in Indiana | |
| " | " | Whitinger, Anna 12 born in Indiana | |
| " | " | Whitinger, William 8 born in Indiana | |
| " | " | Whitinger, Alfred 6 born in Indiana |