Irish Families Identified in the Union Township, St Joseph County, Indiana 1860 Census
Union Township is located due south of the City of South Bend, Indiana. Center Township separates it from the Town of South Bend and Portage Township in which it lies. When the 1860 St Joseph County Census for Union Township was conducted, there were seven families with Irish-born individuals. Union Township has a Lakeville Post Office. The men in this township were all Farmers or Laborers and the Women did not hold occupations. 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.
| Father/ Male Adult | Mother/Other Female adult | Child/ Other | Miscellaneous |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooney, Michael, 31 born in Ireland | Cooney, Margarett 34 born in New York | Cooney, Owen 1 born in Indiana | Michael was a Farmer with $1500 Real Estate and $200 Personal Estate *** note of interest: there are 5 Cooney children living with the Asyer Family from Pennsylvania on this census page. |
| " | " | Cooney, James 2/12 born in Indiana | |
| Cooney, Patrick 38 born in Ireland | |||
| Cooney, Bridget 31 born in Ireland | |||
| Gallagher, Mich 38 born in Ireland | Gallagher, Hanah 25 born in Ireland | Gallagher, Huda, 2 born in Indiana | Mich has $400 in Real Estate and $100 Personal Estate |
| Gallagin, John 35 born in Ireland | John is a Laborer living with the Perry Family from COnnecticult | ||
| Gillen, John 53 born in Ireland | Gillen, Catharin 50 born in Ireland | Gillen, Margarett 23 born in Indiana | John was a Farmer; there is a Hugh and Rebecca Gillen Family living next door. He is from New York, she is from Ohio and their daughter Mary is from IN. |
| " | " | Gillen, John 21 born in Indiana | |
| " | " | Gillen, Edward 19 born in Indiana | |
| " | " | Gillen, Michael 13 born in Indiana | |
| " | " | Gillen, George 11 born in Indiana | |
| Hughes, Thos 60 born in Ireland | Hughes, Ann 38 born in New York? | Hughes, Mary 18 born in Indiana | Thos was a Farmer with $500 Real Estate and $200 Personal Estate |
| " | " | Hughes, Patrick 14 born in Indiana | |
| " | " | Hughes, John 15 born in Indiana | |
| " | " | Hughes, Elwood? 13 born in Indiana | |
| " | " | Hughes, Catharine 11 born in Indiana | |
| " | " | Hughes, Christopher 8 born in Indiana | |
| " | " | Hughes, Richard 5 born in Indiana | |
| J. D Rudisford, 32 born in Virginia | Rudisford, Mary 31 born in Ireland | Rudisford, Wm 10 born in Indiana | JD was a Farmer with $1500 Real Estate and $200 Personal Estate; a James Rudisford age 4 lives with the Huffman's on the same page of the census |
| " | " | Rudisford, Mary 10 born in Indiana | |
| " | " | Rudisford, Elizabeth 7 born in Indiana |