Claffeys in South Carolina

Below are South Carolina Claffey/Claffy families several of us are trying to
find more information on. If you can offer any corrections or additions,
please email [email protected]

Mary Margaret Claffe McArdle was born 20 Oct 1860 in SC and died 6 Oct
1942 in San Francisco, CA. Who were her parents?

In 1880 Patrick Claffy b @ 1841 in Ireland was living in Charleston on Wall
St. with his wife Margaret ClaffyIreland and their daughter Mary J. b @ 1871
in NY. Mary J. married John A. Helander. 1920 and 1930 Charleston census
indicates Margaret H. Claffy came to USA in 1869 and became a citizen in
1871. A man named Patrick Claffey was living and working in Charleston in
1889 and 1890. Near Charleston, in St. Andrews lived James Claffy b @ 1838
in Ireland. b @ 1850 in

Patrick F. Claffey served South Carolina in the Confederate army during the
Civil War in the 1860's. Does anyone have information on his family?

In 1870 in Charleston were William b @ 1831 and his wife Maria b @ 1830 who
were shopkeepers. Both were born in Ireland and had been married within the
year.

In 1860 living in Charleston, Ward 4 was T. Claffy b @ 1837 in Ireland who was
a tavernkeeper and his wife Marianne b @ 1829. They had been married within
the year.

Jacob Claffy b @ 1858 in SC and his wife Cinty b @ 1862 in SC were living in
Amelia, SC (Orangeburg Co.) in 1880. They were black. There seems to be no
record of them before or since 1880. Were they former slaves? Did they later
change their last name?

Because Sherman burned Columbia, SC literally to the ground during the War
of Northern Aggression (called Civil War by non-Southerners) every record in
the city was destroyed. Fortunately, some few Columbia records were stored
in Charleston and those are about the only documents which survive. Below
is one SC family that lived in Columbia.

01-James Claffy b 1823 Kings Co. Ireland d 30 Nov 1873
02-+Rose Eliza McKenna married 1853, d 15 July 1875
03        Robert Michael Claffy b July 1855 d 15 Sep 1915
04        +Annie Teresa Hughes b Oct 1854 SC d 1930
05                    Robert Michael Claffy, Jr. b Apr 1881 d 15 Nov 1951
06                    +Lorena Teresa Forde b @ 1890
07                                Son died in infancy
08                                Robert Forde Claffy b @ 1910
09                                Joseph Claffy b @ 1915
10                                Teresa Louise Claffy b @ 1917
11                                Lillian Claffy b @ 1919
12                                Ann Claffy b @ 1921
13                                James Tobin Claffy b @ 1923
14                                +Sophia Elizabeth (Betty) Price Singley
15                                            Elizabeth Singley Claffy
16                                            Thelma (Tina) Claffy
17                                            Macie Claffy
18                                            James Tobin Claffy, Jr.
19                                            Richard Forde Claffy
20                    Thomas Hughes Claffy b 21 Feb 1885
21                    James Frederick Claffy b Apr 1883 d 26 Nov 1932
22                    +Bertha Rubling Claffy b @ 1896
23                                Leonard R. Claffy b 21 Aug 1926 d 1976
24                                James F. Claffy, Jr. b 20 Apr 1928
25                    Mary Eliza (Ellie) Claffy Collins b Dec 1886
26                    +George Washington Collins b @ 1874
27                                Mary Louise Collins b @ 1909
28                                Betty Collins b @ 1911
29                                Ann Catherine Collins b @ 1913
30                                Robert Joseph Collins b 1921
31                                David Harvey Collins b 29 Jan 1926 d 5 June 2003
32                                +Betty Prim Collins b 27 Feb 1928 d Mar 1978
33                                Eleanor Hughes (Betty) Collins McDougall
34                                George W. Collins, Jr. (deceased)
35                                Clare Collins (deceased)
36                    Mary Louise (Wee-Wee) Claffy b Jan 1889
37                    George Claffy
38        James Henry Claffy b Feb 1858 d 3 Feb 1924
39        +Miss Connelly from Charleston, SC, first wife
40                    Jennie Claffy b June 1888
41        +Mana Rickenbaker b Mar 1879 d 1959, second wife
42                    Mana E. Claffyb July 1898
43                    James Claffy d age 18 mo.
44                    Kathleen Claffy b 1904
45        John Claffy b 1859, d in childhood, Columbia, SC
46        Annie Claffy b 1862 d 11 July1930
47        +Artemas Thomson Darby b 1859 d 1907
48                    James Elliott Darby
49                    Margaret Eliza (Lilah) Darby
50                    Artemas Keitt Darby
51                    Harry Northrup Darby
52                    +Emily Hay Bates
53                    Annie Thompson Darby
54                    Derrill Burnham Darby d 8 Oct 1901
55        Francis Peter (Frank) Claffy b 1864 d 21 Dec 1942
56        +Mattie A. Cannon b @ 1877
57                    Dorothy Claffy b @ 1904 in SC
58                    Frank P. Claffy, Jr. b 21 July 1907 in SC d 6 Feb 1974
59                    James Owen Claffy b 7 Aug 1921 in GA d June 1979

NOTES:
01-James Claffy need name of Irish town or parish of birth, place of marriage,
Port of Entry and date of immigration. He worked on the Columbia Canal and
lived near St. Peters Catholic Church. He built the wall around the church, part
of which is still standing in 2005, behind the old cemetery. On 1860 census he
owned a barroom and employed a barkeeper Timothy Claffey age 26 who lived
with him. Listed as owner of slaves in 1860 SC Slave Schedule. Lived in
Columbia, SC until 1872, purchased 362 acres and moved to Ft. Motte, SC where
he and his wife died of typhoid fever. May be buried at St. Peter's Catholic
Church in Columbia, but no grave marker found. Graves may have been covered
by church addition. Record of Deaths in Columbia by John Glass states: "James Claffey departed this life November 30, 1873 in Columbia, SC aged fifty years. A
native of Kings County, Ireland, and a resident of Columbia for a quarter of a
century. He married Miss Eliza McKenna, by whom he had several children, four
of whom survive him. Mr. Claffey was a real genuine Irish Catholic. Mr. Claffey
was a good citizen, and had filled the position of Alderman for two terms."
James and his wife are mentioned in the book, "Catholicity in the Carolinas".

02-Rose Eliza McKenna (called Eliza). Record of Deaths in Columbia by John
Glass states: "Mrs. James Claffey died in Columbia, SC July 15, 1875. The
writer did not know her." Research into the family of Eliza McKenna is on-going. There were several McKenna families in Charleston and in Columbia during her lifetime. Living two houses away from Eliza and James Claffy was a Charles
McKenna age 31 who also owned a barroom and employed a barkeeper named
Michael McKenna. Both McKennas were born in Ireland.

03-Robert Michael Claffy lived on the original Ft. Motte family tract until 1891
when he purchased a cotton plantation of 722 acres in Ft. Motte known as "Rush". There is a townland of 130 acres in Kings Co. Ireland named Rusheen. In 1930
he lived in Amelia (Calhoun Co.) SC.

04-Annie Teresa Hughes Claffy was born in SC and her parents were born in
Ireland. She was raised in a convent in Charleston. She lived with her daughter
Mary E. Claffy Collins in Columbia after her husband died.

05-Robert Michael Claffy, Jr.

13-James Tobin Claffy lived at "Rush" until age 11 when he moved to Eastover, SC

14-Sophia Elizabeth (Betty) Price Singley's first husband was killed in WWII and
James T. Claffy adopted her daughter Elizabeth Singley around age 2 or 3.

21-James Frederick Claffy lived with his sister Mary E. Collins and her family in Columbia. Sometime between 1920 and 1930 he married and moved to Howard
St. in Spartanburg, SC where he owned a filling station. He lived next door to
his in-laws, the Rubling family. In 1918 his WWI registration stated he was tall,
stout, blue eyes, brown hair, nearest relative Mrs. Anna Teresa Claffy, permanent
home address Ft. Motte, employer was a steel company in Cleveland, Ohio.

24-James F. Claffy, Jr. died 19 May 2000 in Seabrook, TX

25-Mary Eliza (Ellie) Claffy Collins was b in Ft. Motte and died in 1960's. She
was married 25 May 1908. She is buried in St. Peters Cemetery next to Elmwood Cemetery in Columbia, SC

26-George Washington Collins lived in Columbia and managed a filling station
and auto storage shop. He owned the first filling station in Columbia, was an
alderman, temporary mayor, layed the first brick in the paved road system, put
the bell in St. Peter's Church and got the statue of Wade Hampton to the State
House grounds when no one else could figure out how to get it there. He always
led the Christmas parade on horseback or had the honor to ride with Santa, had
a racehorse named for him and helped to found the Woodyard Fund (firewood
for the poor). As a young man he came from Rockingham, NC and worked for
Robert Claffy at Rush.

27-Mary Louise Collins married a Mr. Dillon. She died at age 93 in 2002.

29-Ann Catherine (Kitty) Collins Heath died at a nursing home in Conway, SC
in 2005 and is buried with her husband, Marvin Heath in Hardy, Arkansas.

31-David Harvey Collins d 5 June 2003. Seven children survive.

32-Betty Prim Collins d Mar 1978.

34-George W. Collins, Jr. was the son of George W. Collins and his first wife
who died when George, Jr. was born. He lived with his maternal grandparents
until George, Sr. married Mary Eliza Claffy and he then lived with them and
considered her his mother. He called her "Miss Ellie".

35-Clare Collins died at about 6 months of age.

36-Mary Louise (Wee-Wee) Claffy died @ age 15 in Fort Motte, buried in St.
Peters Cemetery (not the cemetery behind the church). On the 1900 census her
name is listed as Louise T. Claffy.

38-James Henry Claffy buried Sunnyside Cemetery in Orangeburg, SC

39-Miss Connelly from Charleston currently being researched.

40-Jennie Claffy was living with the family of her aunt Annie Darby in 1900.

41-Mana Rickenbaker Claffy married @ 1897, buried Sunnyside Cemetery in
Orangeburg, SC

46-Annie Claffy Darby buried in Ft. Motte, SC

55-Francis Peter (Frank) Claffy lived in Langleytown, Aiken Co, SC in 1920 and
worked as a sweeper in a cotton mill.

If you have information on these or other Claffey, etc. families in SC,
please let me know at [email protected]