The Thomas Fogarty and Mary Purcell Family and their Brief Appearance in South Bend, St Joseph County, Indiana Records: An Analysis of this Irish Family's Origins in Ireland, Migration to South Bend Indiana and on to Valparaiso, Indiana in Marriage, Census and other Records
Thomas Fogarty and Mary Purcell only make a brief appearance in the St Joseph County, Indiana Records. They applied for a Marriage License on November 5, 1852 in St Joseph County, Indiana Circuit Court and a marriage certificate was filed on November 13. Reverend Richard Shortis, a Catholic Priest married them. They then appear in the 1850-1870 Porter County, Valparaiso, Indiana Census records. A John Fogerty, age 70 and John Fogerty age 19 are living with them in the 1860 census, could this be his father and brother or at the very least relation?
The objective of this compilation is to try to establish the earliest possible evidence of this family in the United States through all available resources.
This will most definitely be a work in progress and all findings I speculate on would have to be proven for accuracy with Ireland and U.S. marriage records, church baptismal records and death records among other genealogical resources. Please use this information with that caveat in mind so that nothing is assumed and no stones are left unturned to assure it's your family and the connection is accurate. Please contact me if you feel that you are descended from this family or another South Bend, Indiana Irish Family so that we can share information, see if there were common migration trails followed and delve further back into their origins in Ireland!
Research Observations and Analysis: Two of Thomas and Mary's children Catherine (who married Daniel Flynn) and Martin died in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. Catherin Flynn died on September 7, 1935 at age 75 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois and Martin born June 22, 1858 in Valparaise died at age 62 on February 23, 1921. This information was gleaned from familysearch.org Illinois Cook County Illinois Deaths 1878-1922 (Martin) and Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths 1916-1947 for Catherine.
| Census, Church or other Record | Date Born, Baptized, Married | Father/ Husband | Mother/ Wife | Child or other | Occupation; Misc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana Marriages 1811-1959 familysearch.org (this record was initially identified by Irvin Morse a So Bend Genealogical Society Volunteer, in the St Joseph County Early Marriages) | Marriage License obtained November 5, 1852, Clerk of St Joseph County IN circuit court; Nov 13? marriage certificate filed. Rev. Rich'd Shortis Catholic Priest married them | Fogarty, Thomas | Purcell, Mary | ||
| 1860 US Census for Porter County, Valparaiso, Indiana | Census Taken June 5, 1860 | Fogerty, Thomas, age 30 born in Ireland | Fogerty, Mary, age 30 born in Ireland | Fogerty, John, age 19 born in New York (is this a Brother?) | Thomas was a Laborer with $300 Real Estate and $50 Personal Estate; |
| " | " | Fogerty, Catharine, age 5 born in Indiana | |||
| " | " | Fogerty, Thomas, age 3 born in Indiana | |||
| " | " | Fogerty, Martin, age 1, born in Indiana | |||
| " | " | Fogerty, John, age 70 born in Ireland (is this his father?) | |||
| 1870 US Census Porter County, Valparaiso Twp, Valparaiso, Indiana | Census taken June 20, 1880 | Fogarty, Thomas, age 56 born in Irleand | Fogarty, Mary, age 40 born in Irleand | Fogarty, John, age 19 born in New York | at homThomas is a Black Smith, Mary Keeps Home and John is at Home; Thomas has $400 in Real Estate and $200 in Personal Estatee |
| " | " | Fogarty, Catharine, age 15, born in Indiana | Works Wool Mill | ||
| " | " | Fogarty, Thomas, age 12 born in Indiana | |||
| " | " | Fogarty, Martin, age 9 born in Indiana | |||
| " | " | Fogarty, Stephan, age 7 born in Indiana | |||
| " | " | Fogarty, Richard, age 4 born in Indiana | |||
| " | " | Fogarty, William, age 2 born in Indiana | |||
| 1880 US Census for Porter County, Valparaise Twp, City of Valparaiso, Indiana | June 3, 1880 census taken | Fogarty, Thos, 62 yr old born in Ireland, parents born in Ireland | Fogarty, Mary, 53 yr old wife born in ? | Fogarty, John, 29 yr old "parilitic" son born in Indiana | Thomas is a Laborer, Mary Housekeeping, and John at home; |
| Fogarty, Catharine, 25 yr old daughter born in IN | at home | ||||
| Fogarty, Thomas, Son 23 yr old son born in IN | Laborer | ||||
| Fogarty, Stephen, Son 17 yr old son born in IN | |||||
| Fogarty, Richard, Son 12 yr old son born ? | School | ||||
| Fogarty, Wm, 9 yr old son born ? | School | ||||