The John and Ann Stoney Family of South Bend, Indiana: An Analysis of this Irish Family's Migration from Ireland to South Bend Indiana in South Bend St. Joseph Church and Sacred Heart Church Records, Census and other Resources
There were two different Stoney families documented in the 1876 St. Joseph Church Census: Jno Stoney (75) and wife Anna (75) as well as Patrick Stoney (35) his wife Kate (35) and children Nelly (13), Jno (12), Mary (10), Charles (9), Catharine (7) and Mary or Marg (5). I was initially under the impression that John Stoney's wife Ann may have had the maiden name Williams based on a December 7, 1878 Burial Record for Annam Williams (wife of Joannis Stony) in the St. Joseph Church Records. This conflicts with a post I saw on an online genforum that claims an Ann glavin born in 1801 Mayo, Ireland married a John Stoney and came to South Bend in 1853 and further with the research of Pamela L Folden, a Stoney and Hanley descendant.
Pamela L Folden, a genealogist and great great granddaughter of Margaret Stoney and Michael Charles Hanley, who has done extensive work on this line (and placed a copy of some of her research on this family in the South Bend Library), has clarified Anna's maiden name to be Garvey and not Williams. Special Kudos' to her for sharing her findings on this Irish family! The attention to detail in her research has made it possible to determine the Stoney family's origins in Ireland. The following is a very brief synopsis of her extensive research:
Pamela obtained a naturalization record for John Stoney from Marshall County, Indiana circuit court that acknowledges his arrival in New York from Liverpool on June 7, 1853. She has also located his wife Ann (45) and children Ellen (20), Margt (16), Cattrin? (11) and Pat (9) arriving January 21, 1854 on the Ship Isaac Webb. Patrick McKeoun (24) and his wife Mary (Stoney) also accompanied them. The burial record that I noted for a Annam Williams, wife of Joannis Stony appears to be her (confirmed by a burial marker picture she captured in Cedar Grove cemetery where John and Anna are buried, but according to Pamela, the maiden name is an error - it should be Garvey. Their daughter Ann Stoney was married to Mathew Williams, which may be one source of this inaccurate church death record detail. The obituary she obtained from the South Bend Tribune indicates that John Stoney was born in County Mayo, Ireland in May 1802 and came to America in 1853 and on to South Bend in 1854 where he lived the rest of his life. Six surviving children are confirmed: Mrs. Patrick McCune (Mary) of Kingston, Illinois, Mrs. Mathew (Ann) Williams and Mrs. Michael C (Margaret) Hanley residents on Notre Dame Street, Mrs. Cornelius (Catherine) Hunt of Walnut Street, Mrs. Feeney of Ohio and Patrick Stoney, a night desk sergeant at the police station. Pamela has traced the origins of John Stoney and Anne Garvey to their origins in Belcarra, Drum Parish in County Mayo, Ireland and obtained Irish baptismal records for both Patrick and Catherine (Stoney) Hunt. Her research confirms that Patrick Stoney as the son of John and Anna Stoney. She has traced the origins of the South Bend Hanley family (married to Margaret, John and Anna's daughter) as well to Killukin, County Roscommon, Ireland. I have a page on this family in my South Bend Irish section as well which I will confer with her on for accuracy.
In the research I have done thus far on the South Bend Irish community, there appears to be a number of immigrants from the Connaught areas of Mayo, Roscommon and Sligo including my Brennan/Corcoran line (Mayo/Roscommon), Thomas Bannon (Boyle, Roscommon, who left Liverpool for New York in 1853 like John Stoney), John and Anna Stoney (Drum, County Mayo, Ireland), Hanley Family origins in Killukin, County Roscommon, and Edward Johnston (County Sligo, Ireland- possibly Ballymote). I have noticed that Irish immigrants seemed to live in clusters with other immigrants from their counties in Ireland in the early England Census records. I wonder if the Irish gravitated together based on their Counties of origin in South Bend. It will be interesting to see if any of the South Bend Irish knew each other before their arrival in South Bend (our family lore suggests the Frains and McNulty's traveled with my family to South Bend-at this point, I have not been able to link them with their county of origin.
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. I would love to hear from anyone who believes that they may be a descendent of this family so that we can work together to find their origins in Ireland and migration trail to the U.S. 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:
I believe it is likely that Patricus Stoney is related to John and Anna Stoney (possibly a son), but remains to be proven with birth, marriage and death certificates. The earliest record I have found thus far for the John and Anna Stoney family in South Bend is a Sacred Heart Church Marriage Record for Patricius Stoney and Catherine McClusky on August 1, 1861 in which Anna Stoney is a witness, though they may have been in town significantly earlier than that if they didn't have small children being baptized. A. Stoney also appears as a witness for a Baptism in 1868. John and Ann are found living next to the Roach family (with John and Jame Keller living with them) in the 1870 South Bend Census. I have included the 1880 census record showing Thomas Stoney father in law living with Mathew and Ann Williams on North Notre Dame Avenue, thinking this is most likely John after Ann died but I need to obtain a marriage record or death records to confirm this. If this is indeed, Ann Stoney, daughter of Thomas who is the same as John Stoney then the 1900 census is of value to confirm it or rule it out. The 1900 census suggests that Ann Williams was born November 1854 in Ireland, married for 42 years (thus married around 1858), came to the US in 1857 and has been her for 43 years. All a bit of a stretch at this point, only speculation so I have not put it in the table below.
There are many more records for the Patrick Stoney and Anna McClosky family in the Church Records. I will work on a page for them next. Upon evaluation of the South Bend City Directories for the years 1883, 1885, 1894 and 1896 it appears that the John Stoney of this compilation was living at 704 N Notre Dame Avenue in the 1883 directory while a John C Stoney (likely a son of Patrick Stoney ) worked at Singers and lived at 233 S. St Louis Street, he is not this John. John Stoney is living on 764 N Notre Dame Avenue in the 1885 South Bend City Directory and is notably absent in the 1894 and 1896 Directories.
There is an interesting entry in "Irish Relatives and Friends" Compiled by Laura Murphy DeGrazia an Diane Fitzpatrick Haberstroh from "Information Wanted" Ads in the Irish American, 1850-1871. (Genealogical Publishing Company, 2001) where father John was in search of his daughter Ellen Stoney: Balcarow (Town), Drum Parish- Ellen Stoney (John Stoney, her father of South Bend, Indiana inquiring (St Joseph County, IN).
| Census, Church or other Record | Date Born, Baptized, Married or Census conducted | Father/ Husband | Mother/ Wife | Child | Occupation; Misc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 US Census for South Bend, Portage Twp, St Joseph County, IN | July 9, 1870 | Stoney, John, age 67 born in Ireland | Stoney, Ann, age 65 born in Ireland | John is listed as a Laborer with $2000 value in Real Estate; John and James Keller from Ireland appear to be living with them | |
| St Joseph Church, South Bend Indiana Burials on Microfilm (Possible burial record for Anna Stoney) | December 7, 1878 | Williams, Annam (age of 78) and wife of Joannis Stony | Witnesses ? Williams and Michaelis Thornly? | ||
| 1880 US Census for South Bend, St. Joseph, IN (Notre Dame Avenue Residence) (Possible census record for John though this a a stretch until proven- I am putting here to be scrutinized for accuracy) | June 2, 1880 | Williams, Mathew, 55 born in England; parents born in Ireland | Williams, Ann, wife 45 born in Ireland; parents born in Ireland | Williams, James, 31 son born in Illinois | Mathew works for Singer Mfg; |
| " | " | Williams, William, 18 son born in Indiana | Singer Mfg | ||
| " | " | Williams, Mathew, son age 16 born in Indiana | Singer Mfg | ||
| " | " | Williams, John, Son, 16 born in Indiana | Singer Mfg | ||
| " | " | Williams, Thomas, age 14 born in Indiana | Singer Mfg | ||
| " | " | Williams, Joseph, Son age 12 born in Indiana | Home | ||
| " | " | Williams, Mary, Daughter age 7 born in Indiana | Home | ||
| " | " | Williams, Catherine, Daughter age 4 born in Indiana | Home | ||
| " | " | Stoney, Thomas, age 78, Father in Law born in Ireland; parents born in Ireland (could this be John???) | no occupation | ||
| 1883 South Bend City Directory, Ancestry.com Database | 1883 | Stoney, John, residence 764 N Notre Dame Avenue | |||
| 1885 South Bend City Dirrectory, Ancestry.com Database | 1885 | Stoney, John, residence 764 N Notre Dame Avenue |