User:Richard Arthur Norton (1958- )/Sarah Jane Carr

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Sarah Jane Carr (1863-1950) aka Sadie Carr; Immigrant from Ireland to USA circa 1885 and Indentured Maid with her sister and cousin in a Rooming House in New York City, possibly in Brooklyn (b. November 18, 1863, Coalpite, Athleague, Killeroran, County Galway/Roscommon, Ireland - d. January 28, 1950, 61 Clendenny Avenue, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, 07304-1503, USA)

Contents 1 Birth 2 Emigration 3 Marriage 4 Children 5 Death of husband 6 Death 7 Apocrypha 8 Hollygrove, Ireland

[edit] Birth

Sarah was born in Coalpits, Ireland adjacent to Hollygrove, Ireland in Athleague parish, Killeroran district on the border of County Galway and County Roscommon in Ireland. Her father was Thomas Carr (c1840-bef1901) and her mother was Bridget Conboy (c1840-aft1901). Her siblings include: Katherine Carr (1865-1952) who emigrated to the US as an indentured maid and married James Joseph Kennedy (1866-1926); Andrew Carr (c1870-?) who may have emigrated to Australia from Ireland; Mary Carr (1873-?) who never married and remained in Ireland; James Carr I (1874-aft1950) who emigrated to the US and operated a speakeasy and after prohibition operated a taxi; and Thomas Carr II (1876-?) who married Mary Kelly and remained in Ireland on the family property until his death.

[edit] Emigration

Sarah came to the United States around 1885 with her sister. Sarah also had a cousin that came over as an indentured maid, Margaret Agnes Conboy (1866-1951) who married Owen McLaughlin (1863-1931). Her brother, James Carr, arrived around 1903. Sarah, and her sister Katherine, and her cousin Margaret were indentured servants, their passage to the US was paid by the rooming house in Brooklyn that they worked in, and they had to work for 5 years to pay off that debt. The exact place in Brooklyn where they worked has not been identified.

[edit] Marriage

Sarah married Patrick J. Norton (1856-1905) on April 13, 1890 at Saint Paul's Roman Catholic Church at 14 Greenville Avenue in Jersey City. Pat was the son of Michael Norton (c1830-?) and Bridget Mulligan (c1830-?). The wedding was attended by John Norton (1861-1905), Patrick’s brother and some of the Hogans that were Sarah's cousins.

[edit] Children

Sarah and Patrick had five children, with three living to adulthood: Thomas Patrick Norton I (1891-1968) who married Mary Margaret Burke (1890-1949); James Joseph Norton I (1892-1961) who married Helen Marie Maher (1895-1974); Katherine Norton (1894-1942) who married James Patrick Langan I (1889-1975); Sarah Francis Norton (1896) who died as an infant; and Mary Norton (1898) who died as an infant.

[edit] Death of husband

Sarah's husband Patrick worked as a laborer on the railroad, but both Patrick, and his brother John Norton died in 1905 at a relatively young age. Patrick may also have had a third brother, Matthew Norton, that was the witness to his wedding to Sarah. Sarah somehow received a large sum of money after Patrick’s death. The source of the money is not clear, but she used it to buy two newly-constructed two-family houses in the Horseshoe, or Irish section of Jersey City around 1910. She lived in one unit and had family members living in some of the other units.

[edit] Death

Sarah Jane Carr died on January 28, 1950 at age 84. Her funeral notice was published on January 31, 1950 in the Jersey Journal and it reads as follows:

Mrs. Sarah Norton (nee Carr) died on Saturday in her home at 61 Clendenny Avenue. Mrs. Norton, a native of Ireland, resided in the Horseshoe section for 30 years before moving to the Clendenny Avenue address 30 years ago. She was a communicant of Our Lady of Victories Roman Catholic Church; a member of the Rosary Society; Greenville Council, Catholic Daughters of America, and St. Alicia Council, C.W.B.L. Surviving are two sons, Thomas and James; six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren."

A second obituary on the same day reads: "[Sarah Norton died] suddenly on Saturday, January 28, 1950 at the residence, 61 Clendenny Avenue, Sarah Jane Norton (nee Carr), beloved wife of the late Patrick J. Norton, and the late Katherine Langan; loving sister of Mrs. Katherine Kennedy and James Carr; also survived by six grandchildren. Relatives and friends, also Catholic Daughters of America. Greenville Council, No. 450; St. Alicia Council, No. 58, C.W.B.L., Rosary Society of Our Ladies of Victories Church, are invited to attend the funeral on Wednesday, February 1st, at 9 a.m., from the Funeral Home of Richmond F. Routh, 206 Old Bergen Road. Solemn mass of requiem at Our Lady of Victories Roman Catholic Church at 10 a.m. Members of our Our Lady of Victories Rosary Society are asked to meet at Richmond F. Routh, 206 Old Bergen Road, tonight 8:15 p.m. to offer prayers for Sara Norton, a former member.

[edit] Apocrypha

Sara was known for her colorful family stories that may have had no basis in fact. She said that when she came to the US everyone was wearing black armbands, and somehow the story was transformed by her grandchildren that she came over when the president was shot. She also said she was from County Cork, but she was from Hollygrove, Ireland and Coalpits, Ireland on the County Galway and County Roscommon border. She also told people that her husband, Patrick died from yellow fever during the Spanish American War, where he was a farrier, and that the money she received to buy her 2 two-family houses was from his insurance.

[edit] Hollygrove, Ireland

Ann Elizabeth O'Malley (1933- ) writes:

On September 28, 1982 Fred and I drove to Roscommon in search of [the birthplace of Katherine Carr (1865-1952)]. We asked the first elderly man we saw if he had ever met Thomas Carr. He said if it is the Thomas Carr who married Mary Kelly then he had. That was our lucky day. He directed us to the Holly Grove/Coal Pits area. We stopped in front of a two story granite house and asked a middle aged man if he knew whether this was the former residence of Thomas and Mary Carr. As luck would have it, once again he said that it was not, but that he owned the old Thomas Carr estate. His name was Mr. McCann and he said that the property had been divided and the Rourkes had built a house on a portion of the original property. The neighbor also said that Mary loved children and often gave them sweets. The front door was boarded up so we climbed through a back window into the kitchen which still had only a mud floor. At the front entry hall there was a staircase straight ahead and a hallway to the left of the staircase leading to the kitchen. There were two large rooms, one on each side of the entry hall both with interesting fireplaces. A stairway with nicely carved banisters, still intact, led to the second floor. The second floor like the first consisted of two large rooms, both with a fireplace. To the left of the house was a stone shed. There was also a spring on the property and someone said that many years ago it was used as a community spring. It was a great thrill to see the house where my grandmother was born and grew up. If only the cows had not roamed through it and destroyed the floors it would still be a picturesque house on a hill. After dinner that evening we went to a general store in Athleague and mentioned that my grandmother, Catherine Carr, was born in Coal Pits.