About Mary McTigue Ward...

I really have no connection to my grandmother (my father was about eight when she died), so these documents help paint a picture of various points in her life. If you have good stories, please post them on our guestbook or send via email.

Finding records for her has been a challenge. I know from family stories that she was from County Leitrim and that she had a brother, possibly named Philip, that drowned in the River Shannon. My best guess from looking at the 1901 Irish Census is that she grew up on Lough Allen in a townland called Lower Annagh, near the villages of Ballinagleragh and Dowra. There were also several McTigues (including a Mary) from Cornamucklagh South, about five miles away, which I believe are likely to have been cousins.

Documents I have so far:

• 22May1902 Ship's Manifest for the New England, indicating her hometown as Dowra (Kilcashel, Co. Roscommon) and that she was bound for Detroit, MI to see an uncle, James McParland. This is one of several possible passages for Mary, but this seemed to best reconcile with her age and the immigration year reported on the US census data.
• 1910, 1920 and 1930 US Censuses (see Bart's page)

Here's a circa 1920s photo of the Ballinagleragh school class. Although Mary was in the US about 1902, this school is only a mile from her house, and she may well have attended this school. Given that some of her siblings and cousins remained in the area, there may be several of her nieces, nephews and cousins in this picture! (Click on the photo to see it in greater detail.)