McSorleys of Newark, NJ

My 2nd great grandmother was Ellen McSorley. She came from County Tyrone and settled in Newark,NJ before 1830. I have not found her birthplace in Ireland or determined how she fits in to the McSorleys there. But I do know she had close relatives in the United States. I learned this by reading the church records of St. John's church, on microfilm, line-by-line. The reward for this was a small collection of Ellen's relatives and associates. Here are some of the McSorleys and their associates of Newark, NJ.

7 Jan 1833 Ellen McSorley married Timothy Bestick. Witnesses were Mrs. Richards. Wm Purcell, Wm Rowen, Miss Purcell.

24 Feb 1838 James Francis Murphy was baptised. He was the son of Fransic D. Murphy and Mary McSoley. Sponsors were Rev. Roderick Ryder and Bridget Fallen.

25 April 1841 Catherine Cox was baptised, daughter of Patrick G. Cox and Rosanna McSorley. Sponsors were John H. Kernan and Catherine McSorley

19 July 1841 Eleanor McSorley was baptised, daughter of John McSorley and Rebecca Mackey. Sponsors were Patrick G. Cox and Rosanna McSorley.

5 Sept 1841 James Robert Bestick was baptised, son of Timothy Bestick and Helen McSorley. Sponsors were James Dooner and Rosanna McSorley.

27 October 1841 Teresa Murphy was baptised, daughter of Francis D. Murphy and Mary McSorley. Sponsors were Daniel G. Durning and Anne Ward.

2 March 1845 William Carolin was baptised, son of William Carolin and Catherine McSorley, Sponsors were Patrick and Helen Carolin.

I extracted these entries using FHL microfilm no. 1398540. If you think you have a connection to one of these individuals, I'd be happy to exchange information.

Mary Bestick Brady and Friends

This is a photo of my great-grandmother Mary Bestick Brady (on the right) and 4 unidentified persons. This photo has been retouched--the original was a tintype that had creases across some of it.

Mary was born in Newark, NJ in 1838, and her husband Garret Brady died there in 1886. In this photo, I believe Mary is in mourning attire and she appears at least 50 years old to me. So I believe this photo was taken between 1886 and her death in 1908. Also, if Garret was alive, I expect he would have been included in the photo.

The other people in the photo appear to be related, to each other and possibly to Mary, based on facial resemblance. The eyes and mouths on the 3 closest to Mary make me think that they are siblings or otherwise closely related to each other. The face of the lady in white is a bit fuzzy, so it is hard to say if she strongly resembles the others or not.

If the photo was taken around 1886, then the 2 boys could be Mary's youngest sons, William (born 1872) and Garrett Leo (born 1874.) But then who are the 2 women? Several sources confirm that Mary's only daughter, Mary Ellen, died at the age of 2. The women appear to be too young to be Mary's long lost older sister Catherine. The 2 boys do not appear old enough to be married yet in this picture. So it seems unlikely that the 2 young women are daughters-in-law of Mary.

Besides her immediate family, Mary had other Bestick relatives that she could have been photographed with for some occasion. Mary had Bestick relatives in Bridgeport, CT, and she may be related to the Bestick families in New York City and Braintree, MA. I don't have any photos of those families for comparison.

Another possibility is that Mary was photographed with relatives of her mother, Ellen McSorley Bestick. There were McSorleys closely associated with the family in Newark, including Patrick and Rosanna McSorley Cox. Unfortunately, I don't have photos of the McSorleys for comparison either.

So for now, Mary's associates in this picture remain a mystery. I welcome any comments or suggestions (or photos of Besticks and McSorleys.)