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The Penders Brothers of Rutland County, Vermont: Was Patrick part of the Family?
In this paper, Lisa Dougherty examines the evidence she had collected about her great great grandfather, Patrick Penders in an attempt to determine if he was a native of County Clare. She outlines how she approached this specific genealogical problem, presenting evidence, findings and sources (given below in brackets) to support her theory. |
Description of Research Problem Explanation of Hypothesis Discussion of Resources |
Name | Birth | Marriage | Death | 1850 | 1860 | 1870 | 1880 | 1900 | Naturalization | Passenger List | Occupation | Children in birth order | Baptism sponsor | Misc. |
Michael | 1827 County Clare, source is naturalization record and census records | Before June 1850, source is based on 1850 census data | 26 Mar. 1900, Castleton, VT- source death record and obits, bur. St. Mary's Cem., Fair Haven, VT | Brandon, Rutland, VT | Rutland, Rutland, VT | Castleton, Rutland, VT | Cohoes, Albany, NY | N/A (widow lived in Cohoes, Albany, NY) | 13 Sep 1856, Rutland County Court, born 1827 County Clare, Ireland, resided in Brandon, VT | Not found | Quarryhand | John, Bridget, Michael, Henry, Thomas, Margaret, Johanna, James | 1876- Thomas' daughter | Out of town guests mentioned in funeral notice- Thomas' sons from Cohoes, NY, Henry's family from Proctor, Vt, John's son from Bangor, PA |
Henry | 1832 County Clare, source is naturalization record and census records | 20 April 1863, church marriage record, St. Peter's, Rutland, VT | 29 Sep 1899, Proctor, VT- source death record, obit and cemetery record, bur. St. Dominic's Cem., Proctor, VT | Not found | Rutland, Rutland, VT (with Michael) | Castleton, Rutland, VT | Rutland, Rutland, VT | N/A | 25 Sep 1860, Rutland County Court, born 1832 County Clare, Ireland, resided in Brandon, VT, witness Michael Pendergrass | Not found | Quarryhand | John, Thomas, Mary Ann, Honora, Henry, Katherine, Margaret, Bridget, Sarah, James | 1874-Thomas's daughter | Married Maggie Healey, sister of Thomas' wife Bridget. Widow Margaret's 1926 funeral was attended by children of Patrick, John and Thomas. Henry had been dead 27 years, Patrick 28 years. |
John | 1833, source is baptism records, Kildysert Parish, County Clare | 5 Feb. 1866, church marriage record, St. Peter's, Rutland, VT | 13 Oct. 1918, West Rutland, VT- source obit and cemetery record, bur. St. Bridget's Cem., West Rutland, VT. | Not found | Not found | Middlebury, Addison, VT | Rutland, Rutland, VT | West Rutland, Rutland, VT | Not found | Not found | Quarryman | Martin, John, Patrick, Thomas, James, Henry, Michael, Ellen, Mary, Maggie, Bridget | Out of town guests mentioned in funeral notice- Patrick's daughter from Rutland, VT, Henry's children from Proctor, VT | |
Thomas | 1837, source is baptism records, Kildysert Parish, County Clare | 6 Jan. 1860, church marriage record, St. Bridget's, West Rutland, VT | 19 Aug. 1915, Cohoes, NY- source death record, obit and cemetery record, bur. St. Agnes Cem., Cohoes, NY | Not found | Rutland, Rutland, VT | Castleton, Rutland, VT | Cohoes, Albany, NY | Cohoes, Albany, NY | 26 Sep 1860, Rutland County Court, born 1839 County Clare, Ireland, resided in Rutland, VT | Not found | Slate Quarry employee, factory worker, night watchman | John, Maggie, Ann, Thomas, Bridget, Mary, Kate, Henry, James, Hannah, Hanora, Johanna, Michael, Dora, Mary | 1871- Henry's son 1859- Michael's daughter | Married Bridget Healey, sister of Henry's wife Maggie. Mentioned as survivors in obit- brothers John of Rutland, VT and James of Steubenville, OH (who had been dead for 10 years!) |
James | 1844, source is baptism record, Kildysert Parish, County Clare | 1878/79, source is based on 1880 census data | 24 Apt 1908, Steubenville, OH- source obit and cemetery record, bur. Mt. Calvary Cem., Steubenville, OH | Still in Ireland | Still in Ireland | Not found | Bradford, McKean, PA | Steubenville, Jefferson, OH | 22 Oct 1891, Jefferson County, OH Probate Court, gives date of emigration | Sidon, arriving in NY 29 Jun 1864, accompanied by Pat Pender and Margaret Pender | Tailor | Kate, Owen, Francis, Mary, John, Annie, Robert | entioned in obit 2 surviving brothers, not named, "in the east. | |
Patrick | 1845, source is census records | 11 Feb. 1867, church marriage record, St. Bridget's, West Rutland, VT | 18 Feb. 1898, Glens Falls, NY- source death record, obit and cemetery visit, bur. St. Patrick Cem., Moriah, NY | Still in Ireland | Still in Ireland | New Haven, Addison, VT | Moriah, Essex, NY | N/A (wife pre-deceased him) | Not found | Sidon, arriving in NY 29 Jun 1864, accompanied by Pat Pender and Margaret Pender | Marble quarry employee | Mary, Maggie, John, Patrick, Ann, Jane, William, Catherine, Sarah, Lillian | 1865- Michael's son | Daughter Lillian's 1913 wedding in Rutland was attended by John's daughter and Henry's children. |
Ties to the same geographical area Served as witnesses and sponsors for baptisms,
marriages, naturalizations Family members mentioned in newspaper articles Michael’s 1900 funeral in Fair Haven, Vermont was
attended by Thomas’ sons from Cohoes, Henry’s sons from Proctor,
and John’s son from Bangor, Pennsylvania (Mike’s obit). Lillian’s (Patrick’s youngest daughter) 1913
wedding in Rutland was attended by John’s daughter and Henry’s
children (Lillian wedding notice). One of the most compelling pieces of circumstantial evidence to support Patrick’s inclusion in the family is the newspaper notice of the funeral of Henry Penders’ widow Margaret, appearing in the Rutland Herald on 5 October 1926. By this time, Henry had been dead for 27 years, and Patrick for 28. Among the attendees of the funeral mentioned were Patrick’s daughters Mary Woodward from Glens Falls, and Margaret Davis of Rutland. Also among the attendees were Thomas’ daughter and granddaughter of Cohoes, New York, and John’s daughter of Brattleboro, Vermont. This indicates a close relationship between the deceased men. I personally find it hard to believe that Patrick’s children would have traveled to Rutland to attend the funeral of a cousin’s wife, especially if that cousin had been dead for 27 years! The attendance at the funeral only makes sense if the deceased was a close relative- such as an aunt (Margaret’s obit). Evidence of parents’ names Common children’s names Of course it can be argued that the Irish used such incredibly common names in general, that these similarities can be attributed to nothing more than cultural traditions, and may have nothing to do with family relationships. Research done in Ireland Passenger list Miscellaneous information Rebuttal of Contradictory Evidence Family of John Pender and Catherine Lacey- residents of Chittenden and Washington Counties, Vermont. This John was born in Ireland about 1843, but no more specific evidence has been found of his place of birth. Names of the children in the family loosely mirror those of the Penders brothers, including an eldest son named John (census records). A newspaper item from the St. Albans Messenger dated 10 August 1903 indicates that Thomas’ daughter Hannah Penders, of Cohoes, New York visited John’s daughter Mae Penders when she resided in Underhill, Vermont. Thomas’s son James Penders was also a priest at the fairly nearby Our Lady of Angels parish in Randolph, Vermont from 1903-1911 (Our Lady of Angels Parish Website). Family of Patrick Pender and Mary Killian- residents of Washington County, Vermont. This Patrick was born in County Clare, Ireland, per his death record, around 1817 (Vermont death record). He had arrived in Vermont by the mid-1840s, and all his children were born in Vermont (census records). Children’s names are similar to those of the Penders brothers’ families, but there is no John. Family of John Penders and Rose Comiskey- residents of Moriah, Essex County, New York. Rose Comiskey had extended family in the area of Essex County, and was likely born there (census records). John was born around 1847 in either Ireland or New York- 1875 New York State census and 1880 United States census give different birthplaces (1875 and 1880 census records). Information about him is extremely limited and confined nearly entirely to census records. John and his family resided in Essex County at the same time that Patrick and his family did. Their children were baptized in the same church, but they did not sponsor each other’s baptisms (baptism records). John was a blacksmith by trade. Names of children are loosely similar to those of Penders brothers’ families, including eldest son named John. John Penders abandoned his family in the late 1880s and no further information has been found about him. Rose and some of her children moved to Cohoes, New York shortly after, where she died in 1895 (Rose’s obit). Rose had a sister living in Cohoes, so a connection to the Penders family residing there cannot be inferred (probate notice). Summation Lisa E. Dougherty, January 2012 |