So as I mentioned in this week’s Bonus Blog, having close DNA matches and not being able to figure out the connection is very frustrating. Of the seven closest Ancestry DNA matches that my mom has (2nd to 3rd cousins) six of them are on the Murtha side of the family. I know this based on the shared matching function which shows other people both parties match with. I am fairly confident that two of those people are the grandson and great-granddaughter of James Murtagh’s brother John. The only thing is I have no absolute proof that James had a brother John. It certainly seems likely though that they must have been brothers based on the close DNA connection.
James Murtagh (later at some point changed to Murtha) was from County Mayo, Ireland. He originally settled in Philadelphia where he married Mary Bridget Hagney (which was actually spelled Heagney back in Ireland). She was from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. More about her family in a future blog post. The Heagneys are the only branch of the Irish ancestors I have a good deal of information about, thanks to a distant cousin who did a lot of research.
According to the 1900 census James Murtagh came to the US in 1881. He and Mary were married in 1885. Their daughter Mary Ellen was born in Philly. Her younger sister’s Sarah and Edna were born in Jersey City, NJ. They had moved there sometime between 1887 and 1891.
It looks like John Murtagh also moved from Pennsylvania to Jersey City between 1891 and 1894, making the likelihood that they were brothers even more plausible. With the information from the DNA match’s tree and census records I have found, John’s family was living in Jersey City in 1900. The census record says he came to the US in 1886.
I know for sure that James did have a brother Patrick whose son Hugh was apparently gassed in World War I, but he survived. Patrick married Anne Costello. I think it is their family that I have also found in the 1900 and 1910 census records in Jersey City. According to the 1900 census he came to the US in 1887. The 1910 census says he came in 1890. His Petition for Naturalization filed in Jersey City in 1900 says he arrived in the US on or about April 14, 1890. It seems likely that he never lived in Pennsylvania.
So here’s what we know:
| Name | Came to US | Lived in PA | Moved to NJ |
| James | 1881 | Yes, 1881 to between 1887/1891 | Between 1887 and 1891 |
| John | 1886 | Yes, 1886 to between 1891/1894 | Between 1891 and 1894 |
| Patrick | 1887-1890 | Maybe never | Most likely between 1887 and 1890, perhaps straight from Ireland |
So that begs the question, was Patrick the first one to settle in Jersey City straight from Ireland, and then his brothers joined him there later? Or had James already moved to Jersey City and then Patrick went straight there? I think I may be leaning toward Patrick being the first one there based on the dates, but who knows I could be wrong. But if Patrick was the first of the Murtagh boys to settle in Jersey City and then convinced his brothers to join him there then my family owes Uncle Pat a debt of gratitude. Because if James hadn’t ever moved there to join his brother Patrick, James’ daughter Mary Ellen wouldn’t have met her husband, and none of us would be here.
Here’s the link to the tree for this part of the family https://myfamgen.com/murtaghmurtha-family/. John and his family aren’t in it yet because I still need more proof before I add him in.