James Troy

 

James J. Troy


James Troy
From Mary Jo Egoville

Nickname: 

Born: Feb. 4, 187217 or July 18732 or August 16, 187311 or August 17, 18741 Ireland1

Died:  Dec. 5, 193010 Philadelphia

Residences: Philadelphia: 1897 1923 Buttonwood St.; ~1900-02 2006 Seybert St.; ~1903 2431 Seybert St.; ~1904-07 2713 Swain St.; ~1908-09 2024 Seybert St.; ~1910-12 2436 Ingersoll St.; ~1913-14 2439 Ingersoll St.; ~1915-23 1912 Harlan St.; ~1924-30 (possibly longer) 2762 N. 23rd St.13

Religion: Roman Catholic

Education: 

Career:Worked for Baldwin Locomotives in Philadelphia.6 11 Later worked as a gardener.13

Father:  James Troy17 (b. Ireland)

Mother:  Bridget Fitzgerald17 (b. Ireland)

Siblings: All siblings were apparently born in Ireland. All the brothers apparently came to America. The sisters apparently remained in Ireland.

Wife: Anna Moran m. June 20, 1897 in Philadelphia by James Monahan 12

Children:

Other Details: Immigrated to US in 1892.2 5 He apparently arrived aboard the ship Indiana on Nov. 16, 1892 traveling from Liverpool to Philadelphia.18 Family is believed to come from County Kildare6. Naturalized on September 14, 1903.15

Sources:

  1. Marge Troy
  2. 1900 Census
  3. 1910 Census
  4. 1920 Census
  5. 1930 Census
  6. Interview with Mary Jo Egoville. Names of siblings came from notes written by Mary Jo's mother Elizabeth. According to Mary Jo, Ellen changed her first name to Helen when she was older.
  7. Holy Cross Cemetery Records
  8. SSDI 159-07-4596 and Funeral card
  9. SSDI 197-24-7560 and Funeral Card
  10. Funeral Cards of James Troy, Patrick Troy, and Robert Troy
  11. According to his application for a marriage license (which I viewed at the Phila. Marriage License Bureau but could not copy) his birthday is Aug. 16, 1873. His WWI Draft Registration Card lists his birth date as Aug. 17, 1874. The 1900 Census says he was born July 1873. According to the Irish Birth Index, there was no one named James Troy in 1873. There was one in 1872, two in 1874, and three in 1875. It is quite possible that, like his brother Robert (see fn. 16), James did not know his birthday and just made up whatever date he felt like.
  12. Marriage Certificate
  13. Street addresses come from copies of the Philadelphia Directory maintained by the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. Only the 1930 Directory lists the wife's name (Anna). Also, in most of the years, brothers Robert and less often Patrick are listed as living at the same addresses. The only way I could confirm some addresses was by the fact that Robert and/or Patrick Troy were listed at the same address. There were addresses for James Troy in the 1890's, but since Patrick or Robert were not with him, I could not confirm which addresses were for the correct James Troy. The first address (Buttonwood St.) was copied from his marriage license application. Also, James is listed as a blacksmith in most directories, but is sometimes just listed as a laborer.
    The Census takers wrote street names on the sides of their sheets which corroborate the addresses from the Directory: 1900 - Seybert St., 1910 - Ingersoll St, 1920 - Harlan St., 1930 - 23rd St. The Harlan St. Address is also confirmed by James' WWI Draft Registration Card.
  14. John Troy listed here is living next door to James Troy in the 1900 Census. Both list their professions as "blacksmith." If this is the correct John Troy, he has a wife named Maggie and at least four children: Mary, Maggie, James, and Anna.
  15. Naturalization Certificate; Petition for Citizenship; Petition Cover
  16. According to Mary Jo, Robert did not know his birthday and typically used March 17 (St. Patrick's Day). When he had to get records to apply for Social Security, it was determined his birthday was in January. She did not recall what year and could not find the original records.
  17. Parents were determined through available Irish Birth records. In searching Irish Birth records at Familysearch.org, I found only one couple that was from that general area and who had children with pretty much the right names. I started with a search of "Robert Troy" because that only brought up six entries of I then searched all six sets of parents for a list of children. Only James Troy and Bridget Fitzgerald secured hits on siblings with the right names. I found:
    • Mary Troy: b. May 27, 1865, Stradbelly, Laoighis, Ireland
    • Patrick Troy: b. Aug. 20, 1867, Stradbelly, Laoighis, Ireland
    • Sarah Troy: b. Nov. 25, 1869, Stradbelly, Laoighis, Ireland
    • James Troy: b. Feb. 4. 1872, Kildare, Ireland
    • Robert Troy: b. Jan. 24, 1875 Ireland
    There were no records for John, Ellen, nor Bridget. That the birthdays do not match any US records raised concerns. Mary Jo later told me she knew of Sarah Troy, who had married a man whose last name was Martin and who had a large family of boys who formed a sports team in Ireland. The fact that Mary Jo independently confirmed that Robert was born in January fits with these parents. Stradbelly is right on the border with Kildare. Parents were confirmed by obtaining Robert Troy's Social Security Application which lists James Troy and "Brigid Fitzgerald" as the parents. I am not sure why the application lists March 17, 1887 as the birth date since that is more than a decade off from what clearly seems to be his birthday. It could be a mistake or perhaps there was some reason he wanted to be below the 65 retirement age when applying.
  18. Ship's list Immigration Records for James, John, & Patrick & Robert.  Note James age 19 in 1892, occupation blacksmith, with letter to John. John in 1887 is traveling with another Troy (Wm?) who it eight years older - perhaps a more distant relative? In 1899 Robert and Patrick are traveling with a "Maria Troy" who had been to the US before - possibly another non-immediate relative? Note also that Robert, Patrick, and Maria all say they came from Kildare.

     


Believed to be James and his brother Robert Troy, not certain.
From Mary Jo Egoville