The Fay Family: An Irish Branch: Michael and Mary, grandson John Edward

THE FAY FAMILY HOMEPAGE

GENEALOGIES

IRISH GUESTS

Michael and Mary Fay
and their Descendants

Irish Guest directory

It all started with an obituary posted to the FAY message board.

FAY - The many friends of Mr. John E. Fay will be sorry to learn of his death, which occurred this morning at his home, 2 Wamesit court, after a brief illness. He was a prominent member of St. Patrick's parish, where he resided all his life. He leaves his wife, Rose (McCarthy) Fay; four daughters, Grace M., Clara C., Kathleen G., and Mildred R. Fay; two sons, Harold V. and Robert B. Fay; his mother, Mrs. Catherine (Fay) Ubert. He was a member of the Holy Name society of St. Patrick's church, Fraternal Order of Eagles, Lowell Order of Moose, and the Teamsters' Local No. 72.

--Lowell Sun, Lowell MA, July 21, 1927

This family settled in Massachusetts, and it was the vital records at NEHGS (New England Historical Genealogical Society) that provided critical information. The earliest record which I found is the August 6, 1878 marriage of Michael Fay, born in Ireland, son of Michael and Mary Fay, to Katie Goodwin, daughter of Michael and Honora Goodwin. He seems to have arrived in 1870, she not long before their marriage. Katie was 20, Michael was 23, a hostler, a profession he continues with. Although they married in Lawrence, the first census record shows them already in Lowell, where they remained.

1900 MASSACHUSETTS

Most of the early births in this family don't seem to be recorded in the vital records. The one exception which I found was John's, born September 28. That particular record has two or three years mixed together, and it looks as if the entry for John is for 1886, although it is indexed as 1888, the year of some of the records on the same page.

The next decade saw the marriages of Mary and John, and the deaths of Nora and Michael Jr. (in 1900 there were four children alive, in 1910, only two; and we have evidence that Mary and John are alive). Mary Ellen Fay and William H. Martin were married on July 3, 1903, in Lowell. She was 23, the daughter of Michael and Catherine Goodwin. He was 27, son of Thomas and Johannah Vincent. They are still living in Lowell in 1930; they seem to have had no children.

John married Rose Ann McCarthy (or McCarty, both versions are used) in Lowell on February 11, 1907. In 1910, they and their very young daughter Grace are living with Rose's parents and siblings.

1910 MASSACHUSETTS

Rose appears as head of house in 1930 with the couple's five children. Mary Fay Martin and William Martin are next door.

1930 MASSACHUSETTS

1 Michael Fay ...+Mary .....2 Michael Fay b: about 1855 ........+Catherine Goodwin b: about 1861 m: 8/6/1878 ..........3 Mary Fay b: 5/1880 m: 7/3/1903 .............+William H. Martin b: 1876 ..........3 Nora Fay b: 4/1882 d: before 1910 ..........3 John Edward Fay b: 9/28/1886 d: 7/21/1927 .............+Rose Ann McCarty b: 1/4/1885 ...............4 Grace M. Fay b: 2/2/1910 ...............4 Harold V. Fay b: 4/16/1916 d: 8/4/1994 ...............4 Claire C. Fay b: 1917 ...............4 Robert B. Fay b: 1920 ...............4 Catherine Fay b: 1923 ...............4 Mildred R. Fay b: 1925 ..........3 Michael Fay b: 3/1888 d: before 1910

Most of the dates are approximate; a few are exact.