The Fay Family: An Irish Branch: Thomas, John Francis, John Francis II, John Francis III
   
THE FAY FAMILY HOMEPAGE

GENEALOGIES
   
IRISH GUESTS
   
Thomas and Bridget Feeny Fay
and their descendants
   
Irish Guest directory
   
   
   
It started with an obituary:
   
JOHN F. FAY, III On October 14, 2006, of Bowie, MD. Loving husband of Patricia W. Fay; father of Heather Nicole, Teresa Ann and Sabrina Ann Fay; son of Evelyn B. Fay and the late John F. Fay, Jr.; brother of Michael Fay, Patricia Giordano, Evelyn Loughner and Mary Allick. Also survived by five nephews and three nieces.... Mass of Christian Burial Wednesday at 11 a.m. in Ascension Catholic Church, 12700 Lanham Severn Rd, Bowie, MD. Interment private. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.
from The Washington Post, October 15, 2006
   
What could be learned about John F.? He was the third of that name; he lived in Bowie, MD, and he died in 2006. The social security tables provided his date of birth: June 28, 1947. His mother Evelyn was living, his father dead. Social Security again provided information about John F., Jr.: he was born August 6, 1923, and died October 4, 1998, last residing in Bowie, Prince Georges, Maryland. Public Records confirmed that Evelyn B. Fay was living in Bowie, and gave her birthdate as 1926.
   
Could the first John F. Fay be found? He would be in the census of 1930, with a birthdate of 1924 (because of the August date). And my guess was that he would be in or around Bowie. After many searches which provided no useful information, I found this:
John F Fay Myrlle A Jersey City, Hudson, NJ abt 1886 New Jersey Head
Myrlle A Fay John F Jersey City, Hudson, NJ abt 1894 Wife
Dorothy Fay Jersey City, Hudson, NJ abt 1917 Daughter
John Jora Fay Jersey City, Hudson, NJ abt 1924 Son
It didn't seem this could be the people I was looking for, but I had never heard of the name "Jora" and I wondered about it; and this WAS a John F. from the previous generation.
   
   
The census taker had corrected the entry for John born 1924; it was quite clearly "Jr" and the indexer had read too quickly, as he did also for the name of John's mother; it was not "Myrlle," it was "Myrtle." This John F., born about 1886, would be in the WWI registration lists. He was, and his full name and date of birth were given; and the identification was confirmed by the inclusion of a wife 'Myrtle A.' on the registration card.
WWI:   John Francis Fay 1 Dec 1885 White Jersey City, Hudson, NJ
   
John Francis born 1885 was the second of the line; could I find the first? The census of 1930 said that John was born in New Jersey, his father in New York, and his mother in Ireland.
   
John would have been alive in 1900, and that year might provide information permitting us to go further back. John was not alive in 1880, so there was no point in looking there yet. There was only one entry in 1900 that fit, and I almost missed it. The four siblings are NJ NY Ireland, which is the information we saw in 1930 also. John's date of birth is exactly correct. Mary was born in August, 1879, which might make it possible to find her parents in 1880. Margaret Feeny is living with them; she is listed as "grandmother." She must have been the mother of the siblings' mother.
   
   
Mary providing the link to 1880 and Thomas and Bridget. A further check was provided by finding Bridget Feeny, daughter of Margaret, in the census of 1870. In spite of the spelling of the last name, there can be no doubt that this is the beginning of this line in the States (Thomas and Bridget were living in Jersey City, Hudson, NJ). I did try to trace Thomas back to his parents, since he was born in Staten Island, NY, but I was not successful. His parents were both from Ireland. I also tried to trace Joseph forward, but without provable success. Mary, who kept the family together with her earnings as a sewing machine operator, continued in that profession in 1910; in 1920, no occupation was given for her. I do not see her in 1930.
   
   
DESCENDANTS OF THOMAS AND BRIDGET (FEENY) FAY
1  Thomas Faehy  b: 1852
...+Bridget Feeny  b: 1855
......2  Mary Fay  b: 8/1879
......2  Loretta Fay  b: 1882
......2  Joseph Fay  b:  8/1883 
......2  John Francis Fay b: 12/1/1885
.........+Myrtle A.  b: 1894
............3  Dorothy Fay  b: 1917
............3  John Francis Fay Jr.  b: 8/6/1923  d: 10/4/1998
...............+Evelyn B.  b: 1926
..................4  John Francis Fay III  b: 6/28/1947 d: 10/14/2006
.....................+Patricia W.  {1955]
........................5  Heather Nicole Fay
........................5  Teresa Ann Fay
........................5  Sabrina Ann Fay
..................4  Michael P. Fay [1948]
..................4  Patricia Fay [1946]
.....................+Jeffery A. Giordano
..................4  Evelyn Fay Loughner [possibly 1952]
..................4  Mary Fay [1954]
.....................+Harold David Allick [1952]