Hannigan/Foley/Nugent families on Canterbury Street

[bgchrissy]

Hello there – I am researching the Hannigan/Nugent/Foley families that lived in Worcester on Canterbury Street.  I believe the address was either 35 or 51 – perhaps both.  I have read everything in these forums that pertains to Irish genealogy and have found several threads that refer to either Canterbury Street or Foley but no thread specific to the Hannigans or Nugents.  

Fact:  Margaret  Nugent was born 2-5-1891 in Massachusetts.  I know her mother’s maiden name was Hannigan.  Beginning my research that’s all I know.

Finding a Nugent living with a Hannigan has got to be a stroke of luck.  Address on Canterbury Street.
Name:   James Nugent   
Home in 1920:   Worcester Ward 5, Worcester, Massachusetts      
Age:   55 years       
Estimated birth year:   abt 1865      
Birthplace:   Ireland      
Relation to Head of House:   Son-in-law   
Father's Birth Place:   Ireland       
Mother's Birth Place:   Ireland       
Marital Status:   Widow       
Race:   White      
Sex:   Male      
Year of Immigration:   1880       
      
Household Members:   Name   Age      
   Margaret Hannigan    77    Not employed   
   James Hannigan                  48    Foreman, machine shop   
   Mary Hannigan                  40    Not employed
   James Nugent                  55    Helper, belt shop
         
Source Citation: Year: 1920;Census Place: Worcester Ward 5, Worcester, Massachusetts; Roll: T625_750; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 270; Image: 246.

Backtracking James I find:  

Worcester, Massachusetts Directories, 1888-90
Name:   James Nugent   
Location 2:   boards 35 Canterbury    
Occupation:   carpenter    
Year:   1889    
City:   Worcester    
State:   MA    
      
Ancestry.com. Worcester, Massachusetts Directories, 1888-90
Worcester, MA, 1888. Worcester, MA: Drew, Allis & Co., 1888.
Worcester, MA, 1889. Worcester, MA: Drew, Allis & Co., 1889.
Worcester, MA, 1890. Worcester, MA: Drew, Allis & Co., 1890.


1910 United States Federal Census
Name:   James Nugent     
Age in 1910:   46      
Estimated birth year:   abt 1864      
Birthplace:   Ireland      
Relation to Head of House:   Head       
Father's Birth Place:   Ireland       
Mother's Birth Place:   Ireland       
Spouse's name:   Margaret T      
Home in 1910:   Worcester Ward 5, Worcester, Massachusetts      
Marital Status:   Married       
Race:   White      
Gender:   Male       
Year of Immigration:   1881                
Household Members:   Name   Age      
   James Nugent                    46    Carpenter at machine shop   
   Margaret T Nugent      46       
   Margaret F Nugent      19    Stenographer at land office   (BD 2-5-1891)   
   James E Nugent        16    Guager at machine shop      (BD 12-5-1893)
   Margaret Nugent                    11    Niece   
      
Source Citation: Year: 1910; Census Place: Worcester Ward 5, Worcester, Massachusetts; Roll: T624_632; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 1885; Image: 665..  

The above listing is for a family on Canterbury Street – as is the one below:

1910 United States Federal Census
Name:   James Hannigan         
Age in 1910:   72      
Estimated birth year:   abt 1838      
Birthplace:   Ireland      
Relation to Head of House:   Head       
Father's Birth Place:   Ireland       
Mother's Birth Place:   Ireland       
Spouse's name:   Margaret      
Home in 1910:   Worcester Ward 5, Worcester, Massachusetts      
Marital Status:   Married       
Race:   White      
Gender:   Male       
Year of Immigration:   1886    (transcription error - see note)            
Household Members:   Name   Age      
   James Hannigan                   72    Laborer, Street   
   Margaret Hannigan    67       
   James J Hannigan    37    Laborer, Loom works   
   Mary F Hannigan      29       
   Thomas Foley                   69    Helper, Loom works.  Brother-in-law
   Ellen T Foley                   40    Not employed.  Listed as niece
   Margaret A Hannigan    37           Flosser, Corset factory.  Listed as niece

Thomas Foley immigration year 1850, James Hannigan immigration year 1856, Margaret's immigration year transcribed as 1895 (an error; should be 1865 from all other sources).  James and Margaret had been married 47 years which would indicate they married in Ireland.   Margaret had given birth to 7 children/5 living.   
Source Citation: Year: 1910; Census Place: Worcester Ward 5, Worcester, Massachusetts; Roll: T624_632; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 1885; Image: 665.

From the above I conclude that my Margaret Nugent nee Hannigan’s parents were James and Margaret and Margaret’s maiden name was probably Foley since Thomas Foley is listed as brother-in-law.  

Backtracking again:  

1870 United States Federal Census
Name:   Margaret Hannigan   
Estimated birth year:   abt 1842      
Age in 1870:   28       
Birthplace:   Ireland       
Home in 1870:   Worcester Ward 6, Worcester, Massachusetts      
Family and neighbors:   
                                        James 33, Employed as wire drawer
                                        Margaret 6, at school
                                        Ellen 4, at home
                                        Michael 2, at home
                                       James Foley 64, no occupation.  Born in Ireland.
Race:   White            
Gender:   Female       
Value of real estate:         
Post Office:   Worcester       
         
Source Citation: Year: 1870; Census Place: Worcester Ward 6, Worcester, Massachusetts; Roll: M593_659; Page: 404; Image: 288.

1880 United States Federal Census
Name:   James Hanigan     
Home in 1880:   Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts      
Age:   47      
Estimated birth year:   abt 1833      
Birthplace:   Ireland      
Relation to head-of-household:   Self (Head)      
Spouse's name:   Margret      
Father's birthplace:   Ire      
Mother's birthplace:   Ire      
Neighbors:   
Occupation:   Wire Mill      
Marital Status:   Married      
Race:   White      
Gender:   Male      
Cannot read/write:  Blind:  Deaf and dumb:  Otherwise disabled:  Idiotic or insane:   
Household Members:   Name   Age      
   James Hanigan                    47       
   Margret Hanigan                    38       
   Margret Hanigan                    16       
   Nellie Haanigan                    14    (BD 10-3-1865 birthname Ellen)   
   Thomas Hanigan                    13       
   Michael Hannigan     12       
   James Hannigan                      9       
   Mary Hannigan                      4       
   Kate Hannigan                      5M    (BD 1-4-1880)   
   James Foley                77       
 
Source Citation: Year: 1880; Census Place: Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts; Roll: T9_568; Family History Film: 1254568; Page: 481.1000; Enumeration District: 898; Image: 0457.
  
While the 1870 census doesn’t list a street address, the 1880 census indicates Canterbury Street.  From the above two census entries I now assume that Margaret Hannigan’s father’s name was  James Foley  born about 1803.  

From my research it would appear that the Hannigan/Foley/Nugent families resided on Canterbury Street for at least 40 years.  Along the way I have picked up few facts but much supposition and have not found any data that will conclusively take me back to Ireland.  I have few complete birth dates and no country of origin.  It would appear that Margaret Hannigan Nugent died sometime between 1910 and 1920.  
I am hoping someone on this board may have information to share with me.  I know this post was long (especially for my first) but I wanted to provide as much information as possible.  Thank you.    

[traveler]

From the website of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the database of Massachusetts Vital Records from 1841 to 1910, I found this marriage record: May 18, 1863 James Hannigan, age 25, parents Michael and Margaret, to Margaret Foley, age 25, parents James and Ellen. This from Vol 164, page 247

[bgchrissy]

Thank you traveler.  I was unfamiliar with the NEHGS site.  I appreciate your efforts on my behalf.

[traveler]

Thank you traveler.  I was unfamiliar with the NEHGS site.  I appreciate your efforts on my behalf.

The Url is http://www.newenglandancesters.org
It is a fee site but because I have mostly Massachusetts ancestors and only spent 3 months of the year there I use the online databases frequently. You can get the same information by going to the Mass Archives in Boston. In fact in some cases, you can get better results there because of the frequent "unavailable image" my ancestors seem to bring up.
I have Worcester Foley ancestors also. When I started this obession I was surprized at how many Foleys there were in Worcester. The priest at Christ The King Church, named Foley, told me at one time there were 5 John J Foley's in Worcester and none of them were related.
I did look for your surnames in the St.John's tombstones database, but the only hits were for a Mary Foley, wife of Patrick Hannigan, died April 10,18-7. She was a native of Co. Waterford. Also in the grave were Thomas Hannigan, died 1955, Margaret Hannigan died1972 and a Catherine Moulton died 1951. There was one Nugent, Thomas from Tipperary.
Be glad to do any Look-ups for you. Marion

[Neil_H_Donahue]

There was a  Nugent's Dry cleaners in that area between Canterbury and Southgate streets near Gardner street. Memorys of Canterbury street fading.. Kelly's Rainbow Garden was in that area.. Local Bar.. Across the Street was Puritan Bar.  So I don't know if they started a business..
Crompton & Knowles company was a loom machine maker in the area also.

[traveler]

Found on the same NEHGS website, the death of Margaret T. Hannigan Nugent in 1910. The image is not available so I don't have the date. The Vol number is 114 and the page is 455.   Marion

[bgchrissy]

Thank you Marion.
Margaret T Hannigan Nugent's daughter - Margaret Nugent (2-5-1891) married a Massachusetts native who lived in Worcester.  His name was John George Kapowich (3-2-1889).  His mother Annie (maiden name unknown) and father (first name unknown) Kapowich  had immigrated from Poland-Lithuania.  The father died when John George was about 8 years old and Annie remarried.  She married William Caldak according to the 1900 census.  The name "Caldak" doesn't appear anywhere except on the 1900 census so I am searching all variations such as Chladek.  I got John George's birthdate from his social security death record.  According to a living Kapowich John George's father and his uncles all used different spellings of Kapowich.  The Worchester Public Library has an on-line database of their "biography" index which lists John G Kapowich.  I am going to write them to see what I can find out from that source.  

Christine  

[traveler]

If I can be of any help with other look-ups, please let me know. Don't know if you know Worcester, but if you need to find a Polish/Lithuanian Church there is one on Ward St, Our Lady of Czestochowa. I did look at John George in the 1930 census and was surprised to see him living 3 houses away from one of my Foleys. Marion

[bgchrissy]

I don't know Worcester or the New England area at all.  My own Irish ancestors all seemed to migrate straight to California.  The families I am trying to research in the Worcester area are related to my daughter's husband.  As I stated above, the "Caldak" name appears to be an Americanization of/or census taker's attempt to spell an unfamiliar name.  If anyone has any local listings for Worcester with names such as Chladek and Cldakowsky, or names beginning with the letters CHL or CLD I would welcome that input. 

[bgchrissy]

The Worcester Public Library sent me a copy of the obituary for John G Kapowich.  It has provided me with John G's father's name which was also John and his mother's name Anna (Corsac) Kapowich.  It also mentioned John G's half-sister Nellie.  At the time of John's death (June 1975) Nellie was the widow of John W Thompson.  Looking at the census records for the Thompson family I was able to find a William Salduk, father-in-law living in the household.  So now a few more of the pieces are in place.  After John Kapowich Sr died, his wife Annie remarried.  She married William Salduk and John G used the Salduk name in the 1910 census.  He reverted to the Kapowich name before his WWI draft registration and used that name from then on.  A heartfelt thank-you to the WPL.  John G Kapowich is buried at St. John's and was a member of the St. Andrew the Apostle Church on Vineyard Street. 

Christine