McGRATH Genealogy

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(click here to view the McGRATH Ahnentafel)

My Irish heritage comes from my mother's side of the family. That side is well-established and we still keep in touch with the 2nd and 3rd cousins back on the "auld sod." I've visited the (formerly) thatched-roofed farmhouse on the farm called Knockbrack (Gaelic for "speckled hill") in Ardfert, County Kerry where my grandfather and great-grandfather were born, and I even have enough official documentation to qualify for Irish "citizenship" and get an Irish passport, if I wanted to.

 

In this family tree I have surnames McGRATH, CARROLL, GRIFFIN, BUTTIMER (BUTTIMORE) and BARRY, just to name a few, harking from Counties Kerry and Cork.  I also have cousins from Georgia to Vermont who are also doing genealogy work on that side of the family, and we all share notes and information.

My mother was Elizabeth Mary McGRATH, born in Boston MA on 25 September 1908. Her parents (my grandparents) were John Michael McGRATH of Ardfert, County Kerry, and Elizabeth Mary BUTTIMER/BUTTIMORE, of Kilnagnady, County Cork. John Michael was born at Knockbrack in Ardfert on 29 April 1871 to Michael John McGRATH and Johanna Mary CARROLL (my great-grandparents).

GGF Michael John was born at Knockbrack in Ardfert in 1843. Johanna Mary was born in Ardfert 14 October 1844. They were married in Ardfert on 16 February 1868.

Michael John McGRATH's parents were John Michael McGRATH and Mary PARKER (my great-great-grandparents). John Michael was born in 1798 in Ardfert (probably at Knockbrack, but that has not been confirmed). Mary PARKER was born in England.

 

Elizabeth Mary BUTTIMER/BUTTIMORE (my grandmother) was born 25 February 1873 in Kilnagnady, County Cork to John BUTTIMORE and Elizabeth Mary BARRY (my great-grandparents). I'm not sure why, but much less was passed down about the BUTTIMORE / BARRY ancestors than the McGRATH / CARROLL side, perhaps because most of the siblings on the BUTTIMER/BUTTIMORE side (at least 5 out of 6 siblings, possibly all 6) emigrated to the US, leaving few family members behind with which to exchange letters. We are beginning to make a bit of headway on this branch (during a vacation to Ireland in 2004, my sister stayed an extra few days and spent them in County Cork hunting down this more elusive branch).

 

One thing you may have noticed is that there is a pattern to the first-born males in the McGRATH line. It's a fairly common Irish tradition, alternating first and middle names down the line (in this case Michael John, then John Michael, then Michael John, then...). The tradition continues in this line (though not with my direct family); my grandfather's first-born son (my uncle) was named Michael John, his first-born son was named John Michael (my cousin Johnnie), and my cousin's first-born son is named Michael John.

1896 Ship Manifest showing the immigration of John Michael McGRATH from Ireland to Boston (click for larger view).

My grandmother Elizabeth Mary BUTTIMER emigrated to the US in 1891, and my grandfather John Michael McGRATH in 1896 (I have a copy of his ship manifest, arriving June 7th, 1896 in the port of Boston on the SS Pavonia from Queenstown - click here to see it). They were married in Charlestown MA on 27 November 1907. My grandfather was a freight handler with the Boston and Maine (B&M) railroad, starting work in 1900 and retiring from that job in 1937.

 

Though my grandfather was the first-born son in the family, he did not inherit the family farm, as was the Irish custom at the time. I've talked to older cousins over in Ireland about this and opinions vary as to why, but one story stands out as being quite intriguing. The most prevalent story was that my grandfather was stern and strict with his younger siblings, and the daughters in the family (his sisters) convinced the father to leave the farm to the more jovial and happy-go-lucky younger brother "Eug" (pronounced "Huge" - short for Eugene).

 

Though my grandfather was the oldest son, he wasn't the oldest child. His older sister Mary McGRATH also emigrated to the US, marrying the brother of my grandmother, Dennis BUTTIMER (so sister and brother McGRATH married brother and sister BUTTIMER, creating a bunch of "double-first-cousins"). Mary McGRATH emigrated in 1893. One much-younger sister (Catherine McGRATH) also emigrated to the US, in 1904. So, of the nine children in the family, three emigrated to the Boston area, and six remained back in Ireland.

John Michael was active in the Boston Irish Music scene, serving for a time as the vice-president of the Boston Irish Music Club.

 

McGRATH FOUND IN GRIFFITH'S VALUATION!