Sullivan and O'Brien - I Wear The Green

This past February I wrote about my Irish link and how difficult it was to find the the correct ancestors for there were so many by the name of Dennis with a wife named Hannah.  It makes me happy to have found the Irish connection I was always told I had. 

Dennis Sullivan and Hannah.  I learned that her maiden name was O'Brian.  You can't get any more Irish than Sullivan and O'Brien. It's possible they left Ireland because of he Potato Famine. I discovered they first went to Canada.  Their first child, Catherine was born there. Then Anna came in 1842. Although I haven't found the record of when they came to America, their next child, Mary Anna was born 10 1844 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Then came John in 1847.and finally my 2nd great grandmother, Ellen "Nellie" born in Freetown, Massachusetts in 1858.

I was surprised and shocked that the 1870 census checked the box that said: Whether deaf & dumb, blind, insane or idiotic. Could that be true?

The 1880 census said that Hannah could not read or write, but Dennis could. What I came to realize is that they only spoke Gaelic when they came to America.  Dennis had learned not only to speak English, but now could read and write.   Being the bread winner by farming found it was a necessity to do business Most likely  Hannah being the stay at home housewife she only learned to speak English. They lived in Lakeville, Massachusetts.

I went to the Lakeville town hall and got copies of their death certificate.  Hannah died before her husband on July 31, 1897. Cause of death, old age, she was 80.  Interesting is that it also listed her parents, Timothy O'Brien and Hannah Sullivan. Dennis died two years later on March 20, 1900 in Middleboro. Cause of death, Artery's Sclerosis at age 96. His parents were not listed, call me disappointed.

They practiced the Catholic religion and chose St Mary's Catholic Church Cemetery in New Bedford, Massachusetts for their final resting place.