In my previous Blog, I was looking at a newly found sister of Edward Butler, my wife’s immigrant second great-grandfather. The sister’s name was Anna Eliza Butler. She had a son born in St John, New Brunswick where Edward Butler married Mary E Crowley.
My wife’s niece has been doing a great job of genealogy also. She had mentioned how the Crowleys had lived closely to the Butlers in the Boston area. I questioned her about that and she wrote back:
For the Crowley connection living near Edward and Mary – I have her brother Timothy living on Lancaster Street in the 1880 Census, which is two from Friend Street.
Her mother, brother William, and sisters Margaret and Julia are living in Charlestown at that time…
We further figured that that they were living on Joiner Street in Charlestown which I had previously located as a place where immigrant Edward Butler lived.
Timothy Crowley
This is what I have at my Crowley web page:
I already have Timothy in my Ancestry Tree in the 1880 Census, but I didn’t make a connection on where he lived:
It looks like Timothy is listed as a hostler, but had been unemployed for 12 months. I am sure life must have been difficult with no income. According to the online Dictionary of Old Occupations:
Hostelier: kept or owned an inn.
Hosteller: manager or owner of an inn.
Hostler: the original and more commonly meaning is the person who tended horses at an inn. This definition dates back to the 12th century. Occasionally Ostler / Hostler means the innkeeper himself. The word Ostler is still in use today, referring to a stable groom who cares for horses.
The third definition seems to fit best what I see as Timothy’s occupation on the 1880 Census.2
Lancaster Street is short but it is close to Friend Street where Edward Butler and Mary Crowley lived in 1880:
Here is Friend Street where Timothy’s sister Mary lived in 1880:
This shows that Timothy was born in New Brunswick:
Timothy in 1900
Here is Timothy Crowley in 1900 when there was a lot more information on the Census:
Sadly the three oldest living at 72 Dorchester Street were widowed.
One column that is interesting to me is the year of immigration. Timothy and Julia Ann came to the US in 1863 (during the Civil War) and William came in 1872. The other interesting thing is that Timothy and William both show that they were naturalized.
Here is 72 Dorchester Street where they were living in South Boston:
Timothy in 1910
Here the family is still in the same neighborhood:
Now Timothy says he immigrated in 1855:
I don’t think that is right as he would have been quite young. It seems like I’ve gone over these Census Enumerations before, but I don’t have them recorded in my Ancestry Tree for Timothy.
Timothy Crowley in 1920
Unfortunately, the family name is transcribed as Rowley which could be a fair assumption. Timothy is still going for an early immigration to the US at 1861. That would have made him about 15. I don’t think you can be naturalized at that age unless you lied about your age.
Brother William works at a Razor Factory as a machinist. My guess is Gillette.
Here is 425 Sixth Street in Boston – not far from Dorchester Street:
#425 is on the right.
A Brief Sketch of Timothy Crowley
About 1846, in St. John, New Brunswick, Timothy is born. He is also the eldest known son. He is the fourth of eight children.
Timothy probably arrives in the US around 1863 at the age of 19.
Timothy marries Mary Clinton in Boston in 1866. Timothy is still quite young, depending on which birthdate we choose, he could between 19 and 21.
11 Feb 1867 Son William Florence Crowley born in Boston
11 June 1868 – Daughter Mary Ellen Crowley is born at Boston at Gouch? Street.
Here is Timothy in the 1868 Boston Directory at 10 Gouch Street:
I cannot find a Gouch Street on Google Maps. This is from the 1868 Boston Directory:
This is from the 1867 Sanborn Map of Boston. It appears that Timothy lived in this area for quite a while.
15 Feb 1870 – Daughter Julia Ann Crowley born in Boston
1870 Census – It would be great to find Timothy in the 1870 Census. Both his first two children should be alive for that Census. Roman Catholic records give us some more information about Timothy’s first son:
Here is William and family in the 1870 Census:
Timothy’s wife is listed at the top, so apparently the head of household. I think that Timothy had some mental illness that kept him from working. This is my recollection from previous research, but I may be off. Still, it appears that some disability keeps him from working as his occupation is listed as “No Business”. I wonder how the family survived if this was the case.
3 Jan 1871 – Daughter Mary Ellen dies of pneumonia at 1 Chapel Street, Boston
28 Jan 1871 – Son William F. Crowley dies from bronchitis. The family was living at 1 Chapel Place as below.
15 Feb 1871 – Julia Ann dies at Chapel Place, Boston. Cause of death: “Hydrocephalus”.
I don’t see Timothy at 1 Chapel Place in the 1871 Boston Directory, but I do see a Mary Crowley, widow:
Along with four other Mary Crowley widows in Boston. Could it be that Mary was Mary Clinton and mistakenly recorded as a widow?
There were also many Timothy Crowleys in Boston:
I will try the 1872 Directory.
So I don’t see Timothy at Chapel Place.
31 Jan 1872 – Son William John Crowley born. The family is still at 1 Chapel Place. In the 1872 Directory, I see this note:
That means that there were two Chapel Places apparently. And one is near Friend Street where Timothy’s older sister was living as Mary E Butler in 1880. Here is 167 Friend Street:
Here is a faint Chapel Place and above there is a small street named Crescent. That name has come up before in Newton, but just a coincidence. Here is a more detailed look at Chapel Place from an 1867 Sanborn Map:
A lot has happened to this family. Timothy does not work and their three children died in a span of less than a month and a half in 1871.
1879 – Edward Butler, Mariner, is found in the Boston Directory at Battery St. I assume that he brought his family with him at that time. His wife was Mary E Crowley Butler who was Timothy’s older sister. The family is found in 1880 on Friend Street in Timothy’s neighborhood. Perhaps Mary even persuaded to move to Boston where many in her family were living.
1880 Census – Timothy is living with his wife Mary and Son William John on Lancaster Street which was between Gouch Street and Chapel Place.
15 Dec 1885 – Timothy’s wife, Mary Clinton Crowley, dies of consumption while living at 26 Lancaster Street. She is listed as 42 years old. This leaves Timothy to take care of his son William John who is now 13.
I am not so sure why Timothy’s mother would die in Andover. This may not be right.
1895 – Timothy is living at the same address as his sister Margaret Crowley at the time of her death.
1900 Census – Timothy is head of household at 72 Dorchester Street. No occupation listed.
I don’t see Timothy’s son listed either in the 1900 Census or the 1910 Census as living with his father.
1913 – Timothy’s son, William John dies:
His address is given as 74 Dorchester St., but as I mentioned, he wasn’t seen there in 1900 or 1910. He is shown as being 37, but I have him as 41 years old.
It is interresting that her brother Timothy is not mentioned in the obituary.
In 1917, Timothy was living at Sixth Street. That is also where he is living with William in 1920. In 1910, William was a fireman. In 1920, William is a machinist at a razor manufacturer. I have not found any record of Timothy working. I am not sure when Timothy died.
Mother Ellen Crowley and Other Family Members
Ellen and Some Children in 1880
Here they are at #26 in Boston:
In 1880 Ellen was widowed a second time. The one in the third column is for widowed/divorced.
I am trying to fix my Ancestry Tree for Ellen Donovan Crowley:
I had that the Margaret Crowley born 1855 was born the daughter of Timothy Sullivan in Nova Scotia. I think that must be wrong and that she is probably the same as Margaret E Crowley. Unfortunately the Census lists the children being from N.S. instead of N.B. Sadly, Ellen could not read or write, so she must have depended on others for that.
I will continue with the Crowleys in a subsequent Blog.
Summary and Conclusions
- I was able to find quite a bit of information about Timothy Crowley
- He certainly had a life with a lot of sad events.
- I suspect that he was handicapped in some way physically, mentally or emotionally as I could not find a record of him had worked – at least in the 4 census enumerartions he was listed in.
- I like how othe Crowley family stuck together – though I wonder what happened to Timothy’s son William John. Perhaps he was institutionalized?
- It is interesting to think about what life was like for this Crowley family. Irish and Canadian, they move to the Boston area.