Thomas Mulrooney
Who was Thomas Mulrooney?
The earliest definitive records we have of the Mulrooney family can be found in St Mary’s Church Burnley Records (1849 – 1871). This was the only Catholic Church in Burnley at the time, it was built for £10,000 and opened in 1849. Thomas's father was a farmer and Bridget's a Power loom weaver so we can suspect that Bridget came to burnley with her family and worked in the cotton Industry.
We do not know if Thomas Molrooney came over from Ireland with his parents or alone. The marriage certificate shows that neither could read or write having their marriage signed with their mark.
From the church and 1881 census records we know that Thomas and Bridget had at least eleven children
Mary (1857)
James (1858) Not recorded on the 1881 census
John (1860)
Ann (1863)
Ellen (1865)
Thomas (1869) who probably died as a child
This sequence suggests that a child may have been born in 1867 as was usual for 'good catholic' families but no reference can be found in the Church records. There is also an Irish record in Sligo of a Thomas Mulrooney and Bridget Melody having a child born in 1867 called Honor, a name often linked to Ellen, I also found an Irish record for a groom named Patrick Mulrooney who married in 1870 and also another bride with the maiden name Anne Mulrooney who married in 1864 both Ann and Patrick gave the same address as noted on Honoria’s baptismal record and both had a father’s first name recorded as John. This is as close as it gets to a possibility that Patrick and Anne were younger siblings of Thomas.
What is certain, is that Ellen Anne was born in Slogo and Thomas (Hugh) Gallagher remembers his grandmother being firm on that subject. The 1881 census record confirms the Church records of births and includes a child 'Ellen Ann' with a birthplace Sligo, all other siblings being born in Burnley. However, given the circumstances of the family, it is unlikely that they would have had the resources to travel to Ireland and it would be unusual for siblings to be given the same names, Ellen Anne and Ellen, would be very confusing. Given the circumstances of the family it is therefore probable that Ellen Ann was an adopted child and not a birth child, we will never know.
The only photograph we have of Charles Street is the lodging house. Many of the houses in Charles Street also had cellars in which entire families lived. The park district was considerably developed over the years and had some of the worst housing conditions within Burnley.
The 1881 census shows a Molrooney family household living at 17 Charles Street of:
Thomas (49) born in Sligo, Ireland, Stripper Grinder
Bridget (42) born in Sligo Ireland
Ann (18) Cotton Slurrer
Ellen (16) Cotton Spinner
Ellen Ann (14) born in Sligo, Ireland Cotton Spinner being our maternal relation
Bridget (10)
Catherine (8)
Joseph (4)
Elizabeth (2)
All the other children being born in Burnley, so the relationship of Ellen Anne to Thomas and Bridget Molrooney is surrounded in uncertainty and mystery.
Ellen Ann Molrooney was to later meet Michael Gallagher, who lived in Edward Street just around the corner from Charles Street, and who also worked in the cotton Industry.
A later Map shows the extent of the developments in the park, the origins of which would be well known to our ancestors.
The 1901 Ireland Census returns show that there were fifty eight people with the surname Mulrooney listed in the Sligo area, but none were found in the townland listed on Honoria’s baptismal record.
As all the searches proved negative it would suggest that if this had been a family related to the Mulrooney’s it would suggest that the families and children moved away from the area and supports the possibility that Ellen Ann was an adopted child of a Thomas Mulrooney relation.
From later census records we know that Ellen Ann married Michael Gallagher and Ellen married Michael Quigley.
Thomas Mulrooney was deceased by the time of the marriage of Michael and Ellen Anne in 1886. He is believed to have died when he was 51 in 1883 from overwork. Oral evidence from Thomas (Hugh) Gallagher suggests that Bridget and the remaining children emigrated to Chicago. The two elder sisters entered a convent and a Frank (probably a relative) joined the US 47th Calvary as a Lieutenant. However, The 1901 census record shows Bridget living with her daughter Ellen, husband Michael Quigly and their four sons, John Thomas, Patrick, James and William so it raises some questions if Bridget did in fact emigrate to the US and then return.
