I like being right

I finally received the obituary for Miss Rose Doonan, my great-great grand aunt, and it confirmed my supposition that Margaret, Lizzie, James, and Rose’s father was Hugh Doonan:

Aug 7, 1905, Easton Daily Express

Miss Rose Doonan, 19 years old, a daughter of Hugh Doonan of Ireland, died at 8 o’clock last Saturday evening at the home of her brother-in-law, Robert Frederick, 417 Berwick Street.  Death was caused by a complication of ailments.  Besides her father the deceased is survived by a brother and sister, Michael and Delia Doonan of Ireland, and two sisters in this country, Mrs. John Sullivan, of Phillipsburg, and Mrs. Robert Frederick, with whom she resided.  The deceased was a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.

I may have shouted “Ah-HA!” out loud after reading the article.  I was right! I was a little confused about the sister named Delia until I googled it, and found out that Delia is an Irish nickname for Bridget.  I had already supposed that she had a sister in Ireland named Bridget, so that makes sense as well.  How do you get Delia out of Bridget anyways?

Interestingly, I cannot seem to locate Michael and Bridget in the 1911 Irish census. Hugh Doonan died in 1906 living his possessions to his neighbor Michael Murphy.  Bridget would have been 18, and Michael 15 at the time.  I can’t help but wonder if they didn’t also follow their siblings to the US after their father’s death…