Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of Thomas Nolan

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Descendants of Thomas Nolan

Generation No. 2

2. MARTIN² NOLAN (THOMAS¹) was born Abt. 1819 in Carlow (?) Ireland, and died December 17, 1859 in Trenton, NJ. He married ANN CONNOR Abt. 1849 in Ireland(?) NY (?) NJ (?), daughter of JAMES CONNOR and CATHERINE (?). She was born Abt. 1828 in Carlow (?) Ireland, and died August 29, 1884 in Trenton, NJ.

Notes for MARTIN NOLAN:
Martin Nolan first shows up in the Trenton City Directory in 1857 raising questions as to where he was prior to that time. Church records recently received from Sacred Heart (formerly St. John's) have his six children's births recorded in Trenton starting in 1850.

In 1857 he was living at Pennington and Calhoun and was a laborer and in 1859 he lived at the same address with a job description as brick maker. He fell from a wagon loaded with stone when two wheels of the wagon ran over him, killing him instantly (Schedule 3 of the 1860 Census). (A newspaper account of the accident confirms this fact and that he was in the employ of John C. Grant.) There is some confusion concerning his age at the time of his death. Census (Sch. 3) show age 35 but an entry in the "Return of Death" (similar to a death certificate) shows his age as 39 and his date of death as 12/6/59. The tombstone states that he died on December 17, 1859 at the age of 40. The newspaper clipping confirms the date as 12/17.

A search of naturalization records show a Martin Nolen petitioning for citizenship on 11/6/1855. It states that he entered the US 9 years previously as a minor and shows his date of birth as 11/15/1826 but I believe that these records are his as there is no other indication that another Martin Nolan resided in Mercer County, NJ at that time. A Stephen Blackwell attested for him.

Name varies between Nolan and Nolen (IGI has birth of two of his son's as Nolen).

Also, Martin had at least one brother in the Trenton area as Edward Nolan was a godfather of both Catherine and Martin Nolan. Edward first appears in the NJ census records in Hamilton Township, Mercer beginning in 1860. (see notes under Edward). On 11/3/56, Edward petitioned as being born 1/1/30 and came to the country nine years previously as a minor. It was listed under the name Nowlan but was signed "Edward Nolen". Martin Nolen attested for him. If these numbers are accurate, they both came to the US circa 1846-1847.

There may have been one other brother, Patrick, who was a grocer and first appears in Trenton in the 1870 census at age 38, married to Margaret (30) both of whom were born in Ireland. From the Record of Marriages in Mercer Co, I found a listing for Patrick Nolan & Margaret (Tuthill?, Purcell?)) married June 4, 1863. Since the dates are consistent with the ages of the children (see below), I believe these are they correct people. From 1867-79 Patrick was listed as "Cahill & Nolan" in the City Directories at various addresses on Fall St. In 1879 he is still "Cahill & Nolan" but employment is listed as grocer and he is living at 166 Broad.

In 1870 they had three children, all born in NJ. This information was found by accident as they are not in the census index but were found on the same page as John Crawford (a retired grocer) and family, probably Thomas Crawford's parents and siblings.

In 1880, Patrick & Margaret ( Purcell?) were living at 166 Broad St with John (14), Margaret (12) William (10), Mary (8) and Thomas (6). Also living there were John Purcell (30), a brother in law and James Monaghan (18), a boarder, both of whom were clerks in the store. John was born in Ireland and James in NJ. In the 1880 City Directory, Patrick first appears as a grocer and wholesale liquor dealer at the Broad St address. The listing is the same in 1881. In 1882 Margaret is the name listed as the grocer. (Patrick died on Oct. 12, 1881 of acute gastritis at age 52. Unfortunately his parents names are not listed on the death certificate). In 1886-87 she is Mrs. P, widow of Patrick at 320 Montgomery (the grocery store is listed at that address under J.P. Nolan) and William A, clerk, is there as well. In 1892-93 Margaret Nolan is a grocer at 320 Montgomery and John P. is a clerk and William A is a telegrapher. In 1896, they continue to live there where Margaret is listed as "saloon", Thos. J is a bartender and Wm. A., is a telegraph operator. By 1902, Margaret and Wm. are living at 52 W. Hanover where he is a clerk and she is widow of Patrick. The only difference in 1906 is Wm was a bookkeeper.

The 1900 census has Margaret, age 56 (born Mar. 1844 in Ireland) at 52 W. Hanover (2nd Ward, ED 59, pg 285a) ). With her are William A. (Oct. 1874, a telegraph operator), Thomas J. (Feb. 1876, a paper salesman) and Margaret (July 1872). Mary must have been married by then. There was also a boarder, James Tulley.

Thomas Nolan of 52 Hanover died April 11, 1902 at the age of 30. His mother and brother, William were mentioned. He is buried in St. John's cemetery.

In the 1910 census they were still living at 52 W. Hanover where Margaret was widowed and age 70. Also living there were William A, a clerk with the daily paper age 36 and daughter Margaret age 38, no occupation. The boarder, James Tulley was still with them (age 72, born in Ireland and a rubber worker). Margaret had immigrated in 1860 (?). She died on 3/13/1913 per her obituary. Funeral was held from her residence at 52 W. Hanover.

William A. Nolan is listed as the advertising manager for the Trenton Times beginning in about 1915 through 1920 and living at 169 W. Hanover. I have a copy of his obituary stating he died on April 19, 1924 at Glen Gardner Sanatorium where he had been a patient for the past month. Surviving were sisters, Margaret Nolan and Mrs. Mary Paul. He is buried in St. John's and apparently never married.

I am also looking into the possibility of another brother, Michael who first lived at Willow & Pennington in 1859. Because of the proximity to Martin & Ann, this is a definite possibility. He was a laborer/farmer.

There is also a James Nolan who was a sexton at St. John's Church. He first appears in the city directory in 1864 and later and lived at 189 Pennington. Because of his proximity to the "homestead" there could be a connection although none has been made at this writing (5/01).

A Joseph Nolan is listed as a laborer, age 32 in Hamilton in 1880. Wife was Anna M (33). Children:Dennis (6), Sarah (4), Anna M ( 5months) (ED 113, pg 10)

More About MARTIN NOLAN:
Burial: December 1859, St. John's Cemetery
Occupation: Stone Cutter & Driver

Notes for ANN CONNOR:
Have copy of Ann's obituary found at the NJ State Archives. Her funeral mass was held at St. Mary's Cathedral on Mon, Sept. 1st. She is buried with her husband Martin and her 14 month old son, James at St. John's on Lalor Street. There is a large stone (@10 ft.) with a Celtic Cross on top. When entering the cemetery thru the front gate it is on the left side about 2/3 of the way into the old section.

Ann raised her 5 living children. She first worked at "plain sewing" according to the 1860 (Ann Nolen) census. The 1870 Census shows that she (Ann Noland) "keeps house". Directory for 1867-68 has her address as 112 Pennington (widow). Years 1868-72 show just Pennington and in 1873-77 she is living at 41 W. State as the widow of Martin. Later directories (1878-1883) indicate that she was a grocer at 169 Pennington Avenue.

Update from my cousin, Sr. M. Laura: Martin & Ann emigrated from Carlow (?) Ireland and settled in St. Mary's parish in North Trenton probably on Pennington Ave. Anne (sic) (O') Connor was aware that a grocery store on the corner of Pennington & Calhoun) was up for sale. Per Sr. Laura, she bought the establishment and installed a Mr. Entwistle (In the 1880 census, Arthur (52-retail grocer) and Thomas (25-clerk) Whalen lived at 169 Pennington) to run the store until her children were old enough to take over. Ann managed to keep the family together by sewing for wealthy clients. Note: I have been unable to locate Ann in the 1880 census although John & Mary Donahoe were listed at 171 Pennington. (James Nolan, 40, sexton at church) & his wife, Bridget (45) were living at 189 Pennington. (Coincidence or relative?). After checking the 1880 census index for all spellings, none of this family appears so I believe that they were overlooked by the census takers who took the store employees as the occupants of 169 Pennington.

Notes on Ann's death certificate: The name says "Annie Nolan". She was white, born in Ireland and 56 years old at the time of her death at 169 Pennington Avenue, Trenton of apoplexy. She had resided in the state of NJ for 35 years (putting the date at or about 1849 as previously suspected). He father is listed as Patrick "Nolan", born in Ireland and her mother as Kate "Conners" also born in Ireland. It is quite possible her father's name was James as she and each of her siblings had a son named James.

Concerning property purchased by Ann Nolan:

12/13/1866 from Samuel Garvey ux Lot #11 ($275) at Willow & Pennington (112 Pennington?)
08/27/1869 from James Whittaker ux Lot #13 ($360) At Pennington & Calhoun)
11/12/1879 from James Yates ux Lot #14 ($400) from the SW corner of lot 13 along Calhoun

Catherine Connor purchased a house and lot on Pennington Road (No lot #s indicated) Oct. 23, 1860 from Edward and Mary L. Scudder for $320. As heirs of her estate on Feb 26, 1872, Patrick & Margaret Connor, James & Bridget O'Brien, Thomas & Margaret Crawford and Matthew & Ellen Dugan executed a Grantors Deed for their 4/5 shares of this property owned by Catherine Connor, deceased for consideration of $1. (page 470, Vol 137). Their signatures apparently were attained at later dates (Connor & O'Brien in Brooklyn on 8/5/72, Crawford in NJ on 8/1/74. On October 16, 1883 a quit claim deed was executed to Ann for the same property.
1.) from Ellen & Matthew Dugan in consideration of the sum of $50.
2.) from Eliza & John Conroy in consideration of the sum of $1

Question: Eliza Conroy was not on the first deed. Was hers the other 1/5 share or was that share Ann's?

Ann Nolan (presumably our Ann was the only one in Trenton at the time) sold one lot to Annie Gannon on 1/20/1870. My assumption is that this was the Willow Street property but it will require confirmation. At the time of her death, only three properties were left- lots 13, 14 and the property received from Catherine. On Sept. 6, 1884, Martin (Br. Justinian) executed a quit claim deed in favor of his siblings. Three days later, John & his wife, Catherine, Mary & her husband, James Murphy and Catherine and her husband, John Donahoe transferred the three properties to Thomas for $100 each.

More About ANN CONNOR:
Burial: September 01, 1884, St John's Cemetery, Trenton
Obit: August 30, 1884, Congestion of the brain in 56th yr
Occupation: Grocer and Sewing

Marriage Notes for MARTIN NOLAN and ANN CONNOR:
It is believed that Ann & Martin left Ireland sometime after 1845. It is uncertain whether they married in Ireland or NJ or even possibly NY, but there is no records of their marriage in NJ either at the Church or the Archives. They settled in North Trenton and later were members of St. John's parish (now Sacred Heart). Their first child, James, was born in Trenton on July 20, 1850 according to the records at Sacred Heart Church (previously St. John's).

Since they do not appear in the 1850 census, I believe that they may have been living with family members in the Trenton area but outside of the city limits prior to 1857 when Martin first appears in the City Directory at Pennington and Calhoun. An intense search has not located them in any written records except as noted above.

Children of MARTIN NOLAN and ANN CONNOR are:

JAMES³ NOLAN, b. July 20, 1850, Trenton, NJ; d. September 20, 1852, Trenton, NJ.

Notes for JAMES NOLAN:
James, the first born of Martin and Ann, died as a child and is buried with his parents in St. Mary's Cemetery in Trenton, NJ. According to his grave stone he died on September 20, 1852 at 14 months which would have him being born in July 1851 but according to church records, he was actually born on July 20, 1850 making his death at 26 months (if he died as indicated on the stone). Since his brother, John, was born in November 1851 which corresponds with census records indicating that he was 8 in June of 1860 and 18 in 1870, the church records appear correct. Cemetery records confirm the date of death.

His godparents were Thomas Crawford and Anna Pepper.

More About JAMES NOLAN:
Baptism: July 28, 1950, St. John's RC Church, Trenton
Burial: September 1852, St. John's Cemetery, Trenton, NJ

4.	ii.	JOHN NOLAN, b. November 02, 1851, New Jersey; d. December 02, 1905, Brooklyn.
5.	iii.	CATHERINE NOLAN, b. February 09, 1854, Trenton, NJ; d. 1925, Trenton, NJ.
6.	iv.	THOMAS F. NOLAN, SR., b. December 11, 1855, Trenton, NJ (Nolen from IGI); d. June 02, 1943, Trenton, NJ.
7.	v.	MARY NOLAN, b. March 14, 1858, Trenton, NJ; d. July 29, 1919, Trenton, NJ.
	vi.	MARTIN NOLAN, b. May 10, 1860, Trenton, NJ (Nolen from IGI); d. Aft. 1915, South Bend, IN.

Notes for MARTIN NOLAN:
Youngest son of Martin and Ann, he became Brother Justinian of the Holy Cross order at Notre Dame, IN. He was born in May 1860, five months after his father's accidental death. His godparents were Edward Nolan and Catherine Connor per records received from Sacred Heart Church and was baptized by Fr. J.J. O'Donnell.

According to Sr. Laura he entered the religious community at age 14.

A copy of Brother Justininan's original Will was obtained from the archives at Notre Dame and is included in the scrapbook.

More About MARTIN NOLAN:
Baptism: May 23, 1860, St. John's RC Church, Trenton
Religion: Brother Justinian at Notre Dame

3. EDWARD² NOLAN (THOMAS¹) was born 1830 in Ireland, and died September 11, 1885 in Trenton. He married ELIZA BYRNE October 27, 1867 in Trenton. She was born 1840 in Ireland, and died Unknown in Trenton.

Notes for EDWARD NOLAN:
Edward appears in the NJ census records in Hamilton Township, Mercer beginning in 1860 where he was a gardener and age 30 and living with a Stephens family. In 1870, there is an Edward in Hamilton but his age is 47 which is probably an error. His wife is Eliza (35) and there are two children, Thomas (4) and Annie (2). Both Edward and Eliza were born in Ireland. He owned $1,000 in real estate and $100 in personal property. In the 1880 census, Edward appears with the correct age (50) with wife, Eliza (40) and seven children all born in NJ: Thomas B. (12?), Anne B. (10?), Catherine (8), Elizabeth (6), Roseanna (5), Mary C. (3) and Francis (2). The oldest four were in school and Edward was a farmer (Hamilton, ED 113, page 36).

Writer has copy of obit and death certificate. He was living at 512 Prospect St, had lived in NJ for 35 years and died of apoplexy at age 55.

A copy of the Marriage index from 1866-67 indicates that Edward's parents were Thomas and Ann.

More About EDWARD NOLAN:
Burial: September 1885, St. Mary's Cemetery
Occupation: Farmer

Notes for ELIZA BYRNE:
Although Edward never appeared in the city directory because he lived in Hamilton Township, Eliza does appear in on page 380 in 1886 as the widow of Edward and living on the family homestead at 171 Pennington!!!! This was the first time, I could conclusively tie this Edward to Martin's family.

Thereafter, from 1892 through at least 1896 Eliza was listed as a grocer at 420 N. Clinton. (In 1902, 1906 and 1915 an Eliza was a widow of Edward living at 28 Wall. In the 1900 the Eliza living at 28 Wall (1st Wd, pg 278a, ED is NOT the correct person. Nor is the listing in 1920 at 110 Jackson St. with daughters of the same first names but it is obviously not Edward's family. The ages, dates, middle initials, etc. do not match.)

Children of EDWARD NOLAN and ELIZA BYRNE are:

THOMAS B.³ NOLAN, b. February 25, 1868, Trenton; d. September 21, 1905, Belmar, NJ.

Notes for THOMAS B. NOLAN:
Thomas was a priest in Belmar NJ who died September 21, 1905. There is a large obituary in the Trenton Times but no mention is made of his origins other than the fact that he was brought back to St. Mary's for burial. Another obit states that he is the son of Eliza and the late Edward Nolan and is survived by five sisters. Anna D, Catherine, Mrs. Joseph Smith, Miss Mary Smith and Miss Fannie Smith. He died of Bright's disease and was predeceased by his sister, Mrs. Richard Lewis, Jr. who died some time ago.

More About THOMAS B. NOLAN:
Burial: September 25, 1905, St Mary's Cemetery

	ii.		ANNE B NOLAN, b. Abt. 1869, Trenton; d. Aft. 1927.
	iii.		CATHERINE NOLAN, b. Abt. 1872; d. Unknown.
	iv.		ELIZABETH NOLAN, b. Abt. 1874, Trenton; d. Unknown.
	v.		ROSEANNA NOLAN, b. Abt. 1875, Trenton; d. Unknown.
	vi.		MARY C. NOLAN, b. Abt. 1877, Trenton; d. Aft. 1927.
	vii.		FRANCES NOLAN, b. Abt. 1878, Trenton; d. Aft. 1927.

Notes for FRANCES NOLAN:
The 1880 census has her listed as Francis, a boy's name, but marked as a female. Also, later indications in the directories are that she was a female.

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