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Descendants of Bartholomew Bossidy

Generation No. 1

1. BARTHOLOMEW¹ BOSSIDY. He married ALICE WHITE.

Notes for BARTHOLOMEW BOSSIDY:
BARTHOLOMEW and ALICE WHITE BOSSIDY

Descendents

In the nineteenth century, probably during or just after The Great Famine in Ireland, five Bossidy siblings came over and settled in Lee and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The exact date of their arrival is uncertain. What is known is that the five began to marry in the early 1850's and by 1855, a daughter was born to James Bossidy, the eldest. There is a record in the West Stockbridge Town Hall which states a daughter of Maurice Bossidy died in 1861, at the age of eight years. This would make the child's birth year 1853. In any case, it is improbable the first five would have come over any earlier than 1850.

Also uncertain is the port of entry into North America. There is a concensus which states the four brothers and one sister came into America through Canada. The only clue as to the point of origin of the original Bossidys is an inscription on the tombstone of the youngest, Edmund Bossidy. It says he was born in the Parish of Tallon, County of Waterford. We also know there was at least one sister who remained behind. Her name was Margaret.

Another interesting facet of our family is that our family name is not Gaelic. It has definite Romance Roots, such as French or Italian. Many French settled in Ireland through the centuries, but most retained their original family names. A tradition which has been expressed to this writer on several occasions states our original name was either DuBossie or DuBoss'e depending on who was pronouncing the name. Further, this tradition states our original French roots were Huguenot.

There were at least two major emigrations by French Huguenots during the years, the latest being at the time of the French Revolution. However, it is unlikely any French emigrees would have changed their family names because so many other French were present in Ireland. Also, it would have been unlikely the Huguenots would have changed their religion to the Roman Catholic communion because of the severe penalties bestowed upon the Irish Catholics by the English during the three hundred years prior to the Irish Revolution.

One last factor. During, or just after, the First World War, one of the grandsons of Maurice Bossidy visited in Normandy, France. Ruth Bossidy Phelan told this writer, her brother met a Norman family named Bassidy, and that family said they had several relatives living in Ireland at that time. This clue seems more likely than any other because the spelling would easily be changed from Bassidy to Bossidy, both spellings sounding alike in either language. We can only conclude a theory on this point because no documentation was ever provided.

THE SEARCH GOES ON.

Children of BARTHOLOMEW BOSSIDY and ALICE WHITE are:

JAMES² BOSSIDY, b. May 15, 1822; d. August 03, 1899.

ii.

MARY BOSSIDY, b. 1824; d. July 27, 1901.

iii.

PATRICK BOSSIDY, b. April 14, 1827; d. May 09, 1912.

iv.

MAURICE BOSSIDY, b. August 1829; d. May 03, 1901.

EDMUND BOSSIDY, b. 1832.

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