Notes for John J. O'Brien: John is listed as arriving in the USA at the Port of Boston, 19 June 1872, on the SS Palmyra, a Cunard Lines vessel. This information was obtained at the US National Archives, Washington, DC in 1972. Microfilm Records #277: "Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at the Port of Boston, 1820-1891", roll #83, May 21, 1872-September 24, 1872, List #160-518. He is listed as arriving with his father; Tim O.Brien (sic), age 50 and brother, Wm, {sic} age 9 (he would be 10 in June of 1872}. John is written as Jho, age 11. John and his brother William were Naturalized Citizens on 26 October 1883. This information is contained in the Records of US District Court, Boston, MA., vol 124, pg 98 (William) and pg 99 (John). There is some error in the records: John's birthdate is listed as 24 December 1858. But the date of their arrival in the USA is only off by 3 days. Williams birth date is essentially correct; 16 June 1862. On the obverse side of these records the information is reversed. That is to say that John's data is on William's, and vice versa. Witnesses to this act were Henry S. Harris and William J. Reed, also of Belmont (and listed in subsequent Belmont census records}. I have the original Naturalization certificate in the family records, but it is partially burned and difficult to read. I also have Xerox copies of the original records from the National Archives. The next written record of John is the 1880 census where he is listed as age 20 and a farm laborer on the farm of Daniel A. Hart, which was located on Common St. At that time about a quarter of a mile from where St Joseph's Church would later be built. Subsequent Census records of Belmont continue to carry John J. O'Brien and show his family growth. The exact date of John's birth is subject to confusion. The following is a summary of the recorded information which will give an explanation of how his birth date was arrived at: Passenger arrival records {June, 1872} state age 11. Therefore born in early 1861, or late 1860. The 1860 date seems most likely as the age is usually stated as of last birthday. His last birth day was most likely December, 1871. Hence age 11 in June 1872. He would become 12 in Dec 1872. 1880 Census Records state age 20. Therefore, born early 1860, or late 1859. The Census specifically states age at last birth day, as of 1 April of Census Year. This indicates his birth date would have been 1859. 27 October 1883 Naturalization Records show birth was 24 December 1858 and William's (his brother) as 16 june 1862 (which jibes, within one day, of other information) 1900 Census records state birth was Jan 1862. This was the first year that the Census Records asked for a specific month and year. Subsequent Censuses asked for just age in years. 1910 Census records state age as 50. Therefore born early 1860, or late 1859. Since the age was stated as 50 as of 1 April in 1910 he would have a birth date in 1859. Tombstone is engraved with dates 1860-1916. Obituary states death was April 27, 1916 and he lived 56 years 4 months and 3 days. The standard method of computing the age in the YY/MM/DD format was to subtract the birth date from the death date, ie, 1916-4-27 minus 1859-12-24. This then gives the age as 56 yrs 4 mos 3 days. Conversely, subtracting 56-4-3 from 27 April 1916 would give you the birth date of 12/24/1859. The problem is, depending how one does the arithmatic, you can arrive at a different date. I have worked the problem every possible way and have accepted the birth date of John J. O'Brien as being 24 December 1859. One nagging thought is that no one in my family ever mentioned the oddity of my grandfather being born on Christmas Eve. An oddity that certainly should have been passed down through the family history. I have entered his birthdate as being 12/24/1859, but would also accept a birth date of 12/24/1860, or 24 January 1860. Locating a birth certificate in Wales would solve the problem. One thing I have noted in reading the US Censuses, is that they are pretty casual about birth dates and place of origin. Secondly, the Enumerator {the person taking the Census: asking the questions} was not an intellectual giant. Thirdly, the person answering the questions was most often the homemaker {wife} and the literacy question was always in doubt. In our family, the homemaker was my Grandmother, Celia. She was mostly illiterate, even at the time she passed away in August 1940. All of these factors, in consonance with the lack of knowledge on events in the past {births, deaths, places and times of events} were lost in the mists of time and lack of knowledge. People were generally more concerned with earning a living and surviving, as opposed to celebrating birthdays. Hugh A. O'Brien, John's son, kept a small diary of family events. When his father, John J. died, he recorded his birth as January 1860. I think that one of the problems was the arithmatic gave different answers and one of the answers was that John J. was born in January 1860, or 1859, or December 1859. If the life span data: 56y 4 mos 3 das were altered to read 56y 3 mos and 4 das then his birth date would have been 23 January 1960 and this would jibe with the data in Hugh's Diary and the inscription on the tombstone. Of the various reported dates of birth, the most likely are: 12/24/1859, 12/24/1860, 1/23/1860. John O'Brien married Celia Ann Finn 20 January 1887 at St Agnes Church in Arlington, MA. There was no Catholic church in Belmont at that time. This event was witnessed by William O'Brien {John's Brother} and Delia Finn (Celia's sister}. They first lived in a house at the corner of School St and Common St which was owned by a cousin, P.T. Shean. The present day St Joseph school building and Social Hall now stands on this spot. They lived there until sometime after 1904 when they moved to a house at 26 Thomas Street, also owned by the cousin P. T. Shean. They lived at that residence until they purchased the house at 26 Centre Ave on 18 October 1909 from Simon D. Hatch (who lived across the street} for the great sum of 2,500 dollars. The family resided there through the death of Katherine E. O'Brien on 27 October 2000; 91 years and 9 days. The house was sold to Tom Blake, who lived across the street in Hatch's old house, in the Spring of 2001. He did some fixing up and re-sold the house to Drew Bennet and his wife Joice Himawan. They began an extensive project of modernizing the house immediately after moving in. The work will take several years. The various census records from 1900 through 1930 carry the family's name and John's occupations. From Farm Laborer, he progressed to selling the farm produce (Marketman), to highway laborer with the town Highway Dep't., to being the first permanent Fireman hired by the town of Belmont. He lived in the Firehouse in the center of the town and came home only on his days off. I guess that's a contributing reason for His large family. I have photos of John driving the Fire Wagons. The wall of the Fire Chief's Office has many old photos of the men and equipment. One is of John, holding "Dandy" and "Chief" by the bridle. I have a copy this photo on the wall in our house to this day. John took ill {from a kick received by one of the fire horses} on 5 April 1916, while attending the funeral of his aunt; Elizabeth R. Shean (who was the daughter of Maurice O'Brien, the brother of Timothy O'Brien, John's Father). He died 3 weeks later as a result of internal bleeding and hemoraging of the spleen. He is buried in the O'Brien family plot in Belmont Cemetery. He lived 56 yrs 4 mos 3 ds. His progeny lived in the town for another 84 years.
More About John J. O'Brien: Burial: 30 April 1916, Belmont Cemetery, Belmont, MA. Immigration: 19 June 1872, From Liverpool, UK to Boston, MA., USA on the SS Palmyra. Naturalization: 26 October 1883, US District Court, Boston, MA., vol 124, pg 98+99. Occupation 1: Bet. 1904 - 1916, Fireman, Town of Belmont. Occupation 2: Bet. 1880 - 1900, Farm Laborer, farm produce marketman. Occupation 3: Bet. 1900 - 1904, Street laborer, Town Belmont.
More About John J. O'Brien and Celia Ann Finn: Marriage: 20 January 1887, St Agnes Church, Arlington, MA.
Marriage Notes for John J. O'Brien and Celia Ann Finn: Witnesses to the ceremony were William E. O'Brien and Delia Finn who were the brother and sister of John and Celia.
Children of John J. O'Brien and Celia Ann Finn are:
John Edward O'Brien, b. 24 June 1888, Belmont, MA, d. 20 December 1966, Lexington, MA.
John J. O'Brien (b. 24 December 1859, d. 27 April 1916)
Notes for John J. O'Brien: