John GARAHAN-[599]

  General Notes:

Information provided by Monica Waters:

1855 Census states he lived in the US for 20 years. 1869 Oswego City Directory lists name as Garrahan (2R's). 1875 Oswego City Directory lists name with 1 "R". December 16, 1840 Naturalized - Certificate #279. December 16, 1840 Certificate lists date of birth as 1785 but Census of July 1855 says age 61. Other info state date of birth as 1793.
John Garrahan Notes John Garrahan was born in County Longford, Ireland in 1793. He was married in Ireland to Marcella O'Carroll, approximately 1826 or 1827. Marcella was born about 1804. According to the Oswego, New York 1865 census, they had ten children. The 1850 census, however, list the names of nine children who have all been accounted for. I have not been able to ascertain if there was a tenth child or if it was just an error made by the census taker. Three of their children were born in Ireland, Patrick, the oldest was born about 1828. John Jr. was also born in Ireland March 10, 1832. Samuel is listed in the 1850 Oswego Census as also being born in Ireland. Samuel, in later documents is always referred to as Simon, and was born in 1835. The 1855 census report also states that John and Marcella had lived in the United States for twenty years. From this, the conclusion can be made that the arrived in the United States in 1835, the same year that Simon was born. The 1850 city of Oswego Census listed the family as Garin. Evidently the census taker didn't write the correct family name down. Their names and ages listed though, coincide with the information given in the 1855 census. The information requested on; the census reports varies in the 1850, 1855 and 1865, which I used for my research. For instance, the 1850 census, the first one for Oswego, had very basic information. In the 1855 census, it requested the number of years lived in Oswego, and the 1865 census asked how many children in the family, how many were married and if married within the last year. John and Marcella's children born in Oswego were, James H., Catherine, Mary, Peter, Anna L. and Thomas, who was the youngest. According to Peter's obituary, there was also another son named Joseph. I have not found any information at all on Joseph, and believe it was a newspaper error as Thomas' name was not mentioned in the obituary. There is no Joseph listed in census reports, Oswego city directories or any other information found about the Garrahans. I have decided not to include a Joseph Garrahan as one of John and Marcella's children unless some information is found that he did indeed exist. John became a naturalized citizen on December 16, 1840 (Certificate #279). To become a naturalized citizen, he had to have been a resident for at least five years. This is another indication that the Garrahan family arrived about 1835. John Garrahan's date of birth on this certificate, however, states that he was born in 1785. This is a discrepancy from all other information received and on census reports which state John's age and correspond with the date of 1793. Over the years, the name Garrahan has been changed to Garahan with only one "R". By the 1890's, most of the family began spelling it with one "R" and currently always are referred to as "Garahan" family members. John and Marcella Garahan have hundreds of descendants all around the United States. Every once in awhile, more are found and their stories and data are entered into our Garahan Family Tree. As of this year, 2002, there are seven generations of Garahan's who have lived in the United States and some of the descendants still live in Oswego, New York where John and Marcella settled. hopefully, our Garahan future generations will enjoy knowing about their ancestors and continue to gather information for their children and children's children. Signed: Monica (Van Wie) Waters Revised: August 20, 2002

John married Marcella O'CARROLL-[600] [MRIN: 214] in 1826-1827 in Ireland. (Marcella O'CARROLL-[600] was born about 1804, died on 8 May 1882 and was buried in St. Paul's Cemetery.)