11. The Mystery Lady in the Attic

After my grandfather died in 1971, the house on Delaware Avenue in Youngstown went up for sale.  To prepare for the sale my mother and my sister Anne helped with clearing out the house - deciding what to keep, what to give away, and what to toss.  They found this portrait stored in the attic, but it was a mystery since my mother did not recognize the lady in the portrait and she didn’t remember it hanging on the walls when she was growing up.   It is beautifully framed in an ornate wooden frame and the photograph itself has been enhanced with blue coloring on her eyes, slight pink on her cheeks, and charcoal on her hair.   It is so beautiful that my sister Anne decided to keep it. 

After my sister died, the portrait came to me.  Curiosity took over and I really wanted to know who she was.  She seems young – possibly early 20’s.  I don’t think it is a random portrait that was purchased as art, but more likely a portrait of a family member.  It’s a large wall hanging – 17 inches wide by 19 inches high.  My first thought was maybe this was my great-grandfather’s first wife – Annie McGavin, and that’s why my mother didn’t remember seeing it.  I took the portrait to Maureen Taylor, an expert in dating old photographs to see if she could help date it.   She thought it was taken in the mid-1880s.  Annie McGavin was born about 1873 and would have been around age 12 in 1885, so it didn’t seem very likely that this was Annie.  

I think this may be my great-grandmother, Catherine Donahue.    She was born about 1859 and would have been about 26 in 1885.  If this is my great-grandmother, why wouldn’t my mother have recognized her?  Well…my mother remembered her grandmother as old, thin, with whitish-gray hair.  Catherine was about 40 when my grandfather was born and in her 60s and early 70s while my mother was growing up.  It’s quite possible that she looked very different and unrecognizable from the lady in the portrait.   This is all a theory - I still don’t know if this is my great-grandmother, even though I really want it to be.  I don’t have any pictures of her to compare with this one, so I may never know the answer to this mystery.   

Do you think there is a resemblance to Grandpa Mullen?

                                                                   

10. Catherine Donahue Mullen

My great grandfather, John Arthur Mullen, Sr. lost his first wife tragically only two months after their son Raymond was born in 1896.  He and Annie McGavin had been married for less than a year, so it must have been a very sad and scary time for him.  His young wife had died of peritonitis, his infant son needed care, and he needed to work to provide for both his child and himself.  I don’t know who took care of Raymond as an infant, but if my great-grandfather was truly estranged from his family, then Annie’s family probably took on most of the childcare.  

Within a couple of years after Annie’s death, he met and married Catherine Donahue.  This is their wedding announcement from the Youngstown Vindicator published in November 1898:  At that time my great-grandfather and great-grandmother were both living in Niles, Ohio.

 

This is their marriage record dated November 8, 1898:

Who was Catherine (Kate) Donahue?   Catherine was born about 1859 in Mercer County, Pennsylvania into a large Irish Catholic family – she had two sisters and five brothers.  Although the census records show that Catherine was born about 1859, which would have made her 13 years older than my great-grandfather, she never admitted to that large of an age difference on any records that I have been able to find.  She usually used 1864 as her birth year, which would have made her five years younger than she really was.  The truth is she was at least 39 when she married my great-grandfather, and he was 26.  She would have been 40 or 41 when my grandfather was born in January 1900, so it's not surprising that he was her only child. 

Catherine’s sister, Susannah Burns, also fibbed about her age by five years and I think it was because they both married younger men.  I like to think the sisters may have compared notes about the need to present themselves as younger than they really were, and together they decided on five years younger.  I have no idea if this is what happened,  but it’s possible!

All I know about my great-grandmother’s personality is what my mother told me about her.  Growing up in the same household as her grandparents was not easy.  They didn’t like a lot of noise, so Grandma and Grandpa had to make sure Mom and Uncle Jack were kept quiet.  Mom remembers spending a lot of weekends with Grandma’s sister, Mayme, and her husband Roy.   It was a wonderful escape for my mother to spend time with her aunt and uncle, and it probably made things easier for my grandparents too.  Mom was not close to her grandmother, Catherine, and never mentioned that she really missed her.  I think it was more of a distant relationship, where kids were to be “seen and not heard”.  Mom was named after her grandmother because it was an expected tradition, but although her first name was Kathryn, she was always known by her middle name, Louise.    

Catherine’s parents, Michael and Catherine Donahue, were both born in Ireland and Michael was a farmer in Mercer County.  Michael didn’t immigrate to the U.S. on his own though.  According to census records his parents (Catherine’s grandparents), John and Mary Donahue, were the original immigrants. They arrived in the U.S. and Pennsylvania around 1830 with their family.  Similarly, Catherine’s other grandparents, John and Mary Gallagher,  brought their family to Pennsylvania from Ireland about 1840.  I don't know where the Donahues or the Gallaghers lived in Ireland before they immigrated to America.

 Here's another update to the Mullen family tree:

9. Who Was Raymond's Mother?

                             

Back to the mystery of my great-grandfather’s first wife, and Raymond’s mother. Who was she, and what happened to her? My first clue came from Raymond’s Social Security Application where he listed his mother and his father – John Arthur Mullen and Anna McCavin. 

I looked through census records and city directories for any McCavins in Youngstown.  No luck.  However, I did find one McGavin family with a girl named Annie.  She was 7 in 1880, which would have made her 23 or 24 when Raymond was born.  (I couldn't check the 1890 census records because they were destroyed by a fire)

The next find was the marriage record for Annie McGavin and John Mullen. They were married in 1895 and Raymond was born in 1896. Looking at the dates more closely though - they were married in September and Raymond was born in February. It appears that Annie McGavin was pregnant with Raymond when they got married! They were also married the same day they got the license – does that mean they were married at the courthouse, and not in church?

Annie was the daughter of Irish immigrants – John and Anna McGavin. My great-grandfather John was the son of Scottish immigrants – Peter and Hannah Mullen. According to both Irish and Scottish naming traditions, the first son was usually named after the paternal grandfather (Peter) or sometimes the maternal grandfather (John). Why on earth would they name their son Raymond Charles? No one in either of their families was named Raymond either. It doesn't make sense!

Two months after Raymond was born, his mother Annie died from peritonitis. I don’t know if my great-grandfather took care of baby Raymond by himself, or if Annie’s parents took care of him. Since John had to work, I would think the family would have been very involved in Raymond’s care. By 1900 Raymond was living with my great-grandparents, and my great-grandmother had taken on the role of stepmother.

This is Annie’s obituary in the Youngstown Vindicator from April 1896. She is buried in the McGavin family plot in Calvary cemetery.

                               

I don’t remember my grandfather ever talking about his brother, Raymond, although my mother remembered him.  Raymond spent his life in Youngstown, married twice, and had two children with his first wife.  He worked as a pipe fitter in the steel mill and died of heart disease in 1951.  

8. The Arthurs - Scottish Through and Through

 

Although the Mullen surname is not Scottish, the Arthur surname is very Scottish. Hannah Mullen’s parents, John Arthur and Hannah Moore, were both born in Ayrshire County – John Arthur in Auchinleck and Hannah Moore in Catrine.  They settled in Catrine and raised their family there. (Catrine is pronounced like Cathrine without the "h") 

I was able to trace John Arthur’s ancestors back to the 1700s and they were all born in Scotland. John and Hannah Arthur had six children – four boys and two girls. John had several different professions – he was a carter (someone who works with horses and carts), a pit laborer in the coal mines, and a railroad worker. 

Catrine is a small village built along the River Ayr in southwest Scotland.  It is best known for the large cotton mill that operated in the village from the late 1700s through the early 1900s.  The mill employed most of the villagers, including Hannah Arthur and her siblings.  Here are some old pictures of the village and the mill, including a picture of St. Cuthbert Street – the street where my great grandfather, John Arthur Mullen, Sr. was born.  The mill and the water wheels are long gone, so old pictures are all that is left.   (Photos courtesy of ayrshirehistory.com)

John and Hannah Arthur left Scotland for New Zealand about 1875 when they were both in their 60s. (Peter and Hannah Mullen left for the U.S. around the same time) Their oldest son Thomas Arthur had emigrated to New Zealand about 10 years earlier with his family.  Sadly, Thomas’s wife died in 1874, leaving him with eight children to take care of on his own, including a newborn baby. I think this is the main reason why John and Hannah went to New Zealand.  They received financial assistance from the New Zealand government for the trip, but they had to lie about their ages and say they were much younger. New Zealand wanted settlers, but only those who could work, and not people who would have to be supported by the government. It was a long, arduous voyage (three months), but they made it and settled in Invercargill, where John found work with the railroad. I don’t think they ever returned to Scotland.

Example of a Sailing Ship to New Zealand in 1875

________________________________________________________________________________

John Arthur

Born 1814 in Auchinleck, Scotland

Married Hannah Moore 1838 in Catrine, Scotland

Immigrated c. 1875 to Invercargill, New Zealand 

Died 1893 in Invercargill, New Zealand

Parents:  George Arthur and Christina Campbell, Scotland

Hannah Moore

Born 1813 in Catrine, Scotland

Married John Arthur 1838 in Catrine, Scotland

Immigrated c. 1875 to Invercargill, New Zealand

Died 1897 in Invercargill, New Zealand

Parents:  Thomas Moore and Jane Dowie, Scotland

Children of John Arthur and Hannah Moore:

1.  Thomas Arthur, born 1839 in Scotland, married in Scotland, left for New Zealand c. 1865. 

2.  Hannah Arthur, born 1842 in Scotland, married Peter Mullen, immigrated  c, 1875 to U.S.*

3.  John Arthur, born 1844 in Scotland, remained in Scotland

4.  George Arthur, born 1847 in Scotland, died as a child.

5.  Jane Arthur, born 1849 in Scotland

6/  David Arthur, born 1853 in Scotland, left for New Zealand  c. 1875, and remained in NZ.

*My Great-Great Grandmother

7. The Mullens - More Irish Than Scottish

 

Irish Flag

I know that Grandpa Mullen thought that the Mullens were Scottish, but Mullen isn’t really a Scottish surname. It’s an Irish surname and a very ancient name too. It is derived from the Irish word “Maol,” which means bald one. 

I doubt that my grandfather even knew about his Irish heritage on his father’s side. Both his father John and grandfather Peter were born in Scotland.  I discovered that Peter’s parents, Ben and Agnes (Donnelly) Mullan, were born in Ireland and had emigrated to Scotland from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland around 1840, presumably to find work.  They left before the Great Famine in Ireland started in 1845, so that was not the reason they left. Ben found work as a coal miner and died at age 41 of lung disease in Scotland, leaving his wife Agnes and six children to survive him. 

I haven’t been able to pinpoint where the Mullens came from in County Tyrone, but Peter’s older sister Mary listed her birthplace as Aghaginduff townland, which is near Dungannon. Even though Ben and Agnes were from Northern Ireland, a mostly Protestant part of Ireland, they were Catholic. I am almost positive that they were native Irish, given their Catholic faith and their ancient Irish surnames of Mullan and Donnelly (O'Maolain and O'Donnghaile).  Both surnames have their origins in Tyrone County.

Northern Ireland Map (arrow points to area near Dungannon)

I don’t know what happened to all of Peter’s siblings, but he had one sister, Ann (McIntee), and one brother, Joseph, who also immigrated to the U.S. and settled in Youngstown.  It's possible that his brother John also immigrated to Ohio, but it's not proven.  I think James and Mary stayed in Scotland, but I’m not sure. His mother, Agnes Donnelly Mullan, remarried several years after Ben died. She worked as a dressmaker and was living in Glasgow, Scotland at the time of her death. 

Irish records are very scarce, so I was not able to trace the Mullan or Donnelly families back to prior generations before Ben and Agnes.  The Scottish death records show that Ben's father was named John Mullan, a farm laborer, and Agnes's father was named Peter Donnelly, a cattle dealer.  

________________________________________________________________________________

Benjamin Mullan

Born c. 1814 in Ireland (likely Co. Tyrone)

Married c. 1834 to Agnes Donnelly in Ireland (likely Co. Tyrone)

Immigrated c.1840 to Ayrshire County, Scotland

Died 1855 in Auchinleck, Scotland

Father: John Mullan, Ireland

Agnes Donnelly

Born c. 1818 in Ireland (likely Co. Tyrone)

Married c. 1834 to Benjamin Mullan in Ireland (likely Co. Tyrone)

2nd Marriage 1864 to James McBride in Scotland

Died 1889 in Glasgow, Scotland

Father: Peter Donnelly, Ireland

 

Children of Ben and Agnes Mullan:

1. Mary, born 1835 in Ireland, married Stephen McDuff, remained in Scotland

2. Sarah Ann, born 1837 in Ireland, died at age 3

3. John, born 1839 in Ireland, married in Scotland. Possibly immigrated to Stark County, Ohio.

4. Peter, born 1841, died as a baby

5. Peter, born 1842 in Scotland, married Hannah Arthur in Scotland, immigrated to Youngstown.*

6. Ann, born 1845 in Scotland, married Philip McIntee, immigrated to Youngstown.

7. James, born 1848 in Scotland. 

8. Joseph, born 1850 in Scotland, immigrated to Youngstown, married Sarah Denny in U.S.

*My Great-Great Grandfather

6. Who Were Peter and Hannah Mullen?

 

So, who were these great-grandparents my mother never met and didn’t know anything about? Peter Mullen and Hannah Arthur were both born in Scotland in the same year - 1842. Hannah grew up in the village of Catrine in Ayrshire County, and before her marriage, she worked at the cotton mill in the village.  She was one of six children - she had four brothers and one sister. Peter lived in the nearby village of Auchinleck and he was a coal and ironstone miner. He was also one of six children - he had two sisters and three brothers.

The star marks the approximate location of Catrine and Auchinleck

Peter and Hannah were married at the Catholic Church in Auchinleck, even though Hannah’s family was not Catholic.   They had three children in Scotland – Hannah (Owens), Benjamin, and my great-grandfather, John.  The young family left Scotland for the U.S. about 1875 and settled first near New Castle, Pennsylvania, where four more children were born – Agnes (McGavin), Peter, Thomas, and Joseph.   They relocated to Youngstown about 1885 where Peter found work as a stationary engineer in the steel mill.  Most of their children stayed in Youngstown, married, and had families of their own.

I think that Hannah and Peter liked to carry on the Scottish traditions and music in their new home in Youngstown. This is a 1908 newspaper article from the Vindicator describing their New Year's Eve party.  Five of their grown children were guests, but my great-grandparents were not there.  Interesting note:  There was a Mullen orchestra!

Hannah's obituary provides more insight into her interests and personality.  It really shows her pride in her Scottish heritage and history.  I have no way of tracing her lineage back to King Arthur, but no doubt they had the same last name!   (Youngstown Vindicator, Dec 21 1937)

Peter's obituary is not as personal, but it did include his picture - the only picture I have of him or Hannah.    (Youngstown Vindicator, Oct 17 1916)

Finally, this is my great-grandfather's obituary and it ties everything together.  It is further proof that the same Peter Mullen family that immigrated from Scotland c.1875 and lived in Youngstown was actually his family all along!  

(Youngstown Vindicator, Sep 7 1953)

(Note:  His two brothers, Benjamin and Peter, plus his son Raymond are not mentioned, possibly because they preceded him in death)

So...the questions remain:  why did my mother think her grandfather came to the U.S. on his own and didn’t have any family here? Her father (Grandpa Mullen) knew who his grandparents were because he entered their names on his father’s death certificate and provided the information for his father's obituary. He must have known them or known about them. Also, my great-grandfather had four brothers and two sisters, so Grandpa had aunts, uncles, and cousins – all living in Youngstown at the same time he did, yet my mother knew nothing about them. Could my great-grandfather have been estranged from his family? What could have caused a rift like that? I know firsthand that he was a grumpy old man, and my mother told me that he was very authoritarian and hard to live with. If anyone was likely to be estranged from his family, it would be him. Maybe he was just anti-social and didn’t like family gatherings? Or was it just the case of a family losing touch with each other? Did it have something to do with his marriages or his wives?  Sadly, I don’t know the answers, and I may never know.

I visited Calvary Cemetery during a trip to Youngstown several years ago and stopped at the office to see if they could tell me where Peter and Hannah were buried. I found the family plot but was saddened to see their grave was bare - just grass, no stone.  Several of their children were buried nearby, some with headstones and some without. I just wanted Peter and Hannah to be remembered, to be memorialized. I felt like I knew them after so much research. It didn’t seem right to leave their graves unmarked, so I worked with the cemetery office to design a personalized headstone for them - one that reflects their Irish and Scottish heritage, their Catholic faith, and my wish for them to be remembered always.

                                               

_________________________________________________________________________________

Peter Mullen (Mullan)

Born 1842, in Dalry, Scotland

Married 1867 to Hannah Arthur in Auchinleck, Scotland
Immigrated c. 1875 to New Castle, Pennsylvania, relocated to Youngstown c.1885.
Died 1916 in Youngstown
Parents: Benjamin Mullan and Agnes Donnelly, Ireland to Scotland

Hannah Arthur

Born 1842 in Catrine, Scotland

Married 1867 to Peter Mullan in Auchinleck, Scotland
Immigrated c. 1875 to New Castle, Pennsylvania, relocated to Youngstown c.1885.
Died 1937 in Youngstown
Parents: John Arthur and Hannah Moore (Muir), Scotland

Peter and Hannah's Children:

1.  Hannah Mullen, born 1867 in Catrine, Scotland, immigrated c. 1875, married Thomas Owens, lived in Youngstown.  Ten children.

2.  Benjamin Mullen, born 1869 in Auchinleck, Scotland, immigrated c. 1875, married Elizabeth Barrow, lived in Philadelphia and Youngstown.   No children.  

3* John Arthur Mullen, born 1872 in Catrine, Scotland, immigrated c. 1875, married 1895 to ?, re-married 1898 to Catherine Donahue, lived in Youngstown.  Two children

4. Agnes Mullen, born 1875 in New Castle, Pennsylvania, married James McGavin, lived in Youngstown. One child.

5. Peter Mullen, born 1877 in New Castle, Pennsylvania, married Esther Dunkerly, lived in Columbiana, Ohio. No children.

6. Thomas Mullen, born 1879 in Coaltown, Pennsylvania, married Elizabeth Clemens, lived in Youngstown. Four children

7. Joseph Mullen, born 1881 in Coaltown, Pennsylvania, married Edith Smith, lived in Youngstown. Five children.

*My Great Grandfather

5. Proving The Theory

The first Scottish record I looked for was my great-grandfather’s birth, and I found it.

 

John Arthur Mullan was born on March 27, 1872 at St. Cuthbert Street, Catrine, Ayrshire County. Father: Peter Mullan, Ironstone Miner. Mother: Hannah Mullan, M.S. (maiden surname) Arthur. Peter and Hannah were married on September 26^th, 1867, in Auchinleck. Informant:  Peter Mullan, father.

 

The birth date of March 27, 1872, matches exactly the date on his death certificate, along with the names of his parents, and Hannah’s maiden name of Arthur on her death certificate in Youngstown.  The evidence was piling up. This one record helped me to find dozens of Scottish records for the Mullan and Arthur families, which told the story of two families with a rich history in both Scotland and Ireland.

First, I had to make certain that I was climbing the right family tree. I looked at Peter and Hannah’s marriage record. (There is a discrepancy with the marriage date that I can only explain by a husband not really knowing his anniversary)

 

Married on October 3^rd, 1867, at the Catholic Church in Auchinleck, Peter Mullin, Engine Keeper (bachelor), and Hannah Arthur, Mill weaver (spinster), both age 24, both living in Catrine. Peter’s parents:  Ben Mullan, miner (deceased), and Agnes Mullan, maiden surname: Donally. Hannah’s parents:  John Arthur, pit lab, and Hannah Arthur, maiden surname: Moor.

Their parents’ names - Ben Mullan, Agnes Donally, John Arthur, and Hannah Moor match almost exactly their parents’ names on their death certificates from Youngstown. I was positive at this point that I had the right people. 

Another interesting document I found while snooping around in the Scottish records - Ben Mullan's death record.  

Benjamin Mullan, age 41, coal miner, died March 7, 1855, of chronic bronchitis in Auchinleck, Scotland.  Born in Tyrone, Ireland.  Parents' names: John Mullan and Agnes Donley.  Spouse name: Agnes Donley.   Eight children, two deceased.  

So...Ben and Agnes Mullan emigrated to Scotland from Northern Ireland - Tyrone County.  They were not native-born Scots, although several of their children were born in Scotland.  This also explains why Peter Mullan and Hannah Arthur were married in the Catholic Church, even though she was raised in the Protestant faith.  The Mullan family was Irish Catholic!

Another update to the family tree:

 

  

 

                               

4. More Puzzle Pieces

I was still really curious about my great grandfather’s parents and whether they had stayed in the United States or returned to Scotland. On a whim, I searched for Peter Mullen, born in Scotland with a wife named Hannah, living in the United States. Much to my surprise, I found a Peter Mullen with a wife named Hannah (both of them born in Scotland) in Youngstown in both 1900 and 1910. It had to be a coincidence…a crazy coincidence.

I went back to my mother and asked again if she had any memories of visiting her grandfather’s family or of his family visiting them. Any weddings, funerals, graduations, parties…anything? Even though her memory was failing her, I don’t think this is something she would have forgotten. “No, I don’t remember going to visit anyone, and no one came to the house. He didn’t have any family,” she said.

I asked my Aunt Margaret if she remembered Uncle Jack talking about his grandfather’s family. She said no, but that she did remember him talking about visiting his grandmother’s family in Fredonia, Pennsylvania.

Aunt Margaret & Uncle Jack Mullen

It didn’t add up. This had to be a different Peter and Hannah Mullen, but I couldn’t get this nagging thought out of my mind….what if it’s really them? 

I decided to stop researching my great-grandmother Catherine and her family for a while so that I could concentrate on the Mullen side. I needed more proof that Peter and Hannah Mullen, born in Scotland and living in Youngstown, were the parents of John Arthur Mullen Sr. Where to look next? I ordered their death certificates and while the documents didn’t tell me if they were his parents, they did confirm their Scottish birth, and something else very interesting – Hannah Mullen’s maiden name was Arthur!!!

Peter Mullen was born in Scotland in 1842 and died in Youngstown in 1916.  He was the son of Benjamin Mullen and Agnes Donnelly.  Informant: Thomas Mullen (son)

Hannah Arthur Mullen was born in Scotland in 1842 and died in Youngstown in 1937.  She was the daughter of John Arthur and Hannah Meur, born in Scotland.  Informant: Thomas Mullen (son)

The puzzle pieces were falling into place. I had a gut feeling these were his parents, but I still needed to prove it. To find out more about Peter and Hannah, I had to go back to Scotland. Not literally. I had to start searching in Scottish records.

3. The Plot Thickens

Where to look next? It was time to check the census records for Youngstown. I found records for my great grandfather, John Mullen Sr., and his family in all the census years from 1900 through 1950. 

In 1900 he was living with his wife, Catherine, and two sons, Raymond C. (4) and John A. (6 months). They lived in a rental house on Foster Street in the Brier Hill neighborhood of Youngstown. My great-grandfather was 29 and said he was born in Scotland, along with his parents. He listed “engineer” as his occupation. He and Catherine had been married for two years and had one child together. Catherine said she was born in Pennsylvania, and both of her parents were born in Ireland.

The plot thickens. It seems my great-grandfather had been married twice and had a child named Raymond with his first wife. Grandpa Mullen had a half-brother! What happened to Raymond? And who was his mother and my great-grandfather’s first wife? What happened to her? My mother didn’t know much. She knew about Raymond but didn’t know anything about his mother. It was a mystery that would have to wait.

By 1910, the Mullen family had moved to another rental house two blocks away. Raymond and John Jr. (Grandpa) were both in school. John Sr. was a machinist in a steel mill. (Carnegie?)

 

 By 1920, Raymond had moved out.

Both Grandpa and his father were still working in a steel mill. 

1920 was the first census where the family lived at 631 Delaware Avenue, and they were homeowners. 

 

(The house on Delaware Ave was built in 1914, so it was likely a new house when my great-grandparents either bought it or had it built.)

                The 1930 census showed some interesting new details.

•  John, Sr. said he immigrated to the U.S. from Scotland in 1875.
•  He married his first wife when he was 23. (in 1895) 
• The house on Delaware Ave. was worth $7,000
• They owned a radio set.  (40% of households had a radio in 1930)
•  Other family members in the household:
•  Catherine, his wife, age 63
•  John A. Mullen, Jr., his son, age 30
•  Helen, daughter-in-law, age 27
•  Louise K., granddaughter, age 6
• John M., grandson, age 4

So… Great Grandpa Mullen did not come to the U.S. by himself, since he was only three when he arrived. His parents must have been here too, but did they stay or return to Scotland? Since Mom told me that her grandfather didn’t have any family, or at least not any family that she met - maybe they did go back?

1930 was the first census after Grandma and Grandpa got married, and they moved in with Grandpa’s parents – never to move out and buy a house of their own, although they eventually inherited the family home.  Mom was born in 1923 and Uncle Jack in 1926.

Mom & Uncle Jack (c. 1928/1929)

By 1940, the value of their house decreased almost 30% to $4,800. The Depression had taken its toll. Both John Sr. and John Jr. were working steadily, even though John Sr. was past retirement age. John Sr. was a mechanical foreman and John Jr. was a machinist.  Mom was a high school junior and Uncle Jack was a freshman. Grandma Helen and Great-Grandma Catherine were doing “home housework".

I talked to my mother about what it was like during the Depression since she was six in 1929 when the stock market crashed.  During the 1930s she would have attended grade school and most of high school.  She told me that they always had food and the necessities, and she didn't really feel the impact directly.  She also said most of her friends were in the same boat, so she didn't feel like she was all that different from them.  Since both her father and grandfather continued to work, their two sources of income helped the family during the Depression.  

There were a lot of changes in the years between 1940 and 1950.  The U.S. entered WWII in 1941 with the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Depression ended largely because of the war effort.  By the time of the 1950 census, both the Depression and WWII were over. 

The Mullen family experienced some changes too.  Grandpa continued to work as a machinist, but his father had retired at some point before 1950 and was no longer considered the head of the household.  Grandpa took on that role. His father became a widower in 1944 with the death of  Grandpa's mother, Catherine.  Mom moved out in 1946 when she left for Germany to join my father after the war.  Uncle Jack continued to live at home and was working as a fabricator in a steel mill in 1950.  Grandma's sister, Margaret Carney, was also living in the household and working as a stenographer.

(The 1950 census is the latest one available due to the 72 year privacy rule)  

Time to update the family tree again:

2. Dead Men Can't Talk

Since I was new to family history research and didn't really know where to begin, I started at the end.  Dead men can’t talk, but their death certificates can.  There were some good clues in my great-grandfather’s death certificate.

John Arthur Mullen, Sr. died September 6, 1953, in Delps Nursing Home after a stay of two weeks.  He died from complications of a fractured hip, caused by falling off a chair at home (maybe the kitchen chair?). He was born March 27, 1872, in Scotland, the son of Peter Mullen and Hannah Arthur.  A retired master mechanic, his former employer was Carnegie Steel in Youngstown, Ohio.  He did not serve in the military.  Informant: John A. Mullen, Jr.

My grandfather signed the certificate and provided all the personal information about his father.  He had all the answers if only I had asked him! 

 sa

 Hannah Mullen's maiden name was Arthur. That explains why Grandpa and his father were given the same middle name. It was a family surname, probably meant to be passed down through the generations.

My great-grandmother’s death certificate had some good clues too, including her maiden name – Donahue.

Catherine Donahue Mullen died October 8, 1944, from pneumonia.  She was born November 4, 1864, in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Michael and Catherine Donahue.  Both of her parents were born in Ireland.  Informant:  John Mullen (Sr.) 

My great grandfather married an older woman! Little did he know that she was fibbing about her birth date, so the age difference between them was even more than eight years. I often wondered why they only had one child (Grandpa), but now I think it was because she was over 40 when he was born.

The Mullen family tree was starting to take shape!

1. Only a Few Clues

Discovering your family history is a lot like trying to solve a puzzle.  Sometimes you start with only a few clues, yet end up with a rich story and maybe a little mystery too. This is what happened to me when I uncovered the story of my Mullen family from Youngstown, Ohio.   This blog post is the first in a series of my discoveries about this family.

My Grandparents - Helen Carney Mullen and John A. Mullen, Jr. (1957)

It wasn’t until I decided to research my Mullen family history that I wished I had asked more questions of my Grandpa Mullen.   He was a very quiet man and it was rare that we had any conversations at all, but when I was a teenager we had one brief exchange about my mother’s heritage.  “Grandpa, is Mom half Scottish and half Irish?”  I asked him, thinking that I already knew the answer.  I knew my Grandma Helen's parents were born in Ireland, and I thought his parents were born in Scotland.  He started to say yes and then changed his mind.  “No, she’s one-quarter Scottish and three-quarters Irish,” he said.  “My father was from Scotland, but not my mother.”  That was it, the end of the conversation as far as he was concerned.

My Great Grandfather - John A. Mullen, Sr. (c. 1946)

I was a little surprised that I was wrong, but I didn’t give it much more thought at the time.   I wasn’t that curious about Grandpa’s parents.  His mother died before I was born, so I never knew her, and I hadn’t heard any stories about her.  I was six when his father died, so I do have a few childhood memories of him and they aren't good ones. I remember him as an unfriendly old man!  He lived in the same house as my grandparents, so I saw him occasionally when we were there for visits.

One morning as I was coming downstairs into the kitchen, I saw him sitting at the table by himself with his back to me, drinking coffee, dressed in his pajamas and robe.  I wanted to turn around and run back upstairs, but my Grandma Helen, standing at the stove, noticed me and said, “Karen, say hello to Papa.”   I did as I was told and in response, he mumbled something and then ignored me.  Warm and fuzzy, he wasn’t.

Now I wish I had been more curious and asked more questions, but it is too late.  My mother, Louise, filled in a few of the blanks, but even she didn’t know much about her grandparents’ history, even though she grew up in the same house with them.

My mother - Louise Mullen Vitullo  (2008)

Since I don’t have a picture of my great-grandmother, I asked Mom to describe her.  “White hair, thin, not very tall, and looked old.”  What was her personality like?  I’m sure she wanted to say, “What personality?” but instead she just said, “Stern.”   When I asked if her grandmother ever played with her or read stories to her, she looked at me like I was crazy.  Apparently, my great-grandmother was as warm and fuzzy as my great-grandfather.  They were really well suited for each other.

I can’t explain why I would want to know more about my not so warm and fuzzy great-grandparents. All I know is that curiosity took over and I had to know about my roots.  I didn’t have much to go on, but I knew my great grandfather’s name, John A. Mullen, Sr., and where he was born - Scotland.   My mother thought he had come to America on his own as a young man since he didn’t seem to have any family in the United States.  I also knew that workers flooded into Youngstown from all over Europe in the late 1800s and early 1900s because of the steel mills, and it seemed likely that he probably left his family behind in search of a better life in America. 

      Or so I thought....