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Our Irish Roots Pt 1-
The Filben & Flannigan Families
Although very little information was known about the early beginnings of Thomas Filben and his family, more has been confirmed!!!
Reviewing Censuses from Massachusetts, Connecticut and California,Thomas was born in Foxford, County Mayo, Ireland. Yet the birth year varies from as early as 1812 to 1817. However, after finding his obituary from the San Francisco Examiner-the death announcement reads that he died at age 69, which definitely puts his date of birth as 1812.
Thomas arrived in America in/around 1850 taking up residence in Newburyport, Essex, Massachusetts. Below is a postcard of what the area looked like during Thomas's time there.
The name Filben has alternates spellings such as Philbin or even MacPhilbin, McPhilbin, Philbin, Philben, Phillips and others.
According to the House of Names website: The Filben/Philbin name in Ireland derives from several sources, but there was certainly a native Gaelic name which evolved into such names as MacPhilbin and MacPhillips.
Early Origins indicate that the surname Philbin was first found in Connacht (Irish: Connachta, (land of the) descendants of Conn), where historian O'Donovan, in the Annals of the Four Masters (1355) lists MacPhilbin as one of the chiefs of the district then known as Sil Anmachada in east Galway. The history continues on for quite some time but here is one thing I do know for certain.
A census from 1850 shows Thomas living at a boarding house belonging to the Mahaffy family. Thomas is 38 and his occupation is listed as Umbrella Maker. I wondered specifically if instead they meant parasol's. Looking up online my specific question of what is the difference between parasol and umbrella came this answer:
"The main difference between a parasol and an umbrella is its size and purpose. Parasols are smaller and lighter than umbrellas (or significantly larger in the case of beach and patio parasols) and are used only to shade people from the sun. They also tend to be made from fabric that may or may not be waterproof."
According to the House of Names Website,The Irish name Flannigan was originally written in a Gaelic form as "O Flannagain," from the word "flann," which means "red" or "ruddy." Collectively the name means "descendants of the red-complexioned man."
Early scribes in Ireland during the Middle Ages recorded names as they sounded. Consequently, in this era many people were recorded under different spellings each time their name was written down. Research on the Flannigan family name revealed numerous spelling variations, including Flanagan, Flanaghan, Flanagen, Flannagan, Flannagen, Flanigan, Flannigan, Flanigen, Flannigen, Flanagin, Flannagin and many more!
A wee bit more is known about Hanora's Family. Hanora was one of six children born to John Flannigan (born 1835) and Hanora Maddin (born 1845)
How Hanora came to live in Boston is unclear at this time. Her parents and siblings appeared to have spent most of their lives living in St. Louis Missouri! Quite ironic when you realize that Grandpa William Bruemmer;s family was also living in St. Louis around that time! Population at that time was as follows:
Although a large area and big city, who knows perhaps our two sections of family, the Irish- Grandma Bruemmer and the German-Grandpa William's could well have passed by each other at one time!!!!
Hanora's mother Hanora Maddin died on October 20 1911. Her father, John Flannigan died on November 17, 1913.
With Thomas residing in the area of Newburyport and Hanora in Boston, the distance between these cities is approximately 45 mins, thus I can only speculate that with so many Irish families living in the areas, that there had to have been some sort of gatherings where they met or perhaps Hanora needed an umbrella and met Thomas at his store or factory.
Thomas and Hanora were married sometime in 1853. Thomas was 38 when he married Hanora who was only 17. Although the age difference between them may seem quite big- I looked up Historical Trends in Marriage Formation, during 1853 the year that Thomas and Hanora Married.
According to one site, men didn't marry young- At the end of the 18th century, the average age of first marriage was between 28-40 years old for men and for women anywhere from age 17 to 22!
After moving to California in 1868, the Filben's first lived with the Dwyer family (as described in a previous blog). Below is the census that was taken in 1870 when the two families lived together. You can well imagine what a crazy household it must have been with 16 people.!! You'll notice the spelling of the Filben name from the Census taker is spelled Filburn. Yet all family members match up to our Filben family.
In 1871 the Filben family moved to 222 Mission St. The photo below (although taken 2 years after the 1906 earthquake) shows what Mission St between 3rd and 4th st looked like around the time and present day.
Two years later, the family would move again to the area of Almaden Santa Clara. Below is a photo of what Almaden looked like during their time there.
Looking up the history of the area, I found out this little gem of history:
The Quicksilver Mine at New Almaden, located in the hills at the southern end of the Almaden Valley, was California’s earliest and largest mining endeavor. Cinnabar, the ore from which quicksilver (mercury) is extracted, had long been exploited by the Native American population that lived in this portion of California.
Even though the mercury was poisonous, they utilized the (ground) red ore as a pigment. In the early 1820s, local Californios rediscovered cinnabar while prospecting for gold, but failed to recognize its potential.
In 1845, Andres Castillero, a captain in the Mexican Army, located cinnabar on Rancho San Vicente, which had been granted to José Reyes Berryessa in 1842. Castillero filed an official claim, the first mining claim ever filed in California. Castillero was trained in geology and metallurgy and recognized the potential significance of a quicksilver deposit. Called back into military service
In 1846, he sold the mine to the Barron, Forbes Company, a British firm with offices in Tepic, Mexico. The mines at New Almaden were named after the famous Almaden mines in Spain. Quicksilver was the primary reduction agent for gold, making it extremely valuable during California’s Gold Rush beginning in 1848. Litigation over the title to the mines began in 1851, and lasted for twelve years.
The findings of the court resulted in important California property laws. During Barron, Forbes ownership of the mine, attorney and West Point graduate Henry W. Halleck, assumed local management. Halleck also served as legal representative for the firm and was notable later as a General in the American Civil War.
In 1863, Barron, Forbes Company was forced to sell their holdings to the Quicksilver Mining Company as the courts ruled unfavorably regarding their title to the mine. During Barron, Forbes Company’s ownership, the mines at New Almaden produced 15 million dollars worth of quicksilver, a significant component of Santa Clara County and the state’s economy.
The Filben family continued to live here until Thomas's death at age 69 on September 1st 1881
The family then moved back to San Francisco to the address of 1019 Guerrero which still exists today!
Hanora and all of her children along with their families survived the 1906 earthquake. Sadly the following year on October 13, 1907 Hanora passed at the ripe old age of 71.
Thomas Filben's burial location appears to be back at his Parish in Foxford Mayo. However, Hanora is buried at the Holy Cross Cemetery in San Mateo.
It has always been a goal of mine to visit Holy Cross and the additional Olivet Memorial Park. There are many many of our ancestors buried here and Uncle Bill has graciously offered to go with me.
Both cemeteries are quite large, but knowing there are many family genealogists such as myself out there wanting to grave hunt - maps have been provided and two great websites called, FIND A GRAVE and BILLION GRAVES have been created to help find that certain ancestor or even the famous people from over the past century to now!!
More on the Filben family children coming in the next blog posting!
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