Owen DEERY

Owen Deery & Maria Feehan

Owen DEERY  was born around 1825 in Ireland to Edward DEERY and Ellen LEONARD DEERY.  He emigrated to the United  States and made his living as a marble polisher.  My dad’s notes say that the DEERY family was from County Derry (Londonderry).  I wasn’t able to find documentation to support  (or refute) that.  My search for the surname DEERY showed the majority of DEERYS located in County Donegal, just west of Derry.  Both County Donegal and County Derry are located in Northern Ireland.

Maria FEEHAN was born to James and Elisabeth FEEHAN around 1833.  Born in Ireland, she came to the United States sometime prior to 1858 when she married Owen Deery.  Owen and Maria were married on 4 April 1858 in Worcester, Massachusetts.  She gave birth to their only child:

1. Edward Owen    b:  16 July 1859     d:  14 Dec 1938

Edward was 15 months old when Maria died of typhoid fever on 2 Oct 1860.  

It took me a while to find out what happened to Edward and his dad, Owen, after Maria died.  I found in the census records where 10 yr old Edward was living with a Eugene and Ellen Deery.  My first thought was that Edward was living with a relative; but I have since discovered that the names Eugene and Owen are interchangeable in Ireland.  The Irish is: Eoghan (which can become Egan, Eugene or Owen) depending on whether one goes with Irish or Anglicized pronunciation.  The marriage record of Eugene DEERY and Ellen ROWE shows they were married on 27 Sep 1862 in Springfield, Massachusetts and that this was Owen/Eugene’s 2nd marriage.

Owen and Ellen had six children:

1. Eugene               b:  1862                 d:  ?
2. Ellen Maria          b:  31 July 1866     d:  ?
3. Nellie                 b:   1867                d:  ?
4. Mary                   b:   3 May 1869       d:  ?
5. Catherine            b:  11 Oct 1871      d:  6 Aug 1872
6. Rose Elizabeth     b:   8 Sep  1877     d:  ?

Ellen Maria was not listed with the family on the 1870 census so my assumption is that she died.  I have not found any record of her death.  Catherine died at age 10 months from scarlet fever.

Owen died on October 19, 1899, in Ware, Massachusetts, at the age of 74.  Cause of death was listed as  "general paresis". The definition for general paresis, also known as general paralysis of the insane or paralytic dementia, is a neuropsychiatric disorder affecting the brain, caused by late-stage syphilis. But the definition for paresis is partial loss of movement in a specific area of the body.   I'm going with the latter.

The 1900 Census found Ellen living in Ware, Massachusetts with her daughters, Nellie and Mary.  After the 1900 census, I wasn’t able to find Ellen or her daughters.