Person:Julia Hanlon (1)

Julia Hanlon was born in Ireland, probably around the 1820s. Her first confirmed sighting is in 1844, by when she was already married to a John Reid with whom she would have seven children. Family tradition has it that John and Julia moved around extensively as John worked building the railways, and this seems to be supported by the baptisms of their children. Baptisms for six of their seven children have been located, in six different counties, generally close to where major railway projects were underway.

In 1844 the family was living at Carlow, County Carlow - where the Great Southern and Western Railway's Dublin to Carlow line was under construction at the time. In 1846 the family was living at Bracknagh in the parish of Clonbulloge, County Offaly, just a couple of miles north of Monasterevin, County Kildare, where the River Barrow viaduct on the Great Southern and Western Railway's Dublin to Cork and Limerick line was being built. In 1848 the family was at Donaghmoyne, County Monaghan, where the Dundalk & Enniskillen Railway was under construction - and the following year they were at Dundalk, County Louth, the terminus of the same line. In 1851 the family was at Drumcree in County Armagh, where the rail junction at Portadown was under construction. By 1853 the family was living in Dublin. The one child for whom no baptism has yet been found, William, claimed in the 1911 census to have been born in County Armagh in about 1858.

By 1872, Julia and John were living in Dublin, as were most of their children. Their daughter Maria married in 1870, followed by Margaret in 1872 and Rosanna in 1875. Both Margaret's and Rosanna's marriages record that Julia and John were living at 8 Lower Kevin Street, Dublin.

Two of Julia's children emigrated to New York. Stephen emigrated in the early 1880s, and married in New York. Maria and her husband left Ireland in the mid 1870s and lived for a time in England, before also moving to New York in the early 1880s.

By the mid 1880s, Julia and John had moved out of Dublin to Monasterevin, County Kildare. When their son Michael died in 1885, John had to secure a grant of administration, which described him as a bricklayer of Monasterevin. John died in 1887, when he was said to be 66 years old. In 1888, Julia secured a grant of administration for her late husband's estate, which described her as living at Monasterevin. Julia's eldest daughter, Margaret, died in 1894.

Julia later moved in with her daughter Rosanna, who lived at 19 Stephen Street in Dublin. Julia died there on 25th October 1896. Her death certificate says she was 66, although this must be an underestimate, given that her first known child was baptised in 1844. More likely she was in her early 70s. She was buried back at Monasterevin, where John had died. A notice was placed in Freeman's Journal about her death, with a note asking American paper to copy the notice; two of Julia's children had emigrated to New York.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Death certificate, in General Register Office of Ireland. Civil Registration.

   Superintendent Registrar's District South Dublin Registrar's District No3 Sth City
   1896 DEATHS Registered in the District of No3 Sth City in the Union of Sth Dublin in the County of City of Dublin
   No.	Date and Place of Death	Name and Surname	Sex	Condition	Age last Birthday	Rank, Profession or Occupation	Certified Cause of Death and Duration of Illness	Signature, Qualification and Residence of Informant	When Registered	Signature of Registrar
   325	1896 Twenty fifth October 19 Up Stephen St	Julia Reid	F	Widow	66 years	Widow of a Brick layer	Chronic bronchitis Some months Cardiac failure Certified	Roseanne Farrell her X mark Daughter Present at death 19 Up Stephen St	Twenty Eighth October 1896	Ga? Rope Registrar

   
2.   Freeman's Journal, Tuesday 27th October 1896:
   BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, AND DEATHS.
   REID - At the residence of her daughter, 19 Upper Stephen street, Mrs Julia Reid. Funeral will leave for Kingsbridge at 1130 for Monasterevan. American papers please copy.
3. ↑ The age quoted on Julia's death certificate implies that she was born around 1830, but that would make her only about 14 when her first child was born, and Irish death certificates are notoriously unreliable for age at death. Julia's date of birth has therefore been estimated on the basis that she was probably approximately five years older than claimed on her death certificate, which would make her about 19 when her first known child was born and in her mid 30s when her youngest known child was born. Julia's place of birth is given as Ireland on the basis of the answers given much later by her son Stephen and daughter Maria as to their parents' birthplaces in the New York censuses.