The  Casey  Family 

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Hugh Jerome Casey was born in Manhattan on 18 February 1873; his parents are noted in the census reports as Thomas and Mary Casey, both of whom were born in Ireland.  In the late 1860s the Caseys moved to Chicago, but a short time after the famous Chicago fire, they returned to New York City to live on Horatio Street on the West Side just below 14th Street.  This was a shipping district, probably included in Chelsea descriptions then, but now considered part of the West Village.   By 1900 the family had moved to East 56 Street in Manhattan.

Elizabeth Barry was born in Manhattan on 9th Street near Avenue B (just East of Tompkins Square Park) to William Barry and Mary Reidy.  William came from County Cork and Mary came from County Clare.  Barry and Reidy had both been married previously, and Elizabeth had several half sisters, including Catherine Barry who married Peter Sherry and Anna Wearing who married Thomas McKeon.  Some time before 1892 the Barry family moved to Hoboken NJ. 
 

Hugh J Casey and Elizabeth Barry were married 27 June 1901.  The priest who officiated gave his address as 351 East 55th Street.  Hugh is registered as living at 341 East 58th Street, and Elizabeth was living at (indistinct) NJ.  Both Hugh and Elizabeth were born in New York City.  Hugh, age 28, listed his father and mother as Thomas Casey and Mary Dooley.  Elizabeth, age 25, listed her parents as William Barry and Mary Reidy.  The witnesses were Thomas F McKeon and Anna McKeon.  Anna was Elizabeth's half sister.   The baptismal register of St. Brigid's RC Church, on Avenue B between 7ty and 8th street indicate that Elizabeth Barry was baptized on Easter Sunday, 16 April 1876, which means she was born April or March 1876.  Her baptismal sponsors were Daniel Anthony and May Barry.  Daniel Anthony is listed in the 1880 census as a ship builder living in Bergen County NJ, so Daniel Anthony and William Barry may have worked together in the Dry Dock District of New York City.  (Elizabeth Barry and Hugh Casey are buried in Holy Name Cemetery in a plot owned by the Anthony family.  Nora Barry is buried in Holy Name in a different plot owned by the Anthonys.  )

We don't know why the wedding took place in Manhattan.  The Barry family had moved to Hoboken NJ and are so listed in the 1900 census enumerated 9 June 1900, with Elizabeth listed as single, and Hannah, Elizabeth, Mary and Nora living with their parents.  Perhaps the parents had died by June 1901;  a more plausible explanation would be that Manhattan was a central location:  Caseys lived nearby on 55th Street,  McKeons lived in Elmhurst, and only the Barry family lived in Hoboken NJ.

 Both the Casey and Barry families had lived in Manhattan, the Barrys on Ninth Street between Avenues B and C, but moving by 1892 to Hoboken,  and the Caseys on East Fifty Sixth Street.  Pat Croghan remembers her father telling her that the family moved to Hell's Kitchen (37th to 50th streets, west of Broadway) and living there before moving to Hoboken. She may be mistaken: The original Casey family lived on Horatio Street near Eighth Avenue in 1880, but had moved to Fifty Sixth Street by 1900. 

 Hugh and Elizabeth Casey first lived in Poughkeepsie NY.  Towards the end of her first pregnancy, Elizabeth visited New York City, and Helen Ellen Casey and her twin Ellen Helen Casey were born in Manhattan on 8 October 1902.  The couple's first son, Francis or Frank was born in Poughkeepsie NY on 18 April 1904 in their home at 54 Mansion Street.  Their home was within several blocks walk from the New York Central Railroad.  In August 2005 I visited the site, only to find that the house had been a casualty of urban renewal in the 1960s.  The Poughkeepsie City Hall now stands on that site.

   Since William and Robert were born in Hoboken (17 April 1908 and 7 July 1916 — we have their birth certificates), we feel certain the move to New Jersey happened before April 1908.  Hugh Casey worked for Railway Express Company, which was the sole franchise  carrier for luggage and baggage other goods shipped via railroad.   William Casey was born 17 April 1908 in the house at 928 Garden Street, (either the Barry home or coincidentally across the street from the Barry family) and Robert Casey was born at 703 Park Avenue on 7 July 1916..

Note that Nora Barry is living with the Caseys, probably because the Barry family may have disbanded  with the death of William and Mary Barry.  

  The 1930 census record says that  both Hugh and Elizabeth's parents are listed as born in Ireland.

     most recent revision:   10 January  2006