Kansas:  Martin and Bridget Berry 
 

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Martin Berry and Bridget Foye   

Martin And Bridget  Berry  children

1885 immigration ship manifest for City of Berlin

References
 

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photos

Georgia relatives

Kansas obituaries

Other Berry families

The Berry family is one thread which ties together many other names in this clan project.  Unfortunately the Berry name was common both in England and Ireland, and it is difficult to distinguish among which families relate to this project and which do not.  Several others are working on detailed family histories of the Berry family, so I will confine this essay to Berrys who preceded Martin and Bridget Berry to Kansas.

Historians estimate that 250,000 Irish left County Mayo during and shortly after the Great Famine.  This may well have included Berrys, Foys, and Currys, but our records about this are sketchy.    Census records show Berry and Curry names in many states, but it is difficult to link them directly to our family..

However, we do know that many of our Berrys settled in Illinois, in farm territory near Streator Illinois as well as Peru Illinois and Eagle Township..  There seems to have been a migration pattern from Ireland to the Chicago area, and from there to Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and later Kansas.

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Martin Berry (abt 1838 - 1905) and his wife Bridget Foy (1849 - 1898) occupied a small farm in Upper Garryedmond, County Mayo, Ireland where most of their children were born.  Bridget was the older sister of Patrick Foy, whose children either stayed in Garryedmond or emigrated to the New York City area.  Martin's older brother, Anthony Berry, occupied an adjacent farm.  They were tenant farmers, as land reform did not take place in Mayo until the end of the 19th century.  Anthony  and his family left County Mayo in 1884 and by mid 1885 he was farming in Prairie Dog, Decatur County, Kansas, where other Berry relatives had opened a general merchandise store after a fire destroyed their business in Abilene.

Martin Berry and Bridget Foye moved their families in 1885, arriving April 1885  with William Foy family and t he Michael Foy family in New York City aboard the City of Berlin.   The arrival years given in several cenuses is 1884; this may have been the date they left Garryedmond. Remember that all data in census records is oral, and the Irish were notoriously unconcerned with dates.

The railroads offered  incentives  to encourage entire farming families to settle near the railroads. (Once the construction of the railroad was complete, government subsidies ceased; the stockholders turned their attention to drumming up business for the railroad.  Importing farming families to work the rich Kansas soil seemed a natural means. For the migrant Irish families,  the greatest incentive was the prospect of owning his own farm, something then impossible at that time in Ireland.   County Mayo suffered a famine around 1880, and the chicken and cattle were diseased.  The Land Wars instigated by Michael Davitt, a Mayo native, and Charles Parnell were beginning,  and Mayo was turbulent place.

In any event, Martin and Bridget moved their family to Kansas.  Patrick Foy and his wife, Bridget Morley, took over the farms of Martin and Anthony.  Before this they occupied  land in lower Garryedmond near Patrick's father..  They lived several years in Anthony's house.  Martin's house was demolished, and a larger house built on the site.  It was completed in 1886, and remains in use to this day. 

Historians estimate that 250,000 Irish left County Mayo during and shortly after the Great Famine.  This may well have included Berrys, Foys, and Currys, but our records about this are incomplete.    Census records show many Berry and Curry names in many states, but it is difficult to tie them directly to our family records.

However, we do know that many of our Berrys settled in Illinois, in farm territory near Streator Illinois as well as Peru Illinois.  There seems to have been a migration pattern from Ireland to the Chicago area, and from there to Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and later Kansas.

 .Martin Berry, born about 1838 was the son of John Berry and Margaret Rauthtigan who were married 14 May 1828 according to the records f the Tuam diocese.   Bridget Foye born about 1849  in the Claremorris church of St. John the Baptist  on March 12, 1866. Bridget  Foye was the daughter of John Foy(1826-1890) and Mary Egan(1828-1896) who were married in Claremorris 8 Jan 1843.
and lived in Lower Garryedmond.  Martin and Bridget were married on 12 March 1866 with Anthon Berry and Bridget Burke as witnesses. The couple settled on land in (Upper) Garryedmond adjacent to that occupied by Martin's brother Anthony.

Immediately above Martin Berry family is the Edward Riley family.  The husband and wife came from England , but they are Irish.  their first two children were born in Georgia, the next four in Kansas.  They came to Kansas about 1888.  They may have influenced Martin and Bridget in their choice of a place to locate in Kansas.  I have photos of Rileys with the Foys back in Ireland taken in the 1930-1960 range, so it is a good possibility that the Rileys came from Claremorris or nearby.  However, this is mere conjecture at this time. The 1900 US Census for Berry looks like this:

Bridget Foy, the family's mother, died in 1898.  Patrick  is living with the J J Berry family in Marion County, Blaine Township, Tampa post office..  I don't know what happened to Jennie and Peter Burne or why Peter Berry was not cited in the 1895 census.  The Riley family continues to be listed just above the Berrys.

The final Martin Berry entry is in the Kansas 1905 state census:

Martin died in 1905.  With both Bridget and Martin gone, the family broke into smaller groups.  John has married, Patrick is living with the JJ Berry family and  Margaret has married Cornelius Dulohery and moved to Savannah Georgia.

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Martin Berry and Bridget Foy's Children

Mary Berry (1867 - 1912)  married Michael Egan of Savannah Georgia in 1889 and moved to Georgia.  Click here to view their family.

John Berry (1870 - 1919)  married Bridget "Delia" Foy (1872 - 1958), the daughter of William and Ann Halligan Foy.  The couple had two children, Helen Anne Berry (1908 - 1984) and Cecelia Marie "Sammie" Berry who married a widower, Jack Butler. Click here for family listing. 

Patrick Berry(1871 - ?) married Mary "Minnie" Berry, oldest daughter of John Joseph "J J" Berry and Jane Byrne. The couple had eight children.  Click here for listing of this family.

Margaret  Berry (1875  -    ) married  Cornelius Dulohery of Savannah GA, moved to Georgia and had five children. Cornelius was a grocer in Savannah.  See Georgia group for details.

James Berry (1877  -  )   Sister's notes indicates he was single.  He appears in the Kansas State census as a farmer in Durham Township, Ottawa County, living with with Peter Berry who is classified as a merchant.

Bridget Berry (1878 - 1917) married Tom Gabhart )1875 - 1952) and had ten children. Click here.

Honor "Anna" Berry (1880  -  )  married Clement C Beardsley (1883  -  ) and had five children.  Click here for listing of this family.

Celia Berry(1882 -  1916)  married Homer Hersh (1884  -  1964) and had two children.  Click here for details of this family.

Michael Berry (1883  -  ) married Rose Smith (1892  -  ) and had four children.  They also cared for either the Gabhart children after Bridget Berry Gabhart died in 1917. Click here.

 Jane Rose Berry(1886 - )  married William Bouhan (1885 - ??) of Savannah, Georgia.  One child is buried in Vine Creek, having lived only five months.  We have no further information on Jane, but note that William Bouhan was living with his mother, Mary Egan Bouhan at the time of the 1930 census.

Peter Anthony Berry (1889  -   )   was listed as the head of a remnant household with Cecelia, Michael F and Jennie C in the 1910 census.  In 1915 he was classified as a merchant, living with James Berry, farmer in Durham Township of Ottawa County.  I then found him in the 1930 census in Goodsprings,Nevada living at the Pine Mining Company Hotel where worked as a miner in a lead/zinc mine.

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John Berry (1870 - 1919) and Bridget "Delia" Foye (1872 - 1958) family

John Berry lived in the Martin Berry household until 1900.  He married Bridget "Delia" Foye about 1901 and the Kansas State census of 1905  lists them as living near what remains of Martin's family

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Patrick Berry is listed with the Martin Berry family in the 1895 Kansas State census, but then appears as a "laborer" with the John J Berry family in the US 1900 census for Marion County, Colfax Township.  IThis led to his marriage to JJ's daughter Mary or "Minnie".  There followed:

Both Joseph and James have Berry surname.  Joseph is the son of John Joseph and Jane Berry, while James is the son of Martin and Bridget Berry.  The Kansas State census for 1915 states that Patrick owns his own farm.

 

The picture about 1920 is the same, except for the addition of two more children:

By the time of the 1930 US census, Minnie is a widow and is renting in  Marion County

Martin is now missing from the list, as he has joined the Redemptorist Fathers.  He was ordained in 1927 and served several vital posts within the order until his death in 1959.  Towards the end of his life he suffered from Parkinson's Disease.

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Bridget Berry (1879 -1919) and Tom Gabhart (1875 - 1952)

At the age of six Bridget Berry came with her parents to America on the City of Berlin.  She  is listed with the Martin Berry family for the Kansas State census of 1895.  By 1900 she and Tom are married with one child living on a farm —probably a piece of the Gabhart family farm.

The Kansas State census for 1915 shows seven children. the listing  follows directly fater  Michael Berry's family.  Michael was Bridget's brother.  The Gabharts rent a farm in Ottawa County.

After Bridget died in 1917, the family was broken up among several relatives.  Thomas, the eldest, is listed in the 1920 census as a hired man for a family on the same page as William Foye and John McDade.  Isabel and Bridget, the youngest, are in St. Joseph's Home in Dickinson County, Grant Township.  The home is directed by fifteen nuns, and houses thirteen aged persons and 72 young children.

By the time of the 1930 US Census, Francis and Bridget Gabhart are living wit the Michael Berry family in Kansas, Wyandotte Count, Kansas City. Francis is 27 and a bus operator for the city busses. Bridget is 15 with no occupation listed.  Mary Gabhart is a nurse living in Alameda California.  Bernard Gabhart is an agricultural inspector living in San Bernardino, California.

The Sister who developed the list in 1964 and given to me by Marilyn Walsyk indicated  the following:

Thomas Nicholas Gabhart married Helen Cassey.  Two children
Francis Gabhart
Bernard J Gabhart married Dorothy Gorman.  Two children
Mary Gabhart married Melvin Lester Karr:  One child, three grandchildren
Isabel Gabhart married William E Anthony. Three children.
Bridget Gabhart married Paul E Clarke.  Three children
Anne Gabhart was adopted out
Cornelius Gabhart (1908 - 1918)
Martin Gabhart died in infancy
James Gabhart died in early life

Note that her list includes Anne, Martin and James who are not mentioned in any of the census records.  If Sister is correct, the Gabharts had ten children.

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Anna Berry  and Clem Beardsley

 Anna Berry accompanied her parents Martin and Bridget Berry on their journey to America aboard the City of Berlin.  There are some discrepancies in the records.  Anna consistently says she came in 1886.  She most likely is the "Laura" listed in the City of Berlin manifest, with Laura being a missed hearing of Anna's baptismal name of Honor or Honorah.  .  The Berry Family History Report lists her baptism as 14 December 1880 with sponsors John Foy and Bridget Foy while the Claremorris listing places her baptism at 14 December 1879.  But most census records date her to 1881. 

The Beardsley couple appear first in the 1910 federal census: