Patrick F. Sheedy Patrick was celebrated in "Ripley’s Believe It or Not" on January 1, 1931 for having sold at least one life insurance policy each week for the past 19 years. He worked in Pittsburgh for the Lincoln National Life Insurance Company. To maintain his nearly 1000 week record, he could hardly go on vacation.
Sheedy's in Co. Clare John Daniel Sheedy (1842-1904) was married in Boston in 1861 at the age of 23; other records show later birth. His son Patrick’s papers say that his dad was born in Ennis, Co. Clare. John’s death certificate gives his parents as John and Catherine Sheedy. The Clare Family Research Center shows three John and Catherine Sheedy families with births in that timeframe: John Sheedy and Catherine O’Connor of the parish of Doora-Barefield had a son John baptised on March 7, 1844 –their other child was Daniel; John Sheedy and Catherine Hayes of the parish of Tulla had a son John baptised on May 27, 1938 – their other sons included Patrick and Daniel; John Sheedy and Catherine Daly of the parish of Clarecastle, they had no known son named John but did have sons named Michael, Patrick, and Daniel. Scot Sheedy, a clever detective, used witness information to determine that John Sheedy is from the townland of Lecarrow North in the parish of Tulla. Mystery solved!
DNA and Australian Convict I had my DNA tested by Family Tree DNA and was entered into the O'Malley DNA project. Shortly afterwards, I was contacted by Ian O’Malley of Queensland, Australia. His relative John Malay, the son of Thomas Malay, was a plasterer in Middlesex, England. In 1830, he was convicted of stealing a hat and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment, and was transported to Australia. We matched 12/12 dna markers AND Una O’Malley confirmed that there was a Thomas O’Malley, a brother of Patrick the father of our immigrant ancestor Michael. She said Thomas is remembered for visiting from England.
Dr. William Napier Macartney Macartney (1862-1940) of Fort Covington, NY wrote the book "Fifty Years a Country Doctor"; it was published in several languages. His son-in law, Dr. Bruce Taylor Smith later went into practice with him. Smith’s liked medicine and two of Dr. Smith’s sons, Robert Macfie Smith, MD and Bruce Taylor Smith, MD became doctors in Northern New York.
John O'Malley My uncle John is unique in my database of over 3300 people. I know of no other man that has married two women twice. He married Alice Lowney, then Eunice Smith, then Alice again, and finally Eunice again. His oldest son Michael was the best man at his last two weddings. With this record, he died a widower. Tim recalls that he had the most smoke stained 1961 Ford Falcon ever.
Frederick Hinners (1909-1999) Fred was born in the Bronx, NY; his dad was a NYC police Captain and the son of a German immigrant. Although Fred was a civil engineering graduate of Rensselaer Polytech, he was proudest of having attended Stuyvesant High School. Between high school and college, he worked on the George Washington bridge construction. He married Virginia Ambler of Troy, NY and had 4 children. He worked for the City of New York until the depression, and then began working for 7up bottling – the Joyce Beverage Company of White Plains, NY and the 7up Bottlers of Hackensack, NJ. He later purchased the 7up Bottlers of Kingston, NY which served Ulster and Greene counties. When he retired in 1978, he sold the business and moved to a home on Long Island sound in Waterford, CT where he drove a Lincoln which opened with 2 doors facing each other.
James Lavin (1926-1996) James was a postwar Irish immigrant who worked in the construction trades in New York City. In 1958, he married Teresa Daly, an immigrant from County Clare, who he met in the Irish Catskills, New Durham, NY. As he learned more about construction, he decided that he could possibly make more money by buying, fixing and selling homes … in 10 years he had "flipped" 150 homes. He then bought apartments, initially in Woodside, Queens. His company was named Aghamore, after his birthplace in Co. Mayo, Ireland. Today, his sons continue the family tradition of being investors in real estate.