CAVANAGH, John ^{2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9}

   Cause of his death was work accident.¹²

   Other names for John were CANAVAGH, John,¹³ CAVAGNAGH, John,¹⁴ CAVENAGH, John,³ CAVENAHG, John ¹⁵ and KAVANAGH, John.¹¹

  General Notes:

In 1841 John had newly come to Scotland with his family from Ireland where he was born. He was living in Aitchison Street, Airdrie, on 7 June 1841 when the census was taken. He was one of the younger family members then, coming between Robert, aged 10 years, and Helen, aged 3 years. John was 5 years old.

John was aged 15 years when he was recorded by the 1851 census. He was an ironstone miner and lived with his family in Carnbroe Ironworks village.

John Cavanagh was one of the witnesses at the marriage of his brother Robert in St Patrick's RC Church, Coatbridge, in September 1853.

In the 1855 birth certificate of his son, Robert , John Cavanagh was recorded as an ironstone miner, aged 20 years. He was born in County Armagh, Ireland. He and his wife were married in Glasgow in 1854. He gave notice of his son's birth before James Burdon, registrar, at Old Monkland on 7 July 1855 and made his X mark.

John Cavanagh, who was present where the death occurred, gave notice of the death of his daughter Jane, aged 13 months, in 1858. He was recorded as an "Iron Stone Miner".

It was John who notified the registrar at Glasgow of his mother, Mary's death in July 1859.

The 1861 census for Maryhill, Glasgow recorded John Cavanagh and Janet Robertson [sic], both aged 25 years living at 102 Possil Road, Rockvilla, with their three sons Robert, aged 5 years, John, aged 2 years, and Ross, aged 2 months. Janet and the sons were born in Glasgow. John, the father, was born in Ireland and was an ironstone miner. In the household living as a lodger was, also, Hugh McAlindon, a 34 year old single man, an ironstone miner, born in Ireland.

In 1863 John Cavanagh, an iron stone miner, notified the registrar of the birth of his son Matthew.

John and Jane Cavenahg [sic] were recorded living in Cranberry, Venango, Pennsylvania, by the US census of 1870. Both were recorded as aged 28 years old, John as born in Ireland, Jane as born in Scotland. They had five children: Robert, 11 years, John, 9 years, Barney, 7 years, Mary, 3 years, and James aged 7 months. The older children were recorded as born in Scotland, the younger two, Mary and James, as born in Pennsylvania. John worked as a coal miner, and Jane kept house.

The 1880 US census recorded John and Jane Canavagh [sic] with their children living in Fairview, Pennsylvania. John, a labourer, was 42 years old and born in Ireland, as were his parents. His wife kept house; she was 40 years old and had been born in Scotland. They had three sons and three daughters living with them: John aged 20 years, a labourer and Ross aged 18 years, also a labourer, had been born in Scotland. The other four younger children were born in Pennsylvania: Mary aged 12 years, also recorded as a labourer but who had attended school in the census year, James aged 7 years, also a scholar, Susannah, aged 6 years, and Jane aged 5 years.

A 1925 passport Application by Margaret, wife of John's son John Cavanagh, stated that her husband emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1867 [sic], and that her husband's father was naturalized as a citizen of the United States before the Common Pleas Court of Butler County, Pennsylvania, at Butler, Pennsylvania on 1 September 1884.

There is a death and burial in Philadelphia in 1899 of a John Cavanagh born in Scotland, but whether it is this man is not known. ^{2 8 10 11 13 15 16 17 18 19 20 21}

  Research Notes:

AGES

The ages that are estimated by this family in census returns etc are often, by modern standards, wildly inaccurate, and probably reflect an oral culture not focused on bureaucratic details of specific dates and ages.

PARENTAGE

No specific documentary evidence, for example a baptism or death record with his parents named, has been uncovered as yet to prove that this John Cavanagh is the son of Michael Cavanagh and Mary Campbell. The evidence is circumstantial at present, but wholly convincing nonetheless:
1
John's age coincides exactly, and this is in itself unusual, with the age of the son, John, of Michael and Mary Cavanagh, as recorded in the 1841 census.
2
Like others in that family, this John's birthplace was recorded as County Armagh, Ireland
3
Like others in that family, this John Cavanagh was an ironstone miner, and in 1851 was working as such in Carnbroe, where Robert Cavanagh, a brother of that family, was working
4
Mary Campbell or Cavanagh died in 1859 at Canal Bank Street in the Port Dundas/Milton area of Glasgow and her son, John, was the informant. This John's family were being born in just that area of the city at that time.

John married Jane ROBERTSON, daughter of Ross ROBERTSON and Unknown, on 18 September 1854 in St Mungo's RC Parish, Glasgow, Scotland.¹ (Jane ROBERTSON was born about 1835 in Glasgow, Scotland ²² and died about 1896 ¹².)

  Marriage Notes:

Roman Catholic Records
St Mungo's parish Glasgow
Marriages

"1854
John Cavanagh
Jean Robertson
were duly married by me on the 18th day of September 1854 in presence of Hannah Gallacher & Stephen Kennedy
(signed) Archd Chisholm"

Note:
"Fr Archibald Chisholm came to Fort William in 1839 and remained there until 1846. He was born in Srathglass in 1816 and studied at Lismore until it closed in 1828. He studied for a year at Acquhorties and Blairs but during his final studies in France his health broke down. He was ordained at Blairs in 1839. After ordination he came to Fort William but was another of those who was transferred to the industrial south - this time to the city of Glasgow. He was the first parish priest of St Alphonsus in the Calton and built St Mungo's, Townhead. He remained in Glasgow for the rest of his priesthood and died at Dalbeth Convent in 1869."

from The Story of St Mary's Parish Fort William ^{1 23}