HOGAN FAMILY IN NEW YORK CITYPatrick & Catharine HOGAN - Part 2 - Manhattan's Upper West Side Hogan Overview | Tree 1 | Tree 2 | Tree 3 | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 |
The earliest evidence of the Hogan family's presence on the west side of Manhattan was in 1857. On June 21, 1857 George Hogan of 18th Street in Manhattan (presumably his 1856 address of 295 E. 18th St) became a U.S. citizen, his sponsor being Patrick Hogan of 8th Avenue. This is all we know. Patrick's cross street was not mentioned, and I was not able to find the family in the 1860 census. With the establishment ca. 1859 of St. Paul the Apostle church at 415 W. 59th Street (Columbus Ave.), the Hogans moved further into focus. Although they provide no address, two Hogan baptisms establish the family's presence in the parish between 1862 and 1866. 1. Maggie Hogan, baptized on Nov 3, 1862. Sponsors were a Walter Shannon (unknown to us) and an Ana [sic] Hogan. The latter could have been George B. Hogan's wife, or George's relation Anna, who married John McMahon the year following Maggie's baptism. 2. Richard Patrick Hogan, born Dec 23, 1866 and baptized on Dec 30. Sponsors were a Mary Ann McIntire and a Michael Smith, both unknown to us. Further illiuminating the family's life during this time is a statement made by Thomas Hogan's son Gus, who (ca 1960s) said that his father was in the first choir at St. Paul's, under "Fr. Young or Fr. Smith". St. Paul's web site posts a short history of the choir, which dates the choir to 1865, when Thomas was 14: With over a hundred years of development, the musical tradition at St. Paul the Apostle church maintains a rich diversity of past and present styles. Between 1865 and 1871, Rev. Alfred Young developed a boys choir, using Gregorian chant and also developing original hymns to encourage congregational singing.The present day church, which is architecturally spendid and has a celebrated pipe organ, was built during the 1880s, several years after the Hogans left the parish. Photos can be seen at stpaultheapostle.org and on the site of the American Guild of Organists After years of nearly total obscurity, the Hogans began to emerge in 1866. Within a span of nine months, we see three independent confirmations of the family's presence on the upper west side and, finally, two confirmations of an address at 8th av between 63rd and 64th Streets, near the southwest corner of Central Park. Event 1: Thomas' mother-in-law Catharine Donohue died at a residence at 8th Ave. between 63th & 64th on Mar 31, 1866, a location which coincides with an address associated with Patrick Hogan later that year. She was buried in her son John Donohue's burial plot at Calvary. This event is of particular genealogical significance because the deed to this cemetery plot was handed down in our family. It was the item that linked us to this Patrick Hogan family. The DC was probably inaccurate regarding Catharine's age and arrival in the country, but it was probably accurate per location. Since it also mentions street addresses for the undertaker (592 8th Ave.) and doctor (695 8th Ave.), it's probable that the Hogan residence was in an as-yet-unnumbered building, possibly temporary workers' housing. Event 2: on Oct 22, 1866, after possibly 20 years in the U.S., Patrick Hogan of 63rd Street & 8th Ave. finally became an American citizen, filing papers at Superior Court in Manhattan, and with George B. Hogan, shoemaker, living at 132 W. 15th st, standing as his witness. I note that this was 17 years after Patrick filed his Declaration of Intention and that he had been eligible for full citizenship a good 15 years earlier. And it took place 9 years after Patrick witnessed George B. Hogan's naturalization hearing. In those days there was no requirement to become a citizen, and he could have lived a fully legal life as alien. What prompted him to file in 1866? Then as now, it gave a man the vote and also may have accorded him some advantage in signing contracts and owning land. Perhaps in 1866 Patrick Hogan's plan to move his family from the city was incubating. And perhaps Catharine Donohue left them a small legacy. The final 1866 event, the Dec 30th baptism of baby Richard Patrick, was the last event I have found for the family in Manhattan. THEORIES A few words about this period. I have to mention the implications of the family's presence directly across the street from the lower end of Central Park during its construction. Did Patrick find work on a construction crew in the park? It's hard to imagine what else would have brought the family to this area, which was formerly farmland and squatter's shacks. One historical Atlas of NYC says that before 1857, when work commenced on Central Park, there was little developed land above 38th Street. The streets were mapped and theoretically gridded since the early 19th century, but the actual farms and fields in the area did not follow grid boundaries. Read this article on the Construction of Central Park and this History of the Upper West Side Note that I have found several differing sources about the year work commenced on the park. Some make it as early as 1853. Another possible activity during this time is suggested in a letter written May 12, 1914 by Thomas Hogan to his son Gus, who was in Army training in Scotia, NY. Thomas refers to Gus's following "the lead of your grandfather" in volunteering for the service. The grandfather in question could refer to Patrick Hogan, or it could refer to Gus's maternal grandfather Henry W.D. Handy, who was raising a family in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn during the 1860-66 period. Though it does not rule out either possibility, to date I have found no evidence of employment in the Central Park workforce or Civil War enlistment for anyone in the family. This information can often be difficult, if not impossible to find. For the record, there is an uncorroborated family story that Henry Handy received a Civil War pension. Part 3 The Hogans in Queens | |
1873 map shows the southern end of Central Park.
I have marked the Hogans 1866 address on 8th Ave between
63-64th Streets with a gold circle.
St Paul's Church (On the west side of Columbus Ave., betw 59-60 Streets)
is/was located at the lower right hand corner
of the large 22 (signifying Manhattan Ward 22).