Thirty Years in Uniform: Lieutenant Colonel William Joseph Quinn (1930–2005)

Bill and Doris - Fordham University Ball - February 1951

Veterans Day, November 11, 2026

My father-in-law, Lieutenant Colonel William Joseph "Bill" Quinn, served thirty years in the United States Army in the U.S., Korea, Vietnam, Europe, and Israel. His military career took him from a young second lieutenant at Fort Eustis, Virginia, to a lieutenant colonel whose work centered on transportation, procurement, and contracting.

His decorations included two Bronze Star Medals, two Meritorious Service Medals, and the Legion of Merit. After retiring in 1982, he continued serving veterans through his work with the American Legion.

Early Life and Education

About 1938

William Joseph Quinn was born on 2 April 1930, in Manhattan, New York. The only son of Irish immigrants William Joseph Quinn and Susan Murray, Bill grew up in New York City with his four sisters, including his twin.

He attended Fordham University in the Bronx, where he joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). His summer training at Fort Eustis, Virginia, introduced him to the Army's Transportation Corps.

Bill graduated in June 1952 with a B.S. in accounting. On June 12, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Transportation Corps, Army Reserve, and entered active duty on July 31. That winter, he married Doris Staubach, who would share much of his Army life as they raised their five children.

Thirty Years in the Army

Bill's military service résumé, assignment orders, and award citations document a career that took him around the world. His responsibilities involved purchasing, contracting, transportation, and managing the supplies and services needed to support military operations.

Fort Eustis, Virginia (1952–56): His first assignment as a Transportation Corps officer.

Ohio and Fort Benning, Georgia (1957–60): After his initial active-duty period, Bill worked in civilian positions in Canton and Waverly, Ohio. He subsequently returned to active duty and was stationed at Fort Benning by 1958. 

Korea (1961–62): As a captain, he served as Chief and Contracting Officer of the Inchon Branch, U.S. Army Procurement Agency, Pacific. 

Korea 1962

Fort Knox, Kentucky (1963–64): Chief of the Commercial Traffic Branch, Transportation Office.

Fontainebleau, France (about 1964–66): Now a major, he served with the U.S. Army garrison at Caserne Lariboisière, which supported American military operations in the area.

William J. Quinn - 1967
Stamped Saigon

Vietnam (1966–67): Purchasing and Contracting Officer, Headquarters, 4th Transportation Command, Saigon. He received his first Bronze Star Medal for this assignment.

Detroit, Michigan (1967–69): Deputy Chief, Office of Systems and Financial Management, Defense Contract Administration Services Region, Detroit, which administered government defense contracts.

Germany (1969–72): Deputy Director of Procurement, Headquarters, U.S. Theater Army Support Command, Europe. He later became Chief of the Procurement Division, U.S. Army Procurement Agency, Europe, overseeing procurement operations throughout Germany. He received the Meritorious Service Medal in 1972.

Vietnam, second tour (1972–73): Senior Transportation Advisor to the South Vietnamese Army's Fifth Area Logistics Command, followed by Chief of the Procurement Branch, Supply and Transportation Division, Directorate of Logistics, Headquarters, MACV. He received his second Bronze Star Medal and the Army Commendation Medal.

Fort Eustis, Virginia (1973–79): Deputy Chief and later Acting Chief of the Contracting Division at the Army's Applied Technology Laboratory. A 1979 citation credited him with managing an average of more than 165 research and development contracts supporting Army air mobility. His work earned him a second Meritorious Service Medal.

Israel (1979–1980): Orders dated 12 June 1979 assigned Bill to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Near East Project Office in Tel Aviv. The office was managing the construction of two new Israeli air bases in the Negev Desert to replace bases Israel agreed to relinquish in the Sinai Peninsula under the 1979 peace treaty with Egypt.

Fort Eustis, Virginia (1980–82): Bill reported back to Fort Eustis on 3 May1980, and returned to the Applied Technology Laboratory of the U.S. Army Aviation Research and Development Command, where he had run contracting before Israel. He served in the laboratory's Contracting Division, the office behind the Army's aviation research contracts, for the last two years of his career. He retired from there in 1982, thirty years after he was commissioned, ending his service at the post where it began as an ROTC cadet.

Two Bronze Stars 

Bill received a Bronze Star Medal during each of his Vietnam tours.

His first citation, covering September 1966 through September 1967, praised his ability to solve problems arising from the constantly changing conditions of military operations. It recognized his "initiative, zeal, sound judgment, and devotion to duty."

His second Bronze Star, awarded for service from October 1972 through March 1973, recognized his work as a transportation advisor to the South Vietnamese Army and his subsequent assignment establishing a new Procurement Branch at Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV). His responsibilities included overseeing contract reporting procedures, establishing a contract review board, and planning for the possible transfer of contracting procedures to the South Vietnamese Armed Forces. This work took place during the final withdrawal of American military forces following the January 1973 Paris Peace Accords.

Retirement

Bill retired from the Army in 1982 after thirty years of service and received the Legion of Merit upon his retirement.

His decorations included the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with First Oak Leaf Cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with First Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation Medal, and Vietnam Service Medal with three campaign stars, among other awards.

Bill and Doris remained in Newport News, Virginia, near Fort Eustis, where his Army career had begun.

Continuing to Serve Veterans

Retirement did not end Bill's commitment to military service and his fellow veterans.

He was a member of the American Legion for more than twenty-six years. At Denbigh Post 368 in Newport News, he served as post commander during two periods, 1985–1987 and 1996–2003. He also served as commander of the Legion's 3rd District and vice commander of the Legion's Department of Virginia, participated in the American Legion's National Security Council, and remained active on the department's finance committee until his death.

My husband and his father at the Legion
March 29, 2005

In a 1996 Daily Press interview, Bill spoke about the opportunities military service offered young people, including leadership, responsibility, and education.

Of his fellow Legionnaires, he said, "There is a camaraderie among Legion members that you won't find any place else."

Final Honors

William Joseph Quinn died in Newport News on 8 December 2005, at the age of seventy-five.

On 26 January 2006, he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors performed by the Army's Old Guard.

He left behind Doris, his wife of more than fifty years, and their five children, who had shared much of his Army life.

From his first assignment at Fort Eustis to his final overseas posting in Israel, Bill devoted thirty years to serving his country. Through his continued involvement with the American Legion, he spent more than two decades afterward serving those who had worn the uniform.

It is a legacy worth remembering on Veterans Day.

To learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share each post and other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

Sources

This account was compiled from William J. Quinn's military service records, orders, award citations, newspaper articles, and family photographs, preserved by his family. Additional sources used are listed below. 

Frank N. Schubert, Building Air Bases in the Negev: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Israel, 1979–1982 (Washington, D.C.: Office of History, Corps of Engineers, and Center of Military History, U.S. Army, 1992), 73–75; digital edition, U.S. Army Center of Military History (https://history.army.mil/portals/143/Images/Publications/catalog/70-45.pdf : accessed 11 November 2026).

Headquarters, United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Bronze Star Medal citation, First Oak Leaf Cluster, Lieutenant Colonel William J. Quinn, for meritorious service October 1972–March 1973; original document, privately held in the William Joseph Quinn family collection.

Martin Gedra, “60 Days, 50 Years Ago,” The Text Message (blog), National Archives and Records Administration, 29 March 2023 (https://text-message.blogs.archives.gov/2023/03/29/60-days-50-years-ago/ : accessed 11 November 2026).

National Archives Museum, “Episode 11: Paris Peace Accords,” Remembering Vietnam, National Archives and Records Administration (https://visit.archives.gov/whats-on/explore-exhibits/episode-11-paris-peace-accords : accessed 11 November 2026).

Virginia Biggins, “A Meeting That’s Legion,” Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), 24 October 1996, p. D4, “Denbigh Life” section; newspaper clipping, privately held in the Quinn family collection.

Friday’s Photo: Aunt Janet at Cobleskill

Tucked into my mother’s military scrapbook was this brochure for the State University of New York Institute of Agriculture and Home Economics at Cobleskill, NY. My mother studied there before joining the Navy, and her sister, my Aunt Janet, also studied there.

Aunt Janet marked the photo herself, with a handwritten “me” and an arrow pointing to her among the greenhouse flowers. Beneath it, she noted that the woman beside her was Chris Taufer, a student there the year before.

The brochure dates to about 1953 and promises “free tuition to New York State residents.” The school is still going today as SUNY Cobleskill.

To learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share each post and other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

Bridget Harvey Copps: Tracing Her Elusive Life from Ireland to Vermont and Utah

My grandmother said that her grandmother, Julia Harvey, was from Limerick. However, the place names in the records can be confusing. The microfilm containing the baptismal records for Julia and her sisters Mary and Bridget is labeled “Parteen, Limerick City - Diocese of Limerick | County of Clare, Limerick - also listed under variant forms of the parish name: Parteen and Meelick Parish.”

Julia’s marriage record states that her mother was from Clare and her father from Limerick. Her baptismal record states that her parents lived in Quinpool, which is in County Clare. While in Ireland, I looked for Quinpool near Parteen, County Clare. The closest we came was the entrance gates to Quinville House in Quinpool. Just minutes after driving past the house, we crossed into County Limerick, and within a few more minutes we were in Limerick City. That short drive helped me understand how close these places were—and why the family’s references to Clare and Limerick might not be contradictory.

Early Life in Ireland

Bridget Harvey was born in Ireland. Three census records indicate that she was born between 1832 and 1845. 

A Bridget Halvey, daughter of Patrick Halvey and Johanna Hartigan, was baptized on 21 February 1836 in Parteen, County Clare, Ireland. The record names John Halvey and Ellen Hehir as her sponsors. In American records, the family’s Halvey surname usually appears as Harvey. This Bridget Halvey was a sister of my second great-grandmother, Julia Harvey, who was also baptized in Parteen.

I believe that this Bridget, my second great-grandmother's sister, is the same Bridget Harvey who married Garrett Copps in Vermont in 1860, although I cannot yet prove it. The baptism is an important part of a larger body of evidence connecting the two, discussed below.

Marriage and Family in Vermont

By 1860, Bridget was living in Northfield, Washington County, Vermont, where she was enumerated as a servant. On 17 September 1860, she married Garrett Copps.

Bridget was not alone in Northfield. Julia, Mary, and Catherine Harvey also appear there as residents in the early 1860s. I wrote about the sisters and their Northfield connections in an earlier post, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #25 Catherine Harvey, #26 Mary Harvey, #27 Bridget Harvey.

Their marriage record does not name Bridget’s parents. Bernard Gorman and Mary Ann Burk served as witnesses. I suspect that Mary Ann Burk was actually Mary Ann Harvey Buck, Bridget’s sister. The handwritten record clearly reads Burk, but other records also spell the Buck surname as Burk and Burke.

Bridget and Garrett began their married life in Vermont. Their daughter Mary was born in Northfield on 6 July 1861, followed by Julia Frances in 1865, Elizabeth in 1867, and Alice in 1869. The three younger girls were born in St. Albans. The family attended St. Mary’s Church in St. Albans, as did Bridget’s possible sisters Mary and Catherine and their families.

A Move West

By 1870, Bridget and Garrett had moved west to Utah Territory and were living at Terrace in Box Elder County. After the move, at least two more daughters were born, including Sarah, the last known child, in 1875.

Bridget’s name continues to appear in Utah records into the 1880s. She was listed with several of her daughters in the 1880 census, appeared on a Salt Lake City voter registration list in 1882, and was described by Garrett in an 1884 court document as living with him and their minor daughters.

A Troubled Marriage

Bridget and Garrett’s marriage was clearly troubled, and Garrett’s violence was well known.

In January 1880, the Daily Ogden Junction reported that Garrett, then running a saloon at Terrace, struck a customer across the bridge of the nose with a knife during a dispute over money, then took the man’s overcoat by force. The paper called him “a notorious and rather unpopular character.” Two months later, Garrett was shot at Terrace. He claimed that a mob of armed men had come to his saloon to hang him, but the Ogden Semi-Weekly Junction reported his account with obvious caution, noting that he had been drinking very hard and that “it is said that he has lately treated his family very badly.” When the census taker came through a few months later, Bridget and the girls were living apart from him.

His behavior did not change after the family’s years in Terrace. In July 1891, Garrett was working as a watchman at the Frederick tunnel in the mining town of Alta when he ambushed a neighbor, Mrs. Watson, with a six-shooter, apparently mistaking her for another woman. He was placed under a $1,000 bond to keep the peace. The Salt Lake Times described him as “a dangerous character” who had once nearly beheaded a man named Pickett with a Bowie knife. The same article gives the only account I have found of what Garrett did to Bridget: “His wife abandoned him after his attempt on her life and after her fingers had been nearly severed from her hand.”

In 1890, Garrett filed for divorce, claiming that Bridget had abandoned him in 1888. Newspaper reports indicate that Bridget did not appear in court. Garrett told the court that she had left him; the 1891 newspaper account suggests she had every reason to.

Bridget’s whereabouts may have been uncertain for a decade before the divorce. In the 1880s, she appears only as a name on paper: a census entry, a voter registration list, and a statement made by Garrett. None of these records came from Bridget herself, and none confirms that she was actually there.

What Happened to Bridget?

More than half of online family trees on Ancestry.com say Bridget died in 1879, but I have found no source for that date. The 1880 census, the 1882 voter registration list, and Garrett’s 1884 court statement suggest that she was still alive in the early 1880s, but as noted above, none of them establishes it beyond doubt.

What happened to Bridget remains unknown. She may have left Garrett and gone to live with one of her daughters. She may have moved elsewhere and disappeared from the records I have searched. It is also possible that she died earlier than the later records suggest.

What can be established is that Bridget was deceased by 1919. When her daughter Elizabeth died on 9 April 1919, Elizabeth's obituary identified Bridget as deceased. Her date and place of death remain unknown.

Connecting Bridget to the Parteen Family

In addition to Bridget, the Parteen parish records list Julia and Mary as daughters of Patrick Halvey and Johanna Hartigan. Julia was my second-great-grandmother. Catherine, believed to be another daughter of the couple, was born before the surviving parish records begin. Although I have not found her baptismal record, a later obituary identified her as Mary's sister.

No record yet found directly connects the Bridget Halvey baptized in Parteen with the Bridget Harvey who married Garrett Copps in Vermont in 1860. Several pieces of evidence, however, point in that direction.

Bridget was born in Ireland at about the same time as the Bridget baptized in Parteen, and she later lived in places associated with the known Harvey family. In St. Albans, Bridget and her family attended the same Catholic church as Mary Harvey Buck, Catherine Harvey Daley, and their families. Thomas Buck, Mary’s husband, served as sponsor to Bridget’s daughter, Elizabeth; Garrett Copps sponsored Mary and Thomas Buck’s son, Francis; and Bridget sponsored Mary and Thomas Buck’s son, John.

DNA adds another layer of evidence. Other descendants of Julia Harvey and I have multiple DNA matches with descendants of Garrett Copps and Bridget Harvey. Members of the Buck family also match some of these same Copps descendants, creating an overlapping pattern among the Harvey, Buck, and Copps families. The number of these matches continues to increase. Catherine’s Daley line cannot provide another group of descendants for comparison: she had no grandchildren, so she left no descendants through whom this relationship could be tested.

None of these clues by itself proves that the Bridget baptized in Parteen was the woman who married Garrett Copps. Taken together, however, the baptismal record, common locations, church and family associations, and repeated DNA matches across several descendants provide a strong case that they were the same person and that Bridget was another daughter of Patrick Halvey and Johanna Hartigan.

Bridget remains one of this family’s more elusive members. The evidence connecting her to the Parteen Harveys continues to grow, but questions about the final years of her life remain unanswered.

If you are a descendant of Garrett and Bridget Copps, or have records or family stories about Bridget’s life in Utah, I would love to hear from you.

To learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share each post and other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

Sources:

1860 U.S. census, Washington County, Vermont, population schedule, Northfield, p. 261, dwelling 2092, family 2123, John Daily household; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 August 2026); citing NARA microfilm publication M653.

1870 U.S. census, Box Elder County, Utah Territory, Terrace Station, population schedule, p. 38A (stamped), dwelling 4, family 4, Garrett Copps household, Alice Copps, age 1, line 15; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 August 2025); citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 1610.

1880 U.S. census, Box Elder County, Utah Territory, population schedule, Terrace, enumeration district (ED) 7, p. 117B, dwelling 20, family 16, Bridget Copps household; NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 1335; digital image, Ancestry.com, 1880 United States Federal Census (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 September 2026).

AncestryDNA, “DNA Matches,” match list for cousin (JT), test administered by JT, results viewed by Diana Bryan Quinn through shared access, accessed 26 October 2026; private data, screenshots held by Diana Bryan Quinn.

AncestryDNA, “DNA Matches,” match lists for four testers: my mother, my aunt, my brother, and myself; tests administered by Diana Bryan Quinn; accessed 26 October 2026; private data; screenshots held by Diana Bryan Quinn.

“Ancestry Public Member Trees,” database, Ancestry ( https://www.ancestry.com : accessed [date]), search for Bridget Harvey, born 1839, spouse Garrett Copps; 27 of the 51 trees found give a death year of 1879, and others give 1880 or 1881.

“Born,” Sacramento Daily Record (Sacramento, California), 22 March 1871, p. 3, col. [#], birth of a daughter to the wife of Garrett Copps at Terrace, Utah; digital image, GenealogyBank ( https://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 6 August 2025).

Diana Quinn, photographs taken while crossing the boundary between County Clare and County Limerick, Ireland, 7 September 2022; privately held by Diana Quinn.

Oakland Tribune, April 10, 1919, Page 19. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune-elizabeth-copps-obitua/178354513/ : accessed September 26, 2026), clip page for Elizabeth Copps - obituary by user Diana Quinn.

Northfield, Vermont, birth card for Mary Copps, born 6 July 1861, daughter of Garrett Copps and Bridgett Harvey, town record p. 560, certified by V. H. Averill, town clerk; “Vermont, U.S., Vital Records, 1720–1908,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 August 2024), citing State of Vermont, Vermont Vital Records through 1870, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston.

Parteen Roman Catholic Parish (County Clare, Ireland), baptism register, 29 March 1833, Mary Halvey, daughter of Patt Halvey and Judith Hartigan, sponsor Mary Carty; digital image, Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI, microfilm 02410/03, p. 12, National Library of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland (https://registers.nli.ie/pages/vtls000634992_012 : accessed 11 August 2026).

 

Parteen Roman Catholic Parish (County Clare, Ireland), baptism register, 21 February 1836, Bridget Halvey, daughter of Patt Halvey and Johanna Hartigan, sponsors John Harvey and Ellen Heily; digital image, Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI, microfilm 02410/03, p. 28, National Library of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland (https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000634992?locale=en#page/28/mode/1up : accessed 14 August 2026). 

 Parteen Roman Catholic Parish (County Clare, Ireland), baptism register, 3 March 1839, Judit [transcribed elsewhere as “Jud”] Halvey, daughter of Patritii [Patrick] Halvey and Julia Hartigan, sponsors Michaela Halvey and Maria Flynn; digital image, Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI, microfilm 02410/03, p. 46, National Library of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland (https://registers.nli.ie/pages/vtls000634992_046 : accessed 11 August 2026). 

“The Registry: Names of the Voters of Salt Lake City, by Precincts,” Daily Tribune (Salt Lake City, Utah), 17 September 1882, p. 8, col. [#], Second Precinct, entries for “Copps Garrett” and “Copps Bridget”; digital image, NewspaperArchive (https://access.newspaperarchive.com/salt-lake-daily-tribune/1882-09-17/page-8/ : accessed 20 September 2026).

Salt Lake County, Utah, Probate Court, guardianship case no. 59, Lizzie and Alice Copps, minors, petition of Garrett Copps, 10 May 1884 (image 189), and nomination of guardian signed by Lizzie M. Copps and Alice B. Copps, 10 May 1884 (image 191); Utah State Archives, Series 1621, Box 31, Folder 7; “Salt Lake, Utah, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8933-6J2B : accessed 4 August 2025), image group no. 005672479.

Salt Lake Times (Salt Lake City, Utah), 11 July 1891, p. 4, col. 2; "Drew His Little Pop," article about Garrett Copps; digital image, OldNews.com ( https://www.oldnews.com/en/record?record_id=record-12010-987277907&ocr_panel=1&referred=mh_record_page : accessed 9 July 2025).

Salt Lake Times (Salt Lake City, Utah), 18 November 1890, p. 5, col.3, Jarrett and Bridget Copps Divorce  (untitled article); digital image, OldNews.com (https://www.oldnews.com/en/record?record_id=record-12010-746274866&ocr_panel=1&referred=mh_record_page : accessed 9 July 2025).

St. Albans Daily Messenger. 16 January 1912, p. 7; via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-albans-daily-messenger-harvey-buck/83967254/ : accessed 13 August 2026), clip page for Mary Harvey Buck's obituary, and naming her sister, by user dewquinn.

The Daily Ogden Junction, January 13, 1880, Page  4. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-ogden-junction-garrett-copps/178346498/ : accessed October 27, 2026), clip page for Garrett Copps - excessive violence by user Diana Quinn.

The Ogden Junction, March 6, 1880, Page 2. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-ogden-junction-garrett-copps-shot/175568078/ : accessed October 27, 2026), clip page for Garrett Copps - shot / treated family badly by user Diana Quinn. 

Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society, comp., Baptism Repertoire, Saint Mary’s Church, St. Albans, Vermont, 1847–1934 (n.p.: Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society, n.d.), entries for Frances Burke [Buck], baptized 25 March 1865; Jean Burke [John Buck], baptized 21 July 1867; Julia Frances Copps, baptized 22 January 1865; Elisabeth Mary Copps, baptized 24 March 1867; and Bridget Copps [possibly Alice Beatrice Copps], baptized 31 January 1869; book privately held by researcher.

Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society, comp., Marriage Repertoire, Saint Augustine Church, Montpelier, Vermont, 1855–1930 (Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society, 2010), entry for Garret Copp and Bridget Harvey, 17 September 1860, noting marriage at Northfield, Vermont.

Walpole, New Hampshire, Marriages, 1857–1894, p. 67, marriage record for Albert Glynn and Johanna Harvey, 9 June 1861; digital image, Ancestry.com, “New Hampshire, U.S., Marriage and Divorce Records, 1659–1947” (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/5241/records/15910753 : accessed 10 August 2026); citing New Hampshire Bureau of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire; images provided by New England Historic Genealogical Society.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #28 - Patrick Halvey or John Harvey?

I know very little about my Irish ancestor Patrick Halvey. He married Judith Hartigan on 27 November 1830 in the Roman Catholic parish of Parteen, County Clare, Ireland. They had at least four daughters, including my second-great-grandmother, Julia Harvey.

I have not found a record of Patrick's death. Two American records offer some details about his life, but they contradict each other. Julia's 1861 marriage record identifies her father as a farmer, while her 1909 admission record at the New York City Home for the Aged and Infirm describes him as a baker.

Even something as basic as his name is not entirely clear. In the Irish parish registers, he appears as Patrick Halvey. In American records of his daughters, the surname becomes Harvey. And two later death records identify him as John Harvey.

Which name was correct?

The earliest records consistently identify him as Patt or Patrick Halvey. The American records created during Julia's lifetime also name him Patrick, although they use the surname Harvey.

Only the two death records name him John. Mary's 1912 death certificate was informed by her husband, Thomas Buck, whom she married in America and who likely never met Patrick. Julia's 1919 death certificate names no informant, and the details suggest someone who did not know her well. In both cases, people without firsthand knowledge of Patrick supplied the information long after his lifetime.

The earlier records provide stronger evidence because they were created closer to the events they document and were more likely to contain information from Patrick or people with firsthand knowledge.

As for Halvey and Harvey, the records show the family used both spellings. I don't know when or why the change occurred, or whether Patrick himself ever used Harvey.

The evidence points to Patrick Halvey, not John Harvey, as his name, so I will use Patrick Halvey in my family tree.

To learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share each post and other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

New York City Department of Health, Bureau of Records. Certificate of Death, Registered No. 1779, Julia Glynn, died 12 February 1919, Bronx; digital image in the possession of this author.

New York City Home for the Aged and Infirm, Manhattan Division. Inmate record for Julia Glynn, admitted 18 October 1909, record no. 25/1524; digital image, Ancestry.com, “New York, U.S., Census of Inmates in Almshouses and Poorhouses, 1830–1920” (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1083/images/31864_243908-00516?pId=142209 : accessed 10 August 2026); citing Census of Inmates in Almshouses and Poorhouses, 1875–1921, series A1978, reel A1978:123, New York State Archives, Albany, New York.

Parteen Roman Catholic Parish (County Clare, Ireland). Baptism register, 29 March 1833, Mary Halvey, daughter of Patt Halvey and Judith Hartigan, sponsor Mary Carty; digital image, Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI, microfilm 02410/03, p. 12, National Library of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland (https://registers.nli.ie/pages/vtls000634992_012 : accessed 11 August 2026).

Parteen Roman Catholic Parish (County Clare, Ireland). Baptism register, 21 February 1836, Bridget Halvey, daughter of Patt Halvey and Johanna Hartigan, sponsors John Harvey and Ellen Heily; digital image, Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI, microfilm 02410/03, p. 28, National Library of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland (https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000634992?locale=en#page/28/mode/1up : accessed 14 August 2026).

Parteen Roman Catholic Parish (County Clare, Ireland). Baptism register, 3 March 1839, Judit [transcribed elsewhere as “Jud”] Halvey, daughter of Patritii [Patrick] Halvey and Julia Hartigan, sponsors Michaela Halvey and Maria Flynn; digital image, Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI, microfilm 02410/03, p. 46, National Library of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland (https://registers.nli.ie/pages/vtls000634992_046 : accessed 11 August 2026).

Parteen Roman Catholic Parish (County Clare, Ireland). Marriage register, 27 November 1830, Patt Halvey and Judith Hartigan; digital image, Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI, microfilm 02410/02, p. 30, National Library of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland (https://registers.nli.ie/ : accessed 11 August 2026).

St. Albans Daily Messenger. 16 January 1912, p. 7; via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-albans-daily-messenger-harvey-buck/83967254/ : accessed 13 August 2026), clip page for Mary Harvey Buck's obituary, and naming her sister, by user dewquinn.

Vermont. Death record for Mary Harvey Buck, 15 January 1912, St. Albans; digital image, Ancestry.com, “Vermont, U.S., Death Records, 1909–2008,” image 31394_203831-01414 (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1607/images/31394_203831-01414?pId=49104 : accessed 10 August 2026); citing Vermont Death Records, 1909–2003, Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, Montpelier, Vermont.

Walpole, New Hampshire. Marriages, 1857–1894, p. 67, marriage record for Albert Glynn and Johanna Harvey, 9 June 1861; digital image, Ancestry.com, “New Hampshire, U.S., Marriage and Divorce Records, 1659–1947” (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/5241/records/15910753 : accessed 10 August 2026); citing New Hampshire Bureau of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire; images provided by New England Historic Genealogical Society.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #25 Catherine Harvey, #26 Mary Harvey, #27 Bridget Harvey

Central Vermont Railroad, 1879, showing Northfield and St. Albans, Vermont

For years, I was stuck on Julia.

I had her parents’ names from her 1861 marriage record — Patrick and Joannah Harvey. Her death record gave me different names entirely — John and Mary Harvey. I searched for Harveys in County Clare and County Limerick and found nothing that fit. Had Julia come to America by herself? Had she come with family?

That’s where things sat until 2019, when I attended the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree in Burbank with my cousin. We had an extra day before visiting family in San Francisco, and I spent it going through my conference notes — something in them led me back to Julia Harvey.

I found a DNA match whose family tree placed her as a sister to Mary Harvey Buck of St. Albans, Vermont.

I was skeptical at first. But this cousin had documentation showing the parents as John Harvey and Johana Hartigan — too close to what I had to be a coincidence. And he had a record naming Julia as sponsor to one of Mary’s children, also named Julia, and an obituary showing that Julia had another sister, Catherine.

I was amazed.

A few weeks later, while digging through DNA matches to learn more, I found a cluster of matches connected to both Julia and her newfound sister Mary. It didn’t take long after that to find Bridget Harvey, another sister.

So in a short period, Julia went from being an isolate to having three sisters — Mary, with both documentation and DNA; Catherine, with documentation alone; and Bridget, with DNA alone. All four sisters were connected in some way to Northfield, Vermont. All four had husbands who worked for the railroad.

St. Albans Daily Messenger, January 16, 1912,
Page 7, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.
com/article/st-albans-daily-messenger/
157079822/ : accessed September 26, 2026).

The DNA evidence was hard to ignore. Descendants of both Mary and Bridget match each other and match my mother’s DNA. Those same matches turn up again and again among other tested relatives on my mother’s side.

The documentary side kept building too. All four women — Julia, Bridget, Mary, and
Catherine — turn up as residents of Northfield, Vermont in the early 1860s. Mary, Bridget, and Catherine later resurface together in St. Albans, all connected to St. Mary’s Catholic Church there. Mary’s and Catherine’s families appear together in St. Albans records as pallbearers, witnesses, and more. Thomas Buck, Mary’s husband, was sponsor for Bridget’s daughter, Elizabeth Copps. Together, the documentation and DNA made a strong enough case to treat all four as sisters.

Children of Catherine Harvey Daley and Bridget Harvey Copps were baptized at St.Mary's Church
in St. Albans. Note that Thomas Buck sponsored Elisabeth Mary Copps. 

The Sisters in Ireland

I cannot find ship records or pinpoint when and from where the sisters came to the United States, but homes in northern Vermont make me wonder if they immigrated to Canada first. 

Unable to find the Harveys in Ireland, I searched for Hartigan instead and found a Judith Hartigan married to a Patrick Halvey, along with baptismal records for daughters Mary, Bridget, and Judith. These records indicate that three of the sisters were born in Parteen – a parish in County Clare right on the border of Limerick and in the Catholic Diocese of Limerick. The birth register began just before Catherine’s expected birth year of 1831. Further research showed that Judith, Johanna, and Julia were used interchangeably in Irish records of the period—variations arising from Gaelic, Latin, and English translations of the same name—and that Halvey was itself a variation of Harvey.

Catherine Harvey

Catherine Harvey was born, according to the date on her cemetery stone, in 1831
— early enough that she predates the surviving Parteen baptismal register. She arrived in America in 1853 and married fellow Irish immigrant John C. Daley in 1854, in Northfield, Vermont. The couple later settled in St. Albans, where John worked more than fifty years for the Central Vermont Railway.

I’ve found only six of the Daley children, but the 1900 census reports seven born, and 1910 reports eight—both agreeing that only two survived: Joseph T. and George P. George never married, and Joseph’s one child died at birth, leaving no descendants from this branch of the family. That explains why there are no DNA matches on Catherine’s line.

John died in 1907; Catherine outlived him by seven years and died in St. Albans in 1914. They are buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery in St. Albans.

Mary Harvey

Mary Harvey was baptized in Parteen on 29 March 1833, daughter of Patrick Halvey and
Judith Hartigan. She married Thomas Buck, a well-known train conductor, on 21 July 1854, and lived in Northfield, Vermont (and possibly Alburg, Vermont; and Coopersville, New York) before settling in St. Albans, where the family became part of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Mary had eight children, with only three surviving in 1912. Her only daughter, Julia Mary Josephina Buck, was born in 1858. Mary’s sister, Julia Harvey, was a sponsor. 

Mary died on15 January 1912. Her husband died three years later. They are buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery in St. Albans.

Bridget Harvey

Bridget Harvey was baptized in Parteen on 21 February 1836, daughter of Patrick Halvey and Johanna Hartigan. She married Garrett Copps on 17 September 1860 in Northfield, Vermont, and the couple eventually settled in Utah. They had seven daughters. 

Records suggest Bridget and Garrett were living apart by the 1880s, and Garrett filed for divorce in 1890. Bridget was gone by 1919, named as deceased in her daughter Elizabeth’s obituary that year. 

A strong, growing cluster of DNA matches connects her descendants to Mary’s—and to mine, through Julia. Her life had more than enough in it for its own post, which is coming later.

Julia Harvey

Julia Harvey was baptized in Parteen on 3 March 1839, daughter of Patrick Halvey and Julia Hartigan — and my own direct ancestor. I’ve already written some of her story on this blog, and there’s still more to find. In short, Julia married JosephAlbert Glynn in 1861, raised four children between Vermont and Staten Island, and spent six years in the New York City Home for the Aged and Infirm, leaving the home in 1915. She lived with her daughter Carrie until her death in 1919.

Next

Patrick Halvey and Judith/Julia/Johanna Hartigan

If you would like to learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share each post and other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

Sources

1860 U.S. census, Washington County, Vermont, population schedule, Northfield, p. 261, dwelling 2092, family 2123, John Daily household; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 August 2026); citing NARA microfilm publication M653.

1875 New York state census, Richmond County, town of Southfield, first election district, p. 25, Albert Glynn household, lines 1–5; digital image, Ancestry.com, “New York, State Census, 1875” (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 July 2026).

1880 U.S. census, Box Elder County, Utah Territory, population schedule, Terrace, enumeration district (ED) 7, p. 117B, dwelling 20, family 16, Bridget Copps household; NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 1335; digital image, Ancestry.com, 1880 United States Federal Census (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 September 2026).

1900 U.S. census, Franklin County, Vermont, population schedule, St. Albans city, Ward 6, enumeration district (ED) 116, sheet 3, dwelling 145, family 231, John Daly household; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 August 2026); citing NARA microfilm publication T623.

1910 U.S. census, Franklin County, Vermont, population schedule, St. Albans city, Ward 6, enumeration district (ED) 113, sheet 2-A, Joseph T. Daley household (Catherine Daley, mother-in-law); digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 August 2026); citing NARA microfilm publication T624.

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Parteen Roman Catholic Parish (County Clare, Ireland), baptism register, 29 March 1833, Mary Halvey, daughter of Patt Halvey and Judith Hartigan, sponsor Mary Carty; digital image, Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI, microfilm 02410/03, p. 12, National Library of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland (https://registers.nli.ie/pages/vtls000634992_012 : accessed 11 August 2026).

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 Parteen Roman Catholic Parish (County Clare, Ireland), baptism register, 3 March 1839, Judit [transcribed elsewhere as “Jud”] Halvey, daughter of Patritii [Patrick] Halvey and Julia Hartigan, sponsors Michaela Halvey and Maria Flynn; digital image, Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI, microfilm 02410/03, p. 46, National Library of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland (https://registers.nli.ie/pages/vtls000634992_046 : accessed 11 August 2026). 

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