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.
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Diana
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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.
