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The mystery of the old family Bible and who is Frank Molloy?

A very dear cousin recently gave me a large old bible, which belonged to our Great-Grandmother, Mary Belle Doyle (Carr). No births or family tree listed, Just an inscription in the front. The bible was a gift from her nephew. In the bible is a newspaper clipping of the funeral of Frank Molloy. Frank was a young man who drowned in 1886  in Pine Lake, Laporte, Indiana. So the big question is Why did my GGrandmother have this clipping in the bible? an even bigger mystery is..My GGrandma was born in 1886 in Virginia, the same year that frank died. I have searched & searched..can't seem to figure out how he relates to my family. Who is Frank Molloy and is he related to my family??   Hmmm...and the search continues..

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Comment by Denise Muhammad on December 13, 2013 at 10:21pm

When I found Frank in the census. He was listed as white. I believe that Doyle was Sarah's maiden name. I have not found any record saying that she ever married. Lee was the name of the man that owned her.

Comment by Denise Sartin on December 13, 2013 at 10:12pm
Comment by Denise Sartin on December 13, 2013 at 9:36pm

Cool thanks!  I'm genealogy obsessed too. Did you find a Frank Molloy listed as something other than white? Oh okay I did see John Carr.  For Sarah, do you know if Lee is a middle or maiden name?  I'm gonna look into Frank's burial information real quick...

Comment by Denise Muhammad on December 13, 2013 at 7:29pm

Your welcome. I so appreciate your help.  I'm not sure if Mary Johnson was his first wife. I believe so. Although I have not found any solid documentation yet. Thankfully I have a lot of oral history passed on to me from my grandmother.That helps, and I've found some through research. And I'm genealogy obsessed..lol. Mary B had one brother. No sisters. his name was John Carr. Her husband Peter and his family were from Pittsylvania County. I found him as a child listed in the 1870 an 1880 census for Pittsylvania co. nothing after that until 1910 where he shows up in Iowa, Mahaska county. I have found absolutely nothing on Mary B. until 1910, complete mystery..Peter's mother was Sarah Doyle. The clipping that I have does not contain the date. It is titled "Frank Molloy's Funeral" and says that he drowned at Laporte last Thursday evening. It gives details of the funeral service. Sounds like Frank was well loved. He was only 16 when he died.I'm not sure if Frank was Irish, however It sounds like he may have been.It's funny, Peter always said that he was Irish.  If you can figure this puzzle out you'll really be a pro..Lol. My mother in law tells me that the answer is probably right under my nose. I have another blog about the Doyle and Carr family. It has lots more pictures and more info about Peter and his family.  theycamefromvirginia.blogspot.com

Comment by Denise Sartin on December 13, 2013 at 4:20pm

Wow.  Thanks for that solid and concise lesson in your family's history.  You obviously have done your work and really know your family.  That's good information.  So Mary Johnson is likely Peter's first wife's name?  Too many dang Mary's and Elizabeths around him. I had not discovered Emmerson yet, so that's new to me. I see now why this is so difficult.  I'm asking around to find out if there would be any other reason a person from that time period would hold onto a newspaper clipping for a funeral notice.  Does the version you have contain the date? I didn't check yet to see where Laporte would be on a map. What were Mary B's brothers' names and younger sister? Have you found anything in VA with Mary B or Peter's family prior to 1900? I can't even find marriage records online. Oh and though I live here, I only have one relative I tried to locate in VA, so my skills aren't that strong here yet.  I see that they might be getting better messing with this lol.  I love it though. This side is a mystery but it seems very cool.  I did see some of the pics online.  Amazing images.

Comment by Denise Muhammad on December 13, 2013 at 4:01pm

Yes, I have noticed that census record. I am not sure what the connection is. First I should tell you that  Mary B. was Peter Doyle's second wife..sorry I forgot to mention that earlier. His daughters, Hattie, Mattie and Letha were by his first wife. No one in my family ever knew her name. I was told that she died after Letha was born. abt1898-99. I'm sure that she died in Virginia. I think that Ben was related to Peter's first wife or possibly Betsy. Yes, Peter did follow his sister to Iowa. Their brother Emmerson and his wife Martha went also. Peter and Emmerson were Coal miners. Mary B. raised the girls after her and Peter married. I don't know why Mary's maiden name would be listed as Johnson. Strange..maybe this is the maiden name of their birth mother. A few months ago I did find a marriage record for Hattie listing her mother as Mary Johnson. That is something to think about. Maybe the connection is to the lady that Frank was with. As you see, this side of my family is such a mystery.

Comment by Denise Sartin on December 13, 2013 at 2:55pm

Have you discovered the connection between Hattie & Mattie Doyle to either Walter and Gusta Myers or to Betsy and Ben Page?  Best I can figure so far is that Peter Doyle followed his sister Mary Elizabeth Doyle Graves Toler to  Iowa.  Unless you found someone else there prior to 1897 when it looks like she must have moved there after birthing Florence Graves. I guess I have to get the basis down first.  I haven't yet found Mary or Peter in or prior to 1900.  I did notice that Their daughter Letha lists Mary B's maiden name as Johnson... or at least how the census taker took it in 1925 but it also didn't have birth states for her parents.  Makes me wonder how much the person who informed the census taker actually knew.  I have only found evidence of these people in Pittsylvania County.  You definitely have an interesting family.   I did try to look into Frank Molloy.  From what you determined, did he seem to be white of Irish decent? The connection could be with the young lady who died with him (if I am not getting incidents confused).  I read a lot of articles with different Malloys drowning, strangely.

Comment by Denise Muhammad on December 12, 2013 at 10:17pm

Yes, was thinking that maybe it does have something to do with her side. The bible containing the announcement could have been her mother's or father's...I was told that her mother died when she was very young.  I know very little about her family history before she married her husband. It has always been a mystery in my family, a brick wall. She never talked about her parents. The only one that she spoke of was her older brother. So anything that you could find would be  helpful. :)

Comment by Denise Sartin on December 12, 2013 at 9:18pm

Oh okay.  Thanks. So if she comes from another family, could she have been holding on tight to the Nichols side with that funeral announcement?  I will see what I can find on what you gave me.  I hope we find some good stuff.  I apologize in advance if I give you info. you already know.

Comment by Denise Muhammad on December 12, 2013 at 6:22pm

Mary's birth name may have been Nichols. A cousin of mine recently found that Mary and her brother John may have been adopted by the Carr family. She said that their birth surname was Nichols. The Carr and the Nichols family were related. Some document was found in Buxton, Ia with this information. I have not looked into this yet.

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