The River Running
"Immigrants: we get the job done" -- Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Mary Heath and Francis Dowd
Mary E Heath was born in Brookyln in 1855-1856, the fourth child of Margaret Gallagher and William Heath. She hadn't yet been born when the family was enumerated in Ward 5 on June 4, 1855. By 1860, William was gone, probably deceased. Margaret and the surviving children had moved to Ward 2, where Margaret was supporting the family by taking in lodgers. By 1865-1866, they'd moved again, this time to Ward 6.
The 1875 New York State Census found Mary living at 589 Hicks Street in Ward 6 with her mother and two younger brothers. Mary was working as paper box maker. On August 27, 1879 she married Michael Francis ("Frank") Dowd.
Like Mary, Frank was the Brooklyn-born child of Irish parents, Michael and Maria Dowd. He was born in Ward 6 in or around September 1854. By 1870 he was working as an errand boy and by 1875, both he and his older brother had become bookkeepers.
Frank may have had a daughter from a previous relationship at the time he married Mary. In the 1880 US Census they were enumerated at 111 Harrison Street (now Kane Street) in Ward 6. Living with them was two-year-old Amie or Annie Dowd. At the time of the enumeration, Mary and Frank had been married a bit more than nine months. It certainly wasn't unknown for young couples to marry after already having had a child together. However, I was able to find records for three more children born to Mary and Frank in the next twelve years. For the 1900 US Census, Mary stated that she'd born three children, of whom were still living. No one ever asked seems to have asked Frank how many children he'd had over the years. The logical conclusion is that Amie/Annie was Frank's child but not Mary's. She vanishes after the 1880 US Census, possibly gone to live with her mother, possibly deceased.
As mentioned, over the next twelve years Mary and Frank had three more children:
By 1892, Mary and Frank Dowd and their children were living at 85 16th Street in the 22nd Ward of Brooklyn. Living with them were Mary's mother, Margaret Heath, and a nine-year-old girl named May Clinton. Unfortunately the 1892 New York State Census didn't record relationships within households, and I haven't been able to figure out who May is. Nine seems young for a servant, even in 1892. Frank had two brothers, one older and one younger, but no sisters, which makes it unlikely that May is his niece. She vanishes after the 1892 census.
As of 1900, Mary, Frank, their children and Margaret had moved to 96 15th Street. Mary was recorded as having had three children, two living, i.e. Laura and Francis. 19-year-old Laura was working as tea packer. In or about 1903, she married Charles Story from Ogdensburg, a port town on the St Lawrence River in upstate New York. Their oldest son Charles Jr was born in Brooklyn on August 29, 1904.
By 1905, the household at 96 15th Street had grown to include both the Charles, father and son. Frank Dowd was still working as a bookkeeper, Charles Story was working as a steam fitter and Frank Dowd Jr was working as a clerk.
The next few years brought many changes. Margaret Heath passed away on March 29, 1907. She was quickly followed by her grandson Francis Jr, who died on April 22, 1907, at the age of 18. Both were buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, row 19, plot 26. After the two deaths, there was some good news: a daughter was born to Charles and Laura on August 12, 1907, and named Mildred. But one more death was still to come. Mary Heath Dowd died on August 31, 1909. She too was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, although I can't find a grave record.
At the time of Mary's death, she and presumably Frank were living at 342 75th Street. In the 1910 US Census, Frank was enumerated as living with Charles and Laura at 254-256 73rd Street. He passed away on June 10, 1913, and was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, row 19, plot 26.
Frank's death record gives his father's name as Michael Dowd and his mother's name as Maria Heath. That would be an incredible coincidence, considering that his wife was named Mary Heath. However, I haven't been able to find any other documentation to support this. Maria Dowd's death record - she died on July 2, 1901, during a heat wave - doesn't include her parents' names. I haven't been able to find Frank's brothers' marriage or death records. It's entirely possible that when Laura Dowd Story was asked for her paternal grandmother's birth name, she made a mistake and gave her own mother's birth name instead.