Exploring Mike's Family History in San Francisco

 Chasing History: Exploring My Ancestral Roots - Blog Post #58 By Tonya McQuade

Back in August 2024, I wrote a blog post about my husband Mike’s family history after our visit to Oregon City, Oregon, where several generations of his family had lived over the years (see THIS LINK). It was there in Oregon City that his grandfather, Thomas Victor McQuade, was born to Michael and Ella (Walker) McQuade on 14 Jan 1900. The three of them lived on Railroad Avenue, according to the 1900 U.S. Census, with Michael working as a “woolen weaver.” 

Map of Tyrone County, Ireland - one of the six counties of Northern Ireland

Michael, along with his mother and six siblings, immigrated from Tyrone County, Ireland, to Canada in 1881 when he was six years old. They departed from Londonderry on May 27, 1881, for a predicted 32-day journey on the Circassion, bound for Quebec, according to Passenger Records. Their father Thomas must have traveled separately – I cannot find him in the Passenger Records, but he is later there with them. Perhaps he came before them to find a job and a place to live.

The seven children ranged in age from one to eleven, according to the Passenger Records, but those ages do not all match up with the birth records I found on RootsIreland. It’s possible that they “fudged” the ages a bit since traveling across the ocean was cheaper if you were under 12. It’s also possible, though, that someone recorded the dates and/or ages inaccurately, as often happens in genealogical records – just one of the things that can make this kind of research difficult.

The family eventually settled in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, for that’s where son Patrick was born in March 1882. Many Irish people lived in Peterborough at the time working for the railroad, so perhaps that is what Thomas did. A note on Thomas’s obituary mentions it should also be printed in “Peterboro, Ontario,” and a note on Maria’s 1905 obituary says to also print copies in Ontario, Canada, and Michigan newspapers, so perhaps the family lived in each of those locations for a while. 

To read the rest of this blog post, head over to my website: https://www.tonyagrahammcquade.com/blog-chasing-history/exploring-mikes-family-history-in-san-francisco