Thomas Cunnea: When Born 1859-1862?

Research note by Wesley Johnston, begun 16 Feb 2016, last updated 2 Mar 2016

The Problem: What Year Was Thomas CUNNEA Born?

The various records that give evidence for the birth date of Thomas CUNNEA all agree that his birthday was August 7. But the records give explicit and implicit evidence for his brith year as 1859, 1860, 1861 and 1862. This research note brings together all of the evidence for evaluation and reaching a working conclusion, in the absence of a birth or baptismal record.

In general, records at or nearest after an event are more reliable for accuracy of the date than those after an event. The most dubious records for birth information are those of death and burial, since the information was usually given by someone (spouse, child) who had no personal knowledge of the birth because they were not there and in fact may not have yet been born themselves. So I will begin by considering the earliest records first.

NOTE 2 Mar 2016: I found the baptism of Thomas (as COONEY) at Kilbroney in County Down on 7 Aug 1859, confirming my conclusion that his birth was in 1859. However, there is no record of his birth, so that his birthdate is not documented, and I am now carrying him as born "bef 7 Aug 1859".

The Earliest Records: 1881-1890, supporting birth in 1859

The earliest records that I have found for Thomas include one uncertain one (the passenger list). But all three point to 1859 as his birth year.

1881-Jun-6 Arrival in New York

The passenger list for the 6 Jun 1881 arrival of the ocean liner "Helvetia" in New York (originating from Liverpool with a stop in Queenstown, Ireland, to board more passengers) shows three COONEY family members traveling together. all from Ireland bound for Chicago:

- Thomas COONEY - 22 Laborer

- Mary COONEY - 25 Spinster

- Elizabeth COONEY - 54 Matron

Since we know Thomas CUNNEA was born 7 Aug, then if Thomas COONEY really is the same person, his age of 22 on 6 Jun 1881 would place his birth as 7 Aug 1859.

1888-Jul-1 Marriage

His age is given as 28 on the marriage license. Since he married a bit over a month before his birthday, his 7 Aug 1888 birthday would thus have been his 29th birthday, which places his birth as 7 Aug 1859.

1890-Mar-16 Birth of Son John Patrick CUNNEA

Thomas' son John's 16 Mar 1890 birth record shows Thomas as age 30. So at his 7 Aug 1890 birthday, he would have turned 31, which places his birth as 7 Aug 1859.

The Later Records: 1900-1910, supporting 1859 and 1860

The later records began to shift his age to one year younger than the earlier records support, so that the later records would place his birth at 7 Aug 1860. However, the 1900 census has a gross error, which could be understood to support birth in 1859.

1900-Jun-9 1900 Census

The 1900 census for Thomas was a mess. The enumerator gave his age at his last birthday as 39, which would place his birth as 7 Aug 1860. But instead of Aug 1860, the enumerator wrote his birth as Aug 1840. Some later mis-guided person penciled in a change of his age to 59, on the assumption that the birth year was correct, when in fact it was the age that should have been 40 and not the birth year. So the age as written would place his birth as 7 Aug 1860. But if the 40 that was erroneously written as the birth year was in fact supposed to be his age, then that would place his brith as 7 Aug 1859.

1910-Apr-22 1910 Census

By 1910, Thomas CUNNEA was living in the house that would be his final residence. In 1910, the address was 2702 Butler Avenue, but by his death in 1915 it would be renamed to 2072 Normal Avenue. The census showed him as 49 years old, which means that on his next birthday on 7 Aug 1910 he would turn 50, which would place his birth at 7 Aug 1860.

The Last Records: 1915, supporting 1861 and 1862

1915-May-30 Death

Different indexes show his birthdate on his death record as 7 Aug 1861 or 7 Aug 1862. Death records are always the most dubious records about birth, since the information on the death record almost certainly came from someone who had only second or third-hand knowledge of the birth. Headstones are similarly dubious about the birth year. It does seem clear that the family celebrated Thomas' birth on August 7 each year, so that the month and day were known. But as the census records showed, in later years his age shifted a year from what the earliest records support, and so his birth year also shifted. And this shift continued further on his death record.

Conclusion: I am carrying Thomas CUNNEA as born "bef 7 Aug 1859"

The earliest records are the most reliable. And the three earliest records found thus far all point to Thomas CUNNEA's birth year as 1859. The later records shifted his birth first one year later and then two and finally three years later. But the earliest records are most reliable and are unanimous in pointing to his birth year as 1859. And thus I will carry him as born 7 Aug 1859. I am open to revising this if definitive documentary evidence supports such a revision.

The above paragraph was written 21 Feb 2016. On 2 Mar 2016, I found the baptismal record of Thomas, with the surname spelled COONEY in the record. He was baptized 7 Aug 1859 at Kilbroney parish in County Down. So I have amended the underlined conclusion statement above to add "bef" to his 7 Aug 1859 birthdate, since I have no documentation of his birth date. He may have been born the same day that he was baptized, but I do not know if he chose to use 7 Aug as his birthdate because it was the date of his baptism or if he really was also born on that day.