A Nod to My Irish Ancestor on St. Patrick's Day

Thanks to my uncle Bruce Carroll, the unofficial keeper of the family genealogy, I've learned more about one of our ancestors, Capt. William Haggarty (who until this morning I had believed spelled his name "Haggerty" (Isn't that a song?)

When I was a little girl, his portrait hung in my grandparents' Upper East Side apartment. It was a huge treat for me to stay overnight with them; but I slept on the sofa in the living room, and in truth was terrified to fall asleep, because I was dead certain that Grandpa Haggarty's eyes -- oh, those black Irish eyes! -- were following me wherever I moved.

Grandpa Haggarty's portrait was painted most likely in the 1830s during a time when the middle and merchant classes displayed their wealth and taste by having themselves painted. When you look more closely at the image, you can see that the face, rich in detail and character, was painted by the studio master; but after that, things tend to go south. The hands are not well delineated and appear like soft, mushy appendages -- hardly those of a captain of industry. And Haggerty's garments fade to black fairly quickly as well. The lack of detail in his hands and garments leads me to conclude that the balance of his portrait was completed by the painter's assistants or apprentices.

Here's the family history from my uncle:

Capt. William Haggarty* told the census taker in 1850 that he was born in 1798 "on the ocean" Given the family sense of humor I'm not sure if he was making a joke about his life as a packet boat captain...or if he was really born on the ship coming from Ireland. In 1850 he lived in New Jersey and was a neighbor of Commodore Vanderbilt. Family legend has it that Haggarty was asked by Vanderbilt if he wanted to invest in this great new iron horse technology (eventually the NY Central RR) but Capt. Haggarty felt folks would rather take a boat than a risky thing like a railroad which at the time basically followed the river and Erie canal routes and even had to pay the Erie canal for lost revenue.

Haggarty had one daughter Leonora aka Leah who was born in 2/28/1830 died 12/26/1906. Her mother died in childbirth (name unknown) the painting was done in 1835. Capt. Haggarty died in 1877. Leah Haggarty married [Jewish] German immigrant Jacob Strauss (who became a US citizen in NY March 27, 1855 and married Leah Sept. 1, 1857. They had three children Caroline (aka Carrie) 10/24/1858 - 10/4/1900.

[My maternal grandfather] Carroll [Carroll] was named after her.

Leonora Strauss 7/14/1860 (known to [my mother] Leda and [her brother] Bruce as Aunt Nonie) died 10/19/1942 She had married Edward Harzfeld on Jan 9, 1883.

And [my maternal great-grandmother, Carroll's mother] Bertha 2/21/1864 - 7/6/1959 Married Lucius Weinschenk 9/10/1895 had Carroll 4/11/1902. Lucius died May 30, 1912 in Buffalo NY where he was running the Neal Institute which appears to have found the cure for every disease known to man.

* (Haggarty appears to be the spelling from the family bible...this might be an example of the times and what George Washington, who was alive when Haggarty was born, is alleged to have said: "I have no respect for a man who can spell a word but one way.")

So, here's to the Irish today! May the winds be always at your back and your eyes never lose their smile. And may you continue to be wonderful storytellers!

Anyone else out there with Irish heritage who would like to share something about their ancestors today?