John GALLAGHER

                   1870 Census of Philadelphia, PA
1880 Census of Philadelphia, PA
1900 Census of Philadelphia, PA
City Directories of Philadelphia

Parts of a letter written by James Petty (Genealogist) to Joanne Decker:

       On the Gallagher family, we studied the original 1900 Census to see if it would give us a better understanding of John Gallagher.  After our research we realized that the information in various censuses conflicted, and John appeared to get older the further back in time we went.  The 1900 Census indicated that John was born in August 1843, and that he had been married since 1867.  It also indicated that he had been born in Ireland, and that his family immigrated in 1849 to America.  His wife Mary A. was born in May 1847, in PA and had eight children, all of whom were still living in 1900.

       We searched for John in the 1910 Census of Philadelphia, but did not find him.  We did find his widow Mary A. Gallagher.  She was listed as 69 years old, a widow, and the mother of 8 children, of which one had died since 1900.  Four of her seven living children were living in her home, along with one grandchild.  These were:  Peter age 30, George (widowed) age 40, Leo age 28, and Mary A. age 41.  The grand daughter Maria was 8.  These were all single.

       Knowing that John Gallagher died between 1900 and 1910, we began searching the Philadelphia Death Indexes.  We searched the years 1900 - 1905, and having found no sign of your John, we then proceeded to search Philadelphia City Directories.  This was a less time consuming activity, and it would help us to know if we had the right John Gallagher because we would know his address.  The 1900 and 1910 Census showed that the family lived on 20th Street, and the family worked in Real Estate.  We located John in the 1905 directory at 1145 South 20th Street, working in Real Estate.  We found him again in 1907 and 1908 at the same address.  Then in 1909 we found Mary A. Gallagher, widow of John, at 1145 S. 20th.

       We returned to the death indexes and searched 1908 and 1909, for a John Gallagher,(of which there were quite a few), age 64 or 65 (based on his age in 1900).  We didn't find a John that would fit.  In hindsight, we now know that John could have been born as early as 1835, and we should have been looking for anyone who was 64 to 74 years old.  We did check for the broader age in 1909, and found no record, so he must have died in the latter part of 1908.  This still needs to be checked, and a death certificate sent for.

       We began studying the 1870 Census to try to indentify John Gallagher.  There is an index, which shows the name, age, district and page number.  At that time we searched for a John who was about 27 years old.  He should have been married to Mary A. with children Mary A. and George, but none of the entries for John around that age fit.  We tried finding information in that census, but realized that we needed to know what ward and district the family was living in.  We searched City Directories for 1870 to 1872, but there were 40 or so John Gallagher's in each year of the directories, and we didn't know who your John Gallagher was.

       I went back over all of the information studied and evaluated in previous research, and determined that our approach to the problem was incorrect.  We needed to find the right Gallagher family in census and directory records in order to progress in any of the records (i.e., Naturalization, Vital Records, Probate, Deeds, etc.)  So I pulled back to the 1880 Census and began looking for a common thread.  It turned up quickly.  Margaret Ehrmann was the key.  She was living with John Gallagher and her daughter Mary A. Gallagher in 1880.  We searched the city directories in 1880, and found Margaret Ehrmann, at 1143 South 20th Street (the number had changed just two digits from what it was in 1900.)  John Gallagher was listed there as a Grocer.

       We searched the 1860 Census for Margaret Ehrmann, and found her in the 4th Ward of Philadelphia.  She was 53 years old, born in France, and living with her daughter Mary, age 19, born in Pennsylvania.  We also searched the whole of Ward 4, for all Gallagher families, looking for John Gallagher as a single man, or as a child in a home.  He got older as we went back.  In 1900 he was 56; in 1880 he was 42; in 1870 he was 35.  Thus he could have been born anywhere between 1835 and 1843.  In 1860 he should have been 17 years old.  We did not find anyone who fit.

       Studying over these records and findings, it is evident that John Gallagher, was a dry goods porter in 1867 to 1870, then he was a clerk, and by 1875 became a grocer.  The appearance of John Gallagher in 1863 to 1869, and later, who was a grocer, and a clerk waylaid me for a while.  When I found that John had a son John Jr. in 1865 in his home, who worked as a grocer with his father, who then left home in 1866, and became a clerk, and disappeared it seemed, at the same time that your John Gallagher showed up with Margaret Ehrmann, the the grocery business, and took over the business for her.  It seemed logical then that your John was the John Jr. shown in the 1865 and 1866 directories.  Between 1860 and 1863, I had a more difficult time identifying John Gallagher Sr. as he wasn't listed at the family home of 1180 So. 10th Street.  I knew he was in business with his brother James Gallagher because he had been listed as part of the business called "James Gallagher and Bro." in 1865.  Then in 1860 I found that James Gallagher was listed as living at 1180 So. 10th Street.