{"id":1531,"date":"2026-10-31T17:32:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T17:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/?page_id=1531"},"modified":"2026-11-07T14:50:09","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T14:50:09","slug":"morrison-research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/?page_id=1531","title":{"rendered":"Morrison origins and unresolved family stories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style>.family-topic-breadcrumb{font-size:.95rem;margin:0 0 22px}.family-topic-intro{max-width:68ch;line-height:1.7}.family-topic-menu{display:grid;grid-template-columns:repeat(2,minmax(0,1fr));gap:14px;margin:26px 0}.family-topic-menu a{display:block;padding:18px;border:1px solid #c9cec8;border-radius:4px;background:#f5f2e9;text-decoration:none;color:#293d30;min-height:52px}.family-topic-menu strong{display:block;font-size:1.1rem}.family-topic-menu span{display:block;margin-top:6px;color:#4f574e;line-height:1.55;font-size:.95rem}.family-topic-related{border-top:1px solid #d8d2c5;margin-top:32px;padding-top:18px}.family-topic-related a{display:inline-block;margin:6px 22px 6px 0}.family-topic-breadcrumb a:focus-visible,.family-topic-menu a:focus-visible,.family-topic-related a:focus-visible{outline:3px solid #98513b;outline-offset:4px}.wp-block-post-content:has(.family-topic-breadcrumb){max-width:960px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto}.wp-block-post-content:has(.family-topic-breadcrumb)>p{line-height:1.7}.wp-block-post-content:has(.family-topic-breadcrumb) :is(h2,h3){scroll-margin-top:24px}.wp-block-post-content:has(.family-topic-breadcrumb) a{overflow-wrap:anywhere}@media(max-width:600px){.family-topic-menu{grid-template-columns:1fr}.family-topic-menu a{padding:16px}}<\/style>\n<nav class=\"family-topic-breadcrumb\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/\">Home<\/a> \u203a <a href=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/?page_id=12\">Morrison family<\/a> \u203a Morrison origins and unresolved family stories<\/nav>\n<p class=\"family-topic-intro\">Origins, family traditions and the connections still being checked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"people-and-places\">People, places, and stories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The family story that Michael James Morrison traveled as a stowaway is still unproved. The recollections that he worked for a railroad and Barbara was a Harvey Girl also remain family history awaiting contemporary records. The wedding notice documents reported steel-plant work in January 1920; it does not settle whether Michael worked for a railroad at another time. [M3, M8]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In October 2026, the New Mexico History Museum reported that its search had found no direct link between Barbara and Fred Harvey, the Alvarado Hotel or New Mexico. It also found no name match in the Belen Harvey House employee list it consulted. The museum emphasized the uncertain survival and dispersal of Alvarado records. That limited search leaves the family\u2019s Harvey Girl story open; it does not disprove it. [M10]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"research-questions\">Research questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Where in Ireland was Michael James Morrison born? When did he arrive in the United States, through which port, and on which ship? Can a naturalization record identify his Irish town or parish? What contemporary records could test the employment and stowaway stories? What further records can explain why the 1920 parish entry names Michael\u2019s father as Patrick Morrison while the 1968 death certificate names him as Michael Morrison?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">An Irish lead: the Morrisroes of Bockagh<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The parish registers give us a clearer picture of one family we are checking. Peter Morrisroe and Bridget Towey appear as parents in Bockagh baptism entries from Sarah in 1860 through Edward in 1880. A marriage entry dated February 12, 1857 names Petrus Morrisroe and Brigida Towey, the Latin forms of Peter and Bridget, although it gives no townland to prove they are the same couple. These records identify a family worth following, but they do not yet establish how, or whether, it connects to Michael James Morrison. We still need a record linking the generations, rather than treating similarly named people as the same person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sources:<\/strong> National Library of Ireland, Castlemore and Kilcolman parish registers: <a href=\"https:\/\/registers.nli.ie\/pages\/vtls000632291_017\">Sarah\u2019s baptism, October 26, 1860, register 04226\/03, image 17<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/registers.nli.ie\/pages\/vtls000632294_087\">Edward\u2019s baptism, August 6, 1880, register 04226\/06, image 87<\/a>; and <a href=\"https:\/\/registers.nli.ie\/pages\/vtls000632289_069\">Petrus Morrisroe and Brigida Towey\u2019s marriage, February 12, 1857, register 04226\/01, image 69<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"morrisroe-family-evidence-2026\" aria-labelledby=\"morrisroe-family-evidence-heading\"><h2 id=\"morrisroe-family-evidence-heading\">A stronger connection to the Morrisroe family<\/h2><p>The evidence now strongly supports Michael Morrison\u2019s membership in the Patrick Morrisroe and Bridget Byrne family of County Mayo. Michael\u2019s marriage to Barbara Kunkel at Wien in 1920 names his parents as Patrick Morrison and Bridget, n\u00e9e Byrne.<\/p><p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/image\/839405762\/\">1964 obituary for John Joseph Morrisroe of Palo Alto<\/a> names a brother, Michael Morrisroe of Missouri, and a sister, Mrs. Katherine Jordan of New York. This is a direct published sibling statement. Identifying that Missouri brother as Barbara\u2019s husband is a cumulative inference from the parental, sibling and place evidence\u2014not something the obituary alone says. Together, those records make the family connection <strong>strongly probable<\/strong>.<\/p><p>A Kilmovee baptism records Michael on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.familysearch.org\/ark:\/61903\/3:1:3Q9M-CSMZ-YSKR-L\">August 29, 1886, with parents Pat Morrisroe and Bridget Beirne<\/a>. The corresponding civil candidate reports birth on September 3, after that baptism. This is a real source-date conflict: the exact birthday remains unresolved, although the family identification is strengthened. The baptism date must not be substituted for a birth date. His exact identification remains qualified: American records give different birthdays, the draft record says Roscommon, and the 1968 death certificate names Michael rather than Patrick as his father. We have not explained those differences or found a formal name-change record. The earlier Bockagh family described above remains a separate, unjoined lead.<\/p><p><strong>Sources:<\/strong> St. Mary of the Angels, Wien, marriage register 1871\u20131920, page 154, entry 1, January 7, 1920 (family-held parish scan); <em>The Peninsula Times Tribune<\/em>, January 13, 1964, page 4; and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.mo.gov\/images\/archives\/deathcerts\/1968\/1968_00007081.PDF\">Michael\u2019s Missouri death certificate<\/a>. Newspaper images may require a subscription.<\/p><\/section>\n<section id=\"later-morrisroe-records\"><h2>Later Irish records: siblings and a marriage to follow<\/h2><p>Two more Kilmovee baptism originals add to the Patrick Morrisroe and Bridget Byrne\/Beirne family evidence. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.familysearch.org\/ark:\/61903\/3:1:3Q9M-CSMZ-YSKR-J\">John\u2019s entry, image 810<\/a>, names Pat Morrisroe and Bridget Byrne and falls in the 1888 sequence. Its exact date and locality remain unresolved. An earlier EastMayo transcription suggests July, with the day unreadable; that is a derivative clue, not a date securely read from the original. The August 9 civil and July 17 American birthday statements remain in conflict.<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.familysearch.org\/ark:\/61903\/3:1:3Q9M-CSMZ-YSKP-J\">Kate\u2019s baptism, image 820<\/a>, names Pat Morrisroe and Bridget Beirne\/Birne and appears dated November 22, 1890, consistent with the separately recorded November 16 civil birth. Locality and sponsor surnames remain uncertain. These baptisms do not by themselves identify the later American adults or establish an arrival date. A bounded search for Patrick\u2019s 1896 baptism found no identifiable entry, but the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.familysearch.org\/ark:\/61903\/3:1:3Q9M-CSMZ-B31L\">critical early-September leaf is torn<\/a>; no absence conclusion is justified. FamilySearch images may require sign-in.<\/p><h3>Mary Morrisroe and James O\u2019Donnell<\/h3><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishgenealogy.ie\/files\/civil\/marriage_returns\/marriages_1917\/09755\/5540603.pdf\">July 1, 1917 Kilmovee civil marriage<\/a> records James O\u2019Donnell, a full-age bachelor and farmer of Drumacoo\/Ballaghaderreen, son of John O\u2019Donnell, farmer, and Mary Morrisroe of Raherolis, daughter of Pat Morrisroe, farmer. Witnesses are John Golden and Ann[a] Dalton. The family-held parish entry (DGS 007768671, item 9, image 97) corroborates the marriage and names witnesses John Golden and Anne Dalton, but supplies no parents; its locality readings remain provisional. Witness roles do not prove kinship.<\/p><p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishgenealogy.ie\/files\/civil\/birth_returns\/births_1922\/01143\/1477516.pdf\">1922 birth, entry 232<\/a>, names John Joseph, son of James and Mary formerly Morrisroe. The <a href=\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/collections\/search-the-census\/view-pdf\/?doc=nai003187083\">1911 Drumacoo household<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/collections\/search-the-1926-census\/view-1926-pdf\/?doc=Drimacoo_3555_0009_0018_0_00035.pdf\">1926 household<\/a> strengthen the groom\u2019s family comparison. A <a href=\"https:\/\/registers.nli.ie\/pages\/vtls000632294_046\">1878 baptism, entry 628<\/a>, names James, son of John O\u2019Donnell and Mary Golden of Drumacoo; its apparent April 4 date is partly obscured. Matching father and townland make this a strong candidate for the groom, not a completed identification; the 1926 age differs by about a year. Mary\u2019s identification with the Mary Morrisroe born in 1884, the proposed 1939 grandson connection and any American connection remain unproved.<\/p><\/section>\n<nav class=\"family-topic-related\" aria-label=\"Related pages\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/?page_id=12\">\u2190 Morrison family<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/?page_id=1530\">Morrison marriage, census and source notes<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/?page_id=1522\">Morrison family line<\/a><\/nav>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home \u203a Morrison family \u203a Morrison origins and unresolved family stories Origins, family traditions and the connections still being checked. People, places, and stories The family story that Michael James Morrison traveled as a stowaway is still unproved. The recollections that he worked for a railroad and Barbara was a Harvey Girl also remain family [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":12,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1531","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1531"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2122,"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1531\/revisions\/2122"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}