FAMILY HISTORY: MADDEN

THE FAMILY OF JAMES & ANNA MADDEN

CENSUS INFORMATION:

 

James and Anna Madden, along with their six eldest children, were born in Ireland and came to the United States in about 1848/49. They were apparently living in Ohio in the 1850s but I have been unable to find them in the 1850 Census. By the time of the 1860 Census they had settled in Pennsylvania:

 

1860 CENSUS OF PORTER TOWNSHIP, CLARION COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA:
NAME: AGE: SEX: COLOR: OCCUPATION: BIRTHPLACE:
James Madden 50 M White Ore Digger Ireland
Ann Madden 44 F White - Ireland
Patrick Madden 16 M White Ore Digger Ireland
John Madden 15 M White - Ireland
James Madden 12 M White - Ohio
Daniel Madden 9 M White - Ohio
William Madden 6 M White - Pennsylvania
Mary Madden 2 M White - Pennsylvania
NOTES:
1: Living in Leatherwood, Porter Township, Clarion County, Pennsylvania.
2: James and Anna's eldest child, Annie, was in her mid-20s and was living away from home. She may have already been married to her husband, Edward Hanrahan.
3: The space for the value of James' real estate was left blank, which I presume means that he did not own his property. The value of his personal estate was listed as $45.
4: James Jr. and Daniel were listed as having attended school during the the year.

 

In the 10 years between the 1860 and 1870 Censuses, life changed considerably for James Madden. His wife died, his youngest daughter probably also died, his eldest children had left home, and he had changed jobs, relocating to Brady's Bend in Armstrong County:

 

1870 CENSUS OF BRADY'S BEND, ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA:
NAME: AGE: SEX: COLOR: OCCUPATION: BIRTHPLACE:
James Madden 60 M White Furnace Laborer Ireland
James Madden 20 M White Coal Miner Ireland
Daniel Madden 15 M White Mule Driver Ireland
William Madden 12 M White At Home Ireland
1: Living in Brady's Bend Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.
2: The ages given in any Census are usually always suspect and here they are questionable. The places of birth are incorrect for everyone other than James Sr.
3: As mentioned above, it would seem that James' youngest daughter had died by 1870 as she is not listed with her father and I can find no further record of her.
4: The value of James Sr.'s personal estate was given as $100.
5: All but William were listed as having both parents of foreign birth. William's parents were born in Ireland so this is an oversight.
6: William was listed as having attended school during the year.
7: James Sr. was listed as a male U.S. Citizen aged 21 years and upwards.

 

By 1880 all of James' living children had left home and James was retired and living in Brady's Bend:

 

1880 CENSUS OF BRADY'S BEND, ARMSTRONG COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA:
NAME: COLOR: SEX: AGE: RELATIONSHIP: CONDITION: OCCUPATION: BIRTHPLACE:
James Madden White M 71 - - At Home Ireland
1: Living in Brady's Bend Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.
2: Both of James' parents were listed as having been born in Ireland.
3: Although the space for marital condition was left blank, there was a "W" in the space above, that for a 1 year old child. I think this was a slip of the pen and was meant to indicate that James was a widower.
4: All of the above information is taken from scanned images at www.ancestry.co.uk

 

I can find no record of James Madden Sr after the 1880 Census. There is a family legend that he returned to Ireland and died there, but this has not yet been confirmed.

 


Marriage Page Baptism Records Burial Records
Surname Index Home

 

Updated: 29 Jan 2017