Thomas Grady

     Thomas Grady was born in 1821 at County Clare, Ireland.

There are several differing dates given for the birth of Thomas and they are generally in the 1820's in Ireland. The only suggestion that Thomas was born in County Clare is in the comment made by Ellen McNamara Grady and passed down through the Curtin family. Ellen would say of Thomas that he came from County Clare, where the wild ones come from.^1,2,3,4,5,6 He was the son of Michael Grady.

Thomas Grady was enumerated with John Tracy on the census of 30 March 1851 at Dudley, Worcestershire, England, as Thomas Grady. Thomas is a lodger in the house. He is 30 years old, unmarried and works as a shoemaker. He was born in Ireland.

During the 10 years that Thomas is a resident of Dudley, his occupation evolves from Shoemaker to Journeyman Shoemaker to Master Shoemaker. The mustering out certificate dated 18 Aug 1863, the 1870 Ashland, Pennsylvania and the 1880 Shenandoah, Pennsylvania census all indicate occupation as Shoemaker. All five of the birth certificates for the children of Thomas Grady born in Dudley indicate shoemaker as occupation.^7,8

Marriage banns for Thomas Grady and Ann Scott McCloskey were published between 6 July 1851 and 20 July 1851 at St. Thomas, Dudley, Worcestershire, England.⁹

Thomas Grady married Ann Scott McCloskey, daughter of John McCloskey and Mary Kelly, on 5 August 1851 at St Thomas of Canterbury, Dudley, Worcestershire, England. Thomas and Ann were married in the Parish Church according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Established Church after banns.In the presence of John and Eliza Tingram. James C. Brown D/L Vicar officiated.

     The marrage of Roman Catholics in the Anglican Church was quite common practice after Hardwicke's Marriage Act of 1754 right up until 1837 when Civil Registration was introduced. However, 1851 is quite late to find Catholics still marrying in the Established Church. It is possible that Ann was not a practicing Catholic at the time of the marriage.¹⁰

Thomas Grady registers the birth of his son Patrick on 4 Jul 1860 in Dudley, Worcestershire, England but he is not present in the Ann Grady household which was enumerated 7 Apr 1861. It is probable that he emigrated to the States ahead of his wife and children sometime during this period. Also missing from the 1861 Dudley household is his son Thomas who may have made the journey with his father, Thomas.

     Thomas Grady began military service on 8 July 1863 at Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania.^11,12 He ended military service on 18 August 1863 at Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania.⁸

Joseph Lieberman: Even though Thomas had a wife and five children, he joined or was drafted in the Union Army's Pennsylvania Volunteers in July of 1864, then mustered out in less than a month. Six years later he relocated his family, for some reason, in Ashland, still in the anthracite region. There his last son was born, Ann Grady died and he remarried.¹³

A short description of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic church in Ashland: The society of English-speaking Catholics worshiping in this church was organized and ministered to by Rev. Joseph O'Keefe, of Pottsville, and later by his coadjutor, Rev. Thomas Lindon, under whose ministry a church building was erected, in which mass was first celebrated on St. Patrick's day, 1857, by Father Lindon. In September of that year Rev. Michael Sheridan became the pastor of the church, the building being at that time a mere shell and the society heavily in debt. Through his efforts the indebtedness was liquidated, the church finished and furnished, and in 1863 an addition built. The church building and parsonage are on Chestnut street. The parish, which originally included Centralia, Mt. Carmel, Girardville, and the planes, has been curtailed by the erection of other charges within its limits, and now only includes Ashland and Gordon. The membership of the church has fluctuated considerable, and at the time of writing this sketch it was principally made up of Irish immigrants from Connaught.

Early History of Ashland

The area where Ashland now stands was nothing but a tangled mass of virgin forest and thick under brush. In 1805 a company was incorporated to build a road to the follow the best route from Reading to Sunbury. The route angled its way between the mountains, through what is now Fountain Springs and on to Mount Carmel. The road took from 1807 to 1812 to complete, but it was opened to full passage in October 1808. A traveler could now from Sunbury to Philadelphia in a week's time. Called the Centre Turnpike, it was a toll road with two stations located in the Ashland area. Gate #6 was at the foot of Broad Mountain, about three miles east of Gordon, and gate #7 was located a half mile west of Ashland, just above the hamlet called Germantown. The turnpike went out of service in 1885, but the existence of Ashland is directly attributed to that road.

The rolling hills that encircle the town created quite a problem for the large Conestoga wagons and stagecoaches. History tells us that the first man to inhabit the land was Jacob Rodenberger. Little is known about hi, just that he built the crude log cabin that became a stopping-off tavern for travelers on the Centre Turnpike. We believe he may have been employed by the stage coach company that ran the turnpike. He was in the area from 1820 to possibly as late as 1840. Rodenberger's tavern and barn were located in what is now the block between 7th and 8th, between Middle and Centre Streets.

The first interest in the area was the virgin forest for timber. With the discovery of anthracite coal in the region, and its growing importance as a fuel, there was a new attraction. A frequent traveler on the Centre Turnpike was a Pottsville resident, Burd S. Patterson. As he gazed up the sloping ravine running westward from the Mahanoy Creek, he envisioned a prosperous town- especially if coal were discovered beneath the ground. He was criticized for even mentioning the idea of a town in such a forsaken place, and it was referred to as "Patterson's folly" but his faith was not dissuaded and he set out to purchase the land.

He persuaded John Penn Brock and James A. Hart of Philadelphia, to into partnership with him. They purchased around 400 acres around Rodenberger's tavern from the Bank of Philadelphia at a uniform price of thirty dollars per acre. In the same area they bought the same the same amount of land from Judge Gordon, of Reading, for eleven dollars an acre. The original purchase was in 1845 and was named the Ashland Estates in honor of Henry Clay's home near Lexington, Kentucky. At that time our country imported much of its coal from Wales. Clay was a strong advocate of the high tariff on imports. When the tariff went into effect it halted the flow of imported coal and, should the local owners strike the mineral in this area, they stood to profit greatly, through Clay's efforts. There are more than twenty communities in the United States named Ashland.

In the fall of 1846, and experienced miner named Patrick Devine was hired to explore the coal veins crossing the tract. In 1847, the tremendous task of clearing the land was begun. Samuel Lewis surveyed the site and Peter W. Sheafer, of Pottsvile, laid out the town. Sheafer planned many of the town in Schuylkill County. The main street was named Centre after the turnpike. Other streets followed the old Philadelphia rhyme: "Chestnut, Walnut, Spruce and Pine; Market Arch, Race and Vine." Samuel Grant later bought Burd Patterson's interest in the tract. It's curious that Brock and Grant had streets named in their honor, but nothing carries neither Patterson's nor Hart's name.

The first framed houses resembled company houses, built to attract immigrants. Before pricks were manufactured locally, native stone was use for the construction of many early buildings. Some of these early stone structures that remain are; the stone depot, the statin house and St. John's Episcopal Church. The first brick building was erected in 1852 for Col. J.J. Connors, a pioneer in the area coal operations. It was located on the northwest corner of Third and Centre Streets. The town developed rapidly, and by 1857 the population had grown to 3,500 with 500 buildings. Until this time, Ashland Estates was part of Butler Township. Corporation as a borough was granted February 13, 1857. Circa 1870, the Ashland Estates was sold to the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company.^14,15

     Thomas Grady was naturalized on 7 October 1868 at Pottsville, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania; Witness to the character of the petitioner was James B. McCamant. It was filed from Ashland. The note send Foster Ashland appear on the cover of the petition.¹⁶

Thomas Grady is head of household on the census of 1 June 1870 at Ashland, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, as Thomas Grady. Thomas is listed as a white male aged 40 years. His occupation is shoemaker and he was born in Ireland. Enumerated with him were William Grady, Michael Grady, Patrick Grady and Joseph Grady.¹⁷

Thomas Grady married Ellen McNamara, daughter of Patrick McNamara and Ellen Mullins, on 7 November 1870 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Ashland, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Witness to the wedding are Michael Donahue and Catherine Horan. A Michael Donahue lives adjacent to Thomas as indicated by the 1870 (Ashland) census. He is a coal miner and his wife is Rosa Ann. The 1890 census for widows of Civil War soldiers list a Roseane Donahue of Ashland.¹⁸

Joseph Lieberman: Since he would have been self-employed as a shoemaker, Thomas should have been able to support his family in Shenandoah, one of Schuylkill County's most prosperous towns. Nevertheless, his wife kept a milk store on Center Stree, perhaps while he was alive, certainly after he died. Some forty years after his death, his daughter Lizzie Grady (Mrs. John Curtin), consoled a grandchild unsettled by living with a troubled, irresponsible, alcoholic by confessing that her father, too, had turned her childhood into a nightmare, a humiliating family secret she never confided to her children.¹³

Thomas Grady is head of household on the census of 1 June 1880 at Shenandoah, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, as Thomas Grady. Thomas is listed as a white male aged 56 years. He was born in Ireland as was his father. His mother is indicated as born in England. He is indicated as a shoemaker and was out of work for 3 months during the census year. He cannot write. Enumerated with him were Ellen McNamara, Thomas Grady, Patrick Grady, Joseph Grady, Ellen M. Mellet, Elizabeth Grady and Francis J. Grady.¹⁹

Thomas Grady was buried at Annunciation Catholic Cemetery, Shenandoah, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Joseph Lieberman: Because the church records were burnt in a fire, Thomas' date of death is unknown, not even to be found etched on his tombstone in Shenandoah's Irish cemetery where he is buried next to his second wife.^20,13