LemMon / Meehan Genealogy

GEORGE & ALICE

George and Alice were married on June 3, 1939 in Manhattan at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church. They had six children: Alice Patricia, Josephine, Margaret, Eileen Jeanne, George and John. George and Alice were both born in New York City.

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THOMAS LEMMON & MARGARET MEEHAN

George's parents, Thomas and Margaret (nee Meehan), were married in Hoboken, NJ on December 21, 1909. Thomas was born in New York City in 1899. Maragret was born in County Limerick, Ireland about 1891/1892. Margaret emmigrated to America about 1907. Thomas and Margaret had 4 children: Margaret, George (above), Thomas and Alice.

Thomas was a man of many occupations. In 1910 at the age of 19, Thomas was a driver for the NY Edison Co; in 1920 he was a teamster; in 1930 he was the manager of his own trucking business in NYC; in 1941 he was still self-employed and worked in "refuse removal". At the time of his death, his wife stated that Thomas was a retired trucker for "LemMon hauling".

Thomas and Margaret lived in New York City through the 1930's and eventually moved to Ringoes in Hunterdon County, NJ and finally to Florida where Thomas died in 1969 at the age of 74 and Margaret died in 1980 at the age of 83.

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ANTONIO DI NAPOLI & FRANCESCA SOCCODATO

Thomas LemMon was born to Antonio Di Napoli and Francesca Soccodato. Antonio and Francesca were both born in Italy and married on December 20, 1881 at St Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church in New York City.

Francesca emigrated from Italy to New York City with her mother and sister Rosario on November 8, 1880 three months before she married Antonio. It is not known when Antonio immigrated to the United States or if he and Francesca knew each other prior to their emigration but source records suggest that he emigrated from Italy between 1874 and 1877.

Antonio changed his name to George Lemmon (Lemon?) as early as 1883 when he was listed in the New York City Directory. Antonio continued to use the name George Lemmon for the rest of his life with intermittant references as Antonio Di Napoli.

In the city directories and the federal and state censuses he was George Lemmon. On birth certificates and marriage certificates, he was almost always Antonio Di Napoli. For example, on May 31, 1900 Antonio was recorded on his daughter's birth certificate as Antonio DiNapoli yet only 5 days later on June 5th he was recorded as the head of household in the 1900 Federal Census as George Lemon.

Source records have been found with the name of Antonio Di Napoli as early as his marriage in 1881 and as late as 1911 when his daughter Josephine married. But Antonio died as George Lemmon and as you can see from the cemetary photo above. His name is etched in stone.

The transition from Antonio Di Napoli to George Lemmon appears to be far from nefarious as had been implied. Perhaps the family story is in part true that George Lemmon was the original owner of the ash cart business and on his death the business and the name were taken over by Antonio. But, if he really had wanted to change his identity, he did not do a very good job of it.

Antonio and Francesca (usually recorded as Frances) had 9 children who were all born in New York City:
* Nicoletta aka Lena - married Luigi Cioffi aka Louis Juffey
* James
* Rose Theresa - married Francesco Feolo aka Frank Farrell
* Mary - married Frank Christy
* Thomas James - married Margaret Meehan
* Maria Giuseppa aka Giuseppina aka Josephine - married Vincenzo Pissari aka James
* John - married Susan Delzio
* Felicia Di Spagno
* Anna

Anna and Felicia both died young. James never married. Josephine moved to Albany. Thomas eventually moved to New Jersey and later to Florida. The rest of the childen married and remained in the New York City area. Some of the children were buried in the same cemetery plot at Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, NY as seen in the photo above.

The daughters used the surname Di Napoli when they were married. Thomas and John used the name Lemmon. Josephine applied for a delayed birth registration in 1953 and used the name Di Napoli. Thomas applied for a delayed birth registration in 1904 and used the name Lemmon.

Francesca also has an interesting history with her surname. It appears that the family shortened their name evenutally settling on "Succa" although it's not clear if this was by choice or by circumstance. The most compelling evidence shows the family name to be Soccodato also a very common name in the town of Polla, Salerno, Italy from where the family emigrated.

While there are a multitude of misspellings of this name, the most unusual spelling is where the "d" in Soccodato is substututed with an "r" such as the variation Soccorato. How this occurred is unclear and it would not seem to be a case of mis-pronunciation or mis-understanding. Other spellings found include Sicurato, Sicurrato, Succo, Succor, Succora, Succarato which make this family challenging to find.

When Antonio arrived in America, he was first employed as a driver although the records don't indicate what he was driving or for whom although it is presumed that he was an ash cart driver as recorded later in his life. Ash cart drivers were self-employed men who were contracted by the city of New York to pick up ashes from the front of people's homes. In 1910, George was recorded as owning his own ash cart business and, in fact, had several family members working for him including his wife's nephew Joseph Succo. In 1930 at the age of 60, George was employed as a contracting stevedore, a laborer who unloads and loads ships' cargoes. But, at his death, George was remembered as a retired trucking contractor.

Antonio was born to Nicholas and Nicolette (nee Ulla) in Italy. There is no indication that his parents or siblings emigrated to America. He died in 1934 at the age of 76 of carcinoma of the head and pancreas. Frances died several years later in 1939 at the age of 79 from an unhealed fracture of the neck and left femur which had been caused by some accident.

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ANTONIO SOCCODATO & FELICIANNA CIRONNA

Francesca was born to Antonio and Felicianna (nee Ciranno/Cerone/Cherano) in Italy. Antonio is believed to have emmigrated to the United States about 1874. Felicianna emmigrated with her daughters Francesca and Rosaria in 1880. Their sons Vincenzo (aka James) and Carmine emmigrated in 1880 as well although earlier in the year.

The only documentation of Antonio is his death in 1891 where he was recorded as having been in New York City for 17 years. Felicianna, also known as Phyllis, died in 1907 at the age of 72 from a cerebral embolism with old age as a contributing cause

Antonio and Felicianna's children included:
* Rosaria - married Antonio Medici
* Maria Francesca - married Antonio DiNapoli
* Carmine - married Loreta Stabile and Francesca Carlone
* Vincenzo (James) - married Luigia Curcio and Antonia Medici

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PATRICK MEEHAN & MARY COLLINS

Margaret Meehan was born in County Limerick, Ireland between 1891 and 1895 to Patrick and Mary (nee Collins). Patrick and Mary were married in 1889 in the Roman Catholic Church in Abbeyfeale which is located in the southwest corner of County Limerick near the border to County Kerry.

Patrick and Mary's children included:
* Hannah - no information after 2 years old
* Margaret - immigrated to America and married Thomas LemMon
* Bridget - died in infancy

Meehan was an uncommon name in Abbeyfeale. Patrick was born in in 1855 to Thomas and Johanna (nee Collins). Collins was a very common name in Abbeyfeale and appears on both sides of this family. Mary was born to Patrick and Bridget (nee McGrath) although year and town are unknown.

Patrick and Mary were not residing in Abbeyfeale in 1901 according to the Irish Census and their daughters Margaret and Hannah were living with their maternal grandmother Bridget (nee McGrath) Collins in Abbeyfeale. The house in Abbeyfeale was a private dwelling made of stone, brick or concrete with a slate, iron or tiled roof. The house consisted of 2 rooms and 1 window.

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THOMAS MEEHAN & JOHANNA COLLINS

Thomas and Johanna (nee Collins) were married in 1845 in a Roman Catholic Church in Abbeyfeale. They had 9 children all born in Abbeyfeale:
* Bartholomew - married Joanna Mulchahy
* Daniel
* Catherine
* Patrick - married Mary Collins (above)
* Mary
* Thomas - married Mary O'Sullivan
* Denis - married Mary Brennan
* Daniel - married Catherine Curtin
* Catherine

Thomas was a mason and lived at least 70 years. He survived his wife Johanna who died in 1888 at the age of 65.

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PATRICK COLLINS & BRIDGET MCGRATH

Patrick and Bridget (nee McGrath) were married in the Roman Catholic Chuch in Abbeyfeale in 1863. Their 6 children include:
* Thomas
* Daniel
* Mary - married Patrick Meehan (above)
* Patrick - married Bridget Greaney
* John - married Annie
* Margaret - married William Alt in New York City

Patrick was a general laborer and died in 1887 at the age of 54 after suffering with bronchitis for 3 weeks. Bridget survived her husband for at least another 15 years.

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JOHN J FINNEGAN & JOSEPHINE SHAUGHNESSY

John and Josephine were married at St Francis' Church in Manhattan on February 21, 1895. They had 5 children:
* Helen - married Walter Lees
* Josephine - died in infancy
* John - died when he was 2 years old
* Alice - married David Williams, divorced on grounds of desertion and married George LemMon (above)
* Nora - never married

Josephine was born in Connecticut about 1872 to John Shaughnessy and Ellen Noonan where she lived in Dutchess County, NY. She was living in Manhattan when she married. It is not known what brought Josephine into the city from Dutchess County or how long she had been living there.

John was born in 1869 in New York City to James Finnegan and Catherine Reilley. In 1895 at the age of 25, John was a general laborer. Five years later in 1900, John was a coal dealer and in 1910 was an express driver delivering letters and packages which needed expedited delivery in NYC. In 1920 he was a truckman (trucker although not necessarily express) and in 1930, at the age of 60, he was a self-employed expressman.

Josephine was only 45 years old when she died in 1915 of pelvic inflammatory disease. John lived for another 15 years after the death of his wife. He died in 1930 at the age of 63 from acute cardiac failure due to a ruptured appendix.

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JOHN SHAUGHNESSY & ELLEN NOONAN

John and Ellen (nee Noonan) were married at St Peter's in Poughkeepsie in 1859; both of their names had been recorded incorrectly: Shughnesy and Newman. Their 8 children included:
* Mary - married Charles Meibaum
* Edward - died young
* James - married Margaret Schneidberger
* John - married Anna Grandison
* Josephine - married John Finnegan (above)
* Ellen
* Lawrence
* Louise - married Clement Maisch

All of their children were born New York except for Josephine who was born in Connecticut.

John and Ellen were both born in Ireland although the location is not known. They were divorced sometime between 1892 and 1900 at least 30 years into their marriage.

Over his lifetime in Dutchess County, John was a farm laborer, a railroad laborer and a mail carrier. John and Ellen both died sometime between 1900 and 1910.

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JAMES FINNEGAN & CATHERINE REILLY

James and Catherine were married in 1864 at St Michael's Church in Manhatten. Their four children included:
* Bartholomew
* James
* John James - married Josephine Shaughnessy (above)
* Phillip

Bartholomew was a clerk in a grocery store; he died at the age of 27 from chronic pulmonary tuberculosis. James died sometime between 4 and 14 years old. Phillip was a pedlar dying young at the age of 26 from phthsis pulmonalsis. John is the only child known to have married.

James and Catherine were both born in Ireland about 1830. James was born to Bartholomew and Margaret Finnegan and emigrated with his mother and brother Philip in the late 1840's. Catherine was born to John and Mary Reilly. Catherine emigrated to America about 1859 but there is no indication that her parents or siblings emigrated with her.

James was naturalized in New York City in 1857 which means that James had to be a resident of New York City for at least 5 years so James emigrated to America sometime before 1852.

James died in 1875 at the age of 45 from bronchial pneumonia. His wife Catherine died in 1888 from kidney disease at the age of 59. They are both buried in Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, NY.

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BARTHOLOMEW & MARGARET FINNEGAN

Bartholomew and Margaret lived in 1840 in the townland of Drumbress in the parish of Killeshanda, County Cavan. Their seven children included:
* Patrick
* James - married Catherine Reilly (above)
* Jane - married Phillip McConnell; emigrated to America
* Michael
* Hugh
* Bartholomew - died young
* Philip - married Ellen McConnell in New York City

Bartholomew was a farmer and appears to not have emmigrated to America with his wife and children Jane, James and Phillip. He died before 1858 where his wife is found in the city directory as a widow.

Margaret has been found as early as 1856 in New York City where she operated a liquor store. Margaret lived at 289 W. 28th St in NYC for her known lifetime in America. She died in 1875 at the age of 85 from olde age and is buried with her.