1. A Published Genealogy

Before embarking on extensive research, it’s useful to discover if the work has already been done.  A Phelan family history book has a helpful section on the Buggys.  “The Phelan Descendants: The Buggy Family, The Delaney Family, The Dollard Family” is a listing of descendants of the Phelan family of Ireland and the U.S.  It includes charts of names, some biographical sketches, and a few dates, but no source information.  It appears to have been compiled from information, recollections, oral histories, and perhaps Bible records contributed by family members. The book was privately compiled and distributed to some family members.[1]  It does not appear in the Family History Library catalog or in WorldCat.org.

Here is a scan of the page for Dennis Buggy:

“The Phelan Descendants: The Buggy Family, The Delaney Family, The Dollard Family,” unnumbered p. 8

This is a great start with lots of information.  The book compiles information from various unknown sources, so we need to be aware that it may or may not be correct.  As we progress, we’ll gather more information that will agree with it or not, and we’ll come to some conclusions about its reliability.

For the purpose of discovering the birthplace and birthdate of Dennis Buggy, the book offers this information:

·       He was born in 1833 in Ireland.  His parents were buried in Freshfold, Kilkenny, Ireland.

Other information might be helpful, including:

·       Dennis Buggy came to America at an early age.

·       He settled and married in Naugatuck, Connecticut.

·       He homesteaded in Minnesota.

·       He served in the Civil War.

·       He died 20 May 1915 and was buried in Calvary Cemetery, Blue Earth, Minnesota.

This book suggests lots of potential research avenues.  Before we set off on them and to be sure we cover all the bases, we’ll next have a look at the compiled genealogies posted in online databases. 

Update, 26 May 2013:
"The Phelan Descendants" has now been digitized by FamilySearch and will be online at https://familysearch.org around August 2013. 

© 2013 Judy Kellar Fox, CG, foxkellarj@comcast.net

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[1] “The Phelan Descendants: The Buggy Family, The Delaney Family, The Dollard Family,” privately held, 2013.  This soft-cover, unnumbered, forty-two-page typescript has no indication of author, date, or place of publication.  A slip of paper inserted in the back of the book reads, “Dear Relative, Please accept a complimentary copy of our Family Record which I have made…With best wishes, Marian Drake, Blue Earth, Minnesota 56913.”  The book was mailed to Charles Buggy of Hermosa Beach, California, in an envelope postmarked 12 February 1966.