Disentangling Two Dennis Buggys

 I did it. I conflated two men named Dennis Buggy. I skipped the reasonably exhaustive research and made the assumption that two marriages of men with the same name, in the same place, but two years apart and with two different women, were for the same man. Reader Tara Lulich tactfully commented in 2014 that this might be the case, but I spun a narrative that supported my one-man proposition. Tara was right.

Recently researcher Jim Buggie of South Carolina focused his work on Alice Buggie, who appears in the 1900 census in Ansonia, Connecticut. If Alice was living in 1900, she certainly did not die, as I had proposed, between her marriage in 1854 and the 1856 marriage of Dennis Buggy to Catherine Phelan. Jim identified two Dennis Buggys, contemporaries who lived in the same area. With his help, I've corrected my blog. Here's the story of Dennis Burglee (also known as Buggy, Burges, Burgin, and Burke) of Ansonia and Derby, Connecticut, and Dennis Buggy (of this blog) of Naugatuck, Connecticut. 

Dennis Buggy, then of Oxford, Connecticut, married Alice Fagan in Derby on 23 September 1854. Two years later, also in Derby and by the same priest, Dennis Buggy of Naugatuck (Dennis of this blog) married Catherine Phelan. I assumed this was the same man who moved around a bit and remarried after his first wife died, a total mistake.

In his research on twenty-eight Buggy families, Jim found that widow Alice (Fagan) Buggie was living in 1900, still in Ansonia (near Derby), Connecticut, while Dennis Buggy, the subject of this blog, had migrated with his Phelan wife and family to Minnesota.

Further research identified Dennis Burglee, born in Ireland in 1830 and a resident of Derby and Ansonia, New Haven, Connecticut, from at least 1860 to his 1899 death. This Dennis and his wife had children as follows, all born in Derby: Julia (b. 1856), Nicholas (b. 1859), Mary (b. 1859 [sic]), John (b. 1864), Alice (b. 1868), Kate (b. 1869), Anna (b. 1870), and Charles Vincent (b. 1873).

Thanks to Jim, I've made corrections to this blog, both in the post about Dennis Buggy's marriages--here and in my conclusion--here.

For further information about Dennis Burglee and Alice Fagan, Jim's sources, and/or to discuss Buggy heritage, contact Jim Buggie at jbuggie@mindspring.com.

Another Denis Buggy in County Kilkenny

What my friend Roxanne didn’t know when she visited the homeland of her ancestor Dennis Buggy, is that there is in Kilkenny a man whose grandfather also was named Denis Buggy. He shared this photo of Denis and wife Catherine (Leary) Buggy of Grovine, Kilkenny. Denis was from Conahy, Kilkenny, a parish just east of Freshford, where American Dennis Buggy was baptized.[1] With origins in adjacent parishes, a family connection between the two men is possible, but unknown.

Wedding portrait of Denis and Catherine (Leary) Buggy. The dress dates the photo to the mid 1890s.

Courtesy of Denis Buggy.

The 1911 census gives a glimpse of Denis and Catherine’s family.  All family members were Roman Catholic (column 4), could read and write (except the two youngest children, col. 5), were born in Co. Kilkenny (col. 13), and spoke English (except the one-year-old, col. 14). None was infirm (col. 15). Catherine Buggy had been married fifteen years (col. 10), and given birth to nine live children (col. 11), of which seven were still living (col. 12).[2]

No.	Christian name	Surname	Relation to head	Age, male	Age, female	Occupation	Civil status
1	Denis	Buggy	Head	39		Farmer	Married
2	Cathrine	Buggy	Wife		36		Married
3	Mary	Leary	Mother in Law		60		Widow
4	Annie	Buggy	Daughter		14	Scholar	Single
5	Richard	Buggy	Son	12	12	Scholar	Single
6	Bridget	Buggy	Daughter		10	Scholar	Single
7	Kathleen	Buggy	Daughter		6	Scholar	Single
8	Marget, M	Buggy	Daughter		4	-----	Single
9	John James	Buggy	Son	1		-----	Single

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[1] “Catholic Parishes of County Kilkenny,” County Kilkenny Ireland Genealogy (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik/caparish_kilkenny.htm : accessed 9 March 2014).

[2] Census of Ireland, 1911, Outrath [indexed as Antrath], Kilkenny, Form A, Grovine West townland, Denis Buggy household; digital image, The National Archives of Ireland (http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002597974/ : accessed 10 March 2014), images 289-90.

© 2014 Judy Kellar Fox, CG

Connecting to a County Kilkenny Past

My friend and yoga instructor reveals her identity and shares some photos of her Irish homeland in this guest blog, kindly written after her June 2013 trip to Ireland.

 

Near Freshford, County Kilkenny

At the beginning of March of this year, my friend Judy Fox and I struck up a deal.  I would trade private yoga instruction in exchange for genealogical research into my immigrant ancestor.  I wanted to find out where he came from before my trip to Ireland in June.  Through Judy's tireless research, hours of straining neck and wrist muscles and no doubt eyes glazing over from staring at a computer screen, she was able to achieve what I consider the impossible: the exact spot where my great-great grandfather was born in County Kilkenny,Ireland, in the year 1829.

Although the goal of our arrangement was to find the origin of birth of my Irish ancestor and some flexibility for Judy, we came to find so much more.  Through yoga poses and mugs of hot cider, we also discovered a genuine and caring friendship with each other.  Each week as we met on Judy's living room floor I would applaud her latest discoveries, and she would go into a pose and say, “I'm going to feel this tomorrow.”

 

A walking trail named the Freshford Loop winds through fields, over walls, past a stream and into the woods.  It really felt magical and I felt for sure we were near to our ancestral homeland.  This ruin lies at the edge of a plowed field.

Because of Judy's research I was able to visit the exact townland where my family originated.  As I walked through woods and fields on the Freshford Loop, I was able to imagine what life might have been like for my ancestors living in such glorious countryside.  Breathing in the fresh smell of grass and hearing the sounds of a gentle brook while climbing over stone walls, I had the sense of coming home.  This is what we are probably searching for when we decide to trace our roots.  It’s a way to feel connected to the people from our past who had a part in creating us, even though we never met.

 

A contemporary thatched cottage

My trip to Ireland was filled with beautiful sights, history, interesting characters and music.  The highlight was Kilkenny City where I strolled the streets, toured the castle and the 800-year-old cathedral, and enjoyed a pint along the River Nore.  I would like to thank my friend, Judy for giving me this gift.

--Roxanne Buggy Thomas, Roxanne Thomas Yoga

In Conclusion

I can now report with confidence the following new or corrected information. Corrected 23 March 2021. 

Dennis Buggy

Dennis Buggy was born on or before 6 June 1829 to Richard Buggy and Mary Brannagan, probably at the Buggy family residence in Kyleballynamoe Townland, Tubbridbritain Civil Parish, Freshford Catholic Parish, County Kilkenny, Ireland.[1]

He was baptized 6 June 1829 in Freshford Catholic Parish, County Kilkenny, Ireland.[2]

Dennis Buggy married 1) Alice Fagan on 23 September 1854 in Derby, New Haven County, Connecticut.[3]

Dennis Buggy married Catherine Phelan on 20 January 1856 at St. Mary Church, Derby, New Haven County, Connecticut.[4]  The couple may also have married on 17 January in Naugatuck.[5]

Please add this new information, along with its source information, to genealogy databases.  The sources are usually found in the footnotes and can be copied into database notes.

To cite this blog, write: Judy Kellar Fox, “[title of blog post],“ Pinpointing Dennis Buggy’s Irish Origins, posted [date of post] (http://foxkellarbuggy.blogspot.com : accessed [date you read it]).

Please ask permission before copying the narrative text: foxkellarj@comcast.net.

Many thanks to Ruth McLaughlin, Matthew Whalen, Michel Ann Dobyns, and my friend and yoga teacher (a Dennis Buggy descendant) for inspiration, encouragement and sharing.

Thanks to you for joining me.  It’s been a fun challenge.  I learned a lot, and I hope you did, too.

THE END (until new information surfaces to require reevaluation)

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

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[1] Catholic Church, Freshford Parish (Kilkenny, Ireland), Parochial Registers, 1773-1881, Baptisms, 1825-1847, p. 66, Denis Buggy (1829); Family History Library microfilm 926,192, item 3.

[2] Ibid.

[3] [This record is for a different Dennis Buggy, who married only Alice Fagan.] Sharon [last name not given], Town/City Clerk’s Office (Derby, Connecticut; 203-736-1462), telephone interview by Judy Kellar Fox, 8 April 2013, citing an old, fading marriage index held at the Town/City Clerk’s Office. 

[4] St. Mary Church (Derby, Connecticut), marriage book, arranged chronologically, Dennis Buggy and Catherine Phelin (1857); Archdiocese of Hartford Archives, Hartford.

[5] Questionnaire 3—389, Dennis Buggy (Pvt., Co. K, 20^th Conn. Vols., Civil War), pension claim no. 1355777 (Rejected); Case Files of Rejected Pension Applications, Civil War; Records of the Bureau of Pensions and Its Predecessors; Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

[6] Dennis Buggy obituary, Faribault County [Minnesota] Register, 27 May 1915; Blue Earth Community Library, Blue Earth, Minnesota.  See also, Questionnaire 3—447, Dennis Buggy pension claim no. 1355777 (Rejected), Civil War, RG 15, NA-Washington.

[7] “The Phelan Descendants: The Buggy Family, The Delaney Family, The Dollard Family,” privately held, 2013, 8.

19. Pinpointing the Buggy House

Looking in the Right Place: Tubbridbritain

Knowing that Kyleballynamoe is in Tubbridbritain, not Freshford Parish, allows research in two resources that, together, target the Buggy house in Kyleballynamoe.

There’s No Escaping Taxes: Griffith’s Valuation

In the mid-nineteenth century a property tax survey established a value for every piece of land in Ireland.  Those living on and/or working the land paid the tax, unless the value of the land they occupied was less than £5, in which case the landlord was responsible for the tax.  The valuations were published by county; County Kilkenny’s was the second, in 1849-50. [1]

Searches for “Buggy” in “Kyleballynamoe” in both years show entries for Mary Buggy and Denis Buggy, Dennis and his mother.[2]  (Denis is the spelling from his baptism entry and from the 1860 U.S. census, too.)

Description	1849	1850	1849	1850
No. and Letter of Reference to Map	4ABC&2c	4ABC&2c	5&2d	5&2d
Names of Occupiers	Mary Buggy	Mary Buggy	Denis Buggy	Denis Buggy
Immediate Lessors	Arthur St. George, Esq.	Arthur St. George, Esq.	Arthur St. George, Esq.	Arthur St. George, Esq.
Description of Tenant	House and land	House and land	House and land	House and land
Content of Land, Acres, Roods [4/acre], Perches	15  0  0	15  0  0	1  1  21	1  1  21
Net Annual Val. of Land	7£  0s  0 d	7  0  0	1  0  0	1  0  0
Net Ann. Val. Bldgs.	1  5  0	1  5  0	0  10  0	0  10  0
Total Net Annual Value	8  5  0	8  5  0	1  10  0	1  10  0

Dennis’ mother rented fifteen acres; he rented just over one.  Each had a house, but no farm outbuildings.  Mary would have paid tax on an annual income of 8£ 5s, but Dennis would not have on only 1£ 10s.[3] His landlord would have been liable for that tax.  This liability for taxes of small holdings gave landlords incentive to force folks like Dennis off the land, swelling the ranks of emigrants from Ireland in the nineteenth century.[4]

Ordnance Survey Maps  The entries from Griffith’s Valuation take on additional significance for identifying Dennis Buggy’s home, as they correspond to maps from the Ordnance Survey.   Created from 1833-1846, the Ordnance Survey mapped the entire country of Ireland at six inches to the mile.  The maps have been digitized and are available online.  The map below, published in 1839-40, shows Kyleballynamoe when Dennis Buggy was a boy.[5]

North is at the top.  The townland boundary is red.  Civil parish boundaries are green, showing that Kyleballynamoe lies in the eastern end of Tubbridbritain, adjacent to Freshford civil parish.  The 595 indicates the townland’s size in acres.

Kyleballynamoe in 1839-1840

 © Ordnance Survey Ireland/Government of Ireland
Copyright Permit No. MP 0004913

 Kyleballynamoe Lands Occupied by Mary Buggy and Dennis Buggy 

Griffith’s Valuation describes Mary Buggy’s land as 4ABC and 2c.  It describes Dennis Buggy’s as 5 and 2d.  The codes correspond to an annotated Ordnance Survey map.  The Ask About Ireland website links those annotated maps to the Griffith’s Valuation entries.  Mary Buggy’s 4ABC places the land she rented in the northwest corner of the townland, the darker area [color added] above the letters Y and L.  Dennis’ 5 places his land in an area at higher elevation with much scrub vegetation, the darker area to the center of the townland map.  Mary’s 2c and Denis’ 2d place their houses adjacent to each other.  They lie in the small darker area on the west end of the road through the townland.[6]  That is probably Dennis Buggy’s family home and a house he occupied as a young man before emigrating to the U. S.

How’s That for Pinpointing Dennis Buggy’s Origins!

Next Time: Should be The End

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

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[1] John Grenham, “What is Griffith’s Valuation?” Ask About Ireland (http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/history-heritage/irish-genealogy/what-is-griffiths-valuati/ : accessed 19 May 2013).

[2] “Griffith’s Valuation,” Ask about Ireland (http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml : accessed 19 May 2013), search for Buggy, County Kilkenny, Tubbridbritain and Tubbridbritain (Part of) Parish.  Valuations for County Kilkenny were published in 1849 and 1850.  Denis Buggy and Mary Buggy appear in Kyleballynamoe townland in both.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Grenham, “What is Griffith’s Valuation?”

[5] Ordnance Survey Ireland (http://www.osi.ie : purchased 14 May 2013), Search: County Kilkenny, Townland Kyleballynamoe.  This map comprises portions of three six-inch maps, Kilkenny 12 and 13 and Tipperary 43, surveyed in 1839-40.

[6] “Griffith’s Valuation,” Ask about Ireland (http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml : accessed 19 May 2013), search for Buggy, County Kilkenny, Tubbridbritain Parish, “Map Views.”