Patrick's Story
The records that we have discovered, such as census, voting registration, and marriage indicate that my great grand father Patrick Flood was born in County Longford, Ireland, near the border with Westmeath, in November of 1844 and immigrated to the United States in 1866. Search as I may, I still have not located Patrick's passenger records to document his arrival.
There are others in the family, Mary Agatha Flood Maiara and my first cousin Mary Flood Finn who believe Patrick came from Mayo. Patrick's 1st wife, Mary Rochford, (my GGM) came from the Dromore West, County Sligo area of Ireland.
The connection to Longford has been family history, however his sister Eliza (Lizzie) Flood Austin's death certificate lists Thomas Flood and Bridget Mc Govern as her parents. The one inconsistence is that Patrick's death certificate lists his father's name as Patrick also (no mother's name). This could be just a mistake in taking the information, however it also could be that he and Eliza were related, but not siblings. The records of marriage dispensations of the Diocese of Brooklyn show a Margaret Flood and a Catherine Flood, both married at Our Lady of Victory, parents Thomas Flood and Bridget McGovern, and born in County Longford. click for more There is also "The Legan Connection" through Father Frank, Mary Flood (Legan), and James J. Flood and Vincent Flood (Dublin), and maybe even James Patrick Flood (Staten Island).
Patrick was initially a laborer, as were most of the transplanted Irish. At age 25 he married Mary Rochford (19), from County Sligo, at Our Lady of Victory on November 25, 1869. They then lived in Brooklyn, in the 21st Ward (Bedford section, north of Atlantic Avenue). They had nine children, click on the names for more information:
Thomas Joseph Flood 1870-1917 James Flood 1871-1872 Patrick Flood 1873-1873 John Francis Flood (my grandfather) 1874-1939 William Aloyius Flood 1876-1926 Peter Flood 1878-1905 Mary Flood 1880-1881 Sarah (Sadie) Flood 1882-1941 Anna Flood 1883-1925 Check out cousin Ray Maiara's website for more information on some of these children, and photos of William Aloysius Flood, as well as transcriptions of Father Frank's records of baptism's and marriages.
Patrick then worked for the Brooklyn Rapid Transit company as a driver, and eventually was the stable master at the New Lots yard, and retired after 44 years. Over the years they lived in the same neighborhood, either on Fulton Street, Herkimer Street or Atlantic Avenue.
Mary died on March 26, 1886 and was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn. Patrick married a second time, to Annie Hyland, on October 27, 1897 at Our Lady of Victory. We have no idea of how that marriage ended or of Annie Hyland's death. This is another family mystery, as Mary Agatha Flood Maiara states his second wife was Hattie Fox. However the 1910 census has Patrick and Annie living alone on Atlantic Avenue, and states that this is a second marriage for both. Could Annie Hyland and "Hattie Fox" be one and the same?
Patrick died on January 20, 1925. At he time he was living with his son William, at 652 Herkimer Street in Brooklyn. As stated one inconsistency is that Patrick's death certificate lists father's name as Patrick, no mother. In light of the information on his sister Lizzie's death certificate, I am assuming that this is an error.
In the Records section you will find Father Frank's notes of conversations with Regina Flood Larkin and Mary Agatha Flood Maiara.