The parents of Frederick Edward Connors

The names of the parents of Frederick E. Connors have been something of a mystery for decades. He doesn't seem to have ever told anyone. If Harry Connors Sr. knew the names of his Connors grandparents, he appears to never have told anyone. However, I have just come across a record in which Frederick Connors listed the names of his parents.

The record is the official Racine County Registry of Marriages. It is available on microfilm at the Family History Centers. It contains a handwritten record of the marriage of Frederick Connors to Mary McManus and contains the following information.

Husband: .......................................................... Frederick Connors
Name of Father of Husband: ............................. Henry C. Connors
Name of Mother of Husband before Marriage: .. Margaret Pirce
Occupation: ...................................................... Railroad
Residence: ........................................................ Topeka, Kan
Birthplace: ........................................................ San Francisco, Cal.
Wife: ................................................................ Mary McManus
Name of Father of Wife: ................................... Michael McManus
Name of Mother of Wife before Marriage: ........ Ellen Wally
Birthplace: ........................................................ Racine, Wis
Time of Marriage: ............................................. Nov 27, 1890
Place: ............................................................... Racine, Wis
Color of Couple: .............................................. White
Type of Ceremony: .......................................... Catholic
Names of Witnesses: ........................................ W.A. Pippeau
........................................................................ Ellen Wally
Name of Person Pronouncing Marriage: ............ H.R. Murphy
Residence: ........................................................ Racine, Wis
Date of Certificate of Marriage: ......................... Nov 27, 1890
Date of Registration of Marriage: ....................... Dec 14, 1890

This is certainly the correct record. Too many of the details are known from other sources. But the big surprize are the names of Frederick's parents. I've never seen them before. It is not surprizing to discover that his father's name was Henry.

Robert Connors has provided a copy of the newspaper announcement of this marriage. Besides providing the exact date, which made finding this record easier, the newspaper provides alternate spellings for the names of the witnesses. "W.A. Pippeau" is "H.A. Pittman" and "Ellen Wally" is "Miss Nellie Hally of Chicago" in the nespaper. It appears that some "H"s were turned into "W"s along the way. The letter used in the handwritten record is identical to the letter used in "Wis." It appears that Miss Hally was a cousin of Mary McManus and that her mother's maiden name was "Hally" rather than "Wally."

A few months ago I discovered a 10 year old Frederick Connor living in San Francisco in the 1880 census. However, neither of the names of the parents of that Frederick Connor match those given here. So far, I have been unable to find a record of Henry and Margaret Connors in the 1880 census.