William Francis Naughton (1857-1939) was a building contractor. He migrated from Ireland to the United States. (b. June 19, 1857; Ballyforan, Taghboy, County Roscommon, Ireland - d. September 30, 1939; Manhattan, New York County, New York, USA)
Parents:
William Naughton (1809-1891) and Margaret Feeney (1812-1891).
Birth:
June 19, 1857 in Ballyforan, Taghboy, County Roscommon, Ireland.
Baptism:
Baptisms records for Ballyforan in the Diocese of Elphin begin on 6 July 1850 and his record has been found.
Marriage:
He married Nellie T. Casey (1864-1904) on January 23, 1889 in Manhattan, New York County, New York.
Memoir:
In 1937 he wrote a memoir.
Death:
He died on September 30, 1939 at his him in an apartment at 725 Riverside Drive, Manhattan, New York County, New York.
Burial:
He was buried in Gate Of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, Westchester, New York, United States on October 2, 1939.
Biography:
"Of all the children, only Pop had a middle name. Even his younger sister Mary did not have one. When I was quite young my sisters told me that when Pop came to New York he felt he should have a middle initial and assumed as a middle name his mother's maiden name, Feeney. He never used the full name, only the initial F. I never heard of William Francis until I saw his brief history. Possibly, in his late years he became disaffected with Feeney and took a fancy to Francis. Pop rarely talked about his mother and father, and never about their life in Ireland but I have reason to doubt the statement about his father being a farmer. About 1885, Katherine Naughton, the daughter of Pop's sister Ann, came out from Ireland and lived with her grandparents in West Stockbridge until they dies. Katie naturally knew them well and all about them. Katie married (about 1902-1903) Daniel Brown and they lived in Ipswich, Massachusetts until they came to New York about 1915. Our family saw a great deal of them for several years. Katie was an outspoken person and could always be relied upon for facts about the family. According to her, my grandfather kept a pub in Ireland. He signed a note for a friend and the friend defaulted on the note. This, according to Katie, was why they left Ireland. I couldn't understand this and when I asked Katie she said "Oh, it was the shame". This still didn't make sense to me; I thought that the person who defaulted should be the one to feel shame, not the person who made good his debt. But apparently that was the Irish way for Katie seemed to understand perfectly. It was the shame of being hoodwinked." (Source: Gerard Francis Norton (1902-1986) in 1970)
Research:
Researched and written by Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) for Findagrave starting on March 23, 2024.
Parents:
William Naughton (1809-1891) and Margaret Feeney (1812-1891).
Birth:
June 19, 1857 in Ballyforan, Taghboy, County Roscommon, Ireland.
Baptism:
Baptisms records for Ballyforan in the Diocese of Elphin begin on 6 July 1850 and his record has been found.
Marriage:
He married Nellie T. Casey (1864-1904) on January 23, 1889 in Manhattan, New York County, New York.
Memoir:
In 1937 he wrote a memoir.
Death:
He died on September 30, 1939 at his him in an apartment at 725 Riverside Drive, Manhattan, New York County, New York.
Burial:
He was buried in Gate Of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, Westchester, New York, United States on October 2, 1939.
Biography:
"Of all the children, only Pop had a middle name. Even his younger sister Mary did not have one. When I was quite young my sisters told me that when Pop came to New York he felt he should have a middle initial and assumed as a middle name his mother's maiden name, Feeney. He never used the full name, only the initial F. I never heard of William Francis until I saw his brief history. Possibly, in his late years he became disaffected with Feeney and took a fancy to Francis. Pop rarely talked about his mother and father, and never about their life in Ireland but I have reason to doubt the statement about his father being a farmer. About 1885, Katherine Naughton, the daughter of Pop's sister Ann, came out from Ireland and lived with her grandparents in West Stockbridge until they dies. Katie naturally knew them well and all about them. Katie married (about 1902-1903) Daniel Brown and they lived in Ipswich, Massachusetts until they came to New York about 1915. Our family saw a great deal of them for several years. Katie was an outspoken person and could always be relied upon for facts about the family. According to her, my grandfather kept a pub in Ireland. He signed a note for a friend and the friend defaulted on the note. This, according to Katie, was why they left Ireland. I couldn't understand this and when I asked Katie she said "Oh, it was the shame". This still didn't make sense to me; I thought that the person who defaulted should be the one to feel shame, not the person who made good his debt. But apparently that was the Irish way for Katie seemed to understand perfectly. It was the shame of being hoodwinked." (Source: Gerard Francis Norton (1902-1986) in 1970)
Research:
Researched and written by Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) for Findagrave starting on March 23, 2024.
