Patrick J. Dorgan and Mary Catherine Hartnett
From Carrigkilter, East Cork, to Rhode Island
Patrick J. Dorgan was a son of Patrick Dargan / Dorgan of Carrigkilter and Johanna / Anne / Nancy Flynn. He represents the branch of the family that carried the Carrigkilter Dorgan story from East Cork to Rhode Island.
He should be distinguished from his father, the older Patrick Dargan / Dorgan associated with Carrigkilter in the nineteenth-century land records. The younger Patrick married Mary Catherine Hartnett in Cloyne in 1886 and later emigrated to the United States.
Mary Catherine’s marriage into the Dorgan family joined two important East Cork family networks: the Dorgans of Carrigkilter and Ballybraher and the Hartnett–Duhig family of the Cloyne, Churchtown South, Garryvoe, and Ballycotton area.
Mary Catherine Hartnett’s East Cork Origins
Mary Catherine Hartnett was baptized on 22 November 1866 in the Roman Catholic parish of Cloyne, County Cork.
Her parents were:
John Hartnett
Kate / Catherine Duhig
Her baptism sponsors were:
Thomas Walsh
Nory / Honora Sullivan
The surviving records connect Mary Catherine and her Hartnett family with Cloyne, Churchtown South, Ballintemple / Ballygourney, Garryvoe, Ballycotton, and the surrounding East Cork area. Family information preserved by Jo Cashman also associates the Hartnetts with Garryvoe.
These places form part of the same wider East Cork family landscape rather than representing separate origins.
Mary Catherine Hartnett Baptism
Name: Mary Hartnett / Mary Catherine Hartnett
Baptism: 22 November 1866
Parish: Cloyne
Diocese: Cloyne
County: Cork, Ireland
Father: John Hartnett
Mother: Kate / Catherine Duhig
Sponsors: Thomas Walsh and Nory / Honora Sullivan
Mary Catherine’s baptism is the earliest securely identified record for her and is presently the strongest evidence for her early chronology. Later American records and the family headstone give substantially later birth dates and should be read with caution.
VIEW MARY CATHERINE HARTNETT BAPTISM RECORD
Marriage of Patrick J. Dorgan and Mary Catherine Hartnett
Patrick J. Dorgan married Mary Catherine Hartnett on 26 November 1886 in Cloyne, County Cork.
The marriage joins the Carrigkilter Dorgan family to the Hartnett and Duhig families of East Cork.
Groom: Patrick Dorgan
Bride: Mary Catherine Hartnett
Date: 26 November 1886
Place: Cloyne, County Cork
Groom’s father: Patrick Dorgan, deceased
Bride’s parents: John Hartnett and Kate / Catherine Duhig
The record is also important because it confirms that Patrick J.’s father, the older Patrick Dargan / Dorgan of Carrigkilter, was already deceased.
Patrick J. Dorgan and the Carrigkilter Holding
A major change in Patrick J. Dorgan’s relationship with the Carrigkilter holding occurred on 19 March 1892.
Under the Land Purchase Acts, the Irish Land Commission vested a Carrigkilter holding in Patrick Dorgan, farmer. Patrick had previously held the property as a yearly tenant.
The Land Commission advanced £433, and the property was vested in Patrick in fee simple.
The legal description gives the holding as approximately:
37 acres, 1 rood and 30 perches
and records an annuity of:
£17 6s 4d
for forty-nine years.
Earlier valuation material describes a later Carrigkilter holding as 35 acres, 1 rood and 30 perches. The reason for the two-acre difference has not yet been established and should remain unresolved rather than being silently reconciled.
The 1896 Carrigkilter Farm Sale
Four years later, Patrick sold his interest in the Carrigkilter farm.
The Cork Examiner of 17 August 1896 reported that auctioneer John Condon of Youghal had sold Patrick Dorgan’s farm at Carrigkilter, situated between Ballycotton and Cloyne.
The newspaper described the holding as:
37 acres, 1 rood and 30 perches
held in fee simple and subject to the Land Commission annuity of £17 6s 4d from 1 May 1892.
A separate half-yearly payment of 16 shillings was due to the Commissioners of Public Works.
After bidding, the farm was sold to:
Mrs. Margaret Curtin of Glanturkin
for:
£142 10s
Later valuation evidence continues the holding from Patrick Dorgan to Margaret Curtin and afterward to Daniel O’Connell.
The sale is especially important because it occurred shortly before Patrick left Ireland and provides a direct documentary bridge between the Carrigkilter land story and the family’s migration to Rhode Island.
VIEW CARRIGKILTER FARM SALE NOTICE
Emigration from East Cork
Patrick J. Dorgan emigrated first.
He departed Queenstown on 21 October 1896 aboard the RMS Teutonic and arrived at Ellis Island, New York, on 28 October 1896.
The passenger record gives:
Name: Patrick Dorgan
Age: 40
Nationality: Irish
Last residence: Ballylanders
Ship: Teutonic
Departure: Queenstown, 21 October 1896
Arrival: New York, 28 October 1896
The recorded age of 40 suggests a birth year around 1856, but it should be treated as an approximate age rather than proof of Patrick’s birth year.
The circumstances of Patrick’s residence between the Carrigkilter farm sale and his departure have not been established. The reference to Ballylanders should therefore be preserved without assuming that he was staying with particular friends or relatives.
VIEW 1896 PATRICK J. DORGAN PASSENGER RECORD
Mary Catherine and the Children
Mary Catherine followed the next year with the five surviving children then in Ireland.
They departed Queenstown aboard the Teutonic on 2 June 1897 and arrived at Ellis Island on 9 June 1897.
The passenger record gives Mary Catherine’s last residence as Midleton.
Her recorded age was 28. That age conflicts with her documented 1866 baptism and should not be used to establish her birth year.
The two passenger records document a staged family migration: Patrick traveled first in 1896, and Mary Catherine and the children followed in 1897.
VIEW 1897 MARY CATHERINE DORGAN AND CHILDREN PASSENGER RECORD
Family Testimony and Local Memory
Family testimony remains an important secondary source for understanding this branch of the Dorgan family.
In 2004, Jo Cashman of Knockglass, Ladysbridge, through Pete Morrison of Churchtown South, shared information connecting Patrick J. Dorgan with the Dorgan family of Ballybraher and Carrigkilter and placing the family within a wider East Cork network.
Such testimony is valuable because it preserves relationships, place names, local movements, and family traditions that may not survive in formal records. It should be compared with parish, civil, land, passenger, census, and cemetery evidence rather than treated as documentary proof by itself.
Remembering Mary Catherine
On 20 July 2001, Mary Catherine’s granddaughter Barbara Moriarty-Andrews shared personal memories of her grandmother.
Barbara remembered Mary Catherine saying that she had watched “mermaids playing on the rocks in Ireland.” She also remembered combing and braiding her grandmother’s long hair and rolling it into a bun.
Mary Catherine was remembered as frequently sitting with a rosary in her hands.
These recollections are preserved as family testimony and provide a personal dimension that does not appear in official records.
Patrick J. Dorgan and Mary Catherine Hartnett Dorgan — Repaired Photograph
This repaired and conservatively enhanced version was created from the surviving family photograph of Patrick J. Dorgan and Mary Catherine Hartnett Dorgan.
The restoration is intended to improve legibility for display while preserving the original photograph separately as the primary historical source.
The original photograph remains preserved in the family archive.
Providence and Rhode Island
After the family reunited in the United States, Rhode Island became the principal American setting for this branch.
Census records, city directories, naturalization papers, vital records, cemetery records, photographs, and family testimony document the continuation of the East Cork family in Providence, Cranston, East Greenwich, and Warwick.
Census Record Sequence
1900 U.S. Census
The 1900 U.S. Census records Patrick, Mary Catherine, and their family in Providence.
Patrick was recorded as age 39 and as having been born in August 1860.
That information forms part of the conflicting evidence concerning his exact birth date.
1905 Rhode Island State Census
Patrick’s original 1905 Rhode Island State Census card records:
Date of birth: 26 April 1860
Age: 45
Birthplace: Ireland
The age is internally consistent with the census date.
This is presently the strongest early American record giving the exact date 26 April 1860.
1910 U.S. Census
The 1910 U.S. Census continues the family’s Providence record sequence.
Patrick was recorded as age 44, illustrating again the inconsistency of ages reported in later American records.
1920 U.S. Census — 457 Smith Street
On 4 February 1920, Patrick J. Dorgan and Mary Catherine Hartnett Dorgan were enumerated at:
457 Smith Street, Providence, Rhode Island
Their son William J. Dorgan was living in the household.
William’s wife, Jessie Greig Dorgan, was also present and was recorded as Patrick’s daughter-in-law.
William and Jessie had already separated in 1918, and Jessie had filed for divorce on 27 January 1920, only eight days before the census enumeration. Their appearance at the same address should therefore not by itself be interpreted as evidence that they had reconciled.
This census closes what had previously been treated as an unresolved gap in Patrick and Mary Catherine’s federal census chronology.
1925 Rhode Island Census
The 1925 Rhode Island Census records Patrick, Mary Catherine, and their daughter Mary at:
61 Bergen Street, Providence
Members of their son David’s household and the Doorley family were also living in the same multi-family residence.
1930 U.S. Census
The 1930 U.S. Census records Patrick and Mary Catherine with their daughter Mary Catherine Dorgan Moriarty, her husband Raymond J. Moriarty, and their daughter Barbara Jane Moriarty.
Patrick was recorded as working as a fireman in a boiler room.
City Directories and Residences
Providence and Cranston city directories help trace Patrick and Mary Catherine between census years.
Known directory and residence entries include:
1900 — 39 Ashburton Street, Providence
1907 — 49 Osborne Street, Providence
1913 — 123 Wayne Street, Providence
1915 — 125 Wayne Street, Providence
1919 — 125 Wayne Street, Providence
1923 — 68 Bergen Street, Providence
1925 — 61 Bergen Street, Providence
1928 — 61 Bergen Street, Providence
1929 — 103 Rosedale Street, Providence
1930 — 103 Rosedale Street, Providence
1932 — 304 Bayview Avenue, Cranston
Patrick’s occupations in later Rhode Island records included laborer, fireman, boiler-room worker, and station fireman.
Directory dates and addresses should be read with the understanding that city directories could reflect publication lag or information collected before the printed year.
Naturalization
Patrick began the formal naturalization process late in life.
He filed a Declaration of Intention in 1928 while living at 61 Bergen Street, Providence.
He later filed a Petition for Citizenship in 1933, and he signed the Oath of Allegiance on 25 September 1933.
His naturalization certificate number was:
3710408
Research Caution About the Naturalization Papers
Patrick’s naturalization documents contain information that conflicts with earlier records.
They give his birth date as:
17 March 1863
and state that he arrived in New York in October 1897 aboard the Majestic.
The contemporary passenger record instead confirms his arrival on 28 October 1896 aboard the Teutonic.
The naturalization papers should therefore be preserved as Patrick’s later reported information, but they should not replace the contemporary passenger record for his immigration.
Children of Patrick J. Dorgan and Mary Catherine Hartnett
Their known children were:
Anne Theresa Dorgan
Michael Joseph Dorgan
Patrick Francis Dorgan
David Andrew Dorgan
John Joseph Dorgan — baptized 22 December 1895; died in infancy
William John Dorgan — born 11 April 1897 in Ireland; later known in American family tradition as William Joseph Dorgan Sr.
Timothy Joseph Dorgan — born 17 June 1902 in Providence; died 17 April 1903
Mary Catherine Dorgan — later married Raymond J. Moriarty
Their children carried the family story from East Cork into the Rhode Island-born generations.
VIEW CHILDREN OF PATRICK J. DORGAN AND MARY CATHERINE HARTNETT DORGAN
Children Who Died Young
John Joseph Dorgan
John Joseph Dorgan was baptized on 22 December 1895 in East Cork and died in infancy.
Although he does not appear in the later American records, he belongs in the complete child sequence of Patrick and Mary Catherine.
Timothy Joseph Dorgan
Timothy Joseph Dorgan was born on 17 June 1902 in Providence and died there on 17 April 1903, aged about ten months.
He died at the family home at 39 Ashburton Street, Providence.
His cause of death was recorded as:
Measles and capillary bronchitis
He was buried at St. Francis Cemetery.
The indexed Rhode Island vital record contains inconsistent details, including an incorrect age entry. The original chronology should therefore be preferred over the faulty index information.
Patrick J. Dorgan — Death and Obituary
Patrick J. Dorgan died on 9 December 1937 at Division Road, East Greenwich, Rhode Island.
His original Rhode Island death certificate records:
Birthplace: Ireland
Father: Patrick Dorgan, born Ireland
Mother: Ann Flynn, born Ireland
Wife: Mary Hartnett Dorgan
Occupation: Fireman, building industry
Cause of death: Cerebral hemorrhage, with paralysis and bed sores listed as contributory conditions
Informant: David Dorgan, son
Patrick’s obituary appeared in the Providence Journal on 10 December 1937.
It described him as a native of County Cork and named his surviving children.
Patrick’s Birth-Date Evidence
Patrick J. Dorgan’s exact birth and baptism remain unresolved.
The surviving records give conflicting information:
1896 passenger record: age 40, suggesting approximately 1856
1900 U.S. Census: August 1860
1905 Rhode Island State Census — original card: 26 April 1860
1928 naturalization papers: 17 March 1863
1937 Rhode Island death certificate — original: 26 April 1861
The original 1937 death certificate also gives Patrick’s age as 76 years, 7 months and 13 days, which is internally consistent with a birth date of 26 April 1861. His son David Dorgan was the informant.
The important agreement is the day and month:
26 April
The 1905 census and the 1937 death certificate independently agree on that date while differing by one year.
Accordingly:
26 April 1860 is presently the leading documented birth date, but it is not conclusively proved.
An Irish baptismal or other contemporary Irish record is still needed to establish Patrick’s exact birth year.
Mary Catherine Hartnett Dorgan — Death
Mary Catherine Hartnett Dorgan died on 23 November 1950 at:
34 Bellview Avenue
Spring Green
Warwick, Rhode Island
Her Rhode Island death record gives the cause of death as coronary thrombosis resulting from arteriosclerosis and hypertensive heart disease.
Her son William Dorgan supplied the information for the death record.
The record gives Mary Catherine a substantially younger age than is compatible with her documented baptism in 1866. Her later American age and birth information should therefore not replace the earlier Cloyne baptism.
Her funeral was held on 27 November 1950, and she was buried in St. Ann Cemetery, Cranston.
VIEW MARY CATHERINE’S DEATH RECORD
VIEW MARY CATHERINE’S OBITUARY
St. Ann Cemetery — Cranston, Rhode Island
Patrick J. Dorgan and Mary Catherine Hartnett Dorgan are buried together at:
St. Ann Cemetery
Cranston, Rhode Island
Section 7, Lot 1123, Grave 1
Their shared headstone records:
Patrick J. Dorgan
26 Apr 1860 – 9 Dec 1937
His Wife
Mary C. Hartnett
16 May 1869 – 23 Nov 1950
Patrick’s engraved birth date of 26 April 1860 is independently supported by his original 1905 Rhode Island State Census card, which records 26 April 1860 and age 45.
His original 1937 Rhode Island death certificate, however, records 26 April 1861 and gives an age at death consistent with that year.
The agreement on 26 April strengthens the day and month, but the year remains unresolved.
Mary Catherine’s engraved birth date of 16 May 1869 conflicts with her documented Cloyne baptism on 22 November 1866.
The headstone is important cemetery evidence, but its engraved birth dates should not be treated as controlling evidence for either person’s birth chronology.
Research Cautions
Several records for Patrick J. Dorgan and Mary Catherine Hartnett Dorgan contain conflicting ages, birth dates, place references, and spellings.
These differences should be preserved rather than silently harmonized.
For Patrick, 26 April is supported by both the original 1905 Rhode Island census card and the original 1937 death certificate, but those records disagree on the year: 1860 versus 1861.
For Mary Catherine, the Cloyne baptism of 22 November 1866, naming John Hartnett and Kate / Catherine Duhig as her parents, remains the strongest evidence for her early chronology.
Place names including Cloyne, Churchtown South, Ballintemple / Ballygourney, Garryvoe, Ballycotton, Ballybraher, Carrigkilter, and Midleton reflect overlapping parish, townland, village, registration, and family-network contexts. They should be interpreted according to the particular record rather than forced into a single place description.
Related Pages
Children of Patrick J. Dorgan and Mary Catherine Hartnett Dorgan
Children of Patrick Dargan / Dorgan and Johanna Flynn
Patrick Dargan / Dorgan of Carrigkilter
Johanna / Anne Flynn Dorgan of East Cork