Mary A. Carbine - Daughter of Irish Immigrants

Mary A. Carbine is the oldest daughter and second child born to Michael Carbine and Catherine Clarke. She was the first child in her family to be born in the United States. Her brother Patrick Carbine was born in County Mayo, Ireland around 1846. Mary was born in Syracuse, New York in September  1849.  I have yet to verify this birth date with a birth or baptism record. Although all sources that state a month of birth indicate September as the month of her birth.

I have several sources that put her birth year at either 1849, 1850 or 1851. At this point, I personally think that the best source to follow is the 1850 census that states her as being 1 year old in 1850. The census was taken 30 September 1850.

1850 US Census Michael Carbine Family

The census lists two Carbine families. First, the Patrick Carbine family and then the Michael Carbine family. Patrick was either a brother or a cousin to Michael and eventually settled in Dubuque County, Iowa. I have done a little research on the Patrick Carbine family but I need to look further.

1900 US Census Smith Family Chicago

Mary is listed as born September 1851 and her husband William as born November 1851. I have seen a flexibility in dates when it comes to my Irish ancestors. I can not find the Smith family in the 1880 census and neither could my cousin Barbara Ford. I have searched them many times and many ways but they just don't seem to be in the census.

Here in the 1900 US Census, we find William Smith age 48; Mary A. Smith age 48; Adele Smith age 24; Frederick R. Smith age 22; Adelyn Smith age 18;  Roberta Smith age 5; Michael Carbine (brother in law) age 45. Michael Carbine is Mary's brother who was a widower. This is another story for another blog post.

In this census we also learn that Mary had 7 children with 5 currently living. Their oldest daughter
Mary or May is married, so is not listed with the family in 1900. Their daughter Catherine died at the age of 3 in 1890 of Scarlet Fever. The remaining child's name and sex is unknown to me at this time. According to Fred R. Smith's testimony in court for the estate of his father William Henry Smith, the second child born to Mary and William died at the age of 4 weeks. Fred does not state the sex or name of the baby. I have not found a birth record, death record or obituary for this baby.  I need some good karma, so I can find this baby.

The final document that gives birth information for Mary is her death certificate. The informant for her death certificate was George Carbine. George is Mary's nephew, her brother John's son. He stated Mary's birth date and place as 24 September 1850 New York.

Mary's death record

I will post another article about Mary Carbine Smith after I receive her probate record. I am waiting for this record to come in from an off site facility in Chicago. I will see what I might or might not find...

Irish - Dublin Coddle

St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner, so...I thought it would be appropriate to post an Irish recipe on my genealogy blog, since I am Irish, you know or maybe don't know. The Smith's come from, you guessed it - Ireland. I also have a few other Irish surnames that may and may not sound so Irish - like Hogan and Carbine. Sorry no tradtional names likes O'Leary or Flanagan.

This morning in the newspaper I saw an article about Dublin Coddle. I had never heard of Dublin Coddle. Maybe you haven't either. It is called coddle because the food is cooked slowly, either on the stove top or in a slow cooker, which ever you prefer. It is a comfort food, something warm and filling.

Here is the recipe I found for it:
If you want to check the website out where I found the recipe go here http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2011/03/dublin-coddle-oh-so-good.html


Dublin Coddle 6-8 Moderate servings

1 lb bacon slices, cubed
2 lbs pork sausage links
2 large onions, thinly sliced
4 large potatoes, peeled, and thickly sliced (about 1/2 inch)
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
6 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
pepper and salt
4-6 cups of apple cider

1) In a large pot add the bacon and cook over medium heat until the bacon is crispy. Make sure that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot and cooks evenly by stirring frequently. Using a slotted spoon remove the bacon to a bowl. Pour off most the grease, leaving just enough to grease the bottom of the pan. (Save that grease to fry eggs in, delicious!)
2) Add the sausage links and brown on both sides in the bacon grease over medium-high heat (you may need to do this in two batches). Remove. Add sliced onions and garlic and soften (you can add a little more bacon grease, if needed to prevent sticking). Cook for about 3 minutes. Add the bacon and sausage back in along with the carrots and potatoes. Season with pepper and add enough apple cider to almost cover the mixture. (I used about 4 cups of juice and added just a bit of water to almost cover).
3) Simmer, but don’t boil for 1 1/2 hours, covered. Check seasonings and serve one sausage per person topped with potatoes and carrots and some of the juicy broth. Enjoy!

If you are feeling Irish - try it out!