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From: Geralyn W Barry <>
Subject: Re: [CATHOLIC] Help in Finding a Nun
Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2004 17:16:43 -0800
References: <5AE81F69.211792D6.0C41288A@aol.com>
In-Reply-To: <5AE81F69.211792D6.0C41288A@aol.com>


At 11:35 AM 3/31/04, you wrote:
>Since nun's changed their names, Census information won't be helpful right?

Lisa, I have traced a few nuns. Sometimes census-takers wrote down the
"taken" name (without family surname), and sometimes they wrote down the
"original" name (name at birth, with surname) for the nun. It just depended
on the person taking the census - or on the mother superior, who was
probably the one deciding what information to give the census taker. My
suggestion is to check as many of the convents in the area as you can find
in the censuses for 1880 and 1900 (and later, if you think she lived that
long). Each census taker might have recorded something different. You might
get lucky - a familiar surname might show up.

There was one nun that I traced from 1870 to 1920 or 1930. Her name at
birth appeared in some of those censuses. But sometimes the name was her
"taken" name. However, I could still identify her by her age and place of
birth, which did not match those of any of the other nuns in the convent.

Another approach is to look at obituaries for family members to see if any
of them give a nun's name as next-of-kin. That was how I discovered a
priest in one family I was tracing.

Good luck!

Geralyn Wood Barry in Oregon, USA
tracing many Irish Catholic families from Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey

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