Mary Conlon McPadden
Wife of Michael; mother of Catherine, James, Thomas and their siblings. Her life is the Irish heart of this edition.
Read Mary’s story →Families in this collection · Leitrim and Bridgeport
A few familiar names.
Different lives.
Two McPadden family lines come into view: Mary and Michael’s Tullynascreen household, and Sarah’s family associated with Derrindangan. Their descendants meet through a marriage in Bridgeport—not a proved shared McPadden ancestor.
This is a selected relationship view, not a complete tree or proof that every McPadden belongs to these families. The dates below describe the records or stories shown, not complete lifespans.
Which Catherine? Which James?
Repeated names, distinct people. Match the relationship and place—not just the first name.
- Catherine McPadden KellyJames’s older sister
- Mary and Michael’s daughter from Tullynascreen; the sister named in his 1904 arrival record. See this family →
- Catherine McNiff McPaddenJames’s wife
- Sarah and William McNiff’s daughter, called Katie in the 1900 census. She married James in 1912. See this family →
- Catherine McPaddenTheir daughter
- A child of James and Catherine McNiff—not his sister or his wife. See this family →
- James McPaddenThe 1904 traveler
- Mary and Michael’s son, born at Tullynascreen in 1874; later Catherine McNiff’s husband. See this family →
- James KellyThe sister’s husband—and a son’s name
- Catherine Kelly’s husband and their son James share a name. Neither is the traveler James McPadden. See this family →
- James McPadden Jr.The traveler’s son
- One of James and Catherine McNiff’s five children in the 1930 household. See this family →
Tullynascreen, County Leitrim · family story, 1861–1911
A life in Ireland. Not only a departure point.
Mary’s work, household and home place matter in their own right. Explore Leitrim through the stories we can tell now →
Michael McPadden
Mary’s husband and the children’s father. His death is recorded on 2 September 1883. Meet him through the family story; a full biography is still being researched.
Meet Michael in Mary’s story →Their children · three paths highlighted here
Catherine McPadden Kelly
The Leitrim daughter was born on 31 July 1867. Her identification with the American Catherine is very strong but not yet an unbroken documentary chain. Her married name appears in her brother James’s American arrival record.
See Catherine’s household ↓James McPadden
Born at Tullynascreen on 11 October 1874: the James who traveled on Teutonic and later married Catherine McNiff.
Follow James’s journey →Thomas McPadden
A different migration story, still being assembled. A finished Scotland feature is not yet available.
See the Scotland research status →Other siblings belong to this family too. These three are highlighted to explain the current story paths; this is not a complete list of children or their birth order.
11 Warren Court, Bridgeport · household recorded in 1900
Catherine’s family was already here.
Catherine is the daughter in the Irish household above. She became Catherine Kelly through marriage—not the Catherine whom her brother would marry.
Catherine McPadden Kelly
A wife, mother and emigrant with a life of her own. She and James Kelly married in Bridgeport in 1888.
Begin Catherine’s own story →James Kelly
The Irish-born coachman in the 1900 household. He is not James McPadden, the arriving brother.
Meet the Kelly household →Their sons recorded at home in 1900
- Michael Kelly
- James Kelly Their son, not his father
- Joe Kelly
The census records seven children born to Catherine and three living. Four children are not named in these household rows; they are not forgotten because the diagram cannot yet name them.
The American Catherine’s identification with the Leitrim daughter is exceptionally strong, but a complete transatlantic documentary chain remains unfinished. Her possible 1883 passenger record is not treated as proved.
A separate McPadden family line · Derrindangan and Bridgeport
Sarah was a McPadden, too.
Catherine McNiff’s mother was Sarah McPadden McNiff. Records connect Sarah’s family to Hugh McPadden and Ann McWeeny at Derrindangan, in Inishmagrath parish. The Irish civil records locate her parents’ household there; they do not directly record Sarah’s own birthplace.
Hugh McPadden & Ann McWeeny
Matching Irish civil births and Bridgeport death records support this family connection. Their relationship to Mary and Michael’s Tullynascreen family remains unproved.
Place names and separate family lines →Sarah McPadden & William McNiff
Parents of Catherine, also recorded as Katie, and Sadie. Sarah’s brother Michael McPadden belongs to this family—not the Michael who was James’s father in Tullynascreen.
Visit Catherine’s family before her marriage →The documented meeting of these lines
James McPadden
Mary and Michael’s son · Tullynascreen
Married in 1912
A family connection through marriage
Catherine McNiff
Sarah and William’s daughter · Bridgeport
Marriage connects these families. It does not prove that James and Sarah had a shared McPadden ancestor. No ancestral line is joined here on the strength of the surname alone.
Bridgeport, Connecticut · marriage in 1912, household story to 1942
James begins a family of his own.
This is the same James who left Ireland in 1904. The Catherine beside him here belongs to the McNiff family.
James McPadden
Brother of Catherine Kelly and Thomas McPadden. His arrival story continues into marriage, work and family life.
Return to his journey →Catherine McNiff McPadden
Daughter of Sarah McPadden and William McNiff, from the separate family line above. Not James’s older sister Catherine Kelly.
Begin their family story →Their five children · named in the 1930 household
- Catherine McPadden Their daughter
- Cecelia McPadden
- James McPadden Jr. Their son
- William McPadden
- Edward Paul McPadden The founder’s father
The five siblings are deceased, as confirmed by the family. Living descendants are not displayed here. The founder’s connection explains this edition’s starting point; it does not make this branch more important than another.