Thomas Saul - Dublin / Brooklyn, NY

[James O'Reilly]

Looking for info on the Sauls of Brooklyn, NY.

Thomas Saul was probably from Dublin, emmigrated to the US in the 1860s, married Bridget Delia Considine around 1871, had 5 children.

Bridget & Thomas both died in 1883, he in a famous boat explosion on the Hudson River. They left 5 orphans, the oldest being Mary Agnes, my Grandmother who was 10 at the time. She married James O'Reilly in 1899 as Agnes Saul "Fennell". Her sisters all married listing their maiden names as Saul.

My question is : How did she get the Fennell name? Her marriage documents say it was her first marriage, so she must have been adopted by a Fennell.

Thomas Saul had a sister in Dublin who could have been a Fennell by marriage. She attended Thomas Saul's funeral in Brooklyn. His wife Bridget also had a sister that could have been married to a Fennell.

The only other hint I have is that a Patrick Fennell was on the ship Gallia with James O'Reilly in 1895.

Any help from the UK or Ireland Saul family would be greatly appreciated.

Jim O'Reilly

[James O'Reilly]

New information shows that Alice Saul Hilton, Thomas Saul's sister left Scotland in 1883 with her husband and 4 sons to come to Brooklyn, NY to care for the Saul children. She was born in Ireland, probably Dublin in 1855. I would like to find her birth info and her parents names. There may also be an older link to a line of German Sauls who originated in the Frankfort area and emigrated west around 1775 with some coming to Belgium some to the Isle of Wight and Ireland and some to Philadelphia, Pa in the US.

[trelawn1984]

Hi Jim,

I am not related to this particular branch of the Sauls but I have found Alice's marriage for you. If you contact the General Register Office in Roscommon and request a research copy of the cert it should give you Alice's father's name and occupation which will be something at least. Alice Saul married William Burness Hilton in Dublin North District in 1867. The volume number is 2 and the page number is 517. When requesting a cert give all the above details and be sure to request a RESEARCH copy as it is the cheapest. It costs €4. Hope this helps!

Amy

[James O'Reilly]

Thanks for the tip-tried that site but they only have marriage certs after 1905. Any suggestions? I still think we may both have a German thread.

[trelawn1984]

Hi, sorry for the delay. On the site there is a "apply for certificates by post or online" section. There is a form there that you can download. Personally I just type up a letter requesting a research cert. for the birth/death/marriage of .... and then supply the year, quarter(if applicable) volume and page numbers. I usually include a postal order/bank draft for the fee as I don't like sending credit card details. It's €4 euro per cert. On the letter I request that the certs be emailed to me and I include my email address. It saves time waiting for them to be posted to you. The address to send it to is General Register Office, Government Offices, Convent Road, Roscommon, Co. Roscommon, Ireland. It usually takes about a week to receive the cert. by email. Best of luck : )

[trelawn1984]

Regarding the German connection, I have found nothing in my research so far to suggest my Sauls are from Germany originally. That said, I have not got terribly far back. I think the furthest I have gotten is Matthew Saul (possibly from Wicklow) living in Dublin in the 1840's and 1850s. He is my 3x great grandfather. Have not got much info on him at all. He died around 1858 I think. He married Catherine Hayden and they had two daughters and a son, Henry.