A Crooked Crown with Links to Leitrim

The research summarized in this post stems from a DNA match not to me but to several other Crown/Travers relations including my dearly departed second cousin, M. Muldoon. (Click here to read about my genealogy adventures with her in 2013-14.) That match to her was with a person who has one Anthony Crown in his direct line of descent. Who was Anthony Crown?

It appears that Anthony Crown was born in Ireland (year of birth varies in documents), arriving in NYC around 1820. He married to Susan Ridgeway in 1838, and they lived in Ward 6 where Anthony was listed as a grocer and later a coal merchant. Anthony died in April 1857 leaving four children and a somewhat extensive estate to be managed by his wife.

This summary doesn't tell half the true story about Anthony Crown. Think of the 2002 movie Gangs of New York. Then look up a particular gang called Dead Rabbits. Then look up the word groggery. Then read about Crown's Corner Grocery, a groggery owned by Anthony Crown, which was nicknamed "The Gates of Hell" not just for moldy groceries and poisonous liquor but also for all kinds of immorality, savagery, and murder. The owner was known as an especially cruel person.

The story of Anthony Crown strikes me as both horrifying and fascinating. More digging required! It turns out that Anthony Crown had at least four siblings: Patrick, John, Ann, and Bridget. John died in 1844 at age 17. Patrick lived in Macon, GA starting around 1850, and he died there in 1886. Patrick left a will that named his deceased brother Anthony of NYC, his deceased sister Bridget Dowd and her two orphan daughters, and another sister, Ann Sweeney. Then we get to Patrick's gravestone in which was carved his birth place: Drumlease Parish, County Leitrim, the parish next-door to where our Richard Crown and Sarah Meehan lived and died. Wow. So in addition to the DNA match to my second cousin, now there's also circumstantial evidence that links the homeland of My Crowns to the family of the infamous Anthony Crown.

According to the 1855 NY state census, Anthony Crown had lived in NYC for 36 of his 38 years, making his arrival in NY around 1819 at the age of two. In addition, Anthony's will provided for his parents as well as his two orphan nieces who were then living with Anthony's parents. Who were the parents? Also living in Ward 6 were Charles and Bridget Crown, both born before 1800 in Ireland. Censuses show them living with their daughters of the names Sweeney and Dowd. Bingo. 

But the identity of Charles Crown is layered. Two death notices in NYC newspapers tell us:

• 1844 death notice of John, father Cormick, brother Anthony
• 1857 death notice of Cormick, father of Anthony dec, 82 years

Was Charles Crown the same person as Cormick Crown?  Apparently yes. The NYC Municipal death record reports the death of Charles Crowne on 23 May 1857 at 152 Leonard St (a house built by Anthony) at age 82. Charles was buried at a Catholic cemetery (Calvary) whereas Anthony was not (buried at Greenwood).

So many more questions are bubbling to the surface at this point, not the least of which is how this new Crown family group is related to mine. The progenitor of My Crowns was Richard Crown who died in Pollboy, Cloonlogher, Leitrim, Ireland in 1867. There is some question about Richard's approximate birth year, but I speculate that it was around 1796. Was Richard a son of Cormack/Charles who died in NYC in 1857? A nephew? A younger brother? I could speculate all day. We seem to be inching closer to a better understanding about our Crowns, but there is no end of intrigue when it comes to learning about their lives.