Since his father lived outside of Belfast and is not known to have traveled,
we had always supposed that James was born in or near Belfast. We have since
determined that he was born at Portglenone, Antrim, which is indeed about
thirty miles northwest of Belfast.
According to several volumes of the Belfast and Province of Ulster Street
Directory (a book similar to current day telephone directories, published
each year and having three sections, name, street and occupation) from the
late nineteenth century, James was a shoemaker and boot-maker. This
occupation is confirmed on his marriage certificate.
He married Mary Leitch on 28 February 1874, West Parish, Greenock, Renfrew,
Scotland. He was 21 years old and she was 18. Though they married in
Greenock, Mary, also, was born in Portglenone, Ireland.
James and Mary spent the first three years of their marriage in Greenock.
Scotland. They moved back to Portglenone, Ireland in 1877. They moved to Belfast
some time between 1881 and 1887. We have not yet determined exactly when they
moved.
According to the street directories mentioned above, some of the addresses where
James lived in Belfast are shown in the following table. The sections of the
directories are indicated as: Alphabetical Name (A), Street (S) and Occupation
(O).
- 1893: 118 Old Lodge Road (A, S)
- 1894: 11 Fifth Street (A, S, O)
- 1895: 71 Beverly Street (A, S)
- 1896: 47 Townsend Street (O)
- 1901: 38 Carnan Street (A, S)
- 1902: 38 Glenbank Place (A, S)
All of the addresses are in the Shankill section of Belfast, which, during
the recent "Troubles", was one of the most politically volatile and
dangerous areas in the city.
James and Mary had many children, including:
- Ann, born 13 November 1874, Middle or New Parish, Greenock, Renfrew,
Scotland
- Henry, born 21 December 1875, 72 Ann Street, West Parish, Greenock
- Mary, born 14 September 1877, Portglenone, Co. Antrim, Ireland
- James, born 25 July 1879, Portglenone, Co. Antrim, Ireland
- Rose Ann, born 3 May 1881, Portglenone, Co. Antrim, Ireland
- William John, born in the spring 1887, Belfast, Co. Antrim, Ireland
- Robert Leitch, born 1893, Portglenone, Co. Antrim, Ireland
- Thomas Andrew, born 4 May 1896, Belfast, Co. Antrim, Ireland
- John, no information found yet
- Margaret, no vital statistics are available yet. We know her from a letter
written by another relative.
Mary Leitch McCartney acted as mid-wife at her grandson John's birth in 1897.
From the birth certificate we also know that she could not write and probably
could not read. She made her mark on the document. Someone else attested to
and witnessed that it was her mark. In the ship's manifest when they came to
the United States in 1921, Mary could read. She must have learned during the
24 years between John's birth and her emigration.
According to grandson John's birth certificate, Mary Leitch McCartney
lived at 87 Bellevue Street. But no McCartney ever appears at that address
in the directories my son Michael was able to consult. The birth certificate
definitely shows the address as 87 Bellevue Street. We do know that James'
son Henry lived at 97 Bellevue Street in 1897. We can't find any evidence
that any McCartneys lived at 87. Perhaps the discrepancy was due to a clerical
error.
The steamship Columbia.
Having traveled between Ireland and Scotland several times in his life,
James undertook his longest journey at the age of 68, when he sailed with
his wife Mary on the "Columbia". They sailed from Glasgow, and arrived in
New York on 7 August 1921. Their son-in-law, Thomas Herdman, of the Eureka
Building Supply Company, Houston, Texas, paid for their passage. On the
ship's manifest they listed their son, Thomas Andrew, as the closest relative
from where they left. Interestingly, they listed his name as Andrew, dropping
Thomas.
An interesting fact came to light when researching the arrival of James and
Mary at Ellis Island in the records at the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA). James and Mary were placed on the Record of Aliens
Held for Special Enquiry. The codes placed on the list were "Likely to
Become a Public Charge" (LPC) and "Physical Handicap" (PH). There were notes
that James suffered from arthritis in both hands. That would account for the
PH code. But James had £ 26, so the LPC is unusual.
They were held at Ellis Island for five days, until 11 August, and then were
admitted to the U. S. According to the people at NARA they may have been
held because the amount of money was insufficient to get them to their final
destination and they had to wait for someone to claim them. Unfortunately,
the records of their release are not available at this time so we don't know
who claimed them. Their son-in-law Thomas Herdman may have come from Texas
or it may have been their son, Henry, who lived on Staten Island. The records
only show that they were detained, but do not state the resolution of that
detention. We do know, however, that they went to Texas after they were released
from detention.
James and Mary lived in Texas with their daughter Rose and her husband Thomas
Herdman. They lived in the Houston/Galveston area. The following photo shows Mary
and James on the beach in Galveston. The photo is dated May 5, 1923.
James and Mary on the beach at Galveston.
As far as we can determine, they never returned to the Uniterd Kingdom. We have
yet to uncover evidence of where they died. However, from photographic evidence,
we believe that James died after 1923 and Mary some time after that - James
possibly in Texas and Mary possibly in Staten Island, NY.
One story I remember, and again I must caution you, it is unconfirmed, is
that the American western movie star Tom Mix, while in England or,
possibly, in Texas, USA, was in need of some new boots. Someone recommended
James who was in the vicinity at the same time. James was then supposedly in
his late fifties or early sixties. Because he had a severe foot deformity,
boots for Mix had to be very carefully fitted. James made a pair of boots
that so pleased Mix that he ordered a large quantity, around twenty or
thirty pair, possibly more.
When asked why he wanted so many, Mix is reported to have said: 'My last
shoemaker just recently died. You make a boot just as well. Since you're not
so young either, I'm not taking any chances.'
