Welch Project
Welch-Daly-Lyons Line
Ancestor #19 Sketch
By Don Taylor

Mary Eliza Lyons was born in County Cork, Ireland, likely between April 16 and May 10, 1865. She immigrated to the United States in 1884 or 1885. She married Timothy Daly on November 1, 1886, in Biddeford, Maine. The couple had seven children during their marriage.

Mary Eliza (Lyons) Daly died on May 24, 1940, in Biddeford, Maine, at the age of 75, and was buried in Saint Mary’s Cemetery, Biddeford, Maine.

Mary Eliza Lyons is found in my [Welch-Harris Project], Six Ancestry Public Trees[1], and is Family Search profile KZC4-D3M

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List of Grandparents

• Grandfather: 4. Robert Anthony Welch
• 1^st Great-grandmother: 9. Julia Anne Daley
• 2^nd Great-grandfather: 19. Mary Eliza Lyons

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Birth

April 1862 – Ireland.

• The 1900 Census, taken June 1^st, indicates Mary was 38 years old and born in April 1962 in Ireland.

1865 – Ireland.

• The 1910 Census, taken April 15^th, indicates Mary is 44, suggesting she was born after April 15, 1865.
• The 1920 Census, taken January 1^st, indicates Mary is 54 and also suggests she was born in 1865.
• The 1930 Census, taken April 1^st, indicates Mary is 64, suggesting she was born in 1865.
• The 1940 Census, taken April 1, indicates Mary is 74, suggesting her birth in 1865.

1866

• Her marker at Saint Mary’s Cemetery, Biddeford, Maine, indicates she was born in 1866.
• Her obituary also indicates she turned 74 a few weeks earlier, suggesting she was born before 24 May 1866 and probably before 10 May 1866.

I believe the 1900 Census is incorrect in her birth year, but it is probably correct for her birth month. I think that is correct because all the other census records are consistent with an April 1865 birth. Because her obituary and her grave marker are farthest from her birth, I believe they are incorrect.

Absent any other documents proving her birthdate, I place her birth between 16 April and 10 May 1865.

I have not found any records regarding her parents or her childhood.

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Immigration & Naturalization.

• The 1900 Census indicates she immigrated in 1885 and had been in the US for 15 years.
• The 1910 Census indicates she immigrated in 1884.
• The 1920 Census indicates she immigrated in 1882, the same year as her husband, Timothy, and naturalized in 1890 with Timothy.

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Marriage

Timothy Daily & Miss Mary Eliza Lyons, both of Biddeford, Me, were married on Nov 1, 1886, by Rev. John M. Harrington. They had seven children.

Children of Timothy and Mary Eliza Lyons Daly

Name	Born	Married	Died
Marguerette	1887		Bef. 1900
Catherine	1888		Bef. 1900
Julia Anne	1890	Frances Asbury Welch	1973
Mary E	1893		1940
Bridget	1895		1897
Mary	1900		? (bef. 1910) ?
Nora	1901-1902		Aft 1973

It is very unusual for a couple to simultaneously have two children with the same name. Mary E was born in 1893 and was living when Mary was born in 1900. Further research is needed to confirm there were two children named Mary.

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Adulthood

• 1900 – Lived at 51 Water St.
• 1910 – Lived at 17 Clifford
• 1920 – Lived at 73 Pool St
• 1930 – lived at 409 Maine St.
• 1935 – 1940 – Owned her home at 38 Amherst St.

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Death/Burial, etc.

Mary fell ill in July 1939 and died nine months later, on 24 May 1940, at a local hospital. She was buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Biddeford, York County, Maine.

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Events by Location

• Ireland, County Cork                   Birth (1865).
• Maine, York County, Biddeford  Lived 1886-1940 & Death 1940.

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Conflicts

• I need to sort out the two daughters of Mary named Mary.

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Actions / Follow-up

• Search Irish records for records of Mary Lyons, County Cork’s birth, and her life before her immigration.
• Search for records of Mary Lyon’s immigration in 1884 or 1885.
• Search for Timothy’s naturalization records.
• Confirm there were two Marys born to Timothy & Mary (Lyons) Daly.

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Sources

• 1900 Census, 1900 – Timothy Daley (Darley) – Biddeford, York, Maine. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMG7-THF.
• 1910 Census (NARA, 1910), Timothy Daley – Maine, York, Biddeford, ED-228, Sheet 6B, Lines, 80 through 84 – Timothy Daley, Head. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MR3L-CZP.
• 1920 Census, Various, 1920 – Maine, York, Biddeford, ED-92,  Sheet 3B, Lines 69-72 – Timothy Daly. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MF84-3D1.
• 1930 Census, Various, Mary Daly – age 64. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XMDX-123?lang=en.
• 1940 Census, Various, Mary Daley – Biddeford, York, Maine. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KM99-W2L?lang=en.
• Biddeford Daily Journal (Biddeford, ME), Newspapers.com, Mrs. Mary Daly Died Today. https://www.newspapers.com/image/864912190.
• Biddeford-Saco Journal (Biddeford, Maine, ), Newspapers.com, Clipping – 24 Feb 1922 – Page 5, Column 2 & 3. “Master Welch Celebrates.”. https://www.newspapers.com/image/864220730.
• Find a Grave, Find a Grave, Mary Lyons Daly (1866-1940). https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/154681508/mary_daly.
• Maine Births and Christenings, 1739-1900, Family Search, Julia Anne Daley – April 7, 1890. See Image 1743 of 3977.
• Maine, Vital Records, 1670-1921, Family Search, Birth – Mary Daley – 15 July 1893. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VZ3R-944?lang=en.
• Maine, Vital Records, 1670-1921, Family Search, Birth – Mary Daly – 4 Jun 1900. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VZ3R-HWF?lang=en.
• Maine, Vital Records, 1670-1921, Family Search, Marriage – Frances Asbury Welch & Julia Anna Daley – 11 June 1917. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q24J-6MFZ.
• Maine, Vital Records, 1670-1921, Family Search, Marriage – Timothy Daily & Mary Eliza Lyons – 1 Nov 1886.
• Portland Press Herald (Portland, ME), 1923-01-22, Page 2 – Funeral of Timothy Daly. https://www.newspapers.com/image/846660522.

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Endnotes

[1] Ancestry Public Trees – This number changes. It is the number of trees on the day I was writing this sketch.