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Note: GEORGE ERETY AND DESCENDANTS Mary E.V. Hill
George Ereghty came to America from Ireland between 1785 and 1790 according to family letters. He had been trained as a cooper in Ireland, apprecenticed as a cooper on Water St., Philadelphia in 1790, and almost died of yellow fever in 1793. George must have returned to Ireland and married Elizabeth "Betty" Godkin or Goodin. See christening record in Enniscorthy, Wexford, Ireland of Mary Erety, Oct 1794, daughter of George Erety and Betty Goodin. They then immigrated to Philadlephia. The child, Mary, must have died before 1800 because there are only two children on the 1800 census listing and they were both christened in the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Philadelphia in 1798 and 1800.
The first document I've found mentioning George Ereghty is dated 10 Aug 1798, wherein he is a witness of a will together with Lawrence Ereghty. John Boyle made the will on 10 Aug 1798 and it was proved 13 Aug 1798 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
George Ereghty was naturalized on 9 Oct. 1802, which record states: No.101- George Ereghty: The Petition of George Ereghty a Native of Ireland but now of the City of Philadelphia Respectfully sheweth That your Petitioner was residing within the limits and under the jurisdiction of the United States; five years within these United States and one year at least in the State of Pennsylvania.That he wishes to become a citizen of the United States, and never has borne any hereditary title, or been of any of the orders of nobility in the kingdom from whence he came. Walter Fortune a Citizen of the United States being duly sworn...says that he is well acquainted with George Ereghty.
It is exciting to see George Ereghty's own signature at the end of the document. He wrote with quite a flourish.
George Erety, Jr. wrote a letter to his daughter Mary Erety Shoemaker, dated January 22, 1857, answering questions she had asked him about his parents and family background. He told her that his father, George Erety, died July 4, 1812 when George was 6 years old. However, I located his death record in Philadelphia, and he actually died July 4, 1811. His name was spelled George Araghty, age 40, died of Apoplexy. The record is for burials at St. Mary's in June and July, 1811. His mother, Elizabeth Godkin Ereghty, died 17 Aug. 1831. George Erety Jr. also said George Sr. had immigrated to this country between 1785 and 1790. The letter said that in 1790 George Ereghty worked on Water Street as an apprentice and in 1793 he almost died of yellow fever in Philadelphia. He must have returned to Ireland in 1793 to marry Betty Goodins / Elizabeth Godkin.
Both George Ereghty Sr. and his wife Elizabeth Godkin Ereghty were said to be buried in the graveyard on 13th below Spruce Street, Philadelphia according to family letters. His death record, however, says he was buried at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery. The death records for August 1831 are missing in Philadelphia. My mother, Mary Erety Elmer Vassel, tried to locate this graveyard in Philadelphia but never succeeded. Mother did not realize that George Ereghty and his wife, Elizabeth Godkin Erety, were Catholics.
George Ereghty carried on the coopering business for many years, and was one of the chief men in the business according to his son's letter. In his time he knew Henry Mandenfield and Thomas Conner, coopers.
George Jr. said his mother Elizabeth Godkin was an excellent woman of a fair education and more than an average share of mind. She was the mother of seven children, whom all but his sister [Catherine Erety Hogan, wife of Patrick John Hogan of Brooklyn, New York] and himself have died [as of 1857]. He went on to say:
When quite a child, I have looked over large bundles of papers of my Father (there was a chest nearly full of them) amongst them his certificate and Articles of Apprenticeship and distinctly recollect that his Father gave L.30 Sterling for the privilege of my Father learning the trade. You are, I suppose, aware of the fact that many Trades in Europe are closed corporations having corporate powers dating back several hundred years and being possessed of much property. It is therefore necessary to buy a right into them to enable a person to carry on the business. In course of time these papers wore out or fell into the hands of those who placed no value on them and they were no doubt destroyed. I would pay well for them now if they could be placed in my possession. The Journeymen Coopers Society, Inc. 1807 met at Daniel M'Karaher's Inn, 2nd below Lombard, in Philadelphia. George Ereghty was a member and president for a time.
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Note: XI5442
Note: I learned from the Philadelphia archdiocesan Historical Research Center's posting on http://www.rc.net/philadelphia/pahrc/ the following information about the cemetery on 13th below Spruce:
"St. Mary's Cemetery (Located at 13th & Budd [Now Spruce]). Opened in 1800, and remained active until the 1840s. Records contained in the Burial Register volumes 1823-1843 and 1844-1850. In 1899, this property was sold, and those bodies not claimed by relatives were moved to the "New St. Mary's" at 11th and Moore in May, 1899. St. Mary's Cemetery (Located at 11th and Moore Sts. in South Philadelphia). Opened in the 1840s, and remained active until about the 1880s. By 1910, the cemetery was overgrown and neglected. A fire at the cemetery destroyed any records held there. Eventually, the bodies were removed to Holy Cross (date unknown) and reinterred in a mass grave. In the 1950s, St. Maria Goretti High School was built on the site. Some of the inscriptions from tombstones were transcribed into a handwritten, bound copybook. Also, the Burial Registers 1844-1850, 1851-1859 and 1859-1878 contain some burial records for this cemetery."
So much for finding the early Erety or Ereghty graves. In 2006 Elisabeth Vassel Andersen and Mary Erety Vassel Hill visited the present St. Mary's Cemetery in downtown Philadelphia.
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