Who was Bridget Cain/Kane?
My 2nd great grandmother, Bridget Cain/Kane was born in County Roscommon, Ireland, the daughter of Thomas Cain/Kane and Hattie Kelly. She was first married in Ireland to William Sharkey and she had 2 children by him, Mary and Winifred. Bridget says that she left William because he was a bad man and she came to America in 1863 (she described it as having been “2 years here when Lincoln was shot”) and that she left her children in Ireland (with her parents according to Winifred). She says she drifted to Poughkeepsie becoming a servant there until she married Benedict Sherer. She says she never divorced William Sharkey but that her father wrote to her telling her that William had gone to Staffordshire, England to work and fell off of a building. He was returned home and died in Ireland.
I’ve been in contact with a cousin, Maire, who is a great granddaughter of Mary Sharkey and she has shared some family information with me. William Sharkey was a Stablemaster to Lord Ffrench but the Sharkeys were also bailiffs, collecting rents for the Lord on his estate from tenant farmers. If the farmers had no money to pay the rent, they would be put out on the road and their thatched homes burned. This was especially horrible as it was happening during the famine. It was said in the family that Bridget came to America with one of William’s brothers and married him here (although possible, this seems very unlikely since we know that Bridget arrived about 1863 and married Benedict Sherer in 1866 saying she had been a servant in someone's home in Poughkeepsie before her marriage). Maire was also told that William Sharkey was still living in 1875 and that he was killed by a stallion, although no one seems to know when this may have happened. It is known that he had gone to Cheshire, England and although I have not confirmed it, there is a William Sharkey that meets his description in Cheshire in the 1871, 1881, and 1891 England Censuses. This William is listed as married in 1871 & 1881, but as widowed in 1891, and in no instance is a family member listed with him. This could well be a different William, but if this is the same William, in the absence of a divorce and with Bridget having left for America, it may be that William continued to consider himself married for some time (he also could have remarried but the oddity here is a man listed in 2 censuses as married yet with no wife or family living with him). I haven’t found any information on William’s brothers, nor have I found evidence of any communication between England/Ireland and America. Bridget lived until 1911 so if this was the same William, he wouldn't have changed his marital status based on any word that Bridget had died.
All evidence points to Bridget's marriage to Benedict Sherer being her second marriage. She claims she married him under the name of Bridget Cain because she believed William Sharkey to be dead. The Special Examiner in Benedict's pension case notes that Bridget admits “she was previously married, and that her statements as to the death of her first husband, Wm. Sharkey, leave the date and fact of his death in doubt.” She also says that Benedict used the name John Benedict when they married and she didn’t know his name was Benedict Sherer until after they were married. Together they had 3 known children, John, Maria/Mary, and Margaret/Maggie.
I’ve been in contact with a cousin, Maire, who is a great granddaughter of Mary Sharkey and she has shared some family information with me. William Sharkey was a Stablemaster to Lord Ffrench but the Sharkeys were also bailiffs, collecting rents for the Lord on his estate from tenant farmers. If the farmers had no money to pay the rent, they would be put out on the road and their thatched homes burned. This was especially horrible as it was happening during the famine. It was said in the family that Bridget came to America with one of William’s brothers and married him here (although possible, this seems very unlikely since we know that Bridget arrived about 1863 and married Benedict Sherer in 1866 saying she had been a servant in someone's home in Poughkeepsie before her marriage). Maire was also told that William Sharkey was still living in 1875 and that he was killed by a stallion, although no one seems to know when this may have happened. It is known that he had gone to Cheshire, England and although I have not confirmed it, there is a William Sharkey that meets his description in Cheshire in the 1871, 1881, and 1891 England Censuses. This William is listed as married in 1871 & 1881, but as widowed in 1891, and in no instance is a family member listed with him. This could well be a different William, but if this is the same William, in the absence of a divorce and with Bridget having left for America, it may be that William continued to consider himself married for some time (he also could have remarried but the oddity here is a man listed in 2 censuses as married yet with no wife or family living with him). I haven’t found any information on William’s brothers, nor have I found evidence of any communication between England/Ireland and America. Bridget lived until 1911 so if this was the same William, he wouldn't have changed his marital status based on any word that Bridget had died.
All evidence points to Bridget's marriage to Benedict Sherer being her second marriage. She claims she married him under the name of Bridget Cain because she believed William Sharkey to be dead. The Special Examiner in Benedict's pension case notes that Bridget admits “she was previously married, and that her statements as to the death of her first husband, Wm. Sharkey, leave the date and fact of his death in doubt.” She also says that Benedict used the name John Benedict when they married and she didn’t know his name was Benedict Sherer until after they were married. Together they had 3 known children, John, Maria/Mary, and Margaret/Maggie.
Bridget was also deposed in Benedict's pension case and she says in her deposition that her oldest daughter with William Sharkey, Mary, married Pat Cunningham and she hasn’t spoken to her in years. Mary & Patrick appear to have had 13 children and she died in Lancashire in 1919. According to Mary & Pat's great granddaughter, Maire, the family did a lot of community work in Lancashire, particularly in education and medicine, and worked for poor and working class rights.
There is also a deposition of Winifred Sharkey Daugherty (or Dougherty) noting that she was raised by her grandparents in Ireland, married James Daugherty in England in 1880 and he brought her to America in 1881. Together they had 9 children. James died sometime between 1900 and 1910, and Winifred remarried a man named Smith. I’ve found nothing on this man and only know of the marriage through Winifred’s death certificate in 1922.
By 1910, Benedict and Bridget are living in Brooklyn. Their son, John is living with them and Bridget is said to have 4 children still living of the 5 she had (their daughter Margaret had died between 1900 & 1901 leaving Mary & Winifred Sharkey, and John and Mary Sherer Hawkins). Bridget died on 24 May 1911 when the family was living at 64 Adelphi St. in Brooklyn. Her death certificate was transcribed to say that her father’s name was Benedict Kaul but on closer inspection it appears to have been written as Benedict Kane. The given name of Benedict is apparently another name mistake as Bridget, herself, gave the name Thomas as her father's name.
Just seven months after Bridget’s death on 13 Dec 1911, her grandson, John Hawkins, died while the family was still living in the same home on Adelphi St. Both Bridget and John suffered from nephritis and John also had a heart condition. John had been engaged to Margaret Kenny at the time and three years later his younger brother, William, married Margaret.
By 1910, Benedict and Bridget are living in Brooklyn. Their son, John is living with them and Bridget is said to have 4 children still living of the 5 she had (their daughter Margaret had died between 1900 & 1901 leaving Mary & Winifred Sharkey, and John and Mary Sherer Hawkins). Bridget died on 24 May 1911 when the family was living at 64 Adelphi St. in Brooklyn. Her death certificate was transcribed to say that her father’s name was Benedict Kaul but on closer inspection it appears to have been written as Benedict Kane. The given name of Benedict is apparently another name mistake as Bridget, herself, gave the name Thomas as her father's name.
Just seven months after Bridget’s death on 13 Dec 1911, her grandson, John Hawkins, died while the family was still living in the same home on Adelphi St. Both Bridget and John suffered from nephritis and John also had a heart condition. John had been engaged to Margaret Kenny at the time and three years later his younger brother, William, married Margaret.
Benedict was still living with his daughter, Mary, in 1915 but by 1916 he was admitted to the Home for Disabled Soldiers and Sailors in Bath, NY. He was discharged from the home in Oct 1921, returned to Poughkeepsie, and died there 12 May 1923. Benedict and Bridget are buried together in a grave at Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn.
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