Fifth Generation

20. John FOLEY was born in 1784 in Ireland. He died on 28 July 1868 at the age of 84 in Elmira, NY. He was the first person buried in the Foley plot in Elmira. His age at death is likely 83, rather than the 63 reported by the family. The Foley and McElligott families living along the New York-Pennsylvania border in the mid-19th century were stone-cutters and stone-masons, probably working the Pennsylvania Bluestone quarries found in the region.

Family lore was that Jeremiah's "older brother John" was the first person buried in the Foley plot in Elmira. But, the 1855 NY State Census and the 1860 US Census make it quite apparent that John was Jeremiah's father, not his brother. Margaret SULLIVAN and John FOLEY were married on 7 February 1815 in Killarney, County Kerry, IRE. The wife's maiden name is not found in any American records. This was the only marriage in Ireland of a John Foley and a woman named Margaret during the appropriate period found in available records. Plus, the Elmira tombstone that is likely hers says she was born in Killarney.

21. Margaret SULLIVAN was born in 1794 in Killarney, County Kerry, IRE. The US Census records imply a birthdate about 1794, but what we believe to be her tombstone implies a birthdate of 1789. There were several Margaret Sullivan's born in Killarney during that interval, so her parents cannot be reliably identified. She died on 6 October 1863 at the age of 69 in Oswego, NY. She was buried in St. Peter and Paul cemetery in Elmira. Her tombstone gives her age as 74 years and says she was born in Killarny, County Kerry, Ireland.

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