Finding aid for the Patricia Codney Family Papers

Biography of the Patricia Codney Family

Patricia (Fitzgibbons) Codney (b. 1933) was born in Cleveland, Ohio, of Irish descent. Codney has traced her family genealogy back to five generations, originating in the towns of Thurles and Nenagh, County Tipperary, Ireland. Her maternal grandfather, John Fitzgibbons (1881-1939) was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, in the parish of Ballyporeen in the diocese of Waterford and Lismore. He immigrated to the United States in 1904 from Queenstown on the Teutonic, arriving at Ellis Island, New York. He married Mary Carroll (1877-1940) in 1906 in New Haven, Connecticut. She came from Thurles, County Tipperary, immigrated to the United States in 1897, on the S.S. Germanic, White Line and arrived at Ellis Island. Fitzgibbons worked on the railroads in Cleveland, and also worked as a car inspector for New York Central in Cleveland. He was a member of the Big Four Athletic Association, a sports organization organized by the railroads. They settled in The Angle, a renowned Irish neighborhood at that time which was located north of Detroit Road and east of West 28th Street in Cleveland. Codney's mother, Mary Alice Fitzgibbons (1909-1974) was also born in Thurles.

Like many other Irish Americans on Cleveland's west side, she attended St. Colman's Catholic Church Primary School and St. Stephen's High School. She joined a number of Irish American organizations, including the Irish American Club, East Side, Inc., and became a member of St. Colman's parish. She was named Parishioner of the Year in 2001 by St. Colman's parish. She shares her genealogical information by teaching others interested in this hobby, particularly Irish Americans. Patricia is involved in the Immaculate Conception 50+ Club Tour of Cleveland's Historic west side Catholic churches. She is a member of the Lake Genealogical Society, the Western Reserve Historical Society and volunteers in the library of the East Side Irish American Club, Inc.

Scope and Content

The Patricia Codney Family Papers, 1816-2002, consist of an application form, various certificates, death notices, genealogies, correspondence, memberships, rules for car inspectors, and a school record.

This collection is of value to researchers studying Irish American history in the United States. It is of particular interest to individuals interested in Irish history and the Irish American community in northeast Ohio. This collection will be of special interest to those seeking information about first generation Irish immigrants and their adaptation to life in the United States. Those researching the Fitzgibbons family from county Tipperary, Ireland, will find this collection useful. Individuals tracing the Carroll, Nolan, Fehilly, Sullivan, O'Brien and Whelan families from the midlands in Ireland will also find pertinent data is this collection. Those interested in railroad cars, railroads, and railroad workers during the 1920s, will find the rules for car inspectors to be valuable. Historians interested in Irish families who lived in the Angle in the nineteenth century will find a flavor of the lifestyle in this collection.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

Photographs have been removed to the photograph and print collection.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4912 Patricia Codney Family Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gift of Patricia Codney in 2002.

Processing Information

Processed by Regina Costello in 2002.

Detailed Description of The Collection