Week 14 Prompt: Brick Wall
This week’s 52 Ancestors theme is “Brick Wall.” Like any genealogist, I have several so-called brick walls. The majority are self-imposed either for lack of effort/time or lack of knowledge in a particular area. In some cases, it’s a problem of record availability (but with more records and indexes coming online all the time, I have been able to bust through a few of those brick walls—and then erect new ones, of course!). But instead of talking about these, I’m going a different route (thanks for the idea, Amy!).
I was curious to see if I had any bricklayers in my family tree. A quick search revealed three men with brick-related occupations. One of those men is in a family line that is indeed an actual brick wall—how ironic!
Anyway, Edward Mulligan is my second great-granduncle. He was born on 8 April 1867 in Lapeer, Lapeer, Michigan, son of James Mulligan and Sarah Norton Webster.1 In 1885, at the age of 18, while living in Flint, Michigan, he was a brickmaker.2 A few years later, his occupation was noted as a molder, which is likely a moulder, also a brickmaker.3 By 1891, he’s living in Chicago, where he was a cooper, or a barrel maker, the rest of his life.4
Now I have all these questions. Why did he change occupations when he moved to Chicago? What were the working conditions like at the time for both brickmakers and coopers? Did he belong to a union? Ah, our research is never done!
Notes
© Julie Tarr. 52 Ancestors #14: A Pile of Bricks was originally posted at Julie's Genealogy & History Hub; appearance of this article elsewhere, without my permission, violates copyright.
