Papa Joe

Today, I'd like to introduce you to Joseph Wynne, better known as Papa Joe to his grandchildren. Joseph was a first cousin of my grandfather, Kevin Wynne. 

In 1907, when he was twenty-four years old, Joseph left home in Dundalk, Co. Louth, and made his way to America. He signed on as a trimmer onboard the Carmania, an ocean liner serving the Liverpool-New York route, but on arrival in New York, he deserted ship and supposedly swam to shore.[1] 

Joseph was born on 24 May 1883, in Mary Street, Dundalk, the second son and fourth child of John Wynne and Margarita Armstrong, a.k.a. Ward. He was baptised four days later. His Godparents were Joseph Wynne and Julia Hoey.[2] 

On leaving school, Joseph served an apprenticeship with a carpenter in Dundalk, an occupation that would serve him well in New York City.

On 31 July 1910, he married Catherine McDonald, a girl he knew from home. Catherine was born on 22 June 1888, at Jocelyn Street, Dundalk, the daughter of John McDonald, a fireman on the steamships. Her mother Mary died of tuberculosis in 1891, when Catherine was an infant, and the children were said to have been raised in an orphanage in Dundalk.[3] 

Joseph and Catherine raised a family of eight children in New York City. Seemingly, however, Joseph was not the ideal husband or father, spending far too much time in the pub, drinking the family budget. Perhaps he took after his granny Bridget Wynne in that regard; she had a problem with alcohol too, an illness that even saw her spend a night or two in jail. 

But, this wasn't the only trait Joseph may have inherited from his ancestors. He had black hair and blue eyes, same as my granda, and same as many others in our extended Wynne family. And, just like his siblings, and his Uncle James Wynne, Joseph could sing. As a young man, he sang solo at concerts in his native Dundalk, and, according to his granddaughter, he was known to entertain the neighbours in the evenings, singing out on his front porch, in Brooklyn, New York.[4]  

Joseph was eighty-five years old when he died in March 1968, in Lynbrook, Nassau County, New York. Catherine survived him by nearly nine years. They were buried next to each other in the Cemetery of the Holy Rood, in Westbury, Nassau County, New York.[5]

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[1] 'Liverpool, England, Crew Lists 1861-1919' accessed on ($) Ancestry.com.
[2] Copy birth register, Joseph Wynne, Dundalk, 1883, accessed IrishGenealogy.ie; transcription of the baptism register, Joseph Wynn, Dundalk, 1883, accessed ($) RootsIreland.ie.
[3] 'New York, New York, marriage index 1866-1937' accessed on ($) Ancestry.com; copy birth register, Catherine McDonald, Dundalk, 1888, copy death register Mary McDonald, Dundalk, 1891, accessed IrishGenealogy.ie. 
[4] Dundalk Examiner and Louth Advertiser, 21 November 1903; 'World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918' accessed on ($) Ancestry.com.
[5] Burial of Joseph C. Wynne, 1968, and Catherine Wynne, 1977, Cemetery of the Holy Rood, Westbury, Nassau County, New York, accessed on Find A Grave. 
[6] Family anecdotes, as told by Joseph's granddaughters, Pamela and Holly. 
Image: Carmania poster accessed via Wikimedia Commons.

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(c) Black Raven Genealogy