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Faith & Fortitude: Mary Jane's Story Concludes

  The read this series of posts from the beginning, click here: https://myleavesonthetree.blogspot.com/2025/03/from-buffalo-to-evans-new-york-mary.html .   As Mary Jane Sheridan Cassidy navigated the waters of widowhood and single parenting after her husband Philip’s death , she likely relied on her faith to hold her family together and to provide a framework to her life. It was still her job as a Catholic parent to be the first teacher of her children and she no doubt felt a keen responsibility for their faith lives.    Coming of the Christian Brothers One outside force which might have helped her in this regard were the Christian Brothers, a Catholic religious order which was founded by Jean Baptiste de La Salle in 1680 in France. 1 The Brothers arrived to minister in St. Catharines, Ontario, in 1876, just a few years after Philip’s death, and took over a parish school there. The Brothers focused on education, and they trained their pupils to be faithful Cat...
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SARAH DYER

Sarah Dyer Baker, photo taken after 1913.1


31 Days of Writing Family History Challenge

January 27, 2022:   Paternal Great, Great Grandmother #3 - Sarah Dyer (1860-1932)


by Nancy Gilbride Casey

One of greatest genealogical gifts I received this past year was seeing a family portrait which included members of the Cassidy and Baker families. This precious photo included the only image I've ever seen of Sarah Dyer Baker, another 2x great grandmother (above), and wife of Joseph Baker of yesterday's post. 

Sarah represents a combination of our Irish and Scottish heritage. She was of Irish descent but was born on 25 September 1850 in Clyde, Lanark, Glasgow, Scotland, to Michael Dyer and Catherine Manley.2

Detail of Sarah Dyer's birth record from Scotland. Father Michael's occupation is noted as "hawker," or street merchant, who likely pushed a handcart with goods in the neighborhood.

Sarah's parents appear to be from Killala, County Mayo, Ireland. As Sarah's older brother Patrick and older sister Bridget were born in Ireland, the family emigrated no earlier than 1845, immediately following the Irish Famine. It is likely they came to not only escape the desperate situation in County Mayo—one of the hardest hit areas in Ireland during the Famine—but also to earn enough money to emigrate elsewhere.3

Around 1870, the family made their way from Scotland to Canada, and by 1871 the family was living in Port Dalhousie, St. Catharines, Ontario, in the same neighborhood as members of the Baker and Cassidy families.4

As noted yesterday, Sarah married in 1878 to Joseph Baker, and the couple had ten children over 21 years. She outlived her husband by many years, living to the age of 71. 

Sarah died on 15 February 1932, and is buried at Victoria Lawn Cemetery in Ontario. She is buried in a family plot, along with her father Michael Dyer, mother Catherine Manley Dyer, husband Joseph Baker, and sister-in-law Kathleen Baker.5

The inscription for Sarah Dyer Baker is likely on the back of this headstone at Victoria Lawn Cemetery in Ontario. Here are inscriptions for her mother Catherine and father Michael.6  

 

BONUS: Sarah's Obituary7

 

 BONUS: Lineage Chart from Sarah Dyer to me.



NOTES

1 Detail from photo of Charles Cassidy, Edward Baker, Ina Baker, Mary Jane "Mayme" Cassidy/Sister M. Magdalena, Catherine Cassidy and Sarah Dyer Baker, after 1913, unknown photographer/location; private collection of R. Firestone [address for private use], 2022. Date of photo calculated based on date when Mary Jane "Mayme" Cassidy received the Sisters of St. Joseph habit in 1913 and when she took final vows in 1920, per her order's biography. Individuals are identified on the back of the photo, by one of the daughters of Edward and Catherine Baker: "Dad's Mom," "Mom's Dad," etc.

2 Statutory Births, unknown page, record #959, birth of Sarah Dyer, 25 September 1860; image: Scotland's People, supplied by K. Murphy, 2018; citing National Records of Scotland.

3 Niagara Peninsula Branch, Ontario Ancestors, "Roman Catholic Singles." Victoria Lawn Cemetery. Ontario #3424. Ontario: The Ontario Genealogical Society, 1989-2005. Page 9. Listing for Dyer; image provided by Niagara-Peninsula Branch, Ontario, Canada; "[DYER] Catherine/ wife of Michael Dyer/ Died/ Aug 31, 1888/ Aged 73 years/ Michael Dyer/ Died April 24, 1890/ Aged 80 years/ Natives of Mayo, Ireland." Also: 1851 Scotland Census, Borough of Glasgow, St. Enoch Parish, #63 [unreadable street], Michael Dyer (25); image, Scotlands People, provided by K. Murphy, 2018.

4 "Mrs. Sarah Baker," obituary, The St. Catharines Standard, 16 February 1932, no page/column; image supplied by Ontario Ancestors, Niagara-Peninsula Branch, Ontario, Canada. Notes that Sarah had lived in Canada for 62 years. Also: 1871 Census of Canada, Nominal Return of Living, Province of Ontario, District 21 Lincoln, Village of Port Dalhousie, p. 49, line 2, Sarah Dyer (10); image, Library and Archives Canada (https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/ : accessed 27 January 2022); citing Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa.

5 Ontario Ancestors, cemetery inscription publication, listing for Dyer.

6 Ancestry, Find a Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/168593840/michael-dyer : accessed 26 January 2022), memorial 168593840, Michael Dyer (1810-1890), Victoria Lawn Cemetery, Niagara Regional Municipality, Ontario, Canada; headstone photo by Dan Lanteigne, 2016.

7 "Mrs. Sarah Baker," The St. Catharines Standard, 16 February 1932.

 








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