Gilbride or Gallagher: Which Michael is Buried in Sacramento?

I'm taking on a little challenge this week to hopefully correct a mistake 138-years in the making. It involves a cemetery record in which the wrong surname was recorded. Was it Michael Gilbride or Michael Gallagher who was interred at St. Joseph Cemetery in Sacramento?

(You may remember my posts about Michael Gilbride published in fall 2022, and how I originally discovered him, his family's move to Lowell, Massachusetts, and more. To catch up, start here:  Dear Sir: How I Found My Civil War Veteran, Michael Gilbride.)

I can make a compelling case that the man was Michael Gilbride, who is a third great-granduncle, and the son of my immigrant ancestor James Gilbride (1874-1872) and his wife Mary Catherine Hart Gilbride (1807-1855).

Why is this important? Michael was a Civil War veteran, who served in the 52nd Pennsylvania, Co. H. By the time he lived in Sacramento, he was indigent. In 1884, he applied for a Civil War pension, and was still fighting for it in 1886, when he died. Poor, and estranged from his family, there was no provision made for a headstone. His grave is unmarked. I hope that by convincing the cemetery to correct their record, I can then apply to the VA to get a Civil War marker to honor his service.¹

The Sacramento death registration lists Michael Gilbride...

...but the St. Joseph Cemetery transcription records Michael Gallagher.

My job is two-fold. First, establish Michael's identity in Luzerne, Pennsylvania, from where he enlisted in the Civil War, and then connect him to the Michael Gilbride who later lived in Sacramento. Luckily, I have good records on him, including his Civil War Compiled Military Service Record (CMSR), as well as his pension application. The pension record has numerous references to his Sacramento address, and to his previous Luzerne, Pennsylvania, residence. 

As a bonus, the file contains a 1901 letter from his son John A. Gilbride, seeking information from the U.S. Pension Bureau on his father—and a letter back from the Pension Bureau informing John that his father was deceased as well as his last known address in Sacramento. Again, these connect the Michael Gilbride in Pennsylvania to the Michael Gilbride in Sacramento.²

The second goal is a little trickier. It's important to also prove that there was no Michael Gallagher who lived in Sacramento who also died in September 1886 and was buried at St. Joseph Cemetery. Thank goodness for voter registrations! There was a Louisiana-born man named Michael Gallagher in Sacramento. Fortunately, he registered to vote in 1882, 1884, and in 1888—two years after my ancestor died. But there was no other Michael of any surname except Gilbride who died in September 1886 in Sacramento. Only one other person died on 23 September 1886, a stillborn child who was buried in a different cemetery.³

How did this big mix up happen? I believe the cemetery sexton simply recorded the wrong surname. Mistakes happen. Since then, though, the sexton's records have been transcribed into a book published in 1990 (photo above), microfilmed and available on FamilySearch, and in the cemetery's online database. So, the information has been perpetuated across time and on many platforms. 

Can I correct the error so that my ancestor's final resting place can be rightly recorded?

Wish me luck!

Until next time...

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© Nancy Gilbride Casey, 2024. All rights reserved.

 

Thanks to fellow Denton County Genealogical Society member Donna S. for suggesting correcting the cemetery record first.

IMAGE:  St. Joseph Cemetery (http://www.stjosephcemeterysac.org/ : accessed 7 May 2024).

NOTES

¹ Compiled Service Record, Michael Gilbride, Pvt., Co. H, 52nd Pennsylvania Inf.; Carded Service Records of Volunteer Organizations: Civil War (Union), 1861–1865, Record Group 94, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1762-1984, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. Also, Michael Gilbride (Pvt., Co. H, 52nd Pennsylvania Infantry, Civil War), Invalid Application file, I.O. 523,651; Case Files of Approved Pension Applications; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Record Group 15, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

² John A. Gilbride, letter to Commissioner of Pensions, 7 December 1901; combined with Michael Gilbride (Pvt., Co. H, 52nd Pennsylvania Infantry, Civil War), Invalid Application file, I.O. 523,651; Case Files of Approved Pension Applications; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Record Group 15, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Archives, Washington, D.C. Also, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Pensions, to Mr. John A. Gilbride, 1 January 1901 [sic]; combined with Michael Gilbride (Pvt., Co. H, 52nd Pennsylvania Infantry, Civil War), Invalid Application file, I.O. 523,651; Case Files of Approved Pension Applications; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Record Group 15, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Archives, Washington, D.C. The letter copy is dated 1 January 1901, but should have read 1 January 1902, as it refers to John’s letter of 7 December 1901. Either the letter’s author mistakenly wrote the year as 1901 instead of 1902, or the clerk who copied the letter did.

³ Great Register of the County of Sacramento For the Year 1884, p. 45, #3099, Michael Gallagher, age 28; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/3977518:2221 : accessed 4 May 2024); citing Great Registers, 1866-1898, Collection Number: 4-2A, CSL Roll 35, California State Library, Sacramento. Also, Great Register of the County of Sacramento For the Year 1885, p. 50, #3429, Michael Gallagher, age 28; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/3977518:2221 : accessed 4 May 2024); citing Great Registers, 1866-1898, Collection Number: 4-2A, CSL Roll 35, California State Library, Sacramento. Also, Great Register of the County of Sacramento For the Year 1888, p. 3, #152, Michael Gallagher, age 30; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/3988740:2221 : accessed 4 May 2024); citing Great Registers, 1866-1898, Collection Number: 4-2A, CSL Roll 356, California State Library, Sacramento. Also, Daily Record 1884-1900, City Cemetery, Sacramento, "Record of Deaths and Interments In and From the City of Sacramento, n.p., #262, Inft. of W.W. Connor, stillborn, 23 September 1886; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99V4-MSHH : accessed 7 May 2024); citing County Recorder, Sacramento; FHL film 007609637, image 524).