Mary Ann Phelan
Mary Ann Phelan was thought to have been born in Waterford city in Ireland, but this has not been confirmed. Her father was Thomas Phelan but her mother's name is not known.
At the time of her marriage, she was residing at Milk Lane, Waterford, which is consistent with the address known for her father some years earlier. On 8 June 1877, Mary Ann Phelan (described as a spinster) married Michael Joseph Bergin (a bachelor) in St Patrick's church in Waterford. The official witnesses at the marriage were Frank Phelan and Hanora Phelan; these would certainly have been relatives but their relationship to Mary Ann is not known.
Mary Ann Phelan
The interior of St Patrick's Church in Waterford City. The building dates to 1750, making it the oldest Catholic Church in Ireland since the Reformation. It is not to be confused with the Church of Ireland building in Waterford, also named for St. Patrick.
It appears this was the parish church for the Phelan family and is where Mary Ann Phelan married the young constable Michael Bergin. The first three of their daughters were baptised here. The youngest daughter was baptised in the nearby Cathedral.
It is thought that Michael Bergin and Mary Ann Phelan were the parents of four daughters :
- Mary Ann (surname shown as Berregain in the baptismal register), daughter of Michael and Mary Ann, christened on 16 August 1878 in St Patrick's church, with baptismal sponsors Thomas Phelan and Honor Phelan. (Thomas is possibly Mary Ann's father, and "Honor" is possibly "Hanora" who was witness at the marriage above). (Register B/M 1870-1884 p.72) In later years the youngest daughter referred to her eldest sister Mary Ann by the name "Molly".
- Elizabeth Bergin, christened in St Patrick's church on 21 September 1879 with baptismal sponsors Michael Brenan and Catherine Power. (Register B/M 1870-1884 p.80)
- Julia Bergin, christened in St Patrick's church on 19 September 1880 with baptismal sponsors Michael Higgins and Helen Higgins. (Register B/M 1870-1884 p.86) (follow link for further information)
- Catherine Bergin, christened in The Cathedral in Waterford on 27 November 1884, with baptismal sponsors Thomas Phelan and Ellen Phelan (Register B/1878-1897 p.59) (follow link for further information)
Some of the above information was obtained through Waterford Heritage Services.
On 3 June 1886, Mary Ann, age 38, died in Milk Lane, Waterford. The cause of death, as written in the official death record, appears to be stated as "parturition puerperal uetritis" presumed to mean "uteritis" or inflammation of the uterus related to childbirth. The informant for the official death record was her father, Thomas Phelan. It is presumed but not verified that this child died.
It is probable that the cause of death would now be identified as "puerperal fever" which is a fever caused by bacterial infection of the uterus during childbirth; it was once the main cause of death in women. In the 1840s a young Hungarian physician named Ignas Semmelwies had identified the cause of the infection as poor hygiene on the part of doctors and other birth attendants, but he was ridiculed and his simply hand-cleansing remedy was not adopted for many years.
Was Mary Ann's a death of note? No. The only reference to any deaths in Waterford that week was the following paragraph appeared in The Waterford Standard newspaper on Saturday Morning, 12 June 1886.
THE DEATH RATE OF THE CITY. - The death rate of Waterford City for the week ending Saturday, 5th instant, is given by the Register General at 16.2 per 1,000 inhabitants. The births registered were 11 in number, and the deaths 7. Of the latter one was a child of under one year of age, and one an adult of over sixty. One death was caused by scarlatina, two by phthisis, and two by chest diseases. Three of the deaths occurred in public institutions. Within the same period the rates in other large centres of population were as follows :- Armagh, 31.0 ; Belfast, 21.4 ; Cork, 21.4 ; Drogheda, 12.7 ; Dublin, 25.1 ; Dundalk, 17.5 ; Galway, 33.6 ; Kilkenny, 8.5; Limerick, 22.9 ; Londonderry, 12.5 ; Lurgan, 10.3 ; Newry, 7.0 ; Sligo, 16.2 ; Wexford, 29.9 . The average death rate of all Ireland was 21.9 per thousand inhabitants. |
Thus the death rate in Waterford was below the average for all Ireland. While five of the deaths warranted particular mention, 1 by scarlatina (scarlet fever), 2 by phthisis (tuberculosis) and 2 by other chest diseases, death in childbirth apparently warranted no mention.
The location of Mary Ann Bergin's burial place has not been identified. Many of the burials for the Cathedral parish at that time were reported to have been at Ballygunner cemetery on the outskirts of Waterford city but there is no information to confirm that this might have been Mary Ann's burial place.
The death of wife and mother was great tragedy and caused significant dislocation in her young family. Her young daughter Catherine was just 19 months old, barely old enough to remember her mother. The photograph shown above was the only memory of her mother that Catherine took with her when she later emigrated to Australia.
Any further information about Mary Ann Phelan or her family would be welcome : contact us.
