1906 – Death of William Francis FURLONG
Three years after the death of her husband, “Babe“ lost her youngest son, William, to meningitis on 14th November, 1906. The informant for William’s death was his thirteen-year-old brother, Walter Timothy FURLONG, who had been present at his death.
Residence
In the 1910 Guys Almanac Mrs B. FURLONG was listed at 94 Wolfe Tone St (late ‘Fair Lane’) next to her older sister, Mrs DAVIS at 95 Wolfetone St. (This entry confirmed for me that Margaret was indeed the woman known in our family as “Babe” Furlong.)
In the 1911 census the sisters were still living next door to each other in their rented accommodation. Unlike in 1911, there is no servant living with “Babe”’s family. We can see that “Babe” gives her occupation as midwife. We can assume that after James’s death in 1903 she needed work to keep her family going. It may be that her nickname “Babe” came from her midwifery work.
1911 Census
In the 1911 Census the youngest child, Catherine known as Kathleen, was aged 12. She could speak Irish, unlike the older children.
In the 1916 rates records for Cork City we can see that Timothy O’Callaghan had been listed as the occupier of 94 Wolfe Tone Street. I take it from this record that Timothy had been supporting his daughter and her children by securing their home.
“Babe” was listed at 94 Wolfetone St in the Cork Directories throughout the 1920s as and in 1930.
“Babe” died of heart failure, having had pneumonia for seven days, on 8th July 1930 at 94 Wolfetone St. [2] Her death was registered by her son, Walter. On her death certificate she was recorded as aged 52 years and a midwife. “Babe” was in fact 60 years old.
“Babe”’s eldest daughter Mary Madeline was her benefactor:
Mary Madeline likely lived with “Babe”, as she stayed on in the house. It may be that she was sole beneficiary as she was then the only unmarried child. The estate equated to about £88,300 in 2018.
I think it’s fair to suggest “Babe” had an eventful and fairly tough life. She lost her mother before she turned 10. She married an older man, at the age of 19, and he was committed to an asylum due to what appears to have been alcohol abuse and the impacts of syphilis. He then left her widowed just shy of her 34th birthday. The widowed “Babe” lost her youngest child when he was six years. Her older son was an active republican who bore arms and was interred for his involvement with the Old IRA. She did not live to see his political success in local and central government politics. Nor did she live to see a granddaughter reportedly discover she had married a bigamist.[3] “Babe” did leave a substantial sum in her estate so must have been a good money manager.
“Babe” and her older sister Mary B. lived next door to each other, both widowed from 1912. They raised their families, side by side. “Babe”’s older sister, Mary B., survived her by 19 years.
[1] http://www.corkpastandpresent.ie/places/streetandtradedirectories/1910directory/complete1910directory.pdf
[2] There is a link between untreated syphilis and heart damage. It is very possible that “Babe” had been infected with syphilis by her husband James.
[3] A not uncommon occurrence at a time when divorce was inaccessible and paper trails were porous.
In Search of Thomas Davis 