Michael Joseph Bergin (abt. 1854)

Born about Aug 1854 in Clonaslee, Co. Laois, Ireland

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Anne (Phelan) Bergin — married 8 Jun 1877 in St Patrick's Church, Waterford City, Ireland

Descendants

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Michael Cleary [send private message]

Biography

Irish Catholic families usually arranged to have newborn babies christened within days of birth. Michael Bergin was christened in August 1854 and therefore it is presumed that this is also the approximate date of birth. Michael Joseph Bergin was the son of Denis Bergin and Anne Elizabeth Cummins and he was baptised in the Roman Catholic Parish of Clonaslee, in Co. Laois (formerly Queen's County) in Ireland. In the church baptismal register, it is recorded that Michael's parents resided on the townland of Ballykenneen, which is close to the border with King's County (Offaly).

Nothing more is known until Michael, as a young man, followed in his father's footsteps and entered the Royal Irish Constabulary. The Bergin families of counties Offaly and Laois are mainly farmers and, it seems, for those Bergins who wanted an alternative occupation, the constabulary offered the preferred career.

The following information was provided by Brian Mullaney, after referring to information published by Jim Herlihy. The records show there had been six members of the service named Michael Bergin : SN 18876 served 1853 to 1855; SN 38169 served 1871 to 1872; SN 56820 served 1891 to 1895; and another three serving in later years. From other information, "our" Michael Bergin is the second of these with a transcription error in the date of cessation of duty.

Entry to the Royal Irish Constabulary required that the recruit be 19 years of age and at least 5 feet 9 inches tall, but sons of policemen could join at 18 years and were required to be only 5 feet 8 inches tall. Constabulary service records show that Michael Bergin, a labourer, joined the service on 7 October 1871 (he would have been only 17!). His height was 5 feet 8½ inches. His police service number was 38169. The record shows that he was Catholic religion and later married a woman from Waterford City (the stated marriage date is 3 July 1879). After recruitment in October 1871, he was allocated to serve in Waterford City on 31 May 1872 and then to Limerick City on 10 September 1879.

Under the heading "rewards, marks of distinction and favourable records" Michael Bergin's record shows "II H.Y.S. 9/6/1883". Thanks to Ernie Kraut who provided information about the significance of this notation. Ernie reported that Jim Herlihy, prominent researcher of Irish constabulary, advised that rewards were circulated on the "Half Yearly Sheet" and that "I H.Y.S" meant a first class reward. Consequently it is presumed that "II H.Y.S." means a second class reward circulated in the Constabulary's Half Yearly Sheet.

Under the heading "Punishments. If fined, state the amount" is a longer list of entries :

Admonished 30/5/1873

Fined 10s. 3/6/1875

Fined 40s. 16/8/1875

Fined 50s. 7/3/1877

Fined120s. 10/11/1880

Fined 40s. 20/7/1882

Under the heading "If Discharge, Dismissed, Resigned or Dead state the date thereof" it is written "Discharged on Gratuity 1/9/1883"

Under the heading "Injuries received on duty, date or report" the record is blank.

Under the heading "If Dead, probable cause of Death. If resigned, why? Remarks." It is written in brackets "Connected in Kings County".

The record, read in conjunction with other information, suggests a most interesting tale. The above service record shows that he received a number of fines but there is no indication of the reasons. It is reported that recruits were not permitted to marry for seven years. It appears that his marriage in 1877 was undertaken without official approval and was not disclosed to his superiors. It is probable that he applied for permission to marry after he had completed seven years service and, in compliance with the regulations, Michael's marriage to a woman from Waterford is recorded in the service record as 3 July 1879. Shortly afterwards he was transferred from Waterford to Limerick City. Possibly he was transferred because it was prudent practice not to serve in a community where one had family or in-laws. If the Constabulary became aware of the marriage at an earlier date, the transfer might also have been punitive action to punish him for marriage without permission and contrary to the Constabulary's requirements.

Michael had married two years prior to the date recorded by the Constabulary. The marriage certificate states the Michael Bergin, a constable in the Royal Irish Constabulary (R.I.C.) whose address was Mary Street, Waterford (which was the location of the R.I.C. barracks at that time), married Mary Ann Phelan in St Patrick's chapel, Waterford, on 8 June 1877.^[1] One can guess that love encouraged them to the altar contrary to regulations.

Michael Bergin was the father of four daughters :

• MaryAnn born August 1878
• Elizabeth in September 1879
• Julia in September 1880 and
• Catherine in November 1884.

The first three daughters were born during his police service. One can guess that there was some drama. His marriage was reported to the Constabulary in July 1879 just two months prior to the birth of his second daughter and he was transferred from Waterford just eleven days prior to the baby's birth and christening. We do not know whether Mary Ann and the infant children relocated to Limerick to be with Michael but it is more likely that she stayed in Waterford where she had family support and that the Phelan grandparents, aunts and uncles probably helped with the young family. Limerick city is approximately 150 kilometres from Waterford and with horse-powered travel, would have constituted a considerable distance from his family. The biggest fine imposed on Michael Bergin during his service was in November 1880 which would have been just two months after the birth and christening of his third daughter, Julia, in Waterford City. One can only guess the circumstances which led Michael to breach regulations at a time when his wife was in faraway Waterford with three daughters aged two years, one year and newborn. It is probable that family responsibilities prevailed over the regulations of the police service. It would seem that the Royal Irish Constabulary was not a family-friendly employer although, to be fair, the Constabulary had a policy of not permitting constables to work in the communities of their own or their spouse's family in order to avoid conflicts of interest. At about this time Michael's mother wrote to another son, John Bergin, who was also in the constabulary and referring to John's older brother as "Mick", writing that "They don't seem to be giving him promotion."^[2]

A further stress would have been the tragic death of his mother in a house fire in January 1882. Michael received another fine in mid 1882 and it is not surprising that he left the force on 1 September 1883. In contrast to the many fines, the single reward he had received was just prior to his resignation and it is not clear if there was any connection. The significance of the notation on his record linking his resignation to a connection in Kings County is not known.

It has been confirmed that Michael changed occupations. Waterford Heritage Services advise that Michael Bergin was listed as having his butcher's shop in Arundel Square in Waterford City in 1884. According to the birth certificate of his fourth daughter, Catherine, born in November 1884, Michael was a "victualler"; this term has had different meanings including supplier of groceries or provisions, supplier of provisions to ships or to an army, a tavern or inn-keeper, and the term presumably encompasses the occupation of butcher.

The death of his wife, apparently in childbirth in June 1886, would have been a further great sadness in Michael's life. In records dated 1890, there is no reference to his business in Waterford City.

Bergin was a common name in County Laois and nearby areas and multiple infants named Michael Bergin were born in the vicinity in the same year as "our" man. During multiple searches for more information, records have been found of a number of men with this name, birth year and area of origin but it has not been possible to ascertain that any of them was the man we were seeking.

Three certain records that were located were for annual dog-owners licences. Michael Bergin of Milk Lane, Waterford, held annual dog-owners licences issued in March 1884, 1885 and 1886.^[3] The dog may have been a family pet or a guard dog in his business premises. It appears the licence was not renewed after the death of Michael's wife.

Nothing has been found to document anything else of Michael. His youngest daughter Catherine told her Australian family that her parents had died when she was young. However a search of death records in Ireland has not confirmed the death of her father. When his third daughter, Julia Bergin, joined the Sisters of Mercy in Australia, a Catholic journal in Sydney reported the event and stated that "the young novice is the eldest daughter of the late Michael Bergln, Broad Street, Waterford, Ireland .... ".^[4] This suggests that Michael may have resided in Waterford after his wife's death but had died prior to 1901. This would not be inconsistent with the account provided by youngest daughter Catherine to her Australian family. However one would have expected to find supporting documents and this has not yet occurred. The Sydney newspaper item referred to Julia as the "eldest" daughter which does not inspire confidence in the accuracy of the report or the sources on which it is based. Broad Street in Waterford is very close to Arundel Square where he had once operated a business and not far from the site of the now-demolished Milk Lane where his wife's family had resided. If Michael Bergin did continue residing in Waterford city then this location would not be surprising. Alternatively, if Julia needed to weave an acceptable tale of her family origins when entering a convent on the other side of the world, the Broad Street address would have been a believable fiction.

More than a century later, piecing together some fragments from family stories, it seems probable that, following the death of their mother, the two eldest girls were raised by members of the father's family, possibly in Laois or Galway or elsewhere. It is more certain that the two younger girls were raised by members of their mother's family in and near Waterford City. Not only did the younger daughters lose their mother, but they also lost contact with their father and their two older sisters.^[5]

Amid all the facts, there is a love story. The young Irishman follows his father into the constabulary, providing a secure career. The young man meets and falls in love with a young woman. His employer requires that he remain unmarried for at least the first seven years of his service. His religion and society tell him that love is forbidden without marriage. So he marries secretly, known to some but not to others, certainly not disclosed to his employer. When the seven years of service is reached, he naively thinks he can now disclose the marriage to his employer. But the employer's response is vengeful and he is transferred to a distant post, less than two weeks before the birth of his second child. He tries to work within the constraints imposed by his employer but he also has a wife and family for whom to care. About this time, his widowed mother dies in a house-fire. Ultimately he is forced to choose between family and career. He changes career and, in their little love-nest, a fourth child is born. Four beautiful daughters. Perhaps he hoped for a son when his wife was expecting their fifth child. Alas, no son. Much worse .. no more wife as she dies in childbirth, probably as the result of an infection that was preventable if the midwife had cared to wash her hands properly. His lovely wife gone, he is a shattered man. What then? The two older daughters are probably cared for by members of his family, elsewhere in Ireland. The two younger daughters remain in Waterford with his wife's family. And what of Michael himself? Did he assist with raising the two older daughters or did he become a lost soul? Perhaps, one day, someone will read this and be able to contribute more about Michael Joseph Bergin in the years after his wife's death.

This profile is a collaborative work-in-progress. Can you contribute information or sources?

Sources

1. ↑ Catholic Marriage Record, Waterford City 1877/182
2. ↑ from letter more fully cited in entry for Anne Elizabeth Bergin
3. ↑ National Archives of Ireland, Dublin, Dob Licence Registrations CSPS 2/1081-87
4. ↑ The Catholic Press Sydney, 12 October 1901, page 26 accessed at Trove, National Library of Australia
5. ↑ Remembered by Michael Cleary from conversations with Catherine Bergin and her daughters