Ellen Sennott McLaughlin, photo from unidentified newspaper clipping
When Ellen Sennott McLaughlin died on Wednesday, 28 April 1909 the St. Louis newspapers carried stories about her being 101 years old. Her birth date according to the papers was April 11 1808. However, the catholic church baptism record for Ellen from St. Aidan's in Enniscorthy, Wexford, Ireland shows that she was baptized 30 April 1814.
There is a possibility that Ellen was not baptized as a baby, she might have been older but I don't think that is the case. There is a pattern in the family of inaccurate birth dates. Ellen's younger brother James's birth date is recorded on records in the U.S. as 15 May 1817, his baptism record is dated 1 May 1817 in the church records. Mary, the other surviving sibling, was baptized 22 Jun 1808 according to the church records and her birth date is recorded on her burial record at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Tipton, Monroe County, Illinois as 21 June 1809.
I tried to find Ellen's death record but it isn't included in the Death Record index for St. Louis.
The census records show inconsistent ages for Ellen. Since we don't know who provided the information for the census records we don't know how reliable the ages are:
- 1840 Census - Age 20-29
- 1850 Census - 30 years, birth around 1820
- 1860 Census - 45 years, birth around 1815
- 1870 Census - 45 years, birth around 1825
- 1880 Census - 60 years, birth around 1820
- 1900 Census - 77 years old, year of birth is 1823
Since it isn't possible for two of the children of John Sennott and Mary Davis to have been born two months apart, and both of her surviving siblings' birth dates were recorded in error, it is more likely that Ellen was born in April of 1814. If this is true she would have been 95 when she died, not 101.
Sources
1. St. Aidan's Catholic Church Records, Ferns Diocese, Enniscorthy Baptism Register digitized on National Library of Ireland website. Microfilm 04249 - 02 page 79
http://registers.nli.ie/pages/vtls000634056_079
2. Town books for Boston, Massachusetts. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 database on Ancestry.com p 137
3. St Louis Post-Dispatch, Thursday 29 April 1909 page 22, found on Newspapers.com
4. Unidentified newspaper clipping titled "Dies at Age of 101 Mrs. Ellen McLaughlin"
5. 1840 US Federal Census, Monroe County, Illinois roll 66 page 346 Image 1201, Ancestry.com.
6. 1850 US Federal Census, Monroe County, Illinois, roll 121 page 73, Ancestry.com.
7. 1860 US Federal Census, Monroe County, Illinois, roll 212 page 149, Ancestry.com.
8. 1870 US Federal Census, Monroe County, Illinois, roll 261 page 470, Ancestry.com.
9. 1880 US Federal Census, St. Louis, Missouri, roll 733 page 4 ED 320, Ancestry.com.
10. 1900 US Federal Census, St. Louis, Missouri, roll 899 ED 439 sheet 14b, Ancestry.com.
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