John Henry Driscoll

Dates

Event	Date	Source
Born	19 March 1865, Boston, MA	Census, Driscoll notes
Married	27 December 1881 to Julia Ann Crowley at St. Stephen's Church, Hanover St., Boston	Driscoll Notes
Died	30 December 1924	Gravestone, Death Notice from the Boston Globe 31 December 1924

John H. Driscoll was born on March 19, 1856 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was, according to the Driscoll notes, the sixth oldest child of Patrick and Ellen Driscoll.

The 1860 Census lists John as five years old and living with his parents, Patrick and Ellen. Also in the house are Cornelius (age 15), and William (Age 2). Patrick, John's father, is listed as being born in Cork, Ireland, as are Ellen and Cornelius. John was probably the first family member born in the United States. He and his younger brother William were both born in Boston, so the family emigrated some time before 1856.

Cornelius, we guess, is one of John's five older siblings, but there is nothing in the census that indicates his relationship to John. We do know that Cornelius was the godfather of John's oldest son, John Jr. If Cornelius is an older brother, then the family left Ireland some time between 1846 and 1856.

It is possible that John lived with Cornelius later in life. In the 1880 census there is a Cornelius Driscoll living in Boston with his wife and two children. In their household is a 24 year-old laborer named John Driscoll who is listed as a "boarder."

At some point, John went to work for the City of Boston. In the 1900 Census he is listed as a "foreman" in the "city sewer department." In his death notice in the Boston Globe, it says that he was "... for many years a plumbing inspector for the city of Boston." We have these two remarkable work photos.

John married Julia Ann Crowley on December 27th, 1881 at St. Stephen's Church on Hanover Street in Boston. Elizabeth Driscoll and Kevin Conklin were married in the same church in [TK]

Julia and John had nine children together, two of whom died at an early age. Joseph Stephen Driscoll died of croup at age 2, and the first Edgar Joseph Driscoll died of cholera at less than a year. The 1900 Census has John and Julia living at 73 Walter Street, Roslindale with their seven children.

• John H. Jr., Age 17
• William J., Age 14
• Mary J., Age 13
• Edgar J., Age 10
• Walter J., Age 7
• Alice, Age 3
• Francis, Age one month

The family seemed to have moved a few times. John was born on commercial street. Will and Mary were born on Unity Street. Edgar and Walter were born at 19 Hooper Street, Chelsea. Alice was born at 315 Quincy Street, Dorchester, and Frank was born at 73 Walter Street, the residence listed in the 1900 census and where John H. Driscoll lived until his death in 1924.