Matthew Shea

From Kathy - another descendant -

I have attached copies of the pictures I took this morning. The citizenship papers are really hard to read. The pictures of the tools are pretty good. The top of the canister reads M. Shea 87 MS. There are all kinds of etchings. The bottom of the canister also reads M Shea.

I have bad news about the civil war stuff. Steve says "Aunt Ag tossed all that stuff in the dump when they cleaned out the homestead. His gun and uniforms were there. He said that was a sore subject for years with John Patrick (Mathew's son).

He also says "The story goes" Matthew deserted in the Crimean War. Something about a fight and Matthew got the next ship out of England. The only ship I knew of was the S. S. Halifax you had noted on your site but I can't find any formal information to support that.

From a visitor -

I am researching the Shea family that are buried in our family plot at St. Patrick's Catholic Cemetery in Chicopee Falls/Chicopee. Unfortuneately the index card supplied by the Church has the names of those buried, but only two have the date of burial and nothing else. I have written several times to the mortuary and have had no responce. The gravestone shows only:

John D. Shea 1890, wife Ellen Shea 1893

The index card: Ellen Shea 1893
John D. Shea 1890
Joseph Shea
John Shea
Ellen Shea
Joseph Shea Jr. (child)
Mrs. John Shea

I wonder if anyone has run across them in their research? I am looking for a date of death so that I may order an OBIT and a DCT to connect all of them to our ggrandparents. My grandparents were John F. and Anna M (Shea) Nally Any information will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!