The Not So Famous MacEntees of Ulster County, New York
This part of our MacEntee/McEntee journey outlines the “other” McEntee family from the Ulster County region of New York: the MacEntee family. This is the family that, while it doesn’t have a street in Kingston named after it or have famous offspring, it is a large and rather far-flung group of individuals. And what they do have in common with the more well-known McEntee clan is a common ancestor that can be traced back to Ireland.
1st Generation
Edward McEntee (1795 - 1875)
Edward McEntee was born on January 14, 1795 in Ireland, probably County Monaghan[1]. He arrived here in the United States with the rest of his family between 1795 and 1800. While the exact port of entry has not yet been determined, it is most likely New York.
Edward married Annetje (Anna) E. Freer from New Paltz, Ulster, New York on June 29, 1833[2]. Anna was born in New Paltz on October 8, 1804, the daughter of Christian Freer and Annatje Freer and was a descendant of the original patentee of New Paltz, Hugo Freer[3]. Edward and Anna had the following children, all born in Gardiner, Ulster, New York[4]:
• James McEntee, born March 23, 1834
• Matthew McEntee, born September 23, 1838
• John W. McEntee, born January 21, 1840
• George W. McEntee, born August, 1844
• Charles W. McEntee, born August 16, 1848
2nd Generation
James McEntee (1834 - 1910)
James McEntee was born on March 23, 1834 in Gardiner[5] and was a blacksmith by trade[6]. Sometime before 1860, he married Mary Elizabeth Coe of New Paltz[7]. Mary was born on January 29, 1833, the daughter of Alexander S. Coe and Mary Johnston[8]. James and Mary had the following children, all born in Gardiner:
• Charles McEntee, born Abt. 1862[9]
• John J. McEntee, born December 17,.1869[10]
• Lottie J. McEntee, born November 28, 1871[11]
Nothing is known about the children of James McEntee – most died young.
Matthew McEntee (1838 - 1905)
Matthew McEntee was born on September 23, 1838 in Gardiner[12] and was also a blacksmith by trade[13]. Sometime before 1883, he married Elnora D. Deyo of Gardiner. Elnora was born on March 5, 1864[14]. Matthew and Elnora had the following children[15]:
• Geoanna McEntee, born April 13, 1883
• Charles McEntee, born May 13, 1884
John W. McEntee (1840 - 1918)
John W. McEntee was born on January 21, 1840 in Gardiner[16] and was a farmer and carpenter by trade[17]. On March 11, 1874 in Guilford, Chenango, New York, he married Elmira Wood. Elmira (or Almira) was born on December 10, 1851, the daughter of William Wood and Elizabeth C. ________[18]. John and Elmira had the following children:
• Elmer A. McEntee, born November 27, 1881[19]
Elmira McEntee died at the young age of 31 on December 10, 1882[20], about a year after giving birth to her only child Elmer. John W. McEntee never remarried and he died on January 21, 1918[21].
George W. McEntee (1844 - 1915)
George W. McEntee was born in August 1844 in Gardiner[22] and was a wagon maker by trade[23]. In 1862 he married Phebe Ann Drake. Phebe (or Phoebe) was born in May 1844 in New York, the daughter of William Drake and Maria Van Kleeck Freer
[24].
Charles W. McEntee (1848 - 1873)
Charles W. McEntee was born on August 16, 1848 in Gardiner[25] and was a farmer by trade[26]. He died on December 4, 1873 in Gardiner.[27]
For the remaining portion of this post, I will focus solely on Elmer A. McEntee, my great-grandfather since I have more information about this branch of my ancestors and it is here where the MacEntee names appears to become muddled.
3rd Generation
Elmer A. MacEntee (1881 - 1948)
Elmer A. MacEntee was born on November 27, 1881 in Gardiner[28] and was a carpenter by trade[29]. About 1900 he married Margaret DeGroodt. Margaret was the daughter of Jacob L. DeGroodt and Georgiana Simpson and was born in March 1883 in New York
[30]. Elmer and Margaret had the following children all born in New York:
• John W. MacEntee, born January 7, 1902[31]
• Elmira MacEntee, born abt. 1904[32]
• Harold F. MacEntee, born January 25, 1906[33]
• Myron MacEntee, born November 19, 1907[34]
• George MacEntee, born August 6, 1909[35]
• Elmer J. MacEntee, born June 20, 1911[36]
• Abraham C. MacEntee, born April 11, 1913[37]
• Florence MacEntee, born March 21, 1915[38]
• Margaret MacEntee, born abt. 1918[39]
• Edith R. MacEntee, born July 30, 1922[40]
• William Edward MacEntee, born July 22, 1925[41]
Margaret DeGroodt died in January 1970[42] and Elmer died on November 8, 1948[43].
The beginning of the MacEntee vs. McEntee surname appears to begin with Elmer A. MacEntee. While the 1920[44] and 1930[45] US Census sheets for Elmer display the last name as MacEntee, the 1910[46] US Census displays the last name, erroneously, as McEnton. It is clear that the “Enton” was transcribed in correctly by the census taker but such an error also leaves in doubt the “Mc” portion of the name. Was it really “Mc” or perhaps it was “Mac” and misunderstood and also transcribed incorrectly.
Elmer’s father, John W., is also shown as living with Elmer and his family as of the 1910 US Census[47]. In 1900, according to the US Census, John W. was living by himself in Gardiner[48] and the name is ambiguously listed as “MacKintee.” But on the 1880 US Census[49], he is listed with his wife “Almira” as “McEntee.” And for all previous census reports (1850[50], 1860[51], and 1870[52]) John W. McEntee is listed as living with his parents Edward and Ann McEntee under the last name “McEntee.”
How To Solve The Name Game Puzzle
One of my next challenges is to resolve the naming controversy, if possible. The methods I intend to use will be examination of the marriage and birth certificates of both Elmer A. MacEntee and John W. McEntee, if they are available.
In addition, I need to return to the New Paltz Rural Cemetery which I visited on March 10, 2008. I was unable to locate the headstone for either Elmer or his wife Ann but doing so will allow me to see how the last name is displayed. I did locate the headstone for Elmer’s son, Elmer J. MacEntee (pictured above) while I was there but it was in a newer section of the cemetery with burials from the late 1960s to the present. My suspicion is that Elmer A. MacEntee is buried with his wife in her family’s plot, among literally hundreds of Freers, Deyos and Hasbroucks – all founding families of New Paltz.
Coming up: Part Four - The McEntees of Perry Center, Wyoming County, New York
[1] Poucher, Dr. J. Wilson and Byron J. Terwilliger, Inventory of New Paltz Rural Cemetery, (Online: Hope Farm Press, 2000),
[2] Heidgerd, Ruth P., The Freer Family: The Descendants of Hugo Freer, Patentee of New Paltz, New Paltz, New York: Huguenot Historical Society, 1968, p. 99.
[3] Id.
[4] 1850 US Census,
[5] Id.
[6] 1870 US Census,
[7] 1860 US Census,
[8] Bartlett, Joseph Gardner, Robert Coe, Puritan - His Ancestors and Descendants, 1340 - 1910, (Boston, Massachusetts: 1911 (privately published)), pp 150-151.
[9] 1870 US Census,
[10] Id.
[11] Heidgerd, Ruth P., New Paltz Rural Cemetery Records, New Paltz, New York: 1991, p. 41.
[12] The Freer Family: The Descendants of Hugo Freer, Patentee of New Paltz, p. 164.
[13] 1880 US Census,
[14] The Freer Family: The Descendants of Hugo Freer, Patentee of New Paltz, p. 164, 247.
[15] Id., p. 246.
[16] New Paltz Cemetery Records, p. 22.
[17] 1900 US Census,
[18] The Freer Family: The Descendants of Hugo Freer, Patentee of New Paltz, p. 164.
[19] United States, Selective Service System, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007),
[20] New Paltz Cemetery Records, p. 22.
[21] Id.
[22] Poucher, Dr. J. Wilson and Byron J. Terwilliger, Old Gravestones of Ulster County, New York: twenty-two thousand inscriptions, (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1998), p. 66.
[23] 1910 US Census,
[24] The Freer Family: The Descendants of Hugo Freer, Patentee of New Paltz, p. 189.
[25] New Paltz Cemetery Records, p. 22.
[26] 1870 US Census,
[27] New Paltz Cemetery Records, p. 22.
[28] United States, Selective Service System, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007),
[29] 1930 US Census, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007),
[30] 1900 US Census,
[31] 1910 US Census,
[32] Id.
[33] Id.
[34] Id.
[35] Id.
[36] 1920 US Census, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007),
[37] Id.
[38] Id.
[39] Id.
[40] 1930 US Census, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007),
[41] Id.
[42] Social Security Administration, Social Security Death Index, Master File, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007),
[43] New Paltz Cemetery Records, p. 22.
[44] 1920 US Census, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007),
[45] 1930 US Census, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007),
[46] 1910 US Census,
[47] Id.
[48] 1850 US Census,
[49] 1880 US Census,
[50] 1850 US Census,
[51] 1860 US Census,
[52] 1870 US Census,
1 comment:
Matthew & Elnora (Deyo) McEntee had another child, Austin McEntee. I am unsure of DOB, but he was in WW I, & not to be confused with Matthew's grandson (by Charles) Austin Charles.
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