Hidden Bonds: The O'Brien Family of Jamaica, Queens

EPISODE 8

The Kentucky Brother

Patrick O'Bryan and the DNA Reunion

1830–1913 | Ireland to Newport, Kentucky

Two Irish brothers. 800 miles apart. 150 years of silence. One DNA test that proved what a single probate line had always suggested.

This episode is part of the Hidden Bonds series. In Episode 3, we saw James Henry O'Brien sent to "Uncle Patrick O'Brien in Newport, Kentucky" after his father's death. For 150 years, that single line in a probate document was the only evidence that Terrence O'Brien had a brother. DNA testing would finally prove the connection—and reveal a remarkable coincidence that defies explanation.

"Patrick O'Bryan, 83, father of Rev. George O'Bryan, died yesterday at his home, 619 Patterson street. Mr. O'Bryan was a resident of this city for almost half a century and for many years was a locomotive engineer."

— Kentucky Post, November 22, 1913

The Single Line

When Terrence O'Brien died in Jamaica, Queens in November 1874, his fourteen-year-old son James Henry was sent to "Uncle Patrick O'Brien in Newport, Kentucky." It was a single line in a probate document—easy to overlook, impossible to verify.

For 150 years, that line was the only evidence that Terrence had a brother. No letters survived. No photographs. No family stories passed down through generations. Just seven words in a legal filing: "Uncle Patrick O'Brien in Newport, Kentucky."

Traditional genealogical research hit dead end after dead end. The surname was spelled differently in Kentucky—O'Bryan instead of O'Brien. The geographic separation of 800 miles meant the families moved in completely different communities. And the lack of pre-1898 vital records in Queens County made it impossible to establish the relationship through documentation alone.

Then came DNA testing.

The Man in Kentucky

Patrick O'Bryan was born in Ireland on May 5, 1830—about two years before his brother Terrence. On October 4, 1851, he stood before the District Court of the United States for the Northern District of Ohio and declared his intention to become a citizen. He stated that he first arrived in the United States "4th October A.D. 1851" and renounced his allegiance to "Victoria Queen of Great Britain & Ireland."

October 4, 1851: Patrick O'Brien's Declaration of Intent, Northern District of Ohio. He renounced allegiance to "Victoria Queen of Great Britain & Ireland"—the same monarch his brother Terrence would renounce five years later in New York.

By 1860, Patrick had settled in Campbell County, Kentucky, working as a farm laborer. He had married Mary McNamara, an Irish immigrant born around 1840. Together they would have at least twelve children.

1860 Federal Census, Campbell County, Kentucky. Line 15: Patrick O'Bryan, age 37, Farm Laborer, Ireland. Line 16: Mary, age 22. The same year his brother Terrence was listed in Jamaica, Queens.

From Farm Laborer to Locomotive Engineer

Patrick's career trajectory paralleled his brother's in some ways—both Irish immigrants who rose from laboring work to positions of responsibility. By 1870, Patrick had transitioned from farm laborer to railroad conductor. By 1900, he had become a locomotive engineer—a position of significant skill and responsibility.

1870 Federal Census, Campbell County, Kentucky. Patrick O'Brien (line 6), now age 40/41, occupation: R.R. Conductor. Wife Mary (35) and children Mary, Michael, Kate, James, Maggie, and Elizabeth.

The 1872 Newport Directory lists Patrick among the O'Brien entries—one of several Irish families with the surname who had settled in the area.

1872 Newport Directory showing multiple O'Brien entries. The surname appears throughout—some possibly related, others simply sharing the common Irish name.

1900 Federal Census, Newport, Campbell County, Kentucky. Patrick O'Bryan (line 53), age 64, Locomotive Engineer, arrived 1850. Wife Mary, daughters Kate, Maggie, Jennie, and son George (at Student College).

The O'Bryan Family

Patrick and Mary McNamara O'Bryan raised a large family in Newport, Kentucky. Their children included:

• Mary O'Brien O'Bryan Lyhan (1857–1924)

• Michael J. O'Bryan (1859–)

• Katherine "Kate" O'Bryan Cronin (1860–1954)

• James O'Bryan (1863–)

• Maggie O'Bryan (1866–)

• Elizabeth O'Bryan Kaufman (1868–)

• Margaret "Maggie" O'Bryan (1868–1949)

• William O'Bryan (1870–1953)

• Mary Jane "Jennie" O'Bryan Piggot (1878–)

• Jeannette O'Bryan Kerwin (1879–1952)

• George J. O'Bryan, Rev. (1880–1959) — became a priest

• Joseph O'Bryan

George O'Bryan would become a priest, serving as assistant pastor at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Newport—the same church where his parents' funerals would be held.

The Death of Mary McNamara O'Bryan

In October 1905, Mary McNamara O'Bryan died after decades of marriage. Her funeral at the Church of the Immaculate Conception was a family affair: Rev. James McNerney officiated, assisted by Father O'Dwyer as deacon—and her own son George O'Bryan, "who is studying for the priesthood, as subdeacon."

The pallbearers were her two sons, Joseph and William O'Bryan, and two sons-in-law, John Lehan and Joseph Cronin, along with Murty Shea and Martin Shannon. She was buried at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Cincinnati.

"Laid to Rest: The Funeral of Mrs. Mary O'Bryan Took Place Today." Her son George, studying for the priesthood, served as subdeacon at his own mother's funeral.

1910 Federal Census, Newport, Campbell County. Patrick O'Bryan (line 37), now 80 years old, widowed, living at 619 Patterson Street with daughters Margaret and Jane.

The Remarkable Coincidence

Patrick O'Bryan died on November 21, 1913, at his home at 619 Patterson Street in Newport, Kentucky. He was eighty-three years old. His occupation was listed as locomotive engineer. The cause of death was chronic interstitial nephritis—kidney disease.

His brother Terrence O'Brien had died on November 21, 1874, in Jamaica, Queens, New York. He was forty-one years old.

Both brothers died on November 21st—exactly thirty-nine years apart.

Death Certificate, November 21, 1913. Patrick O'Bryan, age 83, born May 5, 1830, Ireland. Occupation: Locomotive Engineer. Informant: Margaret O'Bryan (daughter). Note: Father and Mother both listed as "Don't Know"—the Irish records lost to time.

"Rev. O'Bryan's Father Dead. Patrick O'Bryan, 83, father of Rev. George O'Bryan, died yesterday at his home, 619 Patterson street. Mr. O'Bryan was a resident of this city for almost half a century and for many years was a locomotive engineer."

"O'Bryan Funeral. The funeral of Patrick O'Bryan, father of Rev. George O'Bryan, will be held Tuesday morning with requiem high mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, in Newport, at 9:30 o'clock."

The DNA Proof

For 150 years, the relationship between the New York O'Briens and the Kentucky O'Bryans remained unproven. The surname spelling difference, the geographic separation, and the lack of surviving documentation made traditional genealogical proof impossible.

Then descendants of both lines took DNA tests.

The results showed multiple matches all tracing to Campbell County, Kentucky in the 1870s—all descended from Patrick O'Bryan and Mary McNamara. The Y-DNA confirmed shared paternal ancestry. The autosomal DNA showed the expected relationship distances.

After 150 years, science proved what that single probate line had always suggested: Patrick O'Bryan of Newport, Kentucky was indeed the brother of Terrence O'Brien of Jamaica, Queens.

Two Brothers, Two Journeys

The parallels between the brothers are striking:

	Terrence (New York)	Patrick (Kentucky)
Born	c. 1832, Ireland	May 5, 1830, Ireland
Naturalized	October 10, 1856	October 14, 1856
Career	Stable Hand → Hotel Proprietor	Farm Laborer → Locomotive Engineer
Wife	Ann Higgins, then Cornelia Bedell	Mary McNamara
Children	4 surviving	12+
Surname Spelling	O'Brien, O'Bryen	O'Bryan, O'Brian
Died	November 21, 1874	November 21, 1913
Age at Death	41 years	83 years

Both brothers were naturalized within days of each other in October 1856—Terrence in New York on the 10th, Patrick in Ohio on the 14th. Both renounced their allegiance to Queen Victoria. Both rose from laboring work to positions of responsibility. Both raised families in America.

And both died on November 21st.

The Legacy

Patrick O'Bryan's descendants—the Kuptz, Nawrocki, Lyhan, Powell, and Browne families among others—carry forward the bloodline of the Royal House of Thomond, just as Terrence's descendants do. They are all descendants of Brian Boru, High King of Ireland.

The bonds hidden in Terrence's wall were eventually found. The bonds between the brothers—hidden by time and distance and spelling variations—took 150 years to rediscover. But DNA proved what documents could not: these families were always connected.

The hidden bonds were there all along.

Evidence Analysis

PRIMARY SOURCE: 1851 Declaration of Intent

Patrick O'Brien's naturalization document from the Northern District of Ohio provides the earliest dated record of his presence in America. The document states he was "age 22 last March" and renounced allegiance to "Victoria Queen of Great Britain & Ireland"—identical language to his brother Terrence's later declaration.

PRIMARY SOURCE: 1913 Death Certificate

The death certificate confirms Patrick's date of death as November 21, 1913—the same calendar date as his brother Terrence's death in 1874. The certificate lists both parents as "Don't Know," reflecting the destruction of Irish Catholic records. Daughter Margaret served as informant.

PRIMARY SOURCE: Census Records 1860-1910

Five decades of census records document Patrick's career progression from Farm Laborer (1860) to R.R. Conductor (1870) to Locomotive Engineer (1900). They also track his family's growth and the surname spelling shift from O'Brien to O'Bryan—a jurisdictional standardization common in different regions.

RESOLUTION: Surname Spelling Variations

The New York branch consistently appears as O'Brien or O'Bryen; the Kentucky branch as O'Bryan or O'Brian. Research revealed Irish surnames were commonly "standardized" differently by clerks in different jurisdictions. This was a recording practice difference, not evidence of different families—a finding confirmed by DNA matching.

Document Gallery

1851 — Naturalization

Oct 4, Northern District of Ohio

Naturalization

1860 — Census

Campbell County, KY

Census

1870 — Census

R.R. Conductor, 6 children

Census

1872 — Directory

Newport Directory listing

Continue the Story

← Hidden Bonds: Series Overview Episode 1: The Irish Boy Who Built an Empire Terrence's journey from Ireland Episode 2: A Colorful Life and a Secret Untold The Union Hotel years Episode 3: Four Orphans and a Hidden Fortune James Henry sent to Kentucky Episode 4: James Henry O'Brien — Orphan, Engineer, Congressman What became of the boy sent to Uncle Patrick

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Hidden Bonds: The Kentucky Brother