Three Names, One Life:
Proving the Identity of Elizabeth Corbett
The Subject
Elizabeth M. Kenny was born in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, in July 1879. She is the daughter of John Kenny and Margaret McKenny. She was raised, following the deaths of both parents and both grandmothers between 1884 and 1888, by her maternal aunt Mary F. MacKinney. She appears across the documentary record under two given names — Elizabeth and Lillian Marie — and under two surnames: Kenny (birth) and Corbett (marriage, c. 1920). She served in the United States Navy in October–November 1918, one of the first women to do so. She died February 24, 1950, at 903 New York Avenue, Brooklyn, of coronary sclerosis, and was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery the following day.
| Birth Name | Elizabeth M. Kenny |
| Known As | Lillian Marie Kenny (all adult records 1910–1918); Elizabeth Kenny (marriage license 1920); Elizabeth Corbett (married name, death records) |
| Born | July 28, 1879, Brooklyn (Kings County), New York — confirmed by 1880 census, Social Security record |
| Father | John Kenny, died November 30, 1888, pulmonary phthisis (tuberculosis), asthenia |
| Mother | Margaret McKenny, died May 24, 1884, Brooklyn, pulmonary consumption (tuberculosis); age 33; birthplace: United States; Certificate No. 4937, City of Brooklyn |
| Paternal Grandmother | Eliza Kenny (Kenney) — in household 1880; died December 2, 1887 (no cause given) |
| Maternal Grandmother | Ann Lynch McKenna — died May 10, 1888, 87 Gut Avenue, Brooklyn, cerebral embolism, asthenia; age 66; birthplace: Ireland; Certificate No. 6403 |
| Guardian (from c. 1888) | Mary F. MacKinney ("Aunt Maime"), Margaret's sister — daughters of George MacKinney (Ireland) and Ann Lynch (Ireland); confirmed by MacKinney death certificate and 1875 Brooklyn census; died April 5, 1935, 340 Maple Street, Brooklyn, chronic myocarditis; age 69; single; buried Holy Cross Cemetery |
| Sister | Mary Agnes Kenny Robertson (February 8, 1883 – January 26, 1924) — died 12 Elm Road, North Caldwell, N.J.; cause: pulmonary tuberculosis; father confirmed as John Kenny, mother as Margaret McKenny on death certificate; informant: Lillian Robertson (daughter); buried Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Montclair, N.J. Mother of Lillian Robertson O'Brien, Helen Robertson, and Joseph Jay Robertson Jr. |
| Husband | John Corbett, b. c. 1883, Charlestown, Massachusetts; died c. 1949 |
| Children | None documented |
| Navy Service | Landsman Yeoman Female, service no. 401-54-53; enrolled October 30, 1918; active 12 days; discharged Yeoman 2nd Class, December 10, 1920 |
| Death | February 24, 1950, 903 New York Avenue, Brooklyn; coronary sclerosis; widowed |
| Burial | Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York, February 25, 1950 |
The 1884–1888 Cascade: Why the Records Are Thin
The informant errors on Elizabeth's 1950 death certificate are not simply a matter of carelessness. They are the direct result of a catastrophic loss of family memory that began when Elizabeth was five years old and was complete before she turned ten. Understanding the family context is prerequisite to understanding every documentary anomaly in this case study.
The 1880 census enumerates the subject as Eliza Kenny — the same name as the paternal grandmother, Eliza Kenny, who was living in the same household that June. The probability is high that Elizabeth M. Kenny was named for her grandmother. The grandmother died December 1887, when Elizabeth was eight. By the time she appears in her own adult records (1910 census onward), she was known as Lillian Marie. Whether the shift to Lillian predates or follows her grandmother's death, and whether it reflects a preference, a family decision, or the gradual displacement of a birth name that carried too much weight, is not documented. What is documented is the result: the name Elizabeth largely disappears from her record trail for forty years.
The 1935 death certificate of Mary F. MacKinney confirms what the 1875 Brooklyn census implied: Mary was the daughter of George MacKinney (Ireland) and Ann Lynch (Ireland) — the same parents as Margaret McKenny, confirmed across the McKenny family records. Mary F. MacKinney was Margaret's sister. When she took in Elizabeth and Mary Agnes after John Kenny's death in 1888, she was taking in her own nieces. The census designation "niece" across three enumerations (1910, 1915, 1920) is biologically precise. Note that reconciling Mary's age across the 1875 census and her 1935 death certificate (age 69, implying born c. 1866, while the 1875 census shows a Mary McKenny aged approximately 21) may require further research; there may have been an older Mary in the family, or recording errors exist. The parental confirmation in the death certificate is the controlling evidence.
The MacKinney Family Documents
Four additional record sets document the MacKinney family background and confirm the sibling relationship between Margaret McKenny and Mary F. MacKinney.
The 1935 death certificate of Mary F. MacKinney states unambiguously that her father was George Mac Kinney (Ireland) and her mother was Ann Lynch (Ireland). The 1884 death certificate of Margaret Kenny and the 1888 death certificate of Ann McKenny, combined with the 1860 and 1875 census records, confirm the same parentage for Margaret. Mary F. MacKinney was Margaret McKenny's sister. Elizabeth and Mary Agnes were her biological nieces. And all four of these women — Margaret, Mary, Ann Lynch, and ultimately Elizabeth herself — are buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn, the family's burial ground across three generations.
George McKenney, Mary Agnes Robertson, and Joseph Robertson — The Closing Documents
Three additional records close the family narrative: the death certificate of George McKenney (the grandfather whose tuberculosis began the thread), and the death certificates of Mary Agnes and Joseph Robertson (whose deaths within twelve days of each other in January 1924 are the events that brought Elizabeth to 12 Elm Road).
Birth Date Reconciliation: Five Sources, One Answer
Five record sets offer statements about Elizabeth's date of birth. None agree exactly. Three are consistent; two reflect deliberate or inadvertent misstatement. The reconciliation process follows the standard hierarchy: primary information from original sources outweighs secondary information from derivative sources, and informant knowledge is assessed against the informant's likely access to the fact.
| Source | Date as Recorded | Birth Year Implied | Source Class | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 U.S. Census | Age: 10/12; birth month: July | c. July 1879 | Primary / Original | Consistent with July 28, 1879. Enumerator recorded age in twelfths; no precise date given. |
| Social Security Application (1947) | July 28, 1879 | 1879 | Primary / Original | Strongest statement. Self-reported with documentary support required. Month and day specific. |
| Death Certificate (1950) | April 29, 1879 | 1879 (year correct) | Primary / Derivative | Informant error. Year is correct; month and day are wrong. Informant (niece Lillian O'Brien) had no direct knowledge of the birth date and was working from memory under stress. |
| VA Master Index Card | 7/28/88 | 1888 as recorded; 1879 correct | Primary / Original | One-digit transcription error (88 for 79). Month and day (7/28) are correct and match Social Security exactly — confirming the underlying date while documenting the clerical error. |
| Navy Enlistment Card (1918) | Age: "30 yrs 3 mos" at October 30, 1918 | c. July 1888 (as stated) | Primary / Original | Deliberate understatement. Actual age was 39 years 3 months. Understated by 9 years to meet enlistment requirements. See age understatement analysis, Section 9. |
| Conclusion | July 28, 1879. Established by the Social Security record (self-reported, primary original), corroborated by the 1880 census (primary original, month consistent), and confirmed by the day/month agreement between the Social Security record and the VA Master Index Card (7/28). The death certificate year (1879) corroborates despite the wrong month and day. | |||
The 1880 Census: Birth Established
The 1880 federal census was enumerated in Brooklyn on June 8, 1880. Page 41, Enumeration District 214, Supervisor's District 2, records the Kenny household at 436 Park Avenue, Brooklyn. The entry documents "Eliza" Kenny, female, age 10/12 (ten months), born July. Father: John Kenny, Head, born Ireland (consistent with subsequent records). Mother: Margaret Kenny. Also present: Eliza Kenny (John's mother, grandmother of the subject), listed as a separate household member. Thomas Kenny, John's uncle, lived at 525 Park Avenue — one block away, establishing the extended Kenny family network in this section of Brooklyn.
The subject is the same individual identified in all subsequent records. The birth month of July, confirmed here, is consistent with the Social Security record's July 28, 1879 date and with the age "10/12" at the June 1880 enumeration (a child born July 1879 would be ten months old in June 1880).
The 1880 census is the earliest documentary evidence for this individual. It establishes birth in July 1879 in Brooklyn, confirms both parents (John Kenny and Margaret), and documents the paternal grandmother Eliza Kenny in the household — the probable namesake of the subject. The name "Eliza" in this record, and "Elizabeth" in subsequent records, are treated as the same name in two forms.
The MacKinney Household Censuses
Two censuses — the 1910 federal and the 1915 New York State — document Elizabeth living as niece in the household of Mary F. MacKinney, Brooklyn, under the name Lillian Kenny. Together they establish a five-year continuous window of documented residence and confirm the aunt-niece relationship that explains how she was raised after 1888.
1910 U.S. Census, Brooklyn
Kings County, Enumeration District 81, Supervisor's District 2, Sheet 5-A, Thirteenth Census of the United States, enumerated April 15, 1910. MacKinney, Mary, Head, Female, age 23 as recorded [actual age c. 49–50], Forewoman, Lace Works, born New York, parents born Ireland. Kenny, Lillian, Niece, Female, age 20, born New York, parents born New York. Occupation: Typewriter [typist], Real Estate. The relationship "Niece" confirms the MacKinney guardianship established after John Kenny's death in 1888.
1915 New York State Census, Brooklyn
Assembly District 12, Kings County. State of New York, June 1, 1915. Lillian Kenny, niece of Mary MacKinney. This record closes the gap between the 1910 federal census and the 1920 federal census, confirming continuous residence in the MacKinney household through at least 1915.
Both censuses confirm the same individual — Lillian Kenny, niece of Mary F. MacKinney, Brooklyn — across a ten-year span. The consistent name, relationship, and household context establish documentary continuity from 1910 through at least 1915, linking the child of the 1880 census to the adult in the pre-marriage records.
917 Avenue N and the Navy Yard
1920 U.S. Census, Brooklyn — The Address Link
Kings County, Enumeration District 1091, Supervisor's District 3, Sheet 10-A, Fourteenth Census of the United States, enumerated January 1920. Mary F. MacKinney, Head, Female, age 45 [as recorded; actually c. 59–60], born New York, parents born Ireland. Occupation: Keeper, Boarding. Lillian Kenny, Niece, Female, age 31 [as recorded], born New York. Occupation: typist. Address: 917 N. [Avenue N, Brooklyn].
The address 917 Avenue N is the pivotal corroborating link between the name Lillian Kenny in the census and the name Elizabeth Kenny on the July 1920 marriage license. Both documents place the same individual at 917 Avenue N in Brooklyn in the same year. The address match across two independent sources — federal census and newspaper — constitutes corroborating evidence that "Lillian Kenny" and "Elizabeth Kenny" are the same person.
U.S. Navy Enlistment Record, October 30, 1918 — Fold3
Enrolled Navy Yard, New York, October 30, 1918. Service Number: 401-54-53. Name: KENNY LILLIAN MARIE. Age at entrance: 30 years 3 months [see Section 9 for age discrepancy analysis]. Rate: LANDSMAN YEOMAN FEMALE. Home address: 1542 E. 8th Street, Brooklyn, Kings County, N.Y. Served at Fleet Supply Base, Brooklyn, N.Y., November 6–11, 1918 as Landsman Yeoman: twelve days. Inactive duty July 31, 1919. Discharged December 10, 1920. Rating at discharge: YEOMAN 2ND CLASS.
This record is significant for several reasons beyond the service itself. It documents the full form of the name she used — Lillian Marie — in an official military context. It provides her Brooklyn address in late 1918, distinct from the 917 Avenue N address of the 1920 census, confirming she had moved within Brooklyn between 1918 and 1920. And it places her active service on November 6–11, 1918 — the twelve days that ended with the Armistice.
The 1920 census and the Navy enlistment record together document Elizabeth as Lillian Marie Kenny across a two-year span before her marriage. The 917 Avenue N address in the census corroborates the marriage license address exactly. The Navy record documents her service under her full three-part name for the only time in the record trail.
The Marriage of Elizabeth Kenny and John Corbett, 1920
The Brooklyn Daily Times for July 12, 1920 published a column of marriage license notices that includes: John Corbett, 37, Charlestown, Mass. / Elizabeth Kenny, 32, 917 Ave. N. The 1920 Brooklyn Marriage Index (Kings County groom/bride index) confirms the marriage in a separate independent source. This is the first record in the entire chain to use the name Elizabeth since the 1880 census — forty years later. Her stated age of 32 implies birth c. 1888, consistent with the nine-year understatement documented in the Navy enlistment record two years earlier (see Section 9). Her address — 917 Ave. N — is identical to the concurrent 1920 census entry.
The marriage license notice and the index entry independently confirm the marriage of Elizabeth Kenny to John Corbett in Brooklyn in 1920. The address match between the newspaper notice (917 Ave. N) and the concurrent census (917 N.) is the strongest corroborating link between the name "Lillian Kenny" used throughout adulthood and the name "Elizabeth Kenny" used at the marriage. She used one name in her household and another on legal documents. The address anchors them together.
The First Linking Document: Both Names in One Record
The Social Security Application and Claims Index is the first documentary record in the entire chain to place the names Elizabeth and Lillian in the same entry for the same individual. This is not an interpretation or an inference. It is a government record that lists both names as alternates for the same person, with the same Social Security number and the same birth information.
Name: Elizabeth K Corbett [alternates: Lillian Elizabeth Corbett; Elizabeth K John]. Born: 28 Jul 1879, Bklyn, New York. Father: John. Mother: Margaret McKernry [variant spelling of McKenny]. Social Security Number: 132-09-6846. Claim date: January 8, 1947. The variant Elizabeth K John almost certainly reflects a clerical error in indexing — "Corbett" misread or entered as "John."
The mother's name Margaret McKernry is the correct first name — Margaret — and a phonetic variant of the surname McKenny/McKinney. This directly contradicts the "Elizabeth O'Brien" on the death certificate, establishing that the informant error was precisely that: error, not evidence of a different mother.
The Social Security record is the first record in twelve to place both Elizabeth and Lillian for the same individual in a single entry. This is the primary documentary bridge between the two name streams. Every other record uses one name or the other. This record uses both. Combined with the address match in the 1920 census and marriage license, the Social Security record elevates the identity proof from "consistent" to "established."
The Definitive Linking Document: Both Names, One Government Card
The VA Master Index Card is the single most important document in this case study. It is also, paradoxically, the document that introduced the most damaging transcription error: the birth year rendered as 1888 rather than 1879. Both facts are equally important to document.
The card reads: CORBETT, ELIZABETH M. / KENNY, LILLIAN MARIE. These two names appear on the same card, cross-referenced by the Veterans Administration as alternate names for the same veteran. This is not an inference. This is the U.S. government's own statement that the woman known as Elizabeth M. Corbett is the same person as the woman who enlisted as Lillian Marie Kenny.
CORBETT, ELIZABETH M. / KENNY, LILLIAN MARIE · Yeo 2c. (F) NRF · 12 Elm Road, N. Caldwell, New Jersey · Sn 401 54 53 · Died 2-24-50 · Born 7 28 88 [transcription error: should be 7 28 79] · Enl 11 16 18 [slight discrepancy from enlistment card date of 10-30-18; likely enrollment vs. reporting date] · Dis 12 10 20
Birth year "88" is a one-digit transcription error for "79." The month and day (7/28) exactly match the Social Security record. Death date (2-24-50) and service number (401 54 53) match all other records. The New Jersey address documents her post-marriage residence; she died at a Brooklyn address, having moved back.
The VA Master Index Card is the definitive resolution of the identity question that runs through this case study. No inference is required. The United States Veterans Administration itself recorded both names — CORBETT, ELIZABETH M. and KENNY, LILLIAN MARIE — as alternates for the same veteran, same service number, same death date, same address. The birth year transcription error (88 for 79) is noted and corrected by the agreement of the Social Security record (7/28/1879) and the death certificate year (1879). The identity proof is complete at this document.
Closing the Record: Death Confirmed, Errors Documented
1950 New York City Death Index
CORBETT ELIZABETH, age 70, date of death February 24, Borough K (Brooklyn), Certificate No. 14079 [as indexed]. Independently corroborates the death date and borough.
Death Certificate No. 156-50-304079 — The Errors Examined
Name: ELIZABETH CORBETT. Residence: 903 New York Avenue, Brooklyn. Filed: 27 February 1950. Sex: Female. Color: White. Age: 70 years, 10 months, 25 days [calculated from the informant's incorrect birth date of April 29, 1879; actual age at death was approximately 70 years 7 months from the correct birth date of July 28, 1879]. Marital status: Widowed. Occupation: Housewife. Social Security: None. Birthplace: USA. Armed Forces: Yes, World War I. Father's name: JOHN KENNY. Maiden name of mother: ELIZABETH O'BRIEN. Informant: Lillian O'Brien, Niece, 58 Central Ave, Caldwell, N.J. Cause of death: Coronary sclerosis. Buried Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn, February 25, 1950.
Item 4 (Date of Birth): April 29, 1879. The year 1879 is correct (confirmed by Social Security, 1880 census, VA card). The month (April) and day (29) are wrong. Correct date: July 28, 1879. The informant — Lillian J. O'Brien (nee Robertson) — was the daughter of Mary Agnes Kenny Robertson, Elizabeth's sister. Mary Agnes died in 1924. Lillian was raised with the knowledge that Elizabeth was her aunt and was born in Brooklyn, but not with precise knowledge of her birth date. The April 29 date is plausible for an informant working from approximate family memory.
Item 12 (Maiden Name of Mother): Elizabeth O'Brien. The correct answer is Margaret McKenny. The Social Security record names the mother as Margaret McKernry (variant spelling of McKenny). The source of the error is unclear. One hypothesis: the informant conflated her aunt's family with her own — "O'Brien" was her own married family name. A second hypothesis: she knew of an O'Brien connection in the family and misapplied it. What is certain is that the error is informant-generated, not a reflection of reality: no evidence supports an Elizabeth O'Brien as Elizabeth Corbett's mother, and the Social Security record, supplied by Elizabeth herself, gives the correct first name (Margaret) and a plausible variant of the surname.
Evidentiary status of the death certificate: Primary source; original record as to death date, cause, place of burial, and informant identity. Secondary/derivative as to birth date and parentage — those items depend entirely on informant knowledge, which was imperfect. The death certificate is not discarded; it is used precisely for what it can reliably establish.
The Age Understatement Pattern
Two records show Elizabeth reporting an age nine years younger than her actual age. This is not coincidence; it is a pattern that reflects deliberate understatement, likely serving different purposes on each occasion.
Stated age: "30 yrs 3 mos." Actual age: 39 years 3 months. Understatement: 9 years. Context: The Navy was enlisting women as Yeomanettes from 1917. Whether there was an upper age limit for enlistment, or whether she simply assumed youth would be preferred, the understatement served the purpose of gaining entry. She enlisted successfully.
Stated age: 32. Actual age: c. 40–41. Understatement: c. 9 years. Context: Marriage licenses are civil documents but age was self-reported and rarely verified. A woman marrying at forty in 1920 might have reasons — social or personal — to present herself as younger. The nine-year gap is consistent with the enlistment understatement.
The consistent nine-year understatement in both records, in different contexts two years apart, suggests this was a settled personal habit rather than a clerical error. It also provides an additional corroborating link between the two records: the woman who gave her age as 30 in October 1918 and the woman who gave her age as 32 in July 1920 are using the same arithmetic.
The age understatement pattern should be anticipated in any 1930 or 1940 census entry not yet located. A 1930 census entry would give her age as approximately 41 (if she continued the pattern) or 51 (if she reverted to her true age). A 1940 census entry would give approximately 51 or 61. Searching for "Elizabeth Corbett" under both age ranges will be necessary.
The Generational Care Pattern: A Documentary Conclusion
The documentary record, taken in full, reveals a devastating generational pattern — not as sentiment, but as directly evidenced fact spanning more than sixty years. Running through it is a second thread: tuberculosis killed George McKenney (1870), Margaret Kenny (1884), John Kenny (pulmonary phthisis, 1888), and Mary Agnes Robertson (1924) across three generations of the same family. The women who survived kept the children.
- 1884–1888: Margaret McKenny dies of pulmonary consumption, May 24, 1884. Both grandmothers die 1887 and 1888. John Kenny dies of pulmonary phthisis, November 30, 1888. Mary F. MacKinney (Aunt Maime) steps in to raise Elizabeth and Mary Agnes — her own nieces. Evidence: 1910, 1915, and 1920 censuses showing both women in the MacKinney household, relationship "niece." Aunt Maime remained in Brooklyn until her death April 5, 1935.
- January 1924 — Twelve Days: Joseph Robertson (Mary Agnes's husband) dies January 14, 1924, of cerebral hemorrhage at Mountainside Hospital, Glen Ridge, New Jersey. Twelve days later, Mary Agnes Kenny Robertson dies January 26, 1924, of pulmonary tuberculosis at 12 Elm Road, North Caldwell, New Jersey — the disease contracted in Brooklyn, duration approximately one year. Three children — Lillian, Helen, and Joseph Jr. — lose both parents within twelve days. Elizabeth is documented at 12 Elm Road in the spring of 1923 (photograph), months before Mary Agnes died. The VA Master Index Card preserves that address for Elizabeth for decades afterward. The informant on Mary Agnes's death certificate was Lillian Robertson — the daughter who would be the informant on Elizabeth's death certificate twenty-six years later.
- February 24, 1950: Elizabeth dies at 903 New York Avenue, Brooklyn. Lillian J. O'Brien (nee Robertson) — the child she helped raise at 12 Elm Road — travels from Caldwell, New Jersey to identify her aunt's body. Evidence: death certificate, informant field. The researcher's mother, Barbara O'Brien Hamall (b. 1935), was fourteen years old and remembered her mother making that trip.
- 1951–1953 and beyond: Lillian O'Brien and Lillian Marie O'Brien Ambrosio pay perpetual care at Holy Cross Cemetery for the family plot where Elizabeth is buried. Evidence: cemetery care receipts preserved in family papers of Barbara O'Brien Hamall.
The pattern is not coincidence. Each generation's loss produced the next generation's guardian. The disease that killed three generations of this family did not kill Elizabeth — she died at seventy, of coronary sclerosis. She was the keeper of stories because she survived.
What This Methodology Does Not Yet Answer
- 1930 and 1940 censuses: No entry located for Elizabeth Corbett in either census. Both age ranges — true age and understated age — should be searched. John Corbett should be searched independently as head of household; Elizabeth may appear under his entry. At true age, she would be approximately 51 in 1930 and 61 in 1940; at understated age, approximately 42 and 52.
- John Corbett's full background: Born c. 1883, Charlestown, Massachusetts. Immigration status, parentage, occupation, and death date (c. 1949, as Elizabeth was widowed at her death in 1950) are not yet documented. The marriage license gives his age as 37 in 1920, which is consistent with birth c. 1883.
- The marriage record itself: The marriage license notice and index are confirmed. The original marriage certificate with full particulars (ages as given, witnesses, officiating clergyman) has not been obtained.
- The name "Lillian": Whether the name Lillian was used before or after John Kenny's death in 1888, and whether it honors a family member, remains undocumented. The family naming pattern (the Robertson granddaughter was also named Lillian) suggests the name carried significance across generations.
- ✓ RESOLVED — Mary Agnes Kenny Robertson's death records: Died January 26, 1924, 12 Elm Road, North Caldwell, N.J.; cause: pulmonary tuberculosis (contracted in Brooklyn, duration 1 year); age 40 years, 11 months, 8 days; father: John Kenny, mother: Margaret McKenny confirmed on certificate; informant: Lillian Robertson (daughter); buried Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Montclair, N.J. Husband Joseph Robertson had died twelve days earlier (January 14, 1924) of cerebral hemorrhage at Mountainside Hospital.
- ✓ RESOLVED — George McKenna death record: Died December 31, 1870, Phthisis Pulmonalis (tuberculosis), age 42; birthplace: Ireland; buried Holy Cross Cemetery, January 1, 1871. Certificate No. 10660. The tuberculosis thread: George McKenney (1870) → Margaret Kenny (1884) → John Kenny, pulmonary phthisis (1888) → Mary Agnes Robertson (1924).
- ✓ RESOLVED — Mary F. MacKinney's death date: Death confirmed April 5, 1935, 340 Maple Street, Brooklyn, chronic myocarditis, age 69; buried Holy Cross Cemetery April 8, 1935. Same undertaker (Thomas H. Ireland) as Elizabeth Corbett in 1950.
- ✓ RESOLVED — Relationship between Margaret McKenny and Mary F. MacKinney: Sisters, confirmed. Both daughters of George MacKinney (Ireland) and Ann Lynch (Ireland), per MacKinney 1935 death certificate. 1860 and 1875 census records document the family. Mary F. MacKinney was the biological aunt of Elizabeth and Mary Agnes.
Complete Primary Source Documentation
United States Federal Census Records
- U.S. Bureau of the Census, Tenth Census of the United States: 1880—Population, Kings County (Brooklyn), New York, Enumeration District 214, supervisor's district 2, p. 41, household of John Kenny, including "Eliza" Kenny (age 10/12, born July) and Eliza Kenny (grandmother); digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com), citing NARA microfilm publication T9.
- U.S. Bureau of the Census, Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910—Population, Kings County, New York, Enumeration District 81, supervisor's district 2, sheet 5-A, Lillian Kenny (niece) in household of Mary MacKinney; digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com), citing NARA microfilm publication T624.
- U.S. Bureau of the Census, Fourteenth Census of the United States: 1920—Population, Kings County, New York, Enumeration District 1091, supervisor's district 3, sheet 10-A, Lillian Kenny (niece) in household of Mary F. MacKinney, 917 N. [Avenue N, Brooklyn]; digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com), citing NARA microfilm publication T625.
New York State Census
- New York State Census, 1915, Kings County, Assembly District 12, Block 1, household of Mary MacKinney, Lillian Kenny (niece); New York State Archives, Albany.
Military and Veterans Records
- U.S. Navy, enlistment record, "Kenny Lillian Marie," service number 401-54-53, enrolled Navy Yard New York, 30 October 1918; rate: Landsman Yeoman Female; served Fleet Supply Base, Brooklyn, 6–11 November 1918; inactive duty 31 July 1919; discharged 10 December 1920, Yeoman 2nd Class; home address: 1542 E. 8th Street, Brooklyn, Kings County, N.Y.; digital image, Fold3 (fold3.com).
- U.S. Veterans Administration, Master Index Card, "Corbett, Elizabeth M. / Kenny, Lillian Marie," Yeo 2c. (F) NRF, service number 401 54 53, born 7/28/88 [recording error; correct 7/28/79], died 2-24-50, 12 Elm Road, N. Caldwell, New Jersey; National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri.
Marriage Records
- Brooklyn Daily Times, 12 July 1920, "Marriage Licenses," notice: John Corbett, 37, Charlestown, Mass. / Elizabeth Kenny, 32, 917 Ave. N, Brooklyn; digital image.
- Kings County (Brooklyn), New York, Marriage Index, 1920, Corbett–Kenny marriage; Office of the City Register, New York City.
Social Security Records
- U.S. Social Security Administration, Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007, "Elizabeth K Corbett [Lillian Elizabeth Corbett] [Elizabeth K John]," SSN 132-09-6846, born 28 July 1879, Bklyn, New York, father: John, mother: Margaret McKernry, claim date 8 January 1947; digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com).
Death Records
- New York City, deaths reported in the City of New York, 1950, "Corbett Elizabeth," age 70, February 24, Borough K (Brooklyn), certificate no. 14079; Vital Search Company.
- New York, N.Y., death certificate no. 156-50-304079 (1950), Elizabeth Corbett; residence: 903 New York Avenue, Brooklyn; date of death: February 24, 1950; cause: coronary sclerosis; informant: Lillian O'Brien, Niece, 58 Central Ave., Caldwell, N.J.; New York City Department of Health, Office of Vital Records; certified copy obtained by Mary Hamall Morales, October 2020, order no. MAL202010513837.
- "Corbett — Elizabeth," death notice, [Brooklyn newspaper], c. 26 February 1950, identifying "beloved aunt of Lillian J. O'Brien (nee Robertson) of Caldwell, New Jersey, and Joseph J. Robertson of Montclair, New Jersey"; digital image.
Cemetery Records
- Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York: burial of Elizabeth Corbett, February 25, 1950. Family plot; perpetual care paid by Lillian O'Brien, 1951–1953, and Lillian Marie O'Brien Ambrosio; care receipts preserved in family papers of Barbara O'Brien Hamall (1935–2022).
Death Records Consulted for Family Context
- Brooklyn, N.Y., death certificate no. 10660 (1870), George McKenney [McKenna], Schank Street, Brooklyn; age 42; married; occupation: laborer; birthplace: Ireland (25 years in U.S.); cause: Phthisis Pulmonalis (tuberculosis, "several years"); buried Holy Cross Cemetery, January 1, 1871; undertaker: T. Tracy, 176 Graham Street; digitized image.
- Brooklyn, N.Y., death certificate no. 4937 (1884), Margaret Kenny [McKenny], 39 Boerum Street, Brooklyn, Ward 21; age 33; cause: pulmonary consumption, asthenia; delivered to John Kenny, May 25, 1884; Department of Health, City of Brooklyn; digitized image.
- Eliza Kenny (Kenney), paternal grandmother: died December 2, 1887, Brooklyn [no cause given; date from family records].
- Brooklyn, N.Y., death certificate no. 6403 (1888), Ann McKenny, 87 Gut Avenue, Brooklyn, Ward 7; age 66; birthplace: Ireland; cause: cerebral embolism, asthenia; buried Holy Cross Cemetery, May 12, 1888; Department of Health, City of Brooklyn; digitized image.
- John Kenny, father: died November 30, 1888, Brooklyn; cause: pulmonary phthisis (tuberculosis), asthenia.
- New Jersey, death certificate, registered no. 737 (1924), Joseph Robertson, Mountainside Hospital, Glen Ridge, Essex County, N.J.; residence: 12 Elm Road, North Caldwell, N.J.; age 39 years, 4 months, 7 days; married; occupation: salesman; birthplace: Brooklyn, N.Y.; father: David Robertson (Edinburgh, Scotland); mother's maiden name: Elizabeth Gray (Scotland); cause: cerebral hemorrhage; buried Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, January 18, 1924; digitized image.
- "Joseph Robertson Dies," obituary, [Brooklyn newspaper], January 1924; "salesman and manager of the block department of the Coston Supply Company of Manhattan"; survived by wife Mary Robertson and three children, Lillian, Helen, and Joseph Robertson Jr.; interment Greenwood Cemetery; digital image.
- New Jersey, death certificate, registered no. 443 (1924), Mary Agnes Robertson (nee Kenny), 12 Elm Road, North Caldwell, Essex County, N.J.; age 40 years, 11 months, 8 days; widow; date of death: January 26, 1924; father: John Kenny (U.S.A.); mother's maiden name: Margaret McKenny (Ireland); cause: pulmonary tuberculosis (duration 1 year; contracted in Brooklyn, N.Y.); informant: Lillian Robertson (daughter), 12 Elm Road; buried Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Montclair, N.J., January 29, 1924; digitized image.
- "Robertson — At the family residence, 12 Elm rd., North Caldwell, N.J., on Saturday, Jan. 26th, 1924, Mary Agnes Robertson (nee Kenny), wife of the late Joseph Robertson," obituary notice; high mass at St. Aloysius Church, Caldwell; interment Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Montclair, N.J.; digital image.
- New York, N.Y., death certificate no. A-27898, registered no. 7611 (1935), Mary F. Mac Kinney, 340 Maple Street, Brooklyn; age 69; single; birthplace: New York; father: George Mac Kinney (Ireland); mother's maiden name: Ann Lynch (Ireland); cause: chronic myocarditis; contributory: arterio sclerosis; buried Holy Cross Cemetery, April 8, 1935; undertaker: Thomas H. Ireland, 1088 Nostrand Avenue; New York City Department of Health; digitized image.
- "Mary F. MacKinney," obituary, [Brooklyn newspaper], April 1935; "daughter of the late George and Ann Lynch MacKinney"; survived by "several nieces"; funeral at R.C. Church of St. Francis of Assisi; interment Holy Cross Cemetery; digital image.
Census Records Consulted for McKenny Family Context
- U.S. Bureau of the Census, Eighth Census of the United States: 1860—Population, Kings County (Brooklyn), New York, Ward 7, household of George McKema [McKenna], with wife Ann and daughters including Margaret and Mary; digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com).
- New York State Census, 1875, Kings County, Ward 7, 5th Election District, Graham Street, household of Ann McKenny with daughters Margaret McKenny and Mary McKenny; New York State Archives, Albany.
This full methodology accompanies the Three Names, One Life case study summary. The case study presents the findings in the three-column narrative format; this page provides the complete document-by-document analysis and source inventory.
Case Study Summary →