The Irish

Major John Suffern and the Treanor Family

On the Rowlands Side: Major John Suffern

Founder of New Antrim, NY (later renamed “Suffern” in honor of Himself).

Clearly the Irish claim Major Suffern, and it’s true that he came from Antrim, but there’s more to the story. If you scroll down or do a word search for “Suffern” on this page, you’ll see where the name (and the folks) really came from!

In the event you had any doubts about that story, here is the coat-of-arms:

The Suffern Family

And here is the information I received with it: Name: Suffern; Record: 35609; Provence, France, first ennobled in 1537, created Marquis de St. Tropez in November 1725. Arms: Quarterly, 1st and 4th, azure, a fesse or; 2nd and 3rd, gules, three palets vair, a chief or. Over all an inescutcheon azure, a saltire argent between four leopards; faces or. (Once again we see heraldic tradition using French – “argent” for “silver”, and “or” for “gold”). Motto: Dieu y pourvoira (God will provide for it).

There is hardly I thing I can say about Major John Suffern that is not said better and more extensively at the links I’ve provided below. When I was a little girl, the older members of the family felt much closer in time to his experience and accomplishments than we can today. They knew where his house was. It was still standing. Aunt Flo had his American flag with 13 stars in a circle. He was her great-grandfather. The Fourth of July was observed as a kind of secular holy day. The whole family would gather at the family homestead on Lincoln Avenue in Ridgewood and spend the day celebrating liberty that the older folks knew had been forged from very hard work, ingenuity, and combat by a generation not so very far from theirs. Major Suffern has always been a massive figure and dominant presence in our family. We are very proud of him. Here is the line.

The Sufferns

John Suffern & Mary Myers (or Meyers)
1741 1745
⇓

James, William, George, John & Ann (Nancy) de la Montagne*, Edward, Andrew*, Maria, Cornelia**
1781 1783 1785 1788 1790 1770 1778 1774
⇓

Mary J. Suffern & Nathaniel R. Bunce
⇓

Cynthia, Josephine, Edna, John, Nathaniel, Joseph, Ella Augusta & Henry Rowlands, Florence

⇓
Josephine Harry Edward Rowlands & Margaret Treanor
⇓

H.E. Jr., Eleanor, Doris, Nathaniel B./James T.(twins), Margaret T. Rowlands

*John and Nancy’s marriage is recorded as #1046 at this site.
Andrew’s marriage to Catrina Snyder is recorded as #980.
**Cornelia married a Rosencrantz (see the link after the genealogy on this page as well as the tree at the bottom of the page) of the Ho-Ho-Kus Hermitage Rosencrantz family. So in fact, the families were related which would explain Aunt Flo’s close friendship with the last two Rosencrantz “girls” who lived in that house. There were two other daughters of John Suffern and Mary Myers. I have yet to locate them.

Supply officer to General George Washington
Host to Rochambeau
and founder of New Antrim, N.Y. (later renamed Suffern after himself)

There is already a link to this site via the family line. Since it is secondary, in that location, I thought I would put it right up front here. These are the Rosencrantz family recollections about John Suffern and family. The account includes the remark that John and Mary Suffern attended Aaron Burr’s wedding to Theodosia Prevost at the famous Hermitage in Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J.

If you have been around me enough and have any idea how I love Alexander Hamilton (not just because I live in Paterson), you know how pleased I am about that. On the other hand, since the wedding preceded the duel, I have faith that Grandpa John also felt profound dismay at Burr’s action. He knew them both, I am sure.

Here is a great article by a distant cousin >>>>

On Our Grandmother’s Side: The Treanors of Monaghan

The coat-of-arms above is found in Paul Murtaugh’s Your Irish Coats-of-Arms. The Index lists all of the following spellings for the name: Treanor, Trainor, Traynor. All three names are referred in turn to the Armstrong plate. Invictus maneo means “I remain invincible.” The clan is Armstrong. Could it be more obvious?

The Treanor Family

Our cousin, Paul Treanor, traced a family history well back into the early 1800’s. More recent research and actual connections made by his son, my cousin Paul, indicates that we were more likely from Monaghan and Patrick left from the seaport Donegal but was not necessarily from there. Paul III has actually been back to meet the family, and it appears we originated in County Monaghan.

What follows is based on the work of my cousin Paul Treanor Jr. whose personal statement follows. I have made minimal modifications where I found inconsistencies or thought clarification beneficial, but the bulk of the work is his. Paul’s father, Paul Treanor Sr., was my godfather and the 1st cousin of my grandmother.

Here’s how Paul’s (the elder) account begins:

“The following is the record of the Treanor Family, beginning with the arrival of Patrick Treanor in New York City in 1830. I have culled the names, place and dates from various books, correspondence, and ‘tales’ told me by my father’s sister, Rosemary. There are most probably inaccuracies, but, to the best of my knowledge….

Patrick Treanor came to this country from County Donegal, Ireland in 1830. His brother James sailed directly to San Francisco in the 1830’s, settled there, married and had at least one child, perhaps more. He operated a grocery store which he lost due to poor health. He also supported his family by building roads for the government of California. The only name noted in his correspondence is that of his son John.
Another of Patrick’s brothers was Phillip who also settled in New York, but never married.
There was a sister, Mary Treanor, who came to this country in 1858, and about whom little else is known.

Patrick married Mame Tammany who was born in Connecticut. She was related to the Tammany family of New York political fame. They lived in New York City and had six children – five boys and one girl: Phillip(note: may be Pauls’s error – on the next page, he notes only 4 sons), James (b. 1848), John (12/5/1838 – 10/31/1880), Margaret (12/3/1850 – 8/30/1888), Francis (1855-1933), and Joseph(12/31/1858 – 3/12/1910)….”

Paul notes here that Joseph was his grandfather. James was my great-grandfather. What follows is the information Paul gathered about Patrick’s children.

John A. Treanor, S.J.:
Born 12/5/1838
Ordained: 6/29/1872
Prefect of Studies at College of St. Francis 1875-1877
Rector of St. Lawrence O’Toole (St. Ignatius) 1878
Died as the result of an accident in California 10/3/1880. Note: According to my “family tales”, this was a stagecoach accident while John was doing missionary work. Further notes (taken by Paul from the Kenwood archives and to be added here at a later time) from the convent where his sister Margaret was stationed appear to confirm this saying the vehicle passed to close to a precipice and overturned. He was thrown out and killed
Paul also notes that with his brother James (my great-grandfather), John was instrumental in purchasing West Park, NY for a Jesuit Novitiate. He was originally buried at St. Andrew’s on Hudson, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Margaret Treanor, R.S.C.J.
Born: 12/3/1850
Entered Convent of Madams of the Sacred Heart at Kenwood 11/13/1875
Pronounced 1st vows: 11/21/1877
Pronounced Final vows: 12/27/1882
Died at the convent in Atlantic City (where she had been sent due to her ill health) 9/3/1888. Interred at Kenwood, N.Y. 9/5/1888.

Francis P. Treanor¹:
Born: 1855 Died: 1933
B.A. Fordham University Law School
Mayor of Yonkers, N.Y.
State Senator from Yonkers, N.Y.
Married Agnes Cecilia O’Connor (b. 1860, d. 1923) whose father was an architect who designed St. Lawrence O’Toole Church and St. Ignatius Loyola.
They had 5 children: Marie, b. 1883, Will, b. 1888, Gladys, b. 1892, Frank, b. 1896, Harold, b. 1900, attorney, chairman of N.Y.S. Real Estate Board.
For some reason Francis did not continue the relationship with his brothers and sister. He was best man at the wedding of his brother Joseph.

¹The following additional biographical information on Francis P. Treanor was published 12/02/17/ by Noel Treanor at Treanor/Traynor/Trainor/Trainer/Trenor/Trayner/Trener/Threinfhir/McCreanor on Facebook. Family members are invited to join this group.

Frank P. Treanor
Frank P. Treanor (May 11, 1855 in New York City – August 9, 1933 in Monument Beach, Barnstable County, Massachusetts) was an American businessman and politician from New York.

Life
He attended the College of St. Francis Xavier, and the College of the Holy Cross.

He was a member of the New York State Assembly (New York Co., 17th D.) in 1880. In 1882, he became a partner in his older brother’s bluestone business in Hastings-on-Hudson. He was a member of the New York State Senate (11th D.) in 1882 and 1883.

In 1886, he removed to Yonkers, and was Police Commissioner of Yonkers for some time.

He was a business partner of William H. Clark who built the Empire Race Track, and was Superintendent of the track at the time of Clark’s death.

Treanor died on August 9, 1933, during a summer vacation at Monument Beach, Massachusetts.

Joseph Treanor:
Born: 12/31/1858 Died: 3/12/1910
Married Catherine Fitzpatrick on 9/1/1880 in Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church, 42nd St. Ceremony performed by Rev. John A. Treanor, S.J.
Joseph was a law clerk for Judge Learned Hand and Judge Cohalan. He also owned a coal company, Treanor & Burns, 125th St. N.Y.C.
They had 5 children:
Margaret Mary (b. 9/15/1881 d. 11/7/1883), John Aloysius (b. 10/17/1882 d. 5/26/1952 – accountant), Joseph (b. 8/3/1884 d. 10/3/1885), Rosemary (b. 10/5/1886 d. 4/27/1953 – school teacher, N.Y.C.), Paul (b. 11/30/1898 d. 8/3/1971).
Catherine died 12/15/1898.
Paul was the father of the Paul who did this research and was also my dear godfather. He loved kids, was full of jokes, and we all loved him. I have equally fond memories of Rosemary, a New York City school teacher, for whom I was named.

James J. Treanor: (my great-grandfather)
Born: 1848
B.A. St. Francis College 1863
M.A. St. Francis College 1864

Contractor for stonework:

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

St. Joseph’s Seminary/Dunwoodie

Central Park

Mayor of Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y.

Married Mary Ann Holihan. According to my father, she was born in County Cork, Ireland. Paul’s account has her as a Tammany. Both could be true. I have found corroboration of neither so far on ship’s lists or family records.
They had 8 children: John T., an attorney, died at 38, unmarried;
James, a “wanderer” died at an “early age”;
Mary, married John Auley, a Blackfoot Indian, no children (if this is the Aunt Em I remember hearing of, I think she lived in Helena, Montana);
Katherine (Kit), married Rob Henry, taught school, had 2 children Matt and Roberta (Bobs);
Margaret, my grandmother, married H.E. Rowlands, had 6 children;
Adelaide (Ad), married John Kirwin, had 1 child;
Helen (Nell), married Jeremiah Regan of Boston, no children;
Grace, died at an early age.

Thanks to my cousin Paul, we are now in touch with the family ‘back home’ via this Facebook group. It is a closed group, but family members are encouraged to apply to join

In 2019, there will be a Gathering of the clan. The details are available at the Facebook group. Here is the logo with the explanation via Noel Treanor.

This is our logo for “The Gathering” of our Clan, May 9th to May 12th 2019.

“Our Home – Ár mBaile”, the location of our origin, County Monaghan.

The drumlins and lakes that dominate the landscape of Monaghan.

White and Blue, the County Colours.

The Celtic ‘T’ to symbolise all the different surnames in our Clan.

The two clasped hands demonstrate
our connection to
to the original Gaelic version of our surname
known as “Threin Fhir”, or “Strong Man” – strong as in character as well as strength.

The background includes all the surnames that make up the branches of our family tree.