The Marriage of John J. Lacey and Margaret T. Bamford

This is the third post in my continuing series about the Lacey family of Rossadillisk, Ireland. 

In the last entry, I talked about the descendants of Mary Lacey, daughter of Bartley and Judith Lacey. An interesting tidbit was revealed in that post. Mary Lacey's great-granddaughter, Margaret Theresa Bamford (b. 1923) married a man named John Joseph Lacey (b. 1918) in 1946. He was the son of John Lacey and Nell Moore, and like Margaret, was raised in Homestead, Pennsylvania. My brother caught this right away and messaged me asking about it. Was John Joseph Lacey also descended from the Rossadillisk Laceys? The answer is yes. John and Margaret were second cousins once removed, both descended from Bartley and Judith Lacey. Here's a visual of the relationship:

John's grandfather, William J. Lacey, came to Pennsylvania from Rossadillisk in about 1883 to work in the steel mills. Margaret's grandfather, Patrick Feeney, arrived in about 1888 to work in those same steel mills. We do not know for sure what the relationship was between the cousins, but living and working in the same area makes it more possible that their families were at least acquainted. As to whether Margaret and John knew they were second cousins when they married, we cannot be certain, but it seems likely.

Margaret Bamford and John Joseph Lacey raised three children in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, two of whom are still living and have descendants. Like his father and grandfather, John worked in a steel mill. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946, during World War II, and married Margaret two months after he was discharged from service. They were married for 51 years, until John's death in 1997. Margaret died in 2018.