Holly — Fitzgerald (DC) and Bero (Quebec) origins (2026-11-08)
Research agent. Images in docs/records/holly_*.
1. John Fitzgerald (d. 1867, Cameron) and Maria
| Finding | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| John Fitzgerald's will, signed 8 Oct 1867, Marshall Co will book v.1 p. 343 (image saved): wife Mariah / Maria; sons John H. Fitzgerald (farm bought from John Sears on Fish Creek), Jeremiah A., James B. and Edward / Edmund W. (the tavern stand, store room and lots in Cameron); daughters Mary Anne Low, Rebecca R. Hipsley, Anne Riley, Emma V. Simpson (property on the south side of Fish Creek in Cameron, $300 each from the sons). Wife Maria executor; witnesses John H. Dickey, John Woodburn | CONFIRMED — John H. is his son (the link was previously inferred from the death register only) | FamilySearch "West Virginia Will Books" Q2QM-BZX5; image 379 of DGS for Marshall will books 1835–1871 |
| 1850 census, Ohio County, (W)Va (household 1654, hotel with boarders): John Fitzgerald 50 b. Pennsylvania, Mariah 47 b. Pennsylvania, Mary Ann 20 b. Va, Rebecca R. 18, John F. [H.] 15 and William A. 13 all b. District of Columbia, James B. 11, Ann M. 8, Emma 6, Jerry A. 4, E. W. 0 (b. Va) | CONFIRMED (index; page image not saved) | FamilySearch M8DV-M2F |
| 1860 census, Marshall Co: John Fitzgerald 61 b. Pa, Maria 58 b. Pa, John H. 24 b. DC, James 21, Emma 16, Jerry A. 13, Edward 11 (b. Va), Anne (Fitzgerald) Riley 18 and husband Stephen Riley | CONFIRMED (index) | FamilySearch M41D-TYW |
What this settles: John Fitzgerald was born in Pennsylvania (~1792–1800; the census ages give ~1799–1800, the death register's "75" gives ~1792), not Ireland, and Maria was born in Pennsylvania ~1802. The family was in Virginia by 1830, Washington, DC about 1832–1837 (Rebecca, John H. and William born there), and back in Ohio County, Va by 1839, then Cameron (Marshall Co) by 1860, where John kept the hotel/tavern.
Not found: John and Maria's marriage (no DC, Va or Pa match in the FamilySearch index, 1815–1832); John's parents; Maria's maiden name. The FamilySearch Family Tree calls her "Mariah Butler" — unsourced, not used. No DC census household (1840) for John Fitzgerald; they had left DC by then. No WV death records for Maria or the sons Jeremiah/Edmund/James.
Leads: Jeremiah ("Jere A.") Fitzgerald b. ~1846 served in a WV Union regiment (Civil War service records, FamilySearch JWTP-HR5); a Jeremiah Fitzgerald b. Cameron, W.Va., with wife Jennie Lemon, appears as a father in Ohio Deaths 1908–1953 (X6QS-3XV) — his own death record may give his parents' full names including Maria's maiden name.
2. Joseph Bero (d. 1877) and Emily
| Finding | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Joseph's 1877 death register: b. ~1827 Canada, parents Jno. [John] and Mary Louisa (already saved) | CONFIRMED (prior) | WV VRR |
| Emily's maiden name: her children's WV death records give it as Trombleen (Ella Jane Bero) and Trombeli (Joseph Bernard Bero, which also gives Joseph's birthplace as "N.Y."); Louise Bero Wilson's Ohio death record gives Trambles. So "Trombili" is probably Tremblay / Trombley (French-Canadian), not Italian | SUPPORTED | FamilySearch WV Deaths index NMHP-XSV, NMYQ-NY9, N9HP-SZC; Ohio Deaths X8DT-HYR |
| Emily Bero d. 1905-05-24 Wheeling, widow, 76 (already saved) — no parents given | — | WV VRR 5739678 |
| 1850 census, Chesterfield, Essex Co, New York: a single Joseph Bero, 22, b. Canada, laborer, in the household of George Elliott (with a John Bero 26 b. Canada). Essex Co borders Quebec. But our Joseph had a daughter Adelia b. ~1849 (1860 census), so this single laborer is probably not him | NOT LINKED | FamilySearch MCY8-6Y9 |
Not found: Joseph's Quebec baptism (no Joseph Bero/Bérot/Béraud/Beray b. 1824–1831 with parents Jean + Marie-Louise in the Quebec parish register index — the only near hit is Joseph-Charles Beray, Montreal 1828, parents Charles Beray and Marguerite St-George-Laporte, which does not match); the Joseph × Emily marriage (~1848; not in any FamilySearch index under Bero/Trombley/Tremblay); Emily's parents.
Next: search the Quebec Drouin collection and Genealogy Quebec (PRDH) under Tremblay for an Émilie b. ~1829 married to a Joseph ~1847–49 (the marriage record would name both sets of parents and Joseph's true surname spelling).