Charles Head

Charles Head was born in England about 1834. Note that various sources giving his age at various times imply to birth years from 1826 to 1834. At this point 1834 seems most likely.

One source (1905 census) indicates he was born in Canada, England, which is a village in Hampshire. This has not been confirmed as no actual record of his birth in England have been found to date.

Based on info in the census, he emigrated to the United States in 1850 but no actual record of his immigration has been found. Census data also indicates that he married Bridget Head in 1955 but this too is uncorroborated.

He and Bridget had six children: Mathias (1852), Agusta (1854), Sarah (1856), Charles (1858), Emma (1859) and Mary, called "Minnie", (1864). The birth years are all approximate, based only on census records.

Throughout the 19th century, both Diphtheria and Scarlatina (Scarlet Fever) were pandemic around the world. In the 1860s, both diseases came to New York. On September 25, 1862, four year old Charles died of Scarlet Fever. Then in November both Sarah and Emma came down with Diphtheria. On November 16, six year old Sarah died, followed on November 18 by three year old Emma.

On October 22, 1866, Charles became a US citizen, taking his Oath of Allegiance in City Court in Brooklyn. The 1870 Census finds the now-reduced family (Charles, Bridget, Mathias, Agusta and Mary) still living in Brooklyn,

Mathias left home shortly thereafter, spent some time in the army and then returned to Brooklyn. He married in 1874 and thereafter no longer lived in the family home.

Agusta married as well and by 1880 was living on his own with a wife and child. In the census of that year, the Charles Head family consists of Charles, Bridget and Mary.

Somewhere between 1880 and 1892, Mathias' daughter came to live with her grandparents. Mathias had left his wife, Kate, in '78 or '79 and she most likely died in the early '80s. While we can't pin down exactly what happened when, we do know that the 1892 New York State Census shows two girls, each called "Minnie" living with the Head family. One is their daughter Mary and the second is their granddaughter of the same name.

Charles' wife, Bridget, died in 1903 and his son Agusta, in 1904. The 1905 Census finds him living with his daughter Mary and a nurse. He died later that same year and is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, along with Bridget, Agusta and young Charles.