Mary "Mamie/Maime" Danaher Adams

Vital Information

Field	Value	Source
Full Name	Mary Danaher	NUMIDENT
Known As	Mamie, Maime (per family oral tradition)	Susan Stokes Mullaney
Born	~1880-1881, Illinois	1920 Census (age 39); 1930 Census (age 50)
Father	Unknown (born Illinois)	1920 Census; 1930 Census
Mother	Unknown (born Illinois)	1920 Census; 1930 Census
Spouse	William J Adams (~1879-1880, IL)	1920 Census; 1930 Census; NUMIDENT
Children	May (~1902), Alice (~1904), Harold (~1906), Annabelle/Anna (~1908), Lucille (~1910), Sarah Rita "Sadie" (1912-1993), Bessie (~1913), William Jr. (~1915), Helen/Eleanor (~1916), John (~1919-1920)	1920 Census; 1930 Census

Their Story

Mary Danaher was born around 1880-1881 in Illinois. Both of her parents were also born in Illinois, suggesting the Danaher family had been in the state for at least two generations by her birth. The surname Danaher is of Irish origin (Counties Cork, Limerick, and Kerry), so the family likely immigrated to Illinois in the mid-19th century.

Family oral tradition, passed down through her great-granddaughter Susan Stokes Mullaney, refers to her as "Maime" (likely a phonetic rendering of "Mamie," a common nickname for Mary in Irish-American families of the era).

Mary married William J Adams and together they raised ten children in Chicago. The family lived on Chicago's South Side, in a neighborhood with a strong Irish Catholic presence.

Open Questions

• Parents unknown. Both born Illinois. The Danaher surname in Chicago may be traceable through Catholic parish records.
• Death date and burial unknown.
• Marriage record to William J Adams not yet located.
• Cook County birth certificate for Mary (if born after 1871) could name her parents.

Document Sources

Document	Type	Notes
US Census 1920, Chicago ED 264	federal census	"Mary Adams," age 39, wife, born IL, both parents born IL
US Census 1930, Chicago Districts 2377-2626	federal census	"Mary Adams," age 50
NUMIDENT of Sarah Rita Fitzgerald	federal record	Confirms mother "Mary Danaher"