William Moody Gormley (b1805)
| Born: | September 16, 1805, Strabane, Tyrone County, Ireland |
| Died: | January 19, 1877, Woodville, Madison County, Alabama |
| Buried: | Chase, Alabama |
| Father of: | William Moody Gormley (b1839) |
Notes:
• "The Gormley name is currently spelled the way it 'sounded to English people who were filling out forms from persons with a strong Irish accent. It is believe the name may have been 0 Gairmleadhaigh or a close variant. To American clerks, it may have sounded as O Garmley or O Gormley. It is not known exactly how or when the "O" was dropped. The ancient (ca 1084) Irish form probably was O Goirm(s)hleghaigh, meaning 'descendants of the blue-spearman'." - Gormley & Sturdivant
• "William Moody Gormley, Sr. came to America (Pennsylvania) at age 12 with his parents, W.H. and Sarah Gormley. He applied for Naturalization when he was 25, and took the oath of Naturalization and became a U.S. citizen in Allegheny County, PA, on November 9, 1840. [Editor's note: This date seems inconsistent with what follows.]He served an apprenticeship in Allegheny City (now Pittsburg) before moving to Huntsville, AL., about 1830. He followed the trade of saddler for some 40 years.
Shortly after arriving in Huntsville, he married Mary Ann Feeny and had two children. Unfortunately, by 1837, his wife and two children had died from smallpox. He later married Louisa Spotswood Grant Hall, who had three children. Together they had five more children, Wm. Jr., James A., Thomas M., Margaret A., and Louisa S. Gormley.
In 1859, William M. Gormley clerked for J.W. Cooper, dry goods merchant, whose storefront near the left edge is largely obscured by tree branches. James A. Gormly (as name was spelled then), worked in Spotswood Drugs, part of whose sign is visible at the extreme right. William Gormly's saddle shop was on the east side of the Square.
During the Civil War, William Moody Gormley, Sr., lived on East Holmes Street in Huntsville, AL. He owned the block between Steel St. and the mill. After Union takeover of Huntsville, some of the Union soldiers were marching down Holmes Street in front of their house. His daughter, Margaret, a young lady at the time, stood on their front porch, waving a Confederate Flag. Major Jacob Crooker, a Union soldier, saw her and thought, 'That's the girl for me!' The Union soldiers took over the Gormley house. Major Crooker asked Margaret to play the piano for him - but she would only play Dixie. After the war, Major Crooker came back to Huntsville, married Margaret Gormley and took her back to his home town, Quincy, Illinois. On one of his later visits to Alabama, 'Uncle Jake' gave his Masonic dress sword (symbolizing the Knight Templar) to James Crooker Gormley, his wife's nephew, who was his namesake." - Gormley & Sturdivant
• "William Gormly emigrated from County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1817. He first resided in Allegheny City (now Pittsburgh), Allegheny, Pennsylvania. This area of Pennsylvania seemed to have a number of people with the surname Gormly or Gormley. Presumably, he stayed with family. While in Allegheny City, he completed an apprenticeship as a leather worker/saddler.
At some point before 1830, he moved to Alabama, where he lived with his first wife, Mary Feeney. They had two children together both of which died within two years of age.
William became a naturalized citizen in 1831.
In Huntsville, he set up a Saddler shop at the following location (old style address): e s Public Square, h s s Holmes b Lincoln and Steele. This business appeared to be profitable.
By 1860, his real estate holdings were listed as $3500 and his Personal Value at $3000.
At some point in the 1830s, presumably in Alabama, he met Louisa Hall. They were married in 1838 in Huntsville and got busy starting a family. Their first son, William Moody, named after his father and maternal grandfather, was born 9 1/2 months later." - WikiTree
• Children of Mary Ann Feeney ( - 1837)
~ Robert Anderson Gormly (1833 - 1833)
~ Margaret Anderson Gormly (1835 - 1836)
~Children of Louisa Spotswood Grant Hall (1818 - 1870):
~ William Moody Gormley (1839 - 1915)
~ James Anderson Gormley (1841 - 1873)
~ Thomas Mallen Gormly (1844 - 1915)
~ Margaret Isabella Gormly (1846 - 1920)
~ Louisa Spotswood Gormly (1849 - 1892)
~ Mary Ann Gormly (1856 - )
~ Maria Fratman Gormly (1859 - 1887)
~ Charles Franklin Gormley (1954 - 1912) - Ancestry.com
• Huntsville City Tax Collector 1862-1866 - Record
• Master of Helion Lodge No. 1, 1854-1862 - Milam
Related Links:
• 1860 Census - Viewed through USGenWeb
• Ancestry.com - Page owned by traci_gormley and can be viewed only with an Ancestry.com paid subscription (Originally found at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/64562016/person/42124351231.)
• Gormley & Sturdivant - Article titled "Gromley" family research of Charles Luther Gormley (1979) and submitted by Jessie Ruth Sturdivant for The Heritage of Madison County, Alabama, by The Madison County Heritage Book Committee, John P. Rankin, Chairman, page 212. 213.
• Milam - Article titled "The Birthplace of Alabama Freemasonry Helion Lodge #1 Huntsville, Alabama" compiled by David Milam for Huntsville Historical Review, Volume 24, #1, Jan-97, Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society, page 26.
• Rankin Family File - John P. Rankin has collected information for files on significant families of Madison County. He has 10 items in the Gormley Family File.
• Record - A Dream Come True: The Story of Madison County and Incidentially of Alabama and the United States, Volume II, by James Record, 1978, page 371.
• WikiTree - Genealogical Information (Some of the information here is different from other sources).
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• Milam
• Record
• William Moody Gormley (b1839)