Van Manen Family History

The furthest we’ve traced the “Van Manen” name is to Henry Van Manen, born in Holland in 1816, father of Thomas Van Manen. The name most likely indicates ancestral relation to the town of Manen in the city of Ede, Netherlands. Annie Murray, who married Henry Van Manen, immigrated from Ireland, as did the parents of Anna Mackey, who married Thomas Van Manen. Both the Murray and Mackey families came to New York during the wave of Irish immigrants associated with the Potato Famine (1845-1855). Three generations of Van Manens lived in the Sunset Park/Gowanus neighborhoods of Brooklyn, designated as the 22nd and 8th Wards of Brooklyn at the time.

Francis Joseph Van Manen’s mother, Gertrude Agnes Murphy, had ancestors that included the Murphys and O’Briens on her father’s side, and the Cosgroves and Cullens on her mother’s side. The Murphys are believed to descend from County Cork, Ireland. Upon arrival to New York in the 1860s, they lived in the Five Points area of lower Manhattan before living on 444 Degraw Street in Brooklyn’s 10th Ward, present-day Carroll Gardens. The O’Briens immigrated from County Kerry in southwestern Ireland, and lived in Five Points upon arrival. The Cosgroves descend from Ireland and spent most of their lives in Brooklyn.

Ancestor Tree

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KEY: *Birth / +Death