There comes a time when many family historians and genealogists hit the proverbial "brick wall." For instance, I began tracing my family tree in 1980, and in less than a year I had traced one line back to my maternal great-great-great-grandfather, Charles O'Neil.

Charlie died in Brooklyn in February 1887 at the age of 75. He did very well for himself, his three wives, and children. His death was reported in all the major Brooklyn newspapers, as well as some New York City (Manhattan) papers and the weekly The Irish World, which covered Irish and Irish-American affairs throughout the United States. Not one of those newspapers noted Charlie's birthplace in Ireland. His burial was in Holy Cross Cemetery in Flatbush, Brooklyn with his second wife (my ancestor) Anne Scott, who had died in 1861. On their tombstone, Charlie had inscribed her birthplace in Ireland—the Parish of Killeshandra, County Cavan. Unfortunately, Charles O'Neil's birthplace was not listed on the stone, just his dates of birth and death.

For ten years I searched every record I could get my hands on. Every attempt proved fruitless. One day in 1991, as I continued copying the tombstones of the Irish-born in Holy Cross Cemetery, I walked over to Charles and Anne's grave. I said, "Listen Charlie, if I find your birthplace, I'll have a Mass said for you both, and I'll have this stone cleaned. As I walked away from the grave, I suddenly remembered that when Charlie's son, Charles J. (my great-great-grandfather), was married in 1871 to Margaret Stack, they received a "Dispensation from Banns" from Bishop John Loughlin, first bishop of Brooklyn. The information I received concerning their dispensation record was pure gold. That information included: names of bride and groom, their birthplace, their residence, their parents' names (including mother's maiden name), type of dispensation, name of priest requesting dispensation, and the date it was entered into the bishop's ledger.

I thought that since Charlie was married for the third time between 1865 and 1867, there was a possibility that he may have requested a dispensation. But before I get to the good news, I think it is important to explain what dispensations are, since many people confuse dispensations with annulments. With help from Monsignor Joseph G. Konrad, JCD (Doctor of Canon Law) and the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, 1884:

"A dispensation, or the relaxation of the law in a special case, may be granted by the author of the law, his successor, or superior, and also by one to whom the power to dispense has been granted by the preceding."

In the Roman Catholic Church, a bishop usually heads a diocese. At the time of my ancestors' marriages, John Loughlin was bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn. The diocese at that time covered Brooklyn, Queens, present-day Nassau, and Suffolk. Below are some of the more common types of dispensations requested during Bishop Loughlin's episcopate (1853-91):

1) Mixed Religion—A marriage between a Catholic and a validly baptized non-Catholic
2) Disparity of Cult or Worship—A marriage of a Catholic to a non-baptized person
3) Consanguinity—Forbids marriage between third cousins or any nearer degree of kindred
4) Affinity—It is forbidden to marry the third cousin of any near blood relation of a deceased husband or wife
5) Spiritual Affinity—A species of relationship contracted by means of the sacraments of baptism and confirmation where parents cannot marry the sponsor of a child or the person who baptized it; nor can sponsors marry their godchildren
6) The dispensation most frequently requested was dispensation from Banns.

The Publication of the Banns
In order to place a check upon clandestine marriages, to discover any impediments which may exist, to prevent deceptions and surprises, to afford parents and others interested an opportunity to interpose if needful, and to procure the prayers of the faithful that God may give grace and prosperity to the contracting parties, the Council of Trent (1545-63) decreed that the promise of marriage be published on three successive Sundays or holidays at the principal Mass by the parish priest of the parties.

Now, how did all this church law help me with my genealogical problem? When Bishop Loughlin was asked by the parish priest to grant a dispensation, the bishop asked for personal information of the parties to be married. That information was described above.

Getting back to Charlie. The 1865 New York State Census shows that Charles O'Neil was widowed and had been married twice. I knew that his third wife, Catherine O'Connor, had a baby boy in March 1867. My research for a dispensation record would entail about a two-year period. I called Father Kevin Noone (now Monsignor Noone), who at the time was the co-archivist for the Diocese of Brooklyn. I explained my genealogical problem, and he invited me to go to the archives and search the records myself. Father Noone did not know the exact location of the dispensations, so it took me about an hour to locate them. After finding the ledgers in archival boxes (covering the period 1859-91) it took another half hour until I finally found it (after ten years):

"May 16, 1866 Charles O'Neil (son of) John and Margaret Clark (born in) Leitrim [Ireland] (residence) Congress and Columbia Sts.

"Catherine O'Connor (parents not listed) (born in) Kings [Ireland] (residence) Dean and Court Sts. (Dispensation from) Banns (requested by) [Father] Joseph Fransioli [St. Peter's Church]."

After ten years, I had learned that my great-great-great-great-grandparents were John and Margaret Clark O'Neil and that Charlie was born in Leitrim, Ireland.

Dispensation records are important because there is little or no information for that time period about those immigrants. Between 1859 and 1891, more than 40,000 dispensations were granted by Bishop Loughlin. That information is invaluable for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

Because of the importance of these records, I asked Bishop Thomas Daily, the current bishop of Brooklyn, if I could publish the dispensation records to help other people searching their roots. The bishop agreed, and I photocopied more than 40,000 dispensations.

Dispensation records in other dioceses may not contain the same information as the records in the Brooklyn Diocese. Some dioceses did not keep that information for a long period of time, while other dioceses and archdioceses will not make that information public. As you know, genealogy is not easy. But it cannot hurt to try. Good luck!

Joseph Silinonte has been active in genealogical research since 1980. He is a noted lecturer and author of two books, Tombstones of the Irish-born, Cemetery of the Holy Cross, Flatbush, Brooklyn (to order, contact Heritagebooks.com) and Bishop Loughlin's Dispensations, Diocese of Brooklyn, 1859-1866, Volume I (to order, contact author at his Web site). Sample pages can be seen of both books at the author's Web site. Joseph was a guest on Irish National Radio, where he discussed his work on the late prime minister, Manhattan-born Eamon de Valera, after writing a two-part article on the same subject for Irish Roots magazine.