The next generation of our Belfast Dorans were the children of Bernard Doran (son of John Doran and his wife Ellen Little) and his wife Mary Hall (daughter of William Hall and his wife Sarah Tierney). Their children were Ellen, Elizabeth, Bernard, Mary, William John, Joseph, and Catherine. Mary and Catherine both died as infants. Their mother Mary Hall Doran died giving birth to Catherine in 1899. According to the recollections of Mary's granddaughter Sarah "Sal" Rafferty, their father Bernard couldn't handle the children by himself and dropped them off at the door of Mary's sister, Elizabeth Hall. Known to the family as "Aunt Lizzy" she was the steady hand that kept the Doran children together.

Aunt Lizzy Hall never married. She worked in the cotton mill in Belfast and after moving to New Jersey in 1914 she worked at the Coats & Clark cotton thread mill in East Newark, NJ until the Great Depression when she apparently lost her job. The last known work she did prior to her death in 1933 was as a house keeper. Aunt Lizzy was very religious and kept her bible with her at all times. She bequeathed her bible to her grandson William John Doran and it is now in the care of his daughter. The following photo was tucked into Aunty Lizzy's bible and fell out during a visit of our family with William John's daughter a few years ago. We do not know who the couple is, as there was no writing on the back of the photo. What we do know is that it was positively taken at a photographer's studio in Belfast. 

This photo was in the bible of Elizabeth "Aunt Lizzy" Hall.

Photo above taken at the same photography studio as the photo at the left. Pictured here are Arthur James Doran (born 1911) and his parents Sarah neé Hermon and Arthur Patrick Doran. This Doran family is distantly related to us. More about the Arthur Doran family is on this website.  Permission to use the photo given by J. Doran. 

Ellen Doran (1884-1932) was most likely named after her paternal grandmother, Ellen Little. She seems to have been a particularly resilient person. No matter what life threw at her she found a way to not only survive, but to thrive. 

Ellen was born on December 28, 1884 and was baptized on January 6, 1885 at St Peter's Roman Catholic Church in Belfast. The baptism sponsor was Sara Walsh. The officiating priest was Rev. J. Moore. 

Ellen also went by variations of her name, including Nellie, and Helen.

In 1907 Ellen was living at 18 East 60th Street, Manhattan, when her sister Elizabeth came to visit her. She returned to Belfast some time before her marriage to Patrick McVeigh, which took place on December 26, 1908 in Belfast at St Paul's Roman Catholic Church. Their witnesses were Edith Walsh and her brother Bernard Doran. Her husband, Patrick McVeigh, was a sailor. According to her descendants, the marriage was arranged by her Aunt Lizzy who thought it was time for Ellen to be married. Shortly after the marriage, Patrick went to sea, and later was presumed dead.

It is my theory that the couple in the photo (above left) is Patrick McVeigh and Ellen Doran.  He looks (to me anyway) a lot like their daughter Helen. They also do not look like a couple who knows each other well and they certainly don't look like a couple in love.  The blouse the girl is wearing is very similar to the blouse worn by Ellen in another photo of her taken in Belfast.  

Ellen left Belfast again in 1909. The passenger record indicates she had entered the US in 1906 and 1908. She is described as being 5'3", ruddy complexion, auburn hair and blue eyes. She was coming from her Aunt Lizzie Hall's home at 51 Springfield Village, Belfast to visit her sister Lizzie Doran, East 65th Street, NYC.  

On the 15th of May 1910 Ellen married the love of her life Thomas Joseph Smythe after having her missing husband declared dead, they were living at 120 Ogden Street, Newark, NJ in 1910 when her brother Bernard came from Ireland. 

She and Thomas welcomed a baby girl, Elizabeth Smythe, a year later (March 15, 1911) into their lives. Their happiness was short lived. Thomas died October 29, 1911 at the same address, 120 Ogden Street, Newark, NJ. His surname is written both as Smythe and as Smith, however the family believes that the former is the correct way to spell it. 

The 1911 Newark, NJ Directory (page 1178) lists her as:  Smith, Ellen A. wid(ow) Thomas, nurse, h. 83 Van Buren, Newark, NJ.  This is obviously her as she had studied to be a practical nurse.

​Ellen had another daughter, Helen McVeigh was born in June 12, 1914 in Caldwell NJ. The father is listed as Patrick McVeigh on the birth certificate. By the 1915 New Jersey census, Ellen is alone again, now with two daughters, Elisabeth Smith and Helen McVeigh. They are living in the home of a widower, Amos Moffat Pearson, and his two twin sons, Howard and Robert Pearson, on Ravine Avenue, City of Caldwell, NJ. Ellen had been hired by Amos to be a nurse/housekeeper.