At the time of the 1910 Federal Census, Marcella R. Hourican, 19, single, born in Ireland, was living on South Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, with Rose C. Beatty, a widow, 45, born in Ireland. The record states that Marcella, the niece of Mrs. Beatty, immigrated in 1905. However, the Immigration Record indicates that Marcella Hourican arrived in New York on November 1, 1906, and her destination was (Illegible) Collumb on Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh.

Marcella's parents, Philip and Margaret (Collumb/Columb) Hourican, didn't arrive in the United States from Ireland until 1922. Philip died in 1928 and Margaret in 1957. Some of their children were not born until after Marcella had left for America in 1906.

Marcella and her two younger sisters, Beatrice and Margaret, used the surname Sommers when they attended the St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing. It is not known why they didn't use their real name, Hourican, at that time. Marcella used Somers for her marriage, but in later years, when her children applied for Social Security cards, her maiden name was stated as Hourican.

Gleaned from genealogical records are the following children of Philip and Margaret (Collumb/Columb) Hourican: Marcella (oldest), Owen, Hugh, Bridget, Beatrice, Philip, James, Patrick, Margaret, and twins, Donald and Daniel.

Marcella Regina Somers/Sommers married Dr. William Walker McCaw on June 28, 1917.

Marcella Regina Somers was born at County Longford, Ireland on September 29, 1892, according to her Passport Application, dated 1919, at which time she had one child, Peggy (Margaret), and her husband was an Army doctor stationed in France. Her application information was confirmed by Mrs. Rose C. Beatty of South Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh. The following is their passport photo.

In 1930, Dr. W. W. McCaw and his wife, Marcella S., both 39, were residents of Sable, Adams County, Colorado. Their children were Margaret S., Agnes E., Marcella J., Ann, William W., and James P.

Meanwhile, the aunt in Pittsburgh, Mrs. Rose Columb Beatty, widow of Dr. Robert C. Beatty, died on November 23, 1937, after being struck by a streetcar on Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh.

At the time of the 1940 census, the McCaw family was in the Ancon, Panama Canal Zone. Dr. (Colonel) McCaw, 49, and his wife M. R. S. McCaw, 47, had the following children with them: Margaret, 21, b Georgia; Agnes E., 19, b New York; Marcella J., 18, b Missouri; Ann Tresa, 17, b Texas; William W., 15, b Texas, and James P., 13, b Texas.

Dr. William Walker McCaw, born 13 July 13, 1890, in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, died November 6, 1952 in Aurora, Colorado. Marcella S. died on March 6, 1957. They are buried Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Wheat Ridge, Jefferson County, Colorado.

EMAIL RECEIVED Sept. 28, 2017 from Tom Carty in Ireland thomascarty@cartyweb.ie:

You profile three Sommers girls, also known as Houricans, an Irish family from Longford, cousins of mine through both the Houricans and the Collumbs.

Under British law, us being a territory, from 1800 - 1850 a renewed pressure to take British names and give up our Irish surnames was implemented, with many taking an Anglicisation of their name. Hourican is the original Irish, and it means one of a summery disposition, hence Somers and its variations.

Why they kept it? It probably made them look a bit less common, and they may be the Houricans descended from Mary Smith and Thomas Hourican, Marys grandmother being Catherine Dopping, and Frank Collumb records in "The Lough Gowna Valley" that a lot of her descendants seen themselves above the "ordinary" Irish of the area.

Any further infomration on them would be welcome. I have a profile on them on www.whothehelldoyouthinkyouare.com and I'll add them to the family tree when I figure out exactly where they fit in, as descendants of Thomas Hourican as I suspect, or his brother Phillip (our branch).

Tom Carty,
Edenmore, Ballinamuck, Co. Longford