Based on the John Deasy biography, Michael Deasy (his father), the son of Patrick Deasy, returned from the gold fields in California to the area of Gold Hill, Nevada some time around 1863. He married Henrietta Cole, either in California or Nevada. A story exists that she was kidnapped and brought by ship to San Francisco, but all records were destroyed by the great fire. Perhaps Michael met her in California. She was born in Baltimore, Maryland on 04 Jul 1844 and had two sisters whose names we have as Lizzie and Sophia Cole. At this time we have no additional information on the sisters.
Michael Deasy b.1845, County Cork, Ireland – d.27 Oct 1881, Gold Hill, Nevada
Henrietta Cole b.4 Jul 1844, Baltimore, Maryland – d. 4 Mar 1909, John Day, Idaho
Michael Deasy and Henrietta Cole had 5 children while they lived in the area of Gold Hill or Virginia City, Nevada. The children were:
The 1880 census taker spells the name, Deasy, as “Daisy” apparently based on the phonetic sound of the way it was pronounced by this early generation. We also heard it pronounced as “Daisy” by later generations. The 1875 Nevada State Census indicates that the name was spelled “Deasy”. This letter makes a pointed statement concerning the “proper spelling” of the name Deasy.
The person who gave the information to the U.S. Census taker used Hannah for Henrietta’s name and Maggie for Margaret Katherine’s name. They are annotated in that way on the census page image.
After Michael died in 1881 the family moved to the John Day, Idaho area. A cousin of Michael (also Michael, born in County Cork, Ireland in Feb 1834) married Henrietta on 23 Aug 1883 in Idaho. In the marriage record “Deasy” is spelled “Deasey”. This older cousin apparently lived with the family for a period in Nevada. The 1875 Nevada State Census notes a 42 year old male living with the family, who is a miner with the surname of Deasy. That’s a pretty good match to this Michael.
This Michael and Henrietta Cole had one child in Freedom, Idaho. He was: