Global ID 26152 Billy Carney

[ladyshaz]

Welterweight, fought 1916->1930 Need to find our his REAL name, from New Bedford, MA, USA --- how do I go about this?

[DaveyMac]

The easiest way is to find his hometown newspaper around the times of his earliest fights and hope that somewhere someone says what it is.

How do you know Billy Carney wasn't his real name?

[ladyshaz]

I know Billy Carney was not his real name because his grandson has told me so, his real last name is Arruda, but we are searching for the "whole story" as the family did not keep information. As the person is dead, I am hoping for a kind of "freedom of information" ... but you do have a good idea there.

[DaveyMac]

Ah see you have a clue :)

Tell me all that you do know and I'll see what I can find. Arruda is a good start. Was his first name Billy?

Just as point of information for most of his life there were three Billy Carney's living in New Bedford and there was an Elk's Lodge named Billy Carney.

[ladyshaz]

OH dear....3!! Darn, Doubt very much if this one had a Elk's affiliation, but can not say for sure, he only fought until 1930. I am betting his first name is William "Billy" and that his birth date is Aug 23 1908....hoping to find in the application to fight form that his birth date and name is William Arruda... I am doing his family tree for them and they have very very little to go on, I have never met a family before that did not have even two generations back of information.

[DaveyMac]

Well if you have the father's name and he was born before 1940 you should be able to find him in the 1940 census with his parents and from there know the Grandfather's name.

Arruda was a very popular Portugese name in that area, probably still is. I don't think Billy Carney the boxer could possibly have been born in 1908 because he was fighting professionally in 1916.

If you want to, sitemail me what you do know and what you are trying to find out and I'll see if I can help.

[tonyd]

hello his name was william arruda and he was born in 1890 i am a grandson for his youngest daughter