About
Patrick Henry Finegan, was born on November 7, 1891, in Beekmantown, New York. For the 1900 census, Patrick was living with his family in Schenectady. When he left the city is unknown. Patrick spent the majority of his adult life on ships. Patrick was listed on one of the crew lists as having an artificial right leg and missing his right thumb.
Patrick joined the Merchant Marines. He was a Merchant Seaman at the time. Patrick was First Engineer onboard the ship Excello on November 13, 1942, when a German U-181 (Wolfgang Luth) sank it near Capetown, South Africa. Patrick was one of two men who perished at sea. Patrick had a sister who was a nun in Troy, New York, and two other sisters who lived in Schenectady at the time of his death. His name does not appear on any memorials.
Sources: The Schenectady Gazette, Ancestry