It's that time of year....

Hannah Murphy Burns et al...

Hannah Murphy Burns, Mary Jane Burns Flaherty, Frances, Agnes, Nellie Burns and child Helen Foldesi

I came across a letter today from the woman who gave me this picture of Hannah Murphy Burns, her sister-in-law, 3 daughters and granddaughter.  Alice Halloran Burns identified the women as Hannah Murphy Burns, her sister-in-law from Chicago, Frances Burns, Agnes Burns, Nellie Burns and the child is Helen Foldesi, daughter of Mae Burns Foldesi.  Helen was born in 1911, so this photo was probably taken about 1913-4.

 There were 2 sisters-in-law of Hannah in Chicago.  I believe this is Mary Jane Burns Flaherty.  She was living in Chicago with her sister Elizabeth Burns Tinsley in the 1900 census.  Elizabeth died in Chicago in 1904.  Mary Jane was married in 1912 in Chicago.  Mary Jane died in 1916 in Chicago. Neither Elizabeth or Mary Jane had children.

O'Keefes

Mary Keefe Hogan

        Lill (mom's aunt) described Mary as a crabby old lady.  She also provided me with the names of families that were "related".  "Related" is not my favorite word.  It gives hope and sometimes it is just a long, fruitless road.
     As far as I know, Mary did not have any immediate family here in Minnesota.  She did however have some relations. Most of the information for this came from Lill. Besides the immediate family, Hogans were related to Hartnetts, Downeys, McMahons, Martins, McCanns and Sheehans.
     The Hartnetts were the easiest to locate and follow through in the records. Hartnetts lived at 64 Lyton Place near the Michael Hogan family who lived at 65 Lyton Place, in St. Paul.  Lill was not sure if she was an aunt or cousin of Mary Keefe Hogan.  It turns out that Mrs. Hartnett was Ellen Keeffe.  She married Maurice Hartnett on 2nd Dec 1871 at the St. Paul  Cathedral. 
     In going through church records, I came upon the marriage of Bridget Keefe to Michael McCann.  The witnesses to the marriage were Ellen Hartnett and Mary Hogan.  Banns omitted.  This means they did not publish the banns at church the required 3 times.  They were married 2 Mar 1895.  This was a hurry up marriage.  Bridget lived in Mannanah, Meeker, Minnesota. This is when I started to think of the Hogans as a matriarchal society. Why were these 2 women the witnesses at this O'Keefe girl's wedding?
     Also from "Litchfield" as it was referred to, was the family of Annie & John Martin.  I heard of this family from one of the "Murray Girls" as they were called.  Her mother was Elizabeth Hogan, daughter of Crabby Mary.  Annie Martin's husband died at a young age and the Murrays used to visit them and help them financially.  This gave some credence to the fact that they were related.  It is one thing to help out a neighbor, but this involved some doing because of the distance. Annie O'Keefe Martin and Bridget O'Keefe McCann were sisters.  Their father was John O'Keefe of Mannanah.  As I researched this family, I was puzzled why his death record did not appear in the Meeker county records.  It turned out that he died at 64 Lyton Place in St. Paul, the home of Ellen O'Keefe Hartnett. This began the speculation that possibly John and Ellen were brother and sister. A newspaper bit said that John was very sick and had gone to St. Paul for medical treatment. His obituary mentioned he had a brother, Michael of Eden Valley.  So now, this family begins to configure as:  John, Michael and Ellen O'Keefe. On Michael's death certificate, it says his parent's are Michael Keefe and Mary Cloon.  Ellen's record only gives O'Keefe as the father. John's record does not give a father's name.  Michael's death record says he was from County Clare. The gravestones for the O'Keefes in Mannanah say they were from County Clare. Our Crabby Mary was from Co. Clare as well.
    Downeys.  I looked for a long time for Downeys.  No luck.  I followed back the McMahon relation. When I found the death record of Margaret McMahon, it turned out her father's name was Downing. That helped!  Her parents were Michael Downing and Margaret O'Keefe.  So here was another O'Keefe relative. Her parents were given as Michael O'Keefe and Nora O'Brien.  So, she is not a sister of the above three. Margaret was also married previously to a Conners.  She had a son Patrick Conners who was later known as Patrick Henry Downing.  It appears he took on the last name of Margaret's second husband.
     In the meantime I continued to research the family of Michael O'Keefe of Eden Valley, Minnesota.  He had four children:  Bridget, John, Mary and Michael.  None of them married. I checked out the obits for further info.  This was serendipitous!!!!  The day after Mary's obit, the front page, headline news was her will!  This answered so many questions! And added a few more!

Litchfield Independent, 29 September 1926

The Will of Miss Mary O'Keefe

Leaves Bulk of her Property to Church Use

WILL OF MISS MARY O'KEEFE FILED IN PROBATE COURT

The petition for hearing on the will of Miss Mary O'Keefe of Eden Valley, who died a week or two ago, was filed in the probate court last Monday. E. P. Peterson is named as the executor of the will, which is dated Sept. 26, 1925. Miss O'Keefe was the last survivor of the Michael O'Keefe family, pioneer residents of Manannah town. The parents, two sons and two daughters, comprising the family are all dead. The nearest relatives are first cousins and an aunt. The members of the family were all of a thrifty disposition, and accumulated a considerable fortune which descended to the last survivor. The property includes the 320 acre farm in Manannah town where trunk highway No. 22 crosses Crow river near the Murphy place. Miss O'Keefe in her will gives the bulk of her property to the Catholic church of which she was a member. Her relatives do not share in the estate to any great extent. Following is a copy of the will, which is on file in the probate court and open to inspection:

I, Mary O'Keefe, now residing at Eden Valley, Minnesota, being of sound mind and memory and considering the uncertain duration of life, do hereby make public and declare my Last Will and Testiment (sic) as follows:

First:- I direct that all my lawful debts, if any there be, and the expenses of my funeral be paid; and I further direct my executor to procure and place upon the graves of my father and mother, and my two brothers and one sister, in the Catholic cemetery in Manannah, Meeker county, Minnesota, granite covers suitable marked and to pay the cost of the same, approximately Seven Hundred Dollars, out of my estate; provided the same has not previously been done.

Second:- I give and bequeath to St. Dominick's Catholic church of San Francisco, California, Five Hundred Dollars; and to St. Edward's Catholic church of San Francisco, California, Five Hundred Dollars: and to St. Peter's Catholic church of Litchfield, Minnesota, Five Hundred Dollars; and to St. Phillip's Catholic church of Litchfield, Minnesota, Five Hundred Dollars; and to St. Ignatius' Catholic church of San Francisco, California, Five Hundred Dollars.

Third:- My lot in Albany California, the only Lot I own there, I give devise and bequeath to Star of the Sea Catholic church of San Francisco, California.

Fourth:- I give and bequeath to the Arch-bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul, Minnesota, for masses for my parents, my two brothers and my sister, all deceased and for myself, the sum of Three Thousand Dollars.

Fifth:- I give and bequeath to my cousins Bridget Mc Cann, Annie Martin, Patrick Hayes, Thomas Hayes, Richard Hayes, Mary Bagley, Daniel Hartnett, Mary Connors, Mrs. Hines, John Butler, James Butler, David McCarthy, Henry McCarthy, Daniel McCarthy, Flory McCarthy, Ben McCarthy, and Mary Connors, and to my aunt Mary Butler, each the sum of One Dollar.

Sixth:- I give and bequeath to P. J. Enright and to William Enright of Eden Valley, Minnesota, each the sum of Three Hundred Dollars, and to Kate Breen of Eden Valley, Minnesota, the sum of Three Hundred Dollars, and to Mrs. John O'Connor of Eden Valley, Minnesota, the sum of One Thousand Dollars, and to Mrs. Mary Dillon of Eden Valley, Minnesota, the sum of Fifty Dollars.

Seventh:- I give and bequeath to Mrs. Joe Mc Coy of 4042 24th St. , San Francisco, California, the sum of Five Hundred Dollars; and to Mrs. Patrick Keene of No. 1316 Sanchez St., San Francisco, California, the sum of Three Hundred Dollars; and to Mrs. E. C. Weidman of No. 3247 Sacramento St., San Francisco, the sum of Three Hundred Dollars; and to Mrs. Lillie Bopp, of No. 3249 Sacramento St., San Francisco, California, the sum of Three Hundred Dollars, and I give and bequeath to Mary Scholtes, the wife of matt Scholtes of Manannah, Minnesota, the sum of One Hundred Fifty Dollars.

Eighth;;- All the residue and remainder of my estate I give, devise and bequeath to the Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul, Minnesota, absolutely;

Ninth:- I appoint E. P. Peterson of Litchfield, Minnesota, to be executor of this my Will.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal at Litchfield, Minnesota, this 26th day of September, 1925.

MARY O'KEEFE

Whoa!! This will pieced together a number of relationships.  This established that John, Ellen and Michael O'Keefe were indeed siblings.  It also added a few.  Research on the other first cousins revealed more relationships.
      The Butler name I was familiar with.  Margaret Butler was living with Ellen Hartnett at the time of the 1900 census and identified as "niece".  There was also a marriage record at the Cathedral of St. Paul for a Patrick Butler of Wright County and Mary Keefe.  Census records and the will piece together this relationship.  I have spent years looking for Mrs. Heines as listed in this will and in Mary O'Keefe Butler's probate record only to find recently her married name was Heimes! Mary's death record says her father's name was John O'Keefe--so we have 2 O'Keefes, 1 Michael and 1 John as the father. 
      It was that lucky mention of Flory that helped sort this family out from the hundreds of McCarthys in Minnesota.  There are not too many male Florences!  This lead to Egan, Dakota County where the Downings lived.  The parents of the McCarthy cousins mentioned are John McCarthy and Bridget O'Keefe.  She married John McCarthy at the St. Paul Cathedral on 4th October 1863.  The family lived in Eagan and records were found at St. Peter's, Mendota. As it turns out, Michael Downing and his first wife were godparents to John and Bridget's daughter Mary in 1864.
     So, where does that leave us?  One O'Keefe family has the siblings of John, Ellen O'Keefe Hartnett, Mary O'Keefe Butler, Michael and Bridget O'Keefe McCarthy as identified by the will of Mary O'Keefe of Mannanah.
    It does not explain the relationship of Margaret O'Keefe Conners Downing.  So, she remains "related" but not a sibling of the those O'Keefes just mentioned nor of Mary O'Keefe Hogan as her parents are identified on her death certificate as Patrick Keefe and Johanna Ryan. 
     Onto the Sheehans.  This is not our Le Sueur Sheehans.  Lill recounts this story.  The Sheehans were very poor and Michael and Bridget helped them come to America.   James and Mary Doyle Sheehan came to the USA in 1890. They had a child born soon after their arrival and he was named Michael Alphonse Sheehan. His godparents were Michael and Bridget Hogan.  There is also a Sheehan baby buried in the Hogan plot at Calvary Cemetery, St. Paul.  Lill thinks that Crabby Mary may have been Mary Doyle's aunt.  One of the Sheehan's daughters was Mary Sheehan Arcand.  One of Mary Arcand's sons gave me a copy of her birth certificate.  She was born at Boyd's Range, Ballinacurra, Limerick.  I have not yet located the correct death certificate for her mother.  So, there is still more to be learned there!!
     And finally, the McCanns.  Here is one of those fruitless searches.  Both Vera Murray and Lill said that there were McCann relations in St. Paul.  Some of the family members were:  Mae, James, John, Ag and Rose McCann.  A McCann family lived at 77 W. Sycamore in St. Paul but I can't find Ag or Rose in that family.  I found  an Ag and Rose in a family that lived in Goodhue County, but there just doesn't seem to be a  clear relation to either family.
      Well, Crabby Mary was an easy way to identify Mary O'Keefe Hogan.  Lill said she was very stern.  Perhaps it was her hard life.  The Hogans ran a boarding house at 755 Sylvan. Some of the Whalens lodged there when they came to live in St. Paul. She also took in laundry to help support the family. Lill said that Patrick, her husband, was bed-ridden and blind.  The matriarchal comment comes from another incident regarding our ancestor Michael.  Evidently he was getting "too thick" with a girl that Crabby Mary didn't like, so she sent him on over the pond.  These O'Keefe women got all these marriage kinks worked out!
     As you may have noticed, Keefe can be found in any of these forms:  Keefe, Keeffe, or O'Keefe.

The Tradition of Alicing

I  bet no one else in the world has this tradition!

This tradition morphed into a verb in honor of Alice O'Connell Anderson.  It was her way to call you at the earliest possible hour to give you good wishes for your birthday or whatever.

It is now somewhat competitive. Who aliced you?

Dohertys

     I was recently at a "Cousins' Brunch" where the Doherty side of the relationship was getting short shrift. To be fair, the whole affair was started by Jim Kennedy who was a Coleman on his mother's side. Most of the Colemans at this event are Doherty descendants as well.

    The Dohertys from whom we all descend are Hugh Doherty and his wife Sarah Evans.  According to ship list records, they are from near Castlederg, County Tyrone. Hugh, Richard and the daughter Sarah came to the USA first on the Ship North Star on 12 Aug 1846.  They landed in Philadelphia. 

Ship's Passenger List:  North Star landed at the Port of Philadelphia 12 Aug 1846

     One assumption is that Hugh and the 2 children came to the USA to get established before the rest of the family came to American on the 28th of April 1847.

Ship List from the Superior as transcribed by Dessie Baker.

   The family lived in Manayunk, which was later annexed into the city of Philadelphia. During the 10 year period they lived there, one child was born:  Francis; one child died: John; and one daughter married.  The baptismal records for the Church of St. John no longer exist for the year that Frank was born.  It is an assumption that John died, but I have no record.  He does not appear in the Minnesota Census of 1860, and he was too young to be living independently.
     There is a brief notation of "Mrs. Ferrell, who remained in the East" in a newspaper article about the Dohertys. St. John the Baptist records have an Ann Doughtery marrying Martin Farrell on 6 October 1859. The Farrells had 6 children:  Thomas, Mary Regina, Joseph, Ann, John and Catherine. I am still researching this family.
     By 1860, the Dohertys were living in Tyrone Township, Le Sueur County.  In the 1857 Minnesota Territorial Census, 3 Doherty brothers were living in Stillwater.  From the census, it appears they were working at a lumber camp.  

1857 Minnesota Territorial Cenus, Stillwater, Washington County, Minnesota Territory, October 1857

     The family minus Richard appears in the 1860 Minnesota Census in Tyrone, Le Sueur County.  No matter how I spell Doherty, I can't find Richard in the 1860 census. The next record for him is in Tennessee (and wouldn't I love to know the story behind this member of the family!!!)
     Hugh Doherty was educated--meaning he could read and write.  This is not usual for many Famine era immigrants.  He was active in both township and county government.  He served as a supervisor in Tyrone and was instrumental in naming the township. He was also one of the first Le Sueur County commissioners and served several terms.
     Hugh and his wife remained in Tyrone, Le Sueur for the rest of their lives.

DEATH OF HUGH DOHERTY

In the death of Hugh Doherty which occurred at noon on Thursday last, at the residence of his son James, in Tyrone Township, another old settler has been taken to rest. Mr. Doherty was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in September 1802, and was therefore in his 83d year when he died. He came to America in 1846-just escaping the terrible hard times of 1847 in his native country-and located in Manyunk, a suburb of Philadelphia, where he remained until 1856, when he came to Minnesota, and took a government claim of 160 acres in Tyrone, where he had lived ever since and where he died. His family came the following year. The deceased was chairman of the first board of supervisors of Tyrone township and named the town after his native county in Ireland. (The other two members were Louis Winterfeld and David Jones, the first named of whom is living yet.) He was also one of the earliest members of the board of county commissioners in the county. During the earlier years in Tyrone he also taught school a number of terms. In his public as in his private life, Mr. Doherty was a model of conscientious and honest citizen, and no kinder hearted, upright or agreeable neighbor ever lived. He was a christian in the highest and truest sense-and one who carried his notion of christian duty into all walks of life and when Death came at last, he was shorn of his terror for the venerable and venerated man of faith and works, who welcomed his departure from earth as one who had done the best he could and was ready to lay down the burden of life. The world is better that such men have lived. The deceased leaves a wife, aged 80 years, in feeble health, four sons, James, Samuel, (in Stevens County,) Patrick and Hugh and one daughter, the wife of Patrick Cantwell. The funeral took place at St. Thomas on Saturday and was one of the largest ever known in the county.

Le Sueur Sentinel, Nov. 27, 1884