The Callans and McClarys, by John Edward Callan - Callanworld

Callan, a brother of Mary.
Zita McCabe of Johnston
RI , great -grand-daughter of
Philip Callan) is in possession of
an old steamer trunk from her
mother’s estate that belonged to
Mary Callan. Unfortunately, the
trunk is empty.
Margaret Margaret Margaret Margaret Margaret Callan Callan Callan Callan Callan (dates (dates (dates (dates (dates
unknown) unknown) unknown) unknown) unknown) married a Patrick
Lynch in the nearby Townland
of Derrylea in the late 1860s.
There, they had their eight
children. Urged by Patrick’s
relatives already in America, they
left with their eight children plus
a young nephew for America in
1881. They settled initially in
Rantoul, Illinois, where four of
Patrick’s siblings from Derrylea
had settled earlier. The family
spent two years there, Patrick
working for the Illinois Central
Railroad. In 1883, Patrick was
enticed by his Uncle Jack Lynch
and a cousin, Marcus Daly, to
join them in Rosebud, Montana
to help them manage their cattle
operations. Marcus Daly eventually
became one of the richest
persons in America, the infamous
Copper Baron who
founded the Anaconda Mining
Company. Numerous descendants
of this family still live in the
Rosebud area. Patrick and
Margaret died there. Their death
dates and burial place, as of this
writing, are unknown.
John John John John John Callan Callan Callan Callan Callan (dates (dates (dates (dates (dates un- un- un- un- unknown)
known) known) known) known) is somewhat of a mystery
sibling. The only reference that
there was a John Callan is
contained in the 1995 book
written by Father James Brady
Callan of Rochester, NY. He
writes that one of the children of
Philip and Rose (Boylan) Callan
was a John Callan, a baker living
in Woonsocket, RI. No records
have yet been found that verifies
his existence. The research
continues.
Rose Rose Rose Rose Rose Callan Callan Callan Callan Callan (1846-1931),
(1846-1931) (1846-1931) (1846-1931) (1846-1931)
was the youngest child of Philip
and Rose (Boylan) Callan, born
two month before her father
died. At age 26 in 1872, Rose
married a Patrick Rourke in the
nearby Townland of Listonish,
County Cavan. There, they had
all six of their children. Somewhere
along the line, the family
adopted O’Rourke as the preferred
family name. The family
left Ireland in the early 1880s for
America and settled in Providence,
RI. Both died in Providence,
Patrick in 1910 and Rose
in 1931.
Our source of information
for Rose Callan O’Rourke and
her family has been her grandson,
Justin O’Rourke, of
Warwick, RI. Additionally,
Cavan Research, a for-hire
genealogical research company
accessable over the internet,
found her Coolkill baptismal
record, the only one found for
this generation of Callans.
Ellenor Fillo and Rosella Burke
also shared their memories of
this family in Providence.
Philip Philip Philip Philip Philip Callan Callan Callan Callan Callan (1842-1909) (1842-1909 (1842-1909 (1842-1909 (1842-1909
was the last of the Callans to live
at the Coolkill home site and the
last of our Callans to leave
Ireland for America. He was
born and raised at the family
home site. He
married Catherine
Reilly from Coolkill
in about 1862 and
they had 10 children
while living in the
Callan family home,
eight of whom
survived to adulthood.
He and his
family left Coolkill
in 1890 for America.
They initially settled
for a number of
years in
Woonsocket, Rhode
Island, and, by 1904,
were living in Providence.
His wife,
Catherine, died there
in 1908 and Philip in
1909.
Our principal
sources for information
on Philip and Catherine and
their family were records from
the Cavan Research Center, the
US National Archives and
Rhode Island archival records.
Most important were the many
exchanges Jim Lynch has had
with living Callan descendants in
Rhode Island, Massachusetts,
Ohio and Montana.
~ 19 ~
The Callans and McClarys
Fr. James Callan’s tombstone, above, and,
below, his death entry in the St. Joseph’s
Church record book.