The Callans and McClarys, by John Edward Callan - Callanworld

playing it. Ed eventually would
play in the Denver Symphony
Orchestra.
Philip Philip Callan
Callan
Philip Callan, the first son
of Mary Anne Magill and Bernard
Callan, was born on April
21, 1873 in Utica, NY. His
family moved to Baltimore,
where two more brothers were
born. When his father Bernard
died, Mary brought the family
back to her home town of
Seneca Falls. They lived at 15
Center Street and Philip attended
St. Patrick’s School. For
a short while Philip worked at a
machine shop at Goulds Pumps,
which was founded in Seneca
Fails in 1848. But it was suggested
to him that he get out of
that work so that his hands
wouldn’t be injured, since music
was his first love and he needed
his hands for playing the violin.
A friend suggested he take up
Philip Callan
barbering., since the work would
be soft on his hands. So Philip
was apprenticed to a barber at a
young age. It was not a profession
be would have chosen for
himself. Barbers were held in
low esteem and it always hurt his
pride to have to earn a living
cutting hair. But he had no
choice. As for the violin, although
almost entirely selftaught,
one would never have
known it. He learned how to
read music and play all the
stringed instruments, but the
violin was his first love. He
always regretted he could only
“chord” on the piano.
Philip had a beautiful
baritone voice. When his children
were young, he would sing
in the Seneca Falls home town
productions of Gilbert and
Sullivan operettas such as “The
Pirates of Penzance.” He sang in
choirs almost his whole life, and
directed them as well. He taught
all his children how to play
musical instruments. For example,
his son, Phil Jr., learned
from him how to play mandolin,
which he did for all his life at
family parties on Winona
Boulevard.
When they were in their
early years of grammar school,
the children learned from Philip
how to sing in harmony the parts
of the Mass such as the Sanctus,
Benedictus and Agnus Dei.
When Philip would sing the
“Veni Jesu” on special occasions
in church such as Christmas and
Easter with his best lifelong
friend, Dr. Thomas Mangan,
who had a glorious Irish tenor,
chills would run up people’s
spines and no one could keep
from crying.
Philip was married in 1896
to Margaret Ferguson, daughter
of Michael and Margaret
Mooney Ferguson. The
Fergusons lived near Union
Springs on Cayuga Lake. Philip
and Margaret had one daughter
named Dorothy, who was bom
on July 31, 1898. However the
mother, Margaret, died three
weeks later from peritonitis due
to childbirth. She received the
sacraments before she died.
Dorothy was baptized by Father
Dwyer at St. Patrick’s Church.
Later in her life she moved to
Rochester, where she eventually
met George Schropp at the
Wonder Bakery. They had over
sixty happy years together and
raised five children (George,
Mary or Sr. Dorothy Therese,
SSJ, Robert, Jean Hogan and
Dorothy Gefell).
Both Dorothy and George
died in the 1990s and are buried
at St. Margaret Mary Church.
The child-birth death of
Margaret Ferguson Callan was a
stunning blow to Philip. His
father died when he was only six,
and suddenly his wife was gone.
Philip headed for Rochester. He
took up barbering again as he
had in Seneca Falls. He worked
at a barber shop on the Four
Corners (Main and State) where
a lot of classy and famous people
came to have their hair cut. He is
said to have once cut the hair of
“Buffalo” Bill Cody, the legend-
~ 33 ~
The Callans and McClarys
ary frontiersman, after whom the
Buffalo Bills football team is
named. Philip started singing in
St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which is
near the site of Eastman Kodak
Company headquarters. It was in
the cathedral choir that he met
Sarah Dwyer. They fell in love
and got married in 1905.
The newlyweds had three
children in successive years
following their marriage. They
later moved to Johnson Street in
Seneca Falls where Rosella was
born on March 24, 1910. Then
they moved to Ridge Street.
Little Edward (the flute player)
came along in 1912, thus completing
Phil and Sadie’s family:
Dorothy, Phil, Mary Agnes,
Rosella and Edward.
Philip Callan’s two younger
brothers, Bernard and Michael,
were running a grocery store on
East Fall Street near the Ovid
Street Bridge at the time. They
offered Philip a chance to join
them in the grocery business.
Both Bernard and Michael
withdrew from the business after
a while and Philip tried to go it
alone. Philip soon discovered
that running a grocery store was
not his gift. He was not good in
math. Besides that he was too
kindhearted. When customers
fell on hard times and couldn’t
afford the groceries, he would
take an IOU and give them the
food for free. Sometimes they
would run up big bills and then
be so embarrassed that they
wouldn’t come back. Instead
they would shop at some other
store, Philip said.