(April) 2011 - Irish Genealogical Website International

_____________________________________________________ Tracing Irish Women in the Midwest
Yet Mary and Patrick did not immediately
pack their trunk for Minnesota. If there
was argument or ambivalence about the
move, that has been lost to history. But
with Mary pregnant a second time, the
family continued to reside in St. Louis. 22
This pregnancy did not end happily. In
1876, Patrick and Mary buried their
stillborn infant Mary at Calvary Cemetery
in the plot owned by Aunt Ann Nolan. 23
Some months later, with tickets clutched in
their hands, they boarded a steamboat and
journeyed up the river to relocate on their
new farm.
Whether Mary ever saw Aunt Ann Nolan
or her sister Sarah (Sheehan) Rudd again
is doubtful. The Rudds remained in St.
Louis, where Bryan established his own
blacksmith and horseshoe business on
Walnut St. in the central city. 24 The family
lived next to their business and attended the
old St. Louis Cathedral a number of blocks
away. 25 Of their six children, two died in
infancy and were buried in Aunt Ann’s
plot along-side their infant cousin, Mary
Kennedy. As Sarah and Bryan reared their
other four children, Aunt Ann remained a
central figure. She resided with them and
most certainly helped with the children and
the household tasks. 26 When endocarditis
claimed Sarah at the early age of 39 27 , her
younger children still needed the guidance
of a mother.
Perhaps substantial financial or health
problems eventually overcame Aunt Ann
or perhaps she simply out-lived the close
relatives who were likely to care for her in
her last years. When she passed away in
1895 from senile debility, 28 she resided with
the Little Sisters of the Poor on Hebert St.
Bryan Rudd died the following year at
Mullanphy Hospital from stomach cancer. 29
The very fact that he died in hospital
indicates that the widower had significant
financial resources. At the time of his
death his four children were well into their
twenties. All of them subsequently married
and resided in the city of St. Louis.
Irish Genealogical Society International
At least one of Sarah’s daughters maintained
the family connection with Minnesota.
Lizzie Rudd was quite the traveler and
seemingly possessed significant disposable
income. Just after the turn of the century,
she paid an extended autumn visit to her
Aunt Mary and Uncle Patrick Kennedy
in rural Minnesota, where her visit caught
the attention of the local newspaper. 30
Sometime later, Lizzie sailed for Ireland
to visit her parents’ home places. Perhaps
it was on the return journey in 1904 that
Lizzie discovered romance on the high
seas. Her Irish cousin Daniel J. Murphy 31
accompanied her back to America and,
within a couple of years, they tied the
knot. 32
Around 1906 something prompted Mary
(Sheehan) Kennedy to journey once again
to the city of her early immigrant days. 33
Maybe it was the occasion of niece Lizzie
Rudd’s wedding. Or maybe it was the
opportunity to hear Lizzie’s tales of the
loved ones in Ballynestragh. Or maybe, for
the first time in three decades, the timing
was finally right. Although advanced in
years, Mary remained in good health;
she had raised four sons and she and her
husband, Patrick, were financially secure on
their Minnesota farm. As a girl growing up
in County Wexford, she could hardly have
predicted this.
The Challenge and the Reward
On the surface, the task of finding the
townland of origin of great-grandmother
Mary Kennedy did not appear particularly
difficult. Her husband’s roots in Ballyregan
townland near Gorey in northern County
Wexford were discovered with relative ease.
Yet this search proved vexing, expensive,
and time-consuming. The journey to Mary
(Sheehan) Kennedy’s baptism record where
the word“Ballinstra” was written demanded
the careful review of the records of some
20 Irish churches, 30 U.S. churches, 50
civil parish Tithe Applotment Books, 200
obituaries, 400 death certificates, and 50
years of city directories. Fortunately, small
discoveries along the path occurred with
enough frequency to provide encouragement
and to serve as necessary trail markers.
Had the search been straightforward, our
family would not have had the opportunity
to learn about St. Louis and the surges of
immigrants flowing through the city. We
would not have learned about other families
of Nolans, Sheehans, and Kennedys or
peeked into their lives and origins. And we
would not have discovered living relatives
on both sides of the Atlantic who have
enriched our lives. These are among the
marvelous rewards of a difficult search.
Having a conclusion to this story is possible
only because of Peter O’Connor, Fr. Patrick
O’Brien, Ed Steed, Annette Sheehan, Dan
Kennedy, Rose Reed, Pat Sheehan, Debbie
Grimsley, Terry Tobinson, and many others.
Our debt to them is enormous.
Endnotes
1 This information came from a
conversation with Mary (Sheehan)
Kennedy’s only living grandchild, Rose
K.Reed,who was a small child when her
grandmother died. Mary’s gravestone
inscription at Calvary Cemetery in St.
Paul, Minnesota, was simple: Mary
Kennedy 1844-1918. Her Ramsey
County, Minnesota, death certificate
listed her birth date as 26 Jan.1844 and
her father as James Schien.
2 Statement of John Sheehan of
Ballynestragh, 1951. Because Sheehan
is not a common Wexford surname,
I theorized that the Sheehans who
clustered around Ballynestragh in
the Griffith’s Valuations and Tithe
Applotment Books were my relatives.
The online Irish telephone directory
listed a few Sheehans still living in
that area. In 2006, I wrote to the
Patrick Sheehan family, which kindly
sent a copy of their family tree and
history. Though quite extensive, it
did not connect with Mary (Sheehan)
Kennedy.
Page 83