Lois and her Irish-ness Digital Flip Book December 10, 2018

Lois And her Irish- ness
Chronicled by
Tom Henn
Edited by Barbara Bingham

Lois Rita Walker Henn
1928 2016:
Her Irish-ness

Family
like branches on a tree,
we all grow in different
directions yet our roots remain as one
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval systems,
without written permission from the author.
© Tom Henn 2018
1

Mother -- Her Essence and Greatness!
While reading this book one may sit back and ponder. You see,
while we captured Lois and her Irish-ness, something special
happened. We also captured her mother, her grandmothers, great
grandmothers and her great-great grandmothers and ancestors.
The historical greatest of moms! In this case, Irish moms! These
women led the way and paved the paths for building and aspiring
greatness. It starts with the mere fact of being a woman. The
mother is the most perfect thing that exists in the life of human
beings. A good mother is never forgotten, we take her forever in
our hearts; that’s why it is so important that we value and cherish
our mothers! They deserve it!
Figure 1 Tom Henn
If you want to surprise your mom on any day, or maybe on Mother's Day, learn how to say
“mom” in another language. Here are other languages from around the world and their
word or words for mom: Arabic: Ahm, Bosnian: Majka, Brazilian Portuguese: Mãe, Czech:
Matka, Danish: Mor, Dutch: Moeder or Moer, French: Mère or Maman, German: Mutter,
Greek: Màna, Irish: Máthair, Italian: Madre or Mamma, Japanese: Okaasan or Haha,
Norwegian: Mor, Polish: Matka or Mama, Russian: Mat', Spanish: Madre or Mamá or
Mami, Swahili: Mama or Mzazi or Mzaa, Swedish: Mamma or Mor.
Without further ado, please give your mom a hug today and please say “I love you and thank
you.” You would not be here on this Earth without her!
Tom Henn

!
Preface
I would like to thank many people as I took this journey to document my mom's Irish
side. Members of the Conroy, Cain, Hoolehan and Murphy families and to the Salt Lake
genealogist, Donna Breckenridge and for the abundance of work on this book by the Irish
author and genealogist Barbara Bingham. It has been a pleasure and joy!
I have much gratitude and appreciation for the many people I have met along the way.
This journey was not planned yet very welcomed with so much to appreciate. It started with a
simple request by my mom to document her life story. It has now been ten years of learning
and documenting, collecting and collaborating, laughing and sometimes screaming in
frustration. It has been rewarding as well as fatiguing, fulfilling and sometimes saddening,
but, ultimately bringing me a sense of gratefulness and appreciation.
This work is not just a family book, it is an Irish book for the ages, written for all to
share and pass on to generation after generation. The hope is that many others with families
from origins all around the world embrace a similar journey rather than say, “I wish we did!”
This journey is an embodiment of love for many kindred Irish relatives and friends who
willingly worked with me to create it. This book is about our collective Irish families, their
journeys in life whether they stayed in Ireland or chose to come to America and build a new
life. We start with my mom Lois Rita Walker Henn. As family and friends were her riches in
life, we hope to knit together a rich Irish history.
My mom was a mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She left her earthly
belongings on October 4 th , 2016 for the grand tour of the Celestial Kingdom considered the
premier vacation destination!
Reading from Proverbs 31:
“If you can find a truly good woman, she is worth more than precious gems; her husband can
trust her and she will richly satisfy their needs. She will help them all her life. She is
energetic, a hard worker and a good friend. She works far into the night; she cares for those
in need and generously gives her time. She is a woman of strength and dignity. When she
speaks, her words are wise and kindness is the rule for everything she says. Her children,
family and friends stand by her and bless her. They all praise her with these words: “There
are many fine women in the world, but you the best of them all.” The Living Bible.

NTNT
PREFACE.......
THE CHICAGO STORY
Chapter 1
ois ita n overview of her family.............................................................................
Chapter 2
ois ita her life in detail..............................................................................................
oiss siblings, relatives and friends stories............ 28
Chapter 3
randparents atrick urphy and ary alsh............................................................
Chapter 4
randmother argaret llen onry......1
oiss memories of the onrys..........
Three dult hildren of Three others........
THE IRISH STORY
Chapter 5
reat grandparents ichael urphy and ridget crath..........................................
Chapter 6
reat grandparents atrick onry and ary nn ain.................................................8
Chapter 7
reatgreat grandparents illiam ain and ary Noon.......
ain portraits compared and lineage revealed through N........
LOIS AND HER IRISH-NESS...111
AFTERTHOUGHT.....11

The hicago tory
hapter 1
T N H
“Family has been an important part of my life. I want to share
my family history.”
ois ita alker Henn 201 i
There is a amily ible of the alker and
onry families that is over one hundred and
forty years old. lthough ois was not aware
of it for most of her life, she was indeed
pleased to read that there were many alkers
entered into this ible when she saw it,
including me ii she said with a smiley
face in 201. The entry recorded her birth
ois alker an 1 th 128. iii To ois this
was a cherished piece of history that her
nephew, ean Hoolehan, shared and she
proudly included many photographs of it
when she wrote books on the alkers family
lineage and her own life story. ois was very
Figure Te 1ero onr Fmi ie inue e
reor o oi ir

interested in genealogy from a sense of family history and from a perspective she had yet to
know. She found much about her ancestors with the help of her son Tom during the
compilation of these two books. In her life story she condensed the major events in her life
and noticeably mentioned many family members and friends that helped her along the way.
Among them were her Irish relatives. Lois was nearly one hundred percent descended from
those who left Ireland to gain a better life in the United States, and as such she carried in her
genes the traits that they all shared – Irish-ness that is defined by the way she coped with
adversity, her awareness of God and her appreciation of the past. It is fitting then that this
third book endeavors to detail and celebrate her connections with Ireland and highlight the
Irish-ness in her character and life choices.
Lois Rita Walker has one set of Irish great grandparents through her father’s family. They
are Patrick Conry and Mary Ann Cain whose lives began in Ireland. On her mother’s side,
Mary Gertrude Murphy, has given Lois one hundred percent Irish ancestry. Her two
grandparents and four great grandparents were all born in Ireland, namely Patrick Murphy,
Mary Walsh, Michael Murphy, Bridget McGrath and Mary Walsh’s parents.
As Lois herself explains her Irish genealogy, she begins with her Cain family:
“My Great Great Grandparents on my Grandmother Walker’s side:
William Cain was born in County Mayo, Ireland and Mary Paten (sic) was born in County
Roscommon, Ireland. It starts in the early 1800s before 1837, not sure of dates, when William
Cain married Mary Paten. They had nine children, four were children born in Ireland,
Thomas, Mary Ann (my great grandmother), Ellen, and Ann. Ellen became Mrs Keegan and
Ann became Mrs Linberg. William and Mary Cain left Ireland in 1841 and settled in
Massachusetts. Then five more children were born in the United States, Dennis, John, Kate,
William, and Celia who became Mrs Walin.” iv
She continues with her Murphy ancestry and recalls:
“From my memory and what I was told, the parents of my mother, Mary Gertrude ‘Bridget’
Murphy, were Patrick ‘John’ Murphy and Mary Murphy.” v
What was discovered from her son Tom's research and talking with Sister Marion Murphy is
that no one knew for sure that Mary's maiden name was Murphy. In fact, with genealogical

esearch it was determined Lois’s grandmother's surname was Walsh. The marriage
certificate from the church where Patrick Murphy and Mary Walsh were married happens to
be a few blocks from where Sister Marion Murphy grew up.
So, what is ‘Irish-ness’? How can we suggest that Lois, her children, her father, Uncle Will
and children of her siblings have all inherited some of their Irish ancestors’ genes? Well,
maybe, it is as simple as looking at their hair! A major trait of being Irish is to have red hair.
If ever an old postcard shows a traditional scene from Ireland, it will inevitably show rosy
cheeked children with red hair. According to a study by University College London in 2012,
34.7% of the present Irish population carries the allele for red hair while not all are
necessarily redheads. vi The incidence of red hair in Ireland is obvious; it appears five times
higher than in the U.S. or the rest of the world. Even within Europe as a whole, it is two and a
half times more prevalent in Ireland. The stereotype, therefore, does have a ring of truth to it.
A few photos of Lois’ family clearly show the same trait:
Figure 3 Lois’ grandson Jordan
Walker Henn
Figure 4 Lois’ niece Caren Hoolehan Back
Figure 5 L-R: Lois' grandniece Tracy Back Embree with her son Carson.
Back row, L-R: Lois' grand nephew David Bach, Kevin Embree

Figure Hooen mi
ie en rn ennier
Fron ro ioe er
Figure oi grniren orn ie n
een Henn
Ten in 1
urther proof would be available but for the late invention of color photography however, it
is certainly valid that oiss father larence ohn alkers nickname was ed because of
his hair color and that his brother illiam and one of his sisters had red hair also. s for his
sister this is suggested by her given name at birth llen. The following chapters will
now connect ois to these rish relatives and will start with ois and her life in merica and
then the following chapters will ourney back in to the emigrant arrivals. etails of the ones
left in reland and the previous generations will then be recorded and some pen pictures of
what life was like in the socalled old country will hopefully allow everyone to know what
was left behind in the search for a better life. Tom sums up in the tribute to ois, his mother,
and her ancestors in his fterthought that knits the stories of the past to ois, with her rish
blood and ancestral heritage, into a few thoughts that hold the secret of why merica is such
a great country today.

HT 2
T H N T
ra ae a L Therea aer
rather he rather pae aa
t e Therea a hae ae t Rta
ois ita alker Henn 201 vii
N H H
ois Theresa alker was born on anuary 1 th 128 to larence ohn alker and his wife,
ary ertrude formerly urphy, at home at 0 North hipple venue, hicago,
llinois. larence was a salesman at the landmark hicago department store arshall ield
ompany selling mens clothing. He and his family shared their twoflat house with his
motherinlaw, randma ary ary alsh urphy, who lived on the second floor.
Figure ir eriie o oi Tere er

oiss three older sisters were also born in that house irginia, in 11, arcella Helen in
11 and ileen argaret in 121, but ois was to stay there for only a week or so before
moving to est ratt venue. Her baptism on the 2 th anuary may well have been the last
event celebrated at North hipple venue. Her baptismal record shows the change of her
name from Theresa to ita which ois attributes to her mother.
Figure im eriie o oi i er
oon after, on arch 2th of the same year randma urphy died. This event was to have
many conseuences especially for oiss mother
y om didnt know what to do with me. irginia and ileen didnt want anything to do
with me. y sister, arcella, helped a lot. he would carry me around on her hip. he later
would say her hips were uneven from all the carrying. y ad brought me to work at
arshall ields. He would put me up on the counter and have the ladies watch me. He also
brought my sister irginia. viii
The alker family moved to 22 est ratt venue as larence began to build up a nice
life for his family. ought for ,00, their new home contained 1,0 s. ft of space with
two bedrooms and stairs to an attic and a basement. He started his own clothing business in
downtown hicago but unfortunately the reat epression began in the early 10s and it
came with a devastating cost for larence. hen the stock market crashed in ctober 12,
hicago had a epublican mayor, a virtually insolvent municipal government, and
communities that were deeply divided along lines of race and ethnicity.
1

Figure 1 e r enue
hicago became one of the hardesthit cities
in merican in the reat epression because of the citys fiscal crisis that predated the stock
market crash and its dependence on manufacturing run by men of enterprise like larence.
our years after the crash, unemployment in the city was near fifty percent.
y dad lost everything ois recalled. To my knowledge we sold the car in 12. hen
was ten we lost the house on ratt venue. t was a sad time. rom age seven to ten years
old, it was a very sad time. i
11

larence got work through a government sponsored program called the ork roects
dministration . t was the largest and most ambitious merican New eal agency,
employing millions of people to carry out public works proects including the construction of
public buildings and roads. lmost every
community had a new park, bridge or school
constructed by the agency. The stated goal of
public building programs was to end the
depression or, at least, alleviate its worst effects
sociologist obert eighninger asserted.
illions of people needed subsistence incomes.
ork relief was preferred over public assistance the dole because it maintained self
respect, reinforced the work ethic and kept skills sharp. The family moved to a two
bedroom apartment on ong venue, located off of ddison and they began to pick up again
when larence, then aged fifty, got a good ob with . . ames anufacturing ompany as
the manager of the tool parts department. He retired from there after twentyfive years of
service.
oving house meant moving school and, for the alker girls, this included t ulianna
chool, t artholomew rade chool and lvernia High chool. t all these schools there
was the opportunity to see ust how much hicago had become a melting pot of immigrants
from all over the world. ome of oiss close and longlasting friends had surnames that told
of a previous generations emigration. They included atty enard reland eggy lson
weden, arbara ordic ustria une annacorsi taly rlene einer and nne
Hartlup ermany. n his 1 hit song Ballad for Americans aul obeson sang of the
promise of many becoming one, while maintaining diverse cultural practices. He sang of an
rish, Negro, ewish, talian, rench and nglish, panish, ussian, hinese, olish, cotch,
Hungarian ... wedish, innish, anadian, reek and Turk, and ech and double ech
merican. Historians of hicago portray this mi with emphasis because it created a culture
of unity amongst the immigrants that was imparted to later arrivals as a sense of what it
meant to be merican. t was to be a culture of unity in which old values, new migrations, re
crossings of oceans, economic change and popular culture mattered greatly and allowed
homelands to survive and be recreated in hicago. i
1

on Tom remembers his mom mentioning some fears she had. ne fear she had was of dogs
when she was young. ven if a dog was being walked on a leash ois would cross the street
to avoid it. Tom is unsure how the fear started aybe she saw a friend bitten by a dog or a
wild dog was around the neighborhood back in the 10s or she simply had the fear. y
hunch is someone she knew got bitten. sually fears are grounded in some previous
eperience he offers as a thought. espite being a big family with her future husband, ill
Henn, they never had a dog as a pet. hen ill was a boy, he had a parallel eperience a
family dog that died made him so sad that he never wanted another one.
The second fear ois had was driving a car over a bridge. oving from hicago to the an
rancisco ay rea in later life meant a lot more bridges. The olden ate ridge, The ay
ridge, The an ateo ridge or the umbarton ridge if you want to get places in the
ay rea, more often than not you will need to cross one of these. ois was terrified shed
drive the car straight off the bridge and into the water. Tom believes this fear was grounded
more about heights than of water. believe she was uncomfortable with the sense of falling
a long way and getting hurt he commented. His eperience of hicagos iconic ohn
Hancock Tower reasserts this. f you are dining at The Signature Room on the th floor and
you happen to look out the window, you very well may feel like you are about to fall. Her
fear of falling is amplified if you elect to do the TT attraction on the th floor. The floor
etends out over the agnificent ile tilting downward with views from 1000 feet up. ou
cannot help but feel like falling. similar sensation occurs inside the glass block in the
illis Tower, formerly ears Tower, where it etends . feet from the Skydeck on the 10 rd
floor. any people find themselves froen in fear, unable to even walk inside.
ois grew up in a time conducive to fear. uring the reat epression, crushing poverty
influenced every family that had the misfortune of eperiencing it. hile already having
strong deeprooted fears, it is understandable how ois uickly acuired some others as well.
ut for ois, there was good news to follow she overcame her fear of dogs, and as her
children grew up and started families of their own, she grew to love their family dogs.
verall, ois changed her relationship with fear. lowly, but surely, she grew her comfort
one and with it, came wisdom. resident ranklin elano oosevelt put it succinctly
when he said the nly Thing e Have to ear s ear tself. t was in 1, during his first
1

Inaugural Presidential Address, when he took on this unusually solemn and religious tone.
And for good reason—by 1933 the depression had reached its depth. Roosevelt outlined in
broad terms how he hoped to govern and reminded Americans that the nation’s “common
difficulties” concerned “only material things.” xii
FAMILY LIFE BEGINS
After successful graduation and work in a doctor’s office, Lois met her future husband, Bill
Henn, in 1945, when he was serving in the U.S. Navy at Great Lakes Naval Academy. His
family home was on Farragut Avenue in Chicago, near the corner of Foster and Western. On
July 23 rd 1949 at St Bartholomew Church, the two of them were married. They began life
together in a rented apartment, close to Laramie on Addison in Chicago just two and a half
blocks away from Lois’ parents. Lois and Bill were eager to follow her parents' advice on
giving their children traditional Saints' names. Susan Marie and Sandra Jean were born
before they moved after the Christmas of 1954. Sons Thomas William, Timothy George and
Donald William were born in the new home, 228 North Yale Avenue, in Arlington Heights,
Illinois. Another move, just a few blocks away, to 115 South Harvard in early 1966 gave the
growing family a bigger place to live. Here, two more sons were born: William Joseph and
lastly Patrick Michael. When Lois gave birth to her seventh child she decided it “was her
time to bring the Irish out, so to speak!” And so, Patrick Michael was named after two Irish
men who held a special place in Lois’s heart. Her grandfather Patrick Murphy, whom she
never met, due to his premature death age thirty-three, and his son Michael. Little Michael
died aged four soon after his father and both are interred in Calvary cemetery together. But
Lois did know and love Uncle Johnny who was a link to both; he was the son of Patrick and
the brother of Michael and of course brother to her mother.
Since Lois had many fond memories relating to Uncle Johnny,
she wished the memory and appreciation of her Irish heritage
be passed on with her last child carrying their name. It has not
gone unnoticed that her son, known as Pat, looked a wee bit
Irish when he was a young boy with his distinct dark
strawberry-blonde hair and blue-grey eyes!
Figure arick ichael Henn
ource o Henn

At first, when the children were small, Bill and Lois went to Mass separately while one
watched the young ones. But as the children grew older, Sunday quickly became a definite
family day epitomized by attending Mass followed by a big brunch. During Sunday brunch
topics would arise from all of the children. Lois and Bill enjoyed this family time as it was a
way to listen about what their children wanted to discuss. They would engage in the
conversations, yet not necessarily lead them. In the evenings, they'd visit more of their
family members- the Walker Grandparents and Grandma Henn, assorted aunts and uncles. As
the years went by, each grandchild had a wonderful treat when they would go alone for a
week’s stay with Grandma Henn during the summer.
Figure icure as aken a Long enue aaren Lois o and dad
are siing on heir couch ih ue and o i and on Henn

NT H TH T N T.
essons for the children of ois alker Henn were to be learnt in fun ways. eography and
History were eplored using a station wagon, a big canvas tent, an ice chest and sleeping
bags. ost camping trips were focused around history and sightseeing and in this way
twentythree .. states were discovered over ten years.
t home ois and ill had another policy for education ou ake a ess, ou lean it
up This taught the young children to take responsibility for their misdemeanors and to
acknowledge ownership of the damage and the need to fi it. ne such incident was when
three of the boys, on, Tim and Tom, broke a hole in a living room wall with a bowling ball.
t was left to them to learn about patching the hole and painting it. irst attempt using
Encyclopedia Britannica was a failure but second time was more successful with the help of
correct advice from a hardware store assistant. The boys were praised by their father for their
hard work. uch was the enlightened discipline and accountability taught by ois and ill.
ois, ill and family moved to their second house on Harvard venue in rlington Heights
in the mid 10s. The children were growing up fast and, while their parents gave them
chores lots of them says son Tom, they also encouraged creativity and making something
happen. ne such proect is remembered by Tom
y brothers Tim and on and would build a saucer run off a patio in our back yard when
it snowed in winter. That was well up high and suitable. ois would let the boys go down in
the basement to fill up buckets of water and spill and then ice down the saucer run t
became more like bobsledding ids, not only in the neighborhood but beyond, came over as
they heard of the fun to be had. They came from all around. veryone could warm up in
garage ha ha and use the bathroom when needed. 200 kids arrived at the backyard
winter wonderland after school and stayed until dinner time and then sometimes came back
later. ois had a few basic time outs dinnertime for all families, and then no later than pm.
This went on for years hat a great eperience and what a patient mom ois was for letting
the boys do it
very principled lesson was learnt in compassion and caring for others when a school friend
of Toms needed help. rlington Heights was a strong oman atholic community, and
though it was not typical to find homes with serious problems with physical abuse and
alcohol, but that is precisely what was found in a young boy named Terrys home. Terry
needed to leave home after he was hit with a towel bar by his father and asked his friend Tom
1

Henn for safety. Toms parents, ois and ill, generously let him stay in their home for the
duration of the summer break between high school and college. fter his father died, his
mother and sister came to visit ois and said how appreciative they were of her taking care of
Terry. ois sincerely appreciated this gesture. Tom carried the lessons he learned from this
eperience with him as he grew up and began his own life. He was shown that a little bit of
care and love can go a long way. Terry later gave tribute to ois on her passing in 201 when
he wrote to his friend Tom
Tom and family, am sorry for your loss. our mother had a tremendous impact on my life
by her actions in the summer of . hen left home without a plan, she housed me and
helped me get through a very tough transition. Her spirit of generosity is something will
always treasure. Terry. v
ois and ill continually worked hard to give their children many eperiences in life whether
it was while on camping trips, sports or school and engendering a sense of community and
neighborliness. ll of this happened naturally as if it were woven into the fabric of life itself.
11 outh Harvard, rlington Heights was in a neighborhood with lots of families with
young children. very year for many years block parties on emorial ay weekend, th of
uly or abor ay eekends were organied for the locals. uke ynder who lived across
the street from the Henn household suggested to all the parents ets not travel on these
weekends, lets have lock arties instead
The parents loved the idea. Tom remembers
They were a blast. ou can ask any child or adult. e all loved it and looked forward to it.
e all chipped in and helped. t was not only a sense of community it was a sense of
belonging. uring the day the adults would rotate as to which house would host daily
activities for adults and children. The children would play various games such as throwing
lawn darts and horse shoes, scaring themselves with the uia boardgame, riding mini bikes,
staging water balloon fights, lighting firecrackers and sparklers in the evening, and more.
sually, during the early evening, the children would move picnic benches to one house and
set them up in the garage. hy the garage ell in hicago it could rain at a moments
notice The adults would barbecue something for them. ater in the evening the adults
would play cards, sometimes all night long. n one occasion the police showed up not
because of noise but because someone reported the adults were gambling. ack then, that
was a big deal and you could get arrested. The policeman arrived and walked up to the
garage. He said the station got a call there is gambling happening here and have to
investigate. The adults, including our parents, stated, es indeed we were gambling.
Then they waited a bit and one of them said with pennies and nickels which had everyone
1

urst out in laughter including the police officer himself. The police officer said, noy
your gambling and he went on his way.
Tom sums up the eperience his parents gave him with lock arties
t is hard to put into words a special time this was, yet in a nutshell, it was community, a
sense of belonging and trust. t was also such great fun with laughter and teasing and ust
plainoldgoodhearted people having fun
n the late 10s in rlington Heights, llinois, ur ady of the ayside, known as ,
was growing strong. The grade school was busting at the seams with burgeoning class
enrollments. o much so, tha the astor, ather Hara, built a separate unior High on a
portion of the school playground. hen completed, his achievement crowned a building
program that included the hurch and the original grade school, all completed under his
direction and care.
Tom was a part of the first th grade class for the new unior High. nitially the building had
a few problems during the coldest months of the winter, the heating would break down for
etended periods of time. Teachers and children wore their winter coats and long underwear
in order to continue their classes. ack then, there was no lunch counter for food and so ois
made sandwiches which Tom ate while sitting on the gym floor. hen the heating system
was broken Tom remembers the building was very cold, and the gym floor was ice cold
Tom could not stand sitting on the floor eating a cold sandwich, so he figured hed eat at
home. The school rules stated that students who lived less than three blocks away from
campus could go home for lunch, so long as they were back before the gates closed. The
Henns house was a little over a mile away, but Tom decided to test out his luck, hoping hed
be able to race home, enoy a nice, hot bowl of ampbells Tomato oup with saltine
crackers, and still make it back for class. Tom told his mom and while she knew he was
breaking the rules, she allowed it so long as Tom could get back and not be tardy. uckily, it
worked. Tom chose his route home and back to school with precision he would walk the
first three blocks home with friends and then run the rest of the way. n rlington Heights
there were, for the most part, no fences between yards. Tom soon mastered his uickest
route by cutting the angle through them to minimie time. Tom then knew how much time
was needed. etting mom time alone who was raising seven children rarely happened. Now
mother ois and son Tom had fifteen precious minutes to converse. uring those fifteen
1

minutes Tom would ask his mom uestions about family, relatives, and life itself and she
would give her perspective. n turn ois would ask Tom about his day.
Tom was and is a curious soul. ne conversation evolved around a particular person. Tom
was wondering why the person seemed more upset with life. This person was not fun to be
around, and many times, shunned people. oiss response to his uestion was
Tom, some people are born with a good disposition. ou were born with the gift of a good
disposition. ome people are not born this way. This person was not born with a good
disposition.
hat does the word disposition mean Tom, as a grade school student, had no idea. He
asked his mom and she told him the meaning. t was a moment, to this day, that Tom
remembers. He learned a new big word and an early perspective on life and people. Those
fifteen minutes of time between son and mother were cherished, always uplifting and
completely trusting. hy trusting you ask. ell, his mom trusted that Tom would get back
to school on time. ois would say Tom, check the clock and go when you need to get back
on time.
n one such occasion Tom hustled back to school concerned that he may be late. s he saw
the school custodian locking the gate, he knew he might be in trouble. His mind started to
think of alternative ways to get into the school. f he went all the way around the unior High
he might get in, yet this would be seen as tardy. ne thought was to ditch school for the
afternoon but Tom decided not to as he did not want to disappoint his mom. Tom looked at
climbing the school fence it was too cold and icy. iguring it would take the custodian some
time to lock up everything up, Tom raced to the front doors on campus, hoping one might
still be unlocked. ortunately, one door was open, and Tom breathed a huge sigh of relief as
he entered his first afternoon class, perfectly on time. hen Tom told his mom about what
happened. he did not become upset or put an end to his home lunches. nstead, she simply
told him to give himself a little more time to get back. This trusting relationship set the
tone for Tom in life take adventures, break a rule every now and then, and always be
honest. nd be grateful for a good disposition
hen Tom has a bowl of tomato soup these days a big smile comes on his face. very sip
comes with a memory of a wonderful mom who let him be himself and take in all life has to
offer. Those fifteen minutes made a difference
1

ife and findings fifteen minutes to sit back and rela. n the early years of their marriage
ill used to travel directly from work to eaul niversity, where he was studying for a
degree in accounting. hether at work, or at college, his days were long and tiring. o, if ill
was at home for the evening, he would have a cocktail usually a anhattan prior to
dinner. inding time to kick up and rela was certainly understandable he enoyed
unwinding with a cocktail with no woes or drama. He was as happy as the illsbury ough
oy ill often would encourage ois to imbibe yet she refrained for many years. t wasnt
until after having her fifth child, at the age of thirtyone, that she took her first sip of alcohol.
ois and ill would sit around in the evenings having cocktails and talk about their day. t
became a kind of ritual before dinner, a way to put the days stresses to rest. This was not
uncommon. n fact, their generation was also known as the ocktail eneration.
ometimes, life moves a little too fast, and a nice cocktail provides some muchneeded
balance.
The erfect anhattan
2 shots or 0ml ourbon or ye hisky
shot or 10ml ry ermouth
shot or 10ml weet ed ermouth
2 dashes ngostura itters
garnish with a lemon peel or a cherry

ois was a faithful and authentic atholic who believed and strove to practice what the
hurch taught, especially as the oman atholic hurch taught it. he likely found the
dramatic changes after atican in 1 challenging Traditional ass, spoken in atin
and observed in silence, was replaced with the priest facing them across the altar speaking
nglish and asking the congregation to sing hymns. s one church historian, ev ark
assa, remembers
ather than praying your rosary during ass or saying prayers for dead relatives whose
holy cards you had stuck into the pages of your missal, suddenly the priest is saying, The
ord be with you, and you have to answer him. eople realied that they were supposed to
be paying attention to what the priest was doing they were epected to be part of the great
prayer of the church. That was really arring. vi
The econd atican ouncils Constitution on the Church in the Modern World -
was the most significant event in the modern era of the atholic hurch. Those participating
in or who lived through the time of the ouncil either felt a profound, ehilarating sense of
renewal or were struck with the fear of losing what was familiar. ut not all things changed.
arriage, the constitution said, is a vocation. The church continued to epress high
esteem for marriage and family life and spoke of the lofty calling of spouses and parents.
y virtue of the sacrament of marriage, the constitution stated, as spouses fulfill their
conugal and family obligations, they are penetrated with the spirit of hrist. This spirit
suffuses their whole lives with faith, hope and charity. vii
arriage for ois was what od had oined together. nd divorce separated what od had
oined together. ntil the 10s, ecommunication was the penalty for divorced atholics
who remarried without getting their first marriage annulled. viii
hen ois first child divorced in 18 she was beside herself in grief. ois felt she betrayed
the atholic hurch.
or a couple of years, she became completely absorbed by this
unfortunate incident. he admitted to feeling so guilty and shamed by the infamous atholic
guilt she could not go outside. he did not recover until a regular doctor, as there were no
therapists back then, yelled at her to get over it. he did and said what she didnt realie,
was that nobody cared about the divorce. ver time she started to enoy life again.
ois did not hold anything against her first child for the divorce, and several of her children
have gone through divorces since then. t was a passage in life for ois that tore at her core
1

and soul like many rish atholics. To ois, being part of ur ady of the ayside hurch
was a way of life. t was the persecution thought that drove her to feel ashamed and
separated from her community. n the end, the community embraced her and she changed,
for the better. he, while enduring great heartache, gained great wisdom. nce in her autumn
years, she and her son Tom were listening to aul cartneys song Let it be. hen it
finished, Tom suggested that sometimes, in life, it is better to let it be. ois smiled and
replied, agree.
N TH H N. TN TH
hicago has two
professional baseball
teams based in the city.
The hicago ubs team
plays its home games at
rigley ield, located on
the citys north side, and
compete in aor
eague aseball as a
member club of the
Figure 1 rige Fie
National eague,
entral division.
The other team, The
hicago hite o,
is a member of the
merican eague,
entral division.
The hite o play
their home games at

uaranteed ate ield, located on the citys south side. ois grew up on the north side. ack
then most, if not all, north side families were hicago ub fans. outh side families were
avid hicago hite o fans. This northsouth rivalry was passed on from generation to
generation. aseball was in the family blood
n ctober 1 th , 108, the hicago ubs beat the etroit Tigers 1 and won the orld
eries. ver the following one hundred and eight years, hicago was to see many
achievements, but, sadly, not another championship. Thus, the team came to be known as the
ovable osers. This phrase was a testament to fans loyalty during the enduring hardship
they shared with their favorite team. ovable osers was to be forever attached to the
hicago ubs when, mericas foremost illustrator, Norman ockwell, captured the essence
of its meaning in 18 when he painted The Dugout. The painting epresses the anguish the
hicago ubs were feeling during the 18 season.
Fre 14 Nra Re 14

n 201, all that loyalty paid off the hicago ubs won the orld eries. t was a oyous
moment, not ust for ub fans present, but also for those ub fans who lived and died during
that one hundred and eightyear dry spell they had the greatest seats to the game. There are
so many stories about the love of this team and how its monumental win corresponded to
family. amily is who you stay with through thick and thin, and, in hicago, you did the
same with your baseball team whether it is the ubs or the hicago o.
oiss dad, larence, taught her all there was to
know about baseball. He umpired local games and
ois, as a young girl, would oin him and help him
keep score. larence was a practice pitcher for the
ubs at warm ups in the 10s, as he lived nearby
and was able to get to the ballpark with only a
short streetcar ride. larences nephew, evin
Hoolehan, remembers sitting in front row bo
seats with him as the players came by to thank
him.
Figure 1 reer in ron o rige Fie
Figure 1 o e ir e ie rige Fie ir 1

hen ois began dating her future husband ill, many of those dates involved going to ub
games. To ois, rigley ield was a special place. ne of a kind.
ack then it was common for those dating or married, young or old, to have a date at the
ballpark. her son Tom recalls. They were common kindred souls who loved their team.
ver the years at rigley ield, the tradition has continued with engagements and weddings.
ou see, it is a structure representing family, community and baseball. any even consider
it a athedral. s my young children went to a game when they were 12, 8 and .
fterwards, one of them said, ad, this is the most beautiful place have ever seen
on, Tom Henn.
r. ub, rnie anks, described it as the riendly onfines. hen ois would visit the
riendly onfines and watch her hicago ubs with her dad or with her future husband, she
understood all aspects of the game and had many favorite ubs players over the years, whom
she knew in great detail.
s the net generation followed with their own passion for the ubs, ois was more than
happy to support it. Tom recounts the story of him and his brother, Tim, with other friends
planning to skip school and go to hicago ubs opening day. n order to avoid trouble, they
would need a signed note to present to the school principal. o they forged their moms
signature. Tom, thinking ahead, decided to write some etra notes for future games but ois
found them. Tom told her the truth. Net time she said, ust tell me, and ll write the
note.
TH T N
n 1 ois and ill celebrated their 2 th wedding anniversary in style on the island of
Hawaii. fter years of family camping trips, this was their first one alone. n the summer of
18 there was more travel but of a different kind. They sold their house and moved to
lying ish, oster ity, alifornia. ith them were their youngest children at and ill,
who were still in unior high. The move was caused by ills acceptance of a new
appointment with the ank of merica in an rancisco. n their grey ldsmobile elta 88
the Henns, along with their pet parakeet, drove to alifornia while the moving van followed
with all their belongings. The family was eventually reunited with Tim and on in 1 and
Tom in 181 who chose to move to alifornia. ar away from her beloved hicago ubs,
ois and her younger two boys, ill and at, became diehard fans an rancisco iant fans.

he would root for the iants, but her heart always belonged to the ubs. Her other interest
was playing ridge. ois and ill were avid, ecellent ridge players and played sometimes
several times a week. ut ois lost her partner in more ways than one when ill died on uly
22 nd 12 aged sityfive. He was interred at ate of Heaven cemetery in os ltos
upertino, alifornia. on Tom remembers how his death affected ois ur mom said that
ridge saved her after our dad passed away.
ollowing his death ois began playing ridge every day and sometimes twice a day. he
balanced this with church on undays and holidays abroad with her good friend, ary ane
ane. They visited taly twice and the second time, in ecember of 1, included a stay in
ome within walking distance of atican ity.
Her final trip abroad, in her words one of the best trips she ever had was to frica where
she went on afari. e saw elephants galore, giraffes, ebras and one lion, she recalled.
fter this trip she became very interested in elephants. he brought back some elephant
trinkets including a good sie elephant statue. he also had books on elephants.
s the years passed, the daytoday stresses in oiss life slowed down and so did the pace of
life itself. he became more relaed, at peace and content in her utumn years. Her children
had all grown up she became a grandmother and greatgrandmother. The girl from the
ocktail eneration had not sipped a drink for many years. s she said, it was not good for
me.
t is often said that the victims of the rish potato famine victims of the 180s were dying by
inches i very slowly. o too did ois, at the hands of a disease called rogressive upra
nuclear alsy. hen she passed, she was about a mere forty pounds, her body reduced to
skin and bones. ut, like the rish, her adversity only served to strengthen her spirit and her
heart and soul remained larger than life.
rogressive upranuclear alsy, also called teeleichardsonlsewski syndrome, is an
uncommon brain disorder that causes serious problems with walking, balance and eye
movements. The disorder results from the deterioration of cells in the areas of the brain that
control body movement and thinking. The condition worsens over time and can lead to life
threatening complications, such as pneumonia and swallowing problems. Theres no known

cure, so treatment focuses on managing the signs and symptoms. n her last few years ois
could not feed herself and her food had to be pureed so that she could swallow it.
acking the ability to walk due to the disease, ois turned to watching her favorite team, the
hicago ubs, every day via .T. t reminded her of her youth, her dad, her husband,
her children, her lifetime friends and more. erhaps, she related the hardship of being a ubs
fan to the hardships of her own life, and to the hardships of her rish ancestors who gave up
everything to start anew in merica. oiss rish relatives, who were first and second
generation immigrants, did not set the world on fire with impressive achievements. nstead,
they slowly but surely built up knowledge, fleibility, staying power and determination in
order to triumph over all adversities. he watched the hicago ubs play with renewed spirit
in 201 and 201 as they began transforming from lovable losers to orld eries hampion
winners. hile she could not walk, she had plenty of vigor and support for her ubs
ois left her earthly belongings on ctober th 201 and the ubs won the orld eries a
little less than a month later on November rd 201. oiss seat at the game was priceless as
her soul hovered over leveland rogressive ark, wishing it could have been rigley ield
instead.
Figure 17 Lois, lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, watching her team in her twilight years

, T N N
“Family an friens hae been sh a bi part of my life.”
ois ita alker Henn, 201
ois was blessed with many wonderful family members and friends, who were by her side
throughout her life. oiss rish heritage was in her genes but her ethos for life also came
from her rish relatives and maybe one or two about her rish friends. look at their lives
can help to know ois even better.
N
“It is three type paes with some han
written notes by my sister ileen..it was
the beinnin of a family tree”
ois ita alker Henn, 201
t the funeral of oiss unt rene alker in 200, her older
sister, ileen, received the collected family history of the
alkers from het stram with whom they shared great grandparents of ohn alker and
lia Hutchinson. This includes details of their rish ancestors, the onrys. he passed the
details to ois with additional handwritten notes, which ultimately triggered oiss great
interest in genealogy from then on. ileen argaret, being seven years older than her sister,
had a headstart collecting memories about their rish relatives. hen ois was but a very
young girl, ileen remembered their visit to their grandmothers brother ill onry in
insley, owa. ill was the son of their rish great grandparents ary and atrick onry.
n 12, ileen married an army man with a very rish surname aymond Hoolehan. His
grandparents came from ounty Tipperary in reland. Her sister ois, then 1, and their
cousin ack urphy, 21, were in the wedding party. The couple traveled around the country
for about a year before ay was posted overseas to ngland and rance. He had reached the
Figure 1 ieen er

ank of aptain when he left the service after 2. ay and ileen had five children,
namely evin, aren, ridget, atrick and ean. ll names are so very rish, indicating that
the sense of heritage continued in the Hoolehan family
N H
“any of s ha hear or parents tell
s that when one oor loses another
one will open. riptre speas of oors
bein opene when we no.” ister
arion urphy, , 2011 i
oiss ncle ohnny lived in hicago with his family
and was close enough to allow freuent visits. ohnny
had married dna ohanna onway on pril 21st
120. ohnny and dna had si children, but only
four survived childhood. These cousins, whom ois
knew well, were, in order obert dmund and ohn
rwin ob and ack twins born in 121, aymond
atrick born in 12 and arion laire born in
Figure 1 ier rion ur
1. ois cherished her urphy cousins especially arion laire, who she believed in no
uncertain terms is a wonderful person who gives so much to so many people. he was
fondly known as ookie a name given to her by her father the moment she was born and
stuck with her all her life. s a young girl, her family would get together with other relatives
and celebrate holidays and birthdays. arion was a devoted hite o fan and ois was a
diehard hicago ub so there was lots of talk about baseball when they met.
arion entered into the ongregation of the lessed irgin ary in 1, making her final
vows in 11. he spent si years in ortland, regon before moving to hicago in 1
where she was in ministry for over fifty years. he served at t. dilo, lessed acrament,
ur ady of ourdes, ur ady of the ngels, anta aria el opolo, and finally at Holy

Family Parish. At this parish Marion met much of the neighboring community and saw their
resilience and faith during difficult times. In her observation of this resilience, she said, “As
everything changes in the neighborhood, it changes in the parish. We have to keep the
resiliency to face that challenge, to continue being the inclusive community that we have
been and are today.” xx And that love of her Order and the service she gave to the wider
community was outstanding. For seventeen years she taught a General Education
Development (GED)-prep course for people of all ages, from September through to June,
free of charge. Even when the Vatican released a report that admonished American nuns for
focusing too much on community issues and not enough on battles against homosexuality
and abortion, Sr. Murphy did not waver. “We are nurturing life in these students” she said.
“There would be no way we'd be doing anything in particular about abortion in the area.
...This is what the need is- it is lack of education.” xxi Upon her retirement in 2016, Sister
Marion had given sixty-two years of service to our Lord and was acknowledged as a woman
of prayer, a teacher, a principal, a pastoral administrator, a woman of faith, a friend, a
member of the Congregation of the BVM and Director of Food Pantry.
For Lois and Marion, they had something special growing up; they were kindred souls who
cared. One embraced sisterhood and the care of the greater community; the other committed
herself to caring for a big family. Both of them lit up with enthusiasm and smiles when they
had news to confirm each was doing God’s work. There was great kindness for each other,
and it was easily seen by those who had the privilege to listen to them.

N HNN H
“he was a ery oo frien to me an we seem to hae a lot in
ommon.”
ois ita alker Henn, 201 iv
Figure une Hoinon ur
er r on eon
oiss other first cousin obert dmund urphy and
brother of arion married une Hodkinson in 10 and
they lived for many years in olling eadows, llinois.
ois lived only one mile away in rlington Heights and
became very good friends with une. une worked at the
local rawfords epartment tore in the boys department.
rawfords opened in 1 and became the largest
department store in the northwest suburbs of hicago. oth
girls married within a year of each other ois in 1 to
ill, and une to ob in 10. They also each gave birth to
seven children in the 10s and 10s. Needless to say they
had a lot in common. une became a widow in 1 when
her husband died, aged 2, of heart failure from postdental
treatment infection. he later married ohn etton. t the
funeral service of oiss sister ileen in 200, there was a reunion of sorts between une,
ois and arion.
1

N NTH H
“arlene is the in of person that an impat an toh many.”
ois ita alker Henn, 201
Figure 1 rene rn ur in e ri
very special friendship began when one of unes
sons, obert aul ob, married arlene ranath
in llinois. ois had a special place in her heart for
arlene and their friendship was not to end when
ois moved to alifornia, as arlene and her
husband moved there a year before ois. iving in
leasanton, alifornia they were within a half
hours ourney time from each other. ois enoyed
arlene immensely, not least when they shared
their interest in caring for others. arlene and ob
continue to be great eamples of how much one can
impact and touch so many in humanitarian help and
kindness. arlene is secretarial officer for ,
the est frica illage ducation oundation based in leasanton. ounded in 2011, this is
a domestic nonprofit charity organiation is involved in development and relief services in
est frica for which it receives a substantial part of its support from a number of
governmental grants and also from the general public. ts president is arlenes son, ryan.
ollowing in the footsteps of one other urphy who cared for the wider world ister
arion urphy and obs auntthe rish ways of caring, that go beyond family, and is for
the greater good of all is continued in the kindness of arlene and ob. ois would agree that
arlene makes the world a kinder place.

N N N N, NT
“s a oparent yo will hae a speial relationship with this
hil. or onoin presene in this hils life yor willinness
to listen to offer iane an to elebrate speial moments in her
life will be a wonerfl ift. t this hil has a ift to ie to yo
as well. hilren hae a wonerfl apaity for oy in their
relationship with o. s alts we an learn a reat eal from
their simpliity an earnestness their trst an their loe. ein a
oparent offers a speial opportnity to partiipate in an be
blesse by the hils life in o. It is an initation to a lifelon
spirital frienship.”
The Godparent Book. hicago iturgy Training ublications, 1
oiss godparents, Nellie and dwin onway, lived ust a streetcar ride from her home at
Hamlin venue, hicago. t is suggested that the onways were very openly faithful in their
hristian life and shared this love with others including their goddaughter, ois. Tom, her
son recalls
ur mom said, and she felt her godparents presence and how important a role they played
in her life growing up. he would light up when speaking about her godparent as if it was
yesterday. t was as if she went back in time.
hen family gettogethers at ncle ohnnys
home were photographed it is seen that the
happy group included her cousin, ookie, who
was called to the holy orders as a oman
atholic nun with the isters of harity of the
lessed irgin ary and dwin onway r, an
ordained oman atholic priest who was the
son of her godparents. oiss godfather was
mentioned on the occasion of his sons death in
200 by ather oger oughlin, that dwin r.
and his wife Nellie were faithful parishioners
Figure r rion i oi goren in n
eie on n eir on Fr in on er
uiir io o e rioee o igo

at ur ady of the ngels. They were a wonderful family he continued, with dwin
onway r. very involved in the t. incent de aul ociety. v Nellie was born in southern
reland in 188 and came to the .. in 10 with her mother. Nellie died in ecember 12.
dwin was also rish and a veteran of the irst orld ar and died in 1.

N HHN
“han yo for sharin the aler onry
ible......I hae learne a lot abot my family
inlin what yo sent.”
ois ita alker Henn, 2012
oiss nephew, ean Hoolehan, is the son of her sister, ileen.
ois had a special link with ean He shared with her the alker
onry family bible that launched her interest in genealogy. ike
ois, ean inherited his rishness in abundance. n rish aelic, his name translates to
ohn. His curiosity about his rish heritage made him the ideal custodian of the bible,
and he was eager to share it with any interested relatives. His surname from his father,
aymond Hoolehan, has rish roots in the county of Tipperary. aymonds father,
ornelius Hoolehan, emigrated from Tipperary in 180 aged about eighteen years.
espite stating that he did not attend school as a boy in the 100 hicago census,
ornelius arrived in the speaking nglish and could read and write. There is a
possibility he had his tuition in a Hedge chool, a surviving remnant of the old ways
before the creation of state schools. rom the 180s to the last one noted in 18 there is
ample evidence of these schools surviving in remote areas of reland. rior to the
legaliation of education for oman atholics in reland in 182 there were fifty years of
hidden schooling, where parents paid a secret fee in sods of turf to the schoolmasters to
teach their children in old thatched cottages or a hovel by a raised bank of earth placed
alongside a ditch with a hedge on top. vi
No information has been found of ornelius Hoolehan in Tipperary that matches his
stated age in the .. census, but this may be due to the lack of surviving records. ne
reference found was of interest an entry in the oyal rish onstabulary records referring
to ors Hoolihan of Tipperary Town, ounty Tipperary in 181. vii t states that he was
aged 20 years and unmarried but no access to this police record has been made.
Figure en Hooen
i ie rn n
ounge uger ennier

hatever his childhood learning, ornelius made a good life in merica with his rish
born wife, ary roderick, with whom he had five children. He was a canvas maker and
died in 10 in hicago, aged sityeight.

hapter
NNT T H H
“ranma rphy was a bi part of or life. he too are of my
siblins.”
ois ita alker Henn, 201 viii
atrick urphy ary alsh
larence ohn alker ary ertrude ichael ohn 1 atherine urray
ois ita ileen arcella atherine
2 dna onway
onald dwin obert ohn aymond arion
hart only shows those who are mentioned in the following chapter

H
hen ois was born on anuary 1 th 128 at home in 0 hipple treet, hicago her
grandmother, ary urphy, was present to give a helping hand. randma urphy, as she
was known, was her rishborn widowed grandmother who lived in the same rented two
flat on the second floor above her daughter, ae, and son in law, larence ohn. This
arrangement worked very well as ary was able to help ae generally but especially with
cooking meals and looking after oiss older sisters.
riginally, randma urphy chose Theresa as the middle name of her newest grandchild
and this was recorded in her birth certificate but
when she came to be baptied, her mother found that
she did not like the name and changed it to ita.
ois ita was baptied a fortnight later in ur ady
of ercy hurch on North Troy treet. randma
urphy, it is hoped, attended the service. The
decline of her health may have been evident at that
time, as she passed away shortly after on arch 2 rd ,
128, aged fiftyeight years. The cause of her death
was ndocarditis inflammation of the inner layer of
the heart following a bacterial infection and
rheumatic fever which means that her symptoms
would have been flulike feelings with fever or chills
and general weakness and weight loss. f ary had
these symptoms she could have been treated with
low dose antibiotics for the heart inflammation, but it
would appear this was not the case and her infection
progressed. he was buried on arch 2 th at alvary
emetery in vanston alongside her husband,
Figure rnm ur r ur
atrick, and son ichael, who had died thirty years before her in 18 and 188. n a third
grave on the eighty suare foot plot at ection , lock 20, ot N2 is atrick arkin who
died on arch 1 st 181 and was buried two days later. He was born circa 182 in reland,

was a laborer, married, and died aged 2. His address was 100 estern. t has not yet been
determined if a familial link eists. The cemetery is located ust north of hicago and first
suburb, vanston, near Northwestern niversity. arys death was to leave her daughter
ae very lost without her and in the following years ae with a difficult time to adust.
ary urphy knew much of difficult times. Her own life was full of change and
vulnerability. orn ary alsh in reland in ay 180 i , she left reland as a young
teenage girl around 1882. Her granddaughter, ois, had been told the story of her
emigration
he came over on some ship when she was fifteen, sponsored by a cousin in New ork.
That cousin said she could work for her as a maid and stay with her. pon her arrival the
cousin changed her mind and said she did not need her.
Her granddaughter, irginia alker, however, told her cousin ohn ack urphy a
slightly different version ranny came to oston .two years with ewish family
according to sister ileen at aged 1. acks own notes stated that ary was an orphan
and lived in the same town that is ruff, o imerick.
nother description of her early life came to arys great
grandson, evin Hoolehan, via his mother and grandmother
alker, who told him ary was an orphan. he came to New
ork ity on an indentured contract. he worked her seven years
for a lady with the last name of urphy. evin asked if ary was
related to the urphy for whom she worked and was told she was
not. He was also told that ary came from southwest of reland,
ounty erry near illarney. i
f ary was an indentured servant she would have had a harrowing
eperience when she first came to merica. ndeed, it would have
been seen as very near to slavery for a young girl to be bound to a contract for seven years
that denied her a wage or liberty. penpicture of this life for a little earlier than 1882,
when ary was in New ork but nonetheless relevant was described by an ryan, the
founder and editor of American History SA:
Figure ri ur
n r

any of them came as indentured servants meaning that they worked for room and board
to pay for their passage to the nited tates. fter a nofrills ourney, they would begin a
labor term of four to seven years. uring this period, they were treated the same as slaves
they could be tracked down by bounty hunters if they fled. omplaints by merican women
of the insolence, ingratitude, and ignorance of their rish maids were commonplace in written
works. The domestic skills of these immigrants were said to be lacking.
The atholicism of the new arrivals was disconcerting to most native merican women.
Their ethics and religion were deeply rotestant. The contradiction of trying to raise
rotestant epublican children with rish atholic servants was never uite reconciled,
though it was freuently alluded to as a problem.
ost of these rish women worked in cities on ast oast, such as hiladelphia, New ork,
and oston. nce they landed in the new country, they often didnt have the means or the
knowledge to venture elsewhere. ii
atrick and ary married on une rd 181 in t harles hurch, hicago. atrick had
become a full naturalied citien of the three months previously on arch 1 th , having
satisfied the court that he had been in living in the state of llinois for the past five years
during which he sustained a good moral character. He was twentyeight and ary was
twentysi.
Figure census shoing ar orn a ih her o suriing children

Three children were born to the couple namely ary
ridget born in 182, atrick ichael in 18 and
ohn oseph in 18. ary ridget was born pril
1 th 182 at anal treet in hicago. Her father
was shown on her birth certificate as atrick urphy,
aged 28 who was born in ounty imerick, reland.
He was a laborer. lthough hard to read on the
original certificate her mother was ary elsh, aged
28, and this was her first child. n the typewritten
ook ounty, llinois, irth ertificates nde, a
birth record for ary confirms that her mothers
maiden name was ary elsh.
Figure uger o r n ri
ur r rige errue non
e ge eeen 1 n 1 er
ichael was born in 18 and his birth was registered in the same ook ounty nde
ichael son of atrick urphy, aged thirty, and ary alsh, both of whom were born in
reland, born on ctober th 18.
Figure Fu me o oer ou e r e ur
1

Figure Fu me o oer ou e r ur
on ohn oseph is known to have died on une rd , 18. ois recalled from memory that
her ncle ohnny, ohn urphy, was at rest une rd 18, he had died at ittle ompany
ary Hospital and was interred at t. armel emetery. The date of death matches the
ook ountys records which state ohn urphys birth date was 2 November 18. His
father was atrick urphy and his mother was ary alsh. The urphy amily ible
owned by one of the authors contains his birth detail which says, born November 2 th
18. His actual birth registration has not been found.
ut ary was not to have any more children her husband died on uly th , 18, aged thirty
three, and was buried two days later at alvary emetery, hicago in ot N2, lock 20,
ection . The Chicago Daily News recorded the funeral notice which reported it began on
uly th , 18 at their residence on anal treet, moved to acred Heart hurch, and ended
with his final resting at alvary emetery. atrick urphy was uoted as a native of ruff,
o. imerick. ccording to his death certificate, atricks place of death was aflin
treet. ur only suggestion as to the relevance of the place of death may be that he may have
been working as a railway laborer in the area. aflin, treet is heavily intersected by many
rail tracks as shown on maps of 18.

Figure o riro in igo in 1 n e ome n e o e o ri ur
uggeing e ouring i e ri en e ie o eroe on u 1 ge
ary was left alone with her three children, ae, ike and ohnny and she could neither
read nor write. he began working as a wash lady, and her daughter, ae, would read and
write for her mother when necessary. ittle ike died of meningitis on ay 28 th 188 when
aged four and eight months. He was buried alongside his father in alvary emetery.
The now smaller family continued to live on anal treet for the net ten years iii during
which time ary ertrude began working in an office as a stenographer iv and ohn
continued attending school.
y 120, ary had seen her daughter marry larence alker and give her two
grandchildren, irginia aria, born ugust 22 nd , 11, and arcella Helen, born ctober th
118. he moved from Hastings treet to North hipple treet in about 118 where she
shared a home with her daughter and her family. Her son ohn was twentyfour years old and
was a foreman at a mail order house. He was a young widower living with his mother after
surviving some distressing years. ary was a wonderful source of support for the young
man, and her home became a place of healing for him.

ohn, known as ohnny, had married atherine urray
on uly 2 th 11 in hicago. n their marriage
certificate, ohnny said he was twentyone, and
atherine, known as itty, said she was eighteen.
atherine was the daughter of artin urray and llen
cahon and she was born on November 12 th , 18 in
llinois. ohnny and itty had two daughters ileen ary,
born on ugust th 11, and arcella atherine, born on
ay 20 th 11. oiss eldest sister, irginia,
remembered them fondly and kept a few old pictures that
resurfaced in later years later during a cleaning out of
some old things with her mother. he wrote to her
cousin ack urphy in 182
Figure 1 erine urr ur un i
felt she it and your ad ohnny always made me feel like theirs. could remember
unt it so well. n that year, they lived at 01 N. Troy, hicago. ut, sadly itty caught
pneumonia and she gave it to her baby. itty lived, but arcella died on ebruary 2 th 118.
v
he, too, was buried at alvary emetery.
few months later, a different danger presented itself for the couple and their surviving
daughter ileen. hicagos epidemic, known as the reat nfluena, had begun and the death
toll was rising. n eptember 21 st 118, city health officials took note of a sudden marked
rise in the number of deaths due to acute respiratory diseases. y eptember 0th, there were
20 cases in the city. The large and sudden ump in new cases led Health ommissioner
obertson to order the immediate isolation at ook ounty Hospital of all known cases.
ealiing that hospital isolation would soon become impossible, he told residents to prepare
to isolate themselves should they become sick. very victim of the disease is commanded to
go to his home and stay there, he announced. No visitors are to be allowed. vi
ohnnys niece ois recalled that ileen caught the disease from her uncle. t was ittys
brother. oth mother and daughter caught the influena and died on the same day une 20 th
118. itty was aged twentytwo and ileen was only two. They were buried at alvary
cemetery.

ohnny then enlisted in the Navy. He was at the base at the reat akes Naval cademy
north of hicago. He married for a second time to dna ohanna onway on pril 21 st 120
and had si children. Two died at aged five and seven onald and dwin.
Figure 32 Lois with her two cousins Donald and Edwin and another boy.
The four surviving children, ob and ack twins born two days apart on arch 2 th and
28 th went to the niversity of ayton, aymond atrick known as at, born ctober 2 th
12, became a doctor, and arion known affectionately as ookie became a nun.
n the 180s, ack was a keen genealogist and contacted many cousins in his uest to fill in
the gaps of his family tree knowledge. ll his preserved documents have been eamined in
the course of writing this book and we acknowledge with great thanks those who preserved it
all for us, particularly ob and arlene urphy.
ack was a Navy pilot during and, in 1, flew parts of the nuclear bombs used on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki from eico to the Tinian sland the launching point for the
attacks in the northwestern acific cean to be assembled. Hiroshima and Nagasaki in apan
were bombed on ugust th and th 1.

Figure onn ur i i on n
uger o o rion mon
Fron ro n onn
Figure onn ur n i grniren
ncle ohnny often took in those in need into his home at North entral ark oulevard
during the tough times, including the reat epression. t one point, his grandson ob
urphy said, there were about 121 people living in the house. ois told us that ncle
ohnny was good friends with the ervais family. ohnnys sisterinlaw, ernadette,
moved into ncle ohnnys home by 10 along with her husband and three children.
ernadette had married gas appliance salesman Harry . ervais. n addition to dnas
mother and father, arah adie and dward, there were two complete families all living
under one roof. ne could certainly say it was a full house
ncle ohnny set an eample to follow. t was, according to ob urphy, to care for his
family and our fellow man. He was beyond kind as he was the only one with an income and
supported many people. hy ecause he cared
ohnny died on une rd , 18 at ittle ompany ary Hospital and his interment was to
ount armel emetery, rave , ot N80, lock 1, ection 2. His second wife dna and
sons onald and dward dwin lie with him.

Figure 35 Tombstone showing Johnny Murphy and his wife Edna
and their two children Donald and Edward, Mt. Carmel cemetery.

T H
Figure 36 Patrick Murphy c 1864-1897. Source: John Erwin (Jack) Murphy
Fre 34 Patr rph 164-17 Sre h Er a rph
arys husband and oiss other rish grandparent, was atrick urphy, born circa 18
according to his 181 marriage certificate. He was aged twentyeight and his age verified
when his daughter and one of his sons were born. n hicago trade directories of 18 and
18, atrick is listed as a laborer living at 0 anal treet. His life was cut short when he
died of heatstroke in uly of 18, aged thirtythree. The Chicago Daily News stated he was
a native of ruff, o. imerick on his death notice. ruff is a small country town in
ounty imerick in the southwest of reland. This was also similarly recorded in a surviving

handwritten note, most likely from ohn rwin ack urphy to his cousin ois. t reads, as
follows
our grandfather was atrick urphy was born about 18 or 18 in ruff, in imerick
ounty and he had either eight or nine brothers, no sisters. His father raised horses, fine
stallions etc and they lived near a large handball court at that time. our grandmother
urphys maiden name was ary alsh and was an orphan and lived in the same
town. vii
acks letter to Helen urphy in ecember 182 also refers to the same he wrote that
ad wrote me before we made the trip to reland in 1 or 1 that his father came from
a family of 8 or brothers, no sisters, and that the family raised horses. viii
T H
atrick had a younger brother by about si years, named Thomas, living nearby in hicago.
The year after atricks death at age thirtythree years old, Thomas married and gave his age
as twentyeight. ois knew her grandfathers brother and his family very well, as they lived
close enough to visit. he recalls
y grandfather had a brother who was my great ncle Tom urphy and married unt it.
ncle Tom was grandpa urphys brother so an uncle to my mom, ae urphy alker.
im oldest, illiam, and atherine were the children of Tom and itty urphy. im was
the oldest and the other boy was the youngest. im urphy married Helen.
reat ncle Tom and unt it lived in hicago on the near south side. e took the
icero street car and then took another streetcar to get to their twoflat. n visits to them
we also visited im urphy their son and Helen, his wife, who lived a few blocks
away. i
Tom would have been in his sities at this time, having retired from his ob as a laborer in a
retail coal yard. n the census of 10 they lived on 22 ilco venue in the th recinct.
Tom first came to the nited tates in 188, according to the census of 110, and married
atherine uinlan in 188 when he was twentyeight and she was thirtytwo, as stated on
their marriage certificate. They married in hicago and, in the census of 110, Tom was a
laborer doing street work and living at 10 uclid venue with his wife known as it and
their three children. Tom and its children were atherine mith born uly 8 th 100, ames
. born ecember 1 th 101 and illiam . born ctober 1 th 10. They had two more
children by 110 who did not survive childhood. ne was a daughter Helen who died the
day after she was born which was uly 2 th 18. he was buried in alvary emetery.

atherine had been in the country much longer as she emigrated nine years earlier than Tom
in 1881. oth were naturalied citiens of the .. and it is known that Tom was successful
in 10. y amess birth certificate we know that Tom and atherine were both born in
ounty imerick, reland.
n 120, they lived at 1211, th lace, hicago with their children. atherine was then
nineteen years old and a canner at the tock ards. Their oldest son, ames, was eighteen,
and a clerk at the railroad. Their youngest, illiam was thirteen and still at school.
Thomas died on pril 1 th 11, l and his
wife atherine followed him on eptember
20 th 1. They are both buried in t
armel emetery.

hapter
NTH T N N
ois had one set of rish great grandparents through her fathers family, larence . alker.
His mother, and oiss grandmother, was ibertyvilleborn argaret llen onry. Her
parents were atrick onry and ary nn ain, whose lives began in reland.
Figure
rgre en onr orn
11 uger o emigrn
ri onr i er
un on er
rgre or ie
uner ie ee oring o
er gre grnuger
r rige Hooen
The small woman, no more than five feet tall stood amongst her
garden flowers in turgeon ay, isconsin as she posed for her
photograph, her long white hair pulled back off her face. s she
admired the colours and scents, she perhaps considered how far she
had come in life, giving all thanks to od. t was the year 10,
and He had spared her any more life challenges in the autumn days
of her life. argaret was widowed and living in a comfortable
rented home with her son illiam, and daughter, rene, both of
whom supported and cared for her. he was seventy years old and
had spent seventeen of those years a widow. Her husband, ohn,
Figure rgre en
onr er 111
1

was buried after si long years of illness as were four of her nine children. erhaps she also
thought of her redheaded son, illiam, who fought in the reat ar and, thanks to the luck
of the rish, came home to tell the tale.
argaret llen was born on arch 2 th 181 to rishborn parents atrick and ary onry in
Half ay, ernon Hills, in ake ounty, llinois. Her memories of her father were limited, as
he left home when she was two years old to fight in the ivil ar. Her mother moved them
closer to her parents in ibertyville, some four miles away, but the strain of poverty and
responsibility for seven children likely contributed to her early death at the age of fortyfour.
argaret llen was siteen when her mother died and it was not long afterwards that she left
home to seek employment in hicago. he met and married a laborer named r ohn alker
on une 21 st 188 in hicago. fter rearing four children rather uickly, their life took a
sudden turn in 18, when ohn was seriously inured in a workplace accident. hen
employed by the llinois ridge o. the elevator used in raising men and material fell, killing
three or four men outright and seriously inuring a doen more. ohn sustained a broken leg
and other serious inuries which impacted the rest of his life. suit for damages was brought
against the company, but tribunals were carried to the upreme ourt and thence to the
nited tates ourt before the findings were sustained and ohn alker was given a
udgment for 2,100.
argaret llen was close to her brother artin, known as ark, who lived in arinette,
isconsin and it was to his family that she and ohn visited for a few days four years after
his accident. fter taking some time to recover as much as possible, ohn returned to
employment at an rmour and o. meat packing plant where low wages and long hours were
the norm. These unfair labor practices eventually resulted in three maor strikes in ..
rmours hicago factories. ohn died in 11, aged fiftyseven and his death notice in The
Sturgeon Bay Advocate stated that he had been practically an invalid for the previous five or
si years.
argaret too sustained a long illness prior to her death in 1. he was survived by four of
her children, namely larence oiss father, uby llen, rene and illiam.

illiam ain ary Noone
nn
ohn
atrick onry ary ain ennis Thomas
nna cott
illiam
ary nna artin ennis argaret llen illiam ohn ichael
atherine
ewis adole ohn alker alea
hart only shows those who are mentioned in the following chapter
TH N
ois had many memories, some clear and some a bit vague, of most of these people and their
descendants. f the onrys, she remembers
“here is also another family bt not sre of the parents. hey ha for
hilren lsie ona arie an eal. ot sre if they were onrys or
osins of my mom onways. lsie wore in the oat epartment at
arshall Fiels. If we wante a oat we went to arshall Fiels an lsie to
by.”
ois ita alker Henn, 201 li
This family belonged to artin ark onry who was a son of atrick and ary nn
onry. n 1881 ark married a Norwegian woman named atilda Tillie anhorn at
turgeon ay, isconsin. Their children were lsie an 1 th 181 an th 188, Neal
tanley, rthur illiam, Nona rene ept 2 rd 18 ug 1 th 18 and Harry. They lived
in arinette, isconsin where ark worked as an engineer. or a while, he ran the water

department, and after that spent time as a dredge captain until they moved to hicago after
11. They lived at 02 amerling venue, hicago. ark and Tillie are buried at ood
awn emetery, hicago.
Figure Tiie onr i uger ie
n on r rur
“ome of the onrys lie in Iowa ..ill lie in Iowa an my parents an
siblins isite hile I ont remember oin to Iowa my sister ileen
sai we i. I was ery yon.”
ois ita alker Henn, 201
hen oiss family visited owa in
the 120s, they took photos of ill
onry and family at their farm in
insley located in oodbury ounty.
ill was illiam rwin onry, son
of atrick and ary nn onry.
Figure 41 Bill’s three youngest boys were
Ernest (born 1907), Floyd (born 1909) and
Clifford (born 1911) and it is believed this
photograph shows these three boys on the farm.

ean abcock lii eplains the circumstances that caused a change of spelling of the onry
onroy surname that occurred around this time
hen rwin came to owa from ibertyville to live with his ncle ennis ain, rwin did
not go to ass so the priest told him to put seven small rocks in his shoe. very day he could
remove one and then, come unday, he could remove the last one as he dressed for ass.
That way he would not forget to go to ass. ut during the week ncle ennis noticed that
rwin was limping and asked him why. hen he heard the reason, he supposedly said s
ethodists dont put up with such nonsense. rwin evidently thought that sounded like a
better deal. n unday he went to church with ncle ennis family and oined the
ethodist hurch shortly after. ome members of rwins family were so unhappy about
this that they wanted to disown him as a relative. o rwin changed the spelling of his name
to onry or maybe it was they who changed the spelling to onroy.
pitre ...“taen from nt bys photo lbm. by was my as
yonest sister. he note below is her note.”
ois ita alker Henn, 201
arceline rno enik was a daughter of
ary onroy rno and lived all her life in
aukegan until her death in 11, aged 2.
he had no children. he is buried at t
arys emetery, aukegan.
rt rthur was the son of artin onroy.
He married rances uay and they had
three children including daughter lorence
arion, born in pril 112. They lived in
hicago in the 10s at 21 rystal
treet. ncle ennis was brother to ary
and artin onroy. He lived in his senior
years with his brother illiam rwin in owa.
Figure e o ig reine rno enni enni
onro Forene onro n er er r rur
onro

TH T HN TH TH
ire
Figure
e
e
o
to
ig
iht
Tom
o enn
Henn i
ita
eui
ei
n
and
i
ill
onro
Conro
u
l
1
1
d like to take a moment to share with you some insights from myself and two
friends made during my genealogical ourney ita eucci and ill onroy.. s luck
would have it, the three of us crossed paths due to our connections to the onry family, and
the researches we each uncovered and shared to better understand where we all came from.
believe our stories are worthy of record simply due to the passion and drive, sustained over
many years, that made it possible.
Tom Henn, 201
“illiam an om share my sense of responsibility to presere the past for
or ftre enerations.”
ita eucciennett, 201
ascinated with genealogy, one of my earliest proects was to discover where my family
ennett, lynn, onteith, an andt came from and their lineages. was able with the help
of family members, historians, and years of research to go back in history to their first
voyage to merica in the late 100s. long with www.ancestry.com was able to find censes
records, military service, ta records, birth records, marriage certificates, funeral mass cards

and family member stores. amining historical records and family documents helped me to
achieve correct identifications and kinships. Now had recorded data, but wanted more.
ome names did not yield good data or a way to go back further in history. ncestry.com
enabled me to contact other family historians looking to enhance their family lineages. s
our family grew with the marriage of our two sons and grandchildren, also began to
research our daughters in laws families. hile researching llison onroy, my daughter in
law, found onroy family trees. Through the web site contacted illiam onroy and Tom
Henn. had no idea in my ourney that would meet such devoted genealogists such as
illiam and Tom. Through our collaboration was able to accurately establish when and
where our onroys migrated to merica and to hicago, llinois. e now could tell their life
ourney in merica.
have learned that each generation has a rich history of trial and triumph. am glad that
illiam and Tom share my sense of responsibility to preserve the past for our future
generations. or me our work gives me a sense of self satisfaction in providing accurate
storytelling and insight to our families histories. t is my hope that our families will continue
to add new information to make our work a living history legacy for generations to come.
“o tone Is oo mall o e er rne.”
ill onroy, 201 liii
ill onroy born 18 is the grandson of ark and athilda onroy and son of rthur
illiam and rances onroy. y wife had been participants of the genealogical webs site
www.ancestry.com for about five years and put together the onroy family tree. fter
retired in 2012 decided to take over the onroy side and see what could find on this site
using their search facilities. did find a lot on the other family names, but not much on
onroys. s far as could tell ark artin onroy was an only child.
n my visit to turgeon ay spent time at the library there which houses the aurie
enealogy oom. found the searchable data base for the local newspapers from mid1800s
to the 120s. put onroy in the search bo and up came doens and doens of articles

containing onroy. ne was of particular interest and could have easily missed it. ark had
a sister went back to www.ancestry.com and uickly found Tom Henn. s they say, The
est is History.
“ll by oiniene.”
Tom Henn uly 201
Figure 44 Tombstone Elsie and
Nona Conroy, Bayside Cemetery,
Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
lsie and Nona onroy, daughters of artin ark onroy,
both stayed in hicago for obs. et they chose to be buried at
their former home in turgeon ay at ayside emetery their
parents were buried at ood awn emetery in hicago.
There are many alker relatives buried at ayside emetery
including my great ncle harles. There are strams, tephensons, ettels and elvilles,
believe, buried there and all those through female alkers are related
hile in turgeon ay we went to t osephs emetery to find our ncle illiam alkers
tombstone, but we could not find it. o, we went to the hurch and aith ormation uilding
and walked in asking for help to find the plot. said, am looking for illiam alker and
my moms maiden name was alker. The woman, ui Hern, said y moms maiden
name is alker and she is in the other room. pulled up www.ancestry.com on my pple
iad and discovered we were related ll by coincidence e met ernice alker asee.
he was eightysi and was thrilled about what we had done, and were still doing, with the
onroy genealogical research.

The rish tory
hapter
T NNT
H H T cTH
H N H
urphy is by far the most freuently found surname of rish origin with well over 0,000
bearers of the name in reland alone. This name is derived from two distinct aelic septs.
The first of these was O'Murchadha and the second was MacMurchadha. The name is taken
from words that translate as sea warrior. urphy is only very occasionally rendered as

urphy or acurphy. ther variants of this widespread name include urphey, urfee,
orphy and orchoe.
There were septs in ounties Tyrone and ligo but by far the most important sept was
located in einster rovince, and especially in ounty eford. sept is similar to a clan,
and refers to a group of people who inhabited the same locality and who shared the same
name. n modern times the name has become even more associated with the unster
ounties of ork and erry than its originating ounty of eford. The unster sept of
urphy is a branch of the insellas who also hail from the eford urphys. The northern
urphys are today most often found in ounties Tyrone and rmagh.
t is impossible to discuss the origin of the urphys without also mentioning the
acurroughs. The most famous or infamous was ermot acurrough who was partly
responsible for the trongbow ngloNorman invasion of 110. ermots grandfather was
urchadha whose original sept split into three branches giving the acurroughs, the
insellas and the avanaghs. His brothers are the origin of the orchoes and acavie
ores, who changed their original names to urphy and avis respectively. ll of these
families are most associated with ounty eford.
The eford urphys held territory in the barony of allaghkeen, formerly known as Hy
elimy from one of the sons of anna innseallaigh, the fourth century ruler of einster.
Their chief seats were located at orriscastle, Toberlamina, ulart and ularteigh. The last
chief to be elected by the ancient aelic method of tanistry was urtagh who in the year
11 adopted nglish law entitling him to leave his lands and property to his descendants.
His ancestor onal or orchoe was overthrown at the end of the siteenth century and
his lands confiscated. The urphys of ularteigh retained their lands and remained there up
to modern times. Tipperary branch of the urphys had their land confiscated by
romwell.
amous urphys throughout history include omhnall all a urchadha who was chief
sage of einster in the year 112. Two atholic priests were killed during the olfe Tone
18 rebellion, they being ev ohn urphy 118 and ev ichael urphy 1
18. ean urchadha 10010 was the last chief of the larney bards in ork. arie
ouise urphy 1181 was a daughter of an rish soldier at ouen and became
mistress to ouis . atrick urphy 18182 was remarkable for his height of eight

feet one inch. The adys ell brewery that produces urphys tout was founded in 18 by
ames urphy. illiam artin urphy 18121 was the leader of the employers against
the strikers in ublin in 11. ichael urphy c1818 in ounty Tipperary was an
rish recipient of the ictoria ross, the highest ritish award for gallantry. udie urphy
1211 was the recipient of mericas highest award known as the edal of Honor and
remains one of the most decorated soldiers in history.
ver the centuries the name urphy has been spread by emigration to ngland, ustralia,
anada, merica and beyond with the influence of bearers of the name being found in every
sphere of life. liv
H N TH
The origins of the lan crath are among the tribe al gais or dalcassians who occupied
the territory of Thomond with its heartland in o. lare. The craths are descended from
the line of ennetig mac orcain, ather of relands greatest High ing rian oru
Imperator Scotorum - Emperor of the Irish. Tradition holds that the crath lan are
descended from rians brother hearne in atin Archiarus.
n Thomond the lan crath forged a special place for themselves as hereditary poets and
bards among the al gais, serving rian oru and his descendants in lineage as the princes
of Thomond. lthough the crath lan is still found in Thomond, from these beginnings
the lan epanded to the areas where they forged positions of power and wealth, building
castles and forging new alliances in the northern reland province of lster and in the
1

southern province of unster where they played a maor role in the history of reland and
where many still reside today.
y the mid 1th century the aelic nobility were largely dispossessed, and the lan
crath, although managing to negotiate through much of this turbulent time relatively
unscathed, eventually fell prey to the political and cultural changes that overtook the old
aelic order. The lan crath largely lost their lands in the counties of onegal,
ermanagh and Tyrone in the north, and counties lare, Tipperary and aterford in the
south. any sought refuge in mainland urope where they entered the service of uropean
armies and royal houses.
TH N TN
TH T TH H
s research intensified to find the rish ancestral home of atrick and Thomas urphy, a
curious level of discrepancy emerged in the documents that suggested that atrick and
Thomas may not have been brothers. ither that, or atrick was consistently imprecise about
his age. uccinctly put, atrick appears in various documents with ages that suggest he was
born in 18 or 18. oth boys recorded that they were born in ounty imerick, reland
and atricks obituary notice said he was from the town of ruff in that county. The ruff
parish birth and baptismal records did indeed reveal a suitable candidate but his recorded
brother Thomas was not a corresponding match. Thomas, unlike his brother, appeared to be
more negligent when uoting his age throughout his life and his birth year differs from 188
to 18. However, one record did match very accurately the 100 census said Thomas was
born in ebruary 188 and this agreed with the civil birth certificate found in ruff
egistration istrict. n this family, a brother atrick was born in 180. baptism for a
atrick urphy was found in ruff oman atholic hurch records for eptember rd 18
and there was also recorded in the same family a baptismal record for a son Thomas on
ctober 1th 18. They were the sons of ohn urphy and ohanna itgerald. The civil

egistration records that he was born on ugust 1st 18 at ruff reen, arish of ruff.
This family consisted of Thomas, bapt. ctober 1 th 18 illiam, bapt. uly 2 nd 188
ridget, bapt. pril 2 rd 180 Helen, bapt. eptember th 181 atrick, b. ugust 1 st 18,
ruff reen ridget, b. ebruary 8 th 18, The reen, ruff Hannah, b. arch 1 st 188,
ilmallock orkhouse ary, b. ecember 1th 180, The reen, ruff ary, b. ebruary
11 th 18, ilmallock orkhouse argaret, b. ay th 18, ruff reen, and atherine, b.
arch th 18, ruff.
However the other baptism for a Thomas urphy found in ruff oman atholic hurch
records for ebruary th 188 is the more favored one. His parents were ichael urphy and
ridget crath. Thomass sponsors were ames tapleton and ridget undon. The ivil
registration recorded their address as The reen, ruff. This date coincides with the
declaration of Thomas in 100 census where he said he was born ebruary 188. This family
included a son atrick who was eight years older, baptied in 180. The children of ichael
and ridget urphy consisted of
ohanna bpt ug th 18, Timothy, b. an 2 th 18, ruff, imerick atrick, bpt uly 2 rd
180, ruff, imerick ichael, b. eb 1 st 182, ruff, imerick eremiah, b. pril 2 rd
18, bpt 28 th ruff, imerick dmond, b. une th 18, bpt th The reen, ruff,
imerick Thomas, b. eb rd 188, bpt th ruff, imerick oseph, b. ct 2 rd 18 The
reen, ruff, imerick eremiah, b. ec th 182, bpt th The reen, ruff, imerick
illiam, b. eb 2 th 18, rdykeohane, ruff, imerick ridget ary, b. an th 18 bpt
an 10 th , ruff, imerick.
e have, therefore, two families which could be the family of atrick and Thomas as
brothers both have sons of the correct name but both have only one each that matches our
known details atrick born circa 18 or 18 and Thomas born ebruary 188
1. amily of ohn urphy and ohanna itgerald ccording to the birth and baptismal
records, atrick urphy was born at home at The reen, ruff, o imerick, reland on
ugust 1 st 18.

2. amily of ichael urphy and ridget crath ccording to his civil birth registration
Thomas urphy was born at The reen, ruff, o imerick, reland on ebruary rd
188.
The authors of this book have decided that, on balance of evidence, the family of ichael
urphy and ridget crath are the true and accurate parents of the two boys. The evidence
considered came from various sources, but primarily, it was personal memories and, not from
published or public documents that held most weight in the argument. ois knew her ncle
Thomas very well, and there was never any implication that her father and uncle were lying
about their sibling relationship. nd, as she remembered, there was never any other living
siblings in merica that was known to the alkers, which would rule out the alternative
family ohn urphy and ohanna itgerald who had their daughter, llen urphy
ulueens son ohn residing in New ork up to 1.
Their family home was at air reen, ruff where the singlestory cottages ran along the east
side of the open triangle of land at the unction of two roads. very resident would have been
very aware of their neighbor and so it was highly likely that the two families of ichael and
ridget urphy, and ohn and ohanna urphy knew each other. oth couples married in
the same church of t eter and t aul across the road from air reen in 18 and their
children were all of similar ages.
f the two young boys were not actually brothers, it is possible they were simply good friends
who formed a brotherly bond when they emigrated to hicago. ould there be grounds to
consider the scenario of Thomas urphy being only a perceived uncle nly N
analysis of descendants could answer this uestion.

T H
Figure i r ur onn
ur ieen er une
Hoinon ur moer o
remrrie on eon oer ur
ne ur eo ri ur n
im ur
“or feet will lea yo ba to where yor heart is.” rish roverb
obert ob aul urphy is the oldest of seven children to obert ob dmund urphy
and ula une Haines more commonly known as une Hodkinson. ob married arlene
ranath, mentioned earlier, and they have two sons, ryan and ean. ob and arlene are
grandparents and enoy their time with their grandchildren very much.
Tom met ob several times, including while performing genealogy work on the urphy
family. hile incredibly busy with work, charity efforts and family, ob has been gracious
offering up his time. He has passed on information, documents and photos he got from ister
arion urphy, his aunt, who got them from ohn rwin ack urphy, his uncle. ome
of these documents, with the research of the rish genealogist, arbara ingham, led to the
discovery of much more about our urphy heritage in reland.
uring Toms visits it uickly became apparent ob had great personal charm and warmth.
He was easy going and had a warm heart and calm attitude. These are typical ualities of
rish men. ob is a person who defines the rish word, kindliness, not only in his words but
also in his daily actions. s popular historian arl ittke described, the rish man possesses
.... an irrepressible buoyancy, a vivacious spirit, a kindliness and tolerance for the common
frailties of man and a feeling that it is time enough to bid the devil good morning when you
meet him..
obs grandfather was ohn . urphy who married twice. His first marriage to atherine
urray ended tragically with the deaths of his wife and two children at the hands of the
reat nfluena and pneumonia. ohn urphy later married dna onway with whom he

had si children including the twins ohn rwin and obert dmond urphy obs
father. obs great grandfather was ichael urphy and his great great grandfather was
Timothy urphy. oth were born and bred amongst thoroughbred horses in the lush green
pasture of imerick, reland. ll these men who preceded ob gave him every blessing of
kindliness and tolerance from their own eperiences of a full family home, shared twin
eperience and the care of the noble stallion horse.
H H
esearch to learn more of what and where oiss great grandfather atrick urphy left
behind in reland began by using what was previously established that is the details of his
brother Thomas, son of ichael urphy and ridget crath whose birth was recorded as
Thomas, b. ebruary rd 188 at The reen, ruff in the civil register of births. The month
and year of birth were confirmed by Thomas in the 100 census return he submitted in
hicago. The reen is correctly named air reen on ordnance survey maps and primary
sources.
ruff, a very ancient village, is fourteen miles south of imerick ity, on the road to
ilmallock. ruff is a corruption of the aelic Brugh which signifies a palace or
distinguished residence. The old burgh or fort is still to be seen ust on the outskirts of the
town, beside the iver orning tar, a tributary stream which falls into the larger iver
aigue. castle was built in the thirteenth century but nearby ough ur has been occupied
for almost five thousand years. Two surviving houses have been given radiocarbon dating of
200 . and 2000 .. ruff is in the heart of the olden ale which is an area of rolling
pastureland of ecellent uality for cattle farming. t was so good that enalty lauses were
introduced in the early 1800s to prevent more than one acre in twenty being broken up or
cultivated. farmer who tried to bring his land into tillage was regarded as someone who
was approaching poverty. The landowners about ruff were etremely wealthy at this time
and later. ost of them had stocks of 00 to 00 head of cattle which were crosses between
the eicester, evon, urham, erry and older native breeds. lv

The potato was the principal source of nutrition for the vast maority of the poorer classes
because this crop produced more food per acre than wheat and could also be used to generate
income. t gave a high return per acre and a single acre could support a family of people.
nlike ritain, reland lacked maor industrial centers. obs were scarce and there was little
point in trying to save up by waiting to get married. part of the family farm on which to
grow food and a house built with stones and mud kneaded with straw was the most any
married couple could hope for. arly marriages were followed by large families children
were seen by parents as insurance against starvation in their old age. s a result, subdivision
and holdings were gradually reduced to tiny plots.
n the early summer of 18, a disease referred to as blight was noted to have attacked the
crop in some areas. n that year, one third of the entire crop was destroyed. n 18, the crop
was a total failure.
easants who ate the rotten produce sickened and entire villages were consumed with cholera
and typhus. arish priests desperate to provide for their congregations were forced to forsake
buying coffins in order to feed starving families, with the dead going unburied or buried only
in the clothes they wore when they died. The potato crop of 18 was destroyed by a fungus,
Phytophthora infestans, commonly known as light, which had spread from North merica
to urope. y the early autumn of 18 it was clear that famine was imminent in reland, and
the ritish government reacted promptly to the partial failure of that year. olicy decisions
were taken in ondon before 18 was over, but these did not pay dividends immediately. n
the closing months of the year it seemed to many people in reland that the ublin astle
administration of the country was so dilatory as to be guilty of criminal neglect. et it was
not the governments intention, ecept under etraordinary circumstances, to become
engaged in the distribution of free food from its depots or to sell food directly to those in
want. ather, the main burden of providing for the destitute was to be borne by the local
committees, with the government selling food to them at cost price. t failed dismally.
idespread employment schemes were put in place by The oard of orks but when the
famine continued into 18 a revised poor law system began to function. The relief
commissioners in each oor aw nion received grant aid and redistributed it in oup
itchens throughout the affected areas. radical shift in policy followed that took the

urden of providing relief away from the ritish treasury entirely by placing it instead
suarely on the shoulder of rish landlords and tenants. The principal was that oor aw
ates would be collected and then rish property would support rish poverty. t created a
more hardened landlord who continued with more cruelty the evictions of their tenants for
nonpayment of rent. lvi andlords evicted hundreds of thousands of peasants, who then
crowded into the towns and the diseaseinfested workhouses. This may well have been the
fate of the urphy family we are portraying. ther landlords paid for their tenants to
emigrate, sending hundreds of thousands of rish to merica and other nglishspeaking
countries. n many cases, these ships reached port only after losing a third of their passengers
to disease, hunger and other causes.
nglican vicar ev odfrey assys parish of ruff, o imerick etended over forty
suare miles. o awfully rapid was the career of the famine, that on his first inuiry, he
discovered 1,8 persons nearly all omanists of whom ,000 were absolutely
dying by inches, and almost naked for they had pawned or sold their little rags of clothes, to
keep the breath of life in themselves. They looked like living mummies their figures were
attenuated their faces greenish their eyes glassy and hollow their hands like birds claws
their voices sepulchral while their skeleton bodies ehaled the smell of the grave.
Their despairing silence was only broken when thrilling movements in the crowd showed
that persons had fainted but whenever odfrey assy appeared, there was a chorus of
mournful voices that touched the heart
h, your everence, the ord is not pleased with us, and puts us under His scourge e are
only kept breathing, and our eyes are ust open. e could bear anything that od sends but
the sight of our starving children. lvii
The scene described was as a result of the reat amine which the urphys lived through
and witnessed at first hand when it hit their county from the summer of 18. They were
typical of half the population of the country at that time. They lived in a small oneroomed
dwelling with little or no furniture. nimals would be accommodated with the occupants of
the dwelling if they owned any.
The urphy boys were living as children in the reen, or air reen as it is correctly named,
according to many of their birth certificates. ocal knowledge of this area in ruff tells us a

little of their status in the community air reen is described in the memoirs of ev odfrey
assy, the hurch of reland minister for the parish of ruff, between 1818.
Figure 46 Faine coeoraing he rea Faine culure oan ilesie
The number of mendicants beggars went beyond counting on the air reen. mail
coach a ianconi car daily passed through ruff at this time and the passengers had to
contend with the relentless appeals of the mendicants. The coachmen often contrived to delay
a little to give the poor craythurs lviii a fair offer at the passengers who seldom passed
through ruff without leaving offerings to the poor. ev assy. li
This description is given about fifteen years before the boys were born, but the scene did not
alter significantly, indeed it got worse and the cottages were demolished from 18 onwards.
ichael urphy was listed as occupier of 1 air reen ottages, ruff, o imerick,
reland from 18 l to 18 li in the Cancellation Books 181. The books researched
relate to manuscripts in which, following the publication of each volume of the Primary
aluation of Tenements, the aluation ffice recorded any changes to occupier, landlord,
sie of holding or value for each plot. These changes, or revisions, were recorded on an
annual basis, directly into the books. This cottage was crossed out in the Cancellation Books
in 18 when numbers 1, 2 and were described as ruins.

Figure ie ur ree Timo onner 1 Firgreen oge in 1 re in
ichael and ridget were married in ruff oman atholic hurch on eptember 1 th 18
as witnessed by ridget Hayes and ridget ynch. Their childhoods were each touched by
The reat amine which hit this area most profoundly in between 18 and 182. The status
of the cottages in air reen were not much better than a hovel a small, wretched and often
dirty house. They were landless tenants who had lost their opportunity to grow food for
themselves.
ichael urphy and ridget crath had four sons including Thomas who all note The
reen as their address in the civil birth registers dmond b. une th 18, Thomas b.
ebruary rd 188, oseph b. ctober 2 rd 18 and eremiah b. ecember th 182. Their
final son illiam, b. eb 2 th 18 was born at rdy eohane, ruff, imerick which is a
townland linked to ruff town at its southern point by rawfords ane. Their first five
children ohanna bapt. ugust th 18, Timothy bapt. anuary 2 th 18, atrick bapt. uly
2 rd 180, ichael bapt. ebruary 1 st 182, and eremiah bapt. pril 28 th 18 are only
referenced in the church baptismal records where home addresses are not recorded.

Figure ri onon ree ie ur 1 Fir reen oge in 1
1

Figure 1 Fir reen oge i in ruin in 1
The Cancellation Books for rdy eohane were not accessed however it is known from
other records that ichael had a small rateable holding that attracted a yearly charge of 2 0s
d and he was there in 181. He appeared at the etty essions ourt on ugust 10 th 182 as
defendant against a charge of nonpayment of his rates. hatever the outcome it did not
spoil his hristmas that year. n t tephens ay, 2 th ecember, he was drunk and
disorderly on the public street at ruff and was fined 2s d and costs of 1 shilling at the
subseuent court. f he failed to pay this fine he was given four days hard labor in ounty
imerick ail but we do not have a record of what happened. His wife ridget died of
bronchitis on anuary th 18 at rdy eohane, aged . he had had the ailment for si
months for which she had received no medical intervention. n 18 ichael moved to 20
air reen ottages. lii
The 101 census shows a ichael urphy, general laborer, aged and his wife llen
resident in the townland of rdy eohane. Ten years later the 111 census recorded that they
were married in 18 and had no children. llen was born in ngland. This was a second
marriage for ichael urphy which took place on arch 1 th 18 at ruff. He was
recorded as a widower and the son of Timothy urphy, a laborer. irst born son of ichael
and ridget was named Timothy in 18. His address was ruff Hill, ruff and occupation
was thatcher. llen alee was resident in ain treet, ruff, a spinster and daughter of

ichael alee, a laborer. itnesses were oseph lancy and nne Nottingham. oth bride
and groom signed with the mark of .
ichael again failed to pay his rates for his holding in rdy eohane in 100 and in 10.
dditionly, in 10, he accused illiam all of ruff of unlawful assault on the public
street of ruff. This assault charge was dismissed.
His house in the 101 census is described as brick or stone built with four rooms and two
windows in the front of the house. t had a slate or tiled roof. The house was catalogued as a
class 2 building a popular style small cottage for this time. He had two outoffices a
piggery and a fowl house. column on the census return form to list a stable or coach house
was not used in ichaels case. n the 111 census his immediate neighbors house had been
demolished during the previous decade, but ichaels remained the same with two outhouses
to hold pigs and fowl. There is no evidence now, in 2018, of any surviving houses from this
time. ust a little beyond the ball alley are fields that show the high uality of land for horses.
The two census returns of 101 and 111 show the local hurch of reland vicar and one of
his tenants in the townland of rdy eohane with stables and coach houses.
n the 100 census of hicago Thomas recorded that his immigration year to the nited
tates was 188. He was then aged 1 and his mother was alive.
N T T
visit to ruff, ounty imerick, reland by one of the authors was made on anuary 2th
2018 to establish a more accurate location for the home of ichael urphy.
rom ack urphys genealogical research collection, there is a document that described the
family home of oiss grandfather. t said
atrick urphy was born about 18 or 18 in ruff, n imerick ounty and he had
either 8 or brothers, no sisters. His father raised horses, fine stallions etc and they lived near
a large handball court at that time. liii

The ball alley was found in rawfords ane, ruff ust a few yards from the main street of
ruff. t was heavily covered in ivy but nonetheless the walls were visible and the gateway
at the roadside was original.
Figure ru on oing
oion o e on ror
ne in 1
atrick urphy 18018
and his father lived near this ball alley. The immediate area to the east via rawfords ane
is the townland of rdy eohane, the home of atricks father ichael, when his first wife
ridget died in 18. He remarried in 18 and remained in this area until his death in 112.
He died on ebruary th 112 at rdy eohane from cardiac failure aged 8.
Figure e eriie o ie ur
ire 1 eath erate o ihael rh

Figure Te e remin in ru

Figure Te onn o r eone ru o imeri
Figure rii n uion o 11 oing Timo ur
ichael urphy was
the son of Timothy
urphy as recorded in
his marriage
certificate of 18.
Timothys home
appears in the
riffiths and
aluation of 181 in
rawfords ane. n
the corresponding
map with referenced
areas marked in red
ink, his position
number 2 concurs

eactly with the field area to the east of the ball alley. The house entry did not record any
attached rateable land or garden.
Figure ror ne ru ere e ur mi ie ir 11 o 11
ll the land records viewed do not credit either ichael urphy or his father with land that
would support a business raising stallion horses. This area today is prominent for its studs
and race horses and ichael, as an agricultural laborer, may have worked in these nearby
studs.
Today in 2018 the main public house on the ain treet of ruff has their most prominent
restaurant called Istabra after the famous local racehorse. stabra won the hampion
Hurdle on three occasions and he was owned by canus of artinstown tud, south of
ruff and near ilmallock.

hapter
T NNT
T N N NN N
H N N
Though the surnames onry and onroy are, properly speaking, uite distinct, they are dealt
with together here because in modern times they have become almost interchangeable. To
illustrate this we may refer to the list of synonyms issued by the egister eneral of irths,
eaths and arriages in the year 101. t that comparatively recent date births in families
usually called onroy were also registered as onary, onrahy, unree, ory, and onry
the synonyms for onry were onnery, ulconry and onroy. ll that can be done to
elucidate the resultant confusion is to give a brief account of the background of the several
aelic surnames which have assumed the various anglicied forms given above. The most
important of these is O'Mulconaire, i.e. descendent of the follower of onaire, from which
ulconry and its abbreviation, onry, naturally derive, though as we have seen, onroy is

also used by modern descendants of this sept. However it should be stated that in the
homeland of the ulconaire sept, whose patrimony was the parish looncraft in the
neighbourhood of trokestown, o. oscommon, they are usually called onry not onroy.
The ulconrys were hereditary poets and chroniclers to the ings of onnacht, and many
such are recorded in the nnals of onnacht, the nnals of the our asters etc., the
most notable of whom were earfasa ulconry, who was himself one of the our asters
whose work was completed in 1, and aurice ulconry whose copy of the ook of
enagh, made in 11, is an eceptionally beautiful manuscript. ost ev. lorence onry
1112, rchbishop of Tuam, was also of this sept. His name is so spelt in the
ranciscan records, but in some other contemporary documents he appears as onroy, and
also as aolconaire. This most distinguished ranciscan was associated with the
foundation of the rish ollege at ouvain, and wrote many important works including a
theological treatise in rish. He was chaplain in the panish rmada and to Hugh onnell
at his death. harles ulconry son of ohn ulconry, who fought in the romwellian
war and lost his estate in o. oscommon was an ardent acobite and was killed in the
attle of the oyne in 10. nother ohn ulconry, the famous aelic poet and
chronicler, whose family had settled in rdkyle in o. lare, was of this sept. He presided
over a school of poets at rdkyle from about 10 to 10. Hardimans inclusion of the
ulconrys among the alcassian septs is an error. ther aelic surnames which are
anglicied onry and onroy in onnacht are onraoi of i aine or Hy any, i.e. the
territory otherwise known as ellys ountry in ast alway and outh oscommon, and
aconraoi of oycullen, called by the our asters ord of elvin of the Two akes viz
ough orrib and ough urgan an old name for the ay of alway. The ooks of
urvey and istribution, and other seventeenth century records, show that aconrys or
aconroys were there at that period. adriac onaire 188128, one of the best
known of all the modern writers in rish, was a alway man. His statue is to be seen in yre
uare in alway ity. He spelled his name onaire, though this form is usually found in
unster and anglicied onnery, and is uite distinct from the alway sept ust mentioned.
onnery is included in miths History of County Waterford among the principal
inhabitants of the county at the end of the siteenth century. further complication is the use
of the surname ing as a synonym for aconraoi, and even for onraoi and also for

hearadhaigh. This arose from the similarity in sound of these ac names and ac an igh
the latter means son of the ing, and so became ing in nglish by a process of
mistranslation very common in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. n fact nearly
all the aconroys of oycullen use the name ing, and in the nineteenth century they
called their ancestral seat of allymaconry ingstown. ing, of course, is a common nglish
name, and is also the anglicied form of the aelic surname ionga or ingeadh first
anglicied inga, a family which in medieval times were seated on the sland of nismore
in ough ee, and were influential in o. estmeath up to the end of the siteenth century.
tatistics of the modern distribution of population indicate that onrys are found in
considerable numbers in aois and ffaly, as well as in the province of onnacht. This
might well be epected because, in addition to the septs referred to above, there was also a
not unimportant sept called onratha, alias ac onratha, of the same stock as the
acoughlans of ffaly. Their arms are uite different from those of ulconry. liv
T N
The emigrant story of oiss great grandfather,
atrick onry, spans the early half of the
nineteenth century and is a ourney westward
from oston, assachusetts to aryland, New
ork to ibertyville, llinois. The amily ible
that immortalied the birth of ois also included
the records of atrick onroys family. t listed
the births, marriages and deaths of his children,
and the death of his wife ary formerly ain
and it is from the place of birth of his children
that we can determine his emigrant route. The
ible lists the children of atrick and ary as
Figure Fmi ie reoring
e ir n e o e onr mi
1. ary born ebruary 1 th 18
2. nna born ctober 1 th 18

. artin born Nov 10 th 188
. ennis born ecember 1 th 180
. argaret llen born arch 2 th 181
. illiam born anuary 1 th 18
. ohn ichael born ecember th 18
Figure Fmi ie reoring e
mrrige o e onr mi
s reported in the 180 census atrick and
ary, along with ary, nn and artin,
lived in the town of ernon in the county of
ake, llinois. t states that ary was born
in assachusetts in 18, nne was born in
New ork in 18 and artin was born in
llinois in 188. ubseuent research found
that ary was born in oston, nne in
aryland and artin in ernon. ernon
was an agricultural community established
by . . oon and Theodore ills when
they started a twohundredacre farm in
181 ust a few years before the onry
familys arrival lv . ccording to ta records, atrick bought forty acres of farm land in
ibertyville in 18 ernon is a town ust south of ibertyville and atrick, it can be
assumed, wished to farm and stay in ernon to raise his family.
t was ary who urged the onrys to move to the district. ll of her immediate family live in
ibertyville, and according to the 180 census, so did many other fellow rishmen and
women. This was not unusual rish immigrants to merica settled in very noticeable pockets
and none were more noticeable than the three places the onrys lived. ata from the 180
census reveals that immigration to New ork had been the preference for nearly half a
million 8,000 rishborn settlers. f these, 10,000 were in New ork ity. ore than a
uarter of a million 20,000 had settled in assachusetts, chiefly in oston, while llinois
also had a sieable population of 12,000 of which ,000 were in hicago. lvi hen atrick
1

onry first stepped foot in oston, he probably felt like all of reland had travelled with him.
He would have heard the rish language spoken as he walked the streets. tephen uleo wrote
about the rise of oston and attributed four great trends affecting oston in the 180s. ne
was the irrepressible wave of rish immigration. He continued
The rish did not merely descend upon oston they inundated the city, a swarm of
humanity that crammed every nook, cranny, cellar, tenement, and shanty in the North nd
and along other waterfront neighborhoods. lvii
atrick and arys second daughter, nnie, was born in 18 in aryland, tsego ounty,
New ork. This is according to her census return entry of 1880, when she was married and
living in ibertyville as rs nna adole. n the previous two census returns of 180 and
180, her place of birth was recorded as New ork.
Figure 58 The Conry Family Journey 1853-1855
Figure Te onr Fmi ourne 11
ccording to The History of Otsego County, New York” the town of aryland boasted only
2,1 inhabitants in 18. t was a very rural location with farms and an occasional inn for
travelers and the population was predominantly ethodist piscopal. The onry name is not
included in the book as one of the pioneering families that settled there. t may be that this
was not the location of nnas birth unless the onrys were travelling through and stopped
only for the birth of their daughter.
hen their destination was reached in ernon, the volatile political times in which atrick
found himself would determine his immediate future. n November 180, the country elected
braham incoln as its siteenth president. incolns antislavery platform had made him

etremely unpopular with outherners, who gave not one electoral vote. even states rebelled
and left the nion but resident incoln in his inaugural address appealed to them to reoin
the nation. His appeal fell on deaf ears instead, several federal forts suddenly became
outposts in a foreign land. braham incoln made the decision to send fresh supplies to the
beleaguered garrisons. n pril 12th 181, onfederate warships turned back the supply
convoy to ort umter in outh arolina and opened a hour bombardment on the
stronghold. The garrison surrendered on pril 1th. The ivil ar was now underway.
onscription in the nited tates, commonly known as the draft, was employed by the
federal government in this ivil ar. atrick onry was called up to enlist and confirmation
of his commitment is found in the .. ivil ar raft egistration ecords for uly 1 st ,
18 at ibertyville. He was recorded a thirtysi year old farmer from ibertyville, ake,
llinois. longside him to register were his two brothers in law from ibertyville, Thomas
and ohn ain, who were aged thirtysi and twentytwo respectively. lviii
The war was fought completely within the nited tates from 181 to 18. our years of
intense combat left 20,000 to 0,000 soldiers dead, and much of the ouths infrastructure
was destroyed. The onfederacy collapsed and four million slaves were freed.

Figure ii r nee
atrick onrys emigrant story tells of the fortuitous meeting of an rish girl in oston that
flourished into marriage. t tells of his need to stay with rish people and his willingness to
gamble and travel further inland for unknown opportunity. t tells of the cold irony of fate
atrick left reland in search of a peaceful life, and he instead found himself fighting in the
ivil ar of a county he barely knew. ortunately, for this author especially, he survived to
tell the tale and become a patriarch of a big rish family.

All we know of Patrick Conroy from family sources is that his daughter Mary Conroy Arno
stated in the 1920 census return that the native language of his father and mother was Irish.
Another source of information is a note by Margaret Ellen Conroy Walker’s daughter Irene
(1905-1994). When drawing a family tree of her family, she inserted the date of death of her
grandfather, Patrick Conry, as January 1890.
Figure Fmi Hior on oer ie rien rene er
The closest match we found was
Patrick Conroy who died
February 17 th 1891. The
certificate of this death was
found amongst the genealogical
documents belonging to his
grandson, Bill Conroy.
Following extensive research, it
is the author’s opinion that this
is the correct person who was
the father of Margaret Ellen
Conroy and husband of Mary
Ann Cain.
The death certificate recorded his cause of death as a cerebral hemorrhage he suffered six
hours before he finally passed on. He was born circa 1825 in County Roscommon, Ireland
and was buried at Calvary Cemetery. He was single, white and male, had been resident in the
State of Illinois for twenty-two years and his occupation listed as a car conductor. The
corresponding notice in the Chicago Daily Tribune of Feb. 1891 read:
85

Figure 1 rrngemen or ri onro ee
miniere i ier
N eb. 1, 181 at the residence of
his sister, rs elia cermott, th
treet. atrick onroy, brother of Thomas
onroy, aged years. uneral Thursday, eb.
1 181 at 0 oclock to the hurch of the
Nativity, thence by carriages to alvary.
atrick onroy had died intestate. Two sisters
and one grandniece petitioned the robate
udge of ook ounty to be the administrators
of his estate. This was accepted and, upon the
penalty of 1,00 if not carried out
satisfactorily, they agreed to perform all duties
necessary to settle the outstanding affairs of
atrick. li His two sisters were rs. elia
acermott and rs. ridget Tierney. His
grandniece was rs. argaret ushnell,
daughter of elia.
t the time of his death, he was living with his sister, elia, at th treet, hicago.
However, for the previous twenty years it is highly probable that he was living a single life
Figure rgniion ne o enion Fie o eern
o ere eeen 11 n 1 oure
oom
as a laborer since leaving his wife, ary nne,
and his children in ernon in the late 180s.
This insight is gained from the suitable entries
that appear for a atrick onroy, born in
reland circa 182 in the 1880 census returns.
uring his military service in the ivil ar, it
can be assumed he was away from home, but at
the time of printing his military record has not
been identified. There are many atrick
onroys on active duty of similar age
however, a atrick onroy in company, th egiment, avalry alongside a Thomas
onroy may suggest he oined his brother. l His brothersinlaw, Thomas and ohn ain li

enlisted in the 12 th Illinois Regiment, US Cavalry. Another brother, Denis Cain, who enlisted
the following year (1864), also joined this regiment, serving in Companies A and H. lxii
One document found refers to a Private Patrick Conroy of A Company, 5 th or 6 th
(indecipherable writing) Regiment, U.S. Infantry. This soldier is listed in papers transmitted to
the Office of the Adjutant General during the Civil War. It describes Private Patrick Conroy as
“an insane soldier”. lxiii The Adjutant General’s Report for Company A of the Twelfth
(Consolidated) Cavalry possibly listed Patrick Conroy. Transcribed as ‘Patrick Cony’ he was
mustered out on June 3 rd 1865. Also listed is John Cain, mustered out on the same day.
Patrick’s son John Michael was born December 9 th 1865 which indicates that he returned to
Vernon in that year...but before June 3 rd . The census of July 3 rd 1865 for Libertyville may
indicate Patrick Conroy was back at home; the transcription shows: “P CONDRA, Head of
family” consisting of five males and four females. There is one adult male aged between 40
and 50, one adult female aged between 20 and 30, and seven children all but one, were under
10. This entry, despite the spelling error of the surname, is probably correct, as it is listed
immediately prior to William and Mary Cain. The family described would be Patrick, then
aged 40, his wife Mary, then aged 32, daughter Mary, then aged eleven and sister, Ann, then
aged 10. Three of the four boys can be accounted for: Martin then aged 7, Dennis then aged 5,
and William then aged 2.
But by 1870 he was living in Chicago with his widowed sister Celia and her sons Hubert and
Thomas. He was aged forty-three and Celia was forty-six. In the same building was his fortyyear
old brother Thomas Conroy, along with his brother’s wife Delea lxiv and his two sons
Thomas and Francis. Thomas was a rail road conductor and Patrick was described as a day
laborer; however, we know Patrick had a similar job as a conductor by the time of his death. It
can be assumed that his nephew gave him the relevant introduction! Most of the construction
of the railroad took place in the 1870s, and for this project the city of Chicago employed 2,700
workers - nine per cent of Chicago’s labor force. Chicago railroad workers “ranged from
unskilled freight handlers to locomotive engineers” and while in the early most engineers
were” native-born men”, over time “European immigrants” took over, “with the Irish
predominating.” lxv However, the continuity of such a career from laborer to conductor

on the rail road is interrupted in 1880, when the census return shows that atrick had left the
home of his sister. His daughter, rs. ary rno, stated in 18 that her father abandoned
the family during the ivil ar and had returned to oston. n entry in the 1880 census for
2 heeler treet, oston shows rishborn atrick onray, aged fiftyfive, living as a lodger
with fellow rishman, ohn Hogan, and his family. He was a bricklayer and his marital status
was single. s this where atrick went for a few years before eventually returning to hicago
where he died eleven years later f he remained in hicago the census return for 1880 shows
a laborer atrick onroy, aged fifty and born in reland living in a boarding house on outh
Halsted treet. His marital status is married. n alternate entry is in Norwood ark, a
community of hicago located on the far northwest side of the city. Here there lived a at
onroy, aged sity, at the ook ounty oor House. He is recorded as single, retired laborer
sick from old age. He was born in reland.
atrick was buried in alvary cemetery, vanston, hicago in ection ot 2lock 08
and all his known siblings followed him there in time. ridget onroy Tierney was buried on
ctober 2 th 18 in alvary. he died on ctober 2 th when aged seventy. lvi His brother,
Thomas, had an impressive memorial erected above his remains when he died in 10 aged
. His plot is at ection ot 1lock 1 and with him are his son oseph and
daughters nnie and atherine. His sister elia onroy cermott died on ecember 0 th
10 aged 8 and was buried at alvary.

NN N
hy atrick onry should leave his wife
and family after returning from the ivil
ar remains a mystery however, family
folklore does provide some clues.
descendant, ill onry, said in 201 that
s far as atrick is concerned, the latest
historical record have is in the testimony
his oldest daughter ary rno provides
in the hancellery case to settle her
mothers estate wherein she states that
her father abandoned the family during the
ivil ar and she believes he had
returned to oston.
nother descendant, ean abcock
formerly oy, and wife of illiam rwin
onroys grandson said in 201 lvii that
atrick onry enlisted in the ivil
ar. as on duty in Teas when he
Figure r in onr
was reported missing. His wife and children never heard from him again. ut that is not
the end of the story. dditionally, eans brother in law, Herb lviii , was attending a ions
lub onvention in owa, he came across a man who looked very familiar. He approached
this stranger and asked him, oure a onry arent you The man appeared startled and
replied es, do know you Herb told him, ou ust have to be a onry.ou are a
dead ringer for my first cousin, on onry. The newly found onry also had the same story
about atricks disappearance.
ean abcock suggests that the story of atrick being missing in action is an invention of
ary onrys, fabricated to hide her shame of being abandoned. erhaps atrick simply
stayed in Teas after the war and found new pastures.

n 180 his wife ary had moved from ernon and was living alone with her si children in
ibertyville. he made a living as a washerwoman, as did her daughter, nna. The value of
their home was negligible compared with her neighbors and she had no personal wealth
recorded. li Her brother ennis, aged twentysi, and both their parents, illiam and ary
ain, lived alongside her and they farmed a moderate sied estate valued at 2,000.
ithin the following seven years the land records tell us that arys father sold the forty
acre farm in ibertyville to ohn and nn ancaster, but in arch 18 ary, then aged
fortyfour, agreed to buy the farm back for one thousand dollars. he paid a deposit of two
hundred dollars and the balance was due by ay th 18 l but it is likely she did not pay in
full on time, as her whole estate was worth only five hundred dollars when it was
administered after her death. ary became ill in ugust of 18 and appeared to knew her
end was nigh as she wrote her last will and testament to clarify her wishes. he beueathed
all her real and personal estates to her children to be shared out eually. he did not mention
her husband atrick which suggests that he had left the family permanently. ary died two

days later on ugust th 18 and was buried in t arys atholic emetery, aukegan in
block 1, lot 12 1. The announcement in the local paper got the details wrong
onnely n ibertyville, ll., ugust 1 th 18, rs ary onnely, aged years.
Nonetheless it was definitely referring to ary onry as it continued
The deceased was a sister of Thomas ain, s., of this city. he leaves seven children,
some of whom are still young. li
Her son enis onroy who lived with his brother illiam at insley, oodbury ounty,
owa oined her in this plot in 1.
arys fortyacre farm, included in her estate, went into robate after her death. n late 1881
the oldest married daughter, ary rno, and her husband ohn rno, petitioned the
hancellery ourt to settle the estate. n her testimony ary rno stated that her father had
abandoned the family years before her mother gained title to the farm and, therefore, was not
entitled to a share of the estate. he further stated that she believed her father had returned to
oston lii . egal notices were printed in the aukegan llinois and oston assachusetts
newspapers. ince no claims to the contrary were received, the court settled the estate and
distributed the meager proceeds to the si children still living in 188. liii
arys sister, atherine, buried her daughter, sabelle, two years later in ecember 18.
sabelle was only four and a half years old when buried net in the grave plot 11 at t arys
aukegan.
atherine died and was buried net to
sabelle here in arch 12, ten years after the death of
her husband ames cNulty. ames was a ivil ar
veteran from oy., 12 th avalry which he enlisted
in at the age of seventeen.
Figure erine in u
1

aukegan emetery is also the final resting place of her
parents, illiam and ary ain, who died in 1888 and
188 respectively.
lock 1 in section is where her brother, Thomas ain,
was buried. n the adacent family plot, there is a very large
and tall marble memorial stone for Thomas, his wife ary
., and three of their daughters. Thomas had a considerable
wealth and a saloon bar in aukegan in the 180s.
Figure iim n r in
Figure in memori one

n 1880 arys daughter nna married a local man from ibertyville named ewis adole,
with whom she had three children. Tragically, she died in
1882, aged twentyeight. Her twoyearold son, larence, died
within a week of his mother. larence died of scarlet fever and
nna died of childbed fever according to the local
newspaper. oth were buried in t arys emetery.
Her sister, ecilia, also died young she was only twentythree
years old when she died of consumption in 18. he had
married ichael rank in aukegan and had two daughters.
elia was buried in lock 1, lot near her. liv
Her eldest daughter ary married racehorse owner ohn .
rno in 18, and the two of htem lived at 10 North ark
venue, aukegan Township until her death in 12.
Figure nn onr oe
lthough her death certificate states she was buried in t arys emetery, it has not been
possible to trace the location of her resting place.

Figure r emeer uegn n e i rien 1 ur moer on er nnie oe
monumen nnie n ie eone on n onn reene re ggie imerr gne
imerr urn
arys husband, atrick, is not recorded as being buried in this family plot and neither was
he found in the subseuent 1880 census for ernon or ibertyville.

HT
T T NNT N N NN
atrick onrys wife, ary nn ain, came to merica with her parents, illiam and ary
ain. he remained very close to them throughout her short life and no doubt received
support from them when times were hard. Here, she also had her youngest brother, ennis, a
veteran of the ivil ar who served on the side of the nion in ompanies and H, llinois
12th avalry egiment. s a full orporal he was mustered out on ay 2 th , 18 at
Houston, Teas and returned home to run the family farm lv . t is from enniss later life in
laine Township, da ounty, owa that we learn of the immigrant story of ary nnes
immigration from reland to merica. ennis married iss nna cott of hiteside ounty,
llinois in 181, and they moved to their 120acre farm in laine Township, da ounty,
owa in 18. lvi They brought arys youngest son, teenager illiam, to work as a farm
laborer. lvii They also brought their house from aukegan n about 188 the 1 2 feet
oneand a half story shaped building with two wings, was dismantled and moved to its
new site a half mile west of present day, rthur, owa. Their farm in da rove lay net to
the tracks.
Figure ooing ou or in oue
oure en Hogn 1

Figure in rmoue roe e o rur
oure en Hogn 1
tracts from ennis ain ecember 2 th 18une th 112 in Biographical History of
Crawford, Ida and Sac Counties, Iowatells us of the ourney of his rish parents, illiam and
ary ain. t states
They married in reland, but in an early day came to merica, locating in New ersey.
ennis was born in onmouth ounty, New ersey on ecember 2 th 18, a son of
illiam and ary Noon ain, natives of oscommon ounty, reland. They were the
parents of nine children Thomas, nn, lla, ohn, atherine ane, illiam and ennis. Two
are deceased. lviii
The family could have lived in four different locations in New ersey n their daughter ate
atherine ane ains death certificate 12 it says she was born on pril 8 th 18 in
HN, Hudson ounty, New ersey. t confirms that she was the daughter of illiam
ain and ary Noon, both of whom were born in reland. Typed listing of the family shared
by yn dams on www.ancestry.com in 201 refers to onmouth ounty and states They
illiam ain and ary oonNoon moved from T, N.. to a farm near
ibertyville, . in the late 180s. yn suggests that eyport is the birth place of atherine
in 188 sic. ccording to illiam and arys great granddaughter, rene alker,
N, onmouth ounty, N.. was their true home. he stated that illiam ain did
truck farming li at ed ank. Truck farming was the horticultural practice of growing one
or more vegetable crops on a large scale for shipment via trucks to feed the urban areas
nearby. t is usually less intensive and diversified than market gardening. The economy of
New ersey was largely based on agriculture at the time the ains were living there, but crop
failures and poor soil plagued the settlers of this area until the state began research and

support in the 180s. mong the most important truck crops were tomatoes, lettuce, melons,
beets, broccoli, celery, radishes, onions, cabbage, and strawberries. rene also said they
emigrated from reland in 181 and first settled in assachusetts.
The ain family was recorded in the 180 ensus as residents of H in
onmouth ounty, New ersey. isted were illiam and ary ane with their children
Thomas 1, llen 18, ary 1, nn 10, ohn , ennis , atherine , and
illiam 2. nna was stated to have been born in 180 in reland and ohn in 18 in New
ersey, thus giving us a window for immigration from 180and 18.
illiam ain and his family lived in arlborough Township in 180 where he worked as a
laborer. He had real estate worth 00 a value duplicated by one other of the fellow
laborers on his census sheet of eight homes. There were plenty of opportunities for laboring
work in all three onmouth ounty locations mentioned by his family. ll were within close
proimity of each other and of New ork ity. arlborough was a rural community of
farmers with a local industry in the collection and eport of marl, a natural composition of
the remains of prehistoric fish, clams, etc. from the period when New ersey was part of the
ocean bed. t was in great demand as a fertilier into all corners of the country. l eyport
and ed ank had very close links via water transport with New ork and this facility may
have been why the ains moved from Hoboken, a recreation resort on the Hudson iver for
New orkers. n 18 ed ank became a fully dredged port from which steamboats
transported commuters to work in anhattan. ed ank grew rapidly in sie as a result of
this. n 180 eyport became the maor funnel for county produce and other items shipped to
New ork. t also had a boat yard, opened in 180, that made steamboats for the ivil ar.
y 180 illiam and ary and their family had moved to ibertyville, ake ounty,
llinois. i children are recorded with their parents nn 1, ohn 1, ennis 1,
illiam 12, atherine 10 and alea, 8. iving alongside them was their eldest son
Thomas, aged 2 with his wife and four children. Their place of births in New ersey and
llinois suggests that the ains moved en masse between 18 and 18. ake ounty
deed dated pril 1, 18 describes a thirtytwodollar transaction in which illiam ain
purchased one double wagon, one red brackle faced cow four or five years old, one red
heifer calf and one red and white heifer calf from alph uckley of ibertyville li . The
arrival of the ain family to merica in circa 181 put great pressure on illiam, their head

provider, to feed his family as an uneducated and illiterate laborer. His preference for
Hoboken, a less industrialied area of New ork, and the subseuent rural area of
arlborough suggests he was more of a countryside man than a city man. hen he began
truck farming, he did not own a single acre of land, yet in ust ten years he was able to
accumulate 00 worth of real estate which would euate to about 12,00.00 in 201.
This enabled him to move his family to ibertyville, llinois with great ease.
Figure 1 e ere oion or e in mi in e 1

N TT N
N THH N
“ow sre are yo of the sore of the ientity on the photo”
ess rowley, 201
n genealogical research emails flow to and fro and in the mi photos get shared
and compared. ousins can talk with no hindrance of distance. ess rowley
and Tom Henn talked then Tom and llen Hoaglund
talked. The three cousins with direct descent from
illiam ain and ary Noon each had photos of their
sons and each was sure of the provenance of their
collection. nd so, with conversation, intrigue,
detection and scrutiny the conclusions were
determined and friendships were established. ithin a
month of their first email in ugust of 201, Tom
Henn met his cousin, essie rowley, in auwatosa,
isconsin. n her beautiful garden and beside the gaebo, the ancestral
conversation flowed. t marked the beginning of a new family story, as it was
discovered they had a common N link with oe trubinger. s ess
suggested f he is in your line and in our line, then his father most likely was a
ain. Tom reached out to oe and found he was happy to hear from him and
wrote back.
s genealogical research is all about reading books it was of interest to see the
three colorfully painted o ibraries outside eannies home. nside are
donated books for sharing and returning. ounded in 200, Little Free Library,
Figure ie Free irrie ere
oo n e re n reurne

a nonprofit organiation, is now a global movement that has 0,000 registered
ittle ree ibraries worldwide.
“I am pretty sre the photos are mislabele as I hae a photo of ennis in
niform from the iil ar an later years of retirement. It is
nmistaably the same man in my photos bt not resemblin yor name
photos.”
llen Hoaglund, 201
ne of the values of sharing ones family genealogy on line is that others can confirm or
refute the given identity to portraits. ne such case arose when llen Hoaglund, descendant
of ennis ain, had the provenance to assert that his photo of ennis was authentic. t helped
ois and her son, Tom, to check their
images labeled by rene alker.
Figure enni in in
reiremen oring o
en Hogun
Figure enni in
rong ieniie rene
er
Figure enni in
e roe oo
orre ieniie
1

llen also helped with
the identity of his
brother ohn when
different photos were
compared.
Figure on ne oring o
rene er
Figure on in oring o
en Hogun
Figure Frn ne on o enni
oring o rene er u Frn
Frni n gir o i oo
miee n eonge o omeone ee
roer ieniie Frn in on o
Tom roer o enni
ne photo, identified as a portrait of ennis ain and nn
ains son, rank, was proven to be wildly inaccurate. Tom and
ois had formed a mental image of rank as a casual young
man, but llen had a very different perception.
ennis and nna ain t have a son rank, they had a
daughter rancis thel ain. he was known as unt rank
by the family. Toms photo was mislabeled and belonged to
someone else. t was properly identified as rank ain, son of
Thomas and his wife ary cormack, a brother of ennis.
Tom, in his efforts to find great pieces of history and
stories gathered an enormous amount of information.
t is certainly understandable one might mislabel.
hat is key is that it was correctly identified.
11

“It is eitin to learn abot my ainane enealoy. I i not now abot
bein aopte ntil when I was .”
oe trubinger 201
enealogical research to find family members has been revolutionied in the twentyfirst
century by the introduction of N analysis.
n 1, philanthropist ames eoy orenson and righam oung, niversity professor
cott oodward, developed a pioneering vision that would advance genealogical research in
a way that had never been done before. y combining N testing and fourgeneration
family histories, their organiations goal was to create a genetic map of the peoples of the
world, decipher relationships shared by the entire human family, and show that the
similarities we possess are greater than our differences.
rom 2000 to 2012, their nonprofit organiation was
dedicated to building the worlds foremost collection
of N samples and corresponding genealogical
information, eventually gathering a database of
100,000 N samples and associated fourgeneration
pedigrees. Through the use of science, technology, and
traditional genealogical research, it was demonstrated
that N testing was a crucial component to
understanding the complete picture of ones family. n
2012 the genealogical research website
Figure eene mn moer o oe
www.ancestry.com gained ownership of the
organiations data base and made N testing
available to its members. lii ne such member was oe trubinger. t fifty yearsw old, he
discovered he was adopted while going through some of his adoptive mothers papers. ue to
her poor health and dementia, she was unable to provide any facts. He started looking for
more information and found that he had been born in hicago, to a adelene ahlman
1

who named him ugene. nfortunately, he did not receive any additional information from
his adoptive parents. He said
y adoptive family either did not know or ust chose to dismiss my uestions. n their
minds, all that mattered was that was the son of elvin ae trubinger and essie dile
uthrie trubinger.
oe is very grateful to his adopted parents, yet his uest for understanding his birth parents
and relatives was near and dear to him. He elected to sign up for ancestry.coms N
analysis and matching test to see if he could find some relatives from his birth parents. oe
remembers
eannie and ess rowley popped up first. e started communicating. Then Tom Henn,
after meeting eannie and ess rowley, reached out to me. n each case there is a N
match as rd 8th cousins. The three of us cross over as cousins with the rowley family
and on Tom Henns mothers side with the onroy and ain lines.
rom such promising beginnings oe was able to say with some confidence that
y father is either a ain or a onroy. hile not for sure, it appears more likely my birth
father was from the ain line.
nd indeed, that is the case. fter some genealogical research it has been determined that the
link, albeit a link by marriage, originates with ois Henns rd cousin, illiam ain. s
the son of aniel ntriken ane 111 and ary liabeth Hurley 11188
illiam ain became the common link between the two families because ary, his
mother, and oe share the same great grandfather rthur Hooper. t should be noted that a
closer illegitimate union and heritage with the ains is also possible.
oe was introduced through N analysis to some distant cousins who were immediately
welcoming and approachable and a living link was established with his birth mother. t is, he
hopes, the start of a ourney to discover more and to pass all he knows on to his children.
ith the added enoyment of telling them of his family tree, he can tell them his full life
story that began in a farming community in ast entral, llinois near idgefarm where his
parents were very caring people and he was surrounded by many loving relatives. t an early
age, he was affected by the olio virus. t was a mild case and while leading a normal life he
relocated to entral lorida with his first wife in 1 and received a degree in citrus culture
from the niversity of lorida. He worked in agricultural industries and managed the family
1

orange grove until the freees killed the trees in the eighties. bout nine years ago his
condition reappeared in what is referred to as ostolio yndrome and his mobility was
compromised.
Now in retirement he lives on ten acres in ford, lorida, surrounded by The illages a
retirement community covering three counties with his wife oan of thirty years his previous
wife died in 18. Together they have three children, four grandchildren and two great
grandchildren.
1

illiam ain
1801888
oseph Hooper
c182
ary nne
ohn ain
ain
18111
1818
argaret
aniel rancis ane
lara
rthur
onroy
1881
ugenia
Hooper
1811
Hooper
1812
18
lorence
essie vira
adabaugh
Hooper
1881
1881
larence
ary hodes ane
aniel
ary
adeline
ohn alker
1010
ntriken
liabeth
enkins
1881
ane
Hurley
ahlman
11
11188
10
1
ois ita
ebster rowley
marriage
alker
128201
Thomas
Henn
essie and eannie rowley illiam ain ugene
ahlman, later
named oe
trubinger
amily Tree showing the N link between oes family and the anes via illiam ain.
1

TN NN
n establishing the correct details of oiss
rish ancestors from the ain family it is
firstly important to note that there is a single
document that demands us to eercise caution
with our research. t was written by rene
alker, great granddaughter of illiam and
ary ain. he stated that arys maiden
name was TN. liii This surname does
not tally with the death certificates of
illiam and arys children son ennis,
who died in 112, and daughter atherine,
who died in 12. oth record that their
mothers maiden name was Noon. n a
biography of ennis, it states that his
parents, illiam ain and ary Noon, were
natives of oscommon but rene stated that
ounty oscommon
ounty ayo
the places of birth were eo ayo o.,
reland and wife ary aton in oscommon
o., reland, respectively. liv
Figure iriuion m o oueo numer or
urnme on n rin 11 oure
ongrenmominurnmeurnme
en
The maps of distribution lv of the surname aton and its variants 1818 shows that
there is little presence in ounty oscommon, but it had a greater concentration to the west
of reland in ounty ayo. or oscommon, there is only one namely atrick atton in the
village of oughglinn in the parish of Tibohine in 18. The maority with this name lived in
Northern reland but a sieable minority lived in the county of ayo and the parish of chill
in particular. The earlier Tithe Applotment Books for the whole of reland in 18 shows ust
one landholder, ohn aten in ossinver, ounty eitrim. This county neighbors the county
of oscommon.
1

id a ary aton leave oscommon and travel to ayo to meet her husband This is highly
unlikely in the authors opinion. Nonetheless a thorough search of county ayo was
undertaken on eisting records, but it did not reveal a marriage or issue of a illiam ain
and ary aton before 181. esearch to date therefore concentrated on finding illiam
ain and ary Noon in the county of oscommon where both names are prevalent in the
early decades of the nineteenth century.
The four ain children born in reland prior to emigration were Thomas born in November
182, llen 182, ary 18 and nn 180. Thomas recorded that he immigrated to
merica in 181, and this tallies with the place of birth and dates of his siblings. oscommon
is a county in reland etending north from the central point of the island and it lies to the
west of the iver hannon. t neighbors the county of ayo to the west. f it is correct that
illiam and ary left oscommon in 181 then a description of what the agriculture was
like at the time is useful as a pen picture. n his 18 survey book A Topographical
Dictionary of Ireland, amuel ewis stated
lthough tillage has in later years been greatly etended, yet the general system of
agriculture, ecept on the lands held by wealthy individuals, is still in a very backward state.
The course consists of an introductory crop of potatoes, followed by wheat, barley, bere lvi ,
and oats, or by such of these corn crops as the fertility of the soil is calculated to produce
with the greatest advantage, until the ground is ehausted, when it is let out, that is, the
land is allowed to remain in its natural state after the last crop has been drawn off, and
continues thus until a new herbage is produced, in which thistles, docks, and ragweed usually
predominate.
griculture has made rapid advances among the gentry and wealthier farmers the most
approved implements and modes of culture have been introduced, but, probably in
conseuence of the system of shallow ploughing still generally adhered to, turnips and
mangel wurel, lvii whose roots strike deep into the ground, do not succeed so well as in
some other counties. The nglish spade is unknown, its place being supplied by the loy, so
common throughout onnaught lviii . The steeveen, used in setting potatoes, is merely a
pointed stake, with a cross piece near the lower end to receive the foot, and which likewise
determines the depth of the holes.
n certain districts of oscommon, as in other places where spade husbandry prevails, it is
usual for the people to echange labour reciprocally, and to unite in considerable numbers in
the fields of individuals in rotation, more especially for the purpose of planting or digging
potatoes. The etensive graing farms present a remarkable contrast to the fallow tillage land
the pastures are unrivalled in beauty and fertility. The highest uality of pasture land,
consisting of native grasses, is reckoned to feed a bullock and a sheep per acre on other
1

lands an acre and a half is reuired, and on some graing farms forty bullocks are allotted to
a hundred acres. li
rom this description it would appear that farming gave a stable income, and there was
potential for improvement. f this was the case, why did the ain family leave and take the
perilous ourney to merica e may never know eactly but it might be illuminating to
look at the status of the rish atholic at this time in history, and in oscommon in particular,
as it may determine the atmosphere in which they lived.
s illiam ain and ary Noon were born at the opening of the nineteenth century, the
country was in a state of great change. n 1801, the ratified ct of nion linked reland with
what was then the richest country in the world. The destiny of the maority of relands
atholic population would no longer be decided by a rotestant minority parliament in
ublin. The nion had put their future and fate in the hands of 8 members in the ondon
House of ommons, of which, only 100 represented rish constituencies. The nion,
however, got off to a disastrous start it had failed in the first instance to redress the
remaining political and social disabilities of relands maority oman atholic community.
n the late 100s many of the penal laws restricting political activity by atholics had been
repealed. Those changes had allowed atholics to attend schools, oin professions and vote in
parliamentary elections. However, atholics were still debarred from sitting in arliament, or
holding important state or military offices and their longstanding grievance of security of
tenure for tenant leaseholders was left unchanged. Tenants generally were not given leases.
nstead, they became tenants at will who could be evicted at anytime and for any reason.
dditionally, tenants received no compensation for improvements made on the land during
their tenancy and received no protection from rent increases or eviction. This lack of
protection placed the rish tenants in a vulnerable position. c
n the economic side, trade barriers between the two countries were removed and there was
great epectation that increased ritish investment in reland would improve rish living
standards. However, the opposite was the reality. rish industries, smaller in scale than their
ritish counterparts and no longer protected by prenion tariffs, didnt have the economic
resilience to survive the heavy competition from the neighboring island. onseuently,
within a few short years rish industries began a steady decline. There was further hardship
1

from the economic slump which followed the end of the Napoleonic ars in 181. oupled
with all of this was the greater demand in ritain for meat products, which set in motion a
shift in rish agriculture from tillage to graing. The resulting effect was a significant
increase in agricultural unemployment ci
as all this change influencing a pessimistic illiam ain to try in merica where
opportunities abounded for the tillage farmer The ain family emigrated to merica in
181. illiam ain was old enough to have seen the status of the oman atholic in reland
continue to degrade. ver since the union of reland to reat ritain in 1801, a political
movement to repeal it was very active in reland. The epeal ssociation wanted reland to
revert to what it had in the 180s a sovereign government in ublin. This time, however,
they wanted the full involvement of all rish atholics.
The decades before the famine years were characteried by persistent and freuently violent
outbreaks of rural unrest, chiefly through the activities of agrarian secret societies. recent
study of preamine oscommon by ichael Huggins cii was reviewed by rdle crdle
who said he
painted a picture of a violent society in early nineteenthcentury oscommon in which
family feuds, personal disputes and faction fights were the norm and against which
background, the violence of the Threshers and arders, to name but two secret societies, does
not appear so unusual ciii
otivated largely by local issues and economic grievances, these secret societies were
essentially defensive in character, broadly seeking to protect the rights of land occupiers in
relation to rents, leases, evictions, the availability of ground for tillage, tithes, and dues levied
by the clergy on their parishioners. bove all, they adhered to the alternative conception of
law and government but there were some societies that were more aggressive. The followers
of aptain ock in the early 1820s, for eample, employed threatening notices, cattle
maiming, haystack burning, nighttime raids and ploughing up of grassland and personal
assault, in an attempt to prevent rent increases and evictions and to intimidate local tithe
supervisors. The overnments Outrage Reports - for the county of oscommon
that recorded such incidences has the following report which refers to a illiam ain
1

n the night of 1 th inst. November 188 uantity of hay, belonging to illiam ain
and ernard eeney, was maliciously burned by some persons unknown, at loncouse,
parish of ilmore. civ
peace preservation force was established in 181 which was dispatched to the counties, but
it had mied success. earful inhabitants welcomed their arrival whilst others opposed the
epense of supporting the force which was levied on the locality in uestion. illiam would
have seen this struggle and strife go on for all of his adult life with no positive result. ver
time, he may have become pessimistic and decided to cut his losses.
ur attempts to locate where illiam and ary originated from has not been successful for
the county of oscommon, but this may come down to the loss of records. f the thirtytwo
oman atholic parishes, baptismal records that have survived before 181 probable latest
year of emigration only number twenty. Ten of these original registers had entries for 182
and these were personally read firstly for the months of November and ecember 182 to
find a baptismal record of Thomas ain. Nine of the original registers had relevant etant
marriage records from 182 to 182 and these were personally read for a marriage record of
illiam ain and ary Noonaten. or all other records of any issue of illiam and ary
ain and variants from 182181 the online search facilities did not reveal any names.
11

and her HN
In the nineteenth century many Irish American stories were lost, never committed to the
annals of history. In the years after the Great Hunger, the Irish became a silent people.
Memories of this devastating calamity were just too painful to recall. We always believe
opportunities to record await us in the future. Yet times and circumstances of our busy lives
prevent us finding the extra moments reuired to write our memories and to record our
family stories. Time marches on, and unfortunately by the time we are ready to write, it is
often too late to document these precious family anecdotes or jokes, memories or memoirs,
fables or wind-swept, historical sagas. Great fortune and enrichment is for a family who
takes the time. It certainly has opened this authors’ heart and eyes. Journeys to America
from Ireland have been depicted in great detail in this book to illustrate the Irish resolve and
resiliency in their character and way of life. Lois and her Irish-ness is a gift passing on from
Ireland to America, ancestors to grandparents to parents. The great calamity, the Irish
Famine, in a country of eight million people, caused the death of approximately, one million,
and forced a similar number to emigrate. It reduced the Irish population so much that it had
not even recovered to this day; the population is now just four million. Irish people were
migrating, not necessarily by choice, but to survive and put food on their family tables. The
Irish had to deal with upheaval and the adversity surviving one day at a time. The Irish had
resiliency and fortitude to march forward and create new beginnings rather than dwell on
the past.
Lois, while a young child, went through the Great Depression in Chicago. Her family
managed to live through this historical American tragedy and they too, had the resiliency
and fortitude to carry on. Irish people, like Lois, are hardy people, who live for the day, and
never dwell on the past. When her family lost everything due to the Great Depression the first
ten years of her life became another testament to the Irish resolve!
In America, the Irish immigrants fresh from the calamity of hunger, stayed true to their
roots, their core beliefs, their way of life and Catholic upbringing. This core upbringing can
111

e seen in their ancestors all across America. Lois and her husband Bill were devote
Catholics and an integral part of the Catholic parishes, Our Lady of the Wayside in
Arlington Heights, Illinois and St Luke's in Foster City, California. It was a way of life to be
part of a Catholic Parish, and in a broader sense, Catholic Community.
For years, Sundays began with Mass, which was followed by a family brunch. Dinner, of
course, was not complete without some spuds. It was the staple of a healthy Irish diet. Baked,
boiled, mashed, cut into French fries, made into hash browns - one could not go a day without
it. Lois had many a meal with potatoes for her and Bill's family of seven children.
Lois was the youngest of four daughters, born and raised in Chicago. Her young life
consisted of family gatherings,where she was surrounded by Irish relatives including the
Murphys, Conroys, Cains and Conways. These Irish immigrants shaped and influenced her
during her early years and instilled in her the privilege and pride of being Irish.
At twenty-one years old, Lois married Bill Henn and wasted no time in starting a family of
her own. By the time she was thirty, she had five children. When she was finished, she was
surrounded by seven kids – the last five of which were all boys! In Irish tradition, every
child's name is a name mentioned in the Bible. Her duties as a mom included chauffeuring,
cooking, laundry, caring and bathing, doctor appointments, schooling, and so much more.
She gave assignments, directions and observed their progress, whether it was homework,
chores, school events or teaching the children to cook meals or other treats. Her work was
never finished and often full of surprises, much of which arose from her occasionally troublemaking
children. We speak of the Irish resiliency and fortitude. Boy or boy, did she have it!
As a mom, Lois was primarily focused on developing her children into responsible adults. It
is this commonsense approach to parenting and to life in general that may be missed today.
Lois, was not a drama mama, she was the opposite. Though she was warm and friendly, she
was also a bit reserved and introverted.

Mums are Irish moms who, if lucky enough, one was blessed to call their own. Here are
some common definitions that bring home the essence of being mum:
Mum, the woman who loves you unconditionally from birth.
The one who puts her child before herself and the one you can always count on above
everyone else.
Mum, the maker and keeper of precious Irish memories.
One person who does the work of twenty ...for free!
....a teacher, a coach, a nurse, a chef, a maid, a chauffeur, a counselor, a best friend, a
superwoman, a Saint and a piece of heaven on earth!
Thanks to Mum the author was able to share some precious Irish memories!
11

fterthought
This book is in memory of ois ita alker, a wife, mother, grandmother and great
grandmother. he raised seven children and encouraged each of us to pursue our dreams. t
is meant to recognie her family, her parents, larence alker and ae urphy, and her
siblings irginia, arcella and ileen. They are all on their tour of the elestial ingdom,
another great adventure
This book is dedicated to their rish side and rishness of the family. s was doing our
moms life storybook, had to break the news that the alker surname was nglish, not
rish. n maybe, only five percent of the cases, it is rish lineage, but my mother was not one
of those cases. hen told our mom, she told me, Tom, you have it wrong and have to go
back and do your homework. nfortunately for her, this was one case where did do my
homework.
e can say, with one hundred percent certainty, that ois has a long, rich rish history in her
blood from the urphy, crath, alsh, onroy and ain families. Her rish lineage is an
history lesson of some the bestknown rish names from reland ois was truly bestowed an
rish blessing, and she is one of the privileged who can say, with great conviction and pride,
am rish he had the rishness in her defined by her ability to cope with adversity, her
awareness of od, and her appreciation of the past. rish relatives of ois ita alker
survived through the potato famine. any of those who came to merica went on to survive
the ivil ar. Her grandfather, atrick urphy, and grandmother, ary alsh urphy, her
uncles Tom and illiam urphy, her grandfather, atrick onroy, and grandmother ary
11

Cain Conroy, all built new lives for themselves in America and they lived them to the fullest.
Those who stayed in Ireland dealt with the brutal effects of the potato famine and as far we
can determine, succumbed to death. At the time of this writing we have yet to find a relative
that lived through the potato famine to create future generations of Irish heritage in Ireland.
We are still researching with hope someday that we may have success.
The first ten years of Lois Rita Walker's life started off brutally during the start of the Great
Depression. As I was listening and typing her life story I could hear the fear in her voice and
see it in her eyes as she recounted her daily struggles as a young girl. She told me, "We did
not have a dime to spare." I saw my mom cry several times during this process, and the first
time was due to the feelings she still held onto from the Great Depression. She did not cry
like an eighty-year old woman; she cried like a ten-year girl. It all started with one question:
“How did it feel?” I had never asked my mother that question, and my hunch is no one had.
It was the way of life back then to simply move on. Once our mom knew it was okay to
show her emotions, she became much more comfortable. She finally got the chance to twist
off the cap and be at peace.
Lois Rita Walker grew up dirt poor, and she spent much of her life dealing with so many fast
and furious unknowns. Some bad, some good- but all these experiences stuck with her. At
times, Lois returned to the state of mind she adopted during the Great Depression. The
world, and her children, were moving at lightspeeds. Lois kept up, yet at times, it brought
her back to the fear of yesterday, the fear of too much, the fear of loss of family and friends,
and the fear of bone dry poverty with not a dime to spare. As life went on things got better
for Lois. She met wonderful, long-lasting friends, and found her husband, William George
Henn Jr. She elected to create a life with him rather than go to a girls' college in Minnesota.
Many of their early dates were going to Chicago Cubs baseball games. Our mom, a die-hard
Cubs fan has her Cubs hat and uniform with her in the casket. My family believes that, while
our mother left earth on October 4, 2016, she was in attendance, hovering over Cleveland
Progressive Park for Game Seven of the 2016 World Series. Many have called the seventeenminute
rain delay prior to the 10 th inning, ‘divine intervention’ – and I’m inclined to agree.
After the rain delay, the Chicago Cubs came out in the 10th inning and won the Baseball
World Series for the first time in 108 years! The Billy Goat Curse was lifted!
115

Our family lived a life of adventure. We packed up the car every summer, with our big
canvas tent, our ice chest, and headed out to historical and geographic sites across the
country. Of course, us kids didn’t always care so much about the informative parts of our
trips. Later in life, our parents continued to travel and explore the world. They visited
Europe, Hawaii and many other places. When our dad passed, our mom continued to
discover all the world had to offer. Her favorite vacation was an African Safari.
While her life started off bumpy, many good things happened to my mother that I am sure
she never dreamed were possible as a young girl living in poverty, of when young going
through the Great Depression. She experienced a full life, and while she struggled in her
later years with Progressive Supra-nuclear Palsy, she still had enough energy to write books
on her life and her ancestors. Some days were hard, and others were just plain exhausting,
but our mom kept moving forward. Though at times in her life she had little money, my
mother was always spoiled in the riches of family and friendships. Lois, despite her own
suffering, always sought to help others. It seems it was just her nature to be caring. Maybe, it
was in her blood- she had a LOT of Irish in her. She had so much love for family, friends and
the common person who needed help. She cherished them all, through thick and thin, and
would always give more than she received. Sounds like a pretty life, doesn’t it?
I was hopeful to complete this book prior to our mom passing on. Unfortunately, fate had
other plans. Nonetheless, I am very happy to say, with the participation of Barbara Bingham-
a well-known Irish author and genealogist- we completed a third book about my mother’s
Irish heritage very soon after her passing. From everyone in the family, we want to thank
Barbara Bingham. I am sure our mom, her parents and her siblings are smiling in Heaven and
thankful as well.
I had only one mother – the greatest mother- and she inspired so many, including me. It is her
story that inspired my writing.
GO CUBS GO!
Baseball season's underway
Well you better get ready for a brand new day
Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today
They're singing
Go, Cubs, go.
Thank you, Sincerely, Tom, Proud Son of Lois Rita Walker Henn
11

imary ources
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isters of harity of the lessed irgin ary. httpswww.bvmsisters.orgeneral egister
ffice, ublin. httpsirishgenealogy.ieen
rish olklore ommission. National olklore ollection, niversity ollege ublin.
National National rchives, hicago, .
ecords of the rovost arshall, enerals ureau ivil ar. Draft
Registrations Records, . Consolidated List, Class II, Second District, IL.
ook ounty robate and ills.
ook ounty lerks ital ecords epartment, Newberry ibrary, hicago..
National rchives of reland, ublin.
aluation ffice books c18c10.
ensus eturns, 101 111.
arish ecords, ruff arish, imerick.
Tithe pplotment and rimary aluation ooks.
etty essions rder ooks.
National rchives, ew, ondon. reland, utrage eports 18180, oyal rish
onstabulary.
rdnance urvey reland. httpsosi.ie
National rchives and ecords dministration. ashington . .. ivil war ension
nde eneral nde to ension iles, 1811.
N 1, etters eceived by the dutant eneral, 181180.
.. National emetery dministration. urial egisters, ilitary osts and National
emeteries, 18210.
11

econdary ources
httpsaccessgenealogy.com
httpswww.americanhistoryusa.com. 2012.
httpswww.familysearch.org
httpwww.foryourmarriage.org
wwwrootsirelandie
Navarro, . le, tern, leandra arkel, Howard eds..
httpwww.influenaarchive.org
entry, laire, httpswww.irishgenealogytoolkit.com
Maruette Law Review, ilwaukee, . 1.
laretian issionaries. .S. Catholic, laretian ublications, kokie, llinois, .
onnelly, ames , r. The Great Irish Potato Famine. troud, los, ngland, 2001.
isher, oy. Ida County IA Archive, Biographies: Cain, Dennis. ewis ublishing o.,
hicago, 18.
Hurd, uane Hamilton. History of Otsego County, New York. verts ariss,
hiladelphia, 188.
Huggins, ichael. Social Conflict in pre-Famine Ireland. our ourt ress, ublin, 200.
avin, atrick . Ancestral uest: Tracing my Ancestors in Ireland. iniverse, nc., New
ork, 2008.
eighninger, obert . ultural nfrastructure The egacy of New eal ublic pace.
n Journal of Architectural Education. Taylor rancis td., ford, ng.1.
ewis, amuel. A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, ewis o., ondon, 18.
assy, awson, ev., Footprints of a Faithful Shepherd: The Memoirs of Godfrey Massy
B.A., icar of Bruff and Hon. Sec. of the L.P.O.S. ondon, 18.
acysaght, dward. Irish Families: Their Names, Arms and Origins. rown ublishing
ompany, New ork, 12.
uleo, tephen. A City so Grand: The Rise of an American Metropolis, Boston -.
eacon ress, oston, 2010.
eiff, anice , urkin eating, nne and rossman, ames eds.. The Encyclopaedia of
Chicago, hicago, 200.
awicki, ames . Calvary Regiments of the S Army. yvern ublications, ctor, T,18.
pellissy, ean. Limerick, The Rich Land. pellissyrien ublishers, nnis, rl. 18.
11

nknown. Biographical History: Crawford, Ida and Sac Counties, Iowa. The ewis
ublishing ompany, hicago, 18.
npublished orks
rowne, ius . A History of Bruff and District. .. Thesis, niversity of imerick,
18.
Henn, Tom. Lois Rita Walker: My Life Story. pecial ollections ibrary, niversity of
imerick, imerick, reland, 201.
Henn, Tom. Lois Rita Henn: My Life Story. Walker Family History. 2 nd dit. odleian
ibrary, ford, ngland, 201.
11

ootnotes
i
Tom Henn. Lois Rita Walker: My Life Story. pecial ollections ibrary, niversity of imerick, imerick, reland,
201.irst ten years and amily lineage, p.1.
ii
bid., p...
iii bid., p..
iv
bid., p.2.
v
bid., p..
vi
niversity ollege ondon. ritainsN nnounces the esults of the edHead roect. t
httpswww.ucl.ac.ukmacelabgeneticancestryguffpagesguffdocumentsedHeadroect.pdf etrieved ug. ,
2018.
vii
Tom Henn. Lois Rita Walker: My Life Story. .irst Ten ears and amily ineage, p..
viii
bid., p. 8.
i
bid., p. 8.
obert eighninger. ultural nfrastructure The egacy of New eal ublic pace. n Journal of Architectural
Education. ay 1, ol. , No.. pp 222.
i
avid . oediger, acism, thnicity, and hite dentity. n The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago, hicago Historical
ociety, httpwww.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.orgpages10.html. etrieved ay 22, 201.
ii
ranklin . oosevelt. Inaugural Address of the President, Washington, D.C. March , . ranklin . oosevelt
ibrary, Hyde ark, N.. National rchives ref. 1, p. 1.
iii
Tom Henn. Patrick Michael email to arbara ingham arch 1, 201
iv
emembered as atrick ichael by ois.
v
etter in the possession of the author.
vi
ark assa. The times they were achanging ark assa on the atholic 0s. n .S. Catholic, uly 2011, pp. 18
22.
vii
What Did atican II Say About Marriage” t httpwww.foryourmarriage.orgwhatdidvaticaniisayabout
marriage. etrieved pr. 18, 2018.
viii
Chicago Tribune, ecember , 2001.
i
ev. ayer, The istress. n Southern Reporter, 10 eb 18. ork, reland.
Tom Henn. inal Note. n Lois Rita Walker: My Life Story.
i
httpbvmcong.orgdownloadsTinter2011.pdf etrieved uly 0, 2018.
ii
llen ean Hirst, 2 nuns in their 0s find a mission in teaching free classes on Near est ide. n Chicago
Tribune, ctober 8, 2012.
iii
bid.
iv
Tom Henn. irst Ten ears and amily ineage, p 20.
v
The Catholic New World. ssue, ugust 1, 200.
httpwww.chicagocatholic.comcnwissue0810conway0810.html. etrieved arch 1, 201.
vi
olanda ernndeure , n ssential icture in a ketchook of reland The ast Hedge chools. n Estudios
Irlandeses, Number 1, 200, pp. .
vii
ensus ubstitutes for reland. ... 181. fhf.rootsireland.ieuis.phppage1. etrieved an , 2018.
viii
Tom Henn. irst Ten ears and amily ineage, Lois Rita Walker: My Life Story, p.12.
i
Her birth could be from 18180. The 100 census states birth was ay 180. ear of birth as 180 repeated in 110
census. arriage certificate suggests a birth year of 18. The 120 census states her birth year was 18. emetery record
says born un. , 18.
Tom Henn .irst Ten ears and amily ineage, p..
evin Hoolehan to Tom Henn, email une , 201. hat know, from my mom and grandma alkers descriptions,
was that ary urphy was an orphan. he came to N on an indentured contract. he worked her years for a lady with
the last name of urphy. thought that was odd and asked if they were related. nswer was no. here from outhwest of
reland. ounty erry near illarney. omewhere there is a picture of their thatched roof home. will look, but m sure
ean has it Thats all remember.
ii
an ryan. The Biddies -- Irish Domestic Servants in Early. n httpswww.americanhistoryusa.combiddyirish
domesticservantsinearlyamerica. etrieved un. 8, 201.
iii
National rchives and ecords dministration, 100 census, anal t. est Town, city of hicago, , ook ounty.
heet 1 family 1, line .
1

iv
t is suggested that her employer was dgcomb o. outh ater. ook from them to iss ary urphy is
inscribed with date of ec.12, 108.
v
llinois eaths and tillbirths, 111. arcella urphy, d. eb. 28, 118. n
httpsfamilysearch.orgark1011NH2 . etrieved ul. 0, 2018.
vi
hicago, llinois and the 11811 nfluena pidemic. n The American Influenza Epidemic of : A Digital
Encyclopedia. httpwww.influenaarchive.orgcitiescitychicago.html. etrieved ar. , 201.
urphyonway ics and orrespondence etc. ile in the possession of the author.
bid.
i
Tom Henn. Lois Rita Walker: My Life Story. p.11.
l
arfieldian, pril 11.
li
Tom Henn. Lois Rita Walker: My Life Story. p. .
lii
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elea is the rish nickname for ridget
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1

“Hung By Lois’ House Front Door For Years”