SATURDAY'S STRUCTURES - St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Lisronagh, County Tipperary, Ireland

Before coming to America in the late 1840's my O'Donnell ancestors lived in the village of Lisronagh in County Tipperary, Ireland. Recently I found online the parish records, which begin in 1808, of the Powerstown Lisronagh Parish, including the Marriage Record of my great-great-great-grandparents Richard O'Donnell (1787-unk) and Margaret Phelan:

Translation from Latin: "1809 - Day 14 February - F.C. (priest) joined in marriage Richard Donnell (sic) and Margaret Whelan (sic) of the Parish of Lisronagh. Present (unk) Weldon & Catherine Dunphy"

 I also found the Baptismal Records which include the baptisms of my great-great-grandfather Patrick O'Donnell (1823-1911) and his six brothers, as well as for three sisters who were previously unknown. This of course confirms what I had earlier discovered that our O'Donnells came from Lisronagh. It also confirms that Margaret's family name is Phelan - spelled Whelan above.

Lisronagh Church is part of the Powerstown Lisronagh Parish, in the diocese of Waterford and Lismore. It is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. The church is located at the R689 regional road, 7 km north of Clonmel, and 6 km south of Fethard in South Tipperary.

Below is the history of the Lisronagh Roman Catholic Church, taken directly from the parish website: www.powerstownlisronaghparish.com .

St. John the Baptist Church in Lisronagh

"The origins of Lisronagh Church are not recorded anywhere and as such the early history is surrounded with doubt. This period in history was a time of Catholic oppression in Ireland, with the Penal Laws in place. For this reason the original church was built secretly as part of the local underground religion.

The original church in Lisronagh was built sometime in the late 18th century. It was built by local craftsmen and took the form of the simple "Barn" style church. This building faced north-south and the church, like others in the same style, was "T" -shaped, with two doors (one at either end), and contained two galleries.

Village of Lisronagh - Church at Bottom

The earliest records available make reference to a Father McGrath. According to these sources, he was the Parish Priest in the original church before his death in 1798. We can also put a lower boundary on the date of the church. The Rev. J. Welsh received two chalices in the early 1780`s - one for Powerstown and one for Quarryhole - Lisronagh`s predecessor. Despite the lack of any Parish records until 1808, it is safe to assume that between this date and Fr. McGrath`s death, the Parish and Church of Lisronagh were well and truly established.

The next stage in the church`s history took place under the pastorate of Rev. John Power (1852-66). Under his guidance, the church was enlarged to give its approximate present shape. As well as this, the roof was raised and replaced. The mid-19th century also saw the addition of a new porch to give better access and also the belfry was added around this time. However, exact dates are not known.

Interior of Lisronagh Church

After the changes in the 19th century, no more major changes occurred. Nevertheless, one generous patron deserves to be mentioned. In the 1930`s, Miss Marie Kennedy funded the two side altars, which remain part of the church to the present day. As a matter of interest, the Kennedy family played another role in Lisronagh`s history. The chalice being used in today`s celebration was donated in 1893 by Bridget Kennedy - a prior generation of the same family.

The church since then saw no significant change until 2004. This renovation has now become part of the church's history." [http://www.powerstownlisronaghparish.com/history/lisronagh.aspx]

SATURDAY'S STRUCTURES - Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, LaGrange, Kentucky

When my great-great-grandfather Patrick O'Donnell died in June 1911 he included the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in LaGrange, Oldham County, Kentucky as a benefactor of his estate - his family's parish. I had previously assumed, incorrectly, that my O'Donnell family had been members of the Church of Saint John Chrysostom in Henry County, and have even written a post here about this church. But recently in reading the small print of Patrick's will I was proven wrong.

This brief history of the church comes from History & Families Oldham County, Kentucky: The First Century 1824-1924.

"The history of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Oldham County dates back to the mid-1800s. When the construction of the L&N Railroad between Cincinnati and Louisville began, the railroad company maintained its shops in LaGrange. Many of the railroad workers were Irish Catholics. Priest from the Cathedral of the Assumption and St. Joseph's Church in Louisville served the Catholics in Oldham County. In 1871 a resident pastor was appointed for St. Aloysius Church in Peewee Valley, and LaGrange Catholics formed its Mission Church.

Father William Hogarty, pastor of St. Aloysius and the LaGrange Mission Church (1873-1877) built the first church at LaGrange and placed it under the patronage of Mary Immaculate. A majority of its members included the men employed by the railroad and their families. The land from the church was purchased from the Joseph Sauer family for the sum of $150.00, to be paid in three payments of $50.00 each. This church seated about 300 people. It was located on North Street (which was later renamed Madison Street) between 1st and 2nd avenues. It was dedicated on Dec. 6, 1875, with a list of the pewholders: Alex McKie, Mr. A. Carrol, Pat O'Donnell, Joseph Sauer, Ned Kenney, Michael Kenney, Mrs. L.A. Conners, James McLaughlin, Thomas Curley, Dan Delaney, Maurice Whelan, John Donaghue and George Boemicke. (note: bold italics from me)

The construction and the upkeep of the church was all the result of the labors of the people of the congregation: no memorial gifts or large sums of money were donated.

The church recorded its first marriage on April 16, 1877, when Michael Kenney, son of Patrick Kenney and Honora Doyle, married Sara McLaughlin, a widow. The witnesses were John Kenney and Bridget Doyle and Fr. William Hogarty was the officiating priest.



Immaculate Conception Catholic Church
LaGrange, Kentucky (built 1900)

In 1899 the railroad moved its main operation from LaGrange to Louisville. Most of the Catholic workers moved with it and the parish began to dwindle. The church history indicates that the original church was torn down and a much smaller one was erected on the same site in 1900." [page 200]

 As a mission church, the LaGrange church held Mass once a month during the winter while in summer parishioners were expected to attend St. Aloysius in Pewee Valley.

A third church was built in LaGrange in 1950 and this church (right) was also torn down.  It is no longer a mission church, having received official status as a parish in 1956.

[NOTE: I have researched the church for hours but have not found any photograph or picture of the original church built by the parishioners, including Patrick O'Donnell. I am still waiting to hear back from the priest in charge of the Archives of the Diocese of Louisville. But I wanted to include this picture of the second church built in 1900 after the original was torn down. Patrick and his daughter Josie, who cared for him in his last years, would have attended this church.]

PATRICK O'DONNELL
Patrick O'Donnell married Bridget Kennedy (1838-1893) in 1856 in Louisville and they soon moved to the town of Jericho in nearby Henry County, because of his job with the L&N Railroad. They settled here and soon had seven children - Maggie (b. 1858), Mollie (b. 1859), Alice (b. 1860), Fannie (b. 1862), Josie (b. 1864), Johnny (b. 1865), and Ella (b. 1869). Their only son, John Martin O'Donnell, is my great-grandfather.

In 1902 Patrick added a codicil to his will to include the following:

"I, Patrick O'Donnell, want to be used of my estate the sum of twenty-five dollars in celebrating Masses in the Catholic Church at Lagrange, Kentucky, for the repose of the soul of my wife Bridget Kennedy O'Donnell and my own."

JOHN J. SHEEHAN
John J. Sheehan was the brother-in-law of Patrick O'Donnell. John was born in Ireland in 1839 and had come to America as a young man. In the 1860 Census John was single and living in the home of Patrick & Bridget in Jericho, Kentucky, as a boarder, along with thirteen other men, all who were "laborers" for the railroad. Also living in their "boarding house" were their first three daughters, ages 3 months to 3 years; Patrick's brother John O'Donnell (1822-UNK), age 37; and Bridget's two sisters - Anne, age 21, and Johanna, age 29. Both Patrick and John O'Donnell listed their occupation as "Supervisor Railroad". Anne and Johanna Kennedy listed their occupations as "Domestic", most likely responsible for keeping the boarding house clean.

John married Anne Kennedy (1839-1913) about 1865 and together had nine children, only 3 living to adulthood. They settled in LaGrange, Oldham County, and were members of this same Catholic Church.

[It's interesting to note that Bridget's sister Johanna Kennedy (1830-1901) married Maurice Phelan (1835-1889) who at the time of the 1860 Census was also a boarder in the O'Donnell home. They, too, settled in Oldham County. Maurice is mentioned in the above church history as also being a pew holder; his last name is misspelled.]

John Sheehan is mentioned briefly in another history of the mission church, quoted here:

"Official 'collector of revenue', John Sheehan, took up the collection for fifty years. And for those fifty years used a long handle collection basket he passed in front of the people. The basket was handmade from a cheese box and covered with velvet. It had a flat board as a lid and was noted for its long handle. Every Sunday before he began taking up the collection parishioners could hear Mr. Sheehan drop the first coin, usually a five cent piece. They took it as a hint that everyone should contribute. When he died, Mr. Sheehan left thousands of dollars to his church." [from The Tremendous Champion of All that is Catholic, pg. 69-70]

WEDNESDAY'S WORLD OF PHOTOS - 1985 O'Donnell Family Reunion, Birmingham, AL

Susie O'Donnell and 18/20 Grandchildren

Recently while scanning family photos from one of my mother's photo albums I came across all the pictures that my younger sister took of the last O'Donnell Family Reunion, held in the summer of 1985 in Birmingham, Alabama. That year Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev were world leaders. New Coke was introduced to the world, as was the first Nintendo console in America and DNA in its first criminal case. It was also the year "We Are the World" and Live Aid took place to raise funds for the Famine in Ethiopia, as well as the beginning of the fall of Communism throughout the world. In other words, it was a long, long time ago.

l to r - Loretta Crawford, Barbara Nelson, Charles
O'Donnell, Susie O'Donnell, Mary Slade

I remember attending the Saturday evening dinner held at my aunt's home and hanging out with my sisters and cousins and new baby niece that night but not much else. O'Donnell families came from around the country including California, Virginia, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi. Unfortunately I honestly don't remember even meeting one new relative at the event.


Susie O'Donnell and Children

At the family reunion were descendants of Patrick O'Donnell (1823-1911), who came to America from Ireland, and his wife Bridget Kennedy (1838-1893), also an immigrant from Ireland. They had seven children, 6 daughters and 1 son. Those at the 1985 Reunion were descendants of two of their children - Mary Ann "Mollie" O'Donnell Casey Kenealy (1859-1936) and John Martin O'Donnell (1865-1937). John is my great-grandfather.


Family of Ed and Mamie O'Donnell

My grandmother Susie Flemming O'Donnell (1909-1999) was there. Her husband, my grandfather, John Huber O'Donnell (1905-1964), was the oldest child of John O'Donnell. Huber, as he was called, had 2 younger brothers and a younger sister. Brother Charles Patrick O'Donnell (1906-1987) came from Atlanta with a large number of his family. Youngest brother Edward Joseph Kennedy O'Donnell (1908-1989), called Ed, lived with his wife Mary Elizabeth "Mamie" Watters (1908-1996) in Los Angeles, California, and they didn't make the trip, but many of their children, their spouses and grandchildren did come. Also in attendance was youngest sister Barbara Lena O'Donnell Nelson (1909-1996), who travelled from her home in Biloxi, Mississippi, and members of her family.


Charles O'Donnell (seated) and Family



Barbara Nelson (seated) and Family
 

Also in attendance at the reunion were descendants of Patrick & Bridget's second child Mollie. Mollie had married twice. In attendance were the grandchildren of Mollie and her first husband Thomas "Pat" Casey (1841-1896), the children of their oldest daughter Frances Loretta Casey Slade (1879-1960), known as Lottie. Both daughters of Lottie and husband Charles Albert Slade (1867-1917) were in attendance - Mary Slade (1904-1990) and Loretta Slade Crawford (1906-1986). Loretta brought several of her own family members along with her to the reunion. Mary & Loretta both lived in Birmingham.




[Click on pictures to enlarge]

I would love to know exactly who the individuals are in each of these families for posterity's sake. If you can name them from your family I really would love to hear from you - everyone who knows can write me. Better to have too many than not any. Please don't write them on the comments below. But if can help me name them from your family please, please, please contact me on Facebook or email me! (I said please.) And if you're interested in where you can find all the pictures of the reunion let me know.




















SUNDAY'S OBITUARY - Thomas O'Donnell (1827-1877) & Sophia Thompson O'Donnell (1839-1916)

NOTE: This story is about Thomas O'Donnell, my great-great-great-uncle. I found it just yesterday, and have now confirmed the county and parish of my O'Donnell ancestors. More exploration will now be necessary to find out about their life in Ireland, and maybe one day I can visit the exact town where my grandfather's family lived. But the story today is about Thomas, and it's not a happy ending for him.

Headstone of Thomas O'Donnell
St. Louis Cemetery, Louisville, KY

Thomas O'Donnell is one of six brothers of my great-great-grandfather Patrick O'Donnell (1823-1911). Thomas was born about 1827 to Richard O'Donnell (1787-1857) and Margaret (UNK-UNK). He was born in the Parish of Lisronagh, in the County of Tipperary, in Ireland. Thomas and Patrick came with their brothers William O'Donnell (1818-1882), Richard O'Donnell (1820-1899), Edward O'Donnell (1821-1860), John O'Donnell (1822-UNK), and James O'Donnell (1830-1894) to America and originally all settled in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. On December 1, 1849, Thomas, along with his brothers Richard, Edward, John and Patrick, arrived in the Port of New Orleans on board the ship Fingall.

Thomas, along with Patrick and John, soon settled in Henry County, all working as laborers with the Louisville, Cincinnati & Lexington Railroad (later part of the L&N Railroad). On October 18, 1857, Thomas married Sophia Thompson (1839-1916). He was 30 years old, she was just 18. Sophie, as she was called, was one of five children born in Switzerland County, Indiana, to David Thompson (1804-1866), a Scottish immigrant, and Elizabeth Bennett (1803-1865), an immigrant from England. Thomas & Sophia in the early years of their marriage lived with her family in Eminence, Henry County, Kentucky.

Thomas rose to the position of Section Boss for the L. C & L Railroad in Eminence, and he and Sophia had six children (possibly seven): James Richard O'Donnell (b. March 23, 1858); Frances J. "Fanny" O'Donnell (b. Nov. 20, 1859); Mary T. O'Donnell (b. February 18, 1862); Sophia O'Donnell (b. February 13, 1868); Elizabeth T. "Eliza" O'Donnell (b. August 1870); and Margaret "Maggie" O'Donnell (b. April 1875).

from Courier-Journal, page 1
June 20, 1877
[CLICK ABOVE TO ENLARGE]

A BLOODY SUICIDE
Thomas O'Donnell, a Section Boss on the Lexington Road, Cuts His Throat from Ear to Ear

"Jericho Station, 32 miles from this city, in Henry county, on the Short-line road, was startled yesterday morning by the news of a terrible suicide. Thomas O'Donnell, a man probably in the neighborhood of 50, was related to be the suicide. O'Donnell had been in the employ of the railroad as section boss, and, until lately, was stationed at Eminence, where he managed to save money, and became a proprietor of considerable property, it being estimated that he was worth about $20,000.

The railroad officers concluded to change his location, and a short time ago moved him to Dorset Station, twelve miles beyond Frankfort. O'Donnell brought his family with him and took up his residence there, but appeared discontented with the change. Monday he came to Louisville and yesterday morning, about 2 o'clock he appeared at the house of his brother Patrick O'Donnell, in Jericho, woke up the family and stated that he had missed the afternoon train from Louisville, and had come up on a freight train. He complained of sickness and went to bed.

About 6 o'clock yesterday morning, he arose with the family and asked for a razor with which he wanted to shave himself. His brother Patrick told him to wait until after breakfast, before undergoing that operation. Breakfast was taken, and between half-past 6 and 7 o'clock, Thomas proceeded to shave himself. Shortly before 7 o'clock his brother observed him going first to one portion of the fence then to another portion, and looking over as if to see whether there was anyone out in the neighboring farms. Patrick's supposition as to his action was far different from what it turned out to be. The farmer went to the barn to feed some hogs. He had been at his work but a few minutes when, chancing to glance up, he beheld Thomas lying flat on the ground about fifty yards from him.

Thinking that he had perhaps fallen into a fit, he went up to him, when, to his utter terror and dismay, he saw Thomas gasping for breath, and almost heard the sound of the death-rattle in his throat.  His throat had been cut in a most fearful manner from the top of the left to the top of the right ear, and the blood was streaming over him. The sight was sickening enough to nearly freeze him to the spot. The head was half dangling from the neck, such a gash had the suicide inflicted. Life was extinct in 5 minutes. An inquest was held by Squire R. W. Vance, at which Patrick O'Donnell testified as to what he had seen. The verdict of the jury was based upon the above facts.



Grave of Thomas O'Donnell
St. Louis Cemetery, Louisville, KY

The cause of the suicide is very unaccountable to the dead man's relatives and friends. He was moderately well off, was known, it is said, to be thoroughly temperate in his habits, was on good terms with all his relatives and had no financial or domestic troubles. The only cause that can be imagined was his discontent at being removed from Eminence to Dorset station. His family consists of a wife and seven children."  [Louisville's Courier-Journal newspaper; June 20, 1877; page 1]

Thomas was buried in the Catholic section of St. Louis Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky. His wife Sophia, no doubt distraught, honored her husband with a special gravestone.  On the marble stone she had carved the place of his birth as well as the day of his death.

         "To My Husband

          THOMAS O'DONNELL

          BORN IN THE PARISH

          OF LISROUGHNA, CO

          TIPPERARY, IRELAND

          Died June 19, 1877,

          Aged 50 years"

[This information was used - 136 years later - to be able to confirm that the 'Thomas O'Donnell' in the newspaper article, who was the brother of my great-great-grandfather Patrick, was the same 'Thomas O'Donnell' from the parish of Lisronagh, in the county of Tipperary buried here.]

Notice of Death - Sophia Thompson O'Donnell
December 26, 1916

Sophia, a widow at 38, and her six children (or seven as the newspaper article stated), ages 2 to 18, soon moved to Midway, in nearby Woodford County, where she managed a boarding house full of railroad laborers, including Thomas' older brother John O'Donnell. Sophia eventually moved back to Eminence, where several of her siblings stilled lived. She died on December 23, 1916, in Lexington, where she was living with her daughter Sophia and her family. She is buried at Eminence Cemetery in Henry County.

Mrs. Sophie O'Donnell

     "Funeral services for Mrs. Sophie O'Donnell, 78 years old, who died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. John McCullough, 348 Jefferson Street, Saturday morning, will be held Wednesday morning at 7:30 o'clock at St. Paul's Catholic Church. Rev. Libert de Waegenaere officiating.
     The body will be taken on the 9 o'clock Louisville & Nashville train to Eminence, her former home, for burial. Pallbearers will be her grandsons, Richard, Robert, Harry and T.J. Granghan, Joseph, Jack and Charles McCullough and Edwin Doyle, Jr." [from Lexington Herald, page 3; December 26, 1916]

THURSDAY'S TREASURE - Our Family Name, Barbara

In my grandfather's Bible, my mother once found this small article from a long-forgotten newspaper (copyright 1920) that he had torn out and saved. It is her name - Barbara. A name that has been passed down one branch of my family tree - from one continent to another, across states, for over 200 years. The name was chosen each time by new parents for their brand new baby daughter, to honor a mother or grandmother or sister whom they loved. Here is how my mother, and my older sister, came to have their name.

In our family I have been able to trace the name Barbara back to 18th century France. I found the name first given to my 6th great-grandmother Barbe Breyer Bour, born June 20, 1750, in Seingbouse, Moselle, France. [Barbe is the French personal name for Barbara.] Her parents, my 7th great-grandparents, were Pierre Breyer (1714-1764) and Anna Marie Schwartz (1713-1761). In February 1770, Barbe married Jean Melchoir Bour, who was born January 1745, in Tenteling, Moselle, France. They had at least two children, including Christine Bour, my 5th great-grandmother.

Christine Bour was born January 1763, in Seingbouse. In 1801 she married Pierre Lang, my 5th great-grandfather. Pierre was born March 1760, also in Seingbouse, France. Together they had at least five children. Their oldest child was Marguerite Lang, my 4th great-grandmother. She was born in April 1802; fourth child and younger sister, Barbe Lang, was born March 1806.

In May 1821, Marguerite married Joseph Frise (1796-1863) in their hometown. They had seven sons and two daughters. Their oldest child was Barbara Frisse, born in May 1822. Barbara is my 3rd great-grandmother. Joseph, Marguerite and their children immigrated to the United States. They settled in St. Anne's Village (now North Vernon), Jennings County, Indiana.

Barbara Frisse married Jean Michael Baptiste Brunette (1818-1863) one month after arriving in America, in August 1846. They had ten children, 7 girls and 3 boys. The name is passed down again at the birth of their fourth child Barbara Brunett. Born in April 1852, Barbara married Philip Huber (1847-1901), an immigrant from Germany, in April 1871, in Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky. Barbara and Philip are my 3rd great-grandparents.

Barbara and Philip had seven children while living in Bowling Green, including (my great-great-grandmother) oldest daughter Mary Bertha "Mayme" Huber, born in August 1873, and her younger sister Philomena Barbara "Minnie" Huber, born September 1876. Minnie never married. Mayme married John Martin O'Donnell (1865-1937) in April 1904, after both had moved to Birmingham, Alabama.

Mayme and Johnny had three boys, including oldest son John Huber O'Donnell (my grandfather), born May 1906, and one daughter, Barbara Lena O'Donnell, born November 1909.
Barbara married Howard Alonzo Howard, (1908-1946), and together they had three children including daughter Barbara Beverly, born 1939.

Huber married my grandmother Susan Elizabeth Flemming, (1909-1999), and named their third child (my mother) Barbara Ann. My mother and father named their oldest daughter Barbara Ann, born 1958, almost exactly 208 years after Barbe Breyer was born. So I can trace our family name Barbara for over 200 years, from 1750 to 1958; from Seingbouse, France, to Birmingham, Alabama, for nine generations. Unfortunately, much like my own name which I traced back to Ireland, no Barbara's from this line have been born since 1958. Such a wonderful name....

SATURDAY'S STRUCTURE - The Church of Saint John Chrysostom, Henry County, Kentucky

My great-grandfather John Martin O'Donnell (1865-1937) was born in the town of Jericho, in Henry County, Kentucky. His parents, my great-great-grandparents, were Patrick O'Donnell (1823-1911) and Bridget Kennedy (1838-1893) Both parents were Irish immigrants who had married in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1856, before settling in Jericho. They had seven children - six girls and one son - whom they raised in Jericho.

Patrick owned a grocery store in the small town, and lived across the street from his store. As Catholics, Patrick and Bridget raised their family in the Catholic church. The only such church in Henry County at that time was the Church of Saint John Chrysostom in the town of Eminence, about 8 miles from the O'Donnell family home. It remains the only Catholic church in Henry County.

The church is located at 221 S. Penn Street in Eminence, Henry County, Kentucky. Mass is held each Sunday at 9:30 am.

The History of the Church of St. John Chrysostom
[taken from www.archlou.org - the website of the Archdiocese of Louisville, KY]

"A mission church from its inception, St. John has never had a resident priest or school. The need for a Catholic spiritual home in Henry County was first documented in 1860, when Archbishop Martin John Spalding gave permission to erect a church building in Eminence. Construction began in the 1880s. Historical records are unclear as to an exact date this church was completed, but from earliest written records available, Mass was first celebrated in the church in 1890. It was dedicated under the patronage of Saint John Chrysostom.  

Until that time, Masses were celebrated in the homes of Catholic families. When the Catholic church at Bedford was sold, the organ and art-glass memorial windows were removed and brought to Eminence to grace the otherwise plain structure of St. John. The Stations of the Cross were erected in 1892. A new organ was used for the first time in December 1908.  

In the early years the church was heated by a pot-bellied stove that warmed worshippers on cold Sundays. There were no restroom facilities. In 1988, a new church hall was built behind the church, providing badly needed space for meetings and social gatherings. Until that time, a home hosted parish activities. The church interior underwent a total renovation during the summer of 1992. At that time there were approximately fifty families at St. John, grown from eight families in 1958.  

In October of 2005, St. John became handicap-accessible with the construction of a concrete ramp. Catholics of Henry County have been served by the priests from Shelbyville since the 1850s, and most recently by priests from LaGrange. St. John currently has almost 200 parishioners." - See more at: http://www.archlou.org/Parishes

It's such a beautiful little church. I have hopes to visit it and attend Mass her in the near future.  I have recently requested any possible records they may include the O'Donnell family, who must have attended Mass here.

To find out more about the church check out their website, www.ourstj.org .

THURSDAY'S TREASURES - Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

On this, the 237th birthday of the United States of America, it seems the perfect time to celebrate not only our country's birth but also the gifts that were passed down to us from our ancestors who made it possible for us to celebrate as Americans.


Irish Immigrants Leaving Queenstown Harbour
The Illustrated London News, September 1874

For each of us there were great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers who left their homeland, their neighbors, the culture and very often their own families to take a chance in this new country of which they knew very little. They gathered up all they could carry with them, said good-bye to their friends and families, and left the only home they had ever known and most likely one they would never return to. They travelled by cart or by foot to a sea port where they would board a small packet ship. Once aboard they would climb down into the hull of the vessel with one hundred, two hundred, or more strangers to travel for several weeks across the Atlantic Ocean. With all of the multitude of people stuffed into the ship's steerage area [see post "Packet Ship Gladiator", January 1, 2012,  for more information about steerage] they all shared one common dream - a better life in America.

Many left behind poverty, with little chance to ever change their circumstances. Most left countries with governments that held a tight rein on their individual rights and freedoms. Towns where they weren't allowed to speak, or protest, or gather freely. Where they couldn't vote to choose their own leaders. Where their children faced forced conscription into the military. Where the right to practice the religion of their own choosing didn't exist.



"Irish Immigrants Leaving Home"
Harper's Bazaar, December 1870

They each knew that a better life existed - for themselves and for their children. And for their children's children. They wanted more for their life and for their family. They wanted to be free to choose their own path in life, and be treated as human beings with God-given rights. They wanted to work hard and be rewarded with just compensation. They wanted to have a say in their government and in the laws they lived under. They wanted to freely practice their faith. They wanted the freedom to have a dissenting opinion about their leaders, share it openly, without the fear of reprisals. They wanted this for themselves. But most of all they wanted this for their children.

"From the Old to the New World"
German Emigration
Harper's Weekly, November 1874

They left everything behind for a promise of a better life. They sailed on a ship across a wide ocean, not knowing if they or their family members would survive, or if the ship itself would make it safely. They landed in a port where they couldn't speak the language, maybe had no one waiting for them, had little direction on where to go or what to do next. But they paved the way for each one of their children, each one of their grandchildren - each one of us - to enjoy those unalienable rights we each possess, endowed for us by our Creator.

Among these - Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

America wasn't perfect then and it isn't perfect now. But it's the best there is. And we have our ancestors to thank for giving us the opportunity for a better future. So it's nice today to remember those that made it possible:

Patrick McCloskey (1810-1855) who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1838, at the age of 28, from his home in Ireland. His wife Mary Ann (1805-1871) also immigrated from Ireland, date unknown. They are my 4x great-grandparents.

Thomas McCaffrey (1799-1890), arrived in New York Harbor in June 1825 from his home in County Tyrone, Ireland. His wife Susan (1793-1869) also immigrated from County Tyrone, date unknown. They, too, are my 4x-great-grandparents.

Johann Eckard Horst (1802-1852), my 4x-great-grandfather, arrived in August 1846 in New York City Harbor at the age of 43 with his second wife and five children. This included my 3x-great-grandfather Martin Horst (1830-1878), who was just 16 years old when he arrived. Later my 5x-great-grandfather Johan Conrad Horst (1780-UNK), Martin's grandfather, also arrived here, in May 1860. He was 80 years old when he arrived. They were from Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany.


"Irish Emigrants Leaving Home - The Priest's Blessing"
The Illustrated London News, May 1851

Apollonia Weinschenk (1829-1908), my 3x-great-grandmother and wife of Martin Horst, arrived in the port of New Orleans around 1843, at the age of 14, from her home in Forst, Bavaria, Germany.

 My great-great-grandfather Patrick O'Donnell (1823-1911) arrived in this country in December 1849 from Ireland, along with five of his 7 brothers. He was 26 years old. His wife Bridget Kennedy (1838-1893) immigrated from her home in  County Tipperary, Ireland, sometime in the early 1850's.

Phillip Huber (1847-1901), also my great-great-grandfather, arrived in New York in June 1867, at the age of 19, from Florsheim, Hessen, Germany.

My 3x-great-grandparents, John Michael Baptiste Brunett (1818-1863), and Barbara Frisse (1822-1893) traveled onboard the same ship, from their homes in Seingbouse, Moselle, France, arriving in the port of New Orleans in July 1846. Traveling with Barbara were her parents (my 4x-great-grandparents) Joseph Frise (1796-1864) and Marguerite Lang (1802-1868), as well as several siblings. Marguerite was 44 years old; Joseph was 50.

[NOTE: My Fortier and DeGruey ancestors arrived from France to Canada and then settled in Louisiana before the United States was formed. I have no information yet as to when my Flemming or Jackson family ancestors arrived in America.]



"Immigrants Behold the Statue of Liberty"
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, July 1887

None of these ancestors arrived as we might imagine - coming into New York Harbor and seeing the Statue of Liberty, stepping off their steamship onto Ellis Island to be officially inspected in long lines. [The Statue of Liberty wasn't dedicated until 1886.] None of these ancestors settled on the east coast - most made their new homes in southern cities. And somehow, through happenstance or through fate, their offspring met other offspring of these immigrants and eventually, over time and over years, my mother and her siblings were created from a combination of all of these immigrants. And that made it possible for me to sit down, in my home in Birmingham, Alabama, and celebrate Independence Day and my great-grandparents' dreams for a better life.

THURSDAY'S TREASURE - Grandmom's Earbobs

One Pair of Grandmom's Earbobs

Treasures can come in all shapes and sizes. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines a treasure as follows: "(1) wealth of any kind or in any form; (2) something of great worth or value; also : a person esteemed as rare or precious; (3) a collection of precious things." I know that throughout my large extended family there are treasures of great monetary value, treasures passed on through generations and treasurers with great stories behind them. The treasure that I want to share today doesn't fit any of these descriptions. But they are precious and of great worth to me - my grandmother's earbobs.

Susie Flemming O'Donnell
wearing a pair of earbobs - 1992

Susan Elizabeth Flemming O'Donnell (1909-1999) was hoot. She told me at one of my bridal showers in 1990 that she was always invited to parties throughout her life "because she was cheaper than hiring a clown." She was the mother of eight children and the grandmother of twenty. At the time of her death she also had nineteen great-grandchildren. She had been married to the love of her life, John Huber O'Donnell (1905-1964), and was widowed when she was just 54. Her faith and her family kept her going, and she lived 35 years longer as the matriarch of my mother's family.

She was a southern lady - born and bred in Birmingham, Alabama - a product of her times. But she was also a rare, one-of-a-kind treasure to her family, friends and all who had the unique pleasure to meet her. This post can't begin to do her the justice that her life and legacy deserve. So I won't attempt. But I can share these little treasurers that I was able to pick out - after all her other treasurers were chosen - from items that my mother got after her death. These treasures are Grandmom's "earbobs".

Grandmom, as we grandchildren call her, enjoyed dressing up to go out to lunch or dinner with family and friends. She always wore a necklace or a pin, maybe a bracelet or two, with her dress - pants or slacks were not a part of her public attire. Along with her various accoutrements she always wore "earbobs".  They were clip-on earrings, usually quite large and round, and mostly not of any great monetary value.

Earbobs with Matching Pin

She seemed to have dozens of pairs to choose from. I remember as a little girl going off to her bedroom while the adults talked in the living room, and looking in her jewelry box, full of all colors and styles of jewelry. I don't remember picking anything up or trying anything on, but I probably did. Her things were bigger and bolder than the styles my mother had at home in her jewelry case. My Mom seldom wore earrings - and never wore "earbobs". So Grandmom's treasures were unique unto her.

I tried to find the origin of the term "earbob". I couldn't find when or where the word originated, but I found numerous historical museums that had "earbobs" from native Americans in their collections. I found the term used in 19th century literature, as well as in more modern books. Many fans of the movie Gone with the Wind will remember Scarlett O'Hara offering her "earbobs" to Rhett Butler for collateral for a loan (he declined). The use of the word "earbobs" continued, mostly in the South, but the word is seldom heard anymore.

But I can't look at these inexpensive clip-on earrings that I chose as a keepsake from my grandmother without remembering the giggles from me and my sisters and cousins when Grandmom made any mention of her "earbobs". We thought it was so silly a word then. Now I see the word, and the earrings - and, of course, my grandmother - all as wonderful, precious treasures.

QUESTION - Do you remember Grandmom's earbobs? Or your own grandmother's earbobs? Add your memory (or comment) below to share.

SATURDAY'S STRUCTURE - Club Rex, Homewood, Alabama

During the mid-1930's, my grandfather John Huber O'Donnell (1905-1964) went into partnership with Bob Smith when they leased Club Rex in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. Huber was a stenographer at TCI, the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company, a major American steel manufacturer located in Birmingham. Bob Smith was a co-worker of my "Pop" and together they had briefly owned a nightclub in downtown before taking over the lease when the country club went bankrupt.


Historic Marker in Homewood, Alabama

A popular recreational and entertainment facility, Club Rex began as Hollywood Country Club, built in the mid-1920's. It was then part of the newest subdivision being built south of Birmingham - Hollywood. The town of Hollywood was incorporated as a city in 1927. The brainchild of Clyde Nelson, Hollywood was advertised to meet a variety of needs, including health - "Out of the Smoke Zone and Into the Ozone" - and exclusivity - "one of Birmingham's most beautiful, highly restricted residential subdivisions". 

Club Rex Postcard ca. 1940

In Homewood: The Life of a City, Sheryl Spradling Summe describes the club's beginnings:

"Nelson built Hollywood Country Club on Shades Valley Highway, now Lakeshore Drive, overlooking Shades Creek where the Marriott Courtyard Hotel stands today. The large Spanish Mission-style clubhouse, with a swimming pool in the front that was a favorite place for children and teens, 'offered the finest in meals and entertainment six or seven days a week.' Although plans to add a golf course on the property were never completed. Hollywood Country Club provided members and guests 'an elite dining and dancing spot' for years....It changed ownership several times after 1930, but the building remained in existence until a fire damaged it in 1984 and subsequently it was torn down." [p. 86-87]



"Hollywood Country Club" sign added for postcard only

"Homewood added a swimming pool to its list of community recreation facilities when it began leasing the Hollywood Country Club pool in the summer of 1934. (By then the club was privately owned by G.C. Lockhart and would change hands many times in the years to come.) The popular Municipal Swimming Pool took in more than $500 during the first half of July 1934 alone. Men could rent swimsuits, and all swimmers were provided with towels. The city hired two lifeguards, Bob Purdy and Wallace Ward, at sixty-five dollars per month each and a cashier, Miss Lottie Lee Patterson, for twenty-five dollars per month...The city council allowed underprivileged children to use the municipal pool at no charge....The Summer Bus Line, which operated the Hollywood bus service originally established by Clyde Nelson, ran a shuttle to the pool from Dunn's drugstore and from Broadway at Roseland Drive, stopping at many points along the way." [p. 125]

backside of postcard

These articles appeared in Billboard magazine in 1945 [Billboard magazine, originally a trade paper for the bill-posting industry, carried news for live entertainment including vaudeville, minstrel shows, circuses, amusement parks, and fairs. Later it included news for nightclubs, and other music venues. It now carries news for music and the music industry worldwide.]


January 20, 1945 cover

"Rex, Alabama Club, Bought   Birmingham, Jan. 13 - Joe Robino, restaurant owner, has purchased for $59,500, the old Hollywood Country Club building, with five acres, a swimming pool, and new streamlined nitery equipment, including a $2,750 rotary cooker that broils 90 steaks at once. Clubhouse originally built as private country club for exclusive Hollywood residential section, has been operated on lease from foreclosures as Club Rex nitery for nine years. Club plans use of nitery entertainment and occasional guest ork." [Billboard magazine, January 20, 1945, p. 23]

July 21, 1945 cover

"Birming'm To Get 25G Club With All-Glass Blg. & Floor  Birmingham, Ala., July 16 - Birmingham steps into the big-town nitery class next month with the construction of a new $75,000 all glass club with glass dance floor and penthouse atop a circular club building. Name bands and floorshows are to be imported, according to Bob Smith, widely known nitery op promoting the project on the club membership plan with guest memberships for visitors, with 60-G already in hand. Smith operated Club Rex in Hollywood for 10 years." [Billboard, July 21, 1945, p. 27]

Poolside at Club Rex
1938

My mother has wonderful memories of summer days spent swimming at the pool at Club Rex. When she was about three-and-a-half-years-old, while swimming at the pool one day, a man came up to her and asked if he could photograph her. He picked her up and set her on a concrete bench. Later he sent her parents copies of the photographs (at right). She also had several birthday parties in the club room when she was very young. Her birthday was in December so a family member would dress as Santa Claus and visit her party each time.

The swimming pool, of course, was always a favorite place to go during the hot Birmingham summers. My mom remembers their maid would go with them and was responsible for watching she and her older brother and sister swim. A maid at that time was fairly common for families, but since she was black she would only have been able to watch the children swim from a seat - the pool itself was whites-only.



Backside of Club Rex postcard

There was an area on the lowest floor of the club, known as "The Cave Room". Here swimmers could enter in their wet bathing suits and buy burgers and eat lunch. My mother's older brother, who was five years older, worked in the Cave Room around 1944. Mom remembers giving out pool passes to friends at school during these years. She also remembers New Years Eves - her father would be out late at the club and would always bring each of the kids souvenirs from the party. When they woke up on New Years Day they would have party hats, horns and noisemakers from the night's revelry. Each year the new year would be part of the hats' decoration - "1939", "1940" etc.

My grandfather continued to work at his job with TCI while helping to run Club Rex, going over to the club after a full day at work, as did Bob Smith. For a time Bob and his wife and daughter lived on the property, in bedrooms that were part of the property, as did another partner who managed the property during the day. The property was bought by Joe Robino in 1945.

How fun it was to have a swimming pool and a night club, located less than a mile from their home, as part of your childhood memories.

WEDDING WEDNESDAY - O'Donnell-Huber Wedding (1904)

St. Paul's Catholic Church
early postcard

One hundred-and-nine years ago this coming Monday, on February 11th, my great-grandparents were married at a small ceremony at St. Paul's Catholic Church (now Cathedral) in Birmingham, Alabama. They were married early on a Thursday morning with a few family and friends present. They would go on to make their home in Birmingham and have four children together - my grandfather John Huber (born May 6, 1905); Charles Patrick (born October 18, 1906); Edward Joseph Kennedy (born January 18, 1908); and Barbara Lena (born November 7, 1909).  But first came their wedding day.

John Martin O'Donnell was born November 7, 1865, in Jericho, Henry County, Kentucky to my great-great-grandparents Patrick O'Donnell (1823-1911) and Bridget Kennedy (1838-1883), both immigrants from Ireland. After earning an engineering degree at nearby Eminence College Johnny, as he was called, eventually began working for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. His name appears in the 1893 Louisville (Ky.) City Directory, where he was boarding at '1134 8th'.  His occupation is listed as a 'Leveler' with the City Engineers Department. [A leveler is part of a civil engineering survey team necessary in the preliminary work of building a railroad, roads, etc.]  Within the next few years his job at L&N RR would transfer him to Alabama. It was here that he met his future wife.

Mary Bertha Huber was born August 8, 1883, in Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky. Her parents were my great-great-grandparents Phillip Huber (1847-1901), an immigrant from Germany, and Barbara F. Brunett (1852-1896). Mayme, as she was known, worked as a school teacher in her hometown of Bowling Green. Later she moved with her father, brother and two sisters, to Alabama. She taught school in Calera, Shelby County, outside of Birmingham. It was here in Calera, according to family lore, that the two met while living in the same boarding house.

Johnny and Mayme were married on Thursday, February 11, 1904. He was 38 years old; she was 30. The story of their wedding appeared on page 6 of the Birmingham Age-Herald newspaper, on February 13th.

"O'DONNELL-HUBER
     At St. Paul's Church, on Thursday morning at 7:45, Miss Mayme B. Huber of this city, and Mr. J.M. O'Donnell were married. The Reverend Father O'Reilly officiating in his usual impressive manner.

     Miss Minnie Huber, sister of the bride, and Mr. Thomas Barret were the attendants. The bride was becomingly attired in a blue traveling suit with hat to match, and carried a white prayer book. The bridesmaid was also in blue. The wedding was a quiet one, only a few intimate friends being present. The bride is a sister of Mr. Charles T. Huber and is an attractive and brilliant young lady who has for several years been a successful teacher in the public schools of Alabama. The groom is a popular employe (sic) in the Louisville and Nashville civil engineering department.


from Birmingham Age-Herald, page 6
February 13, 1904

     Immediately after the ceremony Mr. and Mrs. O'Donnell left for New Orleans."
 

I wish there was a picture of the two on their wedding day - especially one of her. You can almost picture it, with the description in the newspaper article. Mayme, dressed in a "blue traveling suit", carrying a "white prayer book" standing next to her younger sister Philomena (1875-1937), better known as Minnie, who's also wearing blue. A few family and friends, who also got up early to be at the church by 7:45. And standing in front of the alter, the beloved parish priest in his vestments.

Johnny and Mayme O'Donnell were married only nine short years. Mayme died on March 30, 1913, in her home, after contracting tuberculosis. She was 39 years old. [Read more about John and Mayme in earlier blog posts for more information on their life.]

Happy Anniversary!

Statue of Father Patrick O'Reilly
by Guiseppe Morietti
In front of St. Vincent's Hospital
Birmingham, Alabama

[SIDEBAR - The following information on Father Patrick O'Reilly, the officiant at Johnny & Mayme's wedding, is worth noting. It is found in Rising Road: A True Tale of Love, Race and Religion in America, published in 2010, by Sharon Davies - the story of Father James Coyle and his murder. Father Coyle was Father O'Reilly's successor at St. Paul's Church.

"Confidence aside, some of the parishioners of St. Paul's probably thought Father Coyle, at age thirty-one, too young to handle the job Bishop Edward Allen of Mobile had sent him to do in Birmingham in 1904. The bishop had placed on the young priest's shoulders the inevitable task of replacing Father Patrick O'Reilly, the handsome and hugely popular former pastor of St. Paul's. Two months before, Father O'Reilly had suffered a grievous head injury while serving as Chaplain of the Alabama National Guard. During a routine review of the troops at the state fairgrounds, something had frightened his horse and it threw him. The summer-warmed ground was far from its hardest, but he landed badly, and the force of the impact cracked his skull. Horrified onlookers rushed the priest's broken body to St. Vincent's Hospital, which, ironically, O'Reilly had founded himself four years before. He had first proposed to build a hospital in Birmingham following one of the city's annual summer bouts with typhoid fever.... Following a particularly distressing episode of typhoid one summer, Father O'Reilly had sent a letter to the sisters of the Daughters of Charity at St. Vincent de Paul in Maryland asking that they come to Birmingham to run a hospital.... Shortly after the hospital opened its doors, Father O'Reilly announced he would build an orphanage as well, and his reputation in the city as a doer of good was cemented.

St. Vincent's Hospital about 1910
early postcard - Birmingham, Alabama
[CLICK TO ENLARGE FOR DETAILS]

     A squadron of doctors and nuns at St. Vincent's Hospital ministered tirelessly over their beloved founder, doing all they could to save him, as word spread among the city's Catholics that Father O'Reilly was hurt and in need of their prayers. Perhaps the chorus of supplications that answered that call slowed his exit; for he hovered between life and death for nearly a week. But finally on July 28, 1904, he died, at the age of forty-nine." (pages 29-30)]

SUNDAY'S OBITUARY - John Martin O'Donnell (1865-1937)

John Martin O'Donnell
(1865-1937)

John Martin O'Donnell was born in Jericho, Henry County, Kentucky, on November 7, 1865. He was the sixth of seven children born to Patrick O'Donnell (1823-1911) and Bridget Kennedy (1838-1883), both immigrants from Ireland. He was also their only son. Johnny, as he was called, is my great-grandfather.
After graduating from Eminence College (see "September 27, 2011" post) in 1885, he was hired by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad as a civil engineer. His father and uncles, after arriving in the United States around 1847, had all worked for the railroad, as laborers, building the actual track as it connected Louisville to Nashville. His father later opened a general store in Jericho.

At some point early in the early 1900's John was transferred with the railroad to the growing city of Birmingham, Alabama, first living in Calera, Shelby County, south of Birmingham. Here, as family lore tells it, he met his future wife, Mary Bertha Huber (1873-1913) while both were living in the same boarding house. She was a school teacher and, too, was a native of Kentucky - born and raised in Bowling Green. They were married on February 11, 1904 and they had four children: my grandfather John Huber (1905-1964), called Huber; Charles Patrick (1906-1987); Edward Joseph Kennedy (1908-1989); and Barbara Lena (1909-1996). Their family's happiness was short-lived. In late 1912, Mayme, as my great-grandmother was called, came down with Tuberculosis.

John took his wife to Albuquerque, New Mexico, a city known for its dry air and its rapidly growing health care facilities dedicated to serving TB patients. Mayme's younger sister Philomena Barbara (1876-1937), called Minnie, was a nurse; she travelled out from Kentucky to New Mexico to help care for her. Mayme did not recover. She returned to Birmingham, where she died at home on March 30, 1913. She left behind her four small children - Huber, 7 1/2; Charles, 6 1/2; Ed, 5; and Barbara, 3 1/2. She was buried at the old Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church Cemetery.

Prayer Card
[click to enlarge]

Picture on Prayer Card

Two days after he buried his wife, my great-grandfather placed his three boys in the nearby Athenaeum Orphanage, run by Catholic nuns. Little Barbara went to live with her aunt Minnie in Albuquerque. The boys stayed in the orphanage during the week while their father worked for the railroad, and on weekends he would bring them home. He wanted to keep all of his children together, but no relatives volunteered to take all four - some would keep one, but he didn't want to separate them. The orphanage seemed the best situation. Here they could grow up together, cared for and loved, and he would get to have them every weekend. The boys stayed in the orphanage until September 1920. At this point the boys were 15, 14 and 12, and would be able to care for themselves after school until their father came home after work. 



"Pop" with grandson Huber, Jr.
taken in front of home ca. 1922

Barbara, too, came back to Birmingham to live with her father and brothers. The story goes that Aunt Minnie brought young Barbara to the city to visit with her father and brothers. Huber and Charles begged their father to let their sister remain in the city with them, but their father said 'no' because he didn't want to hurt Minnie. So the boys went to the hotel where their aunt and sister were staying and together talked Barbara into telling her aunt she wanted to stay. When it was time for the two to leave, Barbara told her aunt that she wouldn't go. Aunt Minnie returned to Albuquerque alone.

John's children all married and began their families. Soon after his oldest son Huber married my grandmother Susan Elizabeth Flemming (1909-1999), they moved in with him at his home in Norwood, a suburb north of the city. [NOTE: The home is still standing @ Also living with him at this time was his sister Frances "Fannie" Delaney (1862-1939).



from The Birmingham News, p.10
December 7, 1937

On December 3, 1937, John's brother-in-law, Benjamin Ruffner Smith (1857-1937), the husband of his older sister Alice (1860-1934), died at his home in Louisville, Kentucky. John took the train to Louisville for the funeral. On December 6, the morning after the funeral, as family lore tells, John was at the Smith's home in Louisville eating breakfast. He had a massive heart attack and died, falling forward at the breakfast table.

from The Birmingham News, p. 23
December 8, 1937

 His body was brought back to Birmingham, where he was buried next to his wife. He was survived by his four children, and eight grandchildren.

When the Church and Cemetery were relocated, most of the graves were re-interred at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham. Many of the graves were not able to be identified and were re-buried together in mass graves behind Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, near Elmwood.



One of four Headstone at Old Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery