Home
Helprooneys-minnesota.com | |||
 Michael ""Daddy Mick"" RooneyBorn 1782 Ireland, died 12 Jan 1857 Wakefield Township, Outaouais, Quebec, Canada Event Description: St. Camillus Catholic Cemetery, Farrellton, Quebec, Canada, age 74, age 74 or 75 years, buried Jan 1857 Farrellton, Outaouais, Quebec, Canada Michael Rooney and Catherine Caulfield emigrated to Canada around 1845 (although there are land records showing Rooney's in the Canada farm census of 1841). In their 60's, they followed several of their grown children, the earliest who was in Canada by 1829. They settled in the Gatineau River region of Quebec, north of Ottawa, near the town of Farrelton (present day La Pêche). The two oldest boys - Patrick (b. 1808) and Michael (b. 1809) - had their own farms in Canada. They also probably did some contract lumbering as this region was rich in lumber and this was the heyday of lumber being shipped by boat to Great Britain. Michael and Catherine's grandson Thomas T. Rooney, son of John R. Rooney (1854-1925), was possibly a second cousin to his wife Ellen E Rooney (1872-1902). Her grandfather, John Rooney, would have been born at an age to be a brother to Daddy Mick. John's descendants coincidentally fit into the Michael and Catherine Rooney line when a granddaughter married married a Daddy Mick Rooney grandson. Married/ Related to:  Catherine ""Mammy Kitty"; Catharine on gravestone" CaulfieldBorn 1783 Ireland, died 17 Feb 1875 Raymond Township, Stearns County, Minnesota Event Description: Padua Cemetery, Stearns, Minnesota, age 91, age 91 or 92 years, buried Padua, Stearns County, Minnesota After "Daddy Mick" died in 1857 and was buried in the Catholic cemetery in Farrelton, Mammie Kitty emigrated to the U.S.A. with eight of her nine grown children and their families. They came first to St. Anthony Falls, site the present-day Minneapolis, which was so small it could be covered in a half hour by horse and buggy. Later they moved to Stearns County, Raymond Township - a place at first called "Rooneys' Settlement, later called Padua, between 1865 and 1870. Ambrose Rooney said that his father used to talk about "Grandma Kitty " and thought that there was something funny about her. Ambrose Gaffaney said his mother used to talk about a lady who smoked a pipe (Mary McCool, wife of John Rooney, smoked a pipe; Marilyn Rooney Lysen is now in possession of the pipe). Children: 1. Bridget RooneyBorn ± 1806 Ireland, died Sep 1879, age approximately 73 years Birth year is estimated, based on parents ages when she would have been born, as well as her children's birth years. This would make Bridget the oldest child of Michael Rooney and Catherine Caulfield (Daddy Mick and Mammy Kitty). Bridget Rooney is listed as a baptismal sponsor, along with Thomas "Kilroy", for William Dowlan on 20 Dec 1929 in Ottawa. This is the earliest appearance of any Rooney in Canadian records (church or civil). 2. Patrick RooneyBorn 2 Feb 1808 Ireland, died 9 Apr 1889 Bangor Township, Pope County, Minnesota Event Description: St. Anthony of Padua Cemetery, Stearns, Minnesota, age 81 years, buried Padua, Stearns County, Minnesota Cause of death: Old age 3. Michael "Mickey; Michael L" RooneyBorn 1809 Galway, Ireland, died 6 May 1878 Wakefield Township, Outaouais, Quebec, Canada Event Description: St. Camillus Catholic Cemetery, Farrellton, Quebec, Canada, age 68 or 69 years, buried Farrellton, Outaouais, Quebec, Canada 4. Thomas RooneyBorn 17 Mar 1817 County Roscommon, Ireland, died 23 Apr 1897 Bangor Township, Pope County, Minnesota Event Description: St. Anthony of Padua Cemetery, Padua, Stearns, MN, age 80 years, buried Padua, Stearns County, Minnesota Thomas Rooney Died, at his home in Bangor Friday evening April 23rd, Thomas Rooney, aged 83 years. Deceased was born near Athlone, County Roscommon, Ireland in 1814 [his gravestone says he was born in 1817]. In 1847 he emigrated to Canada, settling near the Gatineau river, where he remained until 1867 when he removed to Raymond township, Stearns county, Minn. in which place and in Bangor, Pope county he resided until his death. His death was caused by cancer of the throat which the best available medical skill sought to overcome in vain. The last six months of his life were months of intense suffering which death alone had the power to allay. The funeral services were held from the Raymond Church on Sunday and the large procession which followed his remains thither was an indication of the high esteem in which he was held. Whole souled kindness and benevolent affection made him an ever welcome gue t where-ever he went and those who knew him best will be saddest for his departure from this world. A wife, three sons, Michael, John, and Thomas and two daughters, Winifred and Mary, are left to mourn his death, and scores of relatives and friends will cherish his memory through life. Glenwood Herald, April 30, 1897. Geraldine says, "The 26 hour shoeless walk in 1844 from Parish Moore to Sligo for my great grandfather Thomas, his sister Catherine and the two wee boys must have been a nightmare." Geraldine writes: "Thomas Rooney, Jr obit says he came from Canada with his family to Getty Grove in 1871. So Thomas and Bridget could have been in Minneapolis from 1867 to 1871. [I cannot for the life of me find them in this period, after spending quite a few hours doing lots of searches - David.] "I'm wondering is it possible to check church/government death records in both Canada and Minnesota to see if another child was born to Thomas and Bridget between 1867 and 1871 but did not survive. If we located a child, we can maybe get a better date for when they came to Minnesota. "We know definitely Thomas & Bridget were in MN in 1871 as their last living child, Mary Ann, is born in Raymond Township on Sept 1, 1871." The family is listed in the 1875 Minnesota state census in Raymond Township, Stearns County with all the other Rooney's and relatives. Emigration ... Parish Moore to Sligo to Liverpool to Grosse Isle to Ottawa Thomas Rooney, his sons Michael & John and his sister, Catherine Rooney Departed Liverpool (via Sligo) 9/13/1847 Arrived Ottawa 11/01/1847 Thomas Rooney's younger son, Baby John, died on the voyage. Deplorable ship conditions. Ship: the Lord Ashburton 5. Ann "Anne" RooneyBorn 1818 Ireland, died 1897 Stearns County, Minnesota Event Description: St. Anthony of Padua Cemetery, Padua, Stearns, MN, age 78 or 79 years Her husband, Michael "Tracey," has a gravestone, but it's not clear that Ann is buried there. 6. John RooneyBorn 24 Jun 1820 Galway, Ireland, died 19 May 1880 Raymond Township, Stearns County, Minnesota Event Description: St. Anthony of Padua Cemetery, Padua, Stearns, MN, age 59 years, buried Padua, Stearns County, Minnesota The 1844 John R. Rooney and Mary McCool marriage record at St. Paul's Catholic church, Aylmer, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada: "The sixteenth day of October, one thousand eight hundred and forty-four, after the banns of marriage have been once published at the parish (place?) of the mass of our mission between John Rooney of Wakefield son of age of Michael Rooney and Catherine Caufield [or Callfield], County Galway in Ireland, on the one part, and Mary McCool of Hull, daughter under age of the late Michael McCool and of the late Sarah Flannigan [or Flanigan] on the other part; no impediment having been discovered and whereas the publication of two bans has been by us granted in virtue of our powers, we the undersigned priest missionary have received their mutual consent to marriage and have given them the nuptial benediction in presence of Eliza Paul, James McCool, James Cassidy and Bernard Cassidy, who as well as the parties have declared they could not sign. J. Desantels, priest" This family, through Sarah, is in the 1851 Canada census of Quebec (Canada East), Ottawa (county), Wakefield. The family through Thomas (8 kids) is in the 1861 census of Canada, Township of Wakefield. Next to him is his brother Thomas Rooney and Bridget and their three children (the oldest being from Thomas's first wife). Sometime during 1865 or 1866 the family moved to Minnesota. They we're found in the 1865 Minnesota state census. [There's a John Rooney in the 1869 Minneapolis city directory as a laborer, living between Helen and Oregon streets, which are the 2nd and 3rd streets south of Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis. Minneapolis and St. Anthony were joined in 1872 under the name Minneapolis. He is more likely to have lived in St. Anthony, so this one may not be related.] John and family are in Raymond Township, Stearns County in 1870. Helen Felling's papers: John Rooney (the father) left with a team of oxen to get [or to sell] a load of seed wheat about a mile north of his home. His wagon tipped over and the sacks of grain smothered him [he was found dead buried under the load]. He is listed in the 1880 federal mortality schedule of deaths in Stearns county, the cause of which is listed as "accidental." The Sauk Centre Herald reports this on May 28, 1880. 7. Mary RooneyBorn 1824 Ireland, died 4 Oct 1892 Alameda County, California, age 67 or 68 years Mary Rooney daughter of Daddy Mick and Mammy Kitty Mary Rooney and her husband Michael "Coolahan" are listed as parents in the baptismal record of their daughter Mary Jane, born 16 June 1855, at St. Camillus Church in Quebec. The family is also listed in the 1870 and 1875 censuses of Raymond Township, Stearns County, Minnesota with the surname spelled "Colahan." This family is listed near to these families in the Raymond Township censuses: Rooney, Tracy, Killan (sic), Eagan (sic). So by proximity it would make sense that this is Mary of the Rooney clan. In searching for the family under the census surname spelling and other variations, only one spelling comes up that matches any members of the family, and that is "Colehan." Michael Michael Colehan, the father, is in the 1880 city directory of San Francisco as a mason, alongside "Miss Kate," a milliner, and "Miss Mary J.," a teacher. Nothing about his wife Mary (Rooney) has been found beyond the 1875 census. Daniel In the voter register for Alameda County, California for 1886, Thomas Steve Colehan and Daniel Michael Colehan are listed next to each other. They're both laborers in Livermore (a town just a bit southeast of San Francisco and Oakland), and the location of their births is listed correctly (Canada and Missouri). Their middle names are something new here. Their ages are approximately correct: 29 and 21. Daniel is listed again in the 1892 Napa, California voter registration ("Stephen" is his full middle name there). He's also in the 1894, 1896 and 1898 voter registration list of Alameda, California (the only one of that surname), and his age in 1898 is given as 43, which corresponds to his probable correct birth date of 1855. His eyes are grey and his hair brown and he's a citizen by naturalization of his father. In the 1910 census of Murray Township, Alameda County, California, Daniel Colehan, born in Canada, is a laborer at odd jobs, single. Next o him is his sister "Katherine," age 62, single, born in Ireland and immigrated (presumably to the U.S.) in 1864. The other two sisters are not listed. Somewhere between 1912 and 1917 Daniel is listed as retired and in the St. Joseph Home in Stockton and is a Democrat politically. There are no siblings with him. Daniel is still in the St. Joseph Home in 1920, and that's the last record found for him. Catherine, Mary Jane and Eliza Daniel, Mary and Eliza are in the 1894 Oakland directory, Miss Eliza Colehan as a teacher and Miss Mary Colehan as a teacher at Laddsville. So neither of the sisters is married. In the 1900 city directory of Oakland, California are listed Daniel as a laborer and next to him "Miss E. A. Colehan, teacher at Harris School," and "Miss Mary Colehan, teacher." As mentioned before, in the 1910 census of Murray Township, Alameda County, California, Daniel Colehan, born in Canada, is a laborer at odd jobs, single. Next to him is his sister "Katherine," age 62, single, born in Ireland and immigrated (presumably to the U.S.) in 1864. The two other sisters are not listed. None of these children are listed in cemetery records on "Find a Grave." A California Death Record index entry for only one of the siblings, Mary J. Colehan, died May 29, 1926 in San Joaquin, California, was found. Thomas Thomas Colehan first shows up as a 17-year-old sheepherder in the 1880 census of Alameda, Murray County, California. It says he was born in Missouri and his parents in Ireland. As noted above, Thomas Stephen and Daniel Michael Coleman are next to each other in the voter register for Alameda County, California for 1886. They're both laborers in Livermore, and they have their location of births listed correctly (Canada and Missouri). From at least 1902 to about 1910, there are a dozen short articles about Thomas in the Reno Evening Gazette, the Nevada State Journal and the Oakland Tribune. Thomas is the majority owner in either a silver or a gold mine (Colehan Mining Company of Tonopah, Nevada in Gold Mountain), he makes prospecting trips to Alaska and Siberia, visits friends in Mexico, makes trips to the east coast looking for investors, and seems to be quite wealthy. Tonopah is almost straight east of San Francisco. Sometime before 1910, however, one newspaper points out that though Thomas is no longer poor, "he held on too long in the boom times" to those stock certificates and his wealth is considerably reduced. In March 1905 Thomas married Narcisse Newton Cohart in Vancouver, British Columbia. He had met her 20 years before while they were students in the St. Cloud (Minn.) Normal school. She was from Covington, Kentucky. In the meantime she had married James I. Cohart, a planter from South Carolina, and he died in 1903. She presumably died before 1920. In the January 10, 1920 federal census of the Divide Mining District, Esmeralda, Nevada, Thomas, age 55 and widowed, is a lodger and a mine manager in the silver prospect business. It says he was born in Missouri (correctly) and that his parents were born in New York (incorrectly). Later in the year, on July 20, 1920, Thomas marries again, a widowed school teacher named Dorothy Milton Wigstead (in some places spelled Wigstad). Their marriage certificate indicates (erroneously) that he is single (that is, not widowed) and correctly states that his father's name was M. Colehan and his mother's name was Mary Rooney. Dorothy was previously married to Daniel Milton, and the two of them adopted an infant boy, Leslie, in 1910 and then Daniel promptly died. (Dorothy's family trees on the Internet ignore the fact that she married Thomas.) Dorothy is shown in the January 1920 census as being widowed – this would have been from Daniel Wigstead – and again in the 1930 census (this time from Thomas Colehan), retaining her Wigstead last name in both cases. Presumably that Thomas died during the decade of the 20s. With the exception of Thomas's two marriages, none of the other Colehan children married and none had children of their own. 8. Catherine E "Catharine on gravestone" RooneyBorn 1826 Ireland Event Description: probably Roscommon, died 31 Jan 1901 Fort Steele, British Columbia, Canada Event Description: St. Anthony of Padua Cemetery, Padua, Stearns, MN, age 74 or 75 years, buried 7 Feb 1901 Padua, Stearns County, Minnesota Geraldine Felling Walsh: "The 26 hour shoeless walk in 1844 from Parish Moore to Sligo for my great grandfather Thomas, his sister Catherine and the two wee boys must have been a nightmare… I continue to wonder about Catherine. Why was Catherine still in Ireland if her parents went much earlier to Canada? Why would Catherine, one of the younger members (and a female) not travel with her parents? Possible reasons: "She was ill; she was in love with a local man and didn't want to go; she was the babysitter for Thomas' children. Perhaps Thomas' wife was sickly and they needed Catherine. To further add to the mystery, my genealogical record shows Catherine being born in County Clare!!! AND IT SHOWS HER DYING IN Cranbrook, B.C. Now I know Thomas' sister Catherine is buried in the Padua Cemetery so something is definitely wrong with this family record." David Gaffaney: The children of Catherine and Patrick Killeen were born in Canada, except for Michael, who was born in New York, and Lizzie, who was born in Minnesota. The family apparently went back to Canada after having lived in New York and then re-entered the U.S. and settled in Minnesota. In her last years, Catherine lived with her daughter Lizzie (Mrs. Thomas C.) Armstrong in Fort Steele, British Columbia where she died at the age of 74 and Lizzie took her body back to Minnesota for burial in 1901. [In the 1880 census of Raymond Township, Stearns County, Minnesota, Catherine and her husband are both listed as the same age, and we have his birth year as 1826. She died in January at the age of 74, and it's most likely that her 75th birthday would have occurred some time later in the year, confirming that her birth year was 1826. Also, I don't know where the County Clare birth comes from. Seems more likely to have been Galway or Roscommon.] Cause of death was heart failure caused by the severeness of an attack of la grippe. Fort Steele and Cranbrook, B.C. are within a few miles of each other, along a road going northeast out of Idaho. Fourth cousin Jill DaSilva (jfham1@gmail.com), Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 2/10/2016: Patrick Bunam KILLEEN and Catherine ROONEY were my 2nd great grandparents. Their youngest daughter, Bridget Elizabeth KILLEEN or (Elizabeth Bridget depending on what record you find) was my great grandmother. She married Thomas Charles ARMSTRONG, a tinsmith, who had been born in Ontario. They met in Minnesota, then moved to Montana and then to Fort Steele, British Columbia, then Cranbrook, British Columbia. Catherine (Rooney) KILLEEN, died of influenza in Cranbrook, British Columbia, and Thomas, who adored her, built a tin-lined coffin and shipped her body back to Padua, Minnesota so she could be buried there. There is a facsimile of Thomas's tinsmith shop built at Fort Steele, which is a historic town. My sisters and I, as kids, used to play in the buildings when it was just a ghost town. The shop contains a few items that he built, and there are some remnants of his work in nearby churches and towns. http://fortsteele.ca/attractions/trades/ Originally published Thursday, February 7, 1901, Cranbrook Herald Mrs. Catherine Killeen aged 74 years, died at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. T. C. Armstrong, on Thursday evening at 8 o'clock. Mrs. Killeen had been suffering from a severe attack of la grippe, and the direct cause of her death was heart failure, caused by the severeness of the attack of la grippe. Originally published August 1998, Padua Cemetery, by Ginny Walz Borgerding Patrick Bunam Killeen was born in 1826 County Clare, Ireland. He was the son of Bryan and Mary (Calahan) Killeen. When Patrick first came from Ireland, he was put ashore at Grosse Isle, Canada. Catharine Rooney was born in 1827 in Ireland. She was the daughter of Michael and Catharine (Caulfield) Rooney. She immigrated to Canada from Ireland with her brother Thomas Rooney in 1847. She was 20 years old when she left Ireland with her brother Thomas. Thomas was a widower traveling with his two young sons, Michael (age 3) and John (age 2). Catharine helped with the care of the children. Patrick Killeen married Catharine Rooney on February 17, 1851 at St. Joseph's, Upper Wakefield, Quebec, Canada. Patrick was employed in the timber lands in Wakefield Township. They had three children: Thomas, Mary Ann, and Bernard. When his work was finished, Patrick moved his family to New York City where their son Michael was born in 1855. Patrick and family returned to Ontario, Canada, but was not satisfied to stay there. As there was a big land boom in Minnesota, just at that time, Patrick decided to locate there. Patrick and Catharine had two more children during this time: Patrick J. and Catherine Judith. According to an oral interview with Michael (Patrick and Catharine's son) given in 1937, " he (Patrick) boarded a steam boat at Lake Superior and came to St. Paul by way of the Mississippi about 1863. He secured an ox team in St. Paul and made his way over land to Stearns County, where he obtained 160 acres in Section 24 Raymond Township." Patrick hired Joe McDermatt, who had a team of horses and a plow, to put in his first crop which was 10 acres of wheat. While living in Padua they had two more children: Dennis and Elizabeth. Patrick served as director of the Padua School Board in 1872, and it was he who had to sign the document establishing him as school board director with an X because he did not know how to write. Patrick and Catharine farmed near Padua along with their eight children: Thomas, Mary Ann, Bernard (Barney), Patrick J. (P.J.), Catherine Judith (Katie), Dennis, and Elizabeth. Patrick died on April 4, 1884. Catharine later moved to Cranbrook, British Columbia where she stayed with her daughter Elizabeth and family. She died of a heart attack that was caused by a severe attack of la grippe (influenza). Patrick and Catharine's sons P.J. and Michael and daughter Katie (Catherine Judith) are buried in Padua. Catharine's mother, Catharine Rooney, is buried next to Patrick. Catharine's brothers Thomas and John, and sister-in-law Ellen (wife of Patrick) Rooney are also buried in Padua. 9. Hugh RooneyBorn ± 1828 Ireland, died 1880 Miles City, Custer County, Montana, age approximately 52 years Hugh and Ann are in the 17 June 1870 census of Raymond Township, Stearns County, Minnesota. He is 45 and she is 35. Living with them is Catherine Rooney (Mammy Kitty), age 85. Hugh and Ann are in the June 5, 1880 census of Miles City, Custer County, Montana. He is 53 and she is 37. Living with them is Joe Rooney, age 11, who was born in "Dakotah" and his parents in Spain. He was either an adopted son or foster child. Hugh and Anna had no children themselves. Hugh's last will & testimony was signed on 17 June 1880 in Miles City, Montana. On 8 Nov 1880, a probate judge signed off on Ann Rooney being the executor of the will since Hugh was deceased. The exact date of Hugh's death is unknown at this time. No death or burial information has been located. | |||