Ancestor Report
generation I

1 (0)
woman‎Katherine Summers‏‎ PRIVACY FILTER
generation II (Parents)

2 (1)
manJames John Summers‏ PRIVACY FILTER
  to:
3 (1)
womanDiane Marie Paulsen‏ PRIVACY FILTER
generation III (Grandparents)

4 (2)
manJohn William Summers‏
Born ‎2 May 1905 Manchester, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, died ‎11 Aug 1992 Wasco, Sherman County, Oregon‎, age 87 years
  Married ‎24 Jul 1947 Vancouver, Clark County, Washington, age 42 years (married 45 years) to:
5 (2)
womanJuleen Mary Wirtzfeld‏
Born ‎30 Jun 1925 Martin, Walsh County, North Dakota, died ‎29 Nov 1995 Wasco, Sherman County, Oregon‎, age 70 years
generation IV (Great-Grandparents)

10 (5)
manJoseph Herman "Herman Joseph; Joe" Wirtzfeld‏
Born ‎15 Apr 1893 Saint Nicholas, Stearns County, Minnesota, died ‎8 Sep 1965 Stearns County, Minnesota Event Description: Saint Nicholas Cemetery, Stearns County‎, age 72 years, buried Saint Nicholas, Stearns County, Minnesota
Joseph was a station agent for the Soo Line Railway for 35 years (another railroader, like his father-in-law).
  Married ‎12 Oct 1921 Villard, Pope County, Minnesota, age 28 years (married 43 years) to:
11 (5)
womanMargaret Eleanor "Maggie" Brown‏
Born ‎9 Aug 1895 Bangor Township, Pope County, Minnesota, died ‎17 Dec 1973 The Dalles, Wasco County, Oregon Event Description: St. Nicholas Cemetery, Stearns County‎, age 78 years
Peter and his sister Margaret were with his grandparents, the William and Catherine Martin family, in the 1900 census in Bangor Township, Pope County. Their mother had died two years earlier. They are still with them in the 1910 census, but in Sedan, Pope County.

On October 12, 1921 his Margaret married Joseph Wirtzfeld in Villard, with the reception at the home of the William E. Martin family there. Lyle Martin, age nearly 13, remembers Margaret Brown Wirtzfeld saying she had reached her father who was working in North Dakota at the time, but that he was unable to come for the wedding.

In 1930 they're living in Martin, Sheridan, North Dakota with four children.
generation V (Great Great-Grandparents)

22 (11)
manJohn James "John H, born in Minesota 1871 (1895 census)" Brown‏
Born ‎10 Apr 1868 Derryheagh, County Mayo, Ireland, died ‎24 Feb 1937 Kirkland, King County, Washington Event Description: Kirkland Cemetery, Kirkland, WA‎, age 68 years
"Johnny Martin married Mary Brown and Mary Martin married Johnny Brown."

John worked for the railroad, which may explain why they ended up in Massachusetts as newly weds. He probably continued with the railroad after his wife's death. Lyle Martin says that he suffered some kind of accident, no doubt on the job, which resulted in a plate being placed inside his head. Eventually he retired - or was possibly disabled since he received a pension for a number of years.

On October 12, 1921 his daughter Margaret married Joseph Wirtzfeld in Villard, with the reception at the home of the William E. Martin family there. Lyle Martin, age nearly 13, remembers Margaret Brown Wirtzfeld saying she had reached her father who was working in North Dakota at the time, but that he was unable to come for the wedding.

Rena Martin Jenson says, "Ann [daughter of John Francis Martin] died in 1898 same time as Mary [Ann Martin] Brown and Franklin Brown of typhoid fever."

Ed L. Martin is buried in the Kirkland Cemetery next to Peter J. Brown, a brother of his sister Mary's husband John J. Brown, I presume. Peter had bought 20 acres of land in Kirkland and John J. Brown lived there until he died; John J. Brown is also buried in this cemetery. John Henry Martin is also buried here.
Frank C. Martin and John Francis Martin are buried in the Greenwood Cemetery, Bend, Oregon.
Mayme Wolfe Martin and Elmer H. Jensen are buried in Sunset Hills Memorial Park, Bellevue, Washington.
  Married ‎16 Nov 1892 Padua, Stearns County, Minnesota, age 24 years
probably St. Anthony of Padua
(married 5 years) to:
23 (11)
womanMary Ann "Maggie" Martin‏
Born ‎24 Dec 1869 Saint Anthony, Hennepin County, Minnesota, died ‎12 Oct 1898 Bangor Township, Pope County, Minnesota Event Description: Padua Cemetery, Stearns, Minnesota‎, age 28 years, buried Padua, Stearns County, Minnesota
Mary Ann Martin was baptized at St. Anthony of Padua Church in northeast Minneapolis on Christmas day, 1869, the day after her birthday. She is 5/12 years old in the July 1, 1870 census of St. Anthony, Minnesota.

"Johnny Martin married Mary Brown and Mary Martin married Johnny Brown."

John Brown was born in Derryheagh, County Mayo, Ireland in 1868 and was 11 years old when the family came to the U.S. [Today – 2015 - Derryheagh is perhaps a small area near the town of Newport, County Mayo. There's a Killeen Cemetery 6 miles west of town overlooking Clew Bay in which one couple's gravestone says they're from Derryheagh.]

Mary Ann Martin and John Brown met in Sedan and were married in Villard (or in a double-wedding ceremony with their siblings, John F. Martin and Mary Brown, on November 16, 1892 in Padua). Afterwards they made their home in Hammer, South Dakota for a while, then Massachusetts. Two of the "Canada" letters included letters from Mary Martin Brown to her sister Katie Martin in Brooten, Minnesota. In the first in 1894, from South Bridge, Massachusetts she talks of dancing with her son "Petie." In the second in April 1898 from Clinton, Massachusetts, Mary talks of her baby (Maggie) having two teeth now. "Petie is now going to school(!), and the house is quiet since he has gone."

Maggie and Frankie were born in Massachusetts. In 1898, the family and their three children were returning to Minnesota by train, and on that journey they were exposed to typhoid fever. Soon after their arrival in Minnesota, Mary and her young son Frankie died of the disease. After Mary died, Maggie was raised by her grandmother, Catherine Rooney, at their home in Sedan. Julia Rooney was about the same age. Ambrose Gaffaney knew Maggie because he and his brother Harold hitched a ride on a freight train up to Standish, North Dakota to see the Wirtzfelds, and the Wirtzfelds used to come down and visit.

I believe Mary's gravestone says her day of death was the 18th, though a number of family trees have the 12th and another sources says the 17th. Rena Martin Jensen says, "Ann [daughter of John Francis Martin] died in 1898 same time as Mary [Ann Martin] Brown and Franklin Brown of typhoid fever." I don't know who Franklin Brown is.

[Catherine E. Martin ( Jr.) from sister Mary Martin Brown]
South Bridge [Massachusetts]
Jan 15, 1894
Miss Katie Martin
Dear Sister
I received your letter, was very glad to here from you. I am told you are going to school at Uncle Hughes this winter. How long a term is it? How do you like the teacher? Did "Dulie Egan" get a school last fall?
I suppose I will soon here that you will be looking for a school.
Is Maggie home this winter? Was aunt Ellie's folks up to see her this winter? Was Aunt Mary Ann in Bangor [Township] this winter? How is Aunt Eliza & the little ones? Tell Lillie she is the best little girl in Bangor, she wrote me two letters. You said you would like to see Petie now. Well I wish I could show him to you he is a great big boy now. I do play with him mostly all the time. I do dance with him and I used [to] with Lill. He does laugh very hearty sometimes. I have the piece of lace you started for him nearly made. I made a piece of narrow lace for shirt for him. I got a calico and a gingham dress for myself this winter.
We have very nice weather down here. there was only two or three cold days.
Write soon and often. No more this time from Your sis
Mary A. Brown

[Catherine E. Martin (Jr.) from sister Mary Martin]
Clinton, Massachusetts
April 3, 1898
Miss Katie Martin
Dear Katie:
I received your letter some time ago, and was glad to here [sic] from you. We have had a siege of the grip since I got your letter, are better now. When I saw the grip coming I thought I would be ready for it, so these are a few of the medicines I had, two qts. Flaxseed &c., one bottle of cough syrup, one bottle whiskey, bot pills, bottle Hoods sarsaparilla, bottle of borax and Honey, sugar and butter, white of egg and vinegar and I don't know what I didn't have. Oh it was the goose oil! I did not have that, but I guess I drank so much of the goose oil when I had the grip at home that I did not need any this time.
The baby has two teeth. The grip went hard with him. You wish I would tell you all about the kids, well if I told you the half about them when they were sick you would not want to here [sic] it twice. They are as bold as pet pigs and that is putting it mild. Petie is going to school! We have a quiet house since he started. They are out on vacation now until after Easter.
You wanted to know who they looked like, and the color of their eyes and hair. Well, Petie looks like Charley when Charley was his age and Maggie looks like Tommy. John O'Malley always calls Maggie Tommy Martin. I will send you a wisp of their hair. As for the baby he looks like Maggie only he is bald headed. Petie's eyes are about as big as Charley's only they seem darker. Maggie's are [?]. Petie's curl is the long one. They used to be yellow but they will soon be black.
I suppose your home now anyway. I will send this letter to Brooten and you will get it some time. How are Pa and Ma and all the rest of the folks. Write as soon as you get around and I will answer some time. Give my love to all. No more this time from Your sister,
Mary, address as before
generation VI (3rd Great-Grandparents)

46 (23)
manWilliam Joseph Martin‏
Born ‎15 Apr 1838 Shanagolden, County Limerick, Ireland Event Description: the date is of his baptism, died ‎28 May 1910 Raymond Township, Stearns County, Minnesota Event Description: St. Anthony of Padua Cemetery, Padua, Stearns, MN‎, age 72 years, buried Padua, Stearns County, Minnesota
William Martin and his wife "Kate" and two kids and his brother John, age 25, are in the 1870 census of Minneapolis (St. Anthony, Ward 2 : 550 618). He and his brother are working in a sawmill. Also living with them are Catherine's brothers Michael Rooney (age 23, b. Canada), James Rooney (age 21, b. Canada), and perhaps a cousin, Patrick Killeen (age 40, b. Ireland), all listed as laborers. Other records indicate that Patrick enlisted in the Civil War in 1965 and was in heavy artillery at Ft. Snelling, and that he was born in Galway.

William Martin moved from Minneapolis where his two oldest children were born to the Detroit Lakes area in 1870 to work for a "pinery" or lumber company. James and William were born here. In 1873 they moved to "Stearns" (Raymond Township) in about 1873, based on comments in letters from his brother James in Canada. There are a number of mentions of the "Record" newspaper in the Canada letters, from Detroit Lakes. In 1885 the family moved from Raymond Township to Bangor Township, about 12 miles to the southwest. They retired to a home in Sedan, owned by Charles.

In a letter shortly before their marriage, James Martin told Jennie Anderson that he had secured a traveling pass, a ticket from Kensington to "Detroit," so that as part of their honeymoon they could see Det oit where his life started.

8/23/15:
David Gaffaney looked up my great grandfather's baptismal record on the Irish parish website (http://registers.nli.ie/) - he is William Martin, who married Catherine Rooney. Lyle Martin had found him listed in the parish record at Shanagolden, Co. Limerick, Ireland when he made a trip there in the 1980s.
It was quite easy to find him. His is the last baptismal record of April 15, 1838. The Latin reads "Bap. Gulielmus filius leg. Ionnes Kilmartin & Catherine Connors (spon Patricius Sullivan & Juditha [?] Keating)". English: William, legitimate son of James Kilmartin & Catherine Connors, sponsors Patrick Sullivan and Judith [?] Keating". After the Kilmartin's arrived in the Gatineau area of Canada they changed their last name to Martin.

William Martin and Catherine Rooney were married at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic church in northeast Minneapolis on July 7, 1867. Witnesses were John J. Darcy and Mary Tracy. The priest was the Rev. Felix Tissot.
Two years later John Darcy married Catherine's younger sister Sarah at the same church. They had a son they named Felix.
Mary Tracy would have been Catherine's 24-year-old first cousin, daughter of her aunt Ann Rooney.
As of 2016, the St. Anthony parish records are at the Church of the Holy Cross in Minneapolis, about a mile north of St. Anthony of Padua (612-789-7238) on University Avenue.
Also, see http://www.lngplants.com/Basilica_of_Saint_Mary_Minneapolis_1955_JMR_PA.html

William Joseph Martin's naturalization record is at Pope County, dated March 10, 1886.

This a list of priests connected to St. Anthony of Padua parish in Minneapolis, some of whom had a connection with the Murphy/Rooney families:

Reverend John McDermott, born in Clifton, County Galway, Ireland, in 1816, and ordained in Little Rock, Arkansas, about 1840. He came to the Diocese of St. Paul in 1860 and assumed charge of St. Anthony parish. He was a pastor at St. Anthony of Padua church in Minneapolis before going out to Mower and then Wright County and from there to Meeker County just to the west. He died in 1887 in Darwin, Meeker County, Minnesota and is buried in St. John's Catholic Cemetery there. (He was injured getting off the train in Darwin that same year, which may or may not have any connection to his death.)

Rev. Felix Tissot, a French priest, succeeded Fr. McDermott in 1866 at St. Anthony in Minneapolis. The predominately Irish parishioners were chagrined that they had a French priest instead of one of their own. He was the priest who married Catherine Rooney and Will Martin in 1867 as well as also her younger sister Sarah Rooney and John Darcy in 1869. He was born in Lyon, France in 1835 and was first assigned to a Goodhue County mission in 1856, then to Cannon Falls, then Wabasha, then St. Anthony of Padua from 1866 until 1886. He died 18 November 1893 at the age of 58 and is buried in St. Anthony Cemetery in Minneapolis in the circle plot.

Rev. Hugh J. McDevitt was born in 1842 in Ireland and died in 1910 in Minneapolis and is buried in Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul. He did mission work in Australia before coming to the U.S. He was the one listed with Margaret Murphy in the 1895 Minnesota census of Manannah, Meeker County, Minnesota. (Fr. McDermott had already died; he had organized the Church of Our Lady in Manannah in 1876 ). It looks like the faded name written in that census is Rev. John McDevitt, but the first name is either a mistake or it's his middle name and he went by John. And his age fits him. He was pastor of the Minnesota parishes of Darwin, Manannah, Rosemount and Shakopee, successively.

Rev. James McGolrick was born May 1, 1841, at Barrisokane, County Tipperary, Ireland and came to Minneapolis in the autumn of 1867. He was soon transferred to Minneapolis as assistant to Father John McDermott of St. Anthony's church. To provide a place of worship for the Catholics of East Minneapolis, Father Mc-Golrick built an addition to the little frame structure erected some time previously by Father Tissot, the successor to Father McDermott at St. Anthony's parish. This was the first Church of the Immaculate Conception. Father McGolrick remained in charge of the congregation of the Immaculate Conception until December 27, 1889, when he was consecrated first Bishop of Duluth. He died in 1918 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Duluth.

Rev. James O'Reilly from County Cavan, Ireland, was pastor at St. Anthony of Padua in Minneapolis starting in 1886. He became bishop of Fargo in 1909.
  Married ‎7 Jul 1867 Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, age 29 years (married 42 years) to:
47 (23)
womanCatherine Bridget Rooney‏
Born ‎14 Sep 1845 Wakefield Township, Outaouais, Quebec, Canada, died ‎25 Jan 1911 Sedan, Pope County, Minnesota‎, age 65 years, buried Padua, Stearns County, Minnesota
William Martin and Catherine Rooney were married at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic church in what is today northeast Minneapolis on July 7, 1867. (The cities of St. Anthony east of the Mississippi and Minneapolis west of the Mississippi, merged into one, Minneapolis, in 1872.) Witnesses were John J. Darcy and Mary Tracy. The French priest, Rev. Felix Tissot, performed the ceremony. Fr Tissot is buried in the "circle" in St. Anthony Cemetery in Minneapolis
Two years later John Darcy married Catherine's younger sister Sarah at the same church with the same priest. They had a son they named Felix.
Mary Tracy would have been Catherine's 24-year-old first cousin, daughter of her aunt Ann Rooney.
As of 2016, the St. Anthony parish records are at the Church of the Holy Cross in Minneapolis, about a mile north of St. Anthony of Padua (612-789-7238) on University Avenue.
Also, see http://www.lngplants.com/Basilica_of_Saint_Mary_Minneapolis_1955_JMR_PA.html

Glenwood Herald
February 3, 1911

CALLED TO HEAVENLY HOME
_____________________________

Mrs. Catherine E. Martin of Sedan is called Home After Long and Useful Life.
_____________________________

At her home in Sedan, Minn. on Wednesday, January 25, Mrs. Catherine E. Martin passed away at the age of sixty five years. Death had been expected for some time for the doctors gave up hope long ago, and Death alone could furnish relief from a long term of pain and suffering which began several years ago [carcinoma of the rectum].
Funeral services were conducted by Rev. Father Sharer of Padua in the Catholic church at Sedan on Saturday at nine o'clock and interment was made in the cemetery at Padua, in the afternoon of the same day, and the body laid beside that of her husband William J. Martin who had died just eight months before.
Deceased whose maiden name was Catherine B. Rooney, was born in Canada September 14, 1845, and was therefore, at the time of her death in the 66th year of her age. In the early sixties she emigrated with her parents to Minnesota and settled in Minneapolis, which was then little more than a village. Here she was married to William Martin in 1866 [actually, July 7, 1867]. They moved to Stearns county in 1873, whe re they lived for 12 years engaged in farming till 1885 when they move d to Bangor, Pope county. In June 1908, they moved into town finding farm work some what strenuous for their advancing years and here she passed away as above noted surrounded by a number of sorrowing friends and relatives.
Six sons and four daughters live to mourn the loss of a kind and loving mother, also six brothers and one sister survive her. The sons are, John F. Martin, Frazee, Minn., James E. of Kensington, W. E. and Chas. H. of Sedan, T. C. of St. Paul and E. L. Martin of Windham, Mont. The daughters are, Mrs. James A. Gaffaney of Forada, Margaret Julia and Elizabeth of Sedan. The brothers are, Michael and John Rooney of Montana, James and W. E. Rooney of Padua, T. T. and Hugh M. Rooney, Brooten and a sister Mrs. Dennis Egan of Padua.
Kind and loving in disposition, a great friend of the children of all ages, her sympathies were always with the young. She will be greatly missed by a large circle of friends, and the loss to her home is irreparable, indeed.
The Herald joins in extending sincere sympathy to the friends and relatives of the deceased.
generation VII (4th Great-Grandparents)

94 (47)
manJohn Rooney‏
Born ‎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.
  Married ‎16 Oct 1844 Aylmer, Hull, Quebec, Canada, age 24 years St. Paul's Catholic Church (married 35 years) to:
95 (47)
womanMary McCool‏
Born ‎1823 Donegal, Ireland Event Description: or 1828, died ‎30 Nov 1895 Raymond Township, Stearns County, Minnesota Event Description: St. Anthony of Padua Cemetery, Padua, Stearns, MN‎, age 71 or 72 years, buried Padua, Stearns County, Minnesota
According to maps made from Griffiths, McCool is almost exclusively an Ulster name. The name concentrates in Donegal.

December 2016: An online family tree of distant relatives has identified the location of the birth (1823) of our great, great grandmother Mary McCool, who married John Rooney. They provided a picture of where she and her parents, Michael McCool and Mary (or Sarah) Flanagan, lived in Cullionboy, Donegal.

The McCool homestead was a two-room thatched roof stone structure with an attached shed which was used for the animals. This building, located in the townland of Cullionboy--about 5 miles from Donegal Town--was inhabited until 1967 and, as can be seen in the recent photo, is still standing, minus the thatched roof.

One of the witnesses to her marriage to John R. Rooney was her brother James McCool. Also perhaps an Eliza McCool and two people with the last name Casidy (Cassidy?).

In the 1851 census of Rigaud, Vaudreuil, Canada, there is a family of "McCall" next to the Avon John Rooney and family, and the Mary has the correct birth year. Parents were Denis McCall and Helene Chanan.
generation VIII (5th Great-Grandparents)

188 (94)
manMichael ""Daddy Mick"" Rooney‏
Born ‎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.

As of 2017, it has been proven by finding DNA matches on Ancestry between the Padua Rooney branch and descendants of the Avon Rooney branch. However, the exact connection is still to be determined.

The Egan's and Rooney's intermarried eight times (all of the couples dying in Pope or Stearns County):

James Rooney (1848-1926)
Ann Egan (1846-1914)

Mary Ann Rooney (1865-1937)
Dennis Egan (1849->1910)

William Edward Rooney (1897-1980)
Mary Emily Egan (1897-1990). Mary was an orphan train adoptee, so not genetically an Egan or a Rooney, even though her "grandfather" was John R. Rooney. Also, her husband William Edward Rooney was one of the "Avon Rooney's." Though not genetically an Egan or a Rooney, even though her "great grandfather" was Michael Rooney on the Padua side, she married William Edward Rooney whose great grandfather was John Rooney the Avon side. Thus by prior relationship they were 3rd cousins, but unrelated by consanguinity.

Mary Rooney (1837-1905)
James Egan (1826-1912)

Eleanor Rooney (1842-1902)
Patrick Egan (1833-1892)

Elizabeth A Rooney (1866-1904) (first-cousin once-removed to her husband)
Thomas Edward Egan (1862-1928)

Martin Gannon (1848-1911) (son of Mary Egan and grandson of Thomas B Egan)
Catherine Kilroe (1859->1940) (granddaughter of Bridget Rooney and great granddaughter of Daddy Mick/Mammy Kitty Rooney)

Daniel Michael Rooney (1955-2014) was related to his wife, Karen Ann Majerus (1957-living): His great great grandparents were Michael and Catherine Rooney, while Karen's 4x great grandparents were Michael and Catherine. Thus, they were third cousins twice-removed. Also, Karen is an Egan descendent as well.

Including the three cousin marriages listed just above, there are these additional three:

In 1877, Sarah Margaret Tracy, daughter of Ann Rooney, married her first cousin, John J. Rooney, son of Patrick Rooney.

In 1888, Hugh M. Rooney married his first cousin, Winifred Sophia Rooney.

In about 1889, Thomas T. Rooney of the Padua Rooney branch married his second cousin, Ellen E. Rooney, of the Avon Rooney branch.


Randy Rooney says (May 2016):

"I have been in contact with my closest Y-DNA result match who has a genetic distance of 1 out of the 37 markers I had tested. His great grandfather, Patrick [Rooney] b. ~1845, was from Dundalk, County Louth , just south of County Down. Is it possible that we aren't finding Rooney's in the area of Parish Moore since Michael wasn't from that part of Ireland, but just started his family there because Catherine was from there? And if Michael didn't have strong family ties to the area, did that prompt their emigration from Ireland. It seems reasonable they lived near Parish Moore at one time if Thomas married Ellen Ward there, and Michael/Catherine are listed as being from Co. Galway on the Canadian marriage record of John Rooney/Mary McCool. However, what else is known about where they had lived prior to Canada? The more we learn, the more questions there seem to be…"

Earlier in his email Randy said: "Clonburren and Moore South graveyards, [the two others besides the Kilbegley Cemetery associated with the Parish of Moore in Roscommon], have been completed already [cleaning, reading and photographing old monuments], so you can see what Kilbegley eventually will include. I found the Moore South graveyard interesting since there were many Caulfield's, but no Rooney's."
Ten Caulfield's, to be exact.


July, 2017:

Looking at Geraldine Felling Walsh's Ancestry DNA pages. She and her siblings and several of her living first cousins are closer to the Rooney ancestors genetically than are any of the rest of us. There are a number of people related to her that have a Rooney in their family tree, but those Rooney's have no known connection to us. The furtherest ancestor any of them listed could be as close as a first cousin or a nephew or niece to "Daddy Mick." They appear so far to come from either Leitrim or Mayo in Ireland. Maybe they are from a "Leitrim" branch?
  Married/ Related to:
189 (94)
womanCatherine ""Mammy Kitty"; Catharine on gravestone" Caulfield‏
Born ‎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).