Quick Links

Banner Photo Info


Families

M.W. Rooney

W.E. Rooney


Links

rooneys.org

Welcome

Welcome to rooneys-minnesota.com. This website is dedicated to the "Minnesota" Rooneys and their ancestors. The history and genealogy information included on this site centers around the Rooney families who - after living a short time north of Ottawa, Canada, following their emigration from Ireland - eventually settled in the central part of Minnesota around the mid- to late-1860's.


Rooney Family Reunion 2023

A Rooney reunion was held July 22 at the Padua Center. Great conversation and many laughs were shared by approximately 220 Rooney family members for the noon meal (dinner if you are from Padua) and more who joined throughout the afternoon. Historical displays lined the walls. Tours were taken of early Rooney homesteads. And the Padua cemetery was available to reflect on our earliest known ancestors.

Visit the Rooney Family Reunion Facebook Group for more follow-up from the event, and for planning already underway for a 2026 reunion!


Tom Colehan Article

RoxAnne Rooney Petterson graciously compiled an article about the endeadors of Tom Colehan, grandson of Daddy Mick and Mammy Kitty. Read about Tom here.

We are always looking for more "Rooney" content. If you have family information that you would like to have included on this site, please contact us.


What's new?

We are now into our third decade of working on this project. The content of these webpages hasn't changed much over the years, but we have some updates:

  • The webhost is new. If you recently noticed a disrution of web site, it was because we were in the process of transferring the site's content.
  • The Family Tree has been updated and now contains over 9,000 individuals!
  • And we recently learned that the Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (BBE) Public School District has been using this website for over the past five years as a database to study history in the district. Although told from the Rooney perspective, they find it to be a very rich site for understanding the emigration from Europe for all settlers of the area. And they have used the website for Minnesota history classes, as well as anecdotal information provided.