Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Saying Goodbye to the Last One

The trail leading from a small news clipping tucked among Agnes Tully Stevens’ personal papers to the reading of the will of her Chicago pastor ends with a funeral report of Father Flannigan’s last remaining sibling, Agatha. A lifelong public school teacher, Aggie was well known in her hometown of Norway on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

The report subsequent to her passing and funeral revealed further information on both her well-known brother Richard—whose legal career spanned decades of service in every role from trial lawyer to state Supreme Court Chief Justice—and her respected father, who evidently hailed from County Waterford in Ireland. Though my own searches failed to reveal where Father Patrick M. Flannigan was buried in Marquette, or bring me to any online record of his unmarried sister Agatha’s own grave, this local newspaper report led me right to the spot: a family mausoleum at Holy Cross Cemetery in Marquette.

The only thing missing from this funeral report is the very thing genealogy researchers look for in obituaries: the names of the survivors. While Agatha Flannigan had been the last one remaining of her siblings, she did leave behind at least one member of the next generation.

In order to find the names from that next generation, though, we first have to work our way further backwards in time.



FLANNIGAN RITES ARE
HELD AT MARQUETTE

            Greenland—Funeral services for Miss Agatha Flannigan, Norway, who died Saturday morning in Duluth, Minn., were held Monday morning in St. Peter’s Cathedral in Marquette and interment was made in the Flannigan mausoleum in Holy Cross cemetery.
            Miss Flannigan, a sister of the late Judge Richard C. Flannigan of Norway, was the last member of a family prominent throughout the Upper Peninsula. Miss Flannigan was born in Greenland, a daughter of the late Captain and Mrs. Flannigan. Captain Flannigan was born and raised in County Waterford, Ireland, and was engaged in mining for years in the old country. Emigrating to the United States in the 40s, he located at Greenland, becoming one of the pioneers of the Upper Peninsula and one of the first to mine copper in this region.
            Miss Flannigan, one of three daughters and ten sons born to Captain and Mrs. Flannigan attended school here, later moving to Marquette, where she also attended school. She later moved to Norway, where she taught school for many years. In her later life, she divided her time between the old Flannigan home in Norway, where she spent most of her winters, and her cottage at Spread Eagle, where she spent each summer.

6 comments:

  1. My unsubstantiated list of siblings is:

    Mary? (1835 Ireland)
    Thomas (1841 Ireland) m. Joanna
    Patrick Michael (1841 Ireland)
    Jeremiah (1842 Ireland)
    John (1843)
    William B. (1847 Ireland)
    James (1847 Ireland)
    Ellen E. (1848 Ireland)
    -------------------
    Matthew (1854)
    Edward (1855)
    Richard Charles (1859 Michigan)
    Mary Agnes (1861 Michigan)

    ...which leaves me one short - and thinking Thomas was a twin of Patrick M. Brother Thomas had a large family, so Agnes left behind a number of nephews and nieces.

    Spread Eagle appears to be just over the state line in Wisconsin, near Iron Mountain, Michigan.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I previously looked at the Flannigan mausoleum and see no markings with first names on the outside.

    Do you suppose, in addition to the Judge (RC) and his wife (listed in Find-a-grave) that Patrick and Agnes are in there too? I wonder how good Holy Cross's records are. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Here is what I have found so far:
    Patrick Michael Flannigan
    1840? – 1907
    Thomas Flannigan
    1841 –
    John Flannigan
    1843 – 1908
    James Flannigan
    1847 –
    Catherine Flannigan
    1853 – 1933
    William Flannigan
    1853 – 1875
    Mathew Flannigan
    1854 – 1875
    Edward Flannigan
    1856 – 1880
    Richard Charles Flannigan
    1857 – 1928
    Margaret Flannigan
    1859 –
    Agatha (Mary) Flannigan
    1861 – 1945

    I didnt know about Jeremiah till now! THANKS!
    Patrick and Thomas were twins??? HMMM!

    ReplyDelete
  4. No, what I meant was, given the census's murky birth years, I couldn't tell if Thomas and Patrick were born on different years.

    My list is unsubstantiated. Please take it will a grain of salt. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mr. August C. Cook has been twice married. He married first, in 1880, Catherine J. Flannigan, a daughter of James and Mary Flannigan. She was born in Ontonagon, Michigan, and died in Norway, Michigan, January 7, 1883.

    Hmmm.....

    ReplyDelete
  6. Just for reference:

    Patrick Michael Flannigan (Priest)
    1840? – 1907

    Thomas Flannigan
    1841 (1844 per 1880 US census)–

    John Flannigan
    1843 – 1908 (? Possibly >1910? https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MKWB-K2R showing immigration in 1851)

    James Flannigan
    1847 –

    Catherine Flannigan
    1853 – 1933 (? I think this death date is wrong, and might be for Catherine's daughter, Catherine).
    (January 7, 1883 - http://hometownchronicles.com/mi/menominee/bios/cookac.html)

    William Flannigan
    1853 – 19 Dec 1875 in Marquette County, Michigan (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FHKR-PMX)

    Matthew Flannigan
    1854 – 16 Nov 1875 in Marquette County, Michigan (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FHKR-PM8)

    Edward Flannigan
    1856 – 06 Aug 1879 in Marquette, Marquette, Mich (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FHKT-Q74)

    Richard Charles Flannigan
    1857 – 17 Feb 1928 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N3HB-VZC)

    Margaret Flannigan
    1859 – ?

    Agatha (Mary) Flannigan
    1861 – 22 Dec 1945 in Duluth, Saint Louis, Minnesota (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FDWL-G55)

    ReplyDelete

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