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January 19, 2004 rev. SHEEHAN FAMILY HISTORY The Family History of Jeremiah C. Sheehan the third son of Jeremiah Sheehan and Margaret Hassett of Dromgarriff South / Whitechurch, County Cork, Ireland. Researched and written by Thomas J. Sheehan III the great, great, great grandson of Jeremiah Sheehan and Margaret Hassett, great, great grandson of Jeremiah C. Sheehan and Bridget Gannon. Contributing articles by John Mulcahy of Whitechurch, Co. Cork, Ireland. For My Children and All of Our Cousins - This story is told for All the Family. The story I am about to tell you is based upon fact. The names of the families mentioned within the story will be familiar to you, particularly the names of the Sheehan family members that you are most closely related to and whose names you are most familiar with. Their relationship to one another appears to lead back to a common ancestor. Try not to over analyze their family relationship to one another as you read this story for the first time. I say this because these people all share our ancestor’s last name of Sheehan. Rest assured that you and I are of the same family. The basis of truth for the story is found in the marriage and baptismal records of the Catholic Church, found at the Mallow Parish Center, for the Civil Parish of Whitechurch located in the Catholic Parish of Blarney and in the records of the 1826 Tithe applotment for the townlands of Whitechurch, Dromgarriff and Drominarr in that same parish , the Land Cancellation Records dating from 1851 to1853 for the farms of Jeremiah Sheehan and William Sheehan of Dromgarriff / Whitechurch found at the Public Records Office in Dublin and in Griffith’s Valuation Records dated 1851. So let us begin the telling of our story. At least two sons, Jeremiah Sheehan and William Sheehan, were born most likely between the years of 1805 and 1807. Jeremiah and Margaret’s first son, born in 1832 was given the name Michael and their second daughter born in the year 1837, was given the name of Catherine. If the naming pattern tradition of the Irish Catholic family holds true these would be the names of Jeremiah’s father and mother. Margaret Sheehan, Jeremiah’s wife, was of the Hassett family. Her mother’s name is most likely Johanna and her father’s name is most likely Timothy. This too is based on the naming pattern tradition. Jeremiah and Margaret’s first born daughter was named Johanna, born 1830 and their second son, born in 1835, was given the name Timothy. This Hassett family is most likely from Dunbullouge or Rahan or Mallow. These ancestors would have been born most likely in the years of the 1780’s. Between the years of 1790 to 1795 another man named Jeremiah Sheehan and a woman named Joanna Gerald ( Johanna Fitzgerald of Aghada ) were born in County Cork. Jeremiah and Johanna would marry in Midelton at Jeremiah’s church in May of 1816. Johanna gained permission from her priest to marry in Midelton. Together they would raise 5 boys and a daughter. Their names were : Julianna Sheehan, born 1820, William Sheehan, born February 25, 1822, John Sheehan, born June 13, 1824, Thomas Sheehan, born November 13, 1826, Jeremiah Sheehan, born July 10, 1829 and John Sheehan, born August 22, 1830. Johanna was from the Parish of Aghada, which adjoins Midelton. This information comes from Canon B. Troy of Midelton, County Cork. At that same time there was a third Sheehan family, also from County Cork, on the rise. Their names were Michael Sheehan, Timothy Sheehan and Elizabeth Sheehan. We know for certain, based on naturalization records found in the Cambria County Courthouse in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, that Timothy was born in Mallow. Elizabeth Sheehan, who was blind, was born between the years of 1810-1812. Two of her brothers, Timothy Sheehan, born between1816-1818 and Michael Sheehan, born between 1818-1821, were also born in Mallow. We are not certain as to the given names of their parents. They are, according to my great aunt Annie who was born in 1899, cousins to our family. In the townlands of Whitechurch, Dromgarriff and Drominarr, which are adjacent to one another within the Catholic Parish of Blarney, we find the earliest evidence of our direct family in the Tithe records of 1826. The following information is provided to us by John Mulcahy, of Whitechurch. John Mulcahy’s grand aunt, Margaret Mulcahy, married William Sheehan of Dromgarriff, the son of William Sheehan, brother of Jeremiah Sheehan. “There was only one Sheehan family in Dromgarriff in 1826 according to the Tithe composition. This was Patrick Sheehan and he may be the direct ancestor of William and Jeremiah. Drominaar is the townland immediately adjoining Dromgarriff. Unfortunately when the map makers drew up the first Ordnance Survey map in 1841 they ignored many of the smaller townlands and lumped them all together into one huge townland - Farrenastig. There were many small holders in Drominaar in 1826. Many of these had been consolidated by the time of Griffith Valuation c. 1851. What became of them is not known - evicted most likely. It is impossible to say now whether the Sheehans in Drominaar were the same as Dromgarriff. The first names suggest a connection. Some gaps in our information can occasionally be filled by other documents. In 1836 a collection was taken in Whitechurch for Daniel O'Connell. William Sheehan of Dromgaruv is listed as having given a shilling. Widow Sheehan of Drominaar gave sixpence as did Tom Sheehan of same - clearly there were Sheehans still there in 1836 One other possibility is that the Sheehan holding(s) in Drominaar may have been included in the redrawn Dromgarriff after 1841. There seems to be no natural boundary between the townlands. The famine hit Whitechurch hard in 1846-7. A Relief Committee was set up to collect and distribute money - the Government matched the local contribution. According to the official report of 29 July 1846 both William Sheehan and Jeremiah Sheehan gave five shillings each to the fund.” This is a direct quote from John Mulcahy, educator and historian, of Whitechurch, Co. Cork. From John Heueston, of Dublin, came this piece of information regarding the 1826 Tithe records for the Civil Parish of Whitechurch. 1826 records from Whitechurch parish
In the year 1830 Jeremiah Sheehan and Margaret Hassett, his wife, gave birth to Johanna Sheehan. Johanna was the first of their eight children. The names of all eight children born to Jeremiah and Margaret are listed below.
Johanna, born October 24, 1830 married Denis Forrest Johanna Sheehan, first born daughter, married Denis Forrest of Rathpeacon some time in the 1850’s. Michael Sheehan, first born son, is believed to have married Elizabeth Forrest of Rathpeacon during that same time period. What became of Catherine Sheehan, Mary Sheehan, William Sheehan and John Sheehan is unknown. It is told by my great aunt Elizabeth that John Sheehan, born 1849, died before his older brother Jeremiah departed for America in 1861.
In another document, written by John Mulcahy, a great amount of insight is gained about the conditions in Whitechurch during the famine years. Here, for you to read, is that same document entitled “The Great Famine”, written by John Mulcahy of Whitechurch.
The failure of the potato crop through blight in August 1845 led to hunger and deprivation among the poor. The total failure of the crop the following year led to the national disaster of the Great Famine. By August 1846 it was clear that the new potato crop was totally infected with blight and that a major disaster was imminent. The initial government response to the crisis was to set up relief committees in each parish to collect funds, buy and distribute imported Indian corn, and prepare lists of the destitute for employment on the public works. The report of the Whitechurch Relief Committee dated July 29th 1846 painted a vivid picture of the destitution of the area. The district contains a population of 4456, of whom 176 families are farmers, and 337 families are of the labouring class, comprising 2696 individuals, who have been for a considerable time without any potatoes, and from the high price in Cork, the next market, are totally unable to purchase them, the rate of wages for an able labourer being 2/- per week with his diet and 3/6 per week without diet, and consequently the committee have been selling Indian meal for a considerable time. They have obtained £85-15-6 subscriptions of which a list is enclosed. In consequence of the potato crop being so extensively attacked with blight or disease so early in the season, the committee fear that they will be compelled to provide food for the labouring class for much longer than they imagined at the commencement of their operations, in all likelihood to the 1st September. The list of subscribers show that Thomas Mulcahy contributed ten shillings. Farm labourers who worked to pay the rent of their potato patch were leaving the land because of the failure of their staple food. Government relief schemes were also drawing them away from farm work. Farmers faced economic ruin if they could not plant their crops in the coming Spring.
PUBLIC NOTICE At a meeting convened and held this day pursuant to public notice, of the Farmers of the parish of Whitechurch, Mr. Joseph Creedon in the chair, it was unanimously resolved: that the landlords of this parish be respectfully resolved to meet the farmers of the parish at 12 o clock noon on Friday the 9th of October at Whitechurch Cross in order to come to some arrangement to enable the farmers to continue to give employment to the labourers, and not allow them to seek employment elsewhere (in consequence of the total destruction of the potato crop) which would in a great measure throw the lands out of cultivation and cause considerable loss to landlord and tenant. Sept 29th 1846 The meeting was fixed for noon but by one o’clock there was no sign of any landlord arriving. The day was dark and windy, and the mood of the farmers matched the weather. there were plenty of mutterings that, were the meeting for the purpose of collecting the rent, the landlords would be there, queuing for their money. Rev Fr. Kennefick C.C. addressed the meeting, suggesting that the bad weather might be the cause for the non-attendance of landlords. He reminded everyone of the purpose of the meeting, that in consequence of the failure of the potato crop, the staple diet of the poor, the laborers were left without a source of food and were leaving the farms to seek employment on the public works, in order to put food on the table for their families. The farmers faced the prospect of not being able to sow their crops, and consequently, not being able to pay their rents. Several farmers indicated that they would make every effort to retain their laborers, even where they would have to buy expensive food for themselves, their families, and their laborers; but they would need agreement from the landlords to abate the rents to allow this. At the suggestion of Fr. Kennefick, the meeting adjourned until the following Wednesday to give the landlords another chance to attend. The reporter noted that the plight of the laborers was appalling, in order to survive, they were selling off their pigs, the only possible source of money they had, and that disease, dysentery and fever were prevalent. On the following Wednesday the farmers again assembled and on the suggestion of Fr. Horgan, P.P. they adjourned to the church, where they passed a number of resolutions. they called on the government to intercede between the landlords and farmers to come to a settlement on rent, which was fixed before the repeal of the corn laws when the price of grain was high. This would allow the retaining of the laborers, which in turn would avert the need for public works, paid out of taxation. the urgency of the situation was emphasized. A number of people were elected to act with the local clergy as a relief committee. Finally a list of public works was drawn up to be sent to the assizes for presentment. Although Thomas Mulcahy was not named in the newspaper reports, it is virtually certain that he would have been there. WHITECHURCH RELIEF COMMITTEE July 29th 1846 I am directed by the Relief Committee for the district of Whitechurch to request you will submit to the Relief Commissioners their claims to government aid.
I trust therefore the Commissioners will be pleased to grant as liberal aid as they can. Wm. Crofts Cork Examiner Feb 11th 1847 I consider it my duty as medical attendant for the Dunbulloge and Whitechurch dispensary, to call your attention to the lamentable condition of the poor people who are perishing of want in this large district, not having the means of procuring coffins. A poor woman came to my house yesterday, carrying a dead child on her back, who was obliged to have it buried in the churchyard in the rags which covered it.
..........
The deaths have increased so much in this district that the coroner has considered it unnecessary to hold any more inquests, in which opinion I coincide as the cause of their deaths is too well known to need inquiry.
John Wrixon M.D Unfortunately neither the British Government nor the landlords responded to these petitions and as winter set in, the situation rapidly deteriorated. By now fever was prevalent and the workhouse and fever hospitals in Cork were overcrowded. For many the choice was simple: stay behind and starve or die from disease, or flee to the ports to seek a new life abroad. Desperate situations require desperate remedies. A deputation from Blarney, consisting of Rev. J. Harman, Mr. N. Mahony having asked the Board to request the establishment of a fever hospital in the that vicinity, it was proposed by Mr. W. Fagan, seconded by Mr. Flynn and resolved: That we declare the National School House at Whitechurch a temporary Fever Hospital for the electoral divisions of Grenagh, Blarney and Whitechurch, and we hereby authorize the guardians of the division to take possession of and fit up said building for the accommodation of fever patients, and we recommend to his Excellency Dr. Lee, dispensary doctor at Blarney as physician to said hospital.
Proposed by Dr. Lyons, seconded by Dr. Murphy and resolved: That we allocate fifty pounds for the expense of fitting up the temporary Fever Hospital for Grenagh, Whitechurch and Blarney electoral division. In May a new outdoor scheme of relief was introduced whereby food was to be distributed free of charge from central depots. The ‘soup kitchen’ for Whitechurch was sited at the constabulary station in Coolowen. By August 1847 Fr. Horgan was able to announce that the new potato crop was flourishing and free from blight. In September the food depots closed down and in October a motion was made to close the fever hospital. The nightmare was ending but the cost had been enormous. Whitechurch had lost one third of its population through death and emigration and the decline was to continue for another century. Provision of Outdoor Relief - Whitechurch 1847
Jeremiah and William were “Strong Farmers”. They paid Tithes to a landlord for the use of their farmland. Here, from John Mulcahy of Whitechurch, is a brief account of the landlords of Whitechurch. “Dromgarriff was part of the large Lavallin estate that took in most of Whitechurch. The Lavallins bought the estate around 1630. They were a Norman Catholic family who suffered under Cromwell when they lost their properties in Cork City. The Lavallins supplied several Lord Mayors of Cork in medieval times. They took the Jacobite side in the Williamite wars. Some went abroad and fought as "Wild Geese" in foreign armies. Melchior Lavallin took advantage of the articles of the Treaty of Limerick and held onto his estates. Due to a lengthy and expensive court case they had to sell part of the estate - Walterstown Castle and lands around Cobh.” “His son James Lavallin lived in Thresherstown, immediately adjoining Dromgarriff. Due to the operation of the anti-Catholic Penal Laws, he converted to Protestantism to avoid seeing his estate divided among his children. He acted as patron to the local Gaelic poets who met in his house (still standing). His son Philip built a fine Georgian mansion on the shores of Cork harbour.” “Philip had no sons so the estate was divided among his daughters who married Rogers, Crooke and Puxley. It is these names and their descendants who appear as landlords to the Sheehans.” Additionally, Jeremiah sublet smaller parcels of his land to a number of families that were known as cottiers. One of these cottiers was Denis Sheehan who is believed to be a relative of Jeremiah and William Sheehan. Here is the record of those living as cottiers during the period of 1851 as taken from the Land Cancellation Records on file in the Public Records Office in Dublin. Jeremiah's farm, next to William's farm Map ref no. 5
1851/3 5a Jeremiah Sheehan These families provided labor for the farm and they in turn were provided with shelter and a small plot of land on which to grow potatoes for their own consumption. Rural Co. Cork operated on a barter and trade system. There was very rarely any cash exchanged for goods and services. Here is an account, written to me by John Mulcahy, which describes clearly the economic and social conditions in Whitechurch at the time. “Pre -famine Ireland was a cashless society. Tillage was the main farming activity which needed a lot of labour. This labour was paid for by leasing potato ground and a site for a cottage. The cottages were simple - mud walls and a thatch roof. An acre of potato ground and the house would require about 240 days labour. Any work over and above would be paid in cash. To provide cash for family needs, a pig was usually kept. The famine put paid to this subsistence economy. The English government abolished the bounty for home grown corn, opening up the market for cheaper American imports. Farming changed over to cattle, doing away with the need for labour. The failure of the potato crop forced many of the labourers off the land, into the workhouses and onto the emigrant ships. Then a change in law made the landlords liable for poor law taxes for holdings under a quarter of an acre. The result was the eviction of the remaining labourers. This gives you some idea of why the cottiers on the Sheehan farms disappeared following the famine. The population of Whitechurch fell by one third in ten years.” By 1846 / 1847 the two Sheehan brothers and sister from Mallow, Timothy Sheehan, Michael Sheehan, and their sister Elizabeth Sheehan, are reported to have sailed to Canada from Liverpool, England. They were part of an English government plan to depopulate the famine stricken south of Ireland. The English Crown paid for the cost of their passage as long as they agreed to sail to and homestead in Canada for a period of time. This was a condition of their passage. After homesteading in Canada they migrated south into Cambria County, Pennsylvania in the fall of 1851. In the year 1846 / 1847, the family of Jeremiah Sheehan and his wife Johanna Fitzgerald of Midelton, County Cork, Ireland departed for America. Jeremiah, Johanna’s husband, is believed to have died in Ireland. .Johanna Sheehan with her grown children, William, John, Jeremiah, John, Thomas and Julianna Sheehan came to America. They eventually settled in Clearfield Township of Cambria County, Pennsylvania and farmed next to Michael, Timothy and Elizabeth Sheehan from Mallow. In the year of 1861 Timothy Sheehan , second eldest son of Jeremiah and Margaret, married Mary Cronin of Dromgarriff and started a family of their own. According to the land cancellation records Timothy Sheehan took over the farm in 1861 sometimes after the death of their father Jeremiah Sr. Timothy Sheehan and Mary Cronin had eleven children. Their names and dates of birth are listed below.
Margaret - 1861 Married Sullivan of Bishopstown - Cork William Sheehan, who farmed next to his brother Jeremiah, married Margaret Crowley. Together they had the following children:
Catherine - 1845
Jeremiah C. Sheehan, third son of Jeremiah Sheehan and Margaret ( Hassett ) of Dromgarriff South departed for America at the age of twenty in 1861. Jeremiah C. was traveling with cousins named Timothy Sheehan and a cousin named Cornelius Patrick Sheehan. Cousin Timothy’s father was Patrick Sheehan, his mother was Bridget Ryan and they were from Mallow.
In 1855 there was a husband and wife named John Sheahan and his wife Catherine Sheahan residing in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Many Sheahan's / Shehan / Sheehans began to appear living in the area known as the Hallow, just below Golden Hill, in Bridgeport, Connecticut in the year 1855. By 1880 there were: Daniel Sheehan, Daniel F. Sheehan, Cornelius Sheehan, Jeremiah Sheehan and John Sheahan all living on Harral Ave. John Sheahan died in 1885 at the age of 85. His wife died soon after. They are both buried at St. Augustine's cemetery in downtown Bridgeport. These Sheahan / Shehan / Sheehan family members worked on the docks in Bridgeport as well as on the railroad. One Sheehan was a tool makers, another was a shoemaker, another was a gardener and most were laborers. It is reported that Jeremiah’s cousin, Cornelius Patrick Sheehan, went to work in a flour mill in New York City. When the flour mill burned down the family members moved south and west into central Pennsylvania. Cornelius Patrick Sheehan stayed in the New York City and Bridgeport area. Jeremiah C. Sheehan and Timothy Sheehan, his cousin, followed Tim’s relatives Elizabeth, Michael and Tim to Pennsylvania. The boys went to work for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Hollidaysburg / Altoona, Pennsylvania. Tim Sheehan’s older relatives Elizabeth, Michael and Timothy owned farms just over the mountain in Cambria County, Pennsylvania. Johanna and her children were also farming next to Elizabeth, Michael and Tim. Timothy Sheehan of Mallow, at the Court of Common Pleas, Cambria County, Pennsylvania declared his intent to become a U.S. Citizen on July 3, 1851. Citizenship was granted in the Court of Common Pleas of Cambria County, Pennsylvania on September 3, 1860. Vouchers: Timothy Conley and Rev. C. K. John. Michael Sheehan, at the Court of Common Pleas, Blair County, Pennsylvania, Declared his intent to become a U.S. Citizen on December 12, 1857. Citizenship was granted in the Court of Common Pleas of Cambria County, Pennsylvania on December 10, 1862. Vouchers: Timothy Sheehan and John Bahe. Patrick Sheehan, at the Court of Common Pleas, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Declared his intent to become a U.S. Citizen on March 6, 1861. Citizenship was granted in the Court of Common Pleas of Cambria County, Pennsylvania on March 6, 1861. Vouchers: James O’Neill and Bernard Halligan. Jeremiah Sheehan, at the Court of Common Pleas, Blair County, Pennsylvania, Declared his intent to become a U.S. Citizen on October 27, 1856. Citizenship was granted in the Court of Common Pleas of Cambria County, Pennsylvania on October 6, 1868. Vouchers: John Sheehan and Michael Sheehan. Timothy Sheehan, at the Court of Common Pleas, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Declared his intent to become a U.S. Citizen on October 6, 1868. Citizenship was granted in the Court of Common Pleas of Cambria County, Pennsylvania on October 6, 1868. Vouchers: John Sheehan and Jeremiah Sheehan John Sheehan, at the Court of Common Pleas, Blair County, Pennsylvania, Declared his intent to become a U.S. Citizen on January 6, 1863. Citizenship was granted in the Court of Common Pleas of Blair County, Pennsylvania on October 6, 1868. Vouchers: R.S. Johnston and Michael Sheehan. Jeremiah C. Sheehan, at the Court of Common Pleas, Blair County Pennsylvania, Declared his intent to become a U.S. Citizen in October of 1863. Citizenship was granted in the Court of Common Pleas in July of 1868. This is my great, great grandfather. The Pennsylvania Railroad was expanding in Altoona, Pennsylvania as the decade of the 1860's approached. There was plenty of work for those rugged enough or skilled enough to sign on. Jeremiah and his cousin Timothy both went to work for the Pennsylvania Railroad at Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania in 1863. Hollidaysburg was a small village just to the South of Altoona. Jeremiah then met a young girl by the name of Bridget Margaret Gannon. Bridget was born in Athgarvan, near Newbridge in County Kildare, Ireland on June 12, 1841. Jeremiah’s cousin Timothy Sheehan, whom he had come to Hollidaysburg / Altoona with, married a girl named Susan McPike in 1864. She was from Derry or Londonderry as it is known today. Together they had five children, beginning with fraternal twins in 1864. The twins were named Michael and Mariam, a son and daughter.. Another son named Jerome was born on March 2, 1866. Two more daughters were born to the family. Johanna was born in 1867 and Mariam in 1869. Timothy Sheehan died on May 4,1869. Following is a newspaper account of his death: " Sheehan, Timothy born 1829 died May 4, 1869, wife Susan ( McPike ) born December 1837." obituary source: "Cambria Freeman Newspaper ", Ebensburg , Thursday May 13, 1869. "Mr. Timothy Sheehan, employed by the PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD CO. to assist in keeping the engines supplied with coal, met with a terrible death, on Tuesday morning last, by being caught between the tank of a locomotive and the frame of one of the coal chutes, the life being literally crushed out of him. He leaves a wife and five children. Poor Tim was an industrious, sober and worthy man. Peace to his ashes." Another son, named Patrick (Patsy) Sheehan, was born to Susan McPike in 1870 after the death of her husband. The boy, Patrick “Patsy “ Sheehan, would grow up to marry Patrick Kinney’s oldest daughter Anna Kinney, older sister to my Great Grandmother, Alice Kinney. Timothy Sheehan’s son, Jerome, would marry Julia Wiseman of Donoughmore, near Garrycloyne, on November 14, 1893. Her grandmother owned a farm in Garrycloyne. (The Wiseman farm in Garrycloyne was recently sold in 1989.) On February 20, 1868 Jeremiah C. Sheehan and Bridget Gannon were married at Old St. John’s Church in Altoona, Pennsylvania. This is now the sight of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. Witnesses were Johnny Hade and Margaret Dorsey. In July of 1868 Jeremiah C. Sheehan was granted his citizenship. Jeremiah and Bridget lived on Beaver Street in the Gaysport Borough of Hollidaysburg. Gaysport is a neighborhood of Hollidaysburg. Jeremiah and Bridget were parishioners at St. Mary’s Catholic Church on Clark Street. Their first daughter, Elizabeth, was born on 29 December 1868. Elizabeth was baptized at St. Mary’s Church in Hollidaysburg on January 10, 1869. Her Godparents were Maria Hayes and Patrick Hayes. (See 1870 Census records for Jeremiah & family.) Bridget gave birth to another girl, Mary, on May 12, 1870. Mary was baptized at St. Mary’s Church in Hollidaysburg on May 15, 1870. Bridget gave birth to John J. Sheehan on January 11, 1872 . John J. was baptized at St. Mary’s in Hollidaysburg on January 19, 1872. Jeremiah and Bridget had built themselves a rather sizable family by the spring of 1872. Jeremiah joined a militia known as the Keystone Guards in Hollidaysburg in 1873.They were most likely raised to keep the peace and guard the railroad during the economic depression of 1873. It was during this time that rail workers went on strike and rioted in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Between 1873 and February of 1874, Jeremiah and Bridget moved the family westward and up the mountain above the Horseshoe Curve, beyond Alligripus Curve, to a coal mining and railroad village named Bennington. The village of Bennington is located one half mile east of the Gallitzin tunnels, on the Pennsylvania Railroad’s mainline. The village of Bennington was first erected during the construction of the Gallitzin tunnels. Bennington began as a shantytown. Irish and other immigrant labor erected these shelters in order to have a place to live near the tunnel project. These tunnels were hand dug by Irish laborers for a distance of 3,650 feet through the Allegheny Mountains. The men that dug these tunnels were from Allihes, located on the Berea Peninsula, Co. Cork. They were skilled in this type of tunneling construction work as they and their fathers dug and worked the copper mines in Allihes. Allihes is in the territory of the O’Sullivan family. Men like Jimmy Sullivan, my friend and consul from Dromgarriff / Whitechurch, were the stout hearted souls and men of Iron who spanned the American East Coast to the Mid-West and beyond. The tunnels were the vital rail link between the East and the West. It was this rail link that made westward expansion possible. Bennington was now home to Jeremiah and his family. We believe Jeremiah was assigned to track maintenance duties ranging from the Gallitzin railroad tunnels and down to the Altoona main railroad yards. The village of Bennington was also home to coal miners who dug coal across the valley from Bennington. The Pennsylvania Railroad owned their own coal mining operations in order to supply coal for the railroad. There were coke ovens located in Bennington too. This iron ore was smelted in glowing coke ovens that line the country road running from Bennington to present day Gallitzin. You can still see them, in place, to this day. Jeremiah and Bridget became parishioners of St. Patrick’s church in Gallitzin when they took up residence in Bennington. The “old” St. Patrick’s church has been replaced by the new St. Patrick’s educational building. A new Church stands next to the spot on which the old Church stood. The Church graveyard sits along Tunnel Hill Street, between the villages of Bennington and Gallitzin. Bridget Ellen Sheehan was born in Bennington on February 2, 1874. That was Jeremiah’s 35 Th. birthday. She was baptized at St. Patrick’s Church in Gallitzin on February 15, 1874. Her godparents were Patrick Cronin and Bridget Maley. The winters are severe on the Allegheny Mountains of Central Pennsylvania. Particularly difficult to life in Bennington was the remoteness of the village. In the 1870’s the only way to Bennington and Gallitzin was by railroad or by the old Sugar Run Road. Bridget gave birth to another daughter, Anna, on January 11, 1876. Anna was baptized at St. Patrick’s Church in Gallitzin on January 30, 1876. Her Godparents were Thomas Moran and Mary Glass. Renner’s City Directory shows Jeremiah as a laborer and living in Bennington in 1876. He was one of 150 heads of the household living in Bennington at that time. My Great Grandfather, Cornelius Patrick Sheehan, was born on March 16, 1878. He was baptized at St. Patrick’s in Gallitzin on April 14, 1878. His Godparents were Michael Glancy and Elizabeth O’Hara. Cornelius was baptized conditionally, perhaps due to ill health at birth. His name at birth was recorded as Charles Patrick and later corrected to Cornelius Patrick. Church records show his birth date as March 21, 1878. The family recognized March 16th officially. The Sheehan family faced tragedy during their stay in Bennington. Mary died on June 15, 1878 It is believed that she died from a head injury suffered from falling from a swing. Mary Sheehan was the first of Jeremiah’s family to be buried on the mountain in St. Patrick’s Cemetery. By the year 1880 the family had moved down the mountain and took up residence on 12th Avenue in Altoona. (The Altoona City Register for 1880.) They were living with Timothy Sheehan’s widow, Susan McPike Sheehan. Susan, after the death of her husband, operated her home as a boarding house as a means of earning money by which to live on. By 1882 Jeremiah C. Sheehan and the family were living on Oak Avenue near 25th Street. It was during the early to mid 1880’s that two of the remaining three girls, Elizabeth and Bridget Ellen, died. Their deaths may have been due to an influenza, typhoid or diphtheria epidemic. Both girls reportedly died within days of each other. There were numerous outbreaks of deadly epidemics in those years. Both Elizabeth and Bridget Ellen were returned to St. Patrick’s churchyard for burial next to their sister Mary. It is important to note that the family was most likely attending Mass at either St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Hollidaysburg or St. John’s at Lakemont. By 1884 the family had moved to Maple Avenue (see the photo of the house at 2507 Maple Ave. with Bridget on the front porch, Cornelius at the front gate and Anna, peering around the house from the back porch.) Cornelius appears to be ten to twelve years old at the time. This would date the photograph between the years 1888 to 1890. Anna appears to be in her early teens, perhaps 13 or 14 years old. Bridget, slender in build with her hair combed tightly back, is now 49 to 51 years old. (See photograph enlargements.) Jeremiah, his oldest son John J. and two daughters named Elizabeth and Bridget Helen are not in the photograph. Jeremiah apparently owned more than one home on Maple Avenue. His residence is given at two differing addresses on Maple Avenue in separate documentation. My Great Aunt Elizabeth reports that he owned at least two homes and that he rented one of them. Copies of real-estate transactions for property held by Jeremiah C. Sheehan reveal that he had purchased three pieces of property between 1881 and 1884. At this time Jeremiah was working at the Number Three or Western Roundhouse. I believe John J. worked for the railroad as a fireman on the locomotives. As a boy, Cornelius went to work for the Altoona Trolley Car Company. As a young man, perhaps 18, Jeremiah got him a job with the railroad, cleaning passenger cars at the Altoona car shops. By the year 1894 Anna, at the age of 18, developed a tumor. After a two-year illness, Anna passed away at the age of twenty, on November 18, 1896. Jeremiah, and family, returned Anna to St. Patrick’s cemetery for burial in the family plot. Anna would be laid to rest with her sisters. (N. A. Steven’s Mortuary & Blair County Courthouse documents.) Cornelius Patrick would have been 18 at the time and his brother, John J., would have been 24. Jeremiah and Bridget would have both been 57 years old. Four of the children had been born and died before their time. The family of eight was now four. Life in the latter part of the 19th century was very tenuous indeed. It was during these years that the Sheehan family came into contact with the Kinney family. The contact was most probably made through the family’s relationship with Susan McPike Sheehan. Her son, Patsy Sheehan, courted and married Anna Kinney. Since all the Sheehan’s socialized together it is natural to assume that Cornelius met Alice Marie Kinney, Anna Kinney’s sister, in this way. Life for Jeremiah and Bridget Sheehan had certainly brought with it adventure and hardships, happiness and tragedy. Certainly by 1899 Jeremiah would have endured a lifetime of hardships. Perhaps that is why, at the age of 60 years and 17 days, Jeremiah would pass from this life. On February 19, 1899, one day short of their 31 St. wedding anniversary, Jeremiah died. Jeremiah’s obituary, written in the Altoona Mirror Newspaper dated Monday, February 20, 1899 was written as follows: ‘Jeremiah C. Sheehan, an old and respected citizen, died of pneumonia at his home at 2507 Maple Avenue at 9:20 last night. The deceased was born in County Cork, Ireland and was aged 60 years and 17 days. He came to America when 20 years old, settling in Altoona, where he had since resided. He had been in the employee of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for thirty-five years and at the time of his death was a Gang Boss in Number Three Roundhouse. Mr. Sheehan was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church and belonged to the Pennsylvania Railroad Relief Department. He is survived by his wife and two sons, John J. and Cornelius, all of this city. The funeral will be held Wednesday morning at 8 O’clock. The remains will be taken to Gallitzin and interment made in Saint Patrick’s Cemetery.” It appears that Bridget was not certain of his birth date here. She chose St. Bridget's Day as Jeremiah's birthday and appears to have guessed at his age. The family now numbered three. Jeremiah left Bridget the house at 2507 Maple Avenue (see photo then and now), as well as at least one other home on the same block (see Blair County Courthouse records.) Bridget returned Jeremiah to St. Patrick’s cemetery for burial on February 22, 1899. Like his young children before him, Jeremiah rode the train up the grade, around the Horseshoe Curve, past Kittanning Point, past Alligripus curve, around Bennington curve, through the Gallitzin tunnels and arrived in Gallitzin for the last time. Bridget, John J., Cornelius Patrick and Alice Kinney, buried Jeremiah with his daughters and returned home. I am sure the year 1899 was very hard on all members of that household. Bridget, now turning 60 in the fall, felt the sorrow and grief only a loved one can feel for the loss of a lifetime mate and friend. Bridget was now alone with her two sons, John J., age 27 and Cornelius Patrick, age 21. The Pennsylvania Railroad was Altoona. All who lived there worked for the railroad. By the turn of the century Altoona was the largest railroad center in the world In the era of steam, Altoona was the firebox. The years and traffic of the industrial revolution swept through Altoona and over the natural barrier of the Allegheny Mountains on the steel wheels of the locomotives and on the sweated brows and strong backs of immigrant labor. In less than fifty years Altoona had evolved from a farming community and had turned into an industrial giant. The City was marked by the accumulation of coal soot residue as a result of the fuel that powered this expansion and growth. Imagine everything within eyesight being dirty black. Freshly fallen snow was specked with soot. The coal soot could even be seen blowing across the streets on a breeze. The sound of the giant locomotives pounding along the tracks was always in the air. Shift whistles sounding off with a wail that would pierce your soul were a constant reminder of what life in Altoona was all about. The hummpf, hummpfh, hummpfh of steam pistons pushing drive shafts, that drove the wheels, that moved ton upon ton of freight, was always in your ear. That is what it must have been like the night of Tuesday, November 19, 1899. That night, John J. (Patsy) Sheehan, a 27-year-old 1st generation Irish American, went out on the town with some of the fellows. John J. was a fireman for the Pennsylvania Railroad. They intended to do what young men with back breaking jobs and little or no hope for a better future do. They were going drinking. These fellows were not necessarily good friends. They may not have all been drinking buddies. They were going to raise a little hell and let off some steam. It was a Tuesday night. Four young men, Hall, Williamson, English and Sheehan, worked their way up the bars between and around 14th street and 10th Avenue in Altoona. They end up in Platch’s restaurant. An argument broke out regarding an overcoat one of the fellows was wearing. The boys got belligerent and the owner threw them out of the establishment. The argument spilled out on to the street. Cursing and swearing turns into physical violence as Hall attacks English. Blows are exchanged. Hall knocks English to the street. The two fight, as one onlooker reported, “ As if they were dogs.” Dash “Jury” Williamson engages Sheehan in a verbal attack. Williamson, cursing Sheehan, taunts him to cross the line where the paving ends at 14 Th. street and 10th Avenue. Williamson says to Sheehan, “ Cross this line and I’ll kill you, you Irish bastard! ” Sheehan moves toward Hall and English, who now are on their feet and fighting as they move up the street. Sheehan, a peacemaker, tries to break up the fight between Hall and English. Dash “Jury” Williamson, getting no satisfaction from Sheehan, runs across the street in a fit of rage to Platch’s livery stable. Williamson crashing through the door awakens the stableman. Williamson grabs a single tree from the wall and runs back onto the street. Sheehan has turned his back to the fighting and has begun to walk up 11th Avenue. Williamson, enraged with drunken hate, runs after Sheehan. Coming up from behind Sheehan, Williamson hollers “ I am going to kill you, you Irish son of a bitch!” As he raises the single tree over his head with both hands to strike, Sheehan turns to face him. Williamson strikes Sheehan full force across the skull, two inches above and behind his left eye. Sheehan staggers under the blow. Williamson swings again and misses. Sheehan falls to the ground. Hall now leaves English and attacks Sheehan, who is lying on the ground. Hall kicks Sheehan in the head and chest three times. An onlooker hollers “ Don’t hit that man again! ” Williamson runs back down the street and into the crowd now gathered on the street. Hall moves away and retreats. Sheehan staggers to his feet and moves down the street where he collapses in front of the Engel house. An onlooker, the manager of the shooting gallery across the street, goes to Sheehan and places a handkerchief over Sheehan’s wound. The occupant of the Engel house is asked if Sheehan may be brought inside. The occupant tells the Good Samaritan to get Sheehan of his front porch. By now the police have arrived. Hall, English and Sheehan are arrested. Williamson hides in the crowd. When questioned by police at the scene, Williamson pretends to be an onlooker and makes good his escape. The paddy wagon takes John J.“ Patsy “ Sheehan to the Altoona Hospital The other two men, Hall and English, are taken to the city jail. John J. has his head wound attended to at the hospital. He is unable to convey the severity of his condition to the attending physicians due to his drunkenness. The doctors suture his wound and take him upstairs to bed. They will not release him to the police until the morning. By Wednesday morning the police are searching for Dash “Jury” Williamson. He has now been identified as the assailant. The police arrest him at his home and take him to jail. That morning, the police call the Altoona Hospital and inquire as to when they may pick Sheehan up. The hospital releases John J. to the police around midmorning. He is transported to the city jail in the paddy wagon. Sheehan is placed in a cell and is seen to lie down on his cot. Time passes. Later that morning a jailer notices that Sheehan is in convulsions. The jailer calls the hospital to report Sheehan’s condition. The hospital has Sheehan returned immediately. His condition is critical. Bridget, his mother, and Con, his brother, are summoned to the hospital. John J. dies the next day, November 23, 1899 at 1:00 p.m. A cerebral hemorrhage, caused by the blow delivered by Dash “Jury” Williamson, has taken his young life. Williamson, Hall and English will all stand trial for murder. . (See the attached newspaper accounts of the assault and trial.) Bridget, Corneilus and his wife Alice, returned John J. to St. Patrick’s cemetery for burial on November 25, 1899. Cornelius is now the only surviving male in our family. He is twenty-one years old. Bridget is now 60. She has buried a daughter, a son and a husband in the past three years. ( Perhaps as many as five family members. We do no know the dates of death of Elizabeth and Bridget Helen. They are believed to have died in a typhoid fever epidemic in the middle 1880’s.) Years later, Cornelius (Con), younger brother of John J., is walking across the 17th Street bridge when he is approached by Dash “Jury” Williamson. Jury is reported to have extended his hand to Con, an obvious sign of attempted reconciliation. With that, Con strikes him with a fist and knocks him off the bridge to the rail bed below. (This is told to me by my Great Aunts Betty and Kathryn.) Immediately after November’s horrible events Alice gave birth to their first child, a girl, named Anna Marie on December 5, 1899. (This is my Great Aunt Annie from whom the original notes about my family came from.) Cornelius, now the head of the household, takes a job with J. B. McGinley Stone Cutter and Curb Company. Con worked there for a few years as a stone cutter. (See turn of the century newspaper photo of McGinley’s with Con in the photograph.) Jeremiah, his father, may have taught this skill to him. Con, while on the job, lost the sight in his right eye from a flying stone chip. He was now disabled. With no benefits, life became extremely difficult What Corneilus did to support his family over the next few years is unclear. The year 1902 brought tragedy to the Kinney family. Alice Sheehan’s mother, Elizabeth Marie, wife of John Patrick “Poppy “ Kinney, dies of cancer at the age of 49. She is buried at Calvary Cemetery with other members of her family. Between 1902 and 1913 Patrick Kinney resided with his daughter, Mary Ickes, at 10th Ave., in Altoona. By 1913, at the age of 69, Patrick Kinney took up residence at the Old Soldiers Home on King Street in Washington DC. Between 1902 and 1907 Cornelius ( Con ) and Alice add four boys to the family. Alice gave birth to John Jeremiah in 1902, Thomas Joseph in 1904, Peter in 1905 and Cornelius Jr. in 1907. On March 5, 1914 Con and Alice added the last child to the family, Elizabeth Marie. (My Great Aunt Elizabeth or “Betty “) By 1917 the War to end all wars had begun in Europe. The Sheehan family, leaving Bridget at home on Maple Ave., moved to Loretto, Pennsylvania. The Schwab mansion was being constructed between the years 1915 and 1919 at Loretto. Work was available and I imagine that Con and the family went there for work. Bridget had developed cancer at that time and she was cared for, at home, by a close friend. In Loretto, Alice ran a boarding house that catered to men working on the Schwab Mansion construction project. Con was working on the construction of the Schwab Mansion as a stone cutter. With a large family, both he and Alice had to work to provide the basic necessities of life for their family. On August 16, 1917 Bridget (Gannon) Sheehan passed from this life. When the family returned to Altoona from Loretto, Bridget would be with Jeremiah again The train bearing Bridget departed Altoona station for Saint Patrick’s Church at 1:00 p.m. on the 18th of August 1917. Bridget was buried next to her husband Jeremiah and their children, at St. Patrick’s Cemetery on Tunnel Hill adjacent to Gallitzin. So goes the story of the life of the third son of Jeremiah Sheehan and Margaret Hassett of Dromgarriff South / Whitechurch. This story is told for all of the family. May all of the family members hold the memories of their ancestors dear to their hearts and may each one of us take stock of who we are and how we came to be. |