Genealogical Gems

Edward Curley had been charged with the 26 July 1876 murder of John Genning, of Centralia . Curley has been on the run since then. He returned to his family in Centrailia and On This Day in 1880, gave himself up to the authorities there. Michael Brogan – who had recently married one of Genning’s daughters – drew his revolver during Curley’s hearing and attempted to shoot him. Curley is said to be a Molly Maguire of Columbia County . Source Lancaster Daily Intel. Lancaster , PA. 5 January 1880. On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2016

It was On This Day in 1878 that Pennsylvania executed John Kehoe. Kehoe was dubbed the “last of the Molly Maquires.” The Molly Maquires were an Irish society responsible for bringing to light the exploitation of the Irish-American workers. Kehoe had been arrested and hanged for the murder of mine foreman Frank W.S. Langdon in 1862 in Schuylkill County . It was, according to History.com, widely believed that Kehoe was actually innocent. Even the governor of Pennsylvania – John F. Hartranft - is said to have thought Kehoe to be innocent but he signed the death warrant anyway in hopes to put an end to the Molly Maquires. John Kehoe was born on 3 July 1837 in County Wicklow , Ireland . He came to live in Schuylkill County in the 1840s. In September 1866, he married Mary Ann O’Donnell in Mahanoy City . They had four children. He is buried in Saint Jeromes Catholic Cemetery in Tamaqua, Schuylkill County . One hundred years after his execution, he was posthumous...

The Molly Maguires were mentioned in the news On This Day in 1881. It was reported that the group has a “strong organization” in Fayette, Westmoreland and Alleghany Counties . It was also noted that they are now operating under the charter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians.   Source: Lancaster daily intelligencer. ( Lancaster , PA ), 9 July 1881. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.      On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

The “malcontent miners” throughout the Clearfield region made the news On This Day in 1880. The disagreement concerned the wages, specifically the difference in wages between coal operators and miners. Nearly 20,000 men are expected to strike. The Lancaster Daily Intelligencer also reports that a “bloody battle” has already taken place near Osceola between the non-union miners and the Molly Maguires. One of the Mollies was murdered in the battle.   Source: Lancaster daily intelligencer . ( Lancaster , Pa. ), 06 March 1880. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Lib. of Congress.   On This Day is a prompt I started this month to further explore historical events.              © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

The Molly Maguires was a secret predominantly Irish society known for its activities in the Coal Region of Pennsylvania. Depending on who you ask depends on the second part of the definition. They were either a group of Irish men and women who stood together fighting for the rights and safety of the coal miners and their families. Or, they were a terroristic group of Irish men who wreaked havoc in the coal regions. I suppose it depends on what side of the mine shaft you stood. Disclaimer: Now before I delve into this society, I should put out my disclaimer and opinion now since I am sure it will come out in my writing. My 2x great grandmother, Anna Keating Walsh (later changed to Welsh), is rumored to have been a Molly Maguire – according to my cousins (her great grandchildren). Hence, my interest is also centered around the Shenandoah area as that is where my family lived for a spell. While I would like to get to the truth regardless of which it is, I have to say that my Irish...

Amy Johnson Crow, of No Story Too Small , has challenged us this week with tough women. She asked “ Who is a tough, strong woman in your family tree? Or what woman has been tough to research?” My 2x great grandmother Anna Keating Walsh is indeed a tough woman.   She is a tough woman to trace and I believe she was a tough woman in her time as well. Anna (everyone past my grandparents get actual names; it is the only way I can keep people straight) was born around 1855 in Ireland . According to my grandmother, she was born in County Mayo .   My grandmother had told me that Anna had immigrated with her siblings and that she was the youngest Her parents – Patrick and Knapy Penelope Keating - had stayed behind and she settled in Ringtown which is just a stone’s throw from Shenandoah (assuming of course you can throw a bit)!   She married Michael Walsh and the lived in Shenandoah. The 1910 Census stated Anna had 11 children, with only six living in 1910. I would...

Henry Dunne was reportedly a well liked superintendent of the New York and Schuylkill Coal Company’s collieries. Despite being well liked, it was On This Day that he was murdered on a road just west of Pottsville in 1867.  No one was ever found guilty. On 13 January the Trinity Episcopal Church in Pottsville , recorded Dunne’s death as murdered. He was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia .   Sources: Aurand, A. Monroe Jr., Historical Account of the Mollie Maquires. Lancaster : The Aurand Press. Historical Society of Pennsylvania ; Historic Pennsylvania Church and Town Records ; Reel: 492     On This Day is a prompt I started this month to further explore historical events. I will make every effort to keep events localized to that of my research or research I am conducting for others. However, from time to time, it will simply be a subject that captured my attention. Some posts will be brief while others may be more detailed. ...