A Photograph from Clontarf – 1920

We have two winners for the latest drawing here at www.clontarfhistory.com.  They have been notified by email and will receive their t-shirts soon.  The remaining Prairie Pub t-shirts are going fast…any ideas for a new Clontarf t-shirt design?  Does anyone out there do screen printing?  Please leave a comment and let me know…I would love to have new Clontarf shirts printed!

Jim from Minneapolis sent in a photograph of his grandfather’s sister, Kate McDonough Reardon taken in Clontarf in 1920.  Here’s the photo:

Kate McDonough Reardon - Clontarf - 1920

Here’s what Jim wrote:

Hi Clontarf Historians,

In my grandpa’s photo collection was this picture of his sister, Kate/Catherine Reardon (nee McDonough) who lived for a time in Clontarf along with her brother George McDonough I believe.  They worked for some local family there.

Here’s an excerpt from a family history about her:

“She acquired a job as a hired girl for Kate Tuske.  It was at this job she met James Reardon. They were married 9-3-12.”

The photo is yours to keep for your archive.  If you happen to know the location in the background, feel free to let me know.  If you happen to spot any other photos regarding these folks, I’d love to hear from you.

Best wishes,

Jim

Minneapolis

Can we help Jim out?  I know there are lots of Reardons out there, but does anyone know who Kate Tuske was?  I don’t recognize that name.  Does the location of this picture look familiar to anyone?

Are James and Kate Reardon the ones who lived in the old jail building right after they were married?

Have a great weekend!

 

Fleming Family History

James Fleming Obituary (oops...sorry it is crooked!)

This obituary appeared in the January 17, 1919 edition of the Swift County Monitor.  James Fleming’s homestead was the northwest 160 acres of section 22 in Tara Township.  Among the Flemings immediate neighbors in 1902 were the Fentons, the Kennas, the McMahons, the Gallaghers, and the Foleys.  The Galvins lived about a mile away.

In a Fleming family history, Robert Galvin writes about his grandfather’s heritage and life.  James was the son of Irish immigrant parents in Syracuse, New York.  At the age of nine he was orphaned when his parents and two siblings died of cholera after moving west to Ohio (1854).  James was a drummer boy in the Civil War briefly until his true age was discovered and he was released.  James worked for the railroad until the lure of free land brought him to Minnesota and Tara Township where he filed for homestead.

There is a great description of his first months in Tara Township and how he met his wife Delia Cooney.  Let me know if you want to see more and I will share it…

James Fleming’s wife, Bridget “Delia” Cooney, came to Boston from County Galway, Ireland in 1872.  Eventually, she made her way west arriving in Saint Paul in 1879.  The story has her working for Henry Sibley and being friends with a girl named Mary who would marry James J. Hill.

Delia sounds like a great woman – self-reliant, tough, witty, and a great storyteller.  Before I came across this history, full of information on the Flemings, Donald and Gerald Regan told me that a wake in Tara or Clontarf didn’t really get started until Mrs. Fleming arrived.  Robert writes how she “loved to talk and tell Irish fairy tales…and ghost stories.”  It all matched up.

Bridget "Delia" Cooney Obituary

Does anyone have photographs of the Flemings?  I would love to see a picture of Delia, because she and my great-grandmother Annie Regan were reportedly friends, and I have some snapshots with LOTS of unidentified people who could be Flemings.  Please let me know!  Leave

a comment or send me an email: clontarfhistory@gmail.com.

Pictures like this...I know some of the people, but not the little lady on the left...maybe it's Delia?

NEW COMPETITION!!!!!!!!!!

I still have a few XXL Clontarf Prairie Pub t-shirts to give away.  I will do a drawing of the people who have subscribed to the blog – new subscribers and existing subscribers.  The competition will close on Sunday night (8-21) at 10pm, so if you haven’t yet subscribed to clontarfhistory.com, do so now and be entered in the drawing.  I will announce the lucky winner on Monday.

Clontarf Tidbits and Galvin Family Genealogy

April 5, 1901 Swift County Monitor

Whenever I come across one of these Clontarf columns in a neighboring town’s newspaper, I am saddened by the fact that Clontarf never had a newspaper of its own.  I suppose I should be grateful for these sporadic reports of Clontarf events…at least it is something!

I obtained this clipping from the Swift County Historical Society when I requested an obituary for Tara resident Timothy Galvin.  I was pleasantly surprised to see the items mentioned in addition to the death notice (more about Timothy Galvin in a minute.)

A few things that stuck out in this clipping…”Sport” McDonald is one of my favorite Clontarf figures.  I like the nickname.  I wonder if he ever made it to Montana?  I know he made it back in time to woo and marry Michael Donovan’s daughter.  What were you doing in the woods all winter James O’Neil and W. Rutan?  And, the T. Foley mentioned here as delaying a trip to the coast with Ed. McCarthy is my great-grandmother’s brother.  I wonder if he ever made that trip?

Now back to Timothy Galvin.  A couple of weeks ago, Colleen left a comment seeking information on her Galvin and Fleming roots in Tara Township and Clontarf.  This is why I looked up this clipping in the first place.  I previously wrote a bit about her great-grandfather Timothy Galvin – click here to go to the post on Tara Township, section 10, Timothy Galvin’s home.

Unfortunately, the brief notice of Mr. Galvin’s passing does not provide many details about his life and family.  Several years ago when my mom and I were in Clontarf doing research, we came upon a typed genealogy (from the late 1960s?) of the Galvin-Fleming clan, completed by Robert F. Galvin of Saint Paul, Minnesota (I believe he would be Colleen’s uncle.)  The genealogy provides some data on Timothy Galvin, but there appears to be a couple of questionable dates – Timothy Galvin is said to have been born in 1860 and his wife Catherine Kelly in 1861.  I suspect this is incorrect since Colleen said the couple was married in 1872.  Both Timothy and Catherine were born in County Cork, Ireland.  Included are the names of Timothy and Catherine’s children, their spouses, and their children’s names.

The genealogy on the Fleming side is much more detailed and includes entertaining narratives of the lives of James P. Fleming and his wife Bridget (Delia) Fleming.  James fought in the Civil War and was one of the original settlers of Tara Township.  I will share more about the Fleming family in my next post.

In the meantime…does anyone have anything to say about the Clontarf column from above?  Any names or events stick out to you?  Anything you would like to know more about?  Leave a comment and let me know what you think!