Altar Boys: Corrections & Additions

I heard from several readers about the identity of the altar boys pictured below (you may also want to check out the earlier post here.)

 

Altar Boys, 1920

This is how the individuals were previously identified:

Father Patrick Kenney at very back

Back row: Melvin Klucas, unknown, Howard Regan, Robert Reardon (between two rows)

Middle row: Lewis Fennell, Clarence Hargreaves

Front row: ? Flynn, Donald Reynolds, Richard McMahon

Right off the bat, a few of you commented that Melvin Klucas was incorrect as he didn’t become Catholic until he married, and besides was only about five-years-old in 1920 (per Bob Klucas and others.)  Now that altar boy is unknown…could it be Melvin Daniel?

A Clontarf insider, who prefers to remain anonymous, thought the next boy in the back was a McCarthy (Joseph, Emmet, or John perhaps?), and agreed with Howard Regan and Robert “Bud” Reardon.

Next row, I believe everyone was OK with Lewis Fennell, but it was believed that Clarence Hargreaves was too young in 1920, but it could be an older brother (Leonard?).

Regarding the Flynn boy in the front row, I heard from Linda who is researching her husband’s Flynn roots, and she said that possibly it is Jeremiah Flynn.  There was some disagreement with Donald Reynolds (too young), and it was suggested that the middle boy in the front could be either Fred or Walter “Frenchie” Chevalier.  There was universal approval on the identity of Richard McMahon.

There you have it.  Any thoughts in light of the new information? We’ve never heard from any McCarthy or Hargreaves descendants with roots in Clontarf…

 

Daniel Family: Pioneer Clontarf Settlers

The Daniel family is an example of the settlers who came to Clontarf before the railroad and before it was even Clontarf.  These families were truly pioneers.

This entry in the Swift County History book has an interesting bit at the end.  I wonder if the French-speaking residents of Clontarf would travel to Benson to hear these sermons on Sundays? 

Isadore and Celemia Daniel

Isadore Daniel and his wife, Celemia arrived in the Clontarf area by oxcart in 1870 having moved here from Waverly, Minnesota, where many French-Canadians had settled earlier.  Homesteading on a farm in Hoff Township, Isadore and his wife would trade farm commodities such as eggs and milk for moccasins and beadwork made by the Indian families living along the Chippewa River.  Isadore and Celemia Daniel had eight children: Joseph, Elisabeth, Rosalie, Helen, Delma, Eugene, John, and Mena.  John married Clara Chevalier.

John and Clara Daniel had a daughter Adrance, who married George Gilbertson.  George and Adrance farmed in Hoff Township and in 1950 they opened the Clontarf Club which they operated for ten years.  The Clontarf Club is still in existence (in 1979).

It might be mentioned that the original members of the family of Isadore and Celemia, along with the many French-Canadians who moved into this area in the 1870’s were French-speaking.  For that reason the first priest in Clontarf in 1878 was also French in background, Father Oster, and when the first church was built in Benson by Father Oster in 1881, the sermons were principally in French.

I  bet Anne might have a few things to add about the Daniel family history…

And if you have anything to contribute, please comment on this post!