Frank Allen Part 2- What happened to Frank Allen's family after his death?

About ten days after Frank's death, his widow, Mary Durney Allen petitioned to be the executor of his estate, and a probate was filed, with Hugh Allen and Michael Powers signing as securities. The estate was valued at about $1700 with Frank's heirs being Mary (Durney) Allen, his wife, and Adele (Delia) and Margaret (Maggie) Allen, his children.

                                  Source: Probate Records Vol. B-D 1877- 1906, Jersey, Illinois

Two months later, in January, 1873, the estate was settled. There were claims paid to Frank's brothers, Richard and Patrick. A public sale of personal property was held, and Patrick Allen bought a stallion for two hundred dollars- quite a sum at the time.

Three years later, on August 16, 1873, Mary Durney Allen married John Fahey.

                         Ancestry.com. Illinois, County Marriage Records, 1800-1940

Mary amoved to St. Louis, Missouri with her husband.

On August 20, 1879, eighteen year old Adelia Allen married John R. Aylward at St. Francis in Jerseyville.

Catholic Diocese of Springfield; Springfield, IL; Illinois, Church Records, 1853-1975

 A confusing note in the family history notes that in February, 1885, Mary Durney Allen Fahey submitted bills to the probate court for the care of Delia and Margaret and these funds were forwarded to St. Louis.  S.H. Bowman was listed as guardian of the girls and there was a claim for board and keeping in the amount of $1,416 for the years up to June 1875. So Mary had borrowed $1500 on the estate. In any case, the farm in Jerseyville was sold to settle the accounts. (Source: book of Jody Allen)

John Fahey died and Mary was listed as a widow in the St. Louis directory. Maggie, was living with her mother at 2228 Clark Ave. in St. Louis when in September, 1889 she contracted typhoid fever, and tragically died at age 19. 

Ancestry.com. Missouri, Death Records, 1850-1931 [database on-line]

There was a packed funeral at St. Francis Xavier Church in Jerseyville. But Maggie's step-sister, Delia, is not mentioned in the announcement.

Source: book of Jody Allen

Maggie Allen was buried with her father, Frank Allen, at St. Francis Xavier Cemetery in Jerseyville.

Source: findagrave

Mary Durney Allen Fahey moved back to Jerseyville, living in the upstairs apartment of an orange building on East Pearl Street (near where the Stadium Theater is standing today. (source:book of Jody Allen)

She is shown here on the 1900 and 1910 census. The 1910 census shows her as 84 years old. Mary died in 1913. Her funeral expenses were paid by Hugh Allen and Thomas Allen. (source:book of Jody Allen)

 

Next Post: But before she died, Mary Durney Allen Fahey wrote a very unusual will...

Frank Allen Part 4- Frank's daughter Delia Allen Aylward

 Photo from book by Jody Allen

I feel sure I would have liked Delia. She was a strong and remarkable woman.

She had a rough start. She lost her mother before she was seven years old. She lost her father when she was eleven. A few years later her 2nd step-mother remarried and they moved from her home on the farm in Jerseyville to the city- East St. Louis. We don't know if Delia stayed with her step-mother or was raised by a guardian, whom Mary Fahey paid to care for her. We don't know what Delia's relationship was with her half-sister, Maggie Allen, but we can guess that Maggie, who tragically died of typhoid fever in 1889, was her mother's favorite. But when she turned 18, Delia moved out on her own. On August 20, 1879, she married John Aylward at St. Francis Xavier Church in Jerseyville. 

Ancestry.com. Illinois, Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield Sacramental Records, 1853-1975 [database on-line]

                      photo from book of Jody Allen

John Richard Aylward was a handsome young man, whose parents had also come from Ireland. He was a car mechanic- an exciting occupation in those early days of automobiles. Later in his life, he would work as a brick mason.

The young couple soon started a family. Their first son, born in 1882, was named Francis Thomas (after both their fathers) and called "Frank." There would be seven children; Frank, Mary Ellen "Ella," James Francis, Katherine Agnes "Kate," John Richard, Margaret Lydia, and Cecilia Elizabeth born in 1897. They lived on Maple Avenue in Jerseyville. 

At some point in his life, John Aylward began to struggle with alcoholism. The newspaper story below, tells the sad tale of his final days.

Source: book of Jody Allen

 A later biography tells how Julia survived with seven children after the death of her husband.

 "When Mr. Aylward died, Mrs. Aylward was left with a family of children. In order to comfortably support them she entered upon an unusual line of work for one of her sex, paper hanging, and was so successful in it that by 1915 she was one of the leading inside decorators of Jerseyville and vicinity. She is a lady of remarkable force of character and ability, and is held in the very highest esteem by all who have the honor of her acquaintance, for they appreciate the determination and pluck that is required to enable her to enter what was then regarded as exclusively a man's field, and to "make good" at her work, and to all times command respect and confidence."

Source: Biographies from the History of Jersey County, 1919 Oscar Brown Hamilton

In 1910, Delia was 48 years old,  living in Jerseyville and renting a house on 618 East Carpenter Street. Three of her children, John 18, Margaret 16, and Cecilia 13, were still living with her.

Year: 1910; Census Place: Jerseyville Ward 3, Jersey, Illinois; Roll: T624_295; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 0052; FHL microfilm: 1374308

In 1930, she was 69 years old, and living at 306 Maple Ave. with her daughter Katie Aylward Atchison and her family.

Year: 1930; Census Place: Jerseyville, Jersey, Illinois; Roll: 522; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 0008; Image: 119.0; FHL microfilm: 2340257

In 1940, she was 78 years old, and living at 719 East Carpenter Street. Her 47 year old son, John, was living with her and working on a project with the W.P.A. This census tells us that, like many women of her time, Delia never went to school past the sixth grade. 

Year: 1940; Census Place: Jerseyville, Jersey, Illinois; Roll: m-t0627-00817; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 42-8

Yet, orphaned and widowed, in a time when women were not expected to have a career,  she began and built a flourishing business while raising seven children. Three of her sons served in World War I.

Delia passed away at age 92, on October 12, 1953. She was buried next to her husband, John, in the Saint Francis Xavier Cemetery in Jerseyville.

Delia Allen Aylward's children were:

Francis Thomas "Frank" b Sept 10, 1882. Frank served in WWI. He died April 13, 1957 and is buried at St. Francis. 

Mary Ellen "Ella" b Jan 19, 1884, married Clarence A. Hughes in 1904 but was widowed by 1920. Ella lived at 407 Maple Ave. in Jerseyville. She died Jan 28, 1976 and is buried at St. Francis.

James Francis- b Dec 2, 1886, helped his mother with painting and paper hanging in her business. He served as a cook in the 110th mortar battery, 60th Field Artillery Brigade, 35th Div. in WWI. He died Feb 8, 1948 and is buried at St. Francis.

Katherine Agnes "Kate" b April 5, 1889, married William H. Atchison in 1908. William was a barber in Jerseyville. They lived next door to Ella at 409 Maple Ave. Kate died March 14, 1977 and is buried at St. Francis.

John b Aug 23, 1891, worked on an ambulance in Co. 334 during WWI. In 1940 he was living with Delia at 719 East Carpenter street in Jerseyville. He died Jan 15, 1968 and is buried at St. Francis.

Margaret Lydia b June 12, 1894, married Harry Oakes Taylor in 1915. They lived in Nameoki, East St. Louis, Madison, Illinois. Margaret died March 30, 1981.

Cecilia b March 23, 1897 married Earl Birkenmayer, a farmer in Jerseyville. Cecilia died Oct 31, 1986 and is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Jerseyville.

 

Children of Richard Allen and Margaret Sweeney of County Meath- Frank 1829 Summerhill - 1872 Jerseyville Ill. Part 1

                              Francis "Frank" Allen- Hugh's eldest brother 

                                               (Source: picture from book of Jody Allen)

Hugh was no doubt very close to his eldest brother, Frank. They may have emigrated together; if not, Hugh soon followed Frank to America and was living with him in Macoupin County, Illinois in 1860. (see previous blog) In 1860, Frank was a young man of 31 years (the census says 27 but we have his baptismal record!) and had married Rachel Reece on January 15, 1859. They had an 8 month old baby, David, named for Rachel's father. 

(Source Year: 1860; Census Place: Township 12 Range 7, Macoupin, Illinois; Page: 188; Family History Library Film: 803206)

In 1861, their first daughter was born; Bridget Ellen "Adelia" Allen. By July 1863, the family had moved to Jersey County, where both Frank and Hugh registered for the draft for the civil war. (Neither went to war)

                                   Frank Allen's farm in Jerseyville 

                                            (Source: colored map from book of Jody Allen)

 Frank lived about a mile north of Jerseyville. According to a family story, he raised race horses on his farm. On March 19, 1864, Rachel gave birth to a third child, named Richard after his grandfather in Ireland. It was thought that Rachel died soon after his birth. Family histories say that her daughter, Delia, was still very young ("still in a crib") when her mother died. She was believed to be buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Jerseyville. No burial records for St. Francis were found.

The baby survived and was baptized on April 6, 1865- a year after his birth- at St. Francis Xavier Church in Jerseyville. His baptism took place just 4 days after the baptism of Hugh Allen and Margaret Durney's son, who was also named Richard after his grandfather. 

                   (Source: Diocese of Springfield Illinois Sacramental Records, St. Francis Xavier)

As was typical for widowers with small children, Frank remarried a respectable year later. On April 9, 1866, he and Margaret Black/Blake were wed in Jerseyville.

                Source: Document from the Family history notebook of Helen and Margie Allen

Once again, Frank was struck by tragedy. Less than a year later, his second wife Margaret died at age 40, childless. She was buried at St. Francis.

                                             photo source: P. Meado  find-a-grave

Undaunted, Frank married for the third time, again one year later, on February 25, 1868. This time he married Mary Durney, the sister of his brother Hugh's wife, Margaret Durney. At 44, Mary was not a young bride and was, in fact, six years older than Frank, although on the 1870 census, she notes her age as 37. (This differs from her baptismal certificate.) However, Mary gave birth to a daughter on January 27, 1870 whom they named Margaret and called "Maggie." Maggie was just one month younger than Hugh Allen and Mary Durney's son, Thomas (my grandfather.)

Catholic Diocese of Springfield; Springfield, IL; Illinois, Church Records, 1853-1975

The 1870 census clues us in to more tragedy in Frank's life. The two sons born to Frank and Rachel apparently did not survive. In 1870, Adelia Allen was 9 years old and Margaret 8 months old. Frank's farm was prospering, the land valued at $7,000 and his personal property at $2220.

Source: Year: 1870; Census Place: Township 8 Range 11, Jersey, Illinois; Roll: M593_233; Page: 706A; Image: 629; Family History Library Film: 545732

But as we have seen, health in those times could be precarious, and according to a family history, Frank's health was failing. Numerous doctors came to visit the family, resulting in mounting bills but little improvement to his health. Despite their tonics and remedies, by June 1872 Frank was reportedly too ill to even sign his name on a bank note. He died five months later on the 13th of November, 1872, at only 42 years of age.

 (Source: genealogy records of Jody Allen)

                                         (Source: Diocese of Springfield Sacramental Records)

His burial record notes that he was born in the Parish of Dangan, County Meath. He was buried in the cemetery at St. Francis Xavier in Jerseyville.

                                                                Photo source: findagrave

Next post: What happened to Frank's family after his death? 

Children of Richard Allen and Margaret Sweeney of County Meath- Chain Migration of the Allen's from Ireland to America

Keeping in touch with family and writing letters was traditionally the role of women. In our family, the eldest daughter, Aunt Mary (Marlin,) wrote the letters back to Ireland for her great Uncle Tom, who lived with her family, to his brother, Uncle John, in Dangan, Summerhill Parish, County Meath. The women in the generation before her surely did the same, writing to their parents and siblings who remained in Ireland.

Pauline Allen and  great uncle Tom

Often letters from America contained money - it was common for small bits of cash to be sent around the Christmas and Easter holidays. During the height of the famine, these gifts sustained the family back in the old country- helping not just with food, but with rent and taxes- a necessity to avoid eviction. Millions of letters flowed from Irish Americans back to their families in Ireland, easing the pain of separation, and encouraging the possibility of emigration.

Their letters home told about family news; marriages, the births of children, and details of their lives in America. This provided hope for the future and connections for their siblings to make the journey themselves. Sometimes they even contained a prepaid ticket for a sibling to emigrate and join them. Three quarters of Irish emigration were paid for by money or tickets sent from America.

Chain Migration to Jerseyville, Illinois

Few Irish immigrants during the famine could afford to bring the whole family to America all at once. Instead, they practiced "chain migration" in which one member of the family would come to America, and save money to help the next person, often giving them a place to stay and a start in the new country. This was the pattern for the Allen's from County Meath. (Some of our Kilkenny ancestral families did come all together- which was often a sign, during the worst of the famine, that their landlords had evicted them and paid their passage so the small plots of land that they farmed could be converted to more profitable pasture.)

The Chain Migration for the Allen family siblings took nearly 20 years. The order appears to be:

Mary- 1850's
Frank- before 1860
Hugh- before 1860
Patrick- before 1870
Thomas-before 1872
Richard- before 1872
Edward- before 1880
Peter- about 1881

John and Catharine (the youngest child) were the only two Allen siblings to stay on the farm in Great Umberstown, Ireland, along with their aging parents, Richard Allen and Margaret Sweeney Allen.

Mary Allen (Burns)- It is likely that Mary was the first of the Allen siblings to come to America.

Mary, the eldest Allen sibling, was married to Patrick Burns in Summerhill Parish in February, 1851. A biographical article on Patrick B. Burns, of County Meath, shows him born Aug. 15, 1825, the son of Patrick and Anna Murray Burns, who came to America and settled in New Brunswick N.J., where they remained until their deaths. According to the family history, Patrick and Mary settled for a time in New Jersey, likely with his parents in New Brunswick. The census records show that their first two children were born in New Jersey; Anna in April 1855, and Patrick in 1856.

The family notebook says that Patrick Burns worked for three years until he could purchase his land. (article in notebook of Helen and Margie Allen)

According to the census, they had moved to Illinois before the birth of their next child; Francis "Frank" in 1858. By the 1870 census, they are shown on a farm in Township 8, Range 11, Jersey County, not far from the farms of Franklin and Hugh.


Hugh and Frank Allen

Our family history says that Hugh first arrived in New York, and worked there for several years before coming to Jersey County, Illinois. He likely arrived in the late 1850's. I wonder if he might have lived right outside NY with his eldest sister, Mary Allen (Burns) who had settled in New Jersey.

1860- A census with the right names but the wrong ages and place of birth!
(I have found that census inconsistencies happen and we have to remember that many of our ancestors could not read and write.) This census entry is for Macoupin County, right next to Jersey County. This shows that Hugh Allen was living with older brother Franklin Allen and his wife Rachel Allen and their child. Franklin's personal property was valued at $520, Hugh at $75. If this is our Hugh and Franklin, it hints that either they came together, or Franklin came first, with Hugh then joining him.

Source: Year: 1860; Census Place: Township 12 Range 7, Macoupin, Illinois; Page: 188; Family History Library Film: 803206
  1863-By June 1863, the U.S. civil war draft records show both Franklin, age 30, and Hugh, age 25, in Jerseyville.

Source: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General's Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group: 110, Records of the Provost Marshal General's Bureau



Our ancestor, Hugh Allen, helped many of his siblings get a start when they came to America.

Patrick Allen


By 1870, Hugh's younger brother Patrick had immigrated to America. He was 29 years old and was living with Hugh's family in Jerseyville, helping on the farm.

Source: Year: 1870; Census Place: Township 8 Range 12, Jersey, Illinois; Roll: M593_233; Page: 796A; Image: 811; Family History Library Film: 545732

In April 1874, Hugh was the witness for Patrick's marriage to Catherine Burns, at St. Francis Xavier in Jerseyville. 

Source: Catholic Diocese of Springfield; Springfield, IL; Illinois, Church Records, 1853-1975



Thomas and Richard Allen

By 1872, both Thomas and Richard Allen (Hugh's younger brothers) were also living in Jerseyville.

According to census records, Thomas Allen (great uncle Tom who later wrote letters home to Ireland) had come to America by 1861. In 1872, he was married in Jerseyville, with his brother Richard Allen as his witness. (Later Tom's wife died, and by 1910 he was living with his nephew, Thomas Allen (my grandfather) Hugh's son.)

On September 21, 1876, Richard Allen died at the age of 32.

Chances are that Richard, too, had been living with Hugh, as Hugh was the executor of his estate.

Edward Allen

By 1880- Hugh's youngest brother, Edward, was living with Hugh's family in Jerseyville.

In 1885, Edward Allen married Mary Bryan at St. Francis in Jerseyville.




The move west to Nebraska- Patrick, Edward, and Peter Allen

Patrick:

Patrick Allen moved to Nebraska between 1875 and 1876. Homesteads were readily available at this time.

By the 1880 census- Patrick Allen had moved  to Mud Creek, Gage County, Nebraska 

The census shows that Patrick's first son, Richard, had been born in Illinois in 1875, but by the birth of his daughter, a year later, he was in Nebraska. By 1885 they were in Filley, Gage Nebraska. Patrick continued to farm there, until his death in 1910, at the age of 74.


Edward: 

Edward Allen and his wife Mary Bryan soon moved to Nebraska as well. Their son Richard was born in Filley, Gage, Nebraska in June 1886. The family then moved about 18 miles to Plum Creek, Pawnee, Nebraska.

Edward died in 1897, at age 53, leaving his wife Mary a widow with 6 young children. The 1900 census for Plum Creek, Pawnee County Nebraska, shows Mary, a widow, Richard 14, James 12, Maggy 10, John 8, Peter 6, and Edward 3.

Peter

The 1900 census also shows Peter Allen, who emigrated in 1881, living in Plum Creek, Pawnee, Nebraska, next to the farm of Mary Allen, the widow of his brother Edward. He was 63 years old. Peter died 5 years later in 1905.

Although the youngest Allen child, Catherine, never came to America to join her siblings, her daughter, Maggie was another story! (See separate Post)


Sources:
https://www.theirishstory.com/2018/11/17/the-irish-girl-and-the-american-letter-irish-immigrants-in-19th-century-america/#.Xnn2at_Yosk

http://www.mayolibrary.ie/en/LocalStudies/Emigration/LettersinIreland/

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=Ireland&co=stereo (explore this)