Thomas Madigan, 1883-1898

Thomas Madigan, born September 27, 1883, was the fourth child of Patrick and Bridget Madigan. He was born at home at 3644 Dashield Street in Chicago. At the age of 15 he was working as a clerk. Thomas had a pulmonary hemorrhage and died on December 12, 1898 at 93 Sibley Street in Chicago, possibly his place of employment. Because he died in the winter, his body was held in the cemetery vault awaiting the spring thaw. Bridget Thompson Madigan purchased an 8 x 10 gravesite, Lot 15, block 6, section Z, in Calvary Cemtery, Evanston, Illinois on March 15, 1899 so Thomas could be laid to rest. Along with Thomas in the gravesite is his Mom, Bridget Thompson Madigan, and brothers James and Harry (Patrick).

Nanette Madigan (1881-1963), First Holy Communion 1894

Nanette Madigan, the third child of Patrick and Bessie, made her First Holy Communion in 1894. She would have been 13 years old.

On Nanette's birth certificate (November 23, 1881), she is named Anna but called Nanette in her later years.  Nan married George Rooney on August 2, 1903 in Chicago, Illinois.  George worked for the railroad and his job took them to Colorado and California to live.  Their only child, Ruth M. Rooney, was born October 6, 1905.

ROONEY --Nanette Rooney, beloved wife of the late George W. Rooney, fond mother of Ruth; dear sister of Nell Sullivan and John Madigan, the late Mae Harbison and Harry Madigan.  Funeral Saturday, 9 a.m., from Hursen Chapel, 929 Belmont avenue, to Our Lady of Mount Carmel church.  Mass 9:30 a.m.. Internment All Saints.
Chicago Tribune, May 3, 1963

G. W. Rooney Rites Tuesday -- Funeral services will be held Tuesday morning for George W. Rooney, 58, for more than a decade San Francisco general agent of the Denver, Rio Grande and Western Railroad, who died here Friday, following a short illness.
Mr. Rooney, a native of Michigan and a railroad man most of his life, had been in San Francisco for eleven years.  His wife, Mrs. Nanette Rooney, a daughter Miss Ruth Rooney of Chicago, and a brother, John W. Rooney of Oxnard, survive.  The family home is at 411 Fifteenth Avenue.
Tuesday's services will begin at 9 a.m., at the McAvoy-O'Hara Chapel, Geary Boulevard and Ninth Avenue, with a requiem mass at Start of the Sea Church at 9:30.  Interment will be in Chicago.  The San Francisco Examiner, March 24, 1940.

Fillmore Avenue, c1915

Sitting in the dining room at 3511 W. Fillmore, Chicago are Nell Madigan Sullivan, Mae Madigan Cooley and their Mom, Bessie Thompson Madigan. Nell lived with her family, Al, Tom and Helen on the second floor and Bessie, with two of her sons, John and Harry, lived on the first floor of the two flat she owned. The Sullivans lived at this address until about 1917 when they moved to 18 N. Latrobe, Chicago.

Parteen-Meelick-Coonagh Parish

Patrick Madigan was, as were his siblings, baptized at Parteen-Meelick Parish in Ireland.  As reported on the Parteen-Meelick-Coonagh Parish Diocesan Heritage Project site at Limerick Diocese Heritage, the parish is situated mostly in County Clare, with the exception of Coonagh, which is in County Limerick.  Patrick's siblings, excluding James who is identified as being from Meelick Gate, all lived in Coonagh when they were baptized. 

"There are presently two churches in use in the parish, one in the village of Parteen, and the other in Meelick village.... Parteen church is dedicated to St. Patrick and was built between 1831 and 1835.... Meelick church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist and was built in the early 1830s."  So both churches were in existence when the Madigan children were born and baptized.

"The name Parteen is derived from the Irish An Póirtin meaning the little port or landing place.  Meelick is from the Irish Miliuc, which in turn is derived from Máighe Fhliuch, or the low marshy land.  The Irish for Coonagh is Cuanach, a place indented with bays and harbors."

The Limerick portion of the Parteen-Meelick Parish is in the civil Parish of Killeely which borders the water.

Madigan-Thompson Marriage License, 1878

Patrick Madigan and Bridget Thompson were married by Fr. John Waldoon at St. John's church on February 24, 1878. James Grimes and Margaret Conway were witnesses. A Helena Grimes was Patrick Madigan's baptismal sponsor. Several other Grimes were baptismal sponsors for Patrick Madigan's siblings. I have not come across the name Grimes as a family name yet.

Bessie Madigan, Death Certificate, 1935

Bessie Madigan was living at 4826 W. Quincy in Chicago when she died on December 31, 1935. Her son, Harry, was the informant on the death certificate. She died at home, one that she owned. He lists her father as John Thomas. Somewhere near the end of the 19th century, the Thompsons changed their last name to Thomas. When her father died in 1904 he is listed as John Thomas on his death certificate.  Her mother is listed as Meg La Rue on Bessie's death certificate.  However, on her siblings' death certificates her mother is listed as Margaret Reidy/Ready.  There is a story in the family told by both Helen McIntyre and Ruth Rooney that we had in the family a "crazy aunt" who was French. I have not been able to determine who that is, perhaps the name La Rue is a clue.   Harry also states that Bessie was born in Chicago, but we know from earlier censuses, she was born in Ireland.  All this just goes to prove you can't believe everything you read on a death certificate.

Patrick Madigan, Death Certificate, 1890

Patrick Madigan was only 39 years old when he died on January 15, 1890 after a one-week bout with pneumonia.  He left his wife pregnant and with six other children under the age of 11. He died at 2853 Emerald Avenue per his death certificate.  He was buried in Calvary Cemetery initially on January 17, 1890 at Lot 272, Block 11, section T, but ultimately interred on April 29, 1901 in Lot 2, block 26, section P.  Also buried in the lot are Catherine Hennessy, Richard McCabe, Francis Hennessy, George E. Hennessy, Lizzie Monroe, Thomas Rowan, John Hennessey, and Catherine Driscoll, many of them young children.  Patrick's relationship to them is unknown. On the gravesite is a flat marker for Richard McCabe which reads: "Pray for the Soul of Our beloved brother, Richard McCabe, Sept. 20. 1853, Jan. 20, 1916, R. I. P."