The Big Wind

My ancestor, Catherine Markey, told her granddaughter, Rita Brady, that she was one year old in the year of the Big Wind. I have learned that the Big Wind was a hurricane which struck Ireland on the evening of 6 January 1839. Catherine also told her granddaughter that she was from "County Meath near the River Boyne, 5 miles from the sea." According to A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland by Nicolas Carlisle (originally published in 1810, republished by Heritage books on cd-rom in 2001)this location is St. Mary's Parish in Drogheda.

Here is a description of what the residents of Drogheda experienced on the night of the Big Wind:

"As the hurricane hit Drogheda, many families fled in mortal terror for their lives as the wind thundered through their shaking homes. The nightmare atmosphere was further raised as slates and chimney pots crashed down into the streets in the darkness. Frightened horses bolted wildly about adding to the general terror and confusion. Some families made their way to the safety of the Tholsel and the Watch House. Others quit the town to spend the night huddled together in the freezing rain, under the hedgerows of the open fields.

As daylight broke on Monday morning the streets of the town were seen to be blocked with debris of every type and description. Very few houses had escaped the night undamaged. But the greatest loss and suffering was felt amongst the poor of the town. A large number of their cabins were demolished, two or three were burned to the ground, and the remainder were stripped of their thatch roofing.

Remarkably in all this destruction, not one single life was lost, nor were any serious injuries reported in the vicinity of Drogheda." -quoted from the Journal of the Old Drogheda Society, 1990 no. 7.

Catherine Whelan's Deposition

This deposition was given by my great-grandmother, Catherine (Markey) Whelan. It was given in support of the claim for a widow's pension by Catherine's sister-in-law, Mary J. Whelan.

For the sake of consistency, I use the spelling "Whelan" when writing about this family. This was the spelling I have found most often in Irish records. However, Patrick's family used the spelling "Whalin" consistently in these pension documents, although not in other documents I have found. The transcription below reflects the spelling of words as given in the original documents.

Deposition D
Case of Mary J. Whalin, No. 773265

On this 18 day of May, 1903, at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, before me, J. H. Stibbs[?], a special examiner of the Bureau of Pensions, personally appeared Catherine Whalin, who, being by me first duly sworn to answer truly all interrogatories propounded to her during this special examination of aforesaid claim for pension, deposes and says: I am 65 years of age, am the widow of Timothy Whalin and reside at 166 Chestnut in Chicago Ill.

I first knew this claimant ever since after she was married. About 5 months before she was married. She was then a young unmarried girl. I was not present at the church when they were married, but I was at the house that evening where the wedding festivities were held. My husband stood up with her when she was married. She was married in December, 35 or 36 years ago. The first I knew her husband, Patrick Whalin, was when he came from the war. He was then a single man, & had never been married, & I am sure his first marriage was to claimant. They lived together as man & wife until he died, & she has not remarried since. I know they were living together on Columbia St. at the time of his death.

She has been very poor since her husband died, has had no property & no income aside from her own labor.

I am not interested in her claim, above has been read to me & is correct.

Attest her X mark
Fannie Reardon Catherine Whalin
[?] Kenny

Did Timothy Whelan have siblings in Chicago?

That has been one of my biggest questions ever since I started doing genealogy research, over 30 years ago. I asked my dad, my aunt, and others, but no one knew the answer. My aunt told me that Timothy Whelan was from County Kilkenny, but that was all she knew. Well, this week I got the answer--a great big YES!

The answer was in copies I received this week from Civil War pension files. I had requested copies of pension files and service records for two possible siblings of my ancestor that I had identified through city directories. As I mentioned here there were actually two Patrick Whelans from Kilkenny who lived in Chicago and fought in the Civil War. Well, the genealogy gods were smiling on me this week: only one of the Patricks had a pension file, and he was a sibling of my ancestor Timothy Whelan. (Time for the happy dance!)

The files I received included an invalid pension for Patrick Whelan, and a widow's pension for his wife Mary. The files are awesome! I am still busy transcribing them and looking at the additional research possibilities they open up. But a few of the highlights I have found so far include:

1. Patrick Whelan lived with Timothy at 166 Chestnut at times. This confirms that it is my Timothy, since that address is well documented in my files.

2. Timothy stood up to Patrick's wedding in 1867.

3. Timothy's widow, Catherine (Markey) Whelan gave an affidavit which was included in the widow's pension file. Catherine testified that, "I was not present at the church when they were married, but I was at the house that evening where the wedding festivities were held." It must have been a memorable party, since it was mentioned in several affidavits.

4. Not only do the files confirm that Timothy and Patrick were brothers, but they also had two sisters and THEIR MOTHER living in Chicago at one time. (Of course, no first names are given for the women. Humbug!)



So, if you haven't done it yet, I recommend that you look into the possibility of pension files for any Civil War ancestors that you may have. And don't limit yourself to direct ancestors. Go for the siblings, possible ancestors and siblings, in-laws, and the guys who served with your soldier. You never know what you may find.

Whelan Headstone

Happy Halloween!

In honor of Halloween, I am posting cemetery photos this week. This is a photo of the headstone of my great-grandparents Timothy and Catherine (Markey) Whelan (or Whalen) and their son John. Like my parents, they are buried in Calvary Cemetery, Evanston, Cook County, Illinois.

I was very glad when I found out where my great-grandparents were buried, and was able to take a picture of the headstone. Even more exciting was the copy of the cemetery record that I received. (See below.) This is a 3 grave lot with 11 people buried in it. Seven of the burials were of children or infants. In fact, this cemetery record led me to discover that there were 3 sets of twins born to Timothy and Catherine. Most of the children did not survive long enough to appear in any census record. However, those born after the Chicago Fire of 1871 did appear in baptism records of Holy Name Cathedral. Who would've expected a cemetery record to lead to a baptism record? I sure didn't when I first saw this burial record, many years ago.

Margaret Whelan Considine

This is a photo of my great-aunt Margaret. She was born in Chicago in about 1866, to Timothy Whelan and Catherine Markey. Margaret married William Considine, a Chicago policeman, on 11 July 1889 at Holy Name Cathedral. Her sister Frances and a friend named John Devony were witnesses. Margaret died on 8 December 1943 and is buried at Mt. Carmel Cemetery.

One story I’ve heard is that Margaret’s brother John would sometimes visit her in the evenings, while William was working. John came in the evening in order to avoid William, who wasn’t fond of him. But apparently, Margaret had some nosy neighbors, who began to gossip about her having a gentleman visitor when her husband wasn’t home. Seeing Margaret’s photo, I have a feeling that she had no trouble setting them straight pretty quickly.

I love the car in this photograph, and Margaret’s hat. I’d like to find out what the occasion was and where the photo was taken.

Jennie Whelan Brady, 1876-1922

This is a photo of my grandmother, Jennie (Whelan) Brady. Her parents, Timothy Whelan and Catherine Markey, were survivors of the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s. Jennie, a widow with three children, died in Chicago on 14 March 1922 of bronchial pneumonia with malnutrition as a contributing factor.