McCanna family

Revision as of 09:15, 21 January 2014 (view source)

Revision as of 09:41, 21 January 2014 (view source)

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The McCannas were early settlers in [[Miles City]]. The matriarch and at least two sons, both with fair sized families weathered two [[fires]] and a major death. One of the sons moved on to [[Alaska]]. They are related to the [[Rooney family]]. The adults were born in County Latrim, Ireland and came from Minnesota to Miles City. Mother Bridgett ran at least one boarding house on Main Street between 3rd and 4th streets. They are Catholic, of course.

−

==Before Miles City===

+

==Before Miles City==

In Ireland, the McCannas, and their neighbors the Hanrahans intermarried and then left for the United States in the Fall of 1867. And the immigration record of Myles McCanna puts him in the United States no later than 4/4/1868, settling near Padua, MN. There were at least three households: Myles, James S. and Michael Bernard, all had their own farms. About 1868 James marries Sarah Ann Duffy. Best guess is that Myles was the father and Michael and James were his sons. (Or they could all be brothers). Presumably, their mother Bridgette was with them, as she is with them when they arrive in Miles City and their unmarried sister, also named Bridgette. In September, 1875 both Myles and James sold their farms; a locust plague devastated Minnesota from 1872-1875, being especially hard-hitting in 1874.

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[[File:McCanna_Katherine Ann_Emmet_Elizabeth_Philip_Jim.jpg|thumb|900px|Katherine Ann, Emmet, Elizabeth, Philip, Jim]]

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After her son's wife, Alma Gribble, died in 1909, she helped care for Philip's children, Hugh Hiliary and Philip. They lived with her son Hiliary at Eagle River, north of Juneau. Then between 1917-1923 she moved to Goldendale. There she took care of the two boys and their sister, Frances, until Philip remarried in 1925. When her daughter Elizabeth died in 1930, Katherine Ann took care of her brother-in-law, Robert Willis, in Goldendale. Katherine died in 1939. She was living at the time with Philip's daughter, Frances, and her husband, William Ruff. She had moved down to live with them after Katherine Margaret Willis, the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Willis, her granddaughter, had finished college in Seattle.

==Michael's family==

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==Michael's family after Miles City==

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In 1886 Michael Bernard McCanna loaded his wife and five young children into a wagon bound for Alaska. The McCannas settled on Douglas Island, across the Gastineau Channel from Juneau. Michael labored as a hard-rock gold miner in adjacent Treadwell. The family grew by two as Elizabeth gave Michael two more sons: Robert John on [[21 May 1889]], and Hilary on [[11 Jun 1892]]. From this time on, they spelled their name "McKanna".

+

From 1892-1898 Elizabeth McKanna, having graduated from St. Ann’s Academy in Juneau, found work on the Island as Douglas’s postmistress.

+

Michael and his two oldest sons began working the Yukon gold fields in the spring of 1897, a whole year before the stampede begun by a shipload of gold-laden miners disembarking at the Port of Seattle. Michael McKanna, while mining in the Yukon gold fields with his Jim and Emmet, came down with Brights Disease, a kidney ailment. Making his way back toward Douglas with Jim as his support, Michael died near the shores of Lake Bennett, in the District of Atlin, British Columbia. When news reached Douglas, his daughter Elizabeth took a boat to Skagway and a recently built rail line up the Chilkoot Pass. She and Jim buried their father’s body in a small miners’ cemetery located at the top of the Pass, one the Forest Service maintains to this day.

+

In 1901 the citizens of Treadwell elected Robert Willis as the town’s first mayor. The next year the federal government appointed him as Treadwell’s postmaster. On November 7, 1903 he married twenty-eight-year-old '''Elizabeth''' McKanna. The wedding took place in the McKanna family home in Douglas; Rev. Peter Bougis, S.J. officiated. Nine months later, on August 18, 1904, Elizabeth gave the couple their first child, Robert John Willis (II).

+

Sometime during this period, Robert Willis took over the management of the Alaska-Treadwell store, certainly during 1905-1906. But other opportunities beckoned. His best man, Douglas Ledbetter, purchased with Earl Wallace a general merchandizing store in Goldendale, a small farming community in south-central Washington State. Ledbetter talked his manager/ friend into transferring with him to Goldendale; he would manage the new store’s agricultural department. Willis accepted the offer. In February 1907 Robert Willis preceeded his family to their new home; they joined him on the Fourth of July. Thus began the transporting of the combined McKanna and Willis family from the Alaska Territory to Washington State.

+

The two oldest McKanna boys for some years followed their father’s path. '''Emmet''' mined around Dawson from 1897-1900, '''Jim''' from 1897-1904.

+

When Emmet came back to Douglas, he worked first as a clerk in the P.H. Fox Department Store ([[Patrick Fox]] was married to Emmet’s aunt, ?Madge? ?'''Bridgett'''? McCanna, Michael Bernard’s sister and they were the first to come to Alaska). On July 15, 1909 in Douglas he married Lillian Penglase, the twenty-four-year-old daughter of John and Mary Penglase, residents of Douglas since 1894 when they migrated there from Upper Peninsula, Michigan. Soon afterwards he and Lillian struck out across the water to Juneau. Emmet bought an interest in a brokerage firm, Epsteyn and Gilmour; by 1914 he acted as a wholesale agent for the company of Geddes and McKanna. In 1917 he, Lillian, and their three children (Emmet, Mary, and John) followed Bob and Elizabeth Willis to Washington State. They settled in Yakima. There Emmet sold automobiles for three years before he switched to real estate, a business career he practiced with notable success until his death in 1958. Emett wore gold ring fashioned from a raw nugget.

+

'''Jim''' McKanna stayed in Alaska. He too married, lived and worked in Juneau, on the wharfs and in a sawmill. On a trip to Oregon in 1918 he contracted the deadly influenza virus and died at the early age of forty-two. He left behind his wife, Frances Morrisette McKanna, and three young children: Edmund (6), Jim (5), and Christine (4). He also left an imposing home, one he built with Yukon gold-money and $10,000 from his wife’s father, on the hill above Juneau. This structure at 236 Gold Street later became the residence of the Alaska Territory’s delegate to the United States Congress. The governor lived in the mansion next door. Both stately places still exist (not according to Google Street View, else they aren't that special), overlooking Juneau, the Gastineau Channel, and the buildings of Douglas dotting the horizon.

+

The younger McKanna boys all married:

+

'''Philip''' became a prospector in Douglas, a farmer in Montana, a mill worker in Aberdeen, Washington, and even a fur farmer in Juneau.

+

'''Robert''' married a young stewardess of the Alaska Steamship Company, Theodocia Louise Wheeler, or “Theo” as people knew her. Bob and Theo were settling into Seward where Bob managed the docks and supervised loading and unloading activities.

+

The youngest, '''Hilary''', farmed in Alaska and Washington, worked on a dairy farm as a milker in Juneau, and ended his laboring days as a railroad employee in Spokane, Washington. Tragically, he died in 1957, in a Spokane, WA mental hospital by hanging himself. He was diagnosed with manic-depressive psychosis and cerebral arteriosclerosis.

+

After her son's wife, Alma Gribble, died in 1909, mother '''Katherine Ann''' helped care for Philip's children, Hugh Hiliary and Philip. They lived with her son Hiliary at Eagle River, north of Juneau. Then between 1917-1923 she moved to Goldendale. There she took care of the two boys and their sister, Frances, until Philip remarried in 1925. When her daughter Elizabeth died in 1930, Katherine Ann took care of her brother-in-law, Robert Willis, in Goldendale. Katherine died in 1939. She was living at the time with Philip's daughter, Frances, and her husband, William Ruff. She had moved down to live with them after Katherine Margaret Willis, the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Willis, her granddaughter, had finished college in Seattle.

==Raw notes==

Revision as of 09:41, 21 January 2014

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 The McCannas were early settlers in [[Miles City]]. The matriarch and at least two sons, both with fair sized families weathered two [[fires]] and a major death. One of the sons moved on to [[Alaska]]. They are related to the [[Rooney family]]. The adults were born in County Latrim, Ireland and came from Minnesota to Miles City. Mother Bridgett ran at least one boarding house on Main Street between 3rd and 4th streets. They are Catholic, of course.
-==Before Miles City===
+==Before Miles City==
 In Ireland, the McCannas, and their neighbors the Hanrahans intermarried and then left for the United States in the Fall of 1867. And the immigration record of Myles McCanna puts him in the United States no later than 4/4/1868, settling near Padua, MN. There were at least three households: Myles, James S. and Michael Bernard, all had their own farms. About 1868 James marries Sarah Ann Duffy. Best guess is that Myles was the father and Michael and James were his sons. (Or they could all be brothers). Presumably, their mother Bridgette was with them, as she is with them when they arrive in Miles City and their unmarried sister, also named Bridgette. In September, 1875 both Myles and James sold their farms; a locust plague devastated Minnesota from 1872-1875, being especially hard-hitting in 1874.
@@ Line 51: / Line 51: @@
 [[File:McCanna_Katherine Ann_Emmet_Elizabeth_Philip_Jim.jpg|thumb|900px|Katherine Ann, Emmet, Elizabeth, Philip, Jim]]
-After her son's wife, Alma Gribble, died in 1909, she helped care for Philip's children, Hugh Hiliary and Philip. They lived with her son Hiliary at Eagle River, north of Juneau. Then between 1917-1923 she moved to Goldendale. There she took care of the two boys and their sister, Frances, until Philip remarried in 1925. When her daughter Elizabeth died in 1930, Katherine Ann took care of her brother-in-law, Robert Willis, in Goldendale. Katherine died in 1939. She was living at the time with Philip's daughter, Frances, and her husband, William Ruff. She had moved down to live with them after Katherine Margaret Willis, the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Willis, her granddaughter, had finished college in Seattle.
 ==Michael's family==
@@ Line 90: / Line 88: @@
 ==Michael's family after Miles City==
+In 1886 Michael Bernard McCanna loaded his wife and five young children into a wagon bound for Alaska. The McCannas settled on Douglas Island, across the Gastineau Channel from Juneau. Michael labored as a hard-rock gold miner in adjacent Treadwell. The family grew by two as Elizabeth gave Michael two more sons: Robert John on [[21 May 1889]], and Hilary on [[11 Jun 1892]]. From this time on, they spelled their name "McKanna".
+From 1892-1898 Elizabeth McKanna, having graduated from St. Ann’s Academy in Juneau, found work on the Island as Douglas’s postmistress.
+Michael and his two oldest sons began working the Yukon gold fields in the spring of 1897, a whole year before the stampede begun by a shipload of gold-laden miners disembarking at the Port of Seattle. Michael McKanna, while mining in the Yukon gold fields with his Jim and Emmet, came down with Brights Disease, a kidney ailment. Making his way back toward Douglas with Jim as his support, Michael died near the shores of Lake Bennett, in the District of Atlin, British Columbia. When news reached Douglas, his daughter Elizabeth took a boat to Skagway and a recently built rail line up the Chilkoot Pass.  She and Jim buried their father’s body in a small miners’ cemetery located at the top of the Pass, one the Forest Service maintains to this day.
+In 1901 the citizens of Treadwell elected Robert Willis as the town’s first mayor. The next year the federal government appointed him as Treadwell’s postmaster. On November 7, 1903 he married twenty-eight-year-old '''Elizabeth''' McKanna. The wedding took place in the McKanna family home in Douglas;  Rev. Peter Bougis, S.J. officiated. Nine months later, on August 18, 1904, Elizabeth gave the couple their first child, Robert John Willis (II).
+Sometime during this period, Robert Willis took over the management of the Alaska-Treadwell store, certainly during 1905-1906. But other opportunities beckoned. His best man, Douglas Ledbetter, purchased with Earl Wallace a general merchandizing store in Goldendale, a small farming community in south-central Washington State. Ledbetter talked his manager/ friend into transferring with him to Goldendale; he would manage the new store’s agricultural department.  Willis accepted the offer. In February 1907 Robert Willis preceeded his family to their new home; they joined him on the Fourth of July. Thus began the transporting of the combined McKanna and Willis family from the Alaska Territory to Washington State.
+The two oldest McKanna boys for some years followed their father’s path. '''Emmet''' mined around Dawson from 1897-1900, '''Jim''' from 1897-1904.
+When Emmet came back to Douglas, he worked first as a clerk in the P.H. Fox Department Store ([[Patrick Fox]] was married to Emmet’s aunt, ?Madge? ?'''Bridgett'''? McCanna, Michael Bernard’s sister and they were the first to come to Alaska).  On July 15, 1909 in Douglas he married Lillian Penglase, the twenty-four-year-old daughter of John and Mary Penglase, residents of Douglas since 1894 when they migrated there from Upper Peninsula, Michigan. Soon afterwards he and Lillian struck out across the water to Juneau. Emmet bought an interest in a brokerage firm, Epsteyn and Gilmour; by 1914 he acted as a wholesale agent for the company of Geddes and McKanna. In 1917 he,  Lillian, and their three children (Emmet, Mary, and John) followed Bob and Elizabeth Willis to Washington State. They settled in Yakima. There Emmet sold automobiles for three years before he switched to real estate, a business career he practiced with notable success until his death in 1958. Emett wore gold ring fashioned from a raw nugget.
+'''Jim''' McKanna stayed in Alaska. He too married, lived and worked in Juneau, on the wharfs and in a sawmill. On a trip to Oregon in 1918 he contracted the deadly influenza virus and died at the early age of forty-two. He left behind his wife, Frances Morrisette McKanna, and three young children: Edmund (6), Jim (5), and Christine (4). He also left an imposing home, one he built with Yukon gold-money and $10,000 from his wife’s father, on the hill above Juneau. This structure at 236 Gold Street later became the residence of the Alaska Territory’s delegate to the United States Congress. The governor lived in the  mansion next door. Both stately places still exist (not according to Google Street View, else they aren't that special), overlooking Juneau, the Gastineau Channel, and the buildings of Douglas dotting the horizon.
+The younger McKanna boys all married:
+'''Philip''' became a prospector in Douglas, a farmer in Montana, a mill worker in Aberdeen, Washington, and even a fur farmer in Juneau.
+'''Robert''' married a young stewardess of the Alaska Steamship Company, Theodocia Louise Wheeler, or “Theo” as people knew her. Bob and Theo were settling into Seward where Bob managed the docks and supervised loading and unloading activities.
+The youngest, '''Hilary''', farmed in Alaska and Washington, worked on a dairy farm as a milker in Juneau, and ended his laboring days as a railroad employee in Spokane, Washington. Tragically, he died in 1957, in a Spokane, WA mental hospital by hanging himself.  He was diagnosed with manic-depressive psychosis and cerebral arteriosclerosis.
+After her son's wife, Alma Gribble, died in 1909, mother '''Katherine Ann''' helped care for Philip's children, Hugh Hiliary and Philip. They lived with her son Hiliary at Eagle River, north of Juneau. Then between 1917-1923 she moved to Goldendale. There she took care of the two boys and their sister, Frances, until Philip remarried in 1925. When her daughter Elizabeth died in 1930, Katherine Ann took care of her brother-in-law, Robert Willis, in Goldendale. Katherine died in 1939. She was living at the time with Philip's daughter, Frances, and her husband, William Ruff. She had moved down to live with them after Katherine Margaret Willis, the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Willis, her granddaughter, had finished college in Seattle.
 ==Raw notes==