Tri-Counties Genealogy & History by Joyce M. Tice Family History& Biography Section Bradford County PA Chemung County NY Tioga County PA Home Page Guide Disclaimer Copyright More Family Histories Bloss Township  Joyce New & Search

Joyce's Search Tip - January 2008 Do You Know that you can search  the site by using the Partitioned search engine at the bottom of the Current What's New Page? Family pages are listed on the Family list but also on the individual Township pages in the Photo, Bible, and other sections.

Generally speaking, most research into family history gets it start from the oral tradition: great aunt Tilly relates a story concerning her great grand pappy to an eager nephew/niece and thus the journey begins. This is probably the most accurate means of discovery, as the written history of that day didn’t dwell upon things so trivial. At any rate, the following memory will best illustrate why the ‘oral tradition’ will always remain significant.

Mark Ripple, great, great grandson of James Patrick Mooney had the following story to relate about his grandfather, Francis Patrick Mooney. "Grandpa would critique my wrestling skills and constantly refer to ‘imaginary’ wrestlers name[d] Zybisco and Frank Gotch, who would practice his famous scissors leg lock by breaking open sacks of flour with his leg lock. Of course, I thought this was typical ‘Mooney storytelling’, but years later I read a book on the history of wrestling, and sure enough, there were Zybisco and Gotch, dubbed two of the greatest wrestlers of all time."

Specifically, this project of delving into our family history began with a first installment in 1989 during a trip to Houston and Joseph Mooney had the author input data into a new genealogy program that he had just purchased. Later in the year, four Mooney brothers (Jim, Pat, Joe and Neil) traveled north and detoured to Blossburg and began in earnest to delve into family history.

The second installment was when Patsy Mooney Vance hired a genealogist in 1994 and passed her material on to Peggy Mooney Ripple who sent it off to Joe Mooney. James Patrick Mooney’s declaration of intent was part of the installment from Patsy. Joe was to pass the whole project on to this author.

Thus began the third installment conducted by the author and his son David Mooney. It continues to this day. Most items have been verified and/or found on the Tri-Counties Genealogy & History web site created by Joyce M. Tice. There are other web sites that also include the same material. Some require membership but most are free to the public.

This third installment has been very extensive and has taken the better part of three years. The main instrument used was a computer program Family Tree Maker and all of the information gathered is stored rather clinically and somewhat boring to follow. Therefore, the author began to put all of the information into a narrative format. This compilation was undertaken in February 2011 and completed in April 2011.

The author has conveniently divided the history into two parts: lives and events occurring in Pennsylvania comprise the first part, and the second part relates the departure to other environs throughout America as manifested by the fourth generation family members.
 
 

JAMES PATRICK MOONEY (b. 1814 – d. 1897)

"Died in Morris Run, PA, Friday, October 15, 1897, James Mooney, aged 85 years. Mr. Mooney had been a resident of this locality for fifty years or more, and was an old time honored gentleman, industrious, quiet, civil and courteous, and was held in high respect by the people of the community in which he had so long resided. The funeral occurred on Sunday afternoon, October 18th, and was largely attended, Dr. Lucas, officiating. His remains were buried in the Catholic Cemetery in Blossburg. He leaves four sons and two daughters, besides a large circle of friends to mourn his death. The children are Cornelius, of Landrus, Patrick, of Arkansas, James and John, Kate, wife of George Heron, and Mary, wife of Dr. J. H. Kiley, of Morris Run." Unknown news clipping found in FP’s papers.

James and Catherine emigrated from Ireland in 1836 and entered the United States in Oswego NY from Canada and settled in Tioga County, PA in the township of Morris Run.

"James Mooney upon his solemn oath doth dispose and say, that his name is James Mooney, that he was born in Ireland as he believes in the Year of Our Lord, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Fourteen and is now of the age of twenty-seven years: that he embarked in the Month of April AD 1836 at the Port of Newry and arrived at Oswego in the Month of June. Next following, where he landed and has selected the town of Bloss in the County of Tioga as the place of his intended settlement that it is hence his intention to become a citizen of the United States….. James signed the Declaration of Intent on 25 January 1842."

James and Catherine had the following children: Cornelius, b. 1846; Patrick, b. 1848; Anna, b. 1850; James, b. 1852; John, b. 1854; Catherine, b. 1859; and Mary, b. 1862. James is listed as a laborer (miner) in numerous town directories. James Patrick is also included in the Blossburg Town History as one of the laborers who dug the foundation for St. Andrew’s church in Jan 1851.

This bit of information too can be found electronically via the Internet. Additionally, just as the petroleum industry had its start in PA, the coal industry began over a century earlier and in Tioga County in the valley that the towns of Bloss (later to be Blossburg), Morris Run, Arnot, etc. are located. It is not a stretch of the imagination to believe that the great civil war relied heavily upon this coal industry and that the Mooney sons were never called upon to serve in this war because of their profession.

What can be said about James Patrick’s wife? At the very beginning of this computer tracking of the Mooney families, James’ wife was simply Catherine. In a conversation between Joe Mooney and Sister Eva Joseph, Louise related to Joe that she did not know what Catherine’s maiden name was.

Early on, Catherine was linked with a Jourcel surname that seems to have come from out of the blue. In a recent exchange with Patsy Vance, she is now of the opinion that the name just doesn’t fit. In the original information that Patsy uncovered about James and Catherine, her researcher established the fact that they were married before departing Ireland and that Catherine was fourteen years old when they married. This researcher also set her death as occurring on 17 Feb 1892. In Catherine Mooney Heron's and Mary Mooney Kiley's death certificates, Catherine's name is Toughill. So it is written; so it shall be.

Very few facts are known about Catherine. It is safe to say that she was born in Ireland probably in 1822. Where and when Catherine married James is purely conjecture. Their first child, Cornelius was born in 1846. If they were married when Catherine was fourteen years old, there are eight years unaccounted for. Does this mean that they had eight barren years? Or were there perhaps four deaths at an early age?
 

SECOND FILIAL GENERATION

There have been at least half a dozen excursions to the Blossburg, PA area by various members of the modern Mooney family. Four Mooney boys made the initial trip to Blossburg, PA and they uncovered most of what we know about the Mooneyes in Tioga County. Joe deposited himself at the local library to dig up facts while Pat, Neil and Jim went to the graveyard to make rubbings. While Joe was uncovering the shaded pastime of horse thievery by two sons of James Patrick, one by helping himself to his inheritance prematurely and the other was caught-up in some bar room fracas, both of which ended in a cooling off period in the county jail; Jim was busy overlooking the important fact that there was an unmarked grave for Cornelius along with two unknown family members. But they did manage to ferret out the Mooney Monument and get some impressive rubbings. Marcie Artiques Mooney entrusted these rubbings to Donald Mooney’s care after Jim passed away.

There are at least five Mooneyes buried in St. Andrew’s Cemetery. Cornelius is in an unmarked plot with two others (possible children who also died of the epidemic which did him in). Both parents and daughter Anna and son John are in a family plot with the above-mentioned monument. Catherine married a George Heron and the Herons are also buried in St. Andrew’s Cemetery. Mary is something of an enigma. Her marriage to John Hurlbut Kiley is listed in the Kiley Family Bible. But no evidence of her interment in Blossburg as stated by the obituary can be found anywhere. Her husband survived Mary. Perhaps John Kiley had her moved to a Kiley family plot located somewhere else, as John is not in St. Andrew’s cemetery.

"Cornelius Mooney died of typhoid-malarial fever after an illness of eight weeks, at the residence of his brother-in-law, Dr. J. H. Kiley at Morris Run on Monday, Dec. 4th. He was born in Blossburg 54 years ago, and was a well known and respected resident of this vicinity. He leaves a wife and 8 children to mourn his death, also two sisters, Mrs. George Heron, of Blossburg, and Mrs. J. H. Kiley, of Morris Run. His funeral was held on Wednesday from St. Joseph's church at Morris Run, Rev. Dr. Geo. J. Lucas officiating. The burial was in Catholic Cemetery in this place, the pall bearers being Richard Prendergrast, Anthony Devanney, Thomas Whalen, Thomas McMahon, Thomas Dwyer and Peter McMahon." Unknown news clipping found in FP’s papers.

Cornelius married a local girl, Sarah Blake. They were to have ten children, but only eight survived to the time of Cornelius's death. The obituary for James Patrick indicated that Cornelius was from Landrus, PA. Landrus is currently a deserted town with nothing but cellar holes. During this period though, Landrus was a thriving lumber producing town. As indicated above, Cornelius was being treated at Mary Mooney Kiley's house in Morris Run.

On subsequent trips to the Blossburg area, lesser-known members of James Patrick’s family have yielded much information. Notably, Cornelius’ widow moved her family of eight children to Somerset County PA shortly after her husband’s death at the end of the nineteenth century and, with that move, that branch of the family left the Tioga area never to return. Less than six months later and, at the time of the 1900 census, the family is settled in Paint, PA. Remarkably, even today, the local inhabitants are still mining coal in Somerset County from the same working coalmines where Cornelius’s sons once did the same.

There are counter arguments against any surviving descendants of Cornelius. Joe Mooney had an interview with Sister Eva Joseph Mooney (Louise Mooney) and she informed Joe that Cornelius and his whole family perished in the same epidemic; that there were no Mooney descendants from that branch of the family. This notion must be rejected out of hand; there are only three bodies in Cornelius’s plot and not twelve. Besides, the church has no record of any other gravesite belonging to this Mooney family. Additionally, no supporting documentation has surfaced to support Louise’s theory.

There is a sidebar to this whole line of reasoning. Cornelius married a Sarah Blake and in the 1880 census, Cornelius is the head-of-household with a brother-in-law, Edward Blake, as his lodger. That barroom fracas mentioned earlier included Patrick and his brother's brother-in-law, Edward Blake, who jumped bail never to be heard from again. Edward immediately went one way and Patrick eventually went another. Probably Sarah Blake Mooney relocated her family to the coalmines in Somerset County with the help of an out-riding brother who paved the way; much as Patrick would use his only brother James, still alive at the time, to pave the way for him in his move from Oklahoma to the coalmines in Clearfield County Pennsylvania.

At any rate, Cornelius is interred with two unknowns. In the 1900 census for Somerset County, Sarah lists eight surviving children and ten birthed. It is likely the two unknowns interred with Cornelius could be his two children born in the gap between Leah (b. 1880) and Theresa (b. 1886). On a special trip to Blossburg in an attempt to identify these two unknowns, the church records for St. Andrew and St. Mary were searched thoroughly but to no avail. The researcher who Patsy Vance engaged in researching the births of Cornelius and Sarah’s children discovered only three birth records: Charles, Veronica and Frances. Perhaps the gap of nine years between Charles and Veronica represents their sojourn in Landrus. These two infant children, if such they be, will remain unknown forever.

"Mooney—Entered into rest on Wednesday, Dec 19, 1917, at 10:30 a.m., Patrick F. Mooney, beloved husband of Sarah Mooney (nee Erwin), and dear father of John, Catherine, Mary, Annie, Theresa, Frank, Louisa and Cornelius Mooney, and dear brother of Mr. J. H. Kiley. Funeral will take place from the family residence, 4160 Lucky street, Saturday, Dec 22, at 8:30 a.m., to St. Matthew’s Church, thence to Calvary Cemetery. Motor."

It is apparent that Patrick departed PA never to return to Tioga County. There exists no evidence that there was any further contact between the two Mooney families (James Patrick and his son Patrick Francis). Sarah Erwin Cheviron would have no reason to seek out that relationship if Patrick didn’t want it. The only possible explanation is that Patrick nurtured that stance with his family. This is much akin to Frank Mooney never responding to all inquiries by inquisitive children as to why there were no Mooney relatives who fought in the Civil War. It also explains the failure to even mention that Francis Patrick’s older brother John had married and had a daughter.

Patrick and Sarah are married on 5 May 1892 in Coalgate, Oklahoma Indian Territory and have their first-born John (b. 1892) in Coalgate. Seemingly, Sarah has her family depart Oklahoma and travel to Rich Hill, MO to link up with the Erwin family where three daughters are born: Catherine (b. 1894), Mary (b. 1896) and Ann (b.1897). The family departs Missouri and returns to Oklahoma Indian Territory to a place named Howe. This was probably when the Erwin family relocated to Belleville, IL and switched over to coal mining. Another daughter, Teresa (b. 1899) and a son, Francis (b. 1901) are born in Oklahoma. As stated above, the family departs Oklahoma and settles in Kellytown, Clearfield County where a daughter Louise (b. 1906) and a son Cornelius (b. 1909) are born. This was to supposedly meet up with Patrick’s brother James.

Sarah, for one last time, had her Mooney family relocate to where the Erwin family had settled in Belleville to work the coal mine that was managed by a member of the Erwin family. The last child, Cornelius, was born in Kellytown in 1909 and in the 1910 census they are still living in Kellytown. Their move to Belleville had to occur early in the following decade in order to make everything fit.

F. Patrick Mooney (author’s brother Pat) states that the Erwins promised grandfather Patrick a management job if he moved to Belleville but the newly acquired wife of Leonard Erwin had her husband give the job to her brother instead. At some point, Patrick became incapacitated with the dreaded black lung disease and Sarah once again relocated her family; this time to St. Louis, MO and the Mooneyes got out of the mining business.

One has to wonder how a lowly laborer could affect the moves that Patrick Francis accomplished. On a couple of occasions, Francis Patrick Mooney told a story to Donald Erwin Mooney that Patrick walked out of a bar-tending night job and took off for Ireland and soon became disenchanted with Ireland and returned to the U.S. Patrick next surfaces in Coalgate, Oklahoma Indian Territory, gets married and moves to Rich Hill, MO to co-locate with his newly acquired Erwin in-laws. Pat stays there long enough to leave a mark and then returns to Oklahoma. Patrick departs there and goes to PA and eventually departs PA and settles again with his Erwin-in-laws who have relocated to Belleville, IL. One last move finds Patrick on Lucky Street in St. Louis. This was to be his last relocation except for his interment in Calvary Cemetery.

Joseph Mooney believes that our grandfather was following the railroad as a ‘gandy dancer’. However, the total of all of the above locations suggests a commonality that is more helpful in understanding grandfather Patrick Francis. He was a miner and the digging was always easier if he just tried another location on the other side of the fence. In a conversation with Frances Patrick Mooney, he stated that his father almost became a very rich man and by this was meant that Patrick almost became a coalmine owner. (There are indications that the bar-room fracas can also be explained by the rumor that Patrick was a whiskey swilling, second-rate gambler who always had to get-out-of-town-quick. After all, he waited until he was forty-four to settle down.)

"Died 19 Dec 1880 in Wellsboro, PA, Annie Mooney, aged 28 yrs of Morris Run, PA."

Anna was the first to die of the first-generation-born-in-America Mooneyes. She remained at home according to the U.S. censuses taken in 1860, 1870 and 1880. Of note, the last one indicated that she was 28 and listed as ‘at home’ in the employment section. She was to die in Wellsboro PA four months after the 1880 census, never having been on her own or marrying and raising a family. Obviously, she had died in some medical facility away from home and must have been a sickly individual her whole life.

All of the males of this generation: Cornelius, Patrick, James and John, were coal miners and those who became wanderers were always moving to that next best coal field. Cornelius and John were to die before the coal ran out in Tioga County. James Patrick apparently had wandered as far as he desired after emigrating to Morris Run. But Patrick Francis relocated five times in pursuit of his avocation.

There is a vague family recollection concerning James meeting Patrick and his family in Clearfield County. Patrick relocated his family sometime between 1901 and 1906 to Kellytown, Clearfield County from their home in Oklahoma Indian Territory. This is an important supposition and is based upon a conversation with Maureen Diggins who remembered a story told to her by Mary Beatrice Mooney. Accordingly, Mary remembered the train trip from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania and arriving in the dead of winter and being met by their uncle James in a sleigh and then the ride to their new home. Brothers Cornelius and John were already deceased.

Whether James was in the Clearfield area just to affect this move or that he had made the move first and then his older brother followed can never be ascertained until we connect with this great uncle James. There are no traces of James in either Tioga or Clearfield counties.

"Morris Run, Oct 22 - On Monday was received the sad intelligence of the death of Mr. John Mooney of Broad Top, MD [PA]. Mrs. George Heron, sister of the deceased, left for that place immediately after the summons. This is the second time within a week that death visited the bereaved family, and claimed for its victim’s father and son. At this writing no details connected with the death have been l earned." Unknown news clipping found in FP’s papers.

John was the son who thought he deserved his inheritance even though his father and numerous siblings were still alive and helped himself to his father’s cache. For this he was to spend some time in the hoosegow. The only other thing of note about his whole life is that Broad Top is in PA and not MD. Apparently, John was to leave the immediate area after the money incident and settle in another part of PA. More than likely, he traveled back to Morris Run to be with his sick father and contracted the same disease and died the following week.

Catherine married a George Heron (recently emigrated from England) of Bloss and, according to the 1900 census, they had eight children birthed but only four children still alive. Mabel (b. 1879), who became a schoolteacher for the town, never married, and lived right up to 1959 and is buried in St. Andrew’s Cemetery in the Heron family plot. Their second child Catherine (b. 1881) married a Michael Kelly and they had a child, Dorothy, who died in 1913 and is buried in the Heron family plot. They resided later in Pittsburgh, PA. George (b. 1884) marries a Marie Catherine Howard and they had two children: Mary Catherine (b. 1911) and Howard (b. 1921) and resided in Elmira, NY at the time of the 1930 census. Olga (b. 1887) married a James Roy Bonney, apparently after the death of her mother, and they had no children. She was interred in St. Andrew's Cemetery in 1960.

Apparently, there are some members of the Heron branch of our family scattered about in Florida and Maryland, and there are some Kellys still alive in California and Ohio, but all other traces of the descendants of James Patrick Mooney are not to be found in Tioga County, PA.

There are indications that the Kiley family plot is located in the Covington town cemetery, and that one more trip back to the Blossburg area is warranted. Perhaps John had his wife re-interred from St. Andrew’s Cemetery to the Covington Town Cemetery. However, it has been ascertained that there is no evidence of Mary's grave in either cemetery.

The News-Palladium, Aug 27, 1936. "Mrs. Sairah (sic) Mooney Of Lavette Street Is Taken By Death. Mrs. Sairah (sic) Mooney died at 9:40 o’clock this morning at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Tess Patton, 949 Lavette Street. She was 77 years old. The body was removed to the Reiser Mortuary. Funeral plans are incomplete. Surviving besides Mrs. Patton, are a son, Vincent Mooney, Johnstown, PA; four daughters, Mrs. May Dandre, Grand Rapids, Mrs. Vera Mooney, San Antonio, TX, Mrs. Frances Bowman, Chicago, and Miss Louise Mooney, this city; and 10 grandchildren."

Sarah was to relocate within six months of the death of her husband Cornelius Mooney in 1899 to Paint, PA. In the 1900 census, she reports that she birthed ten children but only eight are alive and that she has six children living with her. May, the oldest, and Theresa are not mentioned. These two have relocated to Elmira, NY and are listed as boarders in the 1900 census. The other missing two were probably born during the six-year gap between Leah and Theresa. Perhaps these two are buried with their father back in Blossburg. The church records for St. Andrew and St. Mary do not record any children being born to Cornelius and Sarah during this period. However, record keeping was less than factual and depended upon the parents to follow through. There was no compulsion to record the events. Their identity will remain unknown forever.

Sarah was not fated to stay overly long in Paint, PA. She was to follow her daughter Tess to Benton Harbor, MI after her marriage to Maurice Patton. In the 1920 census, Sarah Mooney is living with her daughter, Tess Patton, along with her youngest daughter, Louise Mooney. Sarah also lists both her parents were born in England. It is apparent that the only member of the six who made the move to Paint and stayed there in Somerset County was Vincent who was married by then and raising his own family.

"Mooney-Entered into rest on Wednesday, May 12, 1926 at 11:28 pm., Sarah Mooney (nee Erwin), beloved mother of Catherine, Mary, Ann, Teresa, Francis, and Cornelius Mooney and Sister Eva Joseph of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, and our dear sister and aunt. Funeral will take place from the family residence 4602A Evans Avenue…..Deceased was a member of Catholic Knights and Ladies of Illinois…."

Sarah Erwin was the daughter of John and Hannah Erwin. The Erwin family was miners also and their daughter Sarah was born in Shullsburg, WI where lead mining was prevalent. Apparently, the Erwin’s moved to Rich Hill, MO, another lead mining region, and this is where Sarah at age 21 meets and marries a Robert L. Cheviron in Mar 1885 and they have a daughter Lula (b. 1887). Robert, we presume, was to die soon and Patrick Francis makes an appearance in whatever area it was and marries the widow with a child. No one knows if this meeting was in Rich Hill. Alternately, had the Cheviron family relocated to Coalgate, Oklahoma Indian Territory by then? At any rate, Sarah and Patrick are married there in Coalgate on 5 May 1892.

A family recollection comes from a conversation between Joe Mooney and Margaret Blake Mooney and she said that ‘Patrick met Sarah in a boarding house.’ Additionally, Peggy Mooney Ripple stated that Sarah was a professional embalmer. From another conversation with Peggy: the last time that Frank saw his mother alive, he was having an argument with her over Neil and the company that Neil was running with. Sarah was to die soon after this argument.

Wellsboro Agitator - October 15, 1924. "George Heron. Sr. died at his home in Blossburg at 10:45 o’clock Wednesday night, after an illness of several days. The funeral was held at 9 o’clock Saturday morning from St. Andrew’s Catholic church. A high mass of requiem was celebrated by the rector, Rev. M.F. Corrigan. Internment was made in St. Andrew’s cemetery beside his wife who died about 10 years ago. Mr. Heron was born in England, 68 years ago. When a youth he came with his father and other members of the family to Morris Run, where he later married Miss Katherine Mooney and continued to dwell in that place until a few years ago, when he moved to Blossburg. Mr. Heron was an active member of St. Andrew’s choir. He is survived by three daughters, Mrs. M.J. Kelly of Pittsburgh; Mrs. Roy Bonney and Mabel at home, and one son, George of Elmira; also five grandchildren and one sister who resides in California."

George emigrated from England in 1867. He married Catherine Mooney and they had eight children according to the 1910 census but only four survived to adulthood. The last two were alive right up to 1960 and are buried in the Heron family plot in St. Andrew’s cemetery. This branch of the Mooney tree would give rise to the Heron and Kelly lines and some of their descendants survive to this day as indicated in later sections.

John was to marry Mary Mooney on 13 Apr 1893 and they were to live in Morris Run most of their life. They were to move into Blossburg just a couple of years before Mary died. There were no children from this union.

John states that both his parents were born in Vermont. His father and older brother settled in the town of Covington, Tioga County, and became farmers. John was to go to college and become a pharmacist/medical doctor. He ran an establishment on Main Street, Blossburg until he died. He is buried in the Kiley family plot in the town cemetery in Covington, PA.
 
 

The author’s generation was never informed about all of the Mooney relations who survived to the present day. As a result of current research, Francis Patrick Mooney had fourteen first cousins scattered around PA and NY. Cornelius and some of his descendants are out there available for contact. The Herons have some cousins that have survived down to today. The Kileys, even though they are technically not our relatives, must surely possess the Tioga County Mooney artifacts. Perhaps it was simply an oversight, this failure to keep in contact with family, as there were more important things that needed to be done in order to make a go at life. (Does anyone remember Margaret Blake Mooney’s cedar chest and all of the photos that were in there? Maybe all of the Mooney artifacts were in there and nobody knew from Adam who or what they were.)

This whole document might be viewed as a swansong per se. Not long ago, while listening to an oldie from the fabulous 60’s by Dr Hook and the Medicine Show named ‘Sylvia’s Mother’ there was a very catchy lyric, ‘... and the operator says forty cents more for the next three minutes …’ and it became apparent that the artist was singing about some ancient ritual and that 50% of Americans probably don’t have a clue. Ditto with information about people and their genealogies. From this point forward, all information concerning the population is digitized, and by definition, is searchable by anybody else. No doubt, there is a retroactive attempt to digitize past data (e.g. the Tri-Counties Genealogy Web Site, U.S. Censuses, newspaper articles, etc.) and it is only a matter of time for the past to be easily accessed in order to solve any problems encountered while researching a family’s genealogy.

May was Cornelius and Sarah Mooney’s first born and the first of this generation. During the 19th century all references listed the first born as Mary. But after the move to Somerset County by the recently widowed Sarah Blake Mooney at the turn of the century, all references refer to her as May.

At the time of her father’s death in late 1899, she would have been 25 years old. May was not to make the move to Paint, PA with her mother and siblings as indicated in the 1900 census for Somerset County. May was to depart Blossburg and relocate to Elmira, NY. In the 1900 census, she is living with her sister Tess and both are working in the area. Perhaps she later becomes the wife of George L. Dandre. This would seem so, as the Florida Death Certificate states that she is 99 years old at the time of her death in 1973 and that works out to be May, if you do the math.

Tribune Democrat, Johnstown, PA, 19 May 1959. "MOONEY- Vincent C., 83, 1105 Boyd Avenue, died at 2:30 p.m. May 18, 1959, in Mercy Hospital. Born Apr. 9, 1876, in Blossburg, Tioga County, son of Cornelius and Sarah (Blake) Mooney. Preceded in death by two brothers and three sisters. Survived by widow, former Regina Bossic, and these children: Margaret and Mrs. Mary Berry, both of 1105 Boyd Avenue; Charles, Binghamton, NY, and Cornelius, Johnstown, and two grandchildren. Brother of Mrs. George Dandre, Kalamazoo, MI; Mrs. Francis Bowman, West Palm Beach, FL, and Mrs. Charles Armstrong, Richland, MI. Former employee Of Johnstown Works, U.S. Steel Corp. Member of Church of the Visitation, where service will be held at 9 a.m. Thursday, Rev. Father Thomas Cawley. Interment, St. John's Cemetery, Windber. Friends received after 7p.m. Tuesday in John R. Blimmel Funeral home."

Vincent is the first son born to Cornelius and Sarah Mooney and is listed in the town directories from late 1890’s as a miner living at home. He made the move along with his family to Paint, PA and was to marry an immigrant from Poland, Regina Bossick, and raise at least 5 children in the area. At some point, he relocates to Johnstown, PA and switches his avocation to steel mill hand. There are some newspaper clippings concerning his mother, Sarah Blake Mooney, and also some of his siblings. All of the articles are from Benton Harbor, MI and indicate that the family moved away from Paint, PA. One of the articles is about his sister’s death in 1955 and Vincent is living in Johnstown, PA at that time.

The above obituary from Johnstown, PA, dated 19 May 1959, definitely connects this branch of the family to Cornelius and Sarah Mooney of Blossburg, PA and the James Patrick Mooney line. It also invalidates Louise Mooney’s recollection, once and for all, that Cornelius and his whole family perished in the typhoid-malaria epidemic of 1899 back in Blossburg, PA.

Charles is the second son born to Cornelius and Sarah Mooney and is also listed as a miner along with his brother, Vincent, and his father, Cornelius. He too made the trip to Paint, PA, and surfaces in the same articles as mentioned above. However, in another news article from the News Palladium of 7 Sept 1923, Sarah Mooney made a trip to Chicago, IL in order to visit both her son Charles, as well as her daughter Mrs. G. L, Dandre. Seemingly, other Mooneyes have discovered the attraction of Chicago.

There is great ambiguity over the identity of the fourth child born to Cornelius and Sarah Mooney. Both the 1880 and 1900 censuses list this daughter as Leah. It is hard to ascertain the exact date but Sarah Mooney moves her family from Paint, PA and up to Benton Harbor, MI.

Leah’s marriage license from the state of Delaware in 1908 lists her as from Johnstown, PA and she was to be married to a Theodore Uth of Philadelphia. The 1910 census lists Leah as married to Theodore Uth and living with his father, Herman Uth. Leah has two sons at this time; Theodore Jr. and a baby, Herman. Also of special interest is that Louise Mooney is living with her sister Leah.

In the 1920 census, Leah and her husband have relocated their family to Benton Harbor, MI. By the 1930 census, the only Uth’s mentioned are Theodore Sr. and Theodore Jr. Leah and her son Herman are conspicuously absent. (In Vincent Mooney’s obituary of 1959, it states that two brothers and three sisters predeceased him. Using a little mind juggling, it becomes apparent that the two unknowns buried with Cornelius are a son and a daughter. The only other male child is Charles, so he must have died before 1959. We know that Tess [Theresa] died in 1955, so that leaves one sister unaccounted for and she has to be Leah.) We will persevere.

Herald Press, St. Joseph, MI, 25 Oct 1955. "Mrs. Theresa (Tess) Patton, 69, wife of Maurice L. Patton of 912 Wayne Street, St. Joseph, died Monday at 3:15 PM at the St. Joseph Memorial Hospital. She had been hospitalized two weeks. Born Mar 10. 1886 in Barkley [Blossburg], PA, Mrs. Patton had lived in the St. Joseph area 41 years. She is survived by her husband; two sons, Maurice L. and Blake Patton, both of Benton Harbor, a brother, Vincent Mooney of Johnstown PA, and three sisters, Mrs. Frances Bowman of Palm Beach, FL, Mrs. George Dandra of Benton Harbor, and Mrs. Charles Armstrong of Richland, MI. Seven grandchildren survive. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery."

Theresa is affectionately known as Tess and she is the fifth surviving child born to Cornelius and Sarah Mooney. (The two deceased children buried back in Blossburg were born circa 1882 and 1884.) It is because of her marrying a Maurice Patton of Benton Harbor that Sarah Mooney and some of her daughters relocated to the shores of Lake Michigan.

In the 1900 census for Paint, PA, Tess is not listed. In actuality, Tess is living and working with her sister May in Elmira, NY. She was fourteen at that time. In the 1910 census for Johnstown, PA, Tess has returned to live in a boarding house with her mother Sarah Mooney. But her obituary states that she was a resident of St. Joseph, MI for forty-one years. That places her in St. Joseph in 1914; a gap of four years unaccounted for.

Tess was to give rise to two families: the Patton’s and from them, to the Johnson’s. These cousins are still living in the area and some have made initial contact and then backed away. It should be easy to reconnect with this branch of the family.

Veronica also is known as Vera. She is the eighth child born to Cornelius and Sarah Mooney. Vera, along with her sister Frances, is living in a residence for single workingwoman in Pittsburgh, PA at the time of the 1910 census. This census lists the two sisters as nurses; they were probably in training to be nurses. Much later, Vera is reported to be living in San Antonio, TX at the time of her mother’s death in 1936. Our first Texas Mooney. She is not mentioned in the obituary for her sister Tess in 1955. However, Robert Johnson (Vera’s great, great nephew) states that Vera died in Benton Harbor in 1957. This is counter to all indications that Vera remained a Texan and vanished from all records. Perhaps Robert Johnson mixed up sisters and it was some other great, great aunt.

Frances is the ninth child born to Cornelius and Sarah Mooney. In the 1910 Census, Frances and her sister Vera are living in Pittsburgh, PA at a residence for working single woman, and they are both listed as nurses.

Frances was to marry a Mr. Bowman and they were living in Chicago at the time of her mother’s death in 1936. At the time of her sister Tess’s death in 1955 she was living in Palm Beach, FL. According to Robert Johnson, great, great nephew of Frances, there was a son, James Bowman. And in fact, this son was to attend to his mother's funeral arrangements in Florida.

Louise was the tenth and last child born to Cornelius and Sarah Mooney. In a newspaper notice from Wellsboro, PA, Louise makes a visit to Mrs. J. H. Kiley sometime in 1924. She was reported as living in NY. (May, the first-born had relocated to Elmira, NY and this is where she meets a George L. Dandre. It could also explain how Louise considers NY as her home.) Louise, at any rate, seems to have moved from sibling to sibling. In the 1910 census she is living with her sister Leah Mooney Uth in Philadelphia. In the 1920 census, she is living with her sister Tess Mooney Patton and mother Sarah in Benton Harbor.

Louise apparently married a Charles Armstrong sometime after her mother’s death in 1936 and they were living in Richland, MI as late as the time of her sister Tess’s death in 1955. According to Robert Johnson, great grandson of Tess Mooney, Louise and Charles had children. All will become clear once the 1940 census is released.

Lula was a half sister to the Mooney children born to Patrick and Sarah Mooney. We have a wealth of stories to tell about Lula Cheviron. First of all, Francis Patrick, father, not the son who sometimes uses F. Patrick, made a whirl-wind circuitous trip of the U. S. way back in 1970. He managed to detour enough on the trip to visit Joe in KY, Kathleen in MD, and Don in MA. During his stay with Fran and Don, Francis Mooney spoke extensively about his side trip to Clearfield County. He never mentioned anything about Lula, however, years after Francis Patrick’s demise, a host of photographic evidence surfaced concerning this trip. Among them was some slides from Kellytown, PA: a slide of the state highway sign that fixes the location of Kellytown, a slide of an abandoned store (probably the establishment that the Mooney family owed money to as indicated in the pages of the charge book that FP always brought out), different views of a house (probably the house that FP remembered while growing up there), and a slide of Lula’s headstone. These slides may or may not resurface again.

Joseph Mooney had an interview with Margaret Mooney concerning her recollections of this trip. In it, she states that they visited a cemetery with Lula’s gravesite. It was either in Clearfield or in Pottsville. At some point in the 1970’s, during a visit with Mary and Ann Mooney while they were residing in New Orleans, they mentioned the fact that Francis Patrick had a half-sister buried on a hilltop in PA and that she died in a drowning accident.

Eventually, there will be enough monkeys inputting all of the headstone data from all of the cemeteries in PA and in all of that mess there will be Lula Cheviron’s headstone and location. Some other interested descendant will have to uncover this information; or maybe brother Pat will find those slides.

John Mooney, 26 years old, of 704 West D Street, died in St. Elizabeth’s Hospital this morning. He was born in Pennsylvania, June 18, 1892, and was married to Miss Nora Ganner. He leaves his widow, daughter Sarah, mother, Mrs. Sarah Mooney, two brothers and five sisters. He was a miner at the Little Oak mine, and was a member of Local No. 99, U.M.W. of A."

There is a sleeping dog hidden amongst the circumstances of John Mooney's birth. It is a matter of fact that Pat and Sarah Mooney were married on 5 May 1892 and John was born one month later on 18 Jun 1892. It also is factual that human gestation cannot occur in one month. Does anybody want to speculate? Is he an Erwin or is he a Mooney? Whatever the outcome, it will be of no consequence to anybody except the offspring of his daughter; should the line have survived to today.

Uncle John was to remain a coal miner in Belleville, IL right up to when he died in 1918 from the flu pandemic. Apparently, Sarah and Patrick had moved on to St. Louis before John’s death. On a trip to Belleville, IL by F. Pat, Don, and Dave Mooney, they uncovered as much information as could be gained there. John married a Nora Ganner in 1915 and the union produced a daughter, Sarah, in 1916. After John died, his widow, Nora Ganner Mooney and daughter Sarah Mooney departed Belleville and returned to DuQuoin, IL. They were to live with her maternal Wilson grandparents in DuQuoin as reported in the 1920 census.

The three Mooney brothers returned to Bob and Maureen Diggins Krump’s with this newly discovered information, whereupon, Maureen added matter-of-factually, that she has a photo of this Sarah Mooney somewhere. One can only dream.

One cannot speak about Aunt Kate without speaking of her two sisters Mary and Ann. The three were born during the hiatus in Rich Hill, MO and apparently they remained with the extended family until such time that the Erwin’s took over sponsorship, circa 1915, of Sarah and Patrick with minor children Frank, Louise and Neil in the Belleville, IL area. Brother John also made the move, but he was to become self-sufficient.

Kate, Mary, and Ann apparently had to move on, as there was no future there for the girls. Teresa was probably included in this as she would be approximately eighteen, and all four ended up in St. Louis. Everything fits nicely; including Francis Patrick Mooney’s oft-told story of running away to St. Louis to play baseball. His big sisters had always taken care of him, as they would likewise do with the upcoming generation of Diggins and Mooneyes.

The three aunts would remain closely associated with their sister Teresa and her family. In the 1930 census, the four sisters are living together in St. Louis. It wasn’t until after Pat Diggins passed away (Teresa went first) that the three returned to living alone. Except for some periods when Ann would wander off for one adventure or another, they remained in the St. Louis area.

MARY BEATRICE MOONEY (b. 1896 – d. 1977)

After Teresa’s death the three aunts would become surrogate mothers for the Diggins children. Mary would foster Pat, Ann would foster Maureen and Kate would foster John. After Kate passed away, Frank Mooney convinced his two remaining sisters, Mary and Ann, to relocate to New Orleans so he could watch over them. The two older sisters remained in the New Orleans area until they died and were returned to St. Louis to be interred in Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis.

Ann was always the loner, independent and quick to take offense. Sister Peggy Mooney Ripple recently engaged in joggling Joan Mooney’s memory during her period of sickness with many beautiful recollections of growing up in St. Louis. Many of these stories involve the four Mooney Aunts. The best one is about Ann departing St. Louis on the next bus-leaving town. It happened to be going to Miami and she got off the bus during a KKK march. After being informed of everything that that entailed, she went back into the terminal to inquire where the next bus was heading. She ended up in Detroit broke and in need of a job. The first ‘Help Wanted’ sign that she encountered was at a boarding house and so she took the job and remained there for the next two years.
 
 

During an initial interview with Maureen Diggins concerning our aunts, Maureen told me that ‘all of the names that Sarah hadn’t used but wanted to use’ were assigned to Teresa as middle names. Here goes: Mary, Mabel, and Agnes. But even better than that story is the one that Teresa, never wanting to appear older than she was, would claim that she wasn’t born until the new century dawned. She would always report 1900 as her birth year. In fact, Maureen continued the ruse and placed 1900 on Teresa’s head stone.

Conversations with Maureen as well as stories exchanged between Peggy and Joan Mooney have indicated that Teresa went through a period of sickness that necessitated the three Diggins children being dropped off at the Mooney’s on Wabada for extended periods.

Likewise, Peggy recalls the trip from Cairo, IL caused by the 1938 flood and Teresa’s assistance in bringing the Mooney family back to her house in St. Louis; all of nine Mooneyes, three Diggins, and three Mooney Aunts in one small house.

Perhaps this is what Gertrude Link Mooney meant about not having the Mooneyes run her life.

The States-Item, Oct 1, 1975. "Mooney Dead At 74; Rites In Jeff. Frank Patrick Mooney, veteran transportation official, died yesterday at Hotel Dieu after a long illness. He was 74. A Requiem Mass will be said in the chapel of Tharp-Sontheimer-Tharp Funeral Home, 1600 N. Causeway Blvd., Metairie, tomorrow at 11 a.m. Interment will be in the Garden of Memories. Mr. Mooney, who resided in Harahan, was a native of Oklahoma and lived in St. Louis, Mo., where he worked for the Federal Barge Lines until 1948. He was a veteran of World War II, having served in the Transportation Corps in India, where he attained the rank of LTC. In 1948 he became vice president and general manager of Waterways Terminals Corp. in New Orleans. He was project manager for Transportation Consultants Inc. in Bangladesh, Vietnam and Laos from 1962 until his retirement in 1968. Mr. Mooney is survived by his widow, Mrs. Margaret Blake Mooney, eight sons, John, R. Blake, James P., Dan, Pat, Don, Joseph and Neil Mooney; three daughters, Mrs. Peggy Ripple, Mrs. John [Joan] Swiber and Mrs. Kathleen Alavarez; three sisters, Miss Mary Mooney, Miss Ann Mooney and Sister Eva Joseph Mooney, and 39 grandchildren."

Frank Mooney once related the story that he left home because he refused to work the coalmines. Peggy Ripple Mooney relates the story as told to her by her father that he traveled the area around St. Louis playing semi-pro baseball and was forever calling his older sisters to send him money whenever he became stranded.

Francis Patrick Mooney began working at the Inland Waterway Corp in St. Louis in 1925 (according to Peggy Ripple, he requested help from the priest to find a job so he could get married and subsequently got a job sweeping out boxcars). A Mr. Devereaux moved Frank into the office after his second child Blake was born.

Francis Patrick Mooney received a direct commission to major on 27 Mar 1943 for WWII to run the port of Bombay India. Major Mooney had a recurrence of his renal/urinary disease while stationed in India and was returned in Mar 1944 to Lawson General Hospital in Atlanta, GA to recuperate.

His daughter Peggy relates the story that at that time he called home and Margaret Mooney immediately departed for Atlanta to be with him during his convalescence. Peggy was left in charge. In another story, she says that great aunt Nellie Ryan stayed with the Mooneyes for the two weeks that Margaret was gone. (This trip by Margaret Mooney was Kathleen Marie’s maiden voyage; something like a jump-start to the baby-boomer generation.)

Major Mooney remained at the hospital for approximately three months and was discharged from the hospital in Jun 1944. Major Francis Patrick Mooney received an honorable relief from active duty as a Lieutenant Colonel on 16 Nov 1945. It is unclear as to where this was but he was probably stationed at Jackson Barracks in New Orleans until his separation.

Francis Patrick Mooney departed St. Louis to the New Orleans area in 1948 to transition ownership of the Federal Barge Lines' terminal on Galvez Street Wharf. This was after the federal government began dumping its ownership of the barge line and Mr. Mooney, along with some Chicago businessmen, bought out the terminal operations.

The family followed in 1949 after Margaret Mooney disposed of the house on Wabada Street. The relocation to Bay St. Louis, MS was conducted in two parts. The first was with Francis Patrick driving the boys (Jim, Dan, Pat, and Don) south in time to begin the 1949 school term. Joan went along to hold the fort until Margaret followed with the remainder of the family. Jack was in charge of driving the remainder of the family (Margaret, Peggy, Joe, Kathleen, and Neil) at a later date. Blake was working on the river and came south much later.

In the fall of 1956, the family (parents, Don, Joe, Kathleen, and Neil) relocated to New Orleans. FP Mooney assumed complete ownership of the New Orleans terminal in May 1958 and it became F. Mooney & Sons Inc. He sold his company in 1962 and began work in Dacca East Pakistan in Dec 1962. Francis Patrick placed his home on hold and departed overseas for two and a half years with Margaret and Kathleen. Neil was placed into a boarding school.

Francis Patrick Mooney retired at the end of 1965 and invested in a laundromat on Magazine St. in New Orleans. He would later bring his older sisters Mary and Ann to New Orleans to help in operating the laundry. FP Mooney chose to be interred in Metairie, LA and not with his family in Calvary Cemetery.

Louise was a classmate of Margaret Mary Blake during grade school and they were to become fast friends. Louise went on to become a Sister of St. Joseph of the Carondelet Order. Margaret Blake would continue her friendship with Louise and it was during these visits to the convent that she met Louise’s big brother, Francis Patrick.

Louise entered the novitiate in Mar 1923 and professed her vows in Mar 1926 and final vows in Aug 1929. She took the name Sister Eva Joseph.

Joseph Mooney conducted an extensive interview with Louise and she stated that all of Cornelius and Sarah’s children perished in the same epidemic that killed Cornelius. As pointed out in other passages, the obituaries for Sarah Blake Mooney, Vincent Cornelius Mooney and Tess Mooney Patton, as well as the death certificates for May Mooney Dandre and Frances Mooney Bowman all indicate that his family survived right down to the present.

Cornelius was to work for the railroad after he settled down and married Gertrude Link. He was at work as a railroad switch man when he had his accident and died from sudden death trauma of losing both legs. Francis Patrick Mooney related to the author that the accident was the result of a ‘flying hitch’. That is when the locomotive and attached boxcars speed up and the switch man releases the last car, jumps off the train, runs ahead to the switch, sends the locomotive down one track and then switches the boxcar to another track. It was during this maneuver that the train ran over Cornelius.

In an undated conversation with Patsy Mooney Vance, she stated that her mother Gertrude awoke her two daughters in the middle of the night and fled her residence soon after Neil died because she did not want the Mooney family to run her life.

Mabel is the daughter of Catherine Mooney Heron and remained at home and never married. She was reported to be a schoolteacher right up through the 1900 census and in numerous Blossburg directories (1907-1909). Mabel is buried in the Heron family plot in St. Andrew’s Cemetery in Blossburg.

Wellsboro Agitator- 10 OCT 1951. "Word was received in Blossburg of the death of Mrs. Catherine Heron Kelly, widow of Michael J. Kelly of Cleveland, Ohio who died Friday at her home following an extended illness. A native of Morris Run, she was the daughter of the late George and Catherine Mooney Heron. She was a graduate of the Mansfield Normal School and was a member of the faculty of the Blossburg School of several years. Survivors include one daughter, Mrs. John Papez of Cleveland, two sons, Rev. George Kelly of California and Joseph Kelly of Cleveland; two sisters, Mrs. J. R. Bonney and Miss Mabel Heron of Blossburg; one brother, Edward of Elmira; several nieces and nephews. Funeral and burial at Cleveland Oct. 8."

Catherine is also a daughter of Catherine Mooney Heron and was to marry a Michael J. Kelly and they had a daughter Dorothy who died in 1913 and is buried in the Heron family plot in Blossburg, PA. Catherine Heron Kelly was reported to be living in Pittsburgh at the time of her father’s death in 1924. Michael and Catherine Heron were to settle in Cleveland, OH and have additional children: two sons and one daughter. There is no indication as to their birth date or place of birth. Catherine died in Cleveland in 1951. Nothing else is known about Catherine's family as of this date. One has hopes.

George is the only surviving son of Catherine Mooney Heron. George was to marry a Marie Catherine Howard sometime after the 1910 census. At the time of the 1920 census, George was living with his wife’s brother in Detroit, MI and working as a tool and die maker in the automotive industry. Marie was living in Southport, NY with an aunt and her daughter, Mary Catherine. By the time of the 1930 census, they were reunited as a family and living in Elmira, NY again and they now have a son, Howard. Howard was to be commissioned as a pilot in the Navy and become a career naval officer. Howard would give birth to three Heron grandchildren: one son and two daughters. Both daughters are alive at this time.

Olga is a daughter of Catherine Mooney Heron and was still single and living at home as late as her mother’s death in 1911. She was to marry a James Roy Bonney sometime after her mother died and was still living in Blossburg as late as 1947. After James Bonney passed away, and perhaps after her sister Mabel died in 1959, Olga seemingly liquidates her estate and settles in Parma, OH. Her husband had worked for the Erie Railroad and there must have been a retirement home in Ohio for her to go to. Her death certificate places her in Parma and passing away on 25 Feb 1960. She was to be interred in St. Andrew’s Cemetery in Blossburg according to church records.
 
 

George was to marry May Mooney who was a surviving daughter of Cornelius and Sarah Mooney and they were to live for a time in Chicago, as well as Kalamazoo, MI but were to return to Benton Harbor. There is no mention of any children. Nothing much is known of this George Dandre.

Thursday, May 13, 1971, Tribune Democrat, Johnstown, PA. "MOONEY- Mrs. Regina, 89, 1105 Boyd Avenue, died may12, 1971, at Mercy Hospital. Born Sep 8, 1881, in Gallitzin, daughter of Thomas and Regina Bossick. Preceded in death by parents; husband, Vincent; two sons, Charles and Cornelius; four sisters and two brothers. Survived by these children: Margaret and Mrs. Mary Berry, both at home; and Catherine, wife of Joseph Janic, 750 Cypress Avenue. Also three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Sister of William Bossick, Port Richey, FL. Liturgy of Christian Burial at 10 a.m., Saturday at Visitation Catholic Church, the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Thomas T. Crawley, VF. Interment St. John's Cemetery, Windber. Friends received from 7 tp 9 p.m. Thursday and from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday at the Paul A. Trexler Funeral Home, Walnut Street, where wake service will be held at 8:15 p.m. Friday."

This name only surfaces once and that is on her marriage license application in 1901. The fact that she emigrated from Poland is reported in the 1920 census. Regina and Vincent were to have four children as shown in the 1920 census. By the time that the 1930 census is published, there is a fifth child Catherine. One daughter was to give rise to the Berry family and another daughter to the Janiec family. The Janiec line would give rise to a Wilson branch of the family.

Apparently, Theodore Uth meets Leah Mooney and they elope to a beach resort in Delaware and are married on April 6, 1908. Theodore is the son of German immigrants and lists his occupation in the 1910 census as bartender and living in Philadelphia. Also, Theodore and Leah had two sons and a house guess, Louise Mooney. By the time of the 1920 census, Theodore and Leah had relocated to Benton Harbor, MI. Nothing else is known about this family at this time.

Maurice Patton was born in Nova Scotia, Canada and married Theresa (Tess) Mooney, daughter of Cornelius and Sarah Mooney, in Benton Harbor, MI. and they had three sons: Maurice, Charles and Blake. Blake James was to marry Virginia Elizabeth Hennes and they had three girls: Patricia, Judith and Mary. Patricia Anne Patton was to marry a Raymond James Johnston and they had four children: Robert, Mary, Susan and Kirsten. It was this Robert Johnston that made contact with the Mooney family and provided this information. Contact was subsequently lost, but prospects for reconnecting with this branch of the family remain auspicious.

The other two sons disappeared. Charles was to die during his teen years and Maurice departed the area for Arkansas and was never heard from again.

Apparently, Frances Elizabeth Mooney, daughter of Cornelius and Sarah Mooney, marries this Bowman and, according to Robert Johnson, they had one child, James Bowman. This is borne out by the death certificate of May Mooney Dandre. It was this nephew that attended to his aunt May’s death. He was also to attend to his mother’s funeral arrangements when she passed away. James was never to marry.

Charles Armstrong marries Louise Mooney, the last child born to Cornelius and Sarah Mooney. According to Robert Johnson, great, great nephew of Louise Mooney, there were children born to this union. Unfortunately, the time line is extremely tight. Louise (b. 1891) was still single in 1924 and the earliest possible age for Louise to have children would be 35; not unheard of. Perhaps, the 1940 census will reveal the facts.

Nora, wife of John Mooney, departed Evansville with her daughter Sarah Mooney shortly after John’s death. She was to return to her hometown, DuQuoin, IL and move back in with her maternal Wilson grandparents. Nora’s parents are listed as Isaiah Ganner and Millie Wilson. She and her daughter Sarah, at the time of the 1920 census, were living with the Wilson family and with Nora’s younger sister. There is no trace of Nora Ganner Mooney or her daughter Sarah Mooney in the 1930 census for DuQuoin, IL. Much work needs to be done in this sector.

Patrick (Paddy) Diggins was an immigrant from Ireland who married Teresa Mooney, daughter of Patrick and Sarah Mooney. According to their daughter, Maureen, Paddy and his younger brother John were sent to America to become priests because there was no land for them to inherit in Ireland, as the oldest son inherited everything. John stayed in the seminary and became a priest, but Paddy chose to drop out.

After Francis Patrick Mooney relocated his family to the Mississippi gulf coast in 1949, the Diggins’ family would come south for occasional visits. These were memorable times for both families. However, the last visit saw Paddy become very sick during his stay and he had to be med-evacuated home.

Times Picayune, 2 Jul 1994. "Margaret Mary Blake Mooney. Beloved wife of the late Frances (sic) Patrick (Frank) Mooney. Mother of Peggy L. Ripple, Joan M. Swiber, Kathleen M. Alvarez, John J., R Blake, James P., Joseph M., F. Patrick, Donald E., Cornelius P. and the late Daniel C. Mooney. Sister ofthe late Helen Wittman and Raymond Blake. Daughter of the late Alice Ryan and Harry Blake. Also survived by 40 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren. Age 87 years. A native of St. Louis, Missouri and a resident of this city for 30 years. Relatives and friends of the family are invited to attend the funeral from Leitz-Eagan Funeral Home, 4747 Veterans Blvd. near Clearview on Tuesday, July 5, 1994 at 10:30 AM. Followed by a funeral mass at St. Phillip Neri, 6500 Kawanee, Metairie, LA. Interment in Garden of Memories. Friends may call from 6:00 PM till 9:00 PM Monday and after 8:00 on Tuesday morning."

In a conversation with Margaret Mooney, she and Francis Patrick were married in the morning of 22 Sep 1927 and returned to work in the afternoon. The wedding dinner was held in the evening and the men separated into another room to listen to the Dempsey/Tunney fight while the women remained at the party.

Whenever the blarney was coming hot and thick, Margaret Mooney would always counter with the statement that the only thing that really counted was that we were all Americans, and that she was more Irish than dad was, as a point of fact.

Frank Mooney took Margaret on a hunting trip to Colorado in 1948(?) and she became very ill; later to be diagnosed as Rocky Mountain spotted fever. She almost died. Frank returned home and Margaret remained in a Colorado hospital until she could travel. When she returned home, she was confined to a hospital bed that was placed in the parlor on the first floor and at the front of the house.

At a family reunion long after Frank Mooney had passed on, one of Margaret Mooney’s grandsons asked her point blank "Grandma, why did you have so many children?" Her reply was short and to the point, "I couldn’t say no to Frank."

Margaret Mary Blake Mooney was the last of the third generation left standing.

Gertrude Link married Cornelius Charles Mooney and they were to have two daughters before Neil’s death. It was reported by Patsy Mooney that her mother kept a low profile with the rest of the Mooney family.

Michael Kelly married Catherine Heron and they had at least one daughter, Dorothy, who died in 1913 and is buried in the Heron family plot. Further discoveries have the Kelly's living in first, Pittsburgh, PA and then Cleveland, OH. Catherine and Michael were to have three more children after departing Tioga County. It is presumed that Michael is buried in Cleveland, OH. Nothing else is known about this Kelly family at this time.

Marie was born in Blossburg and married George L. Heron there. George was to depart for Michigan to become an apprentice in the automotive industry sometime after his daughter Mary was born. Marie and her daughter were to live with some relatives in New York. When George returned home as a tool and die maker, he was to relocate his family to Elmira. His second child, Howard, was born there. Howard Heron was to become a career officer in the US Navy after serving in WWII. As of this date, the Heron/Howard line has become a substantial branch to this family genealogy. Marie and her husband are buried in Elmira, NY.

The Wellsboro Agitator, January 8. 1947. "Roy Bonney of Blossburg, a former employee of the Erie Railroad died at 10 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 2. He was the son of the late James and Sarah Hollands Bonney and was born in Blossburg. He was graduated from the Blossburg High School, St. John’s Military School and Elmira Business College. He was a member of the F. & A. M, Zebulum Chapter and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Surviving are his widow, Olga Heron Bonney, and an aunt, Mrs. Charles Rockwell, of Blossburg. Funeral services were held Sunday, Rev. John Hilton officiating. The Masons conducted services at Arbon Cemetery."

James Roy Bonney was born 16 Nov 1882 in Blossburg and married Olga Heron. He registered for the draft during WWI and WWII, even though he was 59 at the last registration. This registration was known as the 4th Registration and was for all unregistered males. He died 2 Jan 1947 and is buried in the Arbon Cemetery in Blossburg.

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Published On Tri-Counties Site On 16 MAY 2011 By Joyce M. Tice Email Joyce M. Tice