History ofthe December 1984 Whalen Family

by Frances (Whalen) Crummy

Dedication: To Johnny Whalen, who said he wanted to live to be a hundred, but fell short of his mark by seventeen years; and To his good wife, Mary Ann, who, when I knew her, never mentioned that she wanted anything; This work is lovingly dedicated. Through it may they both live on in the memories of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren for another hundred years.

 
The first Whelans of which we have any knowledge, were Luke and Margaret (Carney) Whelan (1) who lived in or near the town of Athenry in County Galway, Ireland. They had a large family, at least nine children, including three sons (William, Patrick and Murtha) and six daughters (Bridget, Kate, Margaret, Mary, Ann and Sarah). Most of these left Ireland in search of better opportunities. (2)

Patrick remained in Ireland. He was a baggage man on a railroad there. One of his sons, Charles by name, went to Italy to study music. His (Charles') son, also named Charles, was an Irish patriot who was hanged in Galway for political reasons.

William Whelan was a jockey for a time. He emigrated to Italy where he was in service of the Queen of Naples. (3)

Murtha Whelan and several of his sisters (4) emigrated to America, about the middle of the nineteenth century. They settled at Springfield, Massachusetts, where the Whelan sisters were known for their beauty. Bridget married a railroad man named Mike Cogan. Kate married Lt. Mike Harrigan.(5) Margaret married a barber named Quinlan. They had a daughter, named Alice. Mary never married. Ann married a Protestant. Nothing is known about the youngest daughter, Sarah.

Murtha Whelan, after living first at Springfield, moved west to Wisconsin where he farmed near Hudson.

 
 

 
Murtha Whelan, the son of Luke and Margaret (Carney) Whelan, was born in County Galway, Ireland.(6) He and several of his sisters emigrated to America about the mid-1850s . He had difficulty finding work in the new world because of the prejudices of other Americans against the Irish emigrants. He told his son, Johnny Whalen about the frustrations and humiliations which confronted him when he answered "help wanted" ads as a newcomer in America. On those occasions, when he saw a sign in a shop window, and crossed the street to get a better look at the notice, he would read the smaller print under the main line "No Irish Need Apply."

Murtha Whelan, after living for a time at Springfield, Massachusetts, moved on west to Hudson, Wisconsin, where he had a farm. There he married Catherine Nolan in 1859.

Catherine (Nolan) Whelan had been born at Tuam, County Galway, Ireland, on August 25, 1837. She had emigrated with some of her family including two sisters, to America in 1857.(7) In 1859 she went out to Wisconsin to be married.

Murtha and Catherine (Nolan) Whelan were the parents of five children. They were: Margaret("Maggie")born in 1860;""Johnny"), born in 1861; " Will,"  born in 1863 "James"  (Jim)  born in 1865; and MaryAlice, born in 1866 or 1867.

During the winter of 1869 - 1870, (8) Murtha Whelan caught pneumonia while bringing his three little sons home from Hudson, where they had gone to have their picture taken. A sleet storm came up on the way home. Murtha, riding up front on the open wagon, was soaked, and in just a few days he was dead.

The Whelan Brothers Of Hudson, Wisconsin

 
 

 
On January 15, 1870, the three little sons of Murtha and Catherine Whelan were taken to the nearby town of Hudson to have their picture taken. At that time, Johnny was about eight and a half years old, Will, about 6 and a half, and Jim, not quite five.

We don't know many details about the preparations for that fateful trip but it's very likely that they were given an extra good scrub job around the neck and ears .Certainly the best .clothes were laid out--white collars for all three, and special polish on the buttoned boots, with extra attention to shining up their copper toes. Johnny even had a large and floppy boy tied under his collar. Then all the hair was slicked and caps were put on carefully, so as not to mess up the parts. As the coats were put on, the boys heard many warnings about standing still while the picture was being taken.

In those days, having a photograph made was a real ordeal. The subject would have to sit or stand motionless for several minutes. Little Jim was told repeatedly that he must not move. And of course he promised that he wouldn't. At the photographer's shop there was the tedious business of adjusting the camera and preparing the flash powder, arranging the boys, rearranging the camera etc. Finally, when all was in readiness, the photographer opened the camera shutter, and ignited the flash powder, which blazed like fireworks on the Fourth of July. It was during the time that the powder burned , sometimes as long as ten minutes, that the subject was to remain motionless. Somehow, in the excitement, little Jim forgot the oft-repeated warnings and moved! Perhaps he was frightened by the powder. How ashamed he was! The brothers scolded and his father frowned, but the damage was done. One picture was all that was made. The photographer didn't make proofs in those days. Take it or leave it, one pose was all he took, unless of course you wanted to pay double for a second attempt. Since the Whelan's didn't have that kind of money, there was nothing to do but dress up again and climb into the wagon for the long, cold ride home.

It was beginning to snow as they left Hudson and started for the farm. The little boys, snuggled down in the straw in the bottom of the wagon, and covered with a buffalo robe, were well protected from the weather; however, Murtha Whelan, riding up front on the wagon seat, with no protection The snow mixed with rain, continued al the way The snow mixed with rain, continued all the way home. His clothes were soaked by the time they arrived. A bad case of chills was upon him by the time he had the horses unhitched and bedded down for the night. Then came the fever and pneumonia and death.

When Murtha Whelan was laid out in his coffin, the photographer was called upon once more. He came to the house and took another picture, this time of the deceased. (9)

When the ill-fated picture of the three little sons was finished an delivered to the family, great was the disappointment of the mother. It depicted two solemn-faced, staring-eyed little boys and a third whose face was just a blur surmounted by an indefinite clout-- for all the world like a swarm of bees. Three generations later, children looking at the family albums, would ask to see "that picture of Uncle Jim with the bees around his head."

Catherine (Nolan) Whelan thought longingly of her sisters, living in Springfield, Massachusetts, and wrote to ask them to visit her sister, Mrs. Timothy Hayes, who had no children of her own, did make the trip to Wisconsin. Johnny Whelan , in later years, used to tell his grandchildren about that visit.

Arriving at Hudson, Wisconsin, after the trip from the East, Aunt Mary Hayes hired a "rig" to drive her out to her sister's farm home. The ride out from Hudson was far from comfortable. Spring had come by then, making the roads a mire of ruts and mud. The poor little far yards which they passed along the way caused Aunt Mary some dismay. One particular place was so forlorn looking that she murmured piously, "God help the poor woman who lives there!"

Then she turned her mind back to her own problem, that of locating her sister's home, for the driver had drawn up his team to remark, "This is the end of the road, Ma'am. Are you sure you know where you're going? What did you say the name was?" Upon being told "the farm of Mrs. Murtha Whelan", his eyes lighted with relief. "Oh, it's the Widda Whelan you're a-visitin'! Why didn't you say so in the first place?" Then he stopped once more saying, "Here ye are, Ma'am. This is the Widda Whelan's place."

His passenger sat speechless beside her baggage - unwilling to believe her ears. For they had stopped before the very house which had previously moved her to pity and she realized that the woman for whom she had prayed was her own sister. Three or four months without a man about the place - to repair a broken window or mend the step or tighten the hinges on the sagging door had indeed left the Whelan's home in a neglected state. Since it was now spring, the retreating snows had left the yard a sea of mud and water. Even as she stepped hesitatingly down from the rig and took her bag from the livery man, Aunt Mary had another shock. Around the little house raced a shrieking group of children, who were fully as unkempt as their home. Bare-footed and muddy as they were, however, they seemed to be thoroughly enjoying their game until they saw the visitor. Then they stopped abruptly to gape at her for a minute before they turned and ran back the way they had come.

Mrs. Hayes picked up her skirts and made her way gingerly among the puddles and through the mud, trying not to muddy her boots too much. When the sagging door was opened in response to her hesitant knock, she saw her sister's face and knew that she had indeed come to the right place. Within a minute's time she had been tearfully embraced and drawn inside the little house.

There Catherine (Nolan) Whelan called her elder daughter to her with "Mag, come here. It's your Aunt Mary come all the way from Massachusetts to visit us. Fetch a stool for her and call the other children." Then, to sister, she explained,"Mary, this is our Maggie. And here are Johnny, Will, Jim and little Mary." Little Mary, after peeping shyly from behind her mothers dress she decided that she liked this familiar looking stranger, for she came forward with a cherubic smile andoutstretched hands to greet her aunt. Her friendly advances were not reciprocated, however Mrs. Hayes, clutching her "good black silk" about her and drawing back from the outstretched hands, gasped, "Don't! Don't put your dirty little hands on me!!"

In August, 1871, Mrs. Catherine Whelan married John Hughes, a widower, living at Hudson This "impropriety" of hers (remarrying so soon after her husband's death) so angered her sisters-in-law back in Massachusetts, that they refused to have any more to do with her. They did, however, write occasional letters to her daughter, Maggie, then a child of eleven years.

THE JOHN HUGHES FAMILY  OF HUDSON, WISCONSIN

    John Hughes, the eldest child of James and Catherine (Kelly) Hughes, was born at Kildare, County Kildare, Ireland, on October 16, 1834. As a child he often played around the Currah Kildare, a race track near his home. (10) At the age of 13 years, John came to America with his his parents and brother and sister. The family settled near Flint, in Gennessee County, Michigan. He was reared to farm work.

In 1857, John Hughes married Mary McNeely, the daughter of Patrick McNeely, who was a cattle dealer in Ireland. (11) She came to America with an older brother, Pat, and two sisters, Ann and Kate. They arrived in New York and later went west to Minnesota. (At least the brother and sisters did. They might have lived for awhile in Michigan.) Their parents stayed in Ireland.

In 1859, John and Mary (McNeely) Hughes moved to Dane County, Wisconsin. (12) In 1864, they moved again, this time to St. Croix County, Wisconsin. There they lived at Hudson.

John and Mary Hughes were the parents of four children: James; Catherine or "Kate", born at Hanchetville, Wisconsin, in 1861; Mary Ann, born at Waukesha, Wisconsin in 1863; and John Jr., born in about 1866, probably at Hudson, Wisconsin. John and Catherine (Nolan, Whelan) Hughes Mary (Mc Neely) Hughes passed away in 1868. The children were cared for by their grandmother, Mrs. Catherine (Kelly) Hughes, until their father remarried in August, 1871.
 
 
 
 

THE WHALEN-HUGHES FAMILY OF WISCONSIN & MINNESOTA

The marriage of John and Catherine (Nolan, Whelan) Hughes resulted in a much enlarged family for both, as there were four Hughes children very near in age to the five young Whalens. Most confusing was the fact that among the new family of nine children, there were two Johns, two Gyms, and two Marys. In addition, among the grown ups there were two Catherine's and one of the Hughes girls also was named Catherine.

As might be expected, little frictions began to arise among the children. Maggie Whelan, the oldest girl in the combined family was expected by her elders to keep track of and be responsible for the younger brothers and sisters, step-brothers and step-sisters. This arrangement caused resentments and hostilities among the younger ones and placed Maggie in the unpleasant position of watchdog, tale-bearer and mother-hen. Small wonder that she became somewhat bossy and domineering. Young Johnny Whelan and his step-sister, Kate Hughes became involved in arguments over the family name. She was a week older than Johnny and consequently, a more influential person, or so she thought. Kate insisted that since his mother was now a Hughes, he must be a Hughes also. Johnny staunchly defended his name, saying that he was and always would remain a Whelan. These two had one interest in common, an addiction to reading western story magazines or "dime novels" (this interest continued into their aging years when each subscribed to a different publication and, after reading it, exchanged copies with the other).

After this marriage to Catherine Whelan, John Hughes made a paying thing out of a stone quarry which existed on her farm.

While the Whelan children were in school in Wisconsin, Maggie Whelan was responsible for changing the spelling of the family name to "Whalen." She wanted it to be spelled as it sounded. The younger children followed "Mag's" lead and afterwards also spelled their name as she did.

In 1877, when he heard news of the St. Paul Minneapolis and Manitoba Railroad's plan to construct a railroad line through northwestern Minnesota and on into Canada, John Hughes made a trip by train to Crookston, Minnesota, to inquire about lands which might be available for settlement. He made arrangement to take up land near the Tamarac River in what would be later become Wanger Township, Marshall County, Minnesota. He then returned to Wisconsin and prepared to move up with the family the following spring.

About the end of April, the Whalen-Hughes family loaded their possessions into covered wagons, hitched up their three teams of horses, bade good-bye to relatives and set out for Minnesota. The emigrant group consisted of John Hughes, his second wife, Catherine (Nolan , Whelan) Hughes (both were in their forties); his mother, Mrs. Catherine (Kelly) Hughes, aged 78 years; his son, John Hughes jr., a boy of about 12 years; and Mrs. John Hughes' children by her first marriage: Maggie, aged 18; Johnny, 16; Will, 15; Jim, 13; and Mary, about 11 years old. (All of these were Whalens.) Also members of the group were Mrs. John Hughes' brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Hayes.

Two other members of the family, John Hughes' daughters, 16-year-old Kate and Mary Ann, almost 15 years of age, did not accompany the family to Minnesota at that time, but came later after the railroad was completed.

The Whalen-Hughes-Hayes caravan crossed the St. Croix River from their home near Hudson, Wisconsin, and headed west toward St. Paul, Minnesota, and a short stay with friends there. Then the were on their way again, following the railroad where it had already been built.

John Hughes drove out in the lead wagon with his favorite gun by his side, ready for any emergency. It had been handmade to his specifications by a gunsmith at Hudson. It was a double barreled gun - one barrel being a 12 gauge shotgun and the other, two wagons which the family owned were driven by the older boys. Johnny Whalen, as the eldest of the boys, had undisputed place as driver of the second wagon, while his brothers Will and Jim Whalen, took turns driving the third vehicle. Occasionally twelve-year-old John Hughes Jr. would also have a turn. Granny Hughes , matriarch of the clan, kept her watchful eye on each of the youthful drivers and did not hesitate to offer a bit of "back seat driving" whenever she thought it necessary.The Hayes wagon brought up the rear from which point Timothy Hayes could keep an eye on his young nephews and offer assistance if anything went wrong. Thus with a man in charge of the wagon at each end of the line, the situation was under control.

The younger members of the family looked forward eagerly to whatever adventures each day's journey might bring. The changing scenery, the gradual disappearance of farms and villages, the surprising retreat of spring before their eyes as they made their way northward, were all subjects for questioning their elders. Perhaps the highlight of the trip, at least for the boys, occurred when they noticed two beautiful horses following their wagons. The boys were wild with excitement and full of plans for catching the mavericks. Their elders, however, had other ideas. Believing that the horses had probably strayed from some nearby Indian camp and not wishing to stir up a war party, they refused to let the boys carry out their plans.
 

For two days the spotted ponies followed their wagons, stopping to graze when the caravan rested, spending the nights just outside of the encampment. In vain did young Johnny Whalen point out to his step-father that they could have belonged to some other settlers who had gone north before them -the animals could have strayed away durinh the night  and been lost. He thought they sensed a familiarity about the white people and wagons. John Hughes was adamant. He believed them to be Indian ponies and there the matter stood. When the family awoke on the third morning, the stray horses were nowhere in sight, having wandered off during the night.

"On they came, northward. Tiny frontier towns stood at that time where there are prospering cities now. St. Cloud and Fergus Falls were merely inland villages. The most beautiful camping spot on the whole trip later became the townsite of the present city of Fertile. At that time, however, it was merely a beautiful spot on the shore of a clear stream. During the entire distance from Fergus Falls to Crookston, not a single white man was seen on the road; only the rolling prairie and tree bordered streams met the eye in every direction."

Finally the little band of emigrants reached Crookston--- the "End-o'-Track", the "Jumping-Off-Place", the last outpost on the frontier. Here John Hughes stopped at the Land Office, which he had visited the fall before. After satisfying himself that the land he wanted was still available and that he had its location correct, he made another stop at a general store to purchase a few supplies -- flour, sugar, soda and tea -- before going on to their new home in the wilderness where there would be no stores available. Of interest to the family was the news, gathered at the Land Office, that a few other wagons had passed through Crookston, a week or so before, also headed for the Tamarac River. The rather lonesome prospect of life in a strange country must have been brightened, for the womenfolk especially, to know that there would be neighbors in the vicinity.

Leaving Crookston, the party headed northward again on the last lap of their journey. This was almost completely uninhabited land then. No villages, no roads and no bridges were there to help them cross the rivers ahead. Only the "grade" of the-completed railroad marked this route which they must follow.

After they had come several miles across the empty prairie, Mrs. Hays suddenly gave way to her fears of the unknown and refused to go further. "I'm not going on into that God -forsaken country", she declared, "full of potholes and coulees, with probably an Indian behind every rock!" So the Hayes wagon turned back toward Crookston and civilization and the others went on without them.

Northward again rolled the wagons, across the prairie jus beginning to unroll its annual carpet of green in the May sunshine. Perhaps the cheery call of the Meadowlark lifted their spirits as the caravan lurched onward, following a faintly rutted trail left by another group of pioneers which had preceded them. In the third wagon, where Johnny Whalen had taken over his uncle's position of "rear guard" for the wagon train, spirits were indeed low. His two sisters, Maggie and Mary discussed "Aunt Mary's"

departure and expressed their own fears and apprehensions of the life that lay ahead of them. Johnny suddenly pulled up the horses and thrust the reins into the hands of his surprised younger brother. "Here, Jim, you can drive," he said. "I see a house up ahead. I'm going to run ahead and see if anyone lives there. Want to come with me, Mary?" Helping his little sister down from the wagon he took her and and ran with past the other wagons. waving to the rest of the family and pointing on ahead toward what was unmistakably a sod building in the distance. Upon reaching the house, red-faced and breathless from their race, they found to their disappointment that it was deserted. Johnny climbed onto the roof and looked around, hoping to see something else of interest in the distance. But al that met his eyes in any direction was the endless prairie. The two youngsters started back to meet their approaching wagons.

The last days of the journey found the family entering the area which would later be known as Marshall County. The Snake and the Middle Rivers had to be forded where the waters were shallowest. Finally they reached their destination, the Tamarac! On May 15, 1878, they reached the land which John Hughes had selected the fall before, and staked their claim. This was on the southwest quarter of Section 19 in what would later be known as Wanger Township.

"Within a few days they found that several families had already settled along the Tamarac River. Among these were the Mike Mc Culloughs (he was called "Tamarac Mac", and for him the river and township were named) who had arrived in 1871, Gus Wanger, who had arrived in the spring of 1877 (for whom Wanger Township was named), the Jim Brown family, and the Whitney family with two daughters and a son named Rossie. The Whitneys had arrived just ten days before the Whalen-Hughes family. None of these early arrivals had settled near the present site of the village of Stephen, but were all living further east, where an early survey by the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Pacific R.R. Co. indicated the railroad was to cross the Tamarac. Maps were drawn up and land agents had persuaded the settlers to take up land in that area. Later another survey was made (perhaps by the successor railroad, the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Co.) and the route was changed to its present course."

Another settler who arrived in May, 1878 was Pierce Sinnott, for whom Sinnott Township was named because he had filed his claim on the first homestead there. He later married John Hughes' daughter, Kate.

The Whalen-Hughes family, like the other pioneers, set to work to build a house, clear some fields and plant a crop. When word reached the area that work had begun on building the railroad and that men were needed to lay tracks north from Crookston, many who had their crops in set out to join the crews. Among those who hiked back toward Crookston to meet the advancing track layers were Pierce Sinnott and the older Whalen boys, Johnny and Will. Pierce was hired as a construction foremen; Johnny was taken on to lay ties, and brother Will, to carry drinking water to the men. Later thirteen-year-old Jim Whalen also sought employment on the railroad but was refused because he was too young.

After the railroad had crossed the Tamarac River, in September, 1878, a townsite was selected on the south side of the river, on Section 8, in what is now Tamarac Township.

The first building erected there was a section house, constructed by the railroad company to provide lodging and meals for the men who would keep the track in repair. Mr. and Mrs. John Hughes were hired to maintain the house. A man named Dennis Hanna owned land south of the Tamarac River. The railroad company, wishing to gain control of the town which was sure to grow up there, tried to buy his land.

When Hanna refused to sell at their price, the railroad company built a water tower and pump house north of the river in 1878. Besides maintaining the section house John Hughes kept supplies on hand for the benefit of the settlers. He bought these in Crookston or had them shipped in by rail and sold them. (This "store"of supplies was all that the settlers had until Mr. Hanna built a store south of the section house in 1880.) The second building erected at the original townsite, (called "Tamarac" like the river and, later, the township) was a blacksmith shop built across the railroad tracks west of the section house. Ed Thomas was the first blacksmith.

WHALEN INDEX