The story is an excerpt from Joyce Daniels Burke of Hickory, N.C. who wrote "My Irish Roots" as a college class assignment..........................
Bridget was born in Moycullen, Co. Galway, Ireland and made the trip over in 1879 when she was just 16 years old. One of her most vivid memories of the ocean voyage was shortly before her arrival in New York, someone managed to secure fresh eggs and on Easter Sunday morning they had fresh eggs for breakfast.
Bridget, who never learned to read or write, spoke in her native Gaelic language though she eventually learned English. She had two sisters that preceded her in making the trip to the United States and had prospered with their move to America. Both Julia and Annie had married men that owned bars. These were lucrative businesses. Julia and Annie lived in a much nicer neighborhood. They each had very successful and highly educated children. The progeny produced by the two sisters became priests, a son educated at Georgetown University, who lost his eyesight due to an explosion in the laboratory and a daughter who graduated from Trinity College in Washington, D.C., and taught Spanish at a local high school.
Bridget arrived in Washington, D.C., and settled two blocks from the White House in an area known as Foggy Bottom. It was the site of one of the earliest settlements in what is now the District of Columbia. A man by the name of Joseph Funk subdivided 130 acres near the meeting place of the Potomac River and Rock Creek in 1763. The settlement was officially named Hamburg but was known as Funkstown. It only attracted a few settlers until the 1850s when more industry developed in the area. It is located on marshy ground along the Potomac River front and the mists that rose from this swanpy setting gave this neighborhood its unusual name. In the city's early days the area was a port.
Eventually Foggy Bottom became the site of the city's light industry, including breweries, gas works and a glass factory. These attracted German and Irish immigrants, as well as African American workers. In fact, the population of Foggy Bottom consisted primarily of poor immigrants who lived close to work. The homes were mostly brick rowhouses, some only one room wide and two rooms deep.
Once Bridget moved into this area she discovered what so many that had come before her already knew. It was difficult to get a job if you were a certain race or nationality. Most jobs, unless they were plant jobs, had signs in the windows stating that Irish and Blacks need not apply. Bridget took the name "Delia" and began using it thinking that this name didn't sound as Irish. From those days until the day she died she was known as Delia. She eventually married William Flaherty and William and Delia had four children together. Two of their children, a boy and a girl, died in infancy, one of colic and the other of diphtheria. Many children born to families in those early years succumbed to one of the many diseases that were prevalent. It was a rarity to find a family that never lost a child.
Delia and William's surviving children were Mary Ellen, born 1892, and Timothy, born in 1895. Mary Ellen was my mother's mother and my grandmother. Timothy was the apple of his mother's eye. Most Irish Catholic women in those days wanted one son to become a priest. The son usually played a more important role in the family structure. We're not sure what Delia's goal was for her son but he was definitely the favored child. Sometime during the turn of the century Delia's mother had arrived from Ireland. She left behind her husband who was blind and made her home with Delia, William and the children.
Timothy was an altar boy; he was very involved in his church. When he was nine years old he succumbed to meningitis, a priest was sent for to administer the last rites, but Timothy died before the priest arrived. At almost the same time, his grandmother, Ellen Conner Flaherty, who had made her home with them passed away six days later. These two deaths occurred in February 1905. On that date Washington was in the middle of one of the worst blizzards and cold spells that had ever occurred. The ground was frozen so solid that the graves weren't able to be dug. Both Timothy and his grandmother had to be placed in a vault for later burial.
When Timothy died the light went out of the family. His father William almost lost his mind, in truth he never recovered from his son's death. They would forget and set a place for Timothy at supper, and then William would cry. Delia and her daughter never got along. Delia would say to her daughter that the good one had passed away and she, Mary Ellen, was still there. Life for Mary Ellen was never good after Timothy's death.
Evening Star on Wed Feb 22 notes:
Bridget A.
Service at St. Martin's Catholic Church died at her daughter's residence after a short illness Mrs. James S. Whelan, 200 Bryant St. N.W.
Survived by her sister Mrs. Wm Fahey & a granddaughter (Mary Lorraine Whalen)
Bridget was born in Moycullen, Co. Galway, Ireland and made the trip over in 1879 when she was just 16 years old. One of her most vivid memories of the ocean voyage was shortly before her arrival in New York, someone managed to secure fresh eggs and on Easter Sunday morning they had fresh eggs for breakfast.
Bridget, who never learned to read or write, spoke in her native Gaelic language though she eventually learned English. She had two sisters that preceded her in making the trip to the United States and had prospered with their move to America. Both Julia and Annie had married men that owned bars. These were lucrative businesses. Julia and Annie lived in a much nicer neighborhood. They each had very successful and highly educated children. The progeny produced by the two sisters became priests, a son educated at Georgetown University, who lost his eyesight due to an explosion in the laboratory and a daughter who graduated from Trinity College in Washington, D.C., and taught Spanish at a local high school.
Bridget arrived in Washington, D.C., and settled two blocks from the White House in an area known as Foggy Bottom. It was the site of one of the earliest settlements in what is now the District of Columbia. A man by the name of Joseph Funk subdivided 130 acres near the meeting place of the Potomac River and Rock Creek in 1763. The settlement was officially named Hamburg but was known as Funkstown. It only attracted a few settlers until the 1850s when more industry developed in the area. It is located on marshy ground along the Potomac River front and the mists that rose from this swanpy setting gave this neighborhood its unusual name. In the city's early days the area was a port.
Eventually Foggy Bottom became the site of the city's light industry, including breweries, gas works and a glass factory. These attracted German and Irish immigrants, as well as African American workers. In fact, the population of Foggy Bottom consisted primarily of poor immigrants who lived close to work. The homes were mostly brick rowhouses, some only one room wide and two rooms deep.
Once Bridget moved into this area she discovered what so many that had come before her already knew. It was difficult to get a job if you were a certain race or nationality. Most jobs, unless they were plant jobs, had signs in the windows stating that Irish and Blacks need not apply. Bridget took the name "Delia" and began using it thinking that this name didn't sound as Irish. From those days until the day she died she was known as Delia. She eventually married William Flaherty and William and Delia had four children together. Two of their children, a boy and a girl, died in infancy, one of colic and the other of diphtheria. Many children born to families in those early years succumbed to one of the many diseases that were prevalent. It was a rarity to find a family that never lost a child.
Delia and William's surviving children were Mary Ellen, born 1892, and Timothy, born in 1895. Mary Ellen was my mother's mother and my grandmother. Timothy was the apple of his mother's eye. Most Irish Catholic women in those days wanted one son to become a priest. The son usually played a more important role in the family structure. We're not sure what Delia's goal was for her son but he was definitely the favored child. Sometime during the turn of the century Delia's mother had arrived from Ireland. She left behind her husband who was blind and made her home with Delia, William and the children.
Timothy was an altar boy; he was very involved in his church. When he was nine years old he succumbed to meningitis, a priest was sent for to administer the last rites, but Timothy died before the priest arrived. At almost the same time, his grandmother, Ellen Conner Flaherty, who had made her home with them passed away six days later. These two deaths occurred in February 1905. On that date Washington was in the middle of one of the worst blizzards and cold spells that had ever occurred. The ground was frozen so solid that the graves weren't able to be dug. Both Timothy and his grandmother had to be placed in a vault for later burial.
When Timothy died the light went out of the family. His father William almost lost his mind, in truth he never recovered from his son's death. They would forget and set a place for Timothy at supper, and then William would cry. Delia and her daughter never got along. Delia would say to her daughter that the good one had passed away and she, Mary Ellen, was still there. Life for Mary Ellen was never good after Timothy's death.
Evening Star on Wed Feb 22 notes:
Bridget A.
Service at St. Martin's Catholic Church died at her daughter's residence after a short illness Mrs. James S. Whelan, 200 Bryant St. N.W.
Survived by her sister Mrs. Wm Fahey & a granddaughter (Mary Lorraine Whalen)
The story is an excerpt from Joyce Daniels Burke of Hickory, N.C. who wrote "My Irish Roots" as a college class assignment..........................
Bridget was born in Moycullen, Co. Galway, Ireland and made the trip over in 1879 when she was just 16 years old. One of her most vivid memories of the ocean voyage was shortly before her arrival in New York, someone managed to secure fresh eggs and on Easter Sunday morning they had fresh eggs for breakfast.
Bridget, who never learned to read or write, spoke in her native Gaelic language though she eventually learned English. She had two sisters that preceded her in making the trip to the United States and had prospered with their move to America. Both Julia and Annie had married men that owned bars. These were lucrative businesses. Julia and Annie lived in a much nicer neighborhood. They each had very successful and highly educated children. The progeny produced by the two sisters became priests, a son educated at Georgetown University, who lost his eyesight due to an explosion in the laboratory and a daughter who graduated from Trinity College in Washington, D.C., and taught Spanish at a local high school.
Bridget arrived in Washington, D.C., and settled two blocks from the White House in an area known as Foggy Bottom. It was the site of one of the earliest settlements in what is now the District of Columbia. A man by the name of Joseph Funk subdivided 130 acres near the meeting place of the Potomac River and Rock Creek in 1763. The settlement was officially named Hamburg but was known as Funkstown. It only attracted a few settlers until the 1850s when more industry developed in the area. It is located on marshy ground along the Potomac River front and the mists that rose from this swanpy setting gave this neighborhood its unusual name. In the city's early days the area was a port.
Eventually Foggy Bottom became the site of the city's light industry, including breweries, gas works and a glass factory. These attracted German and Irish immigrants, as well as African American workers. In fact, the population of Foggy Bottom consisted primarily of poor immigrants who lived close to work. The homes were mostly brick rowhouses, some only one room wide and two rooms deep.
Once Bridget moved into this area she discovered what so many that had come before her already knew. It was difficult to get a job if you were a certain race or nationality. Most jobs, unless they were plant jobs, had signs in the windows stating that Irish and Blacks need not apply. Bridget took the name "Delia" and began using it thinking that this name didn't sound as Irish. From those days until the day she died she was known as Delia. She eventually married William Flaherty and William and Delia had four children together. Two of their children, a boy and a girl, died in infancy, one of colic and the other of diphtheria. Many children born to families in those early years succumbed to one of the many diseases that were prevalent. It was a rarity to find a family that never lost a child.
Delia and William's surviving children were Mary Ellen, born 1892, and Timothy, born in 1895. Mary Ellen was my mother's mother and my grandmother. Timothy was the apple of his mother's eye. Most Irish Catholic women in those days wanted one son to become a priest. The son usually played a more important role in the family structure. We're not sure what Delia's goal was for her son but he was definitely the favored child. Sometime during the turn of the century Delia's mother had arrived from Ireland. She left behind her husband who was blind and made her home with Delia, William and the children.
Timothy was an altar boy; he was very involved in his church. When he was nine years old he succumbed to meningitis, a priest was sent for to administer the last rites, but Timothy died before the priest arrived. At almost the same time, his grandmother, Ellen Conner Flaherty, who had made her home with them passed away six days later. These two deaths occurred in February 1905. On that date Washington was in the middle of one of the worst blizzards and cold spells that had ever occurred. The ground was frozen so solid that the graves weren't able to be dug. Both Timothy and his grandmother had to be placed in a vault for later burial.
When Timothy died the light went out of the family. His father William almost lost his mind, in truth he never recovered from his son's death. They would forget and set a place for Timothy at supper, and then William would cry. Delia and her daughter never got along. Delia would say to her daughter that the good one had passed away and she, Mary Ellen, was still there. Life for Mary Ellen was never good after Timothy's death.
Evening Star on Wed Feb 22 notes:
Bridget A.
Service at St. Martin's Catholic Church died at her daughter's residence after a short illness Mrs. James S. Whelan, 200 Bryant St. N.W.
Survived by her sister Mrs. Wm Fahey & a granddaughter (Mary Lorraine Whalen)
Bridget was born in Moycullen, Co. Galway, Ireland and made the trip over in 1879 when she was just 16 years old. One of her most vivid memories of the ocean voyage was shortly before her arrival in New York, someone managed to secure fresh eggs and on Easter Sunday morning they had fresh eggs for breakfast.
Bridget, who never learned to read or write, spoke in her native Gaelic language though she eventually learned English. She had two sisters that preceded her in making the trip to the United States and had prospered with their move to America. Both Julia and Annie had married men that owned bars. These were lucrative businesses. Julia and Annie lived in a much nicer neighborhood. They each had very successful and highly educated children. The progeny produced by the two sisters became priests, a son educated at Georgetown University, who lost his eyesight due to an explosion in the laboratory and a daughter who graduated from Trinity College in Washington, D.C., and taught Spanish at a local high school.
Bridget arrived in Washington, D.C., and settled two blocks from the White House in an area known as Foggy Bottom. It was the site of one of the earliest settlements in what is now the District of Columbia. A man by the name of Joseph Funk subdivided 130 acres near the meeting place of the Potomac River and Rock Creek in 1763. The settlement was officially named Hamburg but was known as Funkstown. It only attracted a few settlers until the 1850s when more industry developed in the area. It is located on marshy ground along the Potomac River front and the mists that rose from this swanpy setting gave this neighborhood its unusual name. In the city's early days the area was a port.
Eventually Foggy Bottom became the site of the city's light industry, including breweries, gas works and a glass factory. These attracted German and Irish immigrants, as well as African American workers. In fact, the population of Foggy Bottom consisted primarily of poor immigrants who lived close to work. The homes were mostly brick rowhouses, some only one room wide and two rooms deep.
Once Bridget moved into this area she discovered what so many that had come before her already knew. It was difficult to get a job if you were a certain race or nationality. Most jobs, unless they were plant jobs, had signs in the windows stating that Irish and Blacks need not apply. Bridget took the name "Delia" and began using it thinking that this name didn't sound as Irish. From those days until the day she died she was known as Delia. She eventually married William Flaherty and William and Delia had four children together. Two of their children, a boy and a girl, died in infancy, one of colic and the other of diphtheria. Many children born to families in those early years succumbed to one of the many diseases that were prevalent. It was a rarity to find a family that never lost a child.
Delia and William's surviving children were Mary Ellen, born 1892, and Timothy, born in 1895. Mary Ellen was my mother's mother and my grandmother. Timothy was the apple of his mother's eye. Most Irish Catholic women in those days wanted one son to become a priest. The son usually played a more important role in the family structure. We're not sure what Delia's goal was for her son but he was definitely the favored child. Sometime during the turn of the century Delia's mother had arrived from Ireland. She left behind her husband who was blind and made her home with Delia, William and the children.
Timothy was an altar boy; he was very involved in his church. When he was nine years old he succumbed to meningitis, a priest was sent for to administer the last rites, but Timothy died before the priest arrived. At almost the same time, his grandmother, Ellen Conner Flaherty, who had made her home with them passed away six days later. These two deaths occurred in February 1905. On that date Washington was in the middle of one of the worst blizzards and cold spells that had ever occurred. The ground was frozen so solid that the graves weren't able to be dug. Both Timothy and his grandmother had to be placed in a vault for later burial.
When Timothy died the light went out of the family. His father William almost lost his mind, in truth he never recovered from his son's death. They would forget and set a place for Timothy at supper, and then William would cry. Delia and her daughter never got along. Delia would say to her daughter that the good one had passed away and she, Mary Ellen, was still there. Life for Mary Ellen was never good after Timothy's death.
Evening Star on Wed Feb 22 notes:
Bridget A.
Service at St. Martin's Catholic Church died at her daughter's residence after a short illness Mrs. James S. Whelan, 200 Bryant St. N.W.
Survived by her sister Mrs. Wm Fahey & a granddaughter (Mary Lorraine Whalen)
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