Francis Maher, 1823-1909

MAHER

Posted By: Emmet County IAGenWeb Coordinator (email)
Date: 2/21/2009 at 14:13:08

DEATH OF FRANCIS MAHER
ONE OF THE OLDEST SETTLERS IN EMMET COUNTY
CAME TO EMMET IN 1857
Died at Home of Sister, Mrs. Ann Donahue
Saturday, May 1 [l909], 86 Years of Age

Mr. Francis Maher died at the home of his sister, Mrs. Ann Donahue, in this city, Saturday afternoon, May 1st, [1909], aged 86 years.

Funeral was held from St. Patrick's church Monday morning and the body taken to Emmetsburg for burial. The pall bearers were: Pat Cain, Jerry Bowser, Wm. Swift, John P. Kirby, Tom Conlon and Walter Crowell.

Deceased was born in the county of Kildare, Ireland, in 1823. At the age of thirty years he came to this country, settling first in New York and four years later coming west and settling in Emmet county, on what is now the G. E. Moore farm in Jack Creek township which he filed as a homestead. He remained in this county several years and then moved to Palo Alto county, where he remained until seven years ago when he moved to Estherville where he lived until his death. He was never married and he and his brother William, who died two years ago generally lived together. He was a man of many excellent qualities, a good christian and a desirable citizen. He came here forty-nine years ago, when this country was a vast wilderness of prairie except in a few localities where there was some natural timber. He lived here during the Indian outbreak and also when the country was devastated by the grasshoppers and endured it all with patience and fortitude. When he died he was the oldest settler in the county with one exception and that was his brother Tom who came here in 1856 and is still living on a farm in Jack Creek township. Tom Maher and Mrs. Anna Donahue are the only surviving brother and sister of a once large family.

Contributed by: Ruth M. Hackett. Source: The Vindicator and Republican, Emmet County Weekly Newspaper, Emmet County, Iow; May 5, 1909.