Mary (Brophy) Dawson 1830-1911

DAWSON, BROPHY, DUFFY, LYNCH

Posted By: Joe Conroy (email)
Date: 8/29/2010 at 09:48:29

The Emmetsburg Democrat
Emmetsburg, Iowa
24 May 1911
Page 1

Mrs. Thomas Dawson Dead

Passed Away at Her Home at Mallard Wednesday

Mrs. Thomas Dawson, who had been very ill for several weeks, died at her home at Mallard, Wednesday. She was quite advanced in years. Hence her death was not unexpected. The funeral was held Friday. Services were conducted in the Catholic church at that place. The burial was in the parochial cemetery where the remains of Mr. Dawson were laid to rest several years ago. There was a large procession. Several old friends and neighbors from this vicinity were in attendance.

Mary Brophy was born in the county of Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1830. Hence she was 81 years of age. She was a first cousin of Patrick Mulroney and the late T. H. Tobin. She came to the United States with her parents when young. They lived in the state of New York for some time. Some years later they moved to Mineral Point, Wisconsin. She was married at that place April 16, 1855, to Thomas Dawson. In October, 1858, Mr. and Mrs. Dawson came to Palo Alto county and located on a farm in Nevada township. The old homestead still belongs to the family. Some time after coming, Thos. Brophy, Mrs. Dawson's father, who owned land close by, perished in a blizzard. Several years ago Mr. and Mrs. Dawson became residents of Mallard, where Mr. Dawson passed away some time later. Eleven sons and daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Dawson. Seven are living. They are Mrs. Mary Dawson of Durango, Colorado, Mrs. S. J. Mullen and Mrs. Henry Frost of Waterloo, P. F. Dawson of Waurika, Oklahoma, and Mrs. P. Duffy, Mrs. W. A. Lynch, and T. J. Dawson, all of Mallard. The various members of the family were in attendance at the funeral.

Mrs. Dawson came to Palo Alto two years after the founding of the original Irish colony northwest of this city. There were not at that time more than sixteen or twenty families in the entire county. She witnessed the many and wonderful changes that have taken place during the past fifty-two years. What a half-century of growth and development! What a satisfaction it must have been to her as she beheld the gradual transformation of a wilderness of prairie into the prosperous, populous county that we see today. She was a typical pioneer woman -- warm hearted, generous, contented and willing to put up with the inconveniences of her surroundings. The stranger never sought in vain for shelter beneath the humble Dawson roof. He was welcome to the best that the unassuming occupants could afford and he was never charged for any favors asked. She was constantly devoted to the ideals of worthy Christian womanhood. She was the mother of a large family of deserving sons and daughters, seven of whom survive to cherish the memory of her long, useful, and ennobling career. The sympathy of a wide circle of relatives and friends is extended to them in their profound sorrow.