McSweeney, Dennis 1861-1904 & Mary Jane Maher family

MCSWEENEY, MAHER, WELSH, SULLIVAN

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - volunteer (email)
Date: 3/19/2022 at 16:25:14

McSweeney, Dennis 1861-1904 and Mary Jane Maher family

This story was taken from pages 123-124 of the Rock Valley St. Mary’s Catholic Church Book written for the centennial of the church in about 1982(?). The story was transcribed for this BIOS by Beth De Leeuw of the Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society. Some research notes were added.

DENNIS MC SWEENEY was born in Boscobel, Wisconsin. He married MARY JANE MAHER, born in Estherville, Iowa. They were married in Emmetsburg, Iowa on October 26, 1891. He worked for the Great Northern Railroad. They moved to Alvord where they lived and are now buried. Their six children, Dan, Mary, Elizabeth, Margaret, Francis and John all moved to Rock Valley after their father’s death in June, 1904. They lived there until 1920, across the street from St. Mary’s Church.

1. Dan was born October 16, 1892. He was a bachelor and worked in Spokane, Washington. He died in 1967 and was buried in Willamette National Cemetery at Portland, Oregon.

2. Mary (Mayme) was born July 27, 1894. She married Matt Beckman June 6, 1923. They farmed in Cherokee County for many years. They were the parents of seven children, including one set of twins: Donald, Barbara Jean McSweeney Carlson, Harold, Joan McSweeney Ballentine, Dorothy McSweeney Grills, and Mary Jane McSweeney Hebert.

3. Elizabeth was born in 1897 at Boscobel, Wisconsin. She moved to Alvord and then to Rock Valley. She graduated from St. Mary’s Academy in 1914. She then taught in the schools in the surrounding counties until 1920 when she moved to Cherokee. She married Joseph A. Zembsch on June 15, 1925 at the Immaculate Conception Church. Joe worked for the Illinois Central Railroad in Cherokee and was then transferred to Sioux City. In 1940 they went to Portland, Oregon, where Joe worked as the Master Mechanic for the Peninsula Railroad until he died on February 15, 1971. He was buried in Portland. Elizabeth still resides there. One son was born to this family, John Joseph, on May 25, 1933, in Sioux City. He was in the Navy for several years and later worked as a designer and draftsman for Motorola in Phoenix. He married and had three children. John died of a heart attack June 20, 1979. He was given a military funeral and was buried in the Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery.

4. MARGARET was also born at Boscobel, Wisconsin. She worked as an accountant for the Central Library in Portland, Oregon. She died September 10, 1981 and is buried in Portland.

5. William Thomas McSweeney 8 May 1900 died 26 Feb 1901 Alvord, IA.

6. FRANCES was born in Alvord. She graduated from St. Mary’s in 1920 and then became a teacher. She married Earl Falconer in Portland.

7. JOHN was born in 1904 in Alvord. He married Irene Brown in Sioux City. She worked as a teacher in a public school there. John worked as a printer and for the government. John died in June of 1970 in Portland where he is buried.

RESEARCH NOTES:
Their obits were not found locally in Sioux County.
From a report on ancestry.com (by others) Dennis Sylvester McSweeney was born 11 Mar 1861 Waterstown, Grant, Wisconsin and died 14 Mar 1904 Alvord, IA. His parents were Daniel Mc Sweeney 1832-1895 and Hannah Sullivan 1835-1870. Children listed in the report were-
1 . Daniel Joseph Sylvester Mc Sweeney born 16 Oct 1892 Emmetsburg, IA died 16 Nov 1965 Portland OR
2 . Mary Catherine Mc Sweeney born 27 Jul 1894 Emmetsburg, IA and died Mar 1976 Cherokee IA, her husband was Mathew John Beckman 1895-1977
3 . Hanna Elizabeth Mc Sweeney born 6 Feb 1896 WI, and died 29 Nov 1991 Multnomah OR, she married Joseph Aloysius Zembsch 1898-1971.
4 . Margaret E. Mc Sweeney born 4 Oct 1897 WI died 10 Sep 1981 Happy Valley OR.
5 . William Thomas Mc Sweeney born 8 May 1900 Hubbard NE died 26 Feb 1901 Alvord IA.
6 . Frances Rebecca Mc Sweeney born 3 May 1902 IA died 16 Oct 1992 Portland OR she married Earl Patrick Falconer 1897-1971
7 . John J. Mc Sweeney born 31 Mar 1904 Alvord IA died 19 Jun 1970 Portland OR wife was Irene Bernice Broen 1907-2004.

The Life Summary of Dennis McSweeney
When Dennis McSweeney was born on 11 March 1861, in Wisconsin, United States, his father, Daniel McSweeney, was 30 and his mother, Hannah Sullivan, was 36. He married Mary Jane Maher on 27 October 1891, in Emmetsburg, Palo Alto, Iowa, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 4 daughters. He lived in Dakota, Nebraska, United States in 1900 and Emerson Township, Dakota, Nebraska, United States in 1900. He died on 26 April 1904, in Alvord, Lyon, Iowa, United States, at the age of 43, and was buried in Saint Mary’s Cemetery, Alvord, Lyon, Iowa, United States.

The Life Summary of Mary Jane
When Mary Jane Maher was born in 1868, in Emmet Township, Emmet, Iowa, United States, her father, Thomas Maher, was 47 and her mother, Bridget Welsh, was 24. She married Dennis McSweeney on 27 October 1891, in Emmetsburg, Palo Alto, Iowa, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 4 daughters. She lived in Sioux, Iowa, United States in 1905 and Rock Township, Sioux, Iowa, United States for about 10 years. She died in 1937, in Cherokee, Cherokee, Iowa, United States, at the age of 69.

No picture was found locally.