John F & Nellie Malone Phelan

PHELAN MALONE MAHER

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 10/13/2010 at 20:00:32

History of Woodbury County, Iowa 1984

John F and Nellie (Malone) Phelan
By John T Phelan

John Francis Phelan was born in Saint Louis, Missouri, on September 21, 1859. His father, Cornelius, was a native of Mullinhone, County Tipperary, Ireland and his mother, Mary Frances Maher, came from a neighboring parish, Killaloe, in County Kilkenny. About 1843, the family including John F’s oldest sister, immigrated to the United States, settling in Saint Louis.

John F, ‘J F’ as he was known, attended the Christian Brothers School and later graduated from the Jones Commercial School in Saint Louis. His first job was in a china shop but his interest changed to dry goods. He worked for the William Barr Dry Goods Company in Saint Lewis for over ten years. John’s health declined in the late 1880’s and he was advised to seek a different climate. He selected Sioux City and there his health improved. In early 1900, he opened a dry goods store at 300-3002 Fourth Street. About 1896, the business was moved to the northwest corner of Fourth and Douglas Streets. For over then years the business flourished.

Soon after moving to Sioux City, John F married Margaret ‘Maggie’ M O’Flaherty, the daughter of Dennis and Mary (Follis) O’Flaherty. But misfortune struck and she died in Sioux City on 27 July 1892. On 24 January 1894, John married Mary ‘Mamie’ A Deegan in Saint Louis. This marriage too was struck with tragedy and on 9 June 1895, she too passed away.

Ellen Victorine ‘Nellie’ Malone was the second daughter of a pioneer Sioux City couple, Thomas Francis and Mary Jane (KEvill) Malone. Born in Sioux City on 3 September 1874, she was educated at St Mary’s School and later attended the Sioux City Training School, graduating in 1891. She was elected as a teacher in the Sioux City schools and was assigned to the Bancroft School on Pearl Street. She soon became a supervisor of students in training for teaching. Nellie was very active in professional and community affairs.

On Wednesday, 21 February 1900, Nellie Malone and John F Phelan were married in the chapel of St Mary’s Academy in Sioux City. They made their home at 1414 Douglas Street in a house, John purchased at the time. They retained ownership of this property for about 35 years and always considered it home.

On 25 July 1901, a disastrous fire destroyed the John F Phelan store. It was speculated that a bubble in a show windowpane acted as a burning glass to focus the hot sun on some flammable material. So quickly did the flames spread that after John rushed to the second floor to warn clerks and customers and in the brief moment it took him to secure his fireproof safe, his escape was cut off and he was forced to jump from a second story window. He suffered a broken arm, a broken nose and bruises in his fall. The building was completely destroyed.

Following the fire, John opened a new dry goods store in Galesburg, Illinois and moved there. At Galesburg, Marie Celestine was born on 4 March 1902; Eleanore Elizabeth on 18 December 1903; Alice Marietta on 8 December 1905 and Frances Anna ‘Joan’ on 13 August 1909. About 1911 the family returned to Sioux City and John Thomas was born on 1 February 1913.

In 1914 they moved to Dixon, Nebraska, where John F operated the Dixon Mercantile Company till his death on 7 September 1939. Nellie survived him only one year and passed away on 13 September 1940. Both are buried in Calvary Cemetery, Sioux City.

Daughter, Marie, joined the Sisters of Charity, BVM and assumed the name of Sister Mary Benedict, BVM. She taught in Mundelein College, Chicago for 23 years and was president of Clarke College, Dubuque for 12 years. She presently is stationed in Chicago, Illinois.

Eleanor (Phelan) Hastings, Alice (Phelan) DeHater and Frances Phelan are retired teachers from the Burbank schools and live in Burbank, California. Eleanor married Cloyd O Hastings who died 14 May 1949.
Alice married Rolla C DeHater who passed away in December 1969.
John T married Lucile Marie Stutz and is a retired engineer living in Arlington, Virginia.