Michael Finnigan

 Michael is my third great-grandfather.

September 15, 1819 ~ June 9, 1899

Born in Castleisland, in County Kerry, Ireland, Michael was the first child of Patrick Finnigan and Hanora (née Connor). 

After his father passed away, Michael, and his family packed their bags and braved the journey to America. Led by his mother, Hanora, the Finnigan clan, including his wife, Catherine, four of his brothers and his sister, Hanna, as well as his brother-in-law, John, closed the chapter of their lives on the Emerald Island to begin anew in a strange land across the pond. This took place somewhere between 1847 and 1851.

At the height of the Irish Potato Famine, when a mass exodus of Irish farmers fled in the hopes to find healthier land, the Finnigans sought to seek their fortune in the land of opportunity. And in their new home, they would indeed find it.

I chose this picture to represent Michael, because it is an image of the castle in Castleisland
where he was born in County Kerry, Ireland (no, that isn't a typo—Castleisland is one word) .

County Kerry is the most South-Western part of the island.

New York became their first home in the New World. Mary and James, Michael's first two children, were born in New York.

Michael came from a family of farmers. New York wasn't going to be their home for very long. Some time between 1853 and 1856, his mother, siblings, wife and children all decided to head west for greener pastures in Washington Township, Iowa. It was there where they had their first farm in the States.

Iowa is where Hannah "Agnes" was born in 1856. While she was known as Hannah to her family as a youngster, she preferred using her middle name as an adult. She would grow up to be the mother of Winifred Tunney who would become the mother to Helen, Jack and Jim. Therefore, it was Agnes who was our direct ancestor.

Michael and Catherine were blessed with four more children through 1864: Patrick, Michael Jr., Edward, and John. It was that year, where there would be a turning point for the family as the country faced one of its greatest challenges.

Major General W.T. Sherman,
"Uncle Billy" to his troops.

In 1864, our embattled country was split in two. The Civil War had been raging for three years and the cry of war was calling. Michael did what so many men did in his day. He enlisted in the military. As a private in the 6th regiment, Kansas Calvary, Michael served under the command of William Tecumseh Sherman for the Union forces.

He fought side by side with his brother-in-law, John in Sherman's March to the Sea—a military campaign that moved through Georgia from November 15th until December 21st, 1864. This mission served as a victory for the Union Camp.

According to Wikipedia, "His forces followed a "scorched earth" policy, destroying military targets, as well as industry, infrastructure and civilian property, and disrupting the Confederacy's economy and its transportation networks. The operation broke the back of the Confederacy and helped to lead to its eventual surrender...(It) was one of the major achievements of the war."

After the war ended, he returned to Iowa and two more children, Katie and Margaret were born before 1868.

In the same year, Michael was arrested for drunken and disorderly conduct, while disturbing a public worship. He pleaded guilty and was required to pay $10 plus costs as his punishment. $10 in today's standards would be $171.17.

Two more children, Eliza and Tim were born by 1872.

While neither she nor Michael were educated, her children went to school. Education was not compulsory in Iowa until 1902, but Catherine and Michael saw the wisdom in educating their kids.

Regardless of his lack of education, it didn't seem to hurt him from a financial perspective. The Finnigans lived the American dream. They left Ireland, ostensibly to get away from famine and therefore poverty and turned their world around to create prosperity. Most of the clan stuck together. No matter where they lived in the country, the entire brood of siblings, children and their matriarch, Hanora, moved together, all helping to build their fortune.

At this point, when they lived in Iowa, Michael's combined personal property and real estate was valued at $4,200.00, which would have been nearly $700,000 in today's world. Some of our farmer ancestors did not fare well on the farming front, and had to take up other positions. However, a few of our farmer ancestors, including the Finnigans, did very well for themselves financially.

His finances would only improve when they packed up once again. This time the entire Finnigan brood moved to Wolf River in Doniphan County, Kansas and finally settled in a town known as Good Intent. It was here where his combined real estate and personal property was valued at $6,000 (nearly a million in today's standards.)

In Good Intent, the Finnigans became leaders in their community. Led by their matriarch, Hanora, they all worked very hard in creating familial prosperity.

City Sign posted in town.

In Kansas, Emma, Thomas and Dennis completed the family's list of children.

While the economics of the family were set, hardship was about to befall the family. Daughter Emma died when she was only seven years old in March of 1885. Michael's wife Catherine, died only a few months later in August, followed by the deaths of John in 1886 and Eliza in 1887. John was 22 and Eliza was 17. Mary, who was 37, died in 1888. Four more children would die before Michael left this Earth: Katie, Tim, Michael Jr. and Dennis.

At 101 years of age, his mother, Hanora died three months before he did. He was already ill with whatever ailment he had by this point.

Nearing the end of his life, Michael lived with his son Thomas. He was too ill to attend his son Dennis's funeral who died only two weeks before he did. Michael's funeral was held at Thomas' home and at St. Benedict's Catholic Church in Bendena, Kansas. He is buried at the church's cemetery.

Kansas didn't start requiring death certificates until 1911 and although Michael is listed with the Historical Society's reports, there is not a death certificate. So, the nature of his illness is unknown. He was 79 years old.

Michael's headstone (partial).

Supposition: 

*It truly astonishes me that the entire family moved from Ireland to the U.S. to start a new, including their mother, who was in her 50's at the time. Fifty was not a young woman in her day. Additionally, once they got here, they stuck together regardless of where they moved to. The family bond was important to this clan.

*There is only one record of drunken behavior. It seems to me, that after experiencing first hand the ravages of war, that this more than likely affected him. He apparently interrupted a public gathering of worshipers. Perhaps he was mad at God for his experiences with the war?

*Michael's mother and his mother-in-law Ellen's last name was Connor. It is possible that Michael and Catherine were cousins. That may seem strange to us, but it was a common practice to marry cousins.


*Even before I saw the finances, I knew by looking at the various family headstones, that these people were prosperous. Some of the headstones are several times larger than this one that belonged to Michael, which is still quite impressive.

*At the age of 64, Michael applied for his Civil War pension. I have no record whether it was approved, or how much it was for, but I am intrigued that there was a possibility of receiving a pension for a person who served in the military for only a year's time.

*I looked online to see if they received their property from the Homestead Act. They did not.

The Meaning of His Names:

Personal name meaning: Michael ~ From the Hebrew name Mikha'el meaning, "Who is like God?" with a question mark at the end. Michael is also one of the seven archangels.

Surname meaning: Finnigan ~ Irish origin. Anglicization of the Gaelic "O'Fionnagain" - meaning the descendant(s) of Fionnagan, an Old Irish personal name derived from the word "fionn," which means white, fair-headed.