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Mary McGlen

 

Spelling variation:  McGlyn, McGlynn, McGlin

 

Born: 18 Mar 1830, Donegal, Ireland

 

Parents: Owen McGlen and Kate Boyle

 

Siblings: Peter (died at sea en route to US), Owen (1826-?) and Michael (died at sea en route to US)

 

Marriage: to Miles George Sweeney 1846 Hazelton, PA

 

Children:Miles Glynn (1850-1938), Catherine “Kate” (1854-1948), Mary (1855-1928), Daniel (1859-1940), James Francis (1861-1939), Charles Edward (1864-1941), Hugh Thomas, Matthew (1870-1870), Katherine Anna (1871-1882), John M.(1874-1961)

 

Death: 4 Sep 1924, Edgerton WI; Buried St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Edgerton

 

Obituary: (Janesville Gazette)

Obituary as follows: “Edgerton Loses Oldest Citizen Through Death”. Edgerton loses it’s oldest pioneer with the death here, at 3 pm Thursday of Mrs Mary Sweeney, widow of Miles Sweeney; with whom she settled in the town of Porter in 1855. Mrs. Sweeney, 94 years old, died at her daughter’s home, Mrs. Katherine Hyland, after suffering for three years with a broken hip. Mrs. Sweeney was a woman much beloved by all who knew her. She raised a family of 13 children, eight of whom survive. She emerged from the arduous life of a pioneer to enjoy the comforts that modern inventions have brought. Rock county was only sparsely settled when the young couple came here from Pittsburgh, Pa., and settled on a tract of land which, by great effort, was made into a well-producing farm. Her husband was obliged to haul the grain to market at Milwaukee in a cart drawn over trails by oxen.  ’Came from Ireland’ Mary Sweeney early in life learned the sorrows that lie across the path of those seeking greater opportunity in America, when she accompanied her parents and three brothers from Ireland. She was born at Donegal, March 18, 1830. Nine weeks they were upon the ocean and two brothers passed away aboard the ship and where sent to lie at the bottom of the ocean. The surviving members landed at Quebec, where the mother died a short time later, her strength being sapped by the trip from Ireland. The father and two surviving children went to Pittsburgh to live and there Mary became the wife of Miles Sweeney at 17 years of age. A short time later they moved to Porter and lived on a farm until Miles Sweeney died in 1899. Mrs. Sweeney has been a resident of Edgerton for a number of years and for the last six has lived with her daughter, Mrs. Hyland. During the war she took great pride in her service flag, with eight stars, representing the service of eight grandsons, one of whom was the Rev. Fr. Clement Sweeney. ‘Many Descendants’ Besides the eight surviving children, there are 49 grandchildren and 57 great grandchildren. The surviving children are Charles, John, Hugh, and Mrs. Fred Phifer and Mrs. Hyland, all of Edgerton. Miles and James of Sheldon, Ia. and Daniel of Milwaukee. The grandson, the Rev. Fr. Clement Sweeney, of Whitmore, Ia will officiate at funeral services to be held at the Catholic church at 10 a.m. Saturday. Burial will be in the Catholic cemetery. (Janesville Gazette)

Death Certificate on file Rock Co Register of Deeds; cause of death “exhaustion due to old age”.

 

Biography of Mary McGlynn Sweeney (from great grandson Don Harrington):

   County Donegal is in the far northwest of Ireland, but is part of the Irish Republic, not the politically separated Northern Ireland. In the author’s opinion, County Donegal is the most scenic of all of Ireland’s counties. The land is hilly, some would say mountainous, with many lakes and trees. The west and north coasts of the county have spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean. Mary McGlynn, great-grandmother of the author, was born in Donegal in 1830, the only daughter of Owen McGlynn and Kate Boyle. Mary was born at a time of rapidly increasing Irish population, from five million in 1800, to seven million in 1821, to eight and one half million by 1845.  At the same time, the population became increasingly dependent on the potato for food. This dependence was largely due to the policies of English landlords in exporting most other farm production. Most of the Irish, particularly in Donegal were poor and existed solely on 5-14 pounds of potatoes per day. There was little or no prospect for the Irish to better themselves and the failure of the potato crop several years in a row resulted in widespread famine. It must have been very difficult to leave Donegal which is truly the most beautiful part of Ireland.

   Mary, her three brothers, mother and father probably traveled overland to Dublin or Belfast to board their ship during the Spring of 1847. The voyage across the Atlantic normally took anywhere from two to seven weeks, depending on the weather. Many people died during the crossing and were buried at sea, the victims of typhus, or insufficient food and water. The McGlynn family were at sea for nine weeks and two of Mary’s brothers, Peter and Michael, died during their crossing and were buried at sea. The ship was the bark, Naomi, at sea from June 15 to August 10, 1847. Upon arriving in Canada, immigrants were unloaded on to on the Island named Grosse Isle, about thirty miles from Quebec. Those appearing to be sick were quarantined on that island. The so-called hospital was nothing more than hastily built shacks where the sick received little medical attention. Many books have been written about that very grim period in the history of Quebec. Mary’s mother, Kate Boyle, died shortly after landing in Quebec and thus the McGlynn family was reduced to just thirteen year old Mary, father Owen, and sixteen year old brother, Owen Jr.

   After regaining strength, the family traveled on to Pennsylvania and at seventeen, Mary had married another Irish immigrant, Miles Sweeney. Their first child, Miles jr., was born in Pennsylvania where Miles Sr. was working in the coal mines south of Scranton. Within a few years they had saved enough money to move on to Wisconsin and buy farmland south of Madison. Mary bore thirteen children, but only nine lived into adulthood, Miles Jr, Catherine, Mary, Daniel, James (the author’s grandfather), Charles, Hugh, Anna and John. Mary was a very small lady, probably only five feet at most. She was accustomed to ruling the roost. She used to visit her children and grandchildren in Iowa when she was in her 80’s and would give orders to everyone. She lived until 1924 and the age of 92 years. She is buried in Edgerton, WI.

 

Biography from granddaughter Marie Sweeney Quisling:

 Recollections from granddaughter Marie Sweeney Quisling:
Mary McGlynn, spelled the way it sounded to the hearer - McGlinn or Glen(n), was born in county Donegal Ireland in 1830. Mary, her father Owen Patrick, brothers Owen (born 1826) and Patrick (born 1836) came to the US in 1844 and survived the nine week voyage, but their mother and two children became very ill. The little children died during the voyage and were buried at sea; the mother died in a Quebec hospital two weeks after their arrival in America. Grandma Sweeney (Mary McGlynn) was a very active person. After she moved in with her daughter, Kate Hyland, she used to walk out to son Hugh’s farm 1 1/2 miles away. She’d bring a bag or two of candy with her. Gwen (Marie’s sister) remembered asking her for a piece of  candy and when Gwen reached for the bag, grandma slapped her hand. Her way of teaching her not to ask. When she got to Hugh’s she’d sit in the big swing under a huge pine tree and offer her candy to those gathered round her. Then she’d say “Has that one called yet?”, meaning Kate Hyland. Grandma would have run away to come out to Hugh’s to get a ride back to Kate’s in the pony buggy. She did this many times over a period of 5-6 years. She then broke her hip and was never really well enough to roam after that. This was in 1923, and on Sept 10, 1924, she died of pneumonia and old age at the home of her daughter, Kate Hyland on Washington St in Edgerton.

Memories from granddaughter Esther Sweeney Small, Dec. 1977

My grandmother Mary McGlynn Sweeney came to America from Donegal, Ireland when she was eleven years old and went to Pennsylvania to live.  It was there she met my grandfather, Miles George Sweeney and married him in 1846 when she was 16.  My father, Miles Glynn, was their first child, born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania before the family moved to Wisconsin.  After Dad came Kate (Mrs. John Hyland), Mary (Mrs. Fred Phifer), Dan, James, Charles, Hugh, and the twins Johnny and Mack. Mack swallowed a bean and choked to death at the age of two years. Aunt Mary was called Aunt Mamie.  My brother Doc said everytime he looked at me, he thought of Aunt Mamie.  That was the biggest complikment he could give me because she was his favorite aunt.

In later years, Grandmother Sweeney lived in Wisconsin with her oldest daughter, Kate Hyland, who was a widow; we lived in Iowa at the time.  Grandmother Sweeney would come out for three months in the summer.  She spent most of her time at our place, but she would also go to Uncle Jim Sweeney’s for a few weeks.  She was one who had to keep busy all the time.  She had no time for anyone who was idle.  She was really quite a character.  She would keep saying, “Oh, you are a caution.”  After noonday lunch some days the boys would go out in the yard to play ball before they went back to the fields, just to limber up and have some relaxation. And Grandmother would say, “Oh, you are a caution … out there playing ball while those poor calves have their tongues hanging out, looking for a drink of water.”

 

Census:

1910 WI Census, Rock Co, Edgerton, ward 2:
Mary Sweeney, mother-in-law, age 78, widowed, 13 children born, 8 alive; lives with Fred and Mary Phifer (Mary is daughter, age 52).  Immigrated in 1847

 

1900 WI Census, Rock Co, Porter Township:
Mary, head of household, widowed, age 68, born Ireland, naturalized but date not legible; unable to read and write.

 

1880 Census, WI Rock Co, Porter Township:
Miles age 53, married farmer, born Ireland; Mary age 48, keeping house, born Ireland; Daniel age 21, farmer, born WI; James age 18; Charles age 16; Hugh age 12; Annie age 9, John age 5.

 

1870 Census, WI Rock Co, Porter Township: enumerated 6/1/1870
Miles (looks like age 49, but should be 46), farming, value of  Real Estate $1600, value of personal estate $800, born Ireland, both parents of foreign birth, column marked as unable to read or write; Mary, age 35 (should be 40), keeping house, born Ireland, parents of foreign birth, unable to read/write; Miles age 20, at home, (all children able to read and write); Mary age 15; Daniel age 10; James age 7; Charles age 5; Hugh age 3.

 

1860 Census, WI, Rock Co, Porter Township: (note: spelled Sweney) enumerated 6/1/1860
Miles Sweeney, age 36, day labourer, value of personel estate $75, born Ireland; Mary, age 30, born Ireland; Miles age 10, born Pennsylvania; Catherine age 7, born Pennsylvania; Mary age 5, born WI; Daniel age 7 months, born WI

 

1850 Census, Pennsylvania, Luzerne Co, City of Hazle: (6/1/1850)
Miles Sweeney, age 25, male, works in mines, born Ireland, wife Mary, age 18, born Ireland, Miles, age 3 months; Owen McGlynn, age 24, male, labourer, born in Ireland

note: next residence was Neal Boyle, age 26; Patrick McGlen, age 14, born in Ireland (Mary McGlen’s brother?); and Catharine Sweeney, age 22, born in Ireland

4 Generations: John J. Hyland, standing; Kate Sweeney Hyland, John Miles Hyland and Mary McGlen Sweeney

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