Sunday's Obituary - James Keefe - Civil War Vet of Clinton County, Ohio

This may be the most informative obituary I've ever seen for anyone connected to my family! The obituary was published in the Clinton County Democrat in Wilmington Ohio on January 13, 1916. James Keefe's mother was Johanna Creedon and his brother Timothy Keefe was the executor of my 3x great-grandfather Patrick Creedan's will. While I don't know the exact relation to my Creeden family, the two families seemed close. The Keefes were mentioned as being related to Patrick Creedan's daughter Julia in her obituary published in 1918.

OBITUARY.
On last Friday morning, January 1916, was written the final chapter in the life of one of our foremost citizens, when we consigned to their last resting place the mortal remains of a man, who, during a long and useful lifetime, was loyal to his God, his country and his fellow men. James Keefe was born November 16, 1844, in Macroom, County Cork, Diocese of Cloyne, Ireland. He was a son of John and Johanna Creedon Keefe, to which union were born six children—Patrick, who died while serving his country during the Civil War; Timothy, who died several years ago in Wayne township, Clinton county; James, the subject of this sketch, and three daughters, Mary, Julia and Honore, all of whom have preceded their brother into the Eternal Kingdom.

At the age of thirteen James Keefe, with his parents, emigrated to America and, landing at New York, went from there to Xenia, Ohio, and later came to Wilmington. Modern conveniences of travel were then unknown and the only conveyance obtainable for the trip to Wilmington was an ordinary road wagon. Upon arriving here the Keefe family located in the old home of the late Sheriff Smith, where James grew to manhood under the loving and watchful tutelage of his parents, acquiring those:sterling qualities of mind and heart which he displayed throughout his earthly sojourn. He received a good common school education, attending the school located where now stands the Friends Church. On the 10th of August. 1862, his patriotism led him to enlist and take up arms against the foe of his beloved country and for three years he faithfully and valorously served under the Stars and Stripes and was honorably discharged at Camp Dennison on June 17, 1865. 

The following year, 1866, James was united in marriage to Ann Shea, daughter of Michael and Margaret Shea, which union was blessed with five children, Mrs. Joseph Kuebler, John Keefe. Mrs. Thos. McDermott, Miss Honore and James M. Keefe, all of whom mourn the loss of a kind and
loving father. The early years of Mr. Keefe's married life were spent on the farm, but, upon moving to Wilmington, he was appointed street supervisor by the council, which position he capably held until 1910, when forced to retire by Ill health. Although endowed with a rugged constitution, he suffered in late years  from heart trouble, which, coupled with his advanced age, brought about his dissolution, and on Monday morn, January 3, 1916, at 8:30 he fell asleep in the Lord.

James Keefe was a kind and genial man, endowed with a keen intellect and an abundance of that ready wit found in so many of his race. To know him was to be his friend, for he was honest and charitable in his dealings with his fellow men. He will be missed by his immediate family, also by his few remaining comrades of the G. A. R., and last, but not least, by the members of St. Columbkille church, which he attended for over 50 years. "For God and Country" would be a fitting epitaph to inscribe on his monument, for he loved and served God from the days of his youth, and to his country he gave the best years of his life. At 7:30 Friday morning, after the G. A. R. had paid their last respects in his home to their deceased comrade, the remains were escorted to St. Columbkille church, where funeral services were conducted by Rev. Martin A. Higgins, his pastor, after which interment was made in Sugar Grove cemetery.

Farewell. dear father, your love for us 

Was tender, kind and true, 

And memory's surine will long preserve 

The warmest spot for you. 

Now gathered round your silent grave, 

While tears of sorrow roll, 

The fervent prayer springs from our hearts,

                                                          -God rest your noble soul."
CARD OF THANKS. 
Mrs. Keefe and family wish to express their heartfelt gratitude to all their friends for the assistance and sympathy extended them in their dark hour of sorrow, and also to Rev. Martin A. Higgins for his eloquent and consoling funeral sermon, and lastly to the G. A. R. for the honor accorded their deceased loved one. 
MRS. ANN KEEFE AND FAMILY.

Sunday's Obituary - Sister Mary Felix/Julia Creedon

Sister Mary Felix was the sister of my 2x great-grandfather Timothy Creeden. Her name was Julia Creedon before she took her religious vows with the Sisters of Charity in Cincinnati in 1872. This article appeared in the Wilmington Clinton County Democrat on February 28, 1918.

Mr. and Mrs. John P. Georges, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Kuebler and Miss Julia Haley were in Cincinnati Monday to attend the funeral of Sister Mary Felix, a sister of charity connected with a religious order in that city. Sister Mary's surname was Creedon and she was related to the Keefe, Haley, and Regan families of this county.

Sister Mary died on February 22, 1918 of pneumonia and is buried at the Sisters of Charity cemetery in Mount St. Joseph, Ohio. I'm wondering if she was still in touch with some of the Creeden family, but many of them had moved on or passed away before her. It's good to know that she was still in touch with family from Clinton County.

I found two more articles about Sister Mary in the Clinton County Democrat that provided more names. These articles were a great find since I finally have some proof of links between my Creeden family and other families in Clinton County. I had noticed before that there were quite a few Creedens in Clinton County and they were all from the same area around Macroom and Clondrohid in County Cork, Ireland.

The above article was in the Clinton County Democrat on July 27, 1899, a few months before Timothy Creeden's death. An article about Timothy's illness said Timothy was visited by his niece, Mrs. Isabelle Regan and from the July 1899 article, the Regan family was in touch with Sister Mary too. Rosa Belle Regan was the daughter of Timothy's sister-in-law Elizabeth Matson, although I'm wondering if there is a Creeden link to them too. Mamie Regan was the daughter of Rosa Belle and Thomas Regan.

There is a Kate Regan in the 1880 census living with her parents Bat. and Julia Regan in Clinton County. In later census records, Kate is living with her brother Patrick Regan and it doesn't appear that she ever married. She might be the Aunt Kate mentioned in the article.

Mrs. J. P. Georges is mentioned in both articles. From records on FindAGrave, she was Louise Catherine Kuebler Georges and was the wife of John Peter Georges. Louise was the daughter of  Francis Xavier Kuebler and Janie Eulia George. Francis was the brother of Joseph P. Kuebler who was married to Julia Keefe. According to the 1915 History of Clinton County, Julia Keefe's grandparents were John Keefe and Johanna Creedon, so there is at least one link between the Creedons and Keefes. Johanna Creedon would be about the right age to be an aunt of Sister Mary Felix, but that's just a guess.

I couldn't find any records for Samuel Creeden, so that one's a mystery for now. I think the Miss Julia Haley mentioned in the first article may be a granddaughter of John Haley and Catherine Creedon. John's parents were Dennis Haley and Julia Creedon. Catherine was the daughter of Timothy Creedon and Hanora Creedon and they were married in 1854 in Clondrohid Parish, County Cork, Ireland. This Timothy died in 1865 shortly after the family arrived from Ireland.

Clondrohid Parish is where Julia was baptized and it's interesting that a Honora Creeden was a sponsor at her baptism. Timothy and Hanora's marriage record and Sister Mary's baptism records were found on the RootsIreland site. The rest of the information on these Creedons is from trees available online, so I'll have to do more investigation to verify the information.

One more article about Sister Mary Felix appeared in the Clinton County Democrat on July 8, 1914.

Mrs. J. P. Georges is mentioned again along with Miss Leonie Regan. Leonie was another daughter of Rosa Belle and Thomas Regan. The Sisters of Charity told me that Sister Mary worked at St. Mary's Hospital in Pueblo, CO from 1888-1902 and St. Vincent's Hospital in Santa Fe, NM starting in 1905. They didn't have any other information on her assignments, so it's possible that she was working in Fayetteville in 1914. That was only one county over from Clinton County.

These articles provide more evidence that Timothy Creeden and Sister Mary Felix were brother and sister and also provide some good clues on the links to other families in Clinton County, Ohio. I'd love to hear from anyone researching the Haley, Keefe, Regan, or Creeden families from Clinton County.

Sunday's Obituary - Johanna Creedon Keefe and Bridget Dowling Keefe

According to the 1915 History of Clinton County, Johanna Creedon Keefe and her husband John Keefe came to Clinton County, Ohio in 1858. Their son Timothy Keefe was married to Bridget Dowling in 1872 in Clinton County. Timothy lost his mother and wife within two weeks of each other in 1892.

 From the Wilmington Clinton Republican on January 7, 1892: Mrs. Joanna Keeffe, of near Centerville, a member of the Catholic church, was buried in Sugar Grove cemetery Sunday.

 From the Wilmington Clinton Republican on January 21, 1892: Bridget, wife of Timothy Keefe, died at the family home in Wayne township Jan. 17, 1892, in the 55th year of her age. It is only two weeks since the venerable mother of Mr. Keefe died. The funeral of both mother and wife occurred in the Catholic church, in Wilmington. Interment at Sugar Grove.

The Keefe family lived close to my Creeden family in Clinton County, so I've wondered if Johanna was related to them. Both families have probable ties to Clondrohid parish in County Cork, Ireland, so it looks like a good possibility.

From the Cemetery Records of Clinton County, Ohio, 1798-1978, Johanna is buried in Section 4, Lot 27 in Sugar Grove Cemetery. She was born in Ireland and died on 1-1-1892 at the age of 88. That would place her birth year around 1803. The entry says she was the widow of Timothy Keefe. I think this is a mistake in the entry and it should read the "mother" of Timothy Keefe. Bridget is also buried in Section 4, Lot 27 and there is a note in the entry saying "Kin Patrick Regan, cousin".

Church Record Sunday - Founding of Catholic Church in Clinton County, Ohio

A 1915 history of Clinton County, Ohio by Albert J. Brown says that the first Roman Catholic mass celebrated in Clinton County, Ohio in August 1852 had ten attendees: Michael Devaney, wife, and daughter, Timothy Coakley, Patrick Creedon, Jeremiah Coakley and wife, Catherine Knaughton, and two young men whose names were not recorded.

Fourteen years later, it appears that some of the same people petitioned the people of Clinton County for donations to build a church there. This excerpt is from a long article published in the Wilmington Clinton Republican on April 15, 1864. It lists the names of those making the appeal as Michael Divany, J. Coakly, James Monaghan, W. Maher, Jno. Kiefe, James Doyle, J. Miller, P. Credin, John Durkin, I. Egan, Jos. Strotman, B. Senton.

My guess is that this is the same Michael Devaney, Jeremiah Coakley, and Patrick Creedan that were at the first mass in Clinton County in 1852. Patrick was my 3x great-grandfather and my Creedan family had ties to the Coakley and Keefe families.

This gives me a few more names to investigate in Clinton County. I believe my Creedan/Creeden family may be related to the Coakley and Keefe families, but haven't found definite proof yet. So far, I know that Patrick Creedan was married to a Mary Coakley and that Timothy Keefe was the trustee for Patrick's estate. Timothy was the son of Johannah Creedon.

Tombstone Tuesday - Joseph and Julia Keefe Kuebler

Joseph and Julia Keefe Kuebler were married in Clinton County, Ohio on October 4, 1904. Joseph was a farmer. Julia was the daughter of James Keefe and Ann Shea, both natives of Ireland. Julia's paternal grandparents were John Keefe and Johanna Creedon who came to America in 1858. Thanks to C. Kuebler for posting the picture on FindAGrave. There is also a nice picture of the couple on the FindAGrave site. The couple is buried in the Sugar Grove cemetery in Clinton County, Ohio.

Census Sunday - Keefe Family in Clinton County, Ohio

I posted yesterday about a possible connection between my Creeden family and the Keefe family in Clinton County, Ohio and Clondrohid, County Cork, Ireland. From the 1915 History of Clinton County, the Keefe family came to America in 1858 with a destination of Ohio. I expected to find the parents John and Johanna in the 1860 census, but didn't find an obvious match.

Hannah Keeff in 1860 Clinton County census

In the 1860 census for Wilmington in Clinton County, Hannah Keeff is a weekly laborer from Ireland. Hannah is the right age for the daughter of John and Johanna, so this could be a match.

Keeffs in the 1860 Clinton County census

I didn't find an exact match for John and Johanna, so it's possible this is another Keefe family. The ages for John, Tim, and James look close, but there is a Catharine in this family instead of Johanna.

Keefes in the 1870 Clinton County census

I had a little better luck with the 1870 census. Timothy Keefe is living with John and Johanna and the ages look close. They were indexed in Ancestry.com as Knife! I had thought this would be an easy name to search for, but I'm finding that the spellings vary a lot. I wasn't able to find a birth or baptism record for Timothy on the RootsIreland.ie site, but this Timothy would have been born about 1840. I found records for Julia and Peter Keefe, both born to John and Johanna in March 1840, but haven't found any further trace of Peter. Could Peter and Timothy be the same person?

James Keefe in the 1870 Clinton County census

James Keefe is living with his wife Ann Shea in the 1870 census and they have a 3 year old daughter Julia and a newborn son John. According to the History of Clinton County, James served in the Civil War, so that's another area to investigate. Also of interest is that Daniel and Catherine Creden are on the same census page as James in Liberty Township.

Keefes in the 1880 Clinton County census

In the 1880 census, Timothy is living with his wife Bridget, his mother Joanna, a nephew Dennis Casey and a niece Mary Casey. I don't know yet if the Casey family was related to Timothy or his wife Bridget. According to his death record, John died on March 16, 1873 and was born in 1803, but I didn't find a will for John in the Ohio Probate Records for Clinton County. James and his family are now living near Timothy in Wayne Township and he has two more daughters, Mary and Hannah. Also on that page are several members of the Matson family that are related to Timothy Creeden's wife, Mary Ann Matson.

Timothy Keefe in the 1900 Clinton County census

In the 1900 census, Timothy is living alone. He is widowed and his age is given as 65 with a year of birth of 1835. The year of immigration is unknown.

James Keefe in the 1900 Clinton County census

James and his family are living in the Union Township in 1900. James and Ann have been married 34 years and have 5 living children. James' year of immigration is given as 1858.

James Keefe in the 1910 Clinton County census

In 1910, James and Ann are living with their children Honora and James Jr. in Wilmington. Honora owns a milliner shop and James Jr. is working as a telegraph operator for the railroad office. James' year of immigration is given as 1856 and he is a naturalized citizen. James died on January 3, 1916. I didn't find a death record for Timothy, but didn't find him in the 1910 census. James Jr. and Honora didn't marry and were living together in the 1930 and 1940 census records. James Jr. continued to work for the railroad, while Honora ran her millinery shop.

Sources:

• Ancestry.com. 1860-1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]
• History of Clinton County, Ohio by Albert J. Brown, published in 1915 by B.F. Bowen & Co.
• "Ohio, Deaths and Burials, 1854-1997," index, FamilySearch
• Ancestry.com and Ohio Department of Health. Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-2007 [database on-line]

Surname Saturday - Keefe

I first got interested in the Keefe family from Clinton County, Ohio while looking at the Creedon references in the 1915 History of Clinton County. I found an article that mentioned a Johanna Creedon married to John Keefe with children Timothy, Mary, James, Hannah, Patrick, and Julia. All of these names also appear in my 2x great-grandfather Timothy Creeden's family in Clinton County.

Excerpt from 1915 History of Clinton County, Ohio

The article in the history was about Joseph Kuebler and Julia Keefe. Julia was the daughter of James and Ann (Shea) Keefe, both natives of Ireland. Julia's grandparents were John Keefe and Johanna Creedon who came to America in April, 1858. James and Ann Keefe were both born in 1844.

Constantine passenger list, May 1858

The passenger list shown above is from the Constantine arriving in New York in May 1858. It shows a John and Johanna Keefe with a younger Pat, Honora, and James. They were all listed as being from Ireland with a destination of Ohio. That looks like a possible match, but where are Timothy, Mary, and Julia?

An 1876 atlas of Clinton County, Ohio shows that T. Keefe's property is very close to my 3x great-grandfather Patrick Creedan's land. I figured the families at least knew each other even if they weren't related.

When I found my 3x great-grandfather Patrick Creedan's will, there was a definite connection to the Keefe family. The executor of his will was Timothy Keefe and one of the witnesses was Bridget Keefe. Now I was really interested! I wondered if Johanna (Creedon) Keefe could be a sister or other relation of Patrick since they would be in the same age range.

I did a search on the RootsIreland.ie site for John Keefe and Johanna Creedon and found one possible match. John O'Keeffe was married to Johanna Creedan on February 23, 1830. Witnesses were William, Denis, and John Creedon and the marriage was performed in Clondrohid parish, County Cork. This is the third Creedon family in Clinton County with ties to Clondrohid! The first is my Patrick Creedan and the second is a note from another researcher that a Hannah and Timothy Creeden were married in Clondrohid in 1854. This Timothy died at sea on the passage to America in 1865.

I searched for children born to John and Johanna Keefe to see if they were a match for the Clinton County couple. I found the following baptisms listed: Patrick (1836), twins Julia and Peter (1840), Honora (1842) , and James (1844). I still didn't find anything for Timothy or Mary, but there was a Peter baptized on the same day as Julia. Patrick was baptized in Macroom and the O'Keeffe spelling was used. The other children were baptized in Kilnamartyra which borders the Clondrohid parish. Macroom is also a few miles away from Clondrohid. With those records, I can fill in a little more information on the family.

With the Creedan and probable Clondrohid ties, this family definitely needs more investigation. I'll follow up with posts on what I've found in the Ohio census and vital records for the Keefe families. Johanna and John are living with Timothy Keefe in some of the census records, so I have found a link to their son Timothy. This is a new family for me, so I'd love to hear from anyone else researching the Keefe families.