I realize that most of my posts to the blog relate to the family of my Swedish grandfather, and I've not spent nearly enough time talking about the Irish families of my other three grandparents. That's primarily because of the extent and availability of records from Sweden. This time, though, I have a story that deals with the Harrigans, the family of my maternal grandfather.
Loose threads, brick walls... I think that any historical research has their share of trails that run cold, where people are simply "lost" in the mists of time. But sometimes we do get lucky. This is one such story.
The Trail
Clue #1: Probate records. Hanora O'Connell died on June 3, 1918, a spinster. In the Surrogate's Court of Herkimer County, New York, a petition was filed by her executors, her sister Abigail Harding and Abigail's daughter Mary Ann Harding, seeking permission to "mortgage, lease or sell the real property of the deceased." This property in Little Falls, New York was sold to John and Julia Donnelly (nee Horgan) of Utica for the grand sum of $100. That's approximately $1500 today. The real value of this document, though, is that it included a list of heirs and next of kin of Nora. For all intents and purposes, this is a family tree: it not only names names, but specifies everyone's relationship to Nora. The seventh item in this list reads as follows:
In terms of relationship to me, the Julia Harrigan cited as the deceased sister of Nora is my 2nd great grandmother, wife of Denis Harrigan (1819-1891). Not much to go on, particularly with common names like Margaret and Julia, and no indication of where they might have been living.
Clue #2: Family stories. Florence Gillman related to me some notes about Tom Harrigan that came from Ed Horgan: "Thomas was a goldminer in the Black Hills of South Dakota. He opened hotels, including Hotel Edison (where?). ...he went to California 'late' after Hesperance Colorado." (Please remember that we can't worry too much about spelling here: Harrigan = Horgan = Horrigan, etc.) In a similar vein, Jim Curran passed on to me some notes on family history made by his mother. The relevant part says "She [Margaret Horgan] had two brothers who went out west: Thomas Horgan and John Horgan. I have Hesperes, Colorado down here and also North and South Dakota." [In the quotation, the italicized parts are handwritten in typewritten document.] We know that John ended up in Missouri. So presumably the references to the Dakotas all point to Tom.
Clue #3: Hillside Cemetery. Hillside Cemetery is found above the town of Silverton, Colorado, in the southwestern portion of the state. In 1904 two little girls, one less than 2 years old, the other a baby of four months, died about four weeks apart, both from enteritis. They were buried in an unmarked grave.
"Freda Carley Peterson was born in Kansas. She first visited the Silverton area in 1940, returned countless times over the years and became well acquainted with the people and the mountains. After becoming interested in genealogy and finding there was no record of persons buried at Hillside, she compiled and published such a listing ... mainly of tombstone data. Through many years of additional detailed research ... she discovered more than 2,000 burials at Hillside had no markers."
This passage is quoted from the website for Silverton Colorado Hillside Cemetery. Freda Peterson published her original compilation of burials in Hillside in 1981, and then followed this up with a 2-volume work in 1989 entitled The Story of Hillside Cemetery.
In 2004, a century after the deaths of the two girls, proceeds from Freda's books, under the name of the Hillside Cemetery Fund, were used to add a marker to the grave. It reads: Daughters of Thos. C. & Margaret Frew Harrigan, Katherine Caroline Dec. 16, 1902-Sept. 8, 1904; Vera Marie, June 9, 1904-Oct. 7, 1904. Then, in 2014, a John Church photographed the marker and posted it to the website findagrave.com (here's the link: click here). Thanks to the diligence and efforts of Freda and John, this was the key that broke down at least a part of the brick wall around Tom Harrigan. From there, I've been able to move both back in time before 1904 and forward and flesh out to some extent his history and adventures.
South Dakota
Thomas Horgan was baptized on 10 April, 1861 in Kilnamartyra parish in County Cork, son of Denis Horgan and Julia Connell. I have no other records for him in Ireland. The U.S. censuses of 1900 and 1910 say that he arrived in the U.S. either in 1882 or 1875. Possibly the first record that I have for him in the U.S. comes from an article published on March 15, 1889 in the Black Hills Weekly Journal, a newspaper published in Rapid City, South Dakota. The title is Miraculous Escape:
It is learned from an arrival from Silver City yesterday that a most miraculous escape took place there in the morning and that Tom Harrigan, a miner at work on the Silver Key has cause to give thanks that he is yet in the land of the living. It seems he was down in a shaft lighting fuse and after touching it off caught hold of the rope and putting his foot in a loop gave the word to hoist him up. When pretty near the top he accidentally dropped his candle and in his eagerness to catch it let go of the rope with both hands. Down he went again head foremost to the bottom of the shaft, right where a moment before he had lighted the fuse. Fortunately the fall did not stun him and with almost lightning like rapidity the rope was loosened. He caught on, and was jerked to the top of the shaft in less time than it takes to tell it, and hardly had he got out of the mouth of the hole than a deafening explosion took place below. Harrigan escaped with a badly burned hand and arm and several pieces of rock jammed into his face and head received in the fall. He came to Rapid City last evening and Dr. Van Buskirk extracted the particles of rock, after which he rested easier.
Of course, I can't prove that this was the same man I was looking for, but there is documentation over the next few years of the right Tom Harrigan living in the area. On 08 March, 1890 the same paper recorded that "Tom Horrigan from the Montana mine, was in town Sunday." Then on 24 Oct 1891, in Deadwood, South Dakota, a marriage license was issued to "Thomas Harrigan and Margaret Frew of Lead City." The couple are then recorded in the 1900 Federal census in Terry School Township, Lawrence County, South Dakota. Tom's occupation is said to be a gold miner. All of these places - Deadwood, Lead, Central City, Terry - are very close to one another in the Black Hills of western South Dakota. And, yes, this is the same Deadwood made famous by Wild Bill Hickok (James Butler Hickok) and Calamity Jane (Martha Jane Canary).
Wild Bill Hickok, murdered holding the "Dead Man's Hand": aces and eights.
In 1900 Tom and Maggie Harrigan had three children listed in the census: Julia D., Dennis A. and Joseph F. There was also another child who had already died; I haven't yet found any further documentation for that child.
Colorado: Silverton
I had hoped to be able to travel to both South Dakota and Colorado to visit and better understand the areas where Tom lived. Unfortunately, Deadwood is about a 12-hour drive (~700 miles) from the region of Colorado to which he next moved. I wasn't able to go to both places - yet(!) - but we did make a field trip to Colorado. The next record that I have for Tom comes from Silverton, Colorado.
Silverton is a small town, population 650, in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. It is nestled in a flat valley, surrounded by mountains, at an elevation of 9,318 ft. (2840 m). The whole area was once the domain of the Ute Indians. This region was prospected for gold as early as the 1860's, but didn't really open up until Ute control of the land was ceded and a narrow-gauge railroad was built connecting Silverton (founded 1874) with Durango. The area turned out to be rich in gold, silver, lead, copper, and a wide range of other minerals. Mining operations continued for many decades, but by 1914 the productivity had already begun to decline.
During our short trip over Memorial Day, we based our travels from the town of Durango. From there it's about a 50 mile drive north to Silverton, going through some spectacular scenery. We drove, but another option is that same narrow-gauge railroad that still runs between the two towns. Now it carries tourists up to Silverton, instead of bringing ore down to Durango to be smelted. Our trip coincided with the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, a race over the roads we were to drive. In fact, we had to leave for Silverton very early because the road was going to be closed at 8:30 in the morning for the bike race. I don't know if these bikers should be admired or pitied: this road - 50 miles - goes from about 6,000 feet in elevation at the start to slightly over 9,000 feet at the end, and along the way has to go over two passes that are over 10,000 feet in elevation. We overheard one of the riders saying that he peeked at his speedometer as he was going downhill, and it said that he was going over 50 mph; all this with no guardrails on the road and a thousand foot drop off the edge.
In Silverton I was able to walk (remember, they'd closed the road, even in the middle of town) to Hillside Cemetery, located just north of town. There, thanks to the directions from Freda's daughter Julie, I was able to find the grave of little Caroline and Vera. The markers in the cemetery tell a vivid story of a mining town in the high country: deaths from avalanches, mine collapses.... Speaking of avalanches, we were told that one of the roads out of town to the north was still closed due to an avalanche over the winter. The road is still buried under more than 120 feet of snow!
Colorado: Hesperus
So it wasn't Hesperance or Hesperes, but Hesperus. If you look on the web, it'll tell you that Hesperus has a population of slightly more than 2,000. They must have a pretty expansive concept of the area, because to my eyes it was little more than a small collection of homes scattered through the valley. At any rate, this is the next place that Tom Harrigan pops up. As you might expect, when people show up in the records, it's usually not for a happy reason.
The Hesperus story starts with a short article in The Durango Democrat on Thursday, Feb. 7, 1907. "Last evening a young lad 13 years old was brought to Mercy hospital [in Durango] from above Hesperus suffering from blood poisoning induced from a .22-caliber gunshot wound in the knee. Mr. and Mrs. Horrigan, the parents of the sick child, are constantly at the bedside as the youngsters life is despaired of."
Further on the same page of that issue we read: "Last evening Ollie Harrigan, 13 years old, was brought in from Hesperus by his parents and placed in Mercy hospital for medical attention. Dr. Luckey was summoned and upon examination he found the boy to be beyond hope of recovery, suffering from blood poison superinduced from a .22-caliber gunshot wound in the right knee. The lad died at 2 o'clock this morning. Funeral announcement later."
The funeral announcement appeared in the pages of the The Durango Democrat the next day: "The funeral of little Dennis Allen Harrigan, who died at Mercy hospital Wednesday evening as a result of an overdose of chloroform administered to probe for a bullet inflicted by a gunshot wound, will take place this afternoon at 2 o'clock from St. Columba's Catholic church in North Durango. The remains will leave Durango Undertaking Parlors at 1:30 for the church. All friends invited."
Well, that paints quite a different picture than the earlier reports, doesn't it? Despite the earlier "confusion" about the teen's name, this looks like a good link to the Thomas Harrigan we're after: The 1900 census cited a child named Dennis A., aged 6, born June 1894. In February 1907 that would have made him 13 years old, just like the newspaper reported. But, wait! The story takes yet another interesting turn.
Just a bit over a week after the funeral of Dennis, this note appeared on the front page of The Durango Democrat: The sheriff's office was busy yesterday. Dr. Thurman of Hesperus swore to a complaint against Mr. Harrigan of that village. Fighting Bob Pearson of this city was complained against by Matt Pheney." I don't know what happened with Fighting Bob, but what about Mr. Harrigan? The Durango Weekly Banner followed up on Feb. 21: "Thomas Harrigan was tried in the county court Tuesday upon a charge of assault and battering Dr. Thurman. It was a jury trial. Assistant District Attorney Lane prosecuted and W. C. Davidson defendant. The defendant was acquitted."
It's hard for me to imagine that there wasn't some connection between the death of young Dennis due to a chloroform overdose and Tom's alleged assault on Dr. Thurman. I should point out, though, that Dr. Thurman was from Hesperus, while the doctor at the hospital in Durango was a Dr. Luckey. I followed up with the La Plata County Clerk's office to see if I could get records of the trial and, hopefully, get more details on what actually happened. Here is the official record:
Court convened pursuant to adjournment,Present, Robt. S. Clements - Judge - John Clarke Sheriff.
When the following proceedings were had and done, to wit
The People of the State of Colorado
vs
Tom Harrigan
At this day comes Geo. W. Lane Esq. Deputy District Attorney who prosecutes the pleas of this People in this behalf, and the said defendant comes into court and by W.P. Davidson Esq. his attorney also comes. And thereupon, it being agreed between said Deputy District Attorney and this defendant that this case may be tried to a jury six in number, comes the jury, to-wit: W.A. Decker, M. Green, Frank N. Hoover, E.P. Laithe, Henry Scoutten and John Harman, six good and lawful men. And they are duly selected and tried, empaneled and sworn to well and truly try and true deliverance make between this People of the State of Colorado and Tom Harrigan, the said defendant, and a true verdict give according to the evidences.
And the said jurors having heard the evidences produced herein, as well on behalf of the said defendant as of the said People, and the arguments of Counsel and being duly instructed by the Court retire to their room in charge of a sworn bailiff to consider their verdict herein.
And thereupon come again the jury and on their oath say: We the jury, duly empaneled and sworn in the above entitled action to try the question of the guilt or innocence of the defendant of the matters charged in the information herein do, upon our oaths, find the said defendant not guilty of the matters charged in the information in this case. E.P. Laithe, Foreman.
Wherefore it is considered by the Court that the said defendant Tom Harrigan of and from the premises in this said information specified be discharged and go hence hereof without delay.
Unfortunately, no juicy tidbits to be found there. Oh, but to be a fly on the wall....
Colorado: Cortez
The final chapter in Tom's life comes from Cortez, Colorado. This is a town about 45 miles west of Durango, located in the Great Sage Plain. In this area there are many archeological sites of the Anasazi. Mesa Verde National Park is probably the best known, but there are literally hundreds of sites here in the flat lands nestled between the mountains. We're also very close to the Four Corners, the point where the states of Colorao, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah meet.
From the pages of the Montezuma Journal [Cortez is in Montezuma County], 18 January, 1912: Tom Harrigan was brought up from the canon last week and is under the care of Dr. Spence having had a bad hemorrage of the lungs, being a victim of miner's comsumption [sic]. He seems to be rallying from this attack, and it is hoped that his lungs will begin to heal.
Unfortunately, hope and the ministrations of Dr. Spence were insufficient. A week later (25 January):
Thomas Harrigan died last Friday, and was buried Sunday at the cemetery. Mr. Harrigan was well known here and in the Laplatas, where he has prospected for years. He leaves a family, consisting of a wife and three children, who are living in McElmo canon. The loss of the husband and father comes as a grievous blow to those left behind, and the Journal voices the sympathy of the community for them.
Several things to dissect here. The "Laplatas" mentioned in the passage presumably refers to La Plata County and vicinity; Silverton is the county seat (and only town!) in La Plata County. A wife and three children left behind: that would be Margaret Frew, Julia (born 1892), Joseph (born 1899) and Margaret Ellen (born 1901). Finally, the family is said to be living in McElmo Canyon. This canyon is just south of the town of Cortez, and the canyon runs toward the west, ending somewhere near the Utah border. If you're looking on a map, the Cortez Municipal Airport is just south of the road running up along McElmo Creek. In the old newspapers this region was referred to as an area of fruit production, even in the middle of the arid landscape. As we drove up the road we had no idea, of course, where Tom and his family lived. But we did run across a vineyard, bearing witness that that tradition lives on. We did check out the Cortez Cemetery: I wrote in advance, but their email address is no longer functional. They do have a directory of interments - the first I'd ever seen that - but Tom isn't on it. In the recent past there's been a bit of a kerfuffle concerning record keeping at the cemetery, so I may have come up empty-handed even if they'd responded to my query.
Looking forward
Following Tom's death, the family moved north to Grand Junction, Colorado. Maggie never remarried, and she passed away on 08 May 1935. Joseph never married and died in 1959 in Salt Lake City. Margaret married Arthur LeRoy Skidmore, and she died in 1975. Finally, Julia, the eldest, married Harold Arthur Lewis in 1912 in Cortez. She had but one child, Fern Marie, born in 1932. Julia died in Grand Junction in 1972. All of that sounds terribly dreary, so let me add a bright spot. As we were in Durango, I received a message from one of Tom's descendants! Welcome to the Harrigan clan, Casey!
