William J. McDevitt



 

Margaret Dunlavey & William J. McDevitt on their wedding day 28 Jan 1880

03 Apr 1855 - 10 May 1923

Funeral services for William J. McDevitt were held Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church in DeWitt, Iowa with a Solemn High Mass celebrated by the Reverend J.J. Nelson assisted by the Reverend W. Vaughan of Villanova, as deacon, and the Reverend T. O’Dowd of Charlotte, as sub-deacon. A large concourse of relatives and friends gathered in the church to attend the solemn ceremonies and to pay their final tribute of respect for this worthy Christian man.

The body was laid to rest in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Villanova by the side of a daughter, Kathryn, who died in 1901.

The following friends of the deceased were pallbearers: Thomas McGinty, M.N. Shannon, Thomas Tierney, J.J. Dermody, Thomas Dignon, Peter Flannery, Thomas McConahy , and W.J. McClimon.

Among the out-of-town relatives attending the funeral were: Sister Mary William of Marshalltown, Sister Mary Grace of Burlington, and John Dunlavey of Ethan, South Dakota.

Obituary

Following an illness of three days duration, the death of William J. McDevitt, a well known resident of Clinton County, occurred on Thursday morning May 10, 1923 at his home in DeWitt where he had resided since last November.

He was born April 3, 1855, in Pennsylvania. At the age of three years he, with his parents, came to Iowa locating on a farm near Villanova. Mr. McDevitt was married to Miss Margaret Dunlavey on January 28, 1880, by the Reverend J.V. Gaffney at St. Patrick’s Church, Villanova.

Surviving are his wife, three daughters: Sister Mary William of Marshalltown; Mrs. John McGarry of DeWitt; and Mrs. Mark Dolan of Goose Lake; seven sons: Harry and Will of DeWitt; John, Godfrey, Raymond, Leonard and Walter of Goose Lake; twelve grandchildren; one brother, James and a sister, Mary of Lyons.

Mr. McDevitt was progressive in his ideas, mature in his judgments, and wise in his opinions. A kind husband, a loving father, and a loyal neighbor, unselfish and affable, he wished well to all and rejoiced in the prosperity of others. He was a generous Catholic man, always taking an active part in every enterprise that would advance the interests of the Church.

Mary Ann Laughlin Owens

Mrs. Peter Owens Dies Monday

12 Sep 1927

Mrs. Peter J. Owens, 69 years old, passed away this morning at 8:45 o'clock at the family home, 3020 Roosevelt Street, following an illness of four months duration.

The funeral will be held Wednesday morning at 9:00 o'clock at St. Irenaeus Catholic Church. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery.

Mary Ann Laughlin was born in Bryan, Iowa on March 4, 1858.  She was united in marriage with Peter J. Owens on April 12, 1880.  Ten children were born to this union; four passed away in infancy and a daughter, Mrs. Clara McMahon died in 1919.  Surviving are her husband, two sons, John and Leo Owens of Clinton, three daughters, Mrs. Martin Cunningham and Mrs Charles Lord of Clinton and Mrs. Ray M. McDevitt of Goose Lake and three sisters, Mrs. Elizabeth Kane of St Paul, Minnesota, Mrs. Catherine Condon of Des Moines, and Mrs. Alice Judge of Clinton, and seventeen grandchildren.

Mrs. Owens was a devout member of St Irenaeus Church and was a member of the Altar Society

three cousins

....same three cousins (many years later) as adults

Marie McCoy, Raymond Michael McDevitt and Sister Mary Grace Dunlavey

my guess is that this picture was taken in the 1950's or early 1960's....will have to do some family sleuthing to see if i can narrow down the date!

1895

This picture was taken in 1895 (or early 1896).  On the left is Marie McCoy, in the Middle is Raymond Michael McDevitt and on the right is Grace Dunlavey.  Raymond McDevitt was my grandfather. He was born 08 Dec 1894 and he looks to be about 12-18 months old in this picture.  Marie McCoy and Grace Dunlavey were his cousins.  They both appear to be about six or so months younger than Raymond. Because of the drapery over the chair, I wonder if their mothers (or someone) was hidden in the background holding thise little girls upright on the arms of the chair. Grace Dunlavey later entered the convent and was known as Sister Mary Grace.

unearthing the past

Sunday, January 8, 2012

a secret (well...if you REALLY know me...it's not such a secret) passion of mine has been discovering my past.....digging into the past and uncovering the history of my family.

....thanks to my mom and my aunt and cousins i have lots and lots of information and stories about my mom's family. and thanks to the internet i have found distant cousins and lots of other data to expand my treasure chest even further.

....in my dad's family the information is scarce and the stories are few.
i always attributed that to dad's family not being as closed knit and did not share stories as readily. but as i have gotten older i've learned two things. 1) if i ask the questions, they will tell me the answers (as they know them ...IF they know them) 2) there is A LOT that we don't know about our family.

....since my pops is gone now, we have cleaned out his house and i am now in possession of the many photos and pictures and documents that make up the tapestry of my life.....i have a renewed interest in preserving my past.......

digitizing photos and getting copies of census reports and birth, marriage and death certificates is my first step............