A fascinating letter relating to the Keane family of the Castleisland district, a copy of which is held in the archive of Castleisland District Heritage, is given below.[1] It was written in about 1919 by Kerry native Dennis Keane, living in Chicago, to his son Timothy.
The content of the letter shows that Dennis was responding to his son Timothy’s questions about family history on behalf of ‘a Mr McCarthy of Brehig.’ His father’s comprehensive reply sheds light on the family’s genealogy – ‘My mother’s name was Mary O’Connor … of Dromultan’ – and of a number of Castleisland families to whom Dennis claimed kinship.[2]
The letter reveals that in 1919, Dennis Keane was working as a meat packer for Armour & Company, Chicago, ‘We get 51 cents an hour 8 hours a day and sick time.’[3] Dennis describes how he had been to see the show, Up in Mabel’s Room which was staged in Woods Theatre, Chicago in 1919.[4]
Dennis mentions that Daniel Leo had left the LRR and was working in a bank, Greenbaum and Sons, at La Salle Street. He signed his letter with a kiss for his son Timothy, two for Loretta and three for Marion.
If anyone can tell us more about the life of Dennis Keane in Chicago, we would love to hear from you.
Chicago New Year’s Day
Hello Timothy – Happy New Year to you all.
I was going start in and give you a scolding for being so ignorant in regard to your relatives. You want to know how I am related to Mrs Murphy, if it was through the Browns. Not at all. Me and Mrs (Anne) Murphy could not be any nearer except if we were brothers and sisters. Do you know I am half O’Connor. My mother’s name was Mary O’Connor and Mrs Murphy’s father’s name was Michael O’Connor and they were brothers and sisters, which leaves me and Mrs Murphy first cousins. Same as you are to the Keanes of 48th Place or the Keanes of 43rd St. So you and Nellie Murphy (Mrs [Warren] Hilt) are first and second cousins. So you see I’d not have to be a Brown to be related to O’Connor of Dromultan being half O’Connor myself.
Now in regards the Browns. There were three different families, not blood relations but related through marriage. That is the way we all get related. My grandmother on my father’s side was Norah Brown. Her sister Mary Brown was married to Tim Sullivan of Mullin, father of Tim and Humphrey Sullivan in the west side if you remember him. Mrs Hilt will tell you who he was, as they came to Chicago from Washington D.C.
Another sister of grandmother’s, Peggy Brown, was married to Hugh O’Connor of Mullin, father of Ned Hugh, Mike Hugh, and Con Hugh O’Connor, first cousins of Con Coody, Mike Coody and Johnny Coody of Brehig, top of Brehig between Mrs Lyons’ farm and the O Donoghues.
Another sister of grandmother’s; Betsy or Elizabeth Brown was married to John Connor of Dromultan, grandfather to the present O’Connors now in Baltimore. Grandmother had three brothers; Bill Brown of Scartaglin, Edmond Brown, Castleisland, and John Brown, Castleisland.
Ned Brown kept a saloon, grocery, dry goods and drapery in Castleisland for years. Also had some paddocks back of the town on the banks of the River Maine. He used to come to this every year for about two months and made four thousand dollars on that trip selling books on the train from New York to San Francisco. He knew the line of books to sell, was a smart man was educated for the priesthood.
John Brown kept a saloon and owned several houses in Castleisland years ago. Also had a farm of land at Mullin, 2 farms at Knockdown, but when his first wife died he took to drink and partly lost them all. Grandfather was in one of them farms until he died at Knockdown. Now it is owned by one Tom Jones of Closh in Cordal, Parish of Coole.
Another sister of grandmother’s was married to Daniel Keeffe of Dromultan and his sister was married to one Ned Brown of Mullin. He was no relative of Tim [Thomas] Brown of Dromultan who was shot at the time of the Rent Manifesto and for whose death Poff and Barrett was hanged. Brown was married to a cousin of mine, Kerrins from Krau.
Now I hope you do not have to take a day off or have to buy a pair of glasses or get ____ and ____ for I am not half way yet. You spoke of one old____ who used to come here years ago. I’d say Eddie looked like Ned Brown why S _____ side, her maiden name. Her father was brother to my Keane. She was married to a Mr Casey from Firies near Killarney. He was an uncle to Johnnie Casey who used to board with us and was married to Nellie Enright, Jim Enright’s sister. She has two daughters in the west side married and very wealthy. You ought to remember Maggie and Mary Casey. They’re cousins of yours but you did not know you did not care. Maggie got hurt some years ago by a suspension bridge downtown and got 37 thousand dollars from the City of Chicago. She has a 15 thousand dollar residence near some park in the west side. Her husband’s name is Cullinane a cousin of mine also, from Mount Falvey parish of Scartaglin. Mary is married to a doctor an awful nice young ______ and at Tom Keane’s funeral.
Now on my mother’s side was Johanna Keane and no relation whatsoever to my father’s Keanes. She had a brother in Tullig near Castleisland. His name was Maurice Keane. His son, Johnnie Keane. He is living on the farm now and a daughter Pegg Keane married to Dan Lawlor of Ballinahalla Parish of Coole.
Now grandmother had a sister married to Pudd Kearney of Closh, Cordal Parish of Coole. Father of Patrick James and John Kearney of Closh or Cordal, also Peter Kearney, school teacher of Kilmurry, Parish of Coole. Also mother of Tom Kearney, flour merchant at Castleisland. Maurice Kearney, Ballyroe, west of Tralee. Grandmother had another brother Patrick Keane of Dureen [Derreen?], Parish at Scartaglin. His son got massacred a few years ago in Mexico. You remember him, he was here with his little daughter 3 or 4 years ago. Got murdered when he got back to his ranch in Mexico.
He had a sister Mary Keane an old maid supposed to be rich. She was here a couple of times. She is now dead by all accounts. Mrs Hilt will tell you all about cousin Peter and cousin Mary Keane. How the Connors of Gortglas, or Curmocks as they were called were cousins of mine. Also the Curmocks of Kilcusnan Parish of Coole. Of course they were not all 1st cousins, but 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The same old Clan any way. The only one around there was nothing to me was Edward Boyle, Lord Ventry’s game keeper at Cordal, and he came from Tipperary or Hell or some place years ago. Joe and George Twiss knew him well.
Now tell your young friend Mr McCarthy from Brehig to tell you one man in the parish of Scartaglin, Coole or Castleisland you are not related to. I have his home in Brehig entirely surrounded, all of whom he knows well. I have given you two different families of Keanes in one, also three families of Browns in one. You can show this letter to Mr McCarthy, he will understand it better than you as the names of the people and places I have mentioned are more familiar to him.
Tell Father Stack he does not know where the harbor was in Scartaglin. I know well where Pound Road was and so did every old Ballad Singer and Trick o’ the Loop Man in Ireland. Many a mutton pie I ate there, I wish I had a couple of them now.
Castleisland was a great Horse Fair years ago and I suppose it is yet. It was a lovely vale running from the top of Coole, Headley’s Bridge to Castlemaine, Ballyseedy, Tralee and into the lower Lake Killarney surrounded by hills and its three old ancient castles. The centre of all surrounding towns. It was 10 miles from Killarney 10 miles from Tralee, 10 miles from Listowel, 10 miles Abbeyfeale, 10 miles from Brosna and 10 miles from King Williamstown [Ballydesmond].
Tell them boys out there to name another town in Ireland like that for me. Father Stack must be from Brosna at Feale’s Bridge there were quite a few Stack families there in my time. Ask him if he can kick a football and if he can he is from the Parish of Clogher or BallyMcElligot. Tell him I said God bless him. Maybe he thinks a Castleisland man does not talk to God at all. But we were the boys.
Your mother thought I had not enough of a letter to put in this envelope so she wrote another for me to put in it and the way she writes it is like an old horse with a broken leg walked over the paper.
I received your gift to me and thanks very much. Seldom I wear them. I am all done up in military clothes. I got several shirts from the boys. I got 20 pairs of army shirts 3 or 4 pairs of shoes so I am all done up in khaki and more my hair turned quite black, no more gray hairs. I rubbed some sage tea and sulphur to it and it turned black in one week.
I got nothing for Christmas only a tin sugar bowl full of tobacco with the picture of a bald headed man on the lid. I did not lose a day in almost two years. I am not checking the cars ever since the year I was sick you got married. I am packing export meats at Armours. Kind of lively work but all activity not running around but in one spot all day for eight hours. We get 51 cents an hour 8 hours a day and sick time. Time and a half for overtime. Double time for Sundays and holidays.
Daniel Leo has left the L.R.R.is working in a bank, Greenbaum and Sons, La Salle St. Everyone here is well. No sickness this winter and beautiful weather. Everybody is working and lots of money despite the H. C. L.
When you conclude reading this letter do not forget where you started as I am afraid you will not ask me about your ___ more for a long time. You can copy this off and have it printed and made into a Bible like and think of your long tail family. Very lonesome here this Christmas without a little Sup of the Creator. Had one little glass.
Was to a show Saturday night the first in 18 years and the last for 30 years. More the name of the show was “Up in Mabel’s Room.” They are kidding me since about it. I am still waiting for Bill Connors and Jim Enright to die so as to get some of my pipes back they stole from me over the past 20 years.
I am sending you that song “The big boat that First Brought Me Over.” Of course I know you can never sing it. It takes me or John McCormick to sing that song and of the two I could sing it better than he could but my singing days are gone.
One x for you 2 xx for Loretta and 3 xxx for Marion. Goodbye and God bless you all. Goodbye, write soon.
Your loving Dad
Dennis Keane
___________________________
[1] A copy of the letter was kindly donated by Sinead Murphy and is held in IE CDH 258. Kevin Murphy of East Hampshire, New York, made ‘the old family letter’ available online to assist genealogy (https://sites.rootsweb.com/~irlker/letter.html). Kevin provided his own genealogy in a letter dated 1999, also donated by Sinead Murphy, which shows that John O’Connor of Dromultin married Elizabeth Brown and had at least one son, Michael, who married Johanna Keane (Kane) in England on 22 February 1854. Both were born in Ireland, Michael on 22 March 1829, and Johanna in Dublin in 1831. They had eight children including Mary Ann O’Connor (Kevin’s great grandmother) born on 8 December 1854, died in 1919. Michael and daughter Mary moved to Baltimore in 1870 and later to Washington DC where she met Confederate Timothy Murphy. [2] Transcription of the original was evidently made by Kevin Murphy. Some place names have been altered in this article to the spelling of townlands probably referred to. [3] Armour & Company was founded in Chicago in 1863. Its brand was sold to Smithfield Foods in 2006. [4] ‘A Frivolous Farce of Feminine Foibles’ by Wilson Collison and Otto Harbach, staged by Bertram Harrison.
