Joseph Patrick Moran family

MORAN, CARNEY

Posted By: Cathy Joynt Labath (email)
Date: 8/13/2006 at 09:55:09

JOSEPH PATRICK MORAN FAMILY

Joseph Patrick Moran was born in 1844 in County Cork, Ireland. When only two years old, he came to America with his parents. They settled at Williamsburg, Iowa, where he remained until a young man. In 1871, when he was 27, he came to Palo Alto County and was one of the original Irish colony. Very few members remained at the time of his death in 1923. He worked for a number of the old settlers in Emmetsburg during pioneer days.

On July 31, 1875, Joseph married Matilda Carney in the Catholic Church in Old Town (Emmetsburg). Matilda was also born in Ireland, Waterside, County Derry, in 1852, on Easter Sunday. When she was a young lady, she came to the United States with her brothers, James and John Carney. They homesteaded in the southeast corner of Lost Island Township, two miles south of fallow and built a sod house, which they lived in until they built a wooden house. Their six sons and three daughters were born on the homestead.

Their children were: Margaret, born ? and died in 1947, James Peter, born 1878 and died 1973, Joseph, born 1882 and died 1936, Kathryn, born 1883 and died 1956, John, born 1884 and died 1971, Bridget, born 1887 and died 1971, William, born 1889 and died 1969, Charles, born 1892 and died 1965, and Thomas, born 1898 and died 1960.

Joseph and Matilda lived all their married lives on their farm and accumulated over 400 acres of land. They had to travel a long distance to town and to church services on Sundays when there were practically no roads and when means of travel was slow and wearisome. Joseph gathered and hauled rock to Emmetsburg when the Assumption Church was built there.

Joseph and Matilda both died at age 79 in Lost Island Township; Joseph on March 15, 1923 and Matilda died in 1931. Their six sons were their pallbearers at their funerals. Matilda had been crippled with arthritis for almost 25 years.

--From Graettinger [Palo Alto Co, IA] Centennial 1893-1993 p. 240