Person:Thomas Culligan (1)

The Settlement of the Culligans in America

Insofar as we know, our paternal grandparents Thomas and Anna Syses Culligan came to America with friends in 1848 or '49. Thomas left his parents who lived on a farm near Ennis County Clare, Ireland. He was the oldest of twelve children and had been born in 1811, so he was thirty-seven years of age when he migrated to this country. He had married Anna Syses, but we have been unable to secure information as to her place of birth or her family background.

We learned that they landed on the east coast and lived in Virginia or Maryland for a long time. Our paternal grandfather worked on railroad construction and our grandmother kept boarders to help accumulate enough money to buy land. They had no children at this time. Between 1850 and 1854 they had saved enough money to be able to move to Littleport, Clayton County, Iowa, where a group of relatives and friends had settled. This community was located about sixty miles northwest of Dubuque, Iowa.

Our grandparents invested their savings in 80 acres of land which they were able to buy very reasonably from either the railroad or the government. The total investment probably did not amount to more than $160.00. It was virgin soil and had to be cleared of trees and other vegetation before a cabin could be built or any crops planted. According to "the History of Clayton County," the cabin was an advance over the "three faced camps without a floor" which was the first type of housing in the community. The cabin was built of logs with the space between the logs filled with broken sticks called "chucks." They were covered over inside and out with mortar made of clay. The floor was the earth stamped hard and smooth and covered with "puncheons" or logs with the split side turned upward. The roof was made by drawing in the top to the ridge-poles and on the cross pieces the "clap board" was laid. This was held in place by the weight of poles reaching across the length of the cabin.

There usually was a fireplace cut out of one side of the room and, if convenient, it was lined with stone, if not with clay. The door was made of clap-board secured by a wooden pin and the hinges were also of wood. The living room was of good size and served as kitchen, bedroom, parlor and arsenal, with strips of bacon and rings of dried pumpkin suspended from the rafters. In one corner was the loom and other pieces of equipment for the making of clothing. There were no closets, the clothing was suspended from pegs driven into the logs on one side of the room. All the sheets, clothing and coverlets were made by the women out of flax, hemp and sheep's wool. Over the doorway was the "trusty rifle" and back of it the powder.

In some cabins a loft was built and a ladder was used to reach it. This was used as a sleeping room and a store-room for "traps." As a rule, bedrooms were non-existent. The living room was divided off by sheets and coverlets suspended from the rafters and the family was thus separated. As soon as possible each settler added a kitchen or "lean-to" at one end of the cabin. The utensils which our grandmother used in her kitchen were a "dutch oven, a long-handled frying pan, iron pot and kettle, and sometimes a coffee pot." When the stone wall came in as a basis for a kitchen, a long "crane" swung in the chimney place and on its "pot-hook" hung the boiling kettle, or heavy "iron-pot." The cooking was all done at the fireplace. The Indian corn was the common flour and it was made into "pone" and "corn dodgers" and also "johnny-cake." In the fall the pumpkin was cooked and added to the meal dough. The hams and venison were cooked in the handmade ovens, and in the winter lye hominy was made from the unbroken grains of corn. In the woods honey was found in abundance.

The country around Littleport was heavily timbered and in many places the rolling hills were covered with hazel thickets. The soil was a deep, rich black loam and was excellent for wheat. It is probable that our grandfather's farm was near the Turkey River, for our grandmother mentioned that the early settlers always tried to build their homes near wood and water.

The religious life of the early settlers was not given much attention. In 1850 a mission was built at Holy Cross, where our father was baptized. Later churches were built at Elkator and Littleport. Father Quigley came to Elkator in 1867 and was most discouraged with his surroundings. The walls of his church were so rough that it was impossible to plaster them. The platform on which the altar was built was liable at any time to fall into a pit below (from Elkator Journal 1892). The parish house was no better, and the lots surrounding it were a "resort for the hogs and cattle of the countryside." Father Quigley made improvements and later built a church in Littleport.

This then was the environment into which our father John Culligan was born on January 2, 1858. Our grandparents had been childless up to this time. He was looked upon as a "gift from God." We can imagine the love and devotion that was showered upon him in the simple cabin home where he spent his childhood. We have no information as to the family life of our grandparents in their farm home in Littleport.

We have been told that grandfather was a hardy man and on occasion would drive his oxen team 60 miles to Dubuque, Iowa, for marketing, We also know that they were in a community with friends and relatives. Grandfather's sister Margaret had married Luke Fitzpatrick and they lived nearby. The Patrick Linnan family were neighbors. Grandmother's sister Nancy came from Ireland to visit, but did not remain in this country. She was blind, but was able to play the violin. She taught our father the Irish jigs and reels which he enjoyed playing all his life. There were other relatives who had crossed from Ireland. Some of them were: grandmother's sister, Mrs. May, who lived in Baltimore; grandfather's sisters, Mary (Mrs. Flynn) and Bridget, who lived in Aurora, Illinois; his brother Martin who lived in Masonville, Iowa; and John, who settled in Adrian, Minnesota.

In about 1870, when our father was twelve years old, our grandfather and some of his neighbors decided to move further west. The railway companies were building roads in Iowa and South Dakota. The railroad companies were selling land along their right of ways very reasonably. Therefore, our grandfather and Patrick Linnan decided to drive by covered wagon until they found a spot they liked. They found this in Sioux County, about twenty-five miles north of Sioux City, Iowa. We do not know whether the little town of Maurice was there at the time, but it later became their nearest market. Patrick Linnan's son John, now over ninety years old, often told the story of these two Irishmen picking out the new location for their homes. When they found what he thought was good virgin land at a good price, they "flipped a coin" to decide which half of the section they were buying each should take. Our grandfather said he lost, for he drew the north section which was not considered as fertile as the south.

They each filed their claim with the Great Northern Railroad and then returned to Clayton County to tell of their adventure and to prepare for the move. However, before the final move was made (1871), our grandfather and Mr. Linnan's son John made another trip to Sioux County. This probably was in the summer of 1870. They wanted to break some of the virgin sod and start building a sod house. This was built on grandfather's property. He supervised the job and was the chief cook. He was said to be very jovial and entertained the group of workers with songs and stories. When they returned to Clayton County, they made final preparations for the move. Several families of friends and relatives moved at this time. Among them were the Linnans, the Fitzpatricks, the Kehoes, and the McCarthys. The majority of the group packed their belongings in covered wagons and drove their stock ahead of them. Our grandparents were among the few who shipped their stock and belongings to Lemars, which was about thirteen miles from Maurice. They drove with the others in a covered wagon.

The years that followed were filled with work, hope and disappointments. Our father gradually took his place as his parents' helper. It is probable that they had most of their 320 acres under cultivation by 1874 when the grasshopper scourge swept the middle west. These pests came "like a driving snow, filling the air, covering the earth, the buildings, the shocks of grain, everything." It took courage to carry on when a year of labor was consumed by the ravages of insects that covered the "sod house frontier." It was during these years that the thrift and determination of our grandmother became apparent. She was ambitious and "wanted to earn gold and wear it." Our grandfather was easy-going and less ambitious. In fact, when our father was old enough to drive a team he was entrusted with the marketing, for he was more frugal than his father. His mother relied on him more and more as he grew into manhood.

After the struggles of getting started on this new frontier and after the grasshoppers had disappeared, there were good years and our grandparents were able to buy and pay for more land. The first 320 acres had increased from the $7.00 an acre they originally paid for it. By the time they were ready to retire to the little town of Maurice in 1888 or '89 (date not known), they owned free of encumbrance 444 acres of Sioux County land. By 1918 this land had increased in price to $200.00 an acre, and a few years later to $400.00. The young couple who had come penniless from Ireland had, through their industry and faith in the future of the corn- and wheat- producing acres of Iowa, secured independence for themselves, and had laid the foundation for the security and stability of their son, his wife and four children.

Culligans in Maurice - Courtneys in Lemars

When grandfather Culligan moved to Maurice, Sioux County, Iowa, in 1871, he had no idea that in 1883 the Courtney family would be moving from Garryowen, Jackson County, Iowa, to Lemars, Iowa, thirteen miles from Maurice. Neither did he know that his only child John would meet Mary Courtney and that a romance would change not only his son's life, but his own as well.

We have not been able to learn much about our father's life prior to 1890. We do know that he attended country school in Clayton County and no doubt did the same in Sioux County. His cousin Mrs. Mary Fitzpatrick Doherty told us that during one winter while he was in Clayton County his mother sent him to the Fitzpatrick home to live because she did not want him going to their own district school, for she knew the older boys going to that school were doing a lot of drinking. She wanted a more wholesome environment for her son. We also know that after he moved to Sioux County he spent two winters in the home of Benjamin Kennedy, a well-informed teacher in that community. With our father was a friend, William Daly. In the evenings, by the light of a kerosene lamp, Mr. Kennedy tutored his two young boarders. We do not know whether our father had any more formal education before going to a Business College in Sioux City, Iowa. He specialized in Banking, and when he completed his course he secured a position as cashier of the Bank in Maurice.

In the meantime his parents had retired from farming and bought a small home in Maurice where they planned to live. We have no further knowledge of our father's activities until shortly before his marriage in 1890. We do know that he was devoted to his parents and beloved by his cousins in the community to whom he turned for most of his recreation. Mrs. Doherty was one of his favorites and she said of him "he was the finest person I ever knew."

In the meantime another family carried their responsibilities in Lemars, where Mary Margaret Courtney was living with her father and two single brothers. Her spare time was spent in learning dressmaking, fine embroidery and painting. At a later date she studied music. As has been stated before her father had invested in a small general store in Lemars. His brother John also had a store. However, John became ill and died, leaving a wife and three small children. Grandfather undertook to take over his brother's business with the help of his two sons. However, in 1886 his son Maurice, and later Dennis, became ill, and both died. All this sorrow crushed grandfather, and before long he sold out the store.

The obituary in the Lemars Globe is of interest and follows in part:

"Maurice was a fine young man of promise in whom his father centered many hopes. He was courteous to all with whom he became acquainted either in business or social life. His many friends mourn his taking away."

Another sorrow which came to grandfather and his daughter at this time was the death of his married daughter, Mrs. Dennis (Bridget) Donovan, who died in 1888. The obituary is unusual as we view it today, but it was in keeping with those written by small town editors in the 1880's. It follows in part:

... in the spring of 1884 she was joined in the holy bonds of matrimony with Dennis Donovan, a worthy and respectable young businessman of this place in which relationship they lived together happily and prosperly bearing the burdens of life which are common and incidental to the human race from the cradle to the grave without murmuring against the infinite wisdom that plans all and dispatches all. But death's work is from Adam to the last child of Adam and no warnings or apologies are promised. In this case it removed the wife and mother the cause and fountain head of the family's pure love and affection for one another... let us hope and pray that what is here a loss is in heaven a gain Mrs. Donovan left one daughter, Jennie. She was brought up by her father's brother in Garryowen, Iowa. She never married and is now living in a Home in Dubuque, Iowa.

Our mother's oldest brother, Daniel, lived and worked for many years in Calgary, Canada. A letter dated August 11, 1892, was sent to mother. It is quoted in part just as written:

Well Mary i never can tak a noshen to go back thair... I am bodheaded and i am getting old lucking so Mary you would be ashamed of me ...that store afare runed our family but the harm is dun and it cant be helped... mary in regards to me getting married i dont i ever willun-lse sumthing turns up that i dint no of it is a life that i am a feared i would not get along in i have no grate noshin shure of geting married... i think a single life is prety lucky for me...

Uncle Dan's hesitancy about marriage did not long endure. He visited Yankton, S.D., in 1896 and met Elizabeth Culligan whom he married, and they settled on a farm near Utica, S.D. His son Clarence is still running this farm.

After this digression we will go back to our mother and her life in Lemars. Those who knew her in this period said she was quite lovely with heavy black hair, brown eyes and fine features. She had self confidence, and a most genial out-going personality. She participated in the social gatherings of some of the well known young people of the town. She had beaux but apparently was not easily pleased and did not accept attentions from those she did not admire. Some of the older family friends, however, felt she should marry. One such friend was Mr. Moen, who knew John Culligan and wanted Mary Courtney to meet him. He took her to a party where he knew John would be. They did not meet again for several months.

In later years our mother talked of her romance with our father and her children accused her of using her own subtle means of encouraging it. She told of attending, with her father, the funeral of one of John's cousins. On the way to the cemetery father and his parents were in the carriage directly back of Mr. Courtney's carriage. Mother's shawl dropped from the carriage, without her knowledge, so she said. At the cemetery she accidentally dropped her handbag. Our father picked up both articles but did not give them to her at the cemetery. He called with them a few days later. This "broke the ice" and the calls continued. In a few months Mary had an engagement ring from John - a gold band set with three chip diamonds and three rubies. Mother often told us that father hesitated to marry because of his parents. It is probable that if his mother did not like Mary Courtney, John would have found it very difficult to oppose her wishes. But there was no objection and the wedding took place on April 19, 1890, at St. James Church, Lemars, Iowa. The report from the Lemars Globe is as follows:

Married On Wednesday, the 19th inst, at St. James church, Mr. John Culligan of Maurice and Miss Mary Courtney of this city. The bride was becomingly attired in a handsome brocaded costume and looked bright and charming. After the ceremony the wedding party proceeded to the house of the bride's father where a sumptuous breakfast awaited them. A wedding reception at Maurice in the evening wound up the festivities, at which the large attendance of the friends of the bridegroom testified to the sincere and hearty welcome to one whose name will hereafter figure in Maurice society.

The presents were numerous and costly and bore evidence that the bride has many sincere friends. What Lemars has lost Maurice has gained and the good wishes of a host of friends follow the happy couple to their new home.

From another paper, the Alton Democrat, the following was clipped:

John Culligan one of Maurice's most prosperous and popular young men was married at Lemars last Wednesday morning to Miss Courtney a handsome young lady of that city. The Democrat takes great pleasure in showering congratulations and best wishes upon this young couple.

The summer of 1890 was spent in Maurice where the young couple lived with John's parents. He continued to work in the Maurice Bank. In the fall he and mother went to Iowa City, Iowa, where father entered the Law School at the University of Iowa. Mother told us later that they lived in a small furnished apartment near the University. There were friends and relatives also attending the University and they often came to our parents' home. Among them were Mr. John O'Connor and Mr. Timothy O'Connor, older brothers of Mr. Frank O'Connor of Dubuque. Mr. Timothy O'Connor was my godfather. Mother often mentioned her year in Iowa City. She occupied her time not only with her housekeeping duties but with the study of music. She took lessons from the Sisters at the Convent there. She became proficient enough to be able to accompany my father on the violin.

After his daughter's marriage, grandfather's home was broken up and he went to live with his other daughter, Mrs. Michael Ryle, who was at Struble, Iowa. This did not work out too well for him, and he then went to the St. Joseph's Hospital, conducted by the Sisters of Mercy in Sioux City, Iowa.

At the end of the school year of 1890-91, my parents returned to Maurice, Iowa, with their first child, Anna Verda, the present chronicler. When the time came to decide about the second year at the University, my grandparents were lonely in the thought of being separated from their son and family for another year. My mother knew that father was anxious to complete his Law course, so she volunteered to remain in Maurice with my grandparents. At the end of the year she and her year-old daughter traveled to Iowa City to be present at the 1892' Commencement exercises. The following fall my father moved his family and his parents to Yankton, S.D., where he purchased a large tract of land and opened an office for the practice of Law. He also handled Real Estate and Loans.

And so it was that two families from the Emerald Isle migrated to America during the Irish Famine years, settled in different sections of lowa, pushed further west as the state developed, and were finally joined in marriage. The older generation then gave way to the adventurous spirit of youth and saw them carry on to the end of the journey.

The End of the Journey

In one letter father wrote to mother, he mentioned sending her a "manifold copy" of his thesis (a carbon copy) so she could preserve it in case any of their grandchildren might want to read it. This is one reason I wanted copies of it in the Master Manuscripts. The original thesis which I still have is bound and in pretty good condition, although yellow with age. [Anne V. Culligan presented this thesis to Laurence J. Culligan before her death saying that "Grandfather would want it passed on to another lawyer in the family". It is printed as an appendix to this volume.]

It should also be mentioned here that when father decided to go to the University of Iowa he had to take an Entrance Examination for he did not have a High School diploma. On the basis of his passing this examination he was admitted to the Law School in September 1890. He knew Judge Martin Wade of Iowa City and he "vouched for him to make good."

According to the notice in the Alton Democrat of July 4, 1957, in the "65 Years Ago" Column - "John Culligan of Maurice graduated with honor from the State University College of Law and was one of four in the class to receive a medal for skill in oratory."

In the summer of 1892 father went to Yankton, S.D., to look over the community as a place to invest in the cheap land that was being sold and to open a Law office. He moved his family, accompanied by his parents, to Yankton that fall. We know he opened his Law office and also handled Real Estate and Loans. He bought 800 acres of land near Utica, S.D., which he rented. He later bought more land which he later sold.

We continued to live in Yankton until 1898 or 1899 (do not know exact date) when we moved to Sioux City. Emmett and John were born in a rented home as was Leo but the home in which he was born we called the "White Chalk Stone" (no maternity wards in hospitals in those days). From what we know of our move to Sioux City, father wanted to be in a larger community not only for the business opportunities a larger community would give, but also because he wanted his children to have the educational advantages the city offered.

After living in a rented house in Sioux City for two years, father and mother purchased the Cleland residence, situated in Crescent Park about four miles from the center of the city. It was a beautiful home of twelve rooms with a vine-covered veranda across the front of the house. It included a yard and garden, covering eight lots, the front and back being divided by a full grown hedge of lilacs. The bridal wreath along the front driveway, the large syringa bushes, the bleeding hearts and elderberry bushes also stand out in my memory. Mr. Cleland who owned the home had been with the Peavy Grain Company. He left Sioux City and the house had been unoccupied for some time. The grass was so long it could not be cut with a lawn mower. My grandfather who was 91 at the time spent one summer cutting it with a sheep shears.

We all enjoyed our home both inside and out. There were guests there from time to time. Both mother and father were fond of music and the Irish melodies and jigs were part of the entertainment. My grandfather played on his violin and often grandfather Culligan and grandfather Courtney, who lived in Sioux City at the time, vied with each other to see who could stay on the floor the longest. On one occasion they were asked to take part in a program in the Hibernian Hall. My father encouraged them to accept the invitation and he played the "Turkey in the Straw," "Fisher's Hornpipe," "The Wearing of the Green" and other Irish jigs for them. They were pleased at the ovation they received and responded with encores without any evidence of fatigue.

By 1901 mother and father were well settled in their home. They liked living in Sioux City and were looking forward to many years of happiness and prosperity. Father had established his Law office and continued to handle real estate and loans. He became associated with some of the leading businessmen of the city. He had invested in the Hidden Fortune Mining Company which had property adjoining the Homestead Mine in Lead, S.D. He felt there was a possibility of advancement in the stock which would be valuable in the future (this did not pan out this way and the Company lost money).

Very suddenly on February 14, 1902, father became ill with what they then called biliousness. He was nauseated, had a high fever and was in great pain. The family physician called Dr. William Jepson, and he diagnosed the condition as appendicitis. He felt an operation was necessary but did not want to perform it until father's temperature went down. They waited, but when he was operated on at St. Joseph's Hospital it was too late, for the appendix had ruptured and gangrene set in. He passed away on February 18, 1902.

The days that followed were a continuous nightmare. Our grandparents were inconsolable; their only son, the father of four children, was taken while they, waiting to die, were left to mourn his loss. They would look at his picture and weep not quietly but with sobs that would make your heart ache. Mother too was crushed, and for weeks could not carry on as she should. Her relatives and friends came often to see her, and the O'Connors, Frank and Tim together with their uncle James Curran, even traveled from Lawler. Their kindness at this time was never forgotte

Gradually mother became reconciled. She knew she had to carry on for the sake of her children and our grandparents. Fortunately, the land we owned in Yankton was clear, as was our home. The mining stock father had purchased was taken off her hands by father's business associates without loss to her. She hesitated to sell our home but knew it would be too much for her to keep up. Before she had fully decided what to do, the hand of nature helped her to make a decision. In April, 1902, a terrific hailstorm swept over Sioux City. Many windows in our home were shattered, some of the shingles were ripped off and desolation was all about. Both mother and our grandparents agreed that we would have to move to a smaller home which would not be so expensive to keep up. She, therefore, sold the home for $5,000.00 and bought a four- bedroom house at 1816 Jackson, which was in a good neighborhood. Our grandparents lived with us for a time, but on the advice of mother's physician they later went to the Home for the Aged in Sioux City. Grandfather died there in 1906 and then grandmother returned to our home and remained with us until she died in 1908.

In the fall of 1907 mother sent Emmett and John to St. Thomas Military Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota. She felt that without a father they needed to be under the guidance of good men teachers. After I finished high school in 1909 mother decided to rent our home furnished and to spend the school year in St. Paul so I could go to the University of Minnesota and Leo could attend St. Thomas. In a few months, mother found a furnished house in Merriam Park and the boys became day students at the Academy. The next summer we returned to Sioux City. In another year mother sold her home and moved permanently to St. Paul. In 1912 she used the money she received from the sale of her home to build another one at 2069 Iglehart Ave., St. Paul. This remained mother's home until her death on December 31, 1928.

The story of mother's life from 1910 to the time of her death would require another Manuscript. Her life was centered around her family. She thought of them first and made sacrifices to give them what she thought they needed. She was ambitious to be able to give each of her children whatever educational training they wanted. It was her feeling that an education was a priceless heritage that no one could depreciate and no depression could wipe out. She often reminded us that if she gave us a good education she would owe us nothing and "no one could take it from us." She also tried to carry her responsibilities the way she thought our father would want her to do.

In the last few years of mother's life, she was not in good health. She suffered from a condition which was called secondary aenemia. In the fall of '28, I went with her to Phoenix, Arizona, hoping that the sunshine and mild climate would restore her health. However, she did not improve and we returned home. She died soon after in St. Joseph's Hospital, St. Paul. She was buried in the family lot in Sioux City where my father and paternal grandparents are buried.

It was mother's constant prayer that she would not be called from this life until her four children were self-supporting and capable of facing life's problems. Her wish was granted, and when she knew the end was near she seemed to realize that her work in this world was finished. One of her last statements was "I am now ready to go home to Johnnie."