Father: Edward WHALEN, b. 1823/1830, Tipperary Ireland, d. 4 Apr 1887, Kansas Oklahoma or Missouri
Edward Whalen's birth year is somewhat murky. The Bible states he was born in 1823 and was said to have been born in Tipperary , although one grandchild my aunt Alma Whalen Piersee remembers it as Cork. The areas were very close. Edward probably came to the US during the potato famine in 1848-1851 when the great Irish immigration began. His parents are an unknown but it is said he came on his own to the US. He can be fairly firmly placed in the 1850 census by association of a woman named Hannah White who in whose house he lodges at the age of 18 puting his birth year more like 1827. On the 1880 census he lists his age as 50 putting his birth year at 1830. For this reason it is difficult to pinpoint his birth circumstances and when he actually came over.Here is the info copied from Hannah White's notes: This woman is the key to where Edward Whalen is in the year 1850, the first census year he is on once he escapes the potato famine in Ireland. Edward is in a house with Hannah White's grandmother, her mother and herself all named Hannah White. They are all in the township of Roxbury, the County of Norfolk Massachusetts. Not far down the street on the census in this area is John Woodhouse, Hannah White's future husband. They have a child John Warren Woodhouse who marries Edward Whalen's later stepdaughter Katie Fitzgerald. It would be somewhat coincidental for the Hannah White whom lives in Boston in 1850 in the same house as Edward Whalen to be a different Hannah White than the one who later married John Woodhouse down the street in Boston. Therefore this was a great and certain clue to Edward Whalen's whereabouts and he was placed there as such by my sister in her genealogy work and I concur. .Due to time considerations, this census is not typed out in file on t his genealogy. However others in the house include Hannah White, Mary White, Richard White, Hannah White, James White, Emeline White, Henrietta White, Hannah Merian, Daniel Dolan, Edward Whalen at 18 years old working as a miller and from Ireland, and Mary Bennett. Efforts to pin down Edward's location in 1860 or 1870 are difficult due to his age.variable. It is hard to say when he left Boston, where he went and when he came to Missouri although he was in Missouri by 1872 when he married Mrs Mary Fitzgerald. He is listed as Edward Wheelon and for some unknown reason they are married in 1872 by a minister of the church and yet the deed of marriage is not recorded until March 6 1875. Perhaps she was pregnant with David Edward by this time(1875) and figured they better at least record the marriage legally but they were indeed married in 1872 as certified by J H Harwood. Edward was a coal miner and often took the trolley which hit three states Kansas( Pittsburg), Missour(i Webb City and Joplin) and mining in bordering cities in Oklahoma. He is rumored to have deserted his family after after 1880, according to my Aunt Lavon Schwarzenholz and my mother Ann Whalen Seymour. .There is some evidence for this, my cousin Warren “Pete” Piersee (grandchild of David Whalen) recalls that David rarely spoke of his father as he said he was little when he died. More likely , since David was actually 12 when he died and would have certainly had a memory of his father at that age, it may be that , if his father left around 1880 when he was 5 he did not recall him. He is on a census with his wife Mary in Webb City Mo in 1880 and his son David Edward, plus his stepchildren Katie Fitzgerald Woodhouse, James Fitzgerald, Patsy Fitzgerald Joanna Vaughn mispelled Vurghn, Amie Sewell the aunt of David according to the relationship chart on census, and Warren Woodhouse his son in law plus three other boarders who are miners, Scott Watson, David Burkheart and John Printy. Edward dies on April 4, 1887. according to the family bible . The location of his death is not known although his greatgrandson Warren, “ Pete” Piersee recalls that his grandpa David indicated it was in Picher Oklahoma. Picher may or may not be where he died as there was no mining in this area until at least 1897 , years after Edwards death. However, it could be around Picher Oklahoma. Efforts to locate his grave in Webb City and Joplin have been frustrating. There is a mining diaster in Savannah Oklahoma on the April 4, 1887 but his name is not listed among the miners who died . Also he is listed by this date of death in Jasper County deaths, a database that was taken from area newspapers and indicates deaths not necessarily in Jasper but reported because the person may have family or friends or have lived there once. Best guess for death is Oklahoma or Missouri and even possibly Kansas.1880 Census Jasper County Missouri Webb CityWhalen, Edward head of household 50 lead miner born Ireland parents Ireland can write Whalen, Mary wife 39 keeping house married one year born Ireland parents Ireland Woodhouse, Katie stepdaughter 19 married one year born England parents Ireland Fitzgerald , Patsey stepson 15 single born Missouri parents Ireland Fitzgerald, James stepson 11 single born Missouri parents Ireland Vaughn, Joanna 39 Keeping boarders born Vermont parents Ireland Vaughn, Annie daughter of Joanna 18 born IowaSewell , Amie 56 Aunt born Vermont parents born Vermont Pranty, John 30 boarder lead miner unknown infoBurkheart, David 24 boarder lead miner unknown infoWatson, Scott 28 boarder lead miner unknown infoWhalen David son of Edward and Mary 5 born Missouri parents Ireland Woodhouse Warren 25 son in law mechanist England Ireland Ireland
Mother: Mary Ellen McKinley CONNER, (daughter of (Private)), b. 6 Jun 1841, Cork City Boherbue village Cork County parish of Kilmeen, d. 30 Sep 1910, Kansas City KS, bur. Webb City Cemetery Webb City MO
Mary Ellen's birth year varies though the date stays the same. . In the Bible she states she was born June 6, 1841. In another Bible she is listed as having been born in 1840 with no birth date. . On the census she indeed gives her birth month as June. Because of the various ages on census, it looks as if she either forgot or was trying to shade her age as many women did. Even though her dates varies, because of the bible date which she herself wrote more than likely and her identification of being born in Cork City, her parents being Patrick Conner and Mary Hickey are an excellent possible.. As my , Aunt Vonnie did say her she believed Mary Ellen's mother to be someone “Hickey ” There is a marriage record of a Mary Conner and John Fitzgerald in County Kerry the next county over from Cork Ireland in Sept 24 1853. However this would make her just turned 12 at the time of her marriage,so this date is questionable. As it is not the right county and because of her age I have included it in her notes but not used it as a sure date of marriage. For a time she and John Fitzgerald lived in England, as her daughter Katherine is born there in London in 1861.She says on the 1900 census that she gave birth to 11 children and 4 are living The four living in 1900 would have been Katherine, Patrick, James and David, . A file at Family search gives her name as Mary Ellen McKinley Conner., On her son David Edward Whalen's death certificiate her last name is verified as Conner. John Fitzgerald, her first husband died by the time of the Greene County Missouri Census in 1870. In 1870 the widow Fitzgerald lists her occupation as washing and ironing. And she marries Edward Whalen on .May 10, 1872 in Greene County where he is listed as Edward Wheelon and she is listed as Mrs Mary Fitzgerald. It is said by family members that after 1880 Edward Whalen deserted his family. He is not buried next to her and a plot she bought is finally sold to her daughter in 1913 in order to bury her granddaughter Hazel next to her. She wanted her son David to be a priest and sent him to a seminary at one time. This gave him a life long aversion to the Catholic church and my mother recalls her father not allowing the girls to go to anything but a Protestant church although they rarely went. Mary Ellen dies it said in Kansas City (Rosedale) and her body was brought back to Webb City in 1910 to be buried in Webb City Cemetery.1870 Census Campbell township PO Springfield Greene County Fitzgerald, Mary 29 Washing and Ironing as occupation born Ireland parents born Ireland widow Fitzgerald, Catherine 10 daughter born England parents born Ireland Fitzgerald, Patrick 5 son born Missouri parents born Ireland Fitzgerald, James 7 months born Missouri parents born Ireland 1880 census info see her husband Edward Whalen1900 Township Joplin of Webb City 11 East main Street Jasper County Whalen, Mary F Jan 1841 59 widowed 11 children born 4 alive born Ireland parents born Ireland house renter can read and write owns home.
Married 10 May 1872, Greene County Missouri
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