A St. Patrick's Day tribute to the Church of St. Patrick, Pottsville, PA

As early as 1827, its parishioners were meeting in each other's homes. By 1838, they had moved into their first real church structure - a log cabin, and then on to building a conventional church. This structure would serve the parish well, but would last only fifty-three years, when it was torn down to make room for the larger limestone exterior Church of St. Patrick that still stands today.

I wrote about the history of the parish previously within my article Coal region Catholics: The story of Pottsville's Church of St. Patrick. There was no shortage of photographs of the current church for me to choose from, and I decided to use some that I had taken myself during my visit to Pottsville the previous year. I was particularly interested, however, to see the church building that had served the parish from 1838 to 1891, since my family had arrived in the area in 1840 and so many of the rites of passage of those early ancestors and their families and friends had taken place in that church.

Church of St. Patrick, Pottsville, 1838-1891
(This church was torn down to make way for the current structure)

I was able to find and include a photo of the 1838 church's exterior within my article (see above), but what I really wanted was to see the inside - the interior of the church in which my great-great-great-grandparents had stood when they baptized their children, the place that was the center of family worship - where they prayed at Mass each Sunday, where they said their final goodbyes at Requiem Masses prior to making the walk up the hill to St. Patrick's Cemetery to bury loved ones who had passed.

I was thrilled when I discovered that there was, indeed, a photograph of the interior of that second Church of St. Patrick! The photo, dated sometime in the 1880s, was taken by renowned "photographer of the mines" George M. Bretz who worked in Pottsville from 1870 to the year of his death in 1895. His photographic images of the interior of the second Church of St. Patrick along with many photos of Schuylkill County mines and other scenes, can be found online within the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Digital Collection. (Start at the landing page for the George Bretz Collection if you are interested in viewing these images.)

Below is the interior of the Church of St. Patrick as it looked sometime during the 1880s. It is a beautiful church and the parishioners must have been sad to see it torn down, despite having a new, larger and also beautiful church built on its site.

It was before this altar in the second Church of St. Patrick that my great-great-grandparents Margaret Foley and William Cowhey were married in 1878. It was a second marriage for William, age 43 (who had lost his wife Catherine to consumption, and brought five children into his second marriage with Margaret). The young bride, at age 21, was embarking on a life as a mother to William's first five children and later ten more of their own.

I was very happy to find the details of William and Margaret's marriage within William's Civil War pension file. Among the many pages within this file (circa 1890s), was a Record Proof of Marriage of Widow to Soldier. Signed by then pastor Rev. F. J. McGovern, it attested to the extract from the registry of St. Patrick's Church indicating that William and Margaret had been married by Rev. A.J. Gallagher on February 23, 1878, witnesses Maurice Ryan and Clara Kitchen. This is a true family treasure, particularly since the church itself has been unable to provide access to the listing of this couple's marriage within their registry. Below is the page documenting that day 137 years ago when my great-great-grandparents were joined in marriage at the altar of the second Church of St. Patrick in Pottsville.

William and Margaret (Foley) Cowhey

Marriage at a Glance

• Married: 23 February 1878 at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., PA 
• Children of William and Catherine (Regan) Cowhey: Anna (b. 1866), Margaret, (b. 1868) William F. (b. 1871), John J. (b. 1874), Richard (b. 1876)
• Children of William and Margaret (Foley) Cowhey: Mary (b. 1878), Ellen (b. 1880), Elizabeth (b. 1881), Thomas (b. 1883), Ambrose (b. 1884), Clara (b. 1886), Charles (b. 1887), Blanche (b. 1889), Lena (b. 1891), Isabella (b. 1892)
• Duration of Marriage: 14 years ending at William's death on 17 November 1892

William Cowhey

1834-1892
Life at a Glance

• Name at birth: William Cowhey
• Parents: Patrick and Ann Cowhey
• Siblings: John (1832-1836), William (1834-1892), Ann (1837-1864), Ellen (1840-1898), Thomas (1842-1899), Elisabeth (1844-1845), Johanah (1844-1846), John (1846-1920), Michael (1846-1855) 
• Born: 29 April 1834 in New York City, NY
• Died: 17 November 1892 in Cressona, Schuylkill Co., PA at age 58*
• Buried: St. Patrick's No. 3 Cemetery, Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., PA

Margaret (Foley) Cowhey

1855-1912

Life at a Glance

• Name at birth: Margaret Foley
• Parents: Patrick Foley and Margaret Graham
• Born: 10 August 1855 in Port Carbon, Schuylkill Co., PA
• Died: 5 October 1912 in Mount Carbon, Schuylkill Co., PA at age 57
• Buried: St. Patrick's No. 3 Cemetery, Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., PA

More here at Small-leaved Shamrock
about William and Margaret (Foley) Cowhey

William

• A horrifying end a hero's farewell, November 1892*
• 150 years ago today: William Cowhey sees his first action in the Civil War
• On this date in 1862: "I, William Cowhey, do solemnly swear..."
• Civil War 150: The Cowhey brothers volunteer for the Union
• The 1892 Pottsville train explosion: How and why?*
• Crossing the Potomac with William: A soldier's story
• Riding the rails: The life and death of William Cowhey*

Margaret

• Mother to 15, Widow at 38: My discovery of the photograph of my quietly heroic great-great-grandmother 
• Family treasure at the National Archives: 19th-century birth records and more
• Death comes in threes: The sorrows of Margaret Foley Cowhey, 1891-1895*

This article is included as part of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge organized by Amy Johnson Crow. The theme for Week 11, in which this article falls, is "Luck of the Irish". [Note: Hat tip to Donna Pointkouski of What's Past is Prologue for the summary format I've used at the end of this article.] Find more stories of my family's ancestral churches visit my Churches of My Ancestors Pinterest board.

Mother to 15, Widow at 38: My discovery of the photograph of my quietly heroic great-great-grandmother

Margaret Foley was 21 when in 1878 she married William Cowhey, age 43, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Pottsville, Pennsylvania and walked into the world of motherhood. She immediately inherited his five children: Annie, Margaret, William, Joseph and Richard. The children were ages 11 down to 2, and had lost their mother, Catherine (Regan) Cowhey, to consumption the previous year.

Margaret and William went on to have ten children of their own together: Mary, Ellen, Elizabeth, Thomas, Ambrose, Clara, Charles, Blanche, Lena and Isabella. In all, there were fifteen children born to William within a twenty-six year span - a very big family.

Margaret has long been one of my personal heroines. Not only did she become an instant mother of five at a young age, but she also suffered the grief and loss of her husband in a terrible accident, and the loss of several children who died young. By the time she was only 38, she was a widow left with eight children to care for under the age of sixteen. Margaret and William had been married only fourteen years.

It is only fitting that in March - Women's History Month and the month of St. Patrick - I would take the time to honor this brave Irish-American great-great-grandmother of mine. I was pleasantly surprised to realize, also, that today the Catholic Church celebrates the life of St. Matilda, patroness of large families, widows, and the death of children. She is perhaps the best patron saint I can think of for Margaret (Foley) Cowhey.

Five years ago I wrote a draft for a blog post which I never published. It started out:

"No photograph is known to exist of my great-great-grandmother, Margaret (Foley) Cowhey, yet I have an image in my mind of what she might have looked like.  I picture her wearing the black uncomfortable shoes and long skirts of women of her generation.  On her feet for many hours each day, she feels the constant pull of little hands on her skirt - little ones needing attention.  Her hands are worn by the toil of 19th-century women's work..."

I was thrilled just a few days ago when I made a discovery: a photograph of Margaret circa 1901! A cousin had posted a Cowhey family photograph on her Ancestry tree (thanks, Linda!), labeling a few of the family members. When I compared her photograph with one taken thirty-plus years later, I was able to make some conclusions about family members in the 1901 gathering, and have determined with great certainty that Margaret is pictured. I believe Margaret (Foley) Cowhey is the woman seated in the black dress.

Here she is, widow and matriarch of a huge family (only a small portion of whom are pictured) at the ripe old age of 46. Margaret would live only one more decade, dying of kidney disease at the age of 57. Her obituary reads:

Death of Mrs. Margaret Cowhy 

Mrs. Margaret Cowhy, a well-known and highly respected resident of Mt. Carbon, died at her home, at that place, Saturday afternoon after a long illness, death being due to a complication of diseases. Deceased was a former resident of Pt. Carbon, that town being her birthplace. She is survived by three sons, Thomas, Ambrose, and Charles, and four daughters, Mrs. Julius Stockel of Georgetown, Del., Mrs. A. Brown of Phila., and Mrs. Wm. Rodgers of Jersey City, N.J. and Miss Blanche at home.

Margaret (Foley) Cowhey
1855-1912

Life at a Glance

• Name at birth: Margaret Foley
• Parents: Patrick Foley and Margaret Graham
• Born: 10 August 1855 in Port Carbon, PA
• Married: William Cowhey 23 February 1878, St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Pottsville, PA
• Stepchildren: Children of William from first marriage to Catherine (Regan) Cowhey: Anna (b. 1866), Margaret, (b. 1868) William F. (b. 1871), John J. (b. 1874), Richard (b. 1876)
• Children: Mary (b. 1878), Ellen (b. 1880), Elizabeth (b. 1881), Thomas (b. 1883), Ambrose (b. 1884), Clara (b. 1886), Charles (b. 1887), Blanche (b. 1889), Lena (b. 1891), Isabella (b. 1892)
• Duration of Marriage: 14 years ending at William's death on 17 November 1892
• Died: 5 October 1912 in Mount Carbon, Schuylkill, PA at age 57
• Buried: St. Patrick's No. 3 Cemetery, Pottsville, Schuylkill, PA

This article is included as part of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge organized by Amy Johnson Crow. The theme for Week 11, in which this article falls, is "Luck of the Irish". [Note: Hat tip to Donna Pointkouski of What's Past is Prologue for the summary format I've used at the end of this article.]

Family treasure at the National Archives: 19th-century birth records & more

My great-great-grandparents William & Margaret (Foley) Cowhey had many children.  Prior to their marriage, William and his first wife also had several children.  I had the information from a handwritten family tree that I had been given by a distant cousin.  I hoped to sort out and confirm these names, birthdates and mother/child relationships with official birth records. 

At first my search was not easy.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health didn't have the information I was looking for.  Their records only went back to 1906.

I had no success either when I contacted the Schuylkill County Courthouse.

St. Patrick's Catholic Church of Pottsville, Pennsylvania surely had the information somewhere in their archives, but they wouldn't allow information requests for records of that age due to their fragility. (They had a parishioner who had been painstakingly transcribing those records, but he had passed away and no one had taken his place.)

I had heard of the existence of a Cowhey family Bible (possibly a good source for some of the information) but I had no idea if it had survived the second half of the 20th-century, and if it had, in whose home it might currently reside.

Ironically, it turned out that the records that I was looking for did not reside in Pennsylvania at all - at least not that I could find.  Like many Cowhey family descendants who had moved out of state, these birth records had also.  I found them (unfortunately after my original research visit) residing happily at the National Archives building in Washington D.C. within the Civil War pension (and widow's pension) file for William Cowhey and his wife Margaret (Foley) Cowhey.

You can imagine how happy I was when I received the envelope in the mail with copies of the documents in this file and found the one below.  As part of the paperwork filled out at the time of Williams' death on behalf of his wife Margaret was this Record Proof of Births of Surviving Children of Soldier Under Sixteen Years of Age - a list of eight of their children's names, birthdates and baptism dates taken from the records and bearing the seal of St. Patrick's Catholic Church of Pottsville, Pennsylvania.

As I mentioned in Death comes in threes: The sorrows of Margaret (Foley) Cowhey, William's untimely death had left his 37-year-old wife Margaret a widow and the sole caretaker for their eight youngest children.  The Record Proof of Births of Surviving Children of Soldier Under Sixteen Years of Age within the pension file listed Margaret's living children from age fourteen down to eight months. (The couple's two eldest children were not covered by the pension, nor were the children of William Cowhey and his first wife.)

This primary source document was the first that I had found (besides U.S. census records) that validated some of the information in the handwritten Cowhey family tree that I had been given: a true family treasure.

*

The eight children listed within the Record Proof of Births of Surviving Children of Soldier Under Sixteen Years of Age shown above are Mary, Elizabeth, Thomas, Ambrose, Clara, Charles, Blanche and Isabella Cowhey, born 1881 to 1892. (The youngest, nicknamed Bella, would die a tragic death at a young age only two and a half years following William's death.)


Williams's Civil War pension file also included many other family treasures within its pages, including the handwritten account of he and his brother Thomas' night crossing the Potomac River in 1861. The account was written in Thomas' own handwriting in 1889 and is another one of the family documents that I treasure most.

*

In search of your own Civil War ancestors' pension file?  Check out the resources on this Genealogy Branches webpage to get started.  (Note: You might have to try several sources before you find your ancestors' index card. I finally found William Cowhey's on Footnote.  Try their Civil War & Later Veterans Pension Index to do your own search.)

Death comes in threes: The sorrows of Margaret Foley Cowhey, 1891-1895

Margaret Foley Cowhey was surely no stranger to the trials of motherhood. She and her husband had ten children. Before she gave birth to those children, she had become mother to at least four children from her husband's previous marriage.

Nothing, however, could have prepared this young woman, already such a seasoned mother at age 36, for the sorrows that faced her in three and half years during the early 1890s.

Margaret and her husband William Cowhey faced the loss of their youngest child Lena, age nine months, on October 7, 1891. The Pottsville Republican told the story the next day:


It states:

Lena, the infant daughter of William and Margaret Cowhey, of Mt. Carbon, died yesterday. The family have the sympathy of their neighbors at East Mt. Carbon. The interment will take place Friday afternoon at 2 o'clock.

*

Only a year later, William himself, a train engineer for the Reading Railroad, died tragically in a train engine boiler explosion that made headlines even in the New York Times:

Here is the text of the article:

FIVE KILLED BY AN EXPLOSION.
ENGINE ON THE READING RAILROAD TORN TO PIECES.

POTTSVILLE, Penn., Nov. 14.---On the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad at 2 o'clock this morning, at Conner's Crossing, a short distance north of Schuylkill Haven, the boiler of Mogul Engine No. 563 exploded, killing five men and probably fatally injuring another.

The killed are:
HENRY C. ALLISON, engineer, residing at Palo Alto; leaves wife.
WILLIAM MACKEY, fireman, Port Carbon; leaves wife and one child.
WILLIAM COWHEY, an engineer, on way home to Mount Carbon; leaves wife and ten children.
WILLIAM KENDRICK, conductor, of Port Carbon; leaves wife and four children.
WILLIAM MOYER, Cowhey's fireman, Palo Alto; single.
Michael Dobbins of Mount Carbon, a brakeman of Engineer Cowhey's crew, was badly scalded, and will probably die.

Engine No. 563 was north bound with a heavy train of empty cars. William Cowhey with his crew had brought up a train of empties, and, after running them into the Cressona yards, boarded Engine No. 563 at the Mine Hill Crossing with the intention of reaching their homes in that way, and as is customary took possession of the cab. Dobbins, who escaped instant death, was sitting on the tender.

The men had been on the engine barely two minutes when, without any warning, the terrible explosion occurred. The boiler and firebox were blown off the tracks, and the tracks were so badly damaged that traffic was considerably delayed. The north and south bound midnight Buffalo trains were compelled to run via the Little Schuylkill branch from Tamaqua to Port Clinton.

It is learned that the train had come to a standstill because of the lowness of steam and the blower had been on. It was during this process that the boiler exploded.

Company officials thoroughly examined into the cause of the accident, and this was made plain this afternoon when they loaded up the crown sheet and sent it to Palo Alto. On the crown sheet is unmistakable evidence that the explosion was caused by low water, as the iron is badly burned a deep blue color and the marks show just how high the water was. All railroad men after seeing this acknowledged that there was no other cause.

The New York Times, New York, NY 15 Nov 1892

(View the original article full size at The New York Times online archives.)

 *

William's untimely death left his 37-year-old wife Margaret a widow and the sole caretaker for eight children, according to Margaret's application for pension as widow of a Civil War veteran. The Record Proof of Births of Surviving Children of Soldier Under Sixteen Years of Age in William Cowhey's pension file (this document can be seen below - click to enlarge) includes the list of Margaret's living children from age fourteen down to eight months along with their birth and Baptism dates. (There were also two older children not covered by the pension.)

The children listed are Mary, Elizabeth, Thomas, Ambrose, Clara, Charles, Blanche and Isabella. The youngest was little Isabella, nicknamed Bella, whose death would bring great sorrow to her mother only two and a half years following William's death. 

*

I was shocked when I read the death register listing Bella's death that was sent to me at my request by the Schuylkill County Office of the Register of Wills. According to a handwritten family tree sent to me by a family member, I already had the estimated date of her death. When I read the information by Bella's name on the death register it took me a few moments to make sense of what I was reading.

Young Bella Cowhey had died on April 25, 1895 at the age of three years and two months. Cause of death according to the records: Burned. Duration of illness: Three days.

Not only had Margaret's youngest daughter suffered such a tragic and painful death, but her suffering and that of her family had been drawn out for three days - possibly the longest days of her poor mother's life. Below are copies of the death register. The information about Bella's death is highlighted in yellow and transcribed below. (Click on the image to enlarge it.)

Date of death: Apr 25, 1895
Place of death: N.E. Mannheim
Cause of death: Burned
Duration of illness: 3 days
Place of interment: No. 3 Cemetery
Date: Apr 27, 1895
Name of father: Wm Cowhey
Name of mother: Margaret Cowhey

Date of record: June 10, 1895
Name of deceased: Isabella Cowhey
Color: White
Sex: Female
Age: 3 yrs 3 mo
Place of birth: N.E. Mannheim

The document does not indicate additional details surrounding her death, besides Bella's place of burial. I can only imagine the circumstances that might have led to it. With so many children to care for and no longer a breadwinner in the family since her husband's death, Margaret must have been stretched incredibly thin as she struggled for the survival of her family.

Was one of her other children "on duty" at the time and tasked with watching young Bella? If so, how they must have been scarred for life as they relived the moment over the years. Regardless of how she was injured, the family suffered much, particularly Margaret, who had so recently grieved for her baby daughter Lena and for her husband William, and was struggling to provide for her family.

During the search for family history, there are those discoveries that provide a little bit of information, yet require much additional research to be made meaningful to the researcher. Then there are those documents or discoveries that shock our emotions and draw us back into time as we feel the sorrow and pain of those that have gone before us.

As a mother myself, I'm inspired by the story of my great-great-grandmother Margaret's life. Her sufferings help me to be thankful for the often overlooked blessings that each day holds, and inspire me to find strength for my own trials which pale in comparison to those that she suffered a little over one-hundred years ago.

Sources:
Lena Cowhey obituary, “Deaths and Funerals,” Pottsville Daily Republican, October 8, 1891, p. 4, col. 2.


“Five Killed by an Explosion: Engine on the Reading Railroad Torn to Pieces,” The New York Times, New York, New York, November 14, 1892, <http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9E05E3DE1638E233A25756C1A9679D94639ED7CF&oref=slogin> or <http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E05E3DE1638E233A25756C1A9679D94639ED7CF>, accessed March 5, 2008.


William Cowhey, (Pvt., Co. I., 16th Pa. Inf. Civil War), pension no. 700,145, certificates no. 565,914 and 376,459 Case Files of Approved Pension Applications, 1861-1934; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Pennsylvania. Schuylkill County. Record of Deaths, 1895. "Isabella Cowhey". Schuylkill County Office of the Register of Wills, Pottsville.

November 1892: PA train explosion makes NYC headlines

I thought I had found all the newspaper accounts of the Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania train accident that killed my great-great-grandfather. But I'd never thought to look as far as the New York Times.

Thanks to a heads-up from Colleen of the The Oracle of OMcHodoy and thanks to GenDisasters transcriber Linda Horton, I learned that the fateful explosion that took the life of William Cowhey and four other men that day made news as far away as New York City.

GenDisasters, a site started last October, is a forum for sharing and finding newspaper articles on "events that touched our ancestors' lives". The site has a handy search feature and can also be browsed by state (or Canadian province), year or type of disaster. You can also add comments or more information to the articles posted.

Check out the transcription of the New York Times article on the November 14, 1892 train explosion that took William Cowhey's life at the GenDisasters' webpage Pottsville, PA Locomotive Boiler Explosion, Nov 1892. Here is the text of the article:

FIVE KILLED BY AN EXPLOSION.

ENGINE ON THE READING RAILROAD TORN TO PIECES.

POTTSVILLE, Penn., Nov. 14.---On the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad at 2 o'clock this morning, at Conner's Crossing, a short distance north of Schuylkill Haven, the boiler of Mogul Engine No. 563 exploded, killing five men and probably fatally injuring another.

The killed are:
HENRY C. ALLISON, engineer, residing at Palo Alto; leaves wife.
WILLIAM MACKEY, fireman, Port Carbon; leaves wife and one child.
WILLIAM COWHEY, an engineer, on way home to Mount Carbon; leaves wife and ten children.
WILLIAM KENDRICK, conductor, of Port Carbon; leaves wife and four children.
WILLIAM MOYER, Cowhey's fireman, Palo Alto; single.
Michael Dobbins of Mount Carbon, a brakeman of Engineer Cowhey's crew, was badly scalded, and will probably die.

Engine No. 563 was north bound with a heavy train of empty cars. William Cowhey with his crew had brought up a train of empties, and, after running them into the Cressona yards, boarded Engine No. 563 at the Mine Hill Crossing with the intention of reaching their homes in that way, and as is customary took possession of the cab. Dobbins, who escaped instant death, was sitting on the tender.

The men had been on the engine barely two minutes when, without any warning, the terrible explosion occurred. The boiler and firebox were blown off the tracks, and the tracks were so badly damaged that traffic was considerably delayed. The north and south bound midnight Buffalo trains were compelled to run via the Little Schuylkill branch from Tamaqua to Port Clinton.

It is learned that the train had come to a standstill because of the lowness of steam and the blower had been on. It was during this process that the boiler exploded.

Company officials thoroughly examined into the cause of the accident, and this was made plain this afternoon when they loaded up the crown sheet and sent it to Palo Alto. On the crown sheet is unmistakable evidence that the explosion was caused by low water, as the iron is badly burned a deep blue color and the marks show just how high the water was. All railroad men after seeing this acknowledged that there was no other cause.

The New York Times, New York, NY 15 Nov 1892

I've posted the following on the GenDisasters page using the comments feature:

William Cowhey, the engineer on his way home at the time of the November 14, 1892 explosion mentioned in this New York Times article, was my great-great-grandfather from Mount Carbon, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. A Union veteran of the Civil War active in the Grand Army of the Republic's Gowen Post, his tragic loss must have been greatly mourned by his wife Margaret (Foley) Cowhey, his many children and the citizens of Mount Carbon and Pottsville.

For more on William Cowhey and the history of his family see my blog Small-leaved Shamrock. For more specifics about the fateful accident, including similar articles about the disaster in Schuylkill County newspapers, see the post entitled Riding the Rails.

I know that train accidents at the time were nothing new, and these men were certainly not celebrities. Was it just a slow news day that caused the New York Times to post this article back in November of 1892?

Whatever the reason, the article provided some new information on this sad day in the history of my family. I'm thankful to have found it.

Source: Linda Horton, “Pottsville, PA Locomotive Boiler Explosion, Nov 1892,” transcribed February 1, 2008, Gendisasters: Events That Touched Our Ancestors’ Lives (Gendisasters, 2008) [“Five Killed by an Explosion: Engine on the Reading Railroad Torn to Pieces,” from The New York Times, November 15, 1892], <http://www3.gendisasters.com/pennsylvania/5006/pottsville,-pa-locomotive-boiler-explosion,-nov-1892>, accessed February 26, 2008.

A little Pennsylvania Irish Valentine tribute

I've been enjoying the Irish Family History blog's Valentine focus this week. I was interested to learn that I'd done four unlucky things the day of my own wedding (I'm so glad I had two lucky ones on the list!). I've also enjoyed the posts on matchmaking and Irish weddings.

In honor of St. Valentine's Day today I thought I would remember some of the married couples in the Cowhey and related family trees whose wedding dates I know (and some I don't).

Here's to all the loving couples in this extended family (several generations back). Without them there would be no family tree!

Patrick and Anne Cowhey

William and Margaret (Foley) Cowhey
Married February 23, 1878 at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Pottsville, PA

Robert & Mary (Cowhey) Warden

Alec & Elizabeth (Cowhey) Brown

Thomas & Bess (Hossler) Cowhey

William & Clara (Cowhey) Rodgers

Charles and Agnes (Donnelly) Cowhey
Married September 30, 1913 at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Pottsville, PA

John & Blanche (Cowhey) Mokelar

Patrick & Margaret (Graham) Foley

John & Mary (McGonigal) Donnelly
Married May 20, 1886 in St. Clair, PA

John & Anna (Cowhey) McGinley
Married June 1895

John & Frances (Owens) Cowhey

Valentine image thanks to Richard August Neubert Antique Valentine Collection.

"Noisy, dirty, bouncy & subject to temperature extremes"

In many ways, William Cowhey's life paralleled the life of the railroads in America. As I mentioned previously, he was born in New York in 1834 at the dawn of those railroads. According to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania's Railroad History Timeline, this was the same year the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad opened in Pennsylvania. It included an inclined plane, rail and canal route stretching 395 miles across the state.

By 1842, when William was 8-years-old, the Philadelphia & Reading Railway began shipping hard coal from mines in Schuylkill County's southern anthracite field directly to Philadelphia.

Sometime before the 1860's, the Cowhey family had moved to Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. By the time 27-year-old William served as a volunteer in the Civil War during 1861, the railroads were part of daily life. They played their own role in the war between the states.

During the heyday of the railroad, the lives of the men who ran the trains were surely never easy.

We know several jobs on the railroad that my great-great-grandfather held, thanks to U.S. Census records and newspaper articles.

At the time of the 1870 U.S. Census, William Cowhey was working as a brakeman at age 36.

Ten years later at age 46 the 1880 U.S. Census shows his occupation as fireman. In this role he would have performed many different tasks, according to a page on the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania website. These included:

• Making sure the engine's fire stayed hot enough by shoveling coal into the firebox
• Adjusting the stoker to keep the steam up
• Keeping the boiler supplied with water
• Verifying signals with the engineer
• Filling the tender with water at the water tank
• Oiling the valves, rods and fittings between runs
• Working closely with the engineer to keep the train running efficiently and on time

After many years of hard work as fireman an employee of the railroad might eventually receive a promotion to engineer. William Cowhey received such a promotion. The Pottsville Daily Republican newspaper article of November 14, 1892 documenting the account of his fateful accident on the railroad lists his title as engineer.

The job of the engineer, according to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania webpage, required much skill and stamina. I quote:

"Steam engine cabs were very noisy, dirty, bouncy and subject to temperature extremes."

A tough day's work, but one that helped William Cowhey to provide for his wife and their large and growing family.

(Lacking a photo of my great-great-grandfather and his fellow railroaders, I've posted a photo of this Gordon Steam Engine and its team of railroad men from Schuylkill County. )

William Cowhey's life came to an ubrupt end one night on the railroad. The heyday of the railroad itself had a more gradual ending, but it would eventually lose ground to other modes of transportation. The Pennsylvania Railroad ended its use of steam locomotives in 1957. Ironically that was the same year that William's son Charles (also a railroad man) passed away. The heyday of the trains that the Cowhey men had lived their lives in and around was now a part of the history books.

For more information about the history of the railroads in Pennsylvania, see the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Railways, or the Reading Company Technical & Historical Society.

Thanks to Margaret Ringenary for posting the steam engine photo of her great-great-grandfather and his fellow railroaders at the Schuylkill County Scrapbook website.

Worth remembering

About a century and half had passed. No one in today's generation of his family even knew his name, and certainly had no idea of what he had done. William Cowhey's memory had been lost to history. Or so it could have been.

It was a thrill for me to find the name of my great-great-grandfather in the U.S. Census records a few years ago. I carefully entered his name into the family tree, then over time, as I found more of the pieces of the puzzle of his life, I entered them.

The more I learned, the more I was amazed. He became a hero to me, and I wanted others to know his name and remember his life.

So on this Veteran's Day 2007, I remember with honor the life of my great-great-grandfather, William Cowhey (1834-1892). A railroad man who died in a train accident while heading home from his shift one night, William was surely a hero to his wife and many children.

He was also a hero to our nation. Serving as an early volunteer from Pennsylvania to help counter the "Rebellion", as they called the Civil War, he and his brother Thomas and their Company I-16 of Pottsville (the "Anthracite Guards") bravely set forth to protect their nation.

William and Thomas' three-month military careers were short but important at this turning point in 1861. Their company was recruited at Pottsville, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania on April 26, 1861. Twenty-six-year-old William and 21-year-old Thomas and their company did not see too much action before they were discharged on July 25, 1861. But they played a role in one of the most important parts of our nation's history: a role that I hope will not be forgotten.

On this Veterans' Day, Small-leaved Shamrock honors all veterans and all military personnel currently serving their country. Though the words may seem inadequate: Thank-you.

For more information about the Anthracite Guards of Company I-16 see the History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers by Samuel Bates at Pennsylvania Civil War website or the History of Schuylkill County, PA by W. W. Munsell online. You can also find an index to Munsell's work online.

If you are interested in learning more about Schuylkill County's contribution to the Civil War, you might be interested in the Schuylkill Civil War Round Table.

Additional Civil War posts on Small-leaved Shamrock may be found about William Cowhey's Civil War pension file, the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a PBS History Detectives episode on the GAR, and the Pennsylvania State Monument at Gettysburg honoring Civil War soldiers.

Note: The United States flag pictured above is a 34-star flag used during the time of the Civil War.

Breathing a sigh of relief for Great-Great-Grandmother

Margaret (Foley) Cowhey's husband had died in a train accident and she was left with finding a way to care for and support their seven youngest children. Why had she or William not applied for a military pension for his service in the Civil War? I couldn't understand why I could not find a pension file for William. His brother Thomas had one, and I'm sure that he appreciated the income, even though he had no wife or children. It perplexed me that I could not find any proof of William's pension.

Now, thanks to Footnote, I've found it. And I breathed a sigh of relief for my great-great-grandmother Margaret. Thank goodness she had at least one source of income to help support her large family.

It's interesting how different databases and other indexes can turn up different information. I had looked several places before - who knows why I never found this information? But there it was this time - William Cowhey's pension file information.

Another lesson learned about the search for family history - a lesson that surely Margaret (Foley) Cowhey could relate to:

Never give up.

Little Lena

As I mentioned in the previous post, Margaret (Foley) Cowhey lost two babies in their infancy that we know of. Baby Lena Cowhey was born January 7, 1891. What a large family celebrated her arrival! She must have gotten lots of attention from her many brothers and sisters. The family celebrated her Baptism at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Pottsville.

Only nine short months after her birth, however, the family suffered the sad loss of little Lena Cowhey. Her obituary in the Pottsville Republican newspaper on October 8, 1891 does not list the cause of her death. Here is a copy of that obituary:

It states:

Lena, the infant daughter of William and Margaret Cowhey, of Mt. Carbon, died yesterday. The family have the sympathy of their neighbors at East Mt. Carbon. The interment will take place Friday afternoon at 2 o'clock.

A sad loss for the Cowhey family. Little did they know that the following year they would also lose their father and another baby girl. Tough lessons in life for the many young Cowhey siblings and their heartbroken mother...

Source: Lena Cowhey obituary, “Deaths and Funerals,” Pottsville Daily Republican, October 8, 1891, p. 4, col. 2.

A "working" mother in the truest sense of the word

I'm a week late, but I wanted to mention the birthdate of a woman that I know very little about, yet I admire very much: my great-great-grandmother Margaret (Foley) Cowhey.

One-hundred and fifty-two years ago, on August 19, 1855, a baby girl was born to Patrick & Margaret (Graham) Foley in Port Carbon, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Little Margaret Foley was, according to the hand-written Cowhey family tree that I received, the first child of Patrick and Margaret, but she had an older half-sister (Bridget T. Byrnes, daughter of her mother Margaret by an earlier husband).

I have had difficulty learning much about Margaret's childhood or her parents' lives, but I do know about Margaret's adulthood. It was remarkable. Not remarkable in the sort of way that would make news headlines, but amazing from the standpoint of her day to day life. Margaret went on to become the mother of ten children of her own. But before her own children were even born, she had gained four (possibly five) children by virtue of her marriage to her husband, William Cowhey.

After spending her childhood pretty much as an only child (her half-sister Bridget was born in 1843 and was twelve years her senior), Margaret lived her adulthood with a house full of children.

Here's a timeline showing what I have learned about her life:

• 1855, August 19 - Baby Margaret born to Patrick & Margaret (Graham) Foley in Port Carbon, Pennsylvania


• 1870 - Margaret, age 15, attended school during this year according to the U.S. Census; may have also worked as a domestic in the home of a provision store keeper in Pottsville (there are two entries for Margaret in this census)


• 1878, February 23 - William & Margaret (Foley) Cowhey marry at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Pottsville, Pennsylvania - Margaret (only age 22 herself) gains four (possibly five) children through marriage: Annie, age 11; Margaret, age 9; William, age 6; John Joseph, age 3 (baby Richard is mentioned in the family tree, but I have found no records about him yet - he may have passed away as an infant)


• October 14, 1878 - Birth of Mary Cowhey


• About April 1880 - Birth of Ellen Cowhey


• 1880 - Resided with her family in East Mannheim, Schuylkill County according to the 1880 U.S. Census


• November 17, 1881 - Birth of Elizabeth Cowhey


• March 24, 1883 - Birth of Thomas Patrick Cowhey


• September 22, 1884 - Birth of Ambrose Paul Cowhey


• July 1, 1886 - Birth of Clara Cowhey


• August 21, 1887 - Birth of Charles Patrick Cowhey (later called Charles William Cowhey)


• December 18, 1890 - Birth of Blanche Cowhey


• January 7, 1891 - Birth of Lena Cowhey


• October 7, 1891 - Death of baby Lena Cowhey


• February 20, 1892 - Birth of Isabella Cowhey (called Bella)


• November 14, 1892 - Death of husband William Cowhey in train accident at Connor's Crossing
  
• After November 1892 - Death of baby Bella Cowhey

By the time Margaret was 37 years old (in 1892) she had raised or was raising at least fourteen children, had experienced the loss of two babies in their infanthood, lost her husband to a train accident, and now was on her own to support and raise her remaining seven young children.

Although I have found her brother-in-law Thomas Cowhey's pension files, I have never found an indication that Margaret or her husband William ever applied for pension, despite the fact that William qualified as a volunteer of the Civil War. Did Margaret not know about her option to file for pension? Or, instead, was she supported financially in other ways? I have never seen an indication that she married again after her husband's death. William's obituary indicated that he was a "prominent member" of the Gowen Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. Perhaps she found financial help from William's fellow veterans. Maybe she was supported by the grown children that she had helped to raise. I wonder... It must not have been an easy life, no matter what help Margaret received. [Correction: I finally did find William's Civil War pension and Margaret's widow's pension file.]

According to the handwritten Cowhey family tree that I received, Margaret, a resident of Mount Carbon, died in October 1913 at the young age of 58. She had lived a short but very full life. We, her descendants, are the benefits of the fruits of her labor. When I have a difficult day as a mother, I remember Margaret and the incredible challenges that she faced. Her life is truly an inspiration.

Riding the rails: the life and death of William Cowhey

The L-class train pictured here is very similar to the types of trains that my great-great-grandfather William Cowhey spent his life in and around.

William was born on April 29, 1834 in New York. His family arrived in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania not too long after that: possibly at the same time as the railroad did in 1842, or shortly afterward. This was a time when railroads were new and trains were every boy's dream (that doesn't seem to have changed much).

In 1830 there were only 23 miles of railroad track in the United States. By the year 1840 nearly 3,000 miles of track had been laid.

In 1834, the year William was born, the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad opened as part of the "Main Line of Public Works". It was a combined inclined plane, rail and canal route stretching 395 miles through the interior of Pennsylvania.

In 1842 the Philadelphia & Reading Railway was opened to transport hard coal from mines in Schuylkill County's southern anthracite field to tidewater Philadelphia. William was 8 years old at the time. Whether his family had arrived in Pennsylvania yet or not, as a young boy at the dawning of the railroad era in the U.S., he must have spent alot of time daydreaming about riding the rails.

1870 is the date of the oldest record I have found to indicate William's employment with the railroads, although my guess is that he was working for them earlier. By 1870 he was already 36 years old and had served his duty in the Civil War on the Union side with a Pottsville regiment.

In 1870, William was a brakeman on the railroad, according to the 1870 U.S. Census. The year before, on May 10, 1869, the nation had celebrated the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. Promontory Summit, Utah was the in the news with the driving of a golden spike. Schuylkill County newspapers would have shared the news with William and his fellow railroad men in Schuylkill County.

By 1880, William was now fireman for the railroad, according to the 1880 U.S. Census. By this time he had lost his first wife, and married his second wife, the young Margaret (Foley) Cowhey. He and Margaret were raising the children from William's previous marriage and now had a new baby of their own, Ellen.

Fourteen years of marriage and ten children later, William went to work one day in November 1892. He had now been promoted to Engineer and was riding home from his duties on locomotive No. 73 on the Reading & Pennsylvania Railroad when tragedy struck. Here is the report of the accident as told by the Pottsville Republican newspaper, Monday, November 14, 1892 edition:

TERRIFIC EXPLOSION!

Another Reading Locomotive Blown Up. Five Old Railroaders Killed! Another Fatality Injured - Gathering Up the Mutilated Remains - Sketch of the Victims - A Big Loss Entailed Upon the Company - Details of the Occurence.

It is our sad duty today to chronicle another exposion of a locomotive of the Philadelphia & Reading railroad company, which occurred this morning near Connor's Crossing, about three miles south of this place in which five strong able bodied men were blown into eternity, and one seriously if not fatally scalded.

The ill fated engine was known as one of the L class and was No. 563. The killed are the following:

HENRY C. ALLISON, of Palo Alto, aged 44 years; married, leaving a widow and a married daughter; engineer of the ill-fated engine.

CHARLES J. C. MACKEY, of Port Carbon, aged 28 years; married, leaving a widow and one small child; fireman of the ill-fated engine.

CHARLES H. KENDRICK, of Port Carbon, ages 32 years; married, leaving a widow and four small children; conductor.

WILLIAM COWHEY, of Mt. Carbon, age 59 years; married, leaving a widow and twelve children. Engineer of locomotive No. 73.

WILLIAM H. MOYER, of Palo Alto, aged 26 years; married, leaving a widow and two small children; fireman of engine No. 73.

The injured man is: MICHAEL DOBBINS, of Mt. Carbon, single. Badly scalded, and unconscious.

The ill-fated engine, with a large draught of empty cars and manned by Engineer Allison and Fireman Mackey, were on their way from Port Richmond for Palo Alto, and after arriving near the overhead bridge of the Lehigh and Schuylkill Valley R.R., a short distance this side of Connor's Crossing, the locomotive exploded with the above horrifying results.

THE CAUSE A MYSTERY

It is difficult, yes, impossible, at this time, if it ever can be done, to give the true cause of this very disastrous explosion. Michael Dobbins, the only surviving witness up to noon, lay suffering and unconscious at the residence of his parents at Pinedale or East Mt. Carbon. The attending physician regards his condition so critical that he has placed his patient under chloroform to alleviate his sufferings and has refused any to see him excepting those in attendance upon him.

Persons who were in close proximity, however, say this: the train stood still at the time because the engine had run out of steam. The blower had been put on to accelerate her steaming up and it was during this process that the boiler exploded. Dobbins alighted prior thereto and evidently it was to this cause that he escaped being hurled into the future, as were the rest of his more unfortunate companions.

Cowhey and his fireman, Moyer, had just returned from a trip from Reading, for which place they left about 10 o'clock yesterday morning. They had, shortly prior to the accident, taken their engine, No. 73, and placed it into the round-house at Cressona. After their return trip, and, as was their custom, they went to the office at Schuylkill Haven to board the first engine north bound, so that they could ride to their respective homes, which they, however, never reached alive. Their bodies, with the other victims, now lie cold in death, with the bereaved widows and orphans gathered about their biers, whose only support and heads of families have gone forever. The scene is heartrending.

THE VICTIMS
[I've omitted the details about the other victims]

William Cowhey resided at Mt. Carbon, and was in his 59th year. He was twice married. Four grown up children created by that union survive him. His second wife he leaves a widow, with eight small children ranging from 14 to an infant of but a few months old to mourn his sudden death. The deceased was a soldier on the Union side in the late rebellion, and a prominent member of Gowen Post No. 23, G.A.R. [Grand Army of the Republic]

THE SCENE OF THE EXPLOSION

The explosion occurred immediately under the overhead bridge of the L. & S. V. railroad. The engine 563 was of the L class, which are used to draw freight. Although she was running north the force was so great that she was lifted completely from her frame and turned southward, in the opposite direction. Everything about her has been shivered to pieces and she was, to use a "railroader's" term: "turned completely inside out". The railroad track for a short distance was also torn up. It is truly wonderful when the wrecked condition of the engine is taken into consideration that the bodies of the victims were not more badly mutilated. Excepting Cowhey and Moyer, whose bodies and faces were somewhat battered, the others were not so badly mangled or defaced.

THE CORONER AT THE SCENE

At four o'clock this morning, Deputy Coroner, Dr. H.G. Weist, of Schuylkill Haven, was aroused and immediately summoned a jury. The Coroner B.C. Guigin (?), also appeared as early as possible and they with the jury viewed the scene of the accident. No testimony will be taken for a day or so to await the condition of the injured man, Michael Dobbins.

The jury consists of Messrs. Hock, Fry, Greisinger, Jones, Brown and Brennan.

The steam crane which is used to remove debris and other material in the event of a collision or any other accident on the railroad, was broken a few days ago, and the wreck crew was therefore very much hampered in removing the wreck. The wreckers under Yardmaster Wm. Sebold worked very faithfully notwithstanding their great drawback.

A THEORY

The Reading railroad has been very unfortunate during the past year, with the number of explosions of locomotives which have occurred. One old railroader this morning assigned the following as the prime cause why these engines have exploded. He said in substance the crews are compelled to run their engines at a very high pressure to draw the very heavy trains which are put behind them for the past year. That to keep up the great pressure of steam and the quantity used the fires are forced and the exterior of the boilers are burned out, and something must give way, he added.

Another newspaper account of the accident gives less detail. The Shenandoah Evening Herald Monday, November 14, 1892 edition, has a short description, but with quite a few errors. They appear to have made some corrections and added more details in their Tuesday, November 15, 1892 edition of the newspaper:

FIVE WERE KILLED

The Boiler Explosion on the Reading Near Schuylkill Haven.

Pottsville, Pa., Nov. 15 - The cause of the boiler explosion on the Reading near Schuylkill Haven, is a mystery that will be cleared up only by a thorough investigation.

The report of the explosion was heard several miles distant, and the shock caused the buildings in the neighborhood to tremble, awakening the occupants and causing much excitement.

The residents of Schuylkill Haven flocked to the scene, and a sad sight met their gaze. Pinioned beneath a mass of broken machinery was Dobbins, and his groans and cries for relief were frightful. The men set to work, and he was soon liberated, placed on an engine, and taken to his home.

The killed were:

WILLIAM COWEY, engineer, of Port Carbon [this residence is an error].

WILLIAM MOYER, fireman, of Palo Alto.

HARRY ALLISON, engineer, of Palo Alto.

CONDUCTOR KENDRICK, of Port Carbon.

C.J.C. MACKAY, fireman, of Port Carbon.

MICHAEL DOBBINS, a brakeman, badly injured.

The engine had just finished making a shift and coupled up to a train. The moment the steam was applied the explosion followed.

Cowey was hurled against rocks and every bone in his body was crushed.

Moyer was hurled one hundred yards away into a field.

The others lay near the wreck.

The engine was No. 563 and belonged to the freight trade.

On Sunday she was put on the coal trade and at the time of the accident was on her way to Palo Alto.

The others belonged to the engine which exploded.

The boiler was hurled 75 yards.

Some of the dead were horribly mutilated.

In 1893, less than a year after William Cowhey's death, Congress passed the Railway Appliance and Safety Act. It outlawed the use of link-and-pin couplers and mandated the use of the Janney coupler and the Westinghouse air brake in interstate service, saving hundreds of lives each year. It is not clear from the information that I have found if the new technology would have prevented this particular accident, but it is clear that over time a new focus on safety saved the lives of many railroad men.

But it was too late for William Cowhey and his widow and many young children. He lived in the heyday of the American railroad and in the heart of Pennsylvania rail country. On that fateful day in 1892, he thought he was riding home. In a way, he was. William Cowhey died as he had lived, riding the rails of Pennsylvania.

For more information about the history of U.S. railroads, see the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

Under the shadow of the Cross

This is the steeple of the third St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Pottsville, Pennsylvania, whose cornerstone was laid was laid in 1891. This church (and the previous St. Patrick's Churches) has looked down upon many of my family's days. It watched as they walked into it's church for many Sunday Masses, as brides and grooms walked out to start their new lives together, as they visited again carrying new babies for Baptism, and again and again as they prepared to bury their loved ones.

William Cowhey married his second wife, Margaret Foley, in the 2nd St. Patrick's on February 23, 1878. The wedding was attended by Maurice Ryan and Clara Kitchen. They walked into St. Patrick's many times after that day for Baptisms of their new babies: Ellen (no date recorded), Elizabeth in 1881, Thomas in 1883, Ambrose in 1884, and Lena in 1891 and Isabella in 1892, among many others, whose Baptism records have not been as easy to find. (William had 12 children in all, counting both marriages.)

Sadly, the family would attend both Lena's and Bella's funerals shortly after their Baptisms. Both baby girls died very young.

Charles Cowhey, one of William & Margaret's children, walked through the doors of St. Patrick's in 1913 to wed Agnes Carmelita Donnelly. The couple found themselves there celebrating the Baptism of their baby daughter Anna Cowhey in 1914, who would one day be my grandmother.

Thanks to St. Patrick's for keeping good records so that I could learn a little more about the lives of these family members, most whom I never knew. Thanks also to the kind and generous staff at the church. As the older records become brittle and fragile, the church is protecting them by restricting access to them. A few years ago someone was working on entering the data into computer files, but has since passed away. I'm hoping that someone new will take on this volunteer task sometime in the near future, for the benefit of all those whose families lives passed under and around the steeple of St. Patrick's Catholic Church of Pottsville.

One big happy family

William Cowhey (1834-1892) was the proud father of at least fifteen children - born to his first wife (whose name I have yet to confirm) and to his second wife Margaret (Foley) Cowhey (1855-1913). Can you just imagine the family gatherings? What a bunch of cousins.

Here's a photo of one of those gatherings, circa early 1940's. The family is gathered on the porch of the home of John & Frances (Owens) Cowhey at 75 Main Street in Mount Carbon, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Among those pictured are John & Frances, Charles & Agnes Cowhey, their daughter Molly, Kit McGinley and her family, Helen Cowhey Miller's two children Eileen & Joan, Bill Rogers, Blanche Cowhey and possibly Nan Cowhey, Grace Cowhey, Pat Cowhey, Mary Cowhey, Jim Cowhey, Fran Cowhey Chapman and Ann Marie Mokelar.

If you recognize anyone in the photo, please let me know and I'll post their names along with the picture. I'd like to be able to identify everybody and indicate who's who.