Patrick Finnegan

Patrick was the first of 10 children born to Peter Finnegan, probably from Balmyre Parish, and Margaret Vallely of Clady Beg in Kilcloony Parish, Armagh. He was born in the Catholic Parish of Loughgilly. As a young man, he moved to Liverpool to work, probably as a mason. There he married a young widow, Mary "Moina" Ward, nee McKenna. Their first three children were born in Liverpool. When Patrick's father died in 1847, his mother decided to leave Ireland and emigrated to the US, settling in Vermont, with the rest of Patrick's siblings. Patrick and Moina soon followed and established themselves on a small farm in the town of Eden in Lamoille Co., Vermont. Patrick became a US citizen in 1852. The couple had 11 children altogether: Peter, Mary Anne, Margaret Isabelle, Dennis, Catherine, Bridget Minnie, Ellen Lucy, Theresa, Susan, Frank Patrick, and John. Patrick fought in the Union Army in the American Civil War, in the 9th Vermont Regiment. On returning home, Patrick discovered that a plot of woodland he had purchased before the war had been claimed by his neighbor, Leonard McDowell, and a feud began, ultimately escalating into violence. On 11 January 1867, Patrick and his older sons tried to stop the McDowells from entering the access road that crossed their property, in order to prevent them cutting wood. An argument ensued and soon Patrick, Leonard, and McDowell's son all began swinging their axes at one another. McDowell's son knocked Patrick to the ground, and then buried his axe head in Patrick's side, dealing a fatal blow. The McDowell's were tried for murder and acquitted, on the grounds that both sides were equally responsible for the violence. The report of the story can be found here: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84023428/1867-06-05/ed-1/seq-2/. The Finnegan family was unable to pay for Patrick's funeral and so lost their home. Moina moved with her children to Wolcott, Vermont, and later to Boston. The children scattered across the country, with three of the daughters settling in San Antonio, Texas, and later Los Angeles. Moina died in 1887 at the Westboro (Massachusetts) State Hospital, also known as the Westboro Insane Hospital. The cause of death was listed as "melancholia and exhaustion". Despite this sad story, Patrick and his siblings left hundreds of descendants across the United States, including in Vermont, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Texas, and California.