Jeremiah Moynahan - Veteran Detroit Expressman (1849-1905)

The following post is about Jeremiah Moynahan  a veteran Detroit Expressman who died in 1905. I was inspired to write it after receiving a comment on a previous blogpost. This Jeremiah Moynahan is buried in the same Moynahan cemetery plot as my great great great grandfather Denis Moynahan (1792-1885) (see below).

The rest of the article:

"Although he had been ailing many months, his unexpected death came as a shock to his family. Not until a few hours before he passed did he take to his bed. Then Dr. J. T. Hubel was summoned, but he merely shook his head, it was too late.

Dean James Savage, his pastor and neighbour, prepared Mr. Moynahan for death and about 3 o'clock the end came. He was born in Detroit, almost where he died, within the shadow of Most Holy Trinity church, from where the funeral will take place Wednesday morning.

He is survived by a widow and six children, Daniel, Jeremiah and Julia Marie Moynahan, Mrs. Jeremiah Murphy, Mrs. Katherine Barnes and Mrs. E.B. Howard. Mrs Carr of this city and Mrs. Julia Kelly of Milwaukee are sisters.

For several years he was a special officer stationed on Belle Isle bridge but he was best know as an expressman. His honest dealings gained for him an enviable reputation among men engaged in the same business, and it is said of him that a stranger, arriving at one of the depots, was always treated in a kindly way by "Jerry" Moynahan.

Genial, good-hearted, witty, he was a pleasant man to meet. He was one of the unique characters of the sixth ward. His time was taken up entirely with his family and work and the only organization to which he belonged was the Men's Society of S.S. Peter & Paul's Jesuit cathedral.

Jeremiah died October 28 and was  buried October 31, 1905 at Mount Elliott Cemetery. We learn from his death certificate that his father's name was also Jeremiah. Upon examining his sister's (Hannah Moynahan Carr) death certificate below, we have evidence that Jeremiah Sr. was born in Kerry, Ireland.

I also learned from his death certificate that he had ten children (with seven living in 1905 although only six were mentioned in the obituary?). I also learned from Jeremiah's obituary that in 1905 he lived at 121 Porter St Detroit.

Looking at historic Detroit City Directories (1856-1896) I found the following:

Polks Detroit City Directory 1855-56

1861 Detroit City Directory

1880 Detroit Directory Pages 618-619

Detroit City and Wayne County Directory 1886

1893 Detroit City Directory

Belle Isle Bridge Approach - Detroit

Links

• Early Detroit Images (searchable from the Burton Historical Collection)
• Early Detroit by Clarence Burton ( 1853 - 1932)
• Detroit Map (16 Mb)
• Polks Detroit City Directory (1855-56)
• Library of Congress Photos" Approach to Belle Isle Bridge
• Belle Isle Conservancy

Original Document

The Connection?

The Moynahan Cemetery Lot at Mount Elliot in Detroit

My great great great grandfather Denis Moynahan is buried with Jeremiah and many other Moynahans in Detroit.

Received 1988 from Mt Elliot Cemetery Detroit

The Moynahan Plot