August 8, 1833: Mary J. Moynahan Born in Detroit

On this day, Mary J. Moynahan Parks was born in Detroit (1833) daughter of James (1810-1858) and Catherine (Hart) (1810-1871) Moynahan. Mary J. (Moynahan) Parks

Book Excerpt: Portrait of Denver and Vicinity, Colorado

My daily genealogy practice since 2017 has been to create monthly calendars using my Family Tree Maker 2017 program that lists all of the births, marriages and deaths for the 2,959 ancestors in my family tree.

Each day, I look at the ancestors listed on that particular day and I:

1. honour them by saying their name and then looking them up on my Ancestry Family Tree
2. review all of their information on ancestry.ca
3. search for any new information on that ancestor (shaking "green leaves") that may have become available since the last time I checked

I had been wanting to write about the Parks family of Leadville, Colorado for some time. As I began to collect all of the documents to tell the story of Mary J. Moynahan, I noted the following interesting facts:

• Mary moved to Colorado with her three brothers after losing her husband Thomas Parks in the Civil War (his body was never found)
• Following the death of their mother Catherine (Hart) Moynahan, the Colorado siblings took their Michigan sister to court
• Mary's daughter Wilehelmina ("Willa") Parks married Peter H. Donnelly who was found dead in a Utah hotel with four bullet wounds to the heart that authorities say was a suicide (but the family insists he was murdered)
• Mary's daughter (Mary J. 1855-1905) was so grief stricken by the loss of her mother in September and died shortly after in October
• Mary is buried in St. Joseph's cemetery in the same plot as her daughter and the monument was installed by the "Women Of Woodcraft"

Mary J. (Moynahan) Parks of Colorado

Mary was born in Michigan in 1833 but later moved (with her children) to Colorado with her three brothers James, Matthew and John leaving sister Anna in Michigan (more on that later).

Mary J. Moynahan married Thomas Parks a (bootmaker) around 1854. Daughter Mary J was born in 1855, followed by Catherine (1858), Maggie (1860) Cornelia (1862) and Wilhelmina (1863)

Thomas Parks was a boot and shoemaker. He advertised in Lake Superior Miner from 27 Dec. 1856 and last advertisement is dated 13 April 1861. He was on the Rockland Civil War Draftee list of 1 June 1862. He was Catholic. (Source: Dorothy Angus Aitcheson. August 17, 1999) Rockland Township is in Ontonagon County, MI and is where the family is found on the 1860 census (below).

Year: 1860; Census Place: Rockland, Ontonagon, Michigan;
Roll: M653_557; Page: 49;
Family History Library Film: 803557

The Civil War was the first war in American history in which a substantial proportion of the adult male population participated. Almost every American would have known friends, family members, or neighbors who marched off to war, many never to return. 

No records have been found for Thomas Parks in any of the Michigan Civil War Units. 

Mary J. (Moynahan) Parks brother James Moynahan enlisted in Company C, 27th Infantry, Copper Harbour Michigan in August 1862. 

On the 1870 Census for Detroit , Mary is listed as a widow and living with her five girls in Ward 8.

Source: Year: 1870; Census Place: Detroit Ward 8, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: M593_714; Page: 161B; Family History Library Film: 552213

In 1875, Mary J. Parks is listed in the Directory as a janitress at Barstow School (located on Larned St. between Russell and Riopelle Streets, built in 1871.) 

Source: The History of Detroit & Michigan

After the Civil War - Mary Moves to Colorado

Mary Parks traveled to Colorado with her girls and arrived in Alma, Park Co. Co in 1877. Her brother James Moynahan was already living there with his family. In 1879 she moved the family to Leadville, Lake County, CO.

Mary never remarried and she and her daughter would live the rest of their days at 213 East Sixth St. when Mary passed away on the 22nd of September 1905.

Source: Herald Democrat, September 23, 1905

Mary's Eldest Daughter Mary J. (1855-1905)

Mary's daughter (Mary J. 1855-1905) was so grief stricken by the loss of her mother in September 22, that she died shortly after on October 4th

Source: Herald Democrat, October 5, 1905

Daughter Mary J. worked in the dry goods shops in Leadville and was "an active worker in the Violet Circle No.1 She is buried with her mother in the same plot at St. Joseph's Cemetery.
 

Cemetery: Saint Joseph Cemetery Burial or Cremation
Place: Leadville, Lake County, Colorado, United States of America

The Headstone Was Erected by the Women of Woodcraft

Women of Woodcraft was a female auxiliary to Woodmen of the World (WOW), which was founded in 1897 by Joseph Cullen Root. Women of Woodcraft covered the nine states of the Woodmen’s Pacific Jurisdiction: California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. In 1917 Women of Woodcraft changed their name to Neighbors of Woodcraft (NOW). In 2001 NOW returned to its roots and merged with WOW.

Mary's Other Daughters: Catherine (Parks) Gillen

(1858)

At the time of her mother and sisters deaths, Catherine (Parks) Gillens left to join her husband in Shanghai, China. I have not found any further records.

 

Mary's Other Daughters: Maggie (Parks) Walsh

(1860-1917)

Maggie's only son (17-years-old) drowned tragically in the Grand River. At the time of the drowning, Maggie (Parks) Walsh was an invalid and it was feared she would not be able to withstand the terrible shock of her son's drowning. (She died six years later)

 

Source: The Daily Sentinel Grand Junction, Colorado 27 Jan 1917, Sat  •  Page 3

Source: The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colorado) · 24 Jul 1911, Mon · Page 1

Mary's Other Daughters: Cornelia (Parks) Purcell

(1862-1935)

Mary's Other Daughters: Wilhelmina (Parks - Donnelly) Angus

(1863-1921)

Read about Willa's first husband Peter H. Donnelly who was alleged to have committed suicide. Or was it murder? https://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/08/peter-h-donnelly-murdered-or-suicide.html

Other Moynahan Michigan-Colorado Posts

• Capt. James Minihan (1840-1899) https://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/02/capt-james-minihan-1840-1899.html
• 52 Ancestors No. 10: James Moynahan (1842-1919) Civil War Soldier & Colorado Miner http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2015/03/52-ancestors-no-10-james-moynahan-1842.html
•  52 Ancestors No. 30: Department Commander James Moynahan 1917 http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2015/08/52-ancestors-no-30-department-commander.html
• 1899: James Moynahan Remained True To Lincoln http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2015/04/1899-james-moynahan-remained-true-to.html
•  Moynahan Fire & Hose Company - Alma, Colorado http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2015/04/moynahan-fire-hose-company-alma-colorado.html
•  OTD: Oct. 26: Ambrose Edwin Moynahan Died  https://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/10/otd-oct-26-ambrose-edwin-moynahan-died.html