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An Aged Pioneer Gone

An Aged Pioneer Gone image
Parent Issue
Day
13
Month
January
Year
1899
Copyright
Public Domain
Obituary
OCR Text

AN AGED PIONEER GONE.

Death of Mrs, Joanna Moloney in the Third Ward.

Mrs. Joanna Moloney died at her residence, northwest corner of Hiscock and Fountain sts., in this city, Monday evening, Jan. 9, 1899, about 9 o'clock, aged 79 years and 18 days.

Deceased was born on Dec. 22, 1819, at Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland. In 1826 her parents - Curtin by name - migrated to this country, settling in Cold Spring, Putman county, New York, where they lived until 1835, when they removed to the township of Freedom, this county.

Sept. 1, 1886, she was married to Patrick Moloney, of Freedom, by Rev. Fr. Henesey. They settled on government land in that township, which farm she still owned at the time of her death.

Freedom then was a howling wilderness, the land they settled on being on an Indian trail. When the young husband went to the village for provisions, he was obliged to take along an ax, with which to mark the trees, so he would not lose his way home on the return trip. But they lived to see the wilderness of those days change into fields of waving grain, the primitive log cabins into comfortable modern dwellings, and school houses and churches soon testified in unmistakable terms of an advancing civilization.

There they lived happily together, despite all trials and hardships of pioneer life. Twelve children were born to them, of which six - three boys and three girls - have preceded their mother to the mysterious beyond, besides the husband and father, who died on the 12th day of June, 1872. Three years later - in 1875 - Mrs. Moloney removed with her four youngest daughters to this city, buying the property where she died, and now known as No. 703 Fountain st., in the Third ward.

Deceased leaves six daughters, viz: Sarah A., wife of Wm. H. Mclntyre, member of the board of public works of this city, who resides at No. 626 Spring st.; Nora H., wife of Paul Fritz, jr., of the township of Freedom; Joanna E. Roach, of 508 N. Fifth ave.; Mary E., wife of Wm. Purcell, of Toledo, an engineer on the Ann Arbor railroad; Isadore E., wife of Jeremiah W. Walsh, of 711 Fountain st., and Lena L., wife of Morgan Williams, of 703 Fountain st. - who, with 20 children living, mourn the loss of mother and grandmother.

Mrs. Moloney was an exceptionally kind Christian woman in all her walks through life, whether as wife, mother, grandmother, friend or neighbor - and will be sadly missed by her family and by all who gained her friendship or made her more intimate acquaintance. As an illustration of this it may be here stated that only a few days ago an old lady friend of hers living on a farm in Freedom, on learning of Mrs. M.'s serious illness, dove a distance of 14 miles through a terrific rain storm to this city to once more see her old time and tried friend, before the shadow of death had severed the thread of life forever.

During her recent illness, which was of about a week's duration, her daughter - Mrs. Purcell, of Toledo - being called by telegram to her bedside, was obliged to leave her own second oldest daughter, who is quite ill, in the charge of her husband, so she might minister to the wants of her own dying mother here - coming from and returning to Toledo from day to day. Such are the trials of life. For the last number of years the youngest daughter, Mrs. Morgan Williams, lived with and cared for every want of her aged mother. The immediate cause of death was paralysis, superinduced by old age.

The funeral occurred from the St. Thomas church on Thursday at 9:30 o'clock. The interment took place at the Northfield cemetery, by the side of her husband.