The
story of St. Michael's Parish Families EARLY PARISH FAMILIES The following was edited from the book People, Bricks, & Timbers written for St. Michael Church Centennial in 1978. It is as complete as the information we have from those early days. This document considers the early parish families, not so much the early Livermore families. If you have anything to add or pictures to share, please contact us. St. Michael Web Team The story of our parish is in part the story of parish families. In the following accounts we present the histories of some of the families who started the parish and some of those who came during the first 60 years. Not all families are represented because information was not available. The families are arranged alphabetically by the father's last name. The mother's maiden name, when known, is given on the second line. Within the text the authors have tried to cross-reference the many interrelationships that exist because of marriages between early parish families. |
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CALLAGHAN, Henry Joseph In the late 1860's and early 1870's six Callaghan brothers came to
America from Ireland, either from County Tyrone or close to it. They
were the sons of Donald and Mary(McHugh) Callaghan. They all arrived
in California by the late 1870's. They were in order of age: The mother of the six boys, Mary (McHugh) Callaghan at the age of 88, left her only daughter Mary (Callaghan) Boyle, in Ireland and came to Livermore to live. The brothers built a cottage for their mother at the southwest corner of Second and M Streets,where she lived all alone in a very independent fashion until she was 104. Henry and Sarah had five children: Edward, who married Julia Flynn, Maude who married Mr. Collins, Sadie, who became Dominican Sister M. Zita, Florence,who married James Deck, and Joe(or Henry Jr.) who married Emma Barham. The six brothers all either owned sheep or herded sheep, and were considered successful. Henry Callaghan's house, built in 1880, is still standing on the south side of East Avenue and is now painted red. It has 10 rooms, with a staircase of 18 steps to the second floor. There is a concrete kitchen in the back, where most of the family life centered. There was no heating except in the marble fireplaces in the main rooms, but, of course, the kitchen stove kept the family rooms cozy. The house was on the edge of 28 acres of vineyard, now the site of the Vineyard Shopping Center and housing development. The sheep ranch was in Corral Hollow. Tragedy came to the Callaghan family in 1888, when Henry died following an accident. He was returning from his sheep ranch in Corral Hollow one Sunday morning, driving a young high-spirited colt, when one of the lines broke. Henry was thrown from the cart. He was horribly injured but managed to drive home alone He died shortly after. His son Henry Joseph 'Joe' was one year old. Sarah was left to raise five children. Sarah Rodgers (also known as McCrory) Callaghan came to the United States from county Tyrone, Ireland, when she was 18. She eventually came to San Francisco where she worked for a doctor and met Henry. On the death of her husband she first hired men to work the sheep but ultimately sold them and leased out the hill land. She struggled to raise her children and took in, in addition, several orphans and uncared for children. At times there was barely enough food to go around. She was an extremely capable woman and very religious. Sarah kept herself and her children busy. They worked in the fields, milked the cows, and planted those 28 acres of vineyard. It was not difficult to keep busy in those days. Until the Callaghans got their own well, they had to carry their water from the Brennan house across the street. Sewing, cooking, soap making, and food preserving were all done at home. The children would take the milk from their cows and go to town to sell it to other householders. At one place on their route they had to go past a hedge where the hoboes camped. The children were terrified and got past it as quickly as they could. In those days, even children who lived some distance from town walked to school. From the Callaghan house you could look up East Avenue (then called Big Field Road) and see children walking to school all the way from where the Laboratory is now. If a rancher should happen to come along driving a wagon, all the children would climb on and get a ride. The Henry Callaghans and friends about 1890. Their home, on East Avenue, restored and painted red (1978), is now a familiar Livermore Landmark. Mrs. Callaghan and daughter Sadie are in the back. Henry J., Jr. is in the foreground, with little cousin Frank on his right. The other Callaghans, from left to right are: Edward (with bicycle), Maude (with little cousin Winnie), and Florence. In the baby carriage is cousin Monica. At far right is James Callaghan. (Photo courtesy Livermore Heritage Guild.) Florence Callaghan, the fourth of Henry and Sarah's five children,married James Deck. They had two sons, Arthur and Richard. Just before Grandma Sarah died, the Decks returned to live in the Callaghan home on East Avenue. Sarah was burned to death when an explosion in the stove caused a fire. Arthur Deck married Alberta Viada and they moved to Fresno; Richard married Geraldine Mulqueeney, and they live in Livermore. Henry J. Jr., 'Joe' the youngest of the five children, after being a grocery market operator on First Street, became a banker. In due course he was made manager of the American Trust Company in Livermore. He was very active in the drive to raise money for Valley Memorial Hospital. In 1971, Henry J. Jr., received the Eagles Outstanding Citizen Award. Joe married Emma Barham. Their son, Paul, is a professor at the University of Guam. CALLAGHAN, John John Callaghan was the second son of Donald and Mary McHugh Callaghan. He was born in County Donegal, Ireland, in 1837. In 1860, after the death of his father, John went to Australia and New Zealand, where he worked in the mining industry. In 1868 he came to California with his brother Patrick. They mined manganese in Corral Hollow for A.S. Ladd for two years. Then they obtained a quarter section of land near Livermore and started grain farming. At that time the balance of the family came to Livermore. The farming branched into raising sheep, which also meant more land acquisition. John Callaghan married Margaret Moy on Thanksgiving Day 1876. They had five children; John J., who became Livermore's first City attorney; Edward F. who married Ellen Brennan; Margaret,who married Charles Owens; Susan, who married Emmet Moran; and Henry John, a U.S. Navy career man. John and Margaret with their children lived on the northwest side of town, in a huge two-story house in the area near where the bowling alley now stands. John loved spirited horses, and he was killed when one of them became frightened and upturned the wagon in which John was riding. He was 68 at the time. CALLAGHAN, Michael G. Michael Callaghan was one of four sons of Patrick and Margaret Callaghan. He came to this Valley in 1882, from Donegal, Ireland,when he was 15 years old. He herded sheep for Pat Connolly. In 1895, he married Mary Gallagher, whose parents; Patrick and Elizabeth came to the Valley in 1871. (Mary was one of 17 children.) Michael became a buyer of hay and a crop insurance man. He was interested in politics. He was a Democrat and the Postmaster in Livermore when Woodrow Wilson was President. He later became a land appraiser working for the Western Pacific Railroad and for the City of San Francisco. Michael and Mary had four sons: Phillip, Richard, Leo,and Francis Lincoln. (At one time the boys walked with their father from the Hetch Hetchy Dam and moccasin to San Francisco.) Phillip married Helen Weise; they had one son, Philip Patrick Jr. who is a Jesuit Priest in San Francisco. Richard, the second son of Michael G. and Mary, was the Livermore City attorney for many years. He married Martha Agnew of Alameda and they had three children: Richard II, James, and Martha. After his wife Martha's death, Richard married Frieda Wente Tubbs. Richard received the Eagles Outstanding Citizen Award in 1950. Richard's children all married. Richard II wed Wilma McElveen. They have three children; Richard III, who married Cindy McCullough; Nancy, and Laura (Mrs. David Salata.) Richard's other son, James, married Phyllis Fitz. They had six children: Joan, Karen, Catherine, Barbara, Michael, and Steven. After Phyllis' death, James married Corinne McClure. Richard's daughter Martha married Newton Jackson. They have two children, David and Debbie. Leo, the third son of Michael G. and Mary, married Frances Polomoni. Frances' parents were Angelo Polomoni, who came from Italy in 1882, and Catherine Perata. The Polomonis were farmers in the Vasco area. Leo and Frances were married in St. Michael's Church. Leo attended St. Michael's Academy (when they had a barn for the student's horses), and Livermore High (when there were 400 students). He attended Santa Clara University, Stanford University, and the College for funeral directors. They had one daughter Lee Ann, who married James David Boynton. They had two children, Bryan Mathew and Christiana Marie. Francis Lincoln, the fourth son of Michael G. and Mary, married Myrtle Groth. They had two children, Robert, who married Barbara Olsen (they have a son Jayme), and Mary Lou, who is Mrs. Calvin Faulk, the mother of four boys, David, Scott, Todd, and Jeffry. Richard and Frieda, Leo and Francis, and Myrtle Groth Callaghan are living in Livermore, (1978) along with a number of their children and grandchildren, accounting for four generations of St. Michael's parishioners. Return to list CONNOLLY, Charles Charles and Josephine (Lane) Connolly came to the valley in 1872. Their son Edward married Mary Ellis and they settled in Carnegie where Edward worked in the brickyard. At times they and their nine children went by horse and wagon to Mass in Tracy. Locally, daughter Catherine married Emmet O'Shea, son John S. married Mary Kelly, and son Andrew married Rose Davina. COUGHLIN, Patrick Patrick and Rose Coughlin were born in Ireland. In the 1880's Patrick was the watchman (the local police patrol). Their son George married Ethel Babbit. George was the rural mail carrier. He was also the squirrel exterminator and he owned and operated the 'Bricks Place,' a board and lodging house on First Street. George and Ethel had three daughters: Mildred (Mrs. Frank) Medeiros, who lives on North Livermore Avenue, Leona Santana, and Irene King. DOOLAN, Michael The Michael Doolan family came to the Livermore Valley from St. John's New Brunswick, Canada, in the late 1860's. In 1974 Gertrude (Collier) Roland, a granddaughter, gave us this reminiscence of the Doolan family. Michael Doolan married Margaret Ritchie in Canada in the 1800's. Margaret's father, a wealthy blacksmith shop owner in St. John's, had sent her to live with her two great-aunts who had a private school in Boston. (Margaret's mother, a French lady, had died and Mr. Ritchie was concerned that his second wife was overworking Margaret.) In Canada, the Doolan's had five children: Jim, Theresa, Margaret, Molly, and Katie, a deaf mute. In early 1868, Michael alone came around the horn to California and homesteaded land in the Livermore Valley. Margaret, pregnant with Elizabeth Veronica, and the children followed by ship later in 1868 with as many of their belongings as possible. Elizabeth was born near Dublin California, on September 29 1868. Later the Doolan family moved to their ranch in Doolan Canyon, and the following children were born: George, William, and Clara. James married Nanie Dolan; Theresa married William Collier; Mary married Will Martin, who managed a lumberyard in Livermore; Elizabeth married Thomas M. Twohey, Jr. George married Florence Larue; William married Bertha Schultz; and Clara married James P. Moy, the son of Peter Moy and Alice Connolly. EGAN, John In the fall of 1878, John and Ellen Walsh Egan and their two young children, Catherine and John, arrived in Livermore after crossing the country from Massachusetts. They were both born in Ireland, but had met and married in Massachusetts. The family spent their first winter on a ranch near the present Veterans Administration Hospital. The following spring they bought a ranch in Altamont, where another daughter and two sons were born. Tragedy struck the family in 1889 when John Sr. was killed in a hay wagon accident. Ellen reared the children alone stressing the importance of religion in their life, especially Mass attendance and catechetic studies. Both daughters and one son moved to Oakland where job opportunities were better. John and his brother James stayed on the land to farm. About the same time John and Ellen met in Massachusetts, a young girl Bridget Egan arrived in Livermore from Ireland. Here she joined her brother, Michael and sisters Margaret Egan (Greeley)and Anna (Egan) Smith. She worked as a servant for several families before meeting a fellow Irishman named Samuel Farrell. They were married Easter Sunday, April 21,1878, by Father Cassidy at St. Michael's Church. Years later this same parish would see the couple's children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren receive the sacraments and continue with the young couple's greatest devotion, the love of God. Bridget and Samuel had two daughters, Mary and Katherine. Mary (Farrell) Carrol was killed in the tragic San Francisco earthquake and fire, April 18,1906. Katherine fell in love with the young Altamont farmer John Egan. The two were married on April 16, 1911, at St. Michael's Church by Father Patrick Power. Their attendants were James Egan and Kathryn Greeley, daughter of John Paul and Margaret Greeley. John and Katherine lived in Altamont with their three daughters and son farming and raising cattle. After John died in 1938, Katherine moved to Livermore. Here, she fulfilled her great desire to grow flowers to place on the altar of St. Michael's. Until her death in 1945, many of her blooms graced to altar. Today (1978) three of her children still live in Livermore. They are Mary (Egan) Bordes, Bernice (Egan) Rooney, and Jean Egan. Their children attended St. Michael's School and Jean's daughter, Marilyn, is now a teacher there. FALLON, William J. William J. and Annie (Coppinger) Fallon settled in the Livermore-Amador Valley in 1857. The family farm was on Fallon Road north of Highway 50 (now U.S. 580), west of Doolan Road. William was 29; Annie was 20. They both came from Ireland. They Had 11 children: Mary, James, Nora, Theresa, Kate, Bill, Rob, John, Dan, Thomas, and William. Annie and her daughters made vestments and altar cloths for St. Michael's. Locally, Mary married Mike Murray; James married Mary Twohey; daughter of Joseph and Mary Callaghan Twohey. James and Mary had three sons, Jim, Frank, and George, who were all St. Michael's parishioners. FLYNN, Owen Owen Flynn was born in King's County, Ireland. He belonged to a landed Irish family, but his girlfriend. Catherine O'Leary did not. His family decided to break up the friendship by sending Owen to an exclusive boarding school. While he was away Catherine decided to immigrate to America. Owen followed her to New York where they were married. They crossed the Isthmus of Panama to California in the 1860's. Owen first worked at putting in the California Street cable car line in San Francisco, but the severe earthquake of 1868 frightened Catherine so much that they left San Francisco and moved to Corral Hollow. Owen bought land near Altamont. The present Flynn Road was named for him. The Flynn children were: Elizabeth, who became Mrs. John McGlinchey; Catherine, Mrs. Dan Moy; Annie, Mrs. Peter Barthe; Julia, Mrs. Edward Callaghan; Mary, Mrs. James Coogan; Dora, Mrs. Charles Sherman; Owen who married Kate Moy; and John, who married Mary Coogan. GARDELLA, Antonio Antonio Gardella was born in Italy. As a young man he had gone to Germany and Ethiopia (then Abyssinia) as a laborer. He spoke the German language fluently. He married Marie Basso in Italy in 1879. A short while later he immigrated to the U.S. and to the Livermore Valley. When Antonio had sufficient funds, he sent for his wife, who arrived in 1880. It took 60 days for the journey from Genoa. Their first child had been born in Italy, and they were to have seven more. Antonio's parents followed him to America. His mother had been a domestic in Italy, and his father had been in the Italian Army for five years. In America, Grandpa and Grandma Gardella labored on farms and helped to build the Western Pacific Railroad in the valley. Antonio worked for the Wentes, the Concannons, and other pioneers. He and his family lived on the May ranch east of Livermore until 1900 when they moved to the Livermore Ranch (Las Positas). They farmed there until 1908, when they built a fine two-story home at the northeast corner of Junction Avenue and East First Street- (The house was later moved a short distance to the west and still stands.) The house was built by F. Costa who later built our present St. Michael's Church. The Gardellas also bought property where the Forester's Hallis now (Second and South J Streets), and the property where Gardella's liquor store is (Second and South L Streets). This was once a saloon operated by Steve Ferrario. GREELEY, John Paul John Paul Greeley and Margaret Egan were married in New Jersey in 1866. John was born in New Jersey and Margaret was born in County Mayo, Ireland. They came to California about 1870 and settled in Altamont, were they obtained a Spanish grant of land from Captain Cook. President Hayes' signature is on the deed. They had ten children, the last of whom the father never set eyes on because he died in a railroad accident about three weeks before she was born. John followed railroading and ranching as means of livelihood. The last child, Kathryn (Greeley) Scullion, is the mother of Eileen (Scullion) Michelis and Donald James Scullion. Another daughter, Rose (Greeley) Young, had a daughter, Alice, who married Harry Laughlin (of a longtime Livermore family). Eileen and Alice are still members of St. Michael's. HUNTER, John Peg Pritchard married John Hunter, who worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Peg's mother was Anne (Burns) Pritchard, whose parents were Margaret (Collier)and Michael Burns. The Burns family came from Ireland in 1864. KELLY, Frank, John C., and Mary Ann Frank Kelly, his brother John C., and his sister Mary Ann were born in Donegal, Ireland. They came to California in the 1880's because they heard that they could find gold in the streets. Frank came first. He acquired a sheep ranch on the Mocho Creek that his daughter's family (the Devaneys) still owns. Frank married Annie Callaghan. Their children were John M. and May who married a Devaney. John came next and he rented a sheep ranch in Midway and then bought a ranch in Corral Hollow (about 1900), where the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory now has its test Site 300. Mary Ann came later and she married Frank Floyd. They were farmers in Altamont for many years. One of their sons, Tom, married Leta Moy, daughter of John and Mary (McCabe) Moy. John C., who always gave his birthday as February 32nd, married Margaret Gallen in 1888. Margaret, the niece of Mrs. Tom Lawler, came here from Ireland as a young girl. They lived in Laddsville opposite where the Junction Avenue School is now. John kept adding to the house all the time to make room for his nine sons and two daughters. The house was directly behind St. Michael's on East First Street. When Father Power needed an altar boy in a hurry, he would go to the back of the church and put his fingers in his mouth and whistle. One of the Kelly boys would come running to the church. Before he settled in Livermore, John C. Kelly herded sheep near Coalinga for $20 to $ 25 a month. He saw oil running over the ground and killing the birds but didn't realize then what it would be worth. But in 1907 a hundred pound lamb sold for $2.75. One of his nine sons, John J., was the husband of our own, Lauretta (Twohey) Kelly. Another of his sons is Francis B. 'Fritz' Kelly, a former Livermore policeman, who married Anna Zales. Mary married John S. Connolly; William married Marcella Schween who died, then Lucie Leslie. Thomas V. married Theresa Rose, Reg. W. married Clarice Davis, Charles died in Seminary, Joseph married Loretta Schween, S. Larry married Kay Walsh, Clarence married Lil Marciel, and Carmel married James Minehane. KELLY, James G. James G. and Mary (Gallagher) Kelly were both born in County Donegal, Ireland, but they met and were married in Brooklyn, New York. In 1877, Jim came to this valley and engaged in the sheep business. He went back for a visit in 1883, when he first met and married Mary A. Gallagher. He brought her back to Livermore and in due course settled their family in a large house at Eighth and K Streets. It was a hospitable family. They had a tame Brownie cow in the field behind the house. The neighborhood children used to milk the cow every night, two at a time on each side. Their eldest daughter, Rose, married James Twohey, son of Thomas Matthew and Mary Wright Twohey. Another daughter, Mary, was the office nurse for Dr. Paul Dolan. She died when she was quite young. A third daughter, Susan, (Susie) taught school, first at Tesla (now a ghost town) and later at Highland and May Elementary Schools. She was often referred to as Livermore's 'Poet Laureate. 'One of her best-loved poems is, 'Good Morning Miss Smith.' After she retired she often substituted at St. Michael's School. She died at 75 when her home burned in 1963. Mary and Susie did not marry. LADD, Alphonso S. Alphonso S. Ladd was born in Maine in 1827. He was one of five brothers who came to San Francisco in 1850. In 1851 he moved to Sunol where he lived until 1865 when he preempted 160 acres of land near or on Rancho Las Positas. (This was before the boundaries were settled.) He built a house and a hotel about where Junction Avenue School is now and other settlers built houses and businesses nearby. The settlement house became known as Laddsville. Alphonso Ladd married Sarah Brogan of Ireland and they had four children. They were Ellie (Nellie), who married one of the Foscalini brothers, Etta or Henrietta who married Oscar Cozd (whose father was a famous long distance runner), Joseph T. who was accidentally shot on a hunting trip in the Livermore hills in 1877 when he was 18, and Alice who married John O'Leary. Alphonso's brother Aurellius T. Ladd was the man who discovered and developed the Ladd manganese mines near Mocho Creek. He is the one John Callaghan worked for when he first came to Livermore. There was a big fire in Laddsville in 1871, but the Ladd Hotel was spared. Alphonso Ladd died on November 2, 1868. His widow Sarah managed the hotel until tragically it was destroyed by fire in 1876. It was at five in the morning of August 1. The two-story building was part wood and part adobe and contained 19 rooms and a bar. The Ladd estate gave the land for the first St. Michael's Catholic Church in Livermore. That church was in Laddsville. LIVERMORE, Jr., Robert Robert Livermore Jr., was the son of Robert Livermore after whom the city was named. Robert Sr. was one of the first white settlers in the valley. His Rancho Las Positas was made up of 11 leagues. Robert, Jr.'s mother was Josefa (Higuera) Livermore, from Los Tularcitos Rancho, an early Spanish land grant south of Mission San Jose. Teresa Bernal was the daughter of Juan Pablo Bernal, a grantee of Rancho El Valle de San Jose (Pleasanton and Sunol) and Rafaela (Feliz) Bernal. She was baptized Maria Teresa de Los Angeles in October 1842 at Mission Santa Clara de Asis by Maria Vasques del Mercado, Fray Francisco. Robert Livermore Jr., and Teresa Bernal were married at San Jose de Guadalupe Mission in 1861. They made their home on Las Positas Rancho, two miles north of the city. He was a rancher and lived on Las Positas until the time of his death in 1886. Teresa died in 1902. They are buried in St. Michael's Cemetery. A stained glass window was placed in St. Michael's Church in their memory. They had seven children: Isabel, Victoria, Robert, Charles, Katherine, Nicholas, and Delfina. McCOLLIER, Mike Mike McCollier married Mary McMurray whose family came around the Horn from Ireland to San Francisco in 1849. The McCollier's, who later dropped 'Mc' from their name, were the first to settle in Collier Canyon. On their ranch, the Colliers grew wheat, barley,and hay. They also raised cows, sheep, and pigs. They paid $1 an acre for the land. They must have been a large family; granddaughter Anne (Burns) Pritchard could claim 33 first cousins. McCORMICK, Frank Frank McCormick came from San Francisco in 1870 and farmed in the Midway area. Of his children, son Frank married Agnes Nevin and they had three children: Leota (McCormick) O'Neil, Jack McCormick,and Nevin McCormick. William, another son, married Mollie Fitzgerald. Mary, one of Frank's daughters, married Thomas Henry. Mary worked for Dr. J. K. Warner. Mary and Thomas' son, William Thomas, married Madeline Bento. Annie, another of Frank's daughters, married Frank Fennon, who was a butcher. McGLINCHEY, John John McGlinchey was born in Donegal, Ireland, in 1861. He immigrated to Livermore in 1882 by way of a 14-day train trip from Quebec, Canada. He came to join Peter Moy, a man he had known in Ireland. Moy was a successful sheep rancher in the area east of Livermore. John McGlinchey found work tending sheep for the widow of John O'Brien. In later years he became one of most extensive cattle and sheep raisers in this area. His work in this field led to two activities for which he was well known: fire fighting and the Livermore Rodeo. John was one of the founders of the Stockmen's Protective Association, formed after a range fire burned nearly a million acres. The organization worked to prevent fires and to fight them. John was elected president, and held that office until his death in 1947. During his lifetime he also served in the California Cattlemen's Association, as State Deputy Fish Commissioner, and as Alameda County Fire warden (1906-1937) John McGlinchey was Alameda County Fire Warden from 1906 to 1937. John McGlinchey was first a catholic. He was a member of the Young Men's Institute from the 1890's and was actively involved in the Knights of Columbus even before the local Council was founded. He was the basket passer at church who held the collection plate firmly under your nose until you contributed something more tangible than a weak smile. On April 28,1892, John McGlinchey and Elizabeth Flynn were married in a Nuptial Mass at St. Michael's Church. Father Patrick Power officiated. John and Elizabeth had nine children: Eugene, Mary, Catherine, John, James, Joseph, William, Francis, and Carmel. The McGlinchey sons were most famous for the part they played in the basketball team, the Livermore Cowboys. James McGlinchey and his four brothers were the scourge of the local basketball scene when they played together as a team. They were the local basketball champions,and one year they vied for the national championship in Kansas City. In 1918, during the awful influenza epidemic, when all schools were closed, and there was no income for the Convent, the Livermore Cowboys basketball Team, under the management of Joe Aurreocheo, made a substantial contribution to St. Michael's Convent. Eugene McGlinchey was a flight instructor in the Army Air force(AAF) during World War I. The AAF was an exclusive organization at that time; of the relatively few men who flew in those years,two came from Livermore - Eugene, and Kenneth Henry. Son James succeeded his father as County Fire Warden through competitive examination at the time of John's retirement in 1937. James served in that capacity until his retirement in 1965. In 1966, James received the Eagles Outstanding Citizen Award. In 1950, the Alameda County Firehouse on College Avenue was dedicated to the memory of John McGlinchey. Five of the McGlinchey boys married: Eugene to Frances Dobratz; John to Ruth Bernal; James to Catherine Flett; William to Rose Raboli; and Francis to Leona Johnson. (In 1977, Francis and Leona chose the Parish Hall for the site of their 40th wedding anniversary celebration, and Leona and her daughter, Kathryn Laughlin, teach C.C.D. classes at St. Michael's. Grandson Steve will be confirmed at St. Michael's) The three McGlinchey girls became school teachers. (Kathryn's grade school teachers influenced her to change the spelling of her name from Catherine to Kathryn.) Carmel subsequently married John Fannuchi. Wife Elizabeth (Flynn) McGlinchey was the 'kindly matriarch' whose life was filled with service to her family and to the church. She was a member of the Young Ladies Institute and the Catholic Ladies Aid Society. To quote the book, Celebrities at Your Doorstep: 'Most people knew John McGlinchey for his leadership activities,and the McGlinchey sons as a nucleus of the nationally famous basketball team, 'The Livermore Cowboys.' But Elizabeth McGlinchey had a role of her own: mother of nine children, five orphaned nieces and nephews, and at least a half-dozen other children of no relationship. This was her credo: 'If someone was hungry you fed him. If he needed a home you invited him to move in. Mrs. McGlinchey had two interests, her church, and people. They provided her with a rich and full life.' The McGlincheys moved around from houses in town to ranches in the country, but finally settled in the big building that had been the Livermore Collegiate Institute on College Avenue. Two beloved aunts came to help 'Aunt Lizzie.' The Reverend W. B. Kingsbury built the Livermore Collegiate Institute, from which College Avenue received it's name, in 1870, and for years it housed the Presbyterian Church. However, it was considered too far out of town for churchgoers, so in 1875, Professor J.D. Smith took it over and operated it as an institute of higher learning for almost 20 years, when it became the first unit of the Livermore Sanitarium. In 1906, John McGlinchey purchased the College as a home for his family. It was a big house: 28 rooms, 15 bedrooms, on six acres of land. It was a fabulous playground, with room for baseball,football, basketball, volleyball, horseshoes, kite flying, etc.,not only for the family, but also for all the neighborhood children who were always welcome. The McGlinchey home on College Avenue had been the Livermore Collegiate Institute and the Livermore Sanitarium. So it had plenty of room for the nine McGlinchey children, other children the family care for, and the neighborhood children who would stay overnight. In 1931, the house was badly damaged by fire. Enough lumber was salvaged to build the frame of the present McGlinchey home. The St. Michael's Mother's Club for years held their annual evening fund raiser on the lawns of the new home. John McGlinchey died in 1947 at the age of 86; Elizabeth died at age 96 in 1965. But family involvement in St. Michael's parish life continues as it did in 1892 when John and Elizabeth were married. From that day forward there has been a succession of Baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, weddings and, inevitably, funerals involving four generations of the McGlinchey family. MINOGGIO, Peter and Catherine Peter (Protrasio) and Catherine Minoggio came to Livermore from Italy in the 1880's. Peter planted and cultivated grape vines in Livermore's famous vineyards. He was also a winemaker. The Minoggios lived on West Second Street and they had eight children, all baptized at St. Michael's. Two of their daughters still live in Livermore. A third daughter, Adeline Micheli, a longtime resident of Livermore, died in 1977. MOY Four Moy brothers came to Livermore from an area near the River Moy in Donegal, Ireland, in the early 1860's. They were Peter, Dan, Laughlin, and John. They were later joined by their sisters, Bridget and Margaret. Peter was a sheep man, and they had a son, James, who married Clara Doolan, a schoolteacher. James went into business with his father. Dan was a farmer in Altamont; he married Catherine Flynn. Their children were Catherine (Katie) Rose, Cyril, Francis, Gladys, and Eugene. Cyril married Katherine Taylor. They had two children,both of whom attended St. Michael's School. The daughter, Katherine,is now deceased. The son, Cyril, married Barbara Dolstra. Cyril and Barbara live on Moy ranch on Tesla Road. Their son is a student at St. Michael's School. Laughlin had a butcher shop on East First Street, near McLeod; he married Kate Rowe, a sister of Mrs. James Concannon. They had three children, Robert, a graduate of St. Mary's College and a well known sportsman; James, who became a pharmacist; and Margaret. John married Maryann McCabe. Their children were James, Lawrence, Katherine, Ella, Dan, Joseph, and Leta. James married Annie Block; their children were Ester, Myrtle, Julia and James. Esther married LeRoy Allen, and they had one son, Merton who married Lenora Blatchford; they, in turn have five daughters, Myrna, Barbara, Lisa, Tracy and Kimberly. Margaret married John Callaghan. Bridget married Patrick Gallagher. MULQUEENEY, Michael Michael Mulqueeney came to California from Ireland and settled in Midway, east of Livermore, in 1868. He was a sheep rancher. His son Michael, Jr., was born in Midway and married Gladys Windler of Tracy. Gladys and Michael Jr., had seven children. Leona died at an early age. The other six children all married. Elwyn married Maxine Fitzgerald and is still a rancher on the original holdings. Elwyn and Maxine had three children. Virginia who married Larry Strieff; JoAnn who married Michael McCabe; and David who married Chris Hackett of Topeka, Kansas. Two of David and Chris' three children are students at St. Michael's School. Gladys and Michael's other children are Lois, who married George Walker; Evelyn who married Lowell Griffith; Orville, who married Frances Bradley; Delores, who married Vern Castro, was widowed,and is now married to Roy Cornwell; and Geraldine, who married Richard M. Deck, whose parents were James and Florence (Callaghan) Deck. MURRAY, Peter Peter Murray and Margaret (Donlon) Murray were born in Ireland,both met in 1834 in the County Roscommon. They met in California and were married in San Francisco at St. Patrick's in 1860. They lived in Dublin for a short time and then moved to Livermore, where they framed and raised sheep north of the present city. Here they had 10 children, two of whom died very young. Three never married: John H., James R., and Ella Rose who gave us this information. Three of the sons who married lived in Livermore. Peter J. married Theresa Dolan of San Francisco. He was a butcher in Livermore and kept St. Michael's rectory stocked with good meat. They had six children, Peter M., who married Ida Oeschger from Ferndale; Catherine (Murray) Koudelka, Raymond, William, Paul and Bernadette (Murray) Ferrario. Michael R. married Mary Fallon. They had eight children: Ramona, William P., John F., Robert A., Margaret (who died in childhood), Joseph M., Helen (Murray) Saia, and Rose (Murray) Gregoratos. Daniel J., married Catherine Donlon. Six children were born of that marriage. James V., Daniel J., Anna (Murray) Armstaed, Mary (Murray) McFarland, Imelda (Murray) Gunn, and Adrian L., who became a priest and is now pastor of St. David's in San Pablo. (1978) Two other children married but moved from Livermore. William F. married Lilly Emart, daughter Margaret married Joseph Linder. NICKERSON, Nathaniel A. Nathaniel A. Nickerson and Elizabeth Kiely, both of Altamont, were married in San Francisco. Nathaniel crossed the plains in a covered wagon at the age of six with his parents, brothers, and sisters. They came from Iowa. It was a treacherous journey,especially with the Indians. Elizabeth was the daughter of Edward and Mary (Gallagher) Kiely of Ireland and Australia who came to Altamont, where Elizabeth was born. Her father was a mason and did work in St. Michael's cemetery when Father Patrick Power was pastor of St. Michael's Church. The sandstone coping around the various early graves came from his quarry on the Kiely Ranch in Altamont. Nathaniel and Elizabeth Nickerson were the parents of Henrietta McKenna, Mary McKenna, Andrew George, Clarence, and Francis, Irene Armstrong, Gertrude Elliot, Florence Norton, Helen Vigh, Bernice Craven, Ruth Gallagher, Lucille O'Loughlin, and Lillian Thompson. They were all born on the Nickerson ranch in Altamont and were baptized at St. Michael's Church in Livermore. Their father was not a Catholic at first, but in his late life became a convert. He was always very good about taking his family to Mass and catechism in a buggy or spring wagon drawn by horses before automobiles came into existence. The horses were very shy and afraid of the automobiles that were traveling on the dirt roads. The driver had to get out to quite the horses and keep them from tipping over the buggy or spring wagon. The automobile drivers were very courteous. They would stop their automobiles and give assistance when needed. Mary Kiely and Elizabeth Nickerson took part in 'Fairs' of old St. Michael's Church. O'BRIEN, John (Captain) John O'Brien and his wife Margaret came to California in the 1850's. Captain O'Brien became a sheep rancher in Corral Hollow where in 1856 he found an outcropping of coal on his property. An unverified story says he gave the information to a Livermore tavern owner who gave him a dollar a day for the rest of his life in exchange for the information. Halley's history of Alameda County published in 1876 says, '1861- an act incorporating Corral Hollow RR Co., James S. Kohn, John O'Brien and their associates granted a franchise to construct and maintain a railroad from Corral Hollow to a point on the San Joaquin River to commence within two years.' We have no further information on this. Later Captain O'Brien bought two houses on 'K' Street in Livermore. He rented one of them to James G. Kelly and his large family. Susie Kelly was born in this house and the O'Briens lived next door in the little house. The O'Briens had no children. Susie remembered her parents taking care of Mrs. O'Brien after she was widowed just because she was a neighbor and needed help. They helped the widow with the sheep business and did her banking for her. PEREIRA, Manuel and Maria Vivian Medeiros grandparents, Manuel and Maria Pereira, were ranchers in the Tassajara area in the 1880's. Her parents were Anton Leanardo and Marian Pereira, also ranchers, who lived 12 miles from St. Michael's by cart. Her adopted parents were Ida Pereira and Tony Roderick, Mocho area ranchers. Tony was an expert watchmaker. Vivian's husband, George Medeiros, came from Fremont. RAYMOND, Peter Peter Raymond came to California from the Pyrenees, France, in 1875 when he was six years old. Carmelita Basso was born on her parent's ranch on Dagnino Road, north of Livermore. In due course Peter and Carmelita were married. They had six children, Edith Rasmussen, Margaret Brown, Rosaline Ratti, Elsie Madsen, Eva Frick and Irene LeFever. Carmelita Basso's parents, Stephen and Seraphine Gardella Basso, came to California from Italy in 1850. They had five girls and two boys. ROCHIN, Antonio Antonio Rochin was born in California in 1836. His wife's name was Jane. They had two daughters, and a son. Joseph A. Antonio was a framer and woodchopper in San Jose in the 1850's. There was a grade in Hawes Valley near Alum Rock named for him as he brought wood for sale in San Jose up and down a steep grade. Joseph A. married Liverta Ramo in 1890 at St. Michael's Church. They had 10 children: Tony, Andrew, Nick, Michael, Lupe, Frank, Manuel, Jenny, Carmel, and Lucille. Joseph A., like his father, was a woodcutter, but in the Livermore area. He owned a ranch in Corral Hollow and a couple of acres across Lizzie Street from the old rodeo grounds, where he accommodated rodeo performers. In those days performers came a week early for the big rodeo. Liverta (Ramo) Rochin was born in Pleasanton in 1870. Her mother, Carmelita Ramo was born in Mexico and came here by wagon train as a young girl, by way of Arizona. They had trouble with the Indians, and Carmelita had a nick in her ear to prove it. Maria Rochin was born May 3, 1858 in Santa Clara. She came to Cresta Blanca when she was five months old. Her maiden name was Maria De Las Angeles Higuera. She married Michael Rochin and bore him a son, Emil, and a daughter, Cora. She was grandmother of Conception (Alvarado) Rochin, Lupe Robles, and Lou Limas. Her father's sister married Robert Livermore and was also related to the Bernal family of Pleasanton. She was active in church activities and made altar cloths by hand, lace, embroidery and other hand work. She passed away January 2, 1938, an ardent Guadalupe patroness. Eva (Rosales) Rochin was a granddaughter of Carolina Higuera, an Indian who came by covered wagon from Sonora, California. Eva's parents were Pete and Patricia (Higuera) Rosales. They came to Livermore in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake and fire. Pete was a sheep man. Eva married Frank Rochin. SCULLION, John John Scullion came to San Francisco from Killarney, Ireland, about 1867. He settled in Altamont where he had squatters' rights on three sections of land. In 1869 he married Mary Flynn in San Francisco. He had bred horses in Ireland and continued this business at Altamont, where he raised some of the best horses in the valley. His ranch was about 12 miles north of town. His wife Mary Flynn was from Ohio. They had 12 children but Mary, poor soul, was left to raise this brood alone. Her first and last children died very young. James Scullion, one of the sons, married Kathryn Greeley who was from another old time family. They had several children. Donald James, one of the offspring, married Madeline Genoni and had two children, James and Ann, who are fourth generation St. Michael's attendees. Another member of the family, Eileen Scullion, married John R. Michelis. John and Mary Scullion also raised Catherine and Agnes Hogan, who were orphaned twins. Their mother died while they were very young. The twins were boarders at St. Michael's Academy, graduated,and later entered the community of the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, taking the names of Sister Ursula and Sister Francis Raphael. SERPA, Joseph Joseph Serpa, Sr., gave up being the captain of a whaler to settle in the Vasco area of Morgan Territory in the 1860's. Joseph,Jr., was born there in 1886. He married Mary Bettencourt after his first wife died. Mary was the daughter of Frank and Frances Bettencourt, who settled in Collier Canyon in 1892. Joe and Mary's son, George, was a wounded survivor of Pork Chop Hill in the Korean War. SILVA, John and Mary John and Mary Silva had a ranch on the Vasco Road in 1883. Their son, J.J., changed his last name to Silver and married Mary Agnes Casey. Their daughter is Cecilia (Silver) Buck. TWOHEY, Thomas Matthew Thomas Matthew Twohey was born in County, Limerick, Ireland. In 1847, when he was 16, he immigrated to Terra Haute, Indiana. From there he went to Idaho, and then to Washington. In 1851 he went to Laporte, Plumas County, California, where he worked as a miner in the gold camps of the Sierra Nevada until 1867. In that year he married Mary Wright of Marysville. (Mary's brothers were Wilbur and Orville Wright.) They moved to San Francisco, where they had a wood and coal business. About 1871 they came to the Livermore Valley and Thomas took up farming. Thomas and Mary had 10 children: Joseph, Thomas Jr., James G., Cornelius F., John W., Michael, Edward, Elizabeth, Mary, and Margaret. Joseph married Mary Callaghan, who had been brought up by Frank and Annie Callaghan Kelly. Joseph and Mary's daughter Mary married James Fallon, son of William and Annie Coppinger Fallon. Thomas Jr., married Elizabeth Doolan. He was a contractor and was the volunteer general handyman for the parish during the pastorships of Father Looney and Father Hennessy. Tom Jr., and Elizabeth took care of the altar at St. Michael's and cleaned and sewed the altar boys' surplices and cassocks for 28 years. In their memory their daughter Marie and her husband, A.E. Mahoney, donated a two-piece predieu to St. Michael's for the altar. The predieu was later placed in the chapel in the Education Center. James D. married Rose Ann Kelly, daughter of James G. and Mary Kelly in 1908. James farmed for many years in the Patterson Pass area and was a trustee of the Greenville School District. Rose was an office nurse for Dr. J.K. Warner. She also worked as a part-time bookkeeper for McKown and Mess, local pharmacists. Rose and James had four children: Margaret M., who married William Lanfri; Rose Regina, who married J. Kenneth Forth; James R.,and Philip D. Cornelius F. Twohey, the youngest son of Thomas Sr., and Mary, married Mary Newton. Cornelius worked as an engineer at the Arroyo Sanitarium. John W. married Kate Sweeney. They farmed the upper Twohey ranch in the Patterson Pass area. Elizabeth married Daniel Smith. Mary married Henry Seband; they had two children, Myrtle and Walter. Margaret married Patrick Croak; they had two children, Francis and Claire. Michael and Edward died early in life. Walt Callahan, editor, 2000 This Web Site created with care by internective
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