Lucille "Lucy" V. Ryan-a short, but interesting life

 Lucille V. Ryan (or Lucy as it appears that she was called) is my second cousin two times removed. Our common ancestor is Johanna Murphy. She married John Ryan. Johanna was my second great grandaunt. She was Lucille's grandmother. 

Lucy was born in August of 1883 in Illinois to Edward F. and Ellen "Nellie" Curran Ryan. To the best of my knowledge, she was their fourth child. Her father was a coal miner, as were some of her brothers.  

The first record I have of Lucy in the 1900 Bennington, Marshall County, Illinois Census. She was listed as sixteen years old, living with her parents, two sisters and five brothers. Lucy was listed as age 16 and being in school. Lucy also had an older brother, John J. Ryan, who was not in the census with the family in 1900. John Ryan was living in Chicago with his wife and daughter in the 1900 Census. (*see notes below)

In the early 1900s Lawrence played baseball for the Pittsburg Pirates and a couple of other teams. Lucy taught school in the Toluca, Illinois area for six years until she married in 1909. In 1908, Lucy's mother Ellen died. Lucy married Lawrence J. McGonigal the following year in Henry, Illinois.  

By 1910, Lucy and Lawrence were living in Aurora, Illinois.  Lawrence was listed as a switchman for the railroad. Also living with them were two of Lucy's brothers, Frank and Edward.

The 1920 Bennington, Marshall County, Illinois Census showed Lucy and Lawrence living with their three daughters. The children were ages seven, six and five.  Also living with them were Lucy's father, and two of her brothers. Lawrence was working for a Coal Mine.

Lucy's father Edward Ryan died in 1927. In 1929, Lawrence and his family were sent to Russia (actually Kharkev, Ukraine) as a resident consultant engineer with a firm from Chicago for a two-year assignment. Their three daughters were sent to a convent school in Switzerland while Lucy and Lawrence were in Russia. Before Lawrence's two-year assignment was complete, Lucy became ill, had a surgery in Vienna, then was sent to Geneva, Switzerland for recuperation. It was thought that she was recovering well. However, in February in 1931, soon after the surgery, Lucy died. Her death certificate listed that she died from a heart embolism. 

Information found from the Report of the Death of an American Citizen-American Consular Service:

Lucille was age 46 when she died on the 5th of February in 1931. Her place of death was listed as "Pension Sergy, Geneva, Switzerland". She died of heart failure (embolism). Disposition of her remains was "Provisionally place in vault in Geneva". "Disposition of effects: In custody of her husband, Mr. Lawrence J. McGonnigal." "Remarks: The husband arrived from Russian and took entire charge of the estate, and also made arrangements respecting the remains."

I found this story to be so interesting that the Lucy experienced life in Russia in the 1930s. But so sad that her daughters were left in Switzerland, and then that Lucy died. After her death, the family took her body home, and they settled back into Illinois. Lawrence remarried the following year.

*Back to Lucy's brother John J. Ryan...his grandmother, of course, was Johanna Murphy Ryan. He married Mary Elizabeth Corrigan, whose mother was Mary Murphy Ryan Corrigan. Mary was Johanna Murphy's sister. So, John and his wife Mary Elizabeth were first cousins once removed. I was so surprised at that connection! You never know just what you might learn!

Joseph F Cody 1870-1927

Joseph "Joe" F Cody, Jr. was born on the 14th of November in 1870 in Peoria, Illinois. He was the son of Irish immigrants, Joseph and Mary Ann Lamb Cody. His parents had married in Peoria in 1863. Joe was the fourth of ten children. It appears as if two of the oldest children died very young as they are only listed in the 1870 census for the family. 

 Little is known of Joe's younger years. In the 1880 Peoria, Peoria County Census it showed that Joe was nine years old and attending school. 

 

 The earliest that I have found Joe working for his father as a boilermaker was in 1887 when he was seventeen years old. The family was listed in the Peoria Illinois 1888 Census, living at 815 First St. Listed were Joe's parents Joseph and Mary Cody with children Joseph, Jr., age 17, Edward, age 15, Mary, age 14, Roseanna, age 11, Margaret, age 7, and Francis, age 5. This is all the information that this census gives.

Joe Cody, Jr's father died in 1892. The same year, in the Peoria City Directory Cody and Sons was listed at 1014 S. Washington; Joe Sr's home was at 815 First. Listed as living there were: Edward M Cody, Miss Mary Cody, Mrs. Mary Cody (wid. of Joseph), Miss Rose C Cody (bookkeeper at Cody and Sons), and Joseph F Cody. 

On the 22 of January in 1896, Joe Cody married Alice Murphy, daughter of William Murphy (my gg-grandfather) in Peoria, Illinois. Witnesses to the marriage were Dennis O'Connell and Alice Smith (a cousin of Alice Murphy's). And in November of 1896, Joe and Alice had their first child, Ethel Marie Cody. She was baptized at St. Patrick's Church in Peoria. Her godparents were Patrick Murphy (Alice's brother) and Rose Cody (Joe's sister).

 The following year (1897) Joe was in Chicago at the annual convention of Knights of St. John where he was elected to the office of supreme trustees. From Wikipedia: "Today’s Catholic fraternal order of the Knights of St. John was officially incorporated May 6, 1886, though its roots run older, amongst a spectrum of Catholic knightly orders of the late 19th century. Its most valued traditions have held constant ever since: inward traditions of loyalty, fidelity, Faith, and honor, and outward traditions like its uniforms and insignia." In 1899, Joe was listed as employed as a boilermaker at Jos. Cody & Sons; He and Alice and daughter were now living at 1018 First St. in Peoria. 

 In the 1900 Peoria Census Joe and Alice were listed as living at 1018 First St. They lived there with their daughter Ethel, and Alice's two youngest brothers: Emmett, age 21, and Edward, age 19. Both of the brothers worked as clerks for the Board of Trade (Edward was my great-grandfather). Joe was listed as a Boiler Manufacturer. In 1901, Joe and Alice's first son was born. Sadly, he died in infancy. It appears that Joe and Alice had twins in 1903, a son was born named Robert, and a daughter was stillborn at birth on the 28th of November 1903.  At this time, the family had moved to a home at 1029 Moss Avenue in Peoria.

 

In 1904 Joe Cody was awarded the contract for a bridge across the Illinois River in Peoria. The price was $225,000. At this point in time, Joe was considered wealthy. His business was flourishing and he wanted to branch out. Before construction ever began there were concerns. No other bids had been considered, and Joe had never done any construction work like this. The work began in 1906 and took about 3 years. The words that Joe gave in a newspaper interview would haunt everyone- when asked if the bridge would stand Joe quipped "It will stand at least until the city pays me." A week later, a city engineer looked over the bridge and declared it consisted of "rotten cement" and "old steel". The bridge collapsed into the river on April 30th, 1909.  And in bad timing for Joe, he had just cashed the last check from the city a few days before, so his words were true (sadly for him). 

1905 brought the birth of Joe's second daughter Mary A Cody. She was baptized at St. Mark's Church in Peoria. Her godparents were Mr. and Mrs. Ed Cody (Joe's brother and wife).  Joe and Alice's son Robert died in 1905 when he was two years old. A daughter, Mary A. Cody was born in February of 1905, and in 1907, their last child, Elizabeth C. was born. 1907 was when the family moved into the new home that Joe had built for them at 751 Moss Avenue (now at 1635 Moss). I was only in the home once, in 1981, after Mary Cody (Joe's daughter) died. She and her sister Ethel had lived in the home with their spouses until Mary died. The home was absolutely stunning!

 The 1910 Peoria Census showed Joe and Alice living at their home on Moss with their 3 daughters and Alice's brother Robert Emmett, age 30, listed at the Board of Trade as a Grain Dealer. And there was a servant, Orlo Sullivan, age 22. Joe was listed as a Dealer in Boilermakers. In 1911, Joe was elected as President of the Trustees of Police Pension Fund. It appears that Joe and his family were doing well during these years, though other stories that I have read have declared him ruined and penniless. 

 In the years between 1910-1920 one of Joe's brothers died, 2 of his sisters died and his mother died. That must have been a lot for the family to deal with. 

The picture above is of Alice, Joe, and Ethel Cody on the steps of their home.

 

In 1920, Joe was listed as age 48 and was a Boiler Shop Owner. He lived at 751 Moss with his wife, Alice, and their 3 daughters. In 1924 the Peoria City Directory shows Joseph F and Edward M Cody worked at Jos. Cody & Sons, and that Joe's daughter Elizabeth was a student (at Bradley University). Joe saw his first daughter, Ethel marry in 1925. 

 Joseph F Cody died on the 1st of May in 1927. He is buried at St. Mary's Cemetery in Peoria, His wife Alice lived until 1944.  She and their daughter Mary, daughter Ethel, and Ethel's husband Hal Johnson are all buried with Joe.

Joe's obituary stated:

JOSEPH F. CODY PASSED TO HIS REWARD, AGE 56

Prominent as Citizen and in Business

Another old and highly respected Peoria resident has passed in the person of Joseph Cody, president of the firm Joseph Cody and Sons, boilermakers who died last evening at 8:50 o'clock at the St. Francis hospital at the age of 56, and following an illness of f___ weeks duration. A heart ailment was the direct cause of death. 

Mr. Cody was of a Peoria generation whose names are writ large in terms of a city, progress, and unceasing labor or civic betterment. A man enjoying an enviable reputation in the minds and hearts of his fellows, his passing will leave a pall of grief among those who called him friend and they are legion.

In High Esteem

In this and other cities, Mr. Cody's unusual business ability was well known.  He was regarded as a man of shrewd judgment, of rare perseverance and tact, and with a genuinely friendly disposition which made and led to him lifelong associates and workers in his employment. At the time of his death, he was president of the National Steel Tank Manufacturing company of Bradford.

Mr. Cody was born November 14, 1870 in this city. His father before him was of a family well known in Peoria, especially among residents of the South Side, where the family lived. He received his early education in St. Patrick's Parochial school and later attended Brown's Business college. Later he was taken into the firm of his father's founding and upon his death ascended to the presidency.

Funeral Wednesday

On January 22, 1896, he was married to Mary Alice Murphy in Peoria and to this union were born three daughters, who with his grief-stricken widow survive: Mrs. Robert Brown and Mary and Elizabeth Cody, all of Peoria. A brother, Edward Cody, Peoria and a sister, Mrs. Charles A Rudel, Los Angeles, California, also survive. 

Mr. Cody was well known in a fraternal and social way. He was a member of Spalding Council, Knights of Columbus and of the Creve Cour club. He had been a member of St. Mark's Catholic Church for the past 25 years. He was also treasurer of the Peoria police pension fund.

Friends will gather at St. Mark's church Wednesday morning at 9 o'clock to pay a final tribute to a man who held so high a place in their affection and esteem. Rev. Father J J B? will officiate and interment will take place in St. Mary's cemetery.

Etta May Bradley

This is the story of Etta May Bradley. She was my great-uncle's mother, and she seemed to live an interesting life, to say the least. She was taken to court at two different times to be tried for insanity, once by her father, and then by her husband. She disappeared with her five-year-old child for five months, Her relationships with her father and her stepmother appear to have been quite contentious.

 Etta May Bradley was born on the 13th of July in 1868 in Bloomington, Illinois. She was the oldest of six children born to Sylvester and Jennie Motter Bradley. 

In the 1870 Census for Bloomington taken on the 12th of July of 1870, Etta "Ettie" was listed as age three, living with her parents, a younger brother, and her uncle. Her father, Sylvester, and his brother (the uncle living with them) were listed as "Peddlers".   The following month (August 1870), Etta's younger brother William H. Bradly died. He was one year old.

Over the next ten years, three siblings to Etta were born: Bert Henry Bradley born in 1872, Cora Belle Bradley born in 1875, and Harry Bradley, born in 1877. All of them were born in Bloomington, Illinois. In the 1880 Census for Bloomington, "Ettie" was listed as twelve years old, living with her parents and three younger siblings. Her father, Sylvester Bradley, was listed as a "Lighting Rod Salesman".

In 1883, Etta's sister Daisy Alma Bradley was born.

Etta was listed in the Peoria, Illinois City Directory as living with her father at 606 W. Mouton in Peoria.  She was listed as "May Bradley".

Etta married William Nungester in May of 1890 in McLean County, Illinois. They were each twenty-one years old. They had a son in June of 1891 but sadly, he only lived for one month.

In the Monroe County Indiana Circuit Court in the December term of 1892 Etta stated that her husband had deserted her and did not leave sufficient provisions for her support. She asked for $500. It was also reported "That said plaintiff has no children but is now expecting to be delivered of a child in June 1893" and "That said plaintiff now resides with her father and is being cared for and supported by him."

In the Elkhart Daily News (Elkhart, IN) on December 7, 1892, the headline was TRIED TO GET RID OF HIS WIFE.  The article stated that William was trying to have his wife found insane. however, Etta was examined and found to not be insane. She was described as "24 years old, handsome, and has the appearance of being a girl of refinement and culture.", 

In June of 1893, Etta and William did indeed have a baby, a daughter named Florence. In August of 1893, Etta's mother died.

It seems as if William and Etta divorced between 1893 and 1896, as William married Eliza Parker in 1896, probably in Ohio.

On the second of September of 1897 Etta's father, Sylvester Bradley, alleged that Etta was insane. His witnesses were Carrie Bradley, Catherine West, and Harry Bradley (Etta's stepmother, her step-grandmother, and Etta's brother). After the evidence was examined, Etta was found to not be insane.

An article from The Decatur Herald (Decatur, Illinois) Sunday, September 5, 1897, stated the following:

"Bloomington, Ill., September 4-After a bitterly fought trial in the probate court Etta Nungester was declared not insane. The case attracted unusual interest on account of the attractive appearance of the girl and the efforts made by her own father to have her placed in an asylum. Her father is a business man of this city and the daughter married against his will to a young man who proved to be worthless. He deserted his wife and child and Mrs. Nungester and her little one were forced to stay at the home of her father. She was tolerated for a time, but recently Bradley's wife, the stepmother of Mrs. Nungester began to make life disagreeable for the daughter. She refused to have her about, and the father decided to have his daughter adjudged insane, as the cheapest way to get rid of her. The poor girl was without money and the friends who rallied to her support were equally penniless. Without a lawyer to defend, the outcome of the case appeared dark.  Before the trial came off, however, Jacob Bohrer, assistant states attorney, learned of the facts in the case and agreed to defend her. His handling of the case was successful, and despite the great number of witnesses placed on the stand by the plaintiff the girl was freed. She was completely prostrated by the strain of the examination."

By the end of the month, the following article was written about Etta (found from 29 September 1897, Bloomington):

"Sues for $2000- Etta M. Nungester yesterday began suit in the circuit court against Sylvester Bradley and wife for $2000. Mrs. Nungester is a daughter of Bradley by a former wife, and the suit grows out of daily troubles. The daughter and stepmother have not got along well together. The daughter is married and has one child, her husband having deserted her. A short time ago an effort was made to prove Mrs. Nungester insane. It failed and since then she claims she has not been provided for by her father. She has attempted to obtain work, but the proceedings in the county court against her have so injured her chances that no one will employ her."

From the 11th of November 1898, an unknown Chicago paper: 

Mrs. Nungester, No. 606 West Moulton street, Bloomington, has written Postmaster Gordon asking for information about her daughter, Etta May, who left her home several months ago. The daughter was accompanied by a 5-year-old child, and Mrs. Nungester is much distressed at the absence of the wanderers."

And then from the Bloomington, Illinois paper on the 30th of November 1898:

" Spirits Were Mistaken.
-Mrs. Etta Nungester, who has been missing, has returned home. A spiritualistmedium is said to have reported her dead in Chicago, as the result of a seance. She has been in Indianapolis ever since she left the city."

Then in 1900, Etta was living with her father and stepmother in Peoria, Illinois on Cornhill St. Her father was listed as a "Manufacturer". Also living in the household were her stepmother's mother, Etta's sister Daisy, and a boarder. Etta was listed as widowed. Her daughter Florence is not listed with the family. Florence is also not listed with her father William and his wife.

In 1901, Etta was listed in the Peoria City Directory as "Mrs. May Nungester, widow of William H." She was living on Cornhill St. with her father;

 According to a birth certificate found in Chicago, on the 2nd of November in 1901, in Chicago Illinois, Claude Thompson was born to William Thompson and Etta Bradley Thompson.  This is the birth of my great-uncle, Claude Sylvester Bradley. He is the reason why I began researching this fascinating woman, Etta May Bradley.

Etta was listed in the 1904 Peoria, Illinois City Directory as "Mrs. Etta Nungester". She was living with her father.

To finish this sad story, in 1905 Etta was listed in Peoria City Directory as Mrs. Etta Nungester, and she lived in Peoria Heights. So it is not a given that she had been married to William Thomspon if that was actually the name of Claude's father.

On the 26th of February 1906, Etta May Bradley Nungester died from pulmonary tuberculosis. She was thirty-seven years old. Her death record stated that she was a "widow by law". She is buried in Evergreen Memorial Cemetery in Bloomington, Illinois.

When Etta died her daughter Florence was twelve years old. In 1910 Florence was seventeen years old working as a Milliner at a store and living with Etta's sister Belle in Bloomington. She married later that year. 

Claude was four years old when Etta died. In 1910 he was living with his grandfather Sylvester Bradley and his step-grandmother. Sylvester died on the ninth of June in 1917. Caude had lived with him until his grandfather died. In 1918, before his sixteenth birthday, Claude joined the service. His sister Florence was listed as his next of kin. He joined Company B, 124th Machine Gun Battalion, 33rd Division.