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!
No comments:
Post a Comment