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Thomas Flanigan |
Thomas "Tom" Flanigan -- also spelled "Flannigan" and "Flanagan" -- was born on Feb. 11, 1849 in Henry Clay Township, Somerset County, PA, the son of Job and Mary (Ream) Flanigan.
He was twice married. He and his first bride produced two known offspring -- Mary Flanigan and William Flanigan. The first marriage ended between 1874 and 1878, presumably by death.
Then in about 1878, at the age of 29, Thomas married again to 17-year-old Sabina/Savina Tissue (or "Burnsworth") (April 1861- ? ).
They became the parents of four children -- Annie A. Smith Deneen, Elizabeth B. "Lizzie" Flanigan, Maud Vanorsdale and Ernest B. Flanigan.
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Crowds gather on a Confluence bridge to watch swirling floodwaters, 1909 |
Thomas was a member of the Fairview Methodist Church at what became Johnson Chapel. When the church building was destroyed by fire late in 1883, Thomas and other trustees met at the local schoolhouse to plan for the future and raise money for new construction. At that meeting, Thomas was elected president of the organization, his brother in law Ziba Burnworth as secretary, Tissue Show treasurer, and A.B. Flanigan, C.N. Flanigan, Tissue Show, Alvin Burnworth and Grant Show as a committee to seek pledges. The new church took two years to build, and was dedicated on Nov. 15, 1885, costing $717.66 and measuring 30 ft. x 45 ft. x 14 ft. high.
Later, the Flanigans moved into Confluence, where Thomas owned a lumber sawmill business north of Confluence and served for a time on town council. He continued to invest in and expand the business, and in October 1905 purchased a large well-timbered tract of land in West Virginia along the Morgantown and Kingwood Railroad line. "It is thought that there will be at least 10,000,000 feet of lumber sawed," reported the Connellsville Courier.
When he was age 58, in August 1907, he gave a deposition on behalf of his first cousin, Sarah (Jennings) Bookman, in her effort to secure her late husband's Civil War pension.
Tragically, Thomas died the following year, at the age of 59, when struck by a moving locomotive while walking along railroad tracks in Confluence. The horrific accident occurred on April 11, 1908. Reported the Meyersdale Republican, he was "run down and instantly killed by the Duquesne Limited train, on Saturday morning, at Huston Station, near Confluence.... The fast train, being over two hours late, was running on the east-bound instead of the west-bound track, and was unseen by Flannigan, whose back was burned." His broken remains were placed at rest in the Jersey Baptist Church Cemetery near Ursina.
~ Daughter Mary Flanigan ~
Daughter Mary Flanigan (1872- ? ) was born in about 1872.
~ Son William Flanigan ~
Son William Flanigan (1874-1946) was born in on Feb. 7, 1874 in Confluence. He was a longtime lumberman by occupation.
He married Elizabeth March (Dec. 17, 1875-1960), daughter of Henry March.
The couple produced five known offspring -- Violet Flanigan, Ernest Flanigan, Harry Flanigan, Charles Flanigan and Thomas Flanigan.
By 1909, they established a home in Morgantown, Monongalia County, WV, at the address of 2589 University Avenue. Eventually they migrated across the state line to Kirby, Greene County, PA. Their residence in the mid-1940s was along the Waynesburg-Mt. Morris Road. William was without work in the summer of 1946, so traveled to Preston County, WV to seek employment, and found lodging in Newburg.
His aim was to secure a job at nearby Arthurdale. The town of Arthurdale was an experiment of the federal government during the Great Depression, the first "New Deal" community created under the vision of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, to provide ready made homes for unemployed workers.
While walking in the Preston County woods on Aug. 26, 1946, William was stricken by a heart attack and dropped dead at the age of 72. His remains were brought back to Morgantown to rest in East Oak Grove Cemetery. An obituary appeared in the Connellsville Daily Courier, which said that he was survived by a half sister Mrs. Deneen.
The widowed Elizabeth survived for another 14 years ande owned the County Club Market. She relocated circa 1959 to Charleston, Kanawha County, WV to live with or near her daughter Violet at 1314 B Quarrier Street. After a stay in Charleston of about one year, burdened with congestive heart failure, she was stricken with bleeding in the brain and died at Charleston General on April 11, 1960, at the age of 84. The body was shipped to Morgantown to rest beside her husband.
Daughter Violet Flanigan (1896-1975) was born in about 1896 in Pennsylvania. She appears not to have married. Violet relocated by 1946 to Charleston, Kanawha County, WV. She died in 1975. Her remains are at rest in East Oak Grove Cemetery in Morgantown.
Son Ernest Flanigan (1898-1980) was born on Jan. 14, 1898 in Pennsylvania. Circa 1921, he was joined in wedlock with Anna Virginia Jeffers (1897-1954), daughter of John Franklin and Margaret D. (Wells) Jeffers. Sadly, she was cut away by the Grim Reaper in 1954. Ernest's final years were spent in Florida. He died in Dade City, Pasco County on Sept. 27, 1980, at the age of 82. His remains were shipped to Morgantown for burial in East Oak Grove Cemetery.
Son Harry Flanigan (1901- ? ) was born in about 1901 in Pennsylvania. He made a home in the mid-1940s in Baltimore, MD.
Son Thomas Flanigan (1903- ? ) was born in about 1903 in Pennsylvania. He later dwelled in Lorain, OH.
Son Charles Flanigan (1909- ? ) was born in about 1909 in Morgantown, Monongalia County, WV. He migrated to Charleston, Kanawha County, WV.
~ Daughter Annie (Flanigan) Smith Deneen ~
Daughter Annie A. Flanigan (1880-1950) was born on Aug. 26, 1880 in Confluence.
She appears to have been wedded twice, first to (?) Smith. Their three known offspring were Sabina Erwin, Hazel I. Smith and Earl A. Smith.
Later, she was united in wedlock with John Thomas Deneen ( ? -1943), son of Harry Thomas and Martha (Mullard) Deneen, the mother an immigrant from England.
Their known children were Mary Elizabeth Lopes, Rev. Thomas Edison Deneen and Virginia Clare (?). Sadly, little Virginia Clare passed away in infancy.
In about 1909, John obtained employment with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and in 1912 they moved to Connellsville, where he became a conductor for the B&O. They were members of the Central Methodist Shurch, with John belonging to the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and Annie to the ladies' auxiliary. The Deneens moved in about 1938 to a new address of 502 East Murphy Avenue.
Sadly, stricken with heart problems of two years' duration, John was felled by a heart attack and passed away at the age of 55 on June 6, 1943. Rev. Howard W. Jamison led the funeral services, with additional rites provided by his fellow Trainmen.
Annie survived her husband by seven years. Burdened with heart disease, she died on Jan. 23, 1950 at age 69. An obituary in the Connellsville Daily Courier noted that burial was in Green Ridge Memorial Park following funeral services led by Rev. William C. Marquis.
Daughter Sabina G. Smith (1897-1963) was born in about 1897. She married Harry E. Erwin ( ? - ? ) and lived in Connellsville. They produced four children -- Robert Erwin, Harry E. Erwin Jr., Jay Erwin and Jacqueline Micher. Later in life, the Erwins relocated to Florida, where they made a home at 361 Woodlawn Avenue in Daytona Beach. Sabina died in Daytona at the age of 66 on Sept. 1, 1963. Her remains were brought back to Connellsville for burial at Hill Grove Cemetery. An obituary in the Connellsville Daily Courier stated that she was survived by 10 grandchildren.
Daughter Hazel I. Smith was deceased by 1976.
Son Earl A. Smith dwelled in Charleroi, Washington County, PA in 1950.
Daughter Mary Elizabeth Deneen (1912-1976) was born on April 27, 1912 in Connellsville. She was wedded to Vernon D. Lopes (Feb. 13, 1929-1977), son of Jerry and Viola Pearl (Aller) Lopes of Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County. PA. The Lopes family lived in Connellsville at 289 East Fairview Avenue. Their children were Beverly K. Lopes, Kim Robert Lopes and David Doral Lopes. Vernon was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II. He earned a living over the years assembling cabinets for Rack Engineering Company. The family belonged to the Central Methodist Church in Connellsville. Sadly, at the age of 64, Hazel died at Connellsville State General Hospital on May 20, 1976. The Connellsville Daily Courier noted in an obituary that burial was in Green Ridge Memorial Park, following funeral services officiated by Rev. William Keys. The heartbreak was compounded when Vernon died just a year after his wife, at age 48, on April 18, 1977, as a patient in Frick Community Hospital in Mount Pleasant. Rev. Keys again led funeral services. Son David (1952-2003) married Shirley Lopes and bore two sons, Curt Lopes and Brian Lopes. He was a member of the American Legion post and Elks Club of Mount Pleasant and died at home at the age of 51 on Sept. 14, 2003. Son Kim Robert Lopes made a home in Mount Pleasant.
Son Rev. Thomas Edison Deneen ( ? - ? ) was born in (?). On Christmas Day 1938, he was united in holy matrimony with Olive Ruth Hixon, daughter of Clyde W. Hixon of 819 Jefferson Street in Connellsville. They were the parents of Margaret Ann Deneen and perhaps others. They eventually moved to Waynesburg, Greene County. In 1948, their 17-year-old daughter Margaret had four eye surgeries at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh. Circa 1950, he was in charge of the Morrisville Circuit of the Methodist Church. He was deceased by 1976.
~ Daughter Elizabeth B. Flanigan ~
Daughter Elizabeth B. "Lizzie" Flanigan (1883-1962) was born on Sept. 12, 1883 in Confluence.
She did not marry and in 1950 resided in Connellsville with her sister Maude Vanorsdale at the address of 227 South Prospect Street.
At some point she became blind. Then after the sister's death, she established a home in Adelaide in the rural outskirts of Connellsville.
As her health failed in 1962, from the effects of a decade of hardening of the arteries, she was admitted to Uniontown Hospital.
The Angel of Death carried her away at the age of 78 on June 11, 1962. An obituary was printed in the Connellsville Daily Courier. The remains were lowered into interment in Hill Grove Cemetery in Connellsville or in Oak Grove Cemetery in Uniontown. Rev. H. Morris Shields preached the funeral sermon.
~ Daughter Maude (Flanigan) McFarland Vanorsdale ~
Daughter Maude Flanigan (1887-1958) was born on Nov. 22, 1887.
At the age of 20, in 1907, Maud relocated to Connellsville. She was twice married.
Her first spouse was Ralph McFarland ( ? - ? ).
The pair bore a son, Ralph T. McFarland.
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| Dickerson Run railyards, Charles Cleveland Vanorsdale's place of employment |
Later, Maude was joined in matrimony with Charles Cleveland "Happy" Vanorsdale (March 16, 1886-1968). He was the son of Isaac and Mary Vanorsdale of Great Cacapon, Morgantown County, WV but spent most of his life in Connellsville. Charles was tall and of medium build, with grey eyes and dark brown hair.
Their five children were Charles E. Vanorsdale, Evelyn Vanorsdale, Paul Vanorsdale, Harold Joseph Vanorsdale and Wendel Vanorsdale.
Charles was required to register for the military draft during World War I. At that time, he declared that their address was 514 North Pittsburgh Street in Connellsville and that Maud was his next of kin. He was employed in 1918 as a machinist helper with the Sligo Iron and Steel Company in Connellsville. Later, he became employed as a railroad car repairman for the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad shops in Dickerson Run, Fayette County. He belonged to the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen.
They were longtime members of the Central Methodist Church in Connellsville. Circa 1950, they resided with her unmarried sister Elizabeth at 227 South Prospect Street in Connellsville.
Toward the end of her life, Maud suffered from a gastric ulcer and it began to hemorrhage. She died at the age of 70 in Connellsville State Hospital on July 26, 1958. Rev. H. Carl Buterbaugh officiated at the funeral and burial in Green Ridge Memorial Park.
The widowed Charles moved into the home of married son Paul in Adelaide near Connellsville. He died at the age of 82, on Sept. 21, 1968, after what the Connellsville Daily Courier referred to as "a lingering illness." Rev. R.A. Nelson officiated at the funeral.
Son Ralph T. McFarland (1912-1961) was born on July 23, 1912 in Connellsville. He never married and is known to have lived at home with his parents in 1958. Burdened with congestive heart failure and bleeding of his gastric system, Ralph succumbed to death in Somerset State Hospital on Aug. 28, 1961. Rev. H. Morris Shields led the funeral service with burial in Green Ridge Memorial Park and an obituary in the Connellsville Daily Courier.
Son Charles E. Vanorsdale (1915-1993) was born on Aug. 12, 1915. He was joined in wedlock with Catherine E. Korpman ( ? - ? ). The couple produced two children, Leroy N. Vanorsdale ande Ann C. Ragula. The family relocated to Baltimore, MD and remained for decades. Charles passed into eternity on Feb. 18, 1993. A short death notice appeared in the Baltimore Sun.
Son Wendell T. "Van" Vanorsdale (1916-2007) was born on Oct. 10, 1916. In about February 1939, he married Thelma Martin (1916-1982), daughter of Cambridge Martin of Uniontown. They bore one known daughter, Connie Rae Linderman. They made their home for years in Connellsville with an address of 214 Morton Avenue in Connellsville. Wendell was employed as a clerk by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and eventually retired from the company. He was a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard, 28th Division, and of the Wesley United Methodist Church of Connellsville. He served on the Democratic Committee in Connellsville in the 1960s. When the couple marked their 15th wedding anniversary in February 1954, the Connellsville Daily Courier printed a feature article. Sadly, Thelma died in 1982. Burial was in Green Ridge Memorial Park north of Connellsville. Wendell survived as her widower for a quarter of a century. He married again to Ora Elizabeth (Hamilton) Cropper ( ? - ? ). She brought two offspring into the second union, Thomas Cropper and Martha "Marty" Cropper. The couple relocated to Niantic, IL, where they were members of the Niantic Christian Church. While in Lakeland, FL, visiting his married daughter and son in law Connie Rae and Flay Linderman, Wendell passed into eternity at the age of 90 on July 5, 2007. His remains were shipped back to Connellsville to join Thelma's at rest in Green Ridge Memorial Park, with Rev. Craig Forsythe officiating. The Daily Courier ran an obituary.
Daughter Evelyn Vanorsdale (1918- ? ) was born in about 1918 in Connellsville. Nothing more is known.
Son Paul C. Vanorsdale (1919-1966) was born on Feb. 8, 1919 in Connellsville. He was married to Esther Reynolds ( ? - ? ), daughter of Meltina Reynolds. They were the parents of Paul Richard Vanorsdale, Charles R. Vanorsdale, Wendell "Tommy" Vanorsdale, Robert Vanorsdale, Randall Lee Vanorsdale, Maxine Vanorsdale and Mary Jane Vanorsdale. During World War II, Paul served in the U.S. Army's 81st Infantry "Wildcat" Division commanded by Maj. Gen. Paul J. Mueller, which occupied Aomori Prefecture in Northern Honshu. They lived in Connellsville at 19 Gibson Terrace. The family worried gravely in February 1958 when son Paul, age 15, went missing after school. He was found more than a week later, hitchhiking in Arizona. He was taken into the custory of police in Tucson who made arrangements to send him home. Charles was unemployed at the age of 47 in 1966. On July 11, 1966, he was felled and died from an acute heart attack. His remains were placed into eternal rest in Hill Grove Cemetery in Connellsville.
Son Harold Joseph Vanorsdale (1924- ? ) was born in about 1924. He shared a home with his parents in Connellsville. On June 21, 1957, he was joined in wedlock with Gloria Fay Hensel ( ? - ? ), granddaughter of George Hensel of 602 South Arch Street. Their nuptials were led by Rev. R.A. Nelson, in the parsonage of the Albright Evangelical United Brethren, without any other attendants present. Observed the Connellsville Daily Courier, the bride "was attired for her wedding in a delph blue Chantilly lace dress. She wore a tiara of blue flowers on her hair and carried a white Bible topped with yellow roses and stephanotis, tied with white streamers. Completing her outfit were white mitts." The couple's known daughters were Cynthia Carol Vanorsdale, Dorothy Laverne Vanorsdale and Regina K. Vanorsdale. Their address was 227 South Prospect Street.
~ Son Ernest B. Flanigan ~
Son Ernest B. Flanigan (1890-1948) was born on Feb. 16, 1890.
In 1913, at the age of 23, he relocated to Connellsville, Fayette County, PA, where he became a bicycle repairman at 125 North Meadow Lane.
When the federal census enumeration was made in 1930, he dwelled with his unmarried sister Elizabeth in the 227 South Prospect Street home of their married sister Maude Vanorsdale. He was a member of the Central Methodist Church and the local Moose lodge. Later in life, he became blind.
Suffering from cancer of the sigmoid, he passed away in Connellsville just four days before Christmas 1948, at the age of 58. An obituary in the Connellsville Daily Courier noted that burial was in Hill Grove Cemetery. Wendell Vanorsdale signed the Pennsylvania certificate of death.
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