These must have been "Topics of Conversation in "our" Family Homes:

History of Allamakee County, page 349

Storms
“Of the severe storms, the following are the most noteworthy: A severe wind and hial storm destroyed the crops in the path in July, 1854, unroofing Scott Shattuck’s large barn at Waukon, and blowing down the frame of the Makee school house.  May 21st, 1870, a storm passed eastwardly through Union Prairie, Makee, Center nad Lafayette, unroofing the West Ridge Catholic church, and thehail broke window glass all along its course.”

P 372.
Land Grants
Although the Indian title was extinguished, and the county was open to settlement in 188, the lands were not put upon the market until about the first of October, 1850…earliest entry was a quarter section of land in Paint Creek Township to Geo. Watkins, October 7, 1850.

p. 421-22
Murder
Perhaps the most foul murder ever perpetrated in the county was that of Barney Leavy by Charles O’Neill on Lansing Ridge, in 1860, the circumstances being as follows:
Leavy was a teamster between Lansing and Decorah, and much of the time put up at Marsden’s on the Ridge.  O’Neill lived not far from there on the same road.  One Sunday a young man by the name of Hughes, somewhat intoxicated as driving back and forth along the same road, anad stopped with a companion at Maurch’s brewery for a glass of beer, where he met Leavy and got into an altercation with him., both being in a mood to indulge in pugilism.  One or two Sundays after this occurrence it was being talked over at Mauch’s when Leavy, in the presence of O’Neill declared he could whip Hughes; whereupon, O’Neil, who was an old friend of young Hughe’s father, with whom he had chummed in California, resented his language and hot words passed between them.  At a later hour, after they had left the brwery, Leavy whipped O’Neill, who then went home and armed himself with a knife and gun, but apparently concluding that theknife would do the work the best, secreted the latter under the fence.  He then preoceeded to a point on the road where he knew Leavy would pass, and which was darker than elsewhere, the trees at that time meeting overhead from either side, and lay in wait behind a large stump until his victim had passed, when he sprung upon him from behind and accomplished his work.  We may add that Hughes, Sr., father of the young man above alluded to, had also killed a man, in Lansing, we believe, some years earlier; but he died of cholera before he was brought to trial….convicted of murder in the first degree…he was still living at last accounts, but was completely broken down and failing, having become quite aged and decrepid.

Hit with a Stake

April 20, 1877, at Lansing, Andrew Soderlin, a Swede, and
Mathew Carey, Irish, had a quarrel, during which the latter
struck the former, who retaliated with a stake from a wagon,
striking such a blow over Carey's head that he died after but a
few hours. Soderlin was arrested, and at the June term indicted
for manslaughter, but was acquitted on the grounds that the blow

The Irish of West Ridge

The first settlers in West Ridge were some of the first settlers in Union Prairie Township and Allamakee County. John Magner, William Rea, Pat, John and Dan Curtin are a few of the early pioneers who settled this part of Allamakee county. Before 1865 other settlers with Irish surnames came into the territory including Liddiard, O'Neil, Ryan, Baxter, Farley and Drew. These names are still common names in Allamakee County today.

There was a strong Catholic faith associated with this Irish culture, and early in West Ridge's existence, the residents realized they needed a place to worship. Groundwork was laid in 1860 for a church building, ten years after the first mass was celebrated in a West Ridge home. A lot for the cemetery and a lot for the church were purchased, for twenty dollars, by Bishop Clement Smyth, with the deed for the property later sold back to the parish. With the rock quarried from the William Rea farm, the construction began in 1861.

It was not until 1863 that St. John the Baptist Church was completed because Union Prairie #2 school, the area's local one-room country school was built between starting and finishing the church project. All this was completed before the arrival of our ancestors, the Ryans.

As for the James and Ann Ryan family, we know very little about their trip to the "new world". We are told that they stayed in Canada for some period of time before coming to the United States. We also know that the family boarded a ship for New Orleans in 1865, most likely arriving in April of that year. Batt Ryan told his grandchildren that the "big talk of the time" was Lincoln's assassination when they reached New Orleans. From New Orleans they made their way up the Mississippi River. It was said that a trip by steamboat took 40 days to reach Dubuque, and a few days more to reach Lansing. By the time our Ryan ancestors moved to West Ridge, they must have been surprised how "civilized" it had become.

The James Ryan Family

James Ryan, West Ridge Cemetery, 1884

Top: The tombstone above is that of Batt Ryan's father, whom is buried in West Ridge. His wife, Nancy Ann Ryan, is most likely buried nearby...someone finally located it...

Right: Dennis is the son of James and Nancy Ann Ryan. Margaret Collins was his wife, and their marker is located in Houston County, Minnesota.

Click to Enlarge

 

Naming of Counties

There were many of Irish heritage who were making their way to Iowa, and several of the Counties trace their origin to populist Irish revolutionaries. " In those days there was no 'hands across the sea' toward the British government, and the pioneers of the west were warm sympathizers with the patriots who were laaders of Ireland's revolt against English oppression. Consequently it was determined to name three counties for the martyrs of the Irish struggle, and Mitchell, O'Brien and the younger Emmet were the ones chosen.'

Hiram Irving King

Click on article to Enlarge. Learn a little of Dr. King's biography and background.

H.I. King, Alpha Tau Omega photo, 1974.

Top: The King family lived in Bear Creek, Wisconsin - one of the neighbors of Smith and Rooney families. How do they tie into Allamakee and our family? H.I. King (Left), a great-grandson of Dr. King, traces his lineage to Irish John Smith family of Kimball and the Edward Hill family of Harpers Ferry (Allamakee).

 

Margaret Hill Kennedy Fitzgerald

Margaret Hill, a daughter of Edward and Margaret Hill of Harpers Ferry, married James Kennedy, a local dentist in Waukon around 1877. They had one daughter, Catherine, who would later marry Michael J. Smith, a son of Irish John and Susan Smith of Kimball, SD. Catherine is H.I. King's grandmother (see 1974 photo above).

In the 1900 Makee township census (Waukon), we see that she and her new husband, John Fitzgerald, own a boarding house. Catherine, age 12, is shown as John's "step daughter", and a son John L. Fitzgerald, age 6, is also living with them. In addition to Anna Overlie, a servant of the boarding house, there are 8 resident boarders living with the Fitzgerald family.

In the 1920 and 1930 federal census, Margaret Fitzgerald is shown living on the Michael J. Smith south of Kimball, SD.

 

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