Nancy Burke Family Line

Comparison of Batt Ryan family line with Nancy Ryan Burke line (Click to enlarge)

Nancy Ryan was a younger sister of Batt Ryan.  She was baptized in Newport Parish (Tipperary) as Honora Ryan in 1854, and sometime later assumed her mother's name.  Initially  we had a difficult time trying to determine her whereabouts.  When we looked at early newspaper clippings and legal documents, she was generally referred to as "Mrs. Burke", which was a common practice of the day.  It was not until we received the obituaries of family members from Cushing, Oklahoma, that we were able to trace this family to present day.

 In the next few weeks, we will provide additional information about this family; but in the meantime, we will focus on one of her daughters - Catherine.  Hopefully we can show what Catherine's life was like in the northwest, but in the meantime, provide a quick introduction about her and her family.

Catherine Burke was born in Beattle, Kansas, as this obituary notes.  Her birth place listed in rootsweb.com (retrieved from other family trees) suggests that her birthplace is "Marshall, Nebraska"; however, we know this to be a mistake.  Beattle, Kansas is located in Marshall County; and the close proximity to her future husband's birthplace in Pottowattamie County (Blaine, Kansas) provides additional support that rootsweb.com is incorrect.

Map of northern Kansas (click to enlarge).  Marshall County is where Catherine, daughter of Nancy & Daniel Burke, was born.  Catherine's parents eventually moved to Leavenworth, Kansas, where other Burke families lived.

Friends of the Family.  One of the interesting things about the Burke family is that they traveled with two other families as they sought new places to live and raise a family.  These families were the Flemings and Nihills.  In the early census records you see these three families living near each between the years 1870 to 1940, and it is not surprising that members of our own family eventually married into both the Nihill and Fleming families.  The Nihill and Fleming families originated from County Clare, Ireland; and like James and Ann Ryan, came to the United States during the famine years in Ireland.

While in Cushing, Oklahoma (1900), Catherine Burke married Dennis Fleming.  A few years earlier (1898), her sister, Mary, married James Nihill in Cushing; so we know that the Burkes spent at least two years living in this Oklahoma boom town.  At some point, the three families separated - at least one family stayed in Cushing (Joe Fleming), some went to Washington state, a few lived in Alberta Canada, and the remainder moved back to the Leavenworth, Kansas area. Catherine's mother, Nancy and her husband, moved to Leavenworth, along with their daughter Mary Nihill.  Catherine went west and lived in Canada for 25 years, and later when they could no longer live on their own, they found themselves living with their children, who by this time were living in the Wenatchee, Washington area.

 Name: Dennis James FLEMING 

1. Birth: FEB 1880 in Blaine, Pottawatomie, KS

2. Married: 31 JAN 1900 in Payne County, OK

3. Death: 9 OCT 1940 in Wenatchee, Chelan, WA

Name:  Catherine Elizabeth Burke

1. Married: 31 JAN 1900 in Payne County, OK

2. Born: 20 FEB 1879 in Marshall County, KS

3. Death: 4 OCT 1949 in Snoqualmie, King, WA

Children

1. Annella FLEMING b: 1902

2. Richard FLEMING b: Private

3. Beatrice FLEMING b: 1907

4. Margaret FLEMING b: 1908

5. Catherine FLEMING b: 3 FEB 1911

6. Living FLEMING

7. Living FLEMING, (Paul)

8. Dennis James FLEMING b: 9 AUG 1917

9. Living FLEMING (Patricia)