This is a view of St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Butte, Montana, looking north from Kate’s grave.
“Tombstone Tuesday” is a Geneabloggers daily blogging prompt.
I can only imagine the bittersweet feelings Kate must have felt when she left her home in Ireland in 1895, to travel to the United States. She must have been thrilled knowing she would soon see her beloved sister Delia who had left Ireland for the United States several years earlier – and excited for the prospects of her new life in America . At the same time, her heart must have been broken, knowing she would never again see her homeland and some of the family members she was leaving behind.
My great grandmother Catherine “Kate” Myers was born in Ower Townland, County Galway, Ireland – sometime between 1864 and 1877(1). She was one of nine children born to John Myres and Nora Hennelly between 1862 and 1879. Life was difficult on a small farm in Ireland and there weren’t many prospects for John and Nora, much less their offspring.
Brita must have felt very alone and frightened when her husband Andrew left her and their young son Johan to travel to America several years after they were married. She was only 25 years old and I can only imagine that she prayed every day he would stay safe and send for her and their son just as soon as he was able to secure work in the new country.
Brita was born in about 1863 in Hudiksvall, Sweden. I know nothing about her parents and it seems that even her children were unclear on her maiden name. I have located a Swedish record which indicates it might have been “Johansdotter” but more research needs to be done.
After Andrew had been gone from Sweden for some time, his brother Erick went searching for him. Eventually Brita was sent for – but their young son Johan had died in the meantime.
For more information on how Andrew, Brita and Erick made their way to Montana after Brita arrived, click here. Once in Montana, Brita and Andrew went on to have four more children, including my grandfather Cid H. Dalin.
When Andrew died in 1919, Brita was only 55 years old. Her brother-in-law, who never married, seem to watch over Brita for the rest of her life. According to census records, he lived with her for what seem to be short periods of time off and on until her death in 1942.
Brita is buried in the Oddfellows Cemetery next to Andrew. And Erick, who died in 1955 in California, is buried nearby.
Young George’s life was forever changed when at age 6 his father, Johann “John” Frederick Schenk, died in Iron Mountain Michigan on April 27, 1884 – at the age of 39. George’s mother, Katharina “Katherine” Ziegler Schenk, was left to raise George and his seven siblings on her own – the youngest being 9 months and the oldest being 14.
George William Schenk (pronounced “Shank” and sometimes spelled Schenck) was born September 29, 1877 in Houghton, Michigan. After his father died, George’s mother found it difficult to support her family and soon made the decision to follow her two oldest sons who had left Michigan to work in the gold and silver mines of Montana. By age 14, George found himself working in hard rock mines as a water carrier.