The Shea Family

Patrick & Margaret

In May, 1870 Patrick and Margaret Kelly Shea emigrated from County Longford with three daughters: Winnifred, Mary, and Bridgit. They sailed to Boston and traveled by train to Saint Cloud, MN. From there they rode the stagecoach to Chippewa (later called Brandon). The 160-acre homestead they purchased was about 7 miles northeast of Brandon in Leaf Valley. As late as 1870 the Red River Trail they came on was still the only major track through the western part of the state.

Life In Leaf Valley

Patrick a bought the homestead for one thousand dollars. The Homestead Act of 1862 made possible the settlement of this fertile land. An American citizen could obtain title to the land after settling it for five years and making improvements. Patrick was very proud to own the homesteaded claim as England would not let them own land in Ireland.

The Extended Family

Patrick was the only one of his family to leave Ireland. His daughter, Mary, planned to show him Ireland but her husband Jack Conway, a Great Northern engineer, was killed and that plan ended. His daughter, Margaret Shea Kehoe, was the only one of his children to visit Ireland which she did in 1959 and 1972. Elizabeth Shea Delaney, daughter of his brother Thomas, and her husband Timothy and two children Catherine (Kindregan) and Thomas visited the farm in 1919.

More Daughters

In addition to the three daughters born to Patrick and Margaret in Ireland, two more daughters were born in Leaf Valley: Elizabeth and Anne. Soon after Anne was born, Margaret died of pneumonia (February 2, 1872). Hubert Murrey, who lived about one and one-half miles away, took care of the two little girls in her home.

Patrick Remarries

On November 12, 1873 Patrick Shea and Catherine Mullins were married in Millerville in a log mission church; a priest came only every few months. Catherine was 27 years of age and Patrick was 43. To this union, nine children were born - four daughters and five sons, as follows: Ellen, Richard, Catherine, John, Margaret, Thomas, Peter, William, and Frances. Patrick and Catherine also raised a boy, Johnny Edwards, from State School in Owatonna. He ran away and joined the Merchant Marine.

Beloved By The Family

John Shea

Patrick and Catherine also raised a boy, Johnny Edwards, from State School in Owatonna. He ran away and joined the Merchant Marines. When he came back to Minneapolis he was so sorry to hear that John Shea had died that he legally changed his name to John O'Shea. (Patrick had dropped the "O" when he came to this country.) John O'Shea was beloved by the family.

Saol Fada!

The last surviving member of the family, Frances Shea Donovan, died Jan. 8, 1990 at a nursing home in Minneapolis. Margaret Shea Kehoe had the longest life of anyone in the family. She was one hundred years and ten months at death. Frances was eighty seven and eight months. Patrick Shea was survived by eleven of his fourteen children when he died on Jan. 28, 1920. Anne, John, and Peter had preceded him in death. The farm remained in the Shea name for eighty-seven years. Minnie Shea sold it in 1957 to Wilmar Schultz.

The Mullins Family

In 1866 the Michael Mullins family emigrated from Killduff, County Limerick, to Boston where they stayed six years before leaving for Leaf Valley. By this time the railroad extended to Sauk Centre and the rest of the trip to Brandon was made by stagecoach. There were four sons - Martin, Michael, John and David, and one daughter, Catherine. Martin married and stayed in Boston. Michael also married and ran the Mullins farm; he had nine children. John and David worked for various farmers and lived on the farm.

Catherine Mullins

Catherine, the only daughter, was 19 when the family came to America. She, like Martin, stayed in Boston. She worked as a cook in a wealthy home - a fortunate position at the time. She had gone to the Hedge school in Ireland. England severely restricted the Irish schools so these were held in secret places in the hedges. It was there, that she got her education "at the knee of a Jesuit priest." She received a solid eduation, which was fortunate for Patrick as he was unable to go to school, and she read and wrote for him.

New Land, New Life

America presented challenges. Ireland's climate differed greatly from that of Minnesota. They missed their families and social life they enjoyed in Ireland. Few of their neighbor spoke English. They walked or rode five miles to Millerville to attend mass and heard no English. Catherine (b. July 20, 1846, d. Jan. 31, 1940) died at the age of ninety-three at the home of her daughter, Margaret, in Alexandria. Four of her children preceded her in death - Ellen, John, Peter, and Richard.

Conclusion

Shortly after the Great Potato Famine (An Gorta Mór) in Ireland, 1846 - 1848, millions of Irish men and women emigrated to the United States and Canada. By 1858 two million had fled and by the end of the century the number had increased to four million. The exodus, one of the greatest migrations in history, reduced Ireland's population by one-half. The Shea-Mullins families were part of that exodus!

"History of the Shea-Mullins Family," Copyright © 1991 Katherine Kehoe Bonner