McLaughlin Family

I grew up all my life hearing about my great grandfather Anthony John McLaughlin. He was a figure larger than life for both my grandmother, Margaret Mary Atckison, and my father. They both described him as an honest and stern man.

He was born 12 Sep 1853 in Belmullet, Kilcommon, County Mayo, Ireland. He immigrated from Ireland to the United States in 1860 or 1863 according to various census and probate records. No official passenger list has been found showing them debarking into the United States.

Anthony John married Mary Elizabeth McAndrews in 1881. They had twelve children but only 8 survived to adulthood. They lost Margaret at nine months, Anthony John at 8 months, Bridget shortly after she was born on the day of her birth, and Laura Irene at 8 months.

Those children who survived to adulthood created a number of living descendants. Since qualifying names of living people poses a risk to their privacy, I’ve only listed the number of grandchildren below:

• Martin, Michael (my grandfather), and William were the boys who lived to become adults. Martin became an attorney, married Lucille Higgins, and had one daughter who died without any children of her own. Michael became a marble setter, electrician, and electrical engineer. Michael married Margaret Mary Atckison and had two children. William never became much of anything, and died in a motorcycle accident in 1944 at the age of 40. He did marry a girl of Polish extraction, and they had a baby girl. Through the divorce, the family lost all contact with her and the daughter.
• Mary Anna (the oldest) married poorly twice, and died in 1942 at age 60. Catherine married well but was unable to have children, and she passed away at age 91. Sara Veronica married Joseph Kennedy and became an attorney. She didn’t have any children. Anna married Clifford Austin and had one daughter Patricia Ann Austin, who had five daughters of her own. Ursula never officially married, and because she and Cornelius McLaughlin moved to California her union never became a common law marriage. She had five children, who had 23 grandchildren.

Anthony John was quite upset when he learned that the father of Ursula’s children was a Jesuit that served as a Diocesian priest. He became more livid when he discovered that my grandfather had aided and abetted his sister in the deception. Ursula and my grandfather were very close, and he would have done anything to protect his sister. As a result of the situation, Anthony John disinherited Ursula and my grandfather Michael. Martin administered issues until his death, whereupon the role transferred to Catherine. She finalized the estate in the late 1970s.

I knew my Aunt Catherine. I visited her the first time during Thanksgiving week of 1974 because I was stationed at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana for military training from September to December of that year. She confirmed all the information that my grandmother, Margaret Mary Atckison had given me. Catherine was quite unhappy when she learned that I’d converted from Catholicism to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She paid her parish priest to say Mass for me over the period of many years, with the ever present hope that I’d return to the Catholic Church.

It’s probably an outcropping of many generations, not just Anthony John’s stern demeanor, but my extended family of that generation weren’t casual about their faith. They took their obligations seriously. They paid tithing and they attended Mass regularly. They believed that Christ was their Savior, that Peter and his successors watched over Christ’s Church, and they were determined to live good Christian lives.

Anthony John was the first Chief of Police for the City of Galion, Ohio. According to my father, he defended an innocent black man who wandered into town from being lynched around 1908. As the story goes, the town wanted to lynch the black man. Anthony John came out of the jail and told the crowd to disperse, and that any attempt to take the prisoner will cause him to fire upon those responsible. He was then shot in the hip. From the ground he sat up, pointed his rifle into the crowd, and said you’ll have to kill me to take that man. The crowd dispersed seeing the sight of him bleeding and yet unwilling to yield up his prisoner. The town didn’t want him to remain and the family relocated to Cleveland, Ohio in 1909. The family is living in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1910 Federal Census.

I’ve found no corroboration for the story but Anthony John died from pneumonia after a fall on the ice that broke his hip. As the story goes, the hip broke where he’d been shot earlier.

A good list of who’s who in the photo is not possible. The gentleman not in uniform is Mayor Harry Briggs. Charles Helcher is seated left of the mayor. Andy Hess is standing behind the mayor on the right. My grandfather is standing behind the mayor on the left. Anthony John is 47 years old in the picture, which according to a newspaper copy was taken in 1900. Con Hinkle is seated right of the mayor, and Sellers is standing at the far right. The older gentleman on the far left is unknown because the ink faded out.

Anthony survived his wife by a decade, and he died 29 Sep 1931 in Cleveland, Ohio. He slipped on the ice and broke his hip. The story goes that he was distracted by a dirigible that visited Cleveland, Ohio that month. He died several weeks late in hospital from pneumonia.