Rooney Family Tree

James Gaffaney, interviewed by Loretta Gaffaney, 1938.
WPA project, sponsored by the Pope County Historical Society.

James Alouis Gaffaney was born on May 31, 1871 of parents John and Ann Gaffaney. His parents were among the first to settle in Leven Twp., coming in 1867 from Mendota, Minnesota and homesteading a portion of land in the N.W. 1/4 of Section 5 Leven Twp. His father and mother were married at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin and from there moved to Mendota. Four children were born at Mendota. After living there for about twelve years they came, in a covered wagon, to Pope county. James Alouis was born three years after they moved onto their farm.

His father was one of a group of five who petitioned and organized t e school district. They bought a tract of land and built a log school-house which was used for over forty years. James Alouis, with his brothers and sisters attended and received their educations in this school.

When he was twenty years old, our subject left home and traveled West to Washington. There he secured employment on a steam-shovel for th e Northern Pacific. He worked on that job for almost a year, working w est and east of Spokane filling in bridges (lumber bridges) and packing them with dirt, and putting them in culverts. Between the time he quit this job and time he again started to work, he and a group of other boys went up to the Bay and rode across on a boat. It was quite a thrill. After that he washed dishes in a restaurant in Sprague, Washin gton. In the spring of 1892 he went to Marshal Junction in Idaho and worked for two months in the saw mills. He quit this job and went to work for the Great Northern Railroad. This Company was laying track west from Spokane. He helped build the railroad from Spokane, west to the Columbia River. They averaged 5 miles per day. When they were forty-one miles out of Spokane there were two cars of their construction train went through a bridge that had been built the year before. The water from the spring then had washed away the underpinnings and when the pressure of the construction train hit it, it collapsed. There were four of the construction crew killed. After they reached the Columbia River he went back to Hillyard, near Spokane and worked in the Material Yards for the same company. While he was working at that, there was a landslide or avalanche on the outskirts of Kalispell , Montana. They picked up all the section men from Kalispell beside s all those in the Material Yards; there were over sixty men in the yards alone, of which James Alouis was one, and went out to the scene of the slide. It took till one at night to clear the tracks. They st rted back then pushing a caboose and a boxcar ahead of the engine and pulling four flats behind. They had only proceeded a short way when they struck a rock which had tumbled from a ledge about three hundred feet up. It was a regular boulder and when the caboose struck it, i t was smashed and two men were hurt. The engineer reversed his engine so fast that it pulled the draw pin on the box-car and that tipped over. The box-car was full of men of which James was one, but no one was hurt. He worked in the Material Yards until Jan. 1893 then went u p to the Cascade Mountains and worked at this job in May and then wen t back to Spokane. He stayed in Spokane about two weeks, then bought a ticket on the Union Pacific and traveled through the south-western states of Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Nebraska and Iowa. He landed at Flandreau, South Dakota where he worked on a farm for six months. He returned to Pope County in Jan. 1894. He bought part of his father's farm and began improving it. He built a new set of buildings and set o ut a fine grove. He lived here for ten years.
In 1904 he was married. We quote from the Glenwood Herald August 5, 1 904:

GAFFANEY û MARTIN
James A. Gaffaney of the town of Leven and Miss Katherine E. Martin of the town of Bangor on Wednesday July 27 assumed the sacred relations hip of husband and wife. Rev. Fr. Hildebrand Zoeller of Stearns county performed the ceremony before a select number of friends and relatio ns of the contracting parties. The respective parties to this happy union are among the most popular and highly esteemed young people of this county. On the handsome farm owned by the groom in the town above mentioned, they will make their future home. The Herald together with their many friends extends congratulations and an earnest hope that their joys may be many and their sorrows few.

Nine children were born to this union all of whom are living. Mabel Agnes (Mrs. Arvid Johansen) who has three children, Arvid Charles, Ernest James, and Ansgar Nicholas; she lives in Douglas county.

James who is married and has one child Catherine Alice; Mildred Katherine (Mrs. M.W. Flannery); Harold Francis, in partnership with his older brother farming; Julia Helen at home, Ambrose who runs the farm now; Loretta Marie is working in Glenwood; Margaret Elizabeth who is a junior in High School and Florence Eucibia who is also in high school.

Mr. Gaffaney has been honored by his friends and neighbors by different offices. He has been on the local school board for over forty-three years and for a time was also a member of the town board. He is the only charter member left on lodge 252 of the Glenwood Ancient Order of United Workmen. He was an honored guest at a special A.O.U.W. meeting called for the purpose of awarding medals to the nine members wh o had been in that lodge for over forty years. Mr. Gaffaney as aforesaid was the only charter member.

He still lives on his farm in Leven at the age of 68. Although he has reached this advanced age he is till active in mind and body and still does a good share of the farm work. He has had his ups and downs as has everyone but all is quite satisfied with the way the world has treated him.

We wish him many more years of smooth sailing.

Pope County Tribune. Thursday, July 24, 1947:

LEVEN PIONEER PASSED AWAY AT ALEXANDRIA
James A. Gaffaney was born on his father's homestead in Leven township May 31st, 1871 and here he spent most of his life.

On July 27th, 1904 he was married to Catherine Martin at St. Anthony's church at Padua and continued to farm on part of the old homestead which he had purchased from his father. Last March he moved to Alexandria.
He passed away at a hospital early Sunday morning, July 13th, being a t the time of his passing 76 years, 1 mo. and 12 days old. He is survived by his wife and all of the children: Mabel, Mrs. Arvid Johansen , Alexandria; James Gaffaney, Glenwood; Mildred, Mrs. M.W. Flannery, S t. Cloud. Harold, Hudson township, Alexandria; Julia Gaffaney, Alexandria; Ambrose Gaffaney, Hudson township; Loretta, Mrs. R.J. Morse, Whittier, Calif.; Margaret, Mrs. Russell Danielson, Denver, Colo.; Floren ce, Mrs. Arthur Anderson, Minneapolis.
There are 22 grandchildren surviving and the following brothers and sisters: Rose, Mrs. Mike Shanks, Spokane, Washington; Peter Gaffaney of Villard; Elizabeth, Mrs. Maloney, Duluth, Minn.; Ellen B. Gaffaney , Alexandria; Michael Gaffaney, Alexandria; Joseph Gaffaney, Faribault .

Mr. Gaffaney was much interested in civic affairs, having served on the School Board and Town Board of Leven for many years.

Funeral services were held on Tuesday, July 15th, at the Anderson Funeral Home at 8:30 A.M. and at St. Bartholomew Church in Villard at 9:3 0 A.M. Father Alois Gruenes officiated.

Interment was made in Calvary Cemetery at Villard and the pallbearers were Walter Colbert, Wm. Patrick, Anton Rajdl, Anton Keller, John Christman and Frank Earl.

All the children were here for the funeral services with the exception of Loretta (Mrs. R.J. Morse) who resides in Whittier, Calif.