Stories

1.  The Dwyer Family in Ireland

2.  Edmond and Catherine Dwyer

3.  John Dwyer and Johanna Dee in Ireland

4.  Where was the Dwyer Farm in Ireland?

5.  Passage on the "Oregon"

6.  John and Johanna Dwyer in Northern New York

7.  The Children of John and Johanna Dwyer

8.  Westward Migration

9.  The Sheehan Family

10.  David Dwyer and Helen Sheehan

11.  The Cronin Family

12.  James Dwyer and Primula Cronin

13.  The Hathaway Family

14.  Illinois Recollections, by Esther Hathaway

15.  Robert Dwyer and Elizabeth Hathaway 

16.  Elizabeth Hathaway: Letters Home

Postscript

Family Tree

Edmond and Catherine Dwyer lived in County Tipperary in the late 1700s and early 1800s.  Read their story.

John Dwyer and Johanna Dee were married about February 11, 1833, probably at St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church in Solohead, part of the parish of Solohead & Oola, which lies on the border of Counties Tipperary and Limerick. They lived on a farm in Balloughbue, part of the Solloghodbeg Townland, in County Tipperary. They had nine children in Ireland: Catherine (about 1834), Edward (about 1836), James (1838), John (1841), Henry (1843), Bridget (1844), Michael (1846), Patrick (1850), and one other child that is unknown. In 1851, the family emigrated to the United States with their children and settled in Clinton, New York. David, their youngest child, was born there in 1854.

Their story:

  - John Dwyer and Johanna Dee in Ireland

  - Where was the Dwyer Farm in Ireland?

  - Passage on the "Oregon"

  - John and Johanna Dwyer in Northern New York

  - The Children of John and Johanna Dwyer  -

  - Westward Migration

David Dee Dwyer and Helen (Nell or Nellie) Sheehan were married in Chateaugay, New York on January 9, 1883. They had five children:  Helen (Nellie), John (Jack), James (Jim), Alice (Ada), and Katherine (Kate).

David and his sons Jack and Jim worked on the family farm for many years.

David died in 1910 and we have no photographs of him. After that, however, there are many photographs of the family - probably in part because Nellie's friend Primula Cronin began visiting and taking pictures in about 1913.

Helen celebrated her 100th birthday in 1958 and died in 1963, at the age of 104.

Their story:

  - The Sheehan Family

  - David Dwyer and Helen Sheehan

When Prim Cronin visited the Dwyer farm during the years 1913-22, she took a number of pictures showing the appearance of and work on the farm at that time. Here are a few of them.

James Dwyer and Primula Cronin were married in Middletown, New York on June 30, 1920. They had three children, William (Bill), Elizabeth (Betty) and Robert (Bob). They lived at first in Chateaugay, then moved to Brooklyn around 1922. Jim built houses until the depression hit, when they moved to Prim's parents' home in Middletown, in 1929. Jim found work as a carpenter at the Middletown State Hospital and eventually became director of maintenance.

Prim's sister Julia lived with them almost all her life. Her brother Douglas moved to Chandler, Arizona, where he married Joyce Lynn Williams on October 29, 1927. Some pictures of Julia and Douglas are in the Cronin Family Photos.

Their story:

  - The Cronin Family

  - James Dwyer and Primula Cronin

Nellie Dwyer married Bernard Looby in Chateaugay, NY, on September 10, 1919. The couple settled in Cherubusco, NY, where Nellie taught school and Bernard worked as a postman. They had one daughter, Margaret, in 1922.

Katherine Dwyer married Daniel Powers, who was a local boy from Chateaugay. They had a son, Edward William Powers in 1933. During the 1940s they ran Powers Restaurant in Chateaugay, where Katherine did the cooking. Daniel also worked in insurance and in a bank. In 1943, they moved to Syracuse.

Alice Dwyer married James Fahey on September 7, 1909, in Chateaugay. By 1919 they were living in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1924, Alice moved back to Chateaugay, bought a house with Katherine, and moved into it with their mother. She worked as a telephone operator for many years.

John (Jack) Dwyer married Nellie Toohill on January 10, 1912, in Chateaugay, NY. They had a son, David D. Dwyer, in 1913 - named after his grandfather, who had died in 1910. They had a second son, Francis, in 1915. Jack worked the family farm for many years.

Children of James and Primula Dwyer

Bill married Eunice in about 1946. After that, the family fell out of touch with him. Records indicate that he died in Washington state in 1988.

Betty married George Ransom (Ranny) Biggs on June 28, 1947, and settled in Elmira, New York. They had five children. Their summers were spent at the Biggs family cottage on Keuka Lake, which was a gathering place for many family members over the years.

More recent Biggs family photos

Bob married Elizabeth Hathaway on May 31, 1952 and settled in Jamestown, New York. They had three children. Bob worked as a psychologist for the Jamestown Public Schools and Elizabeth worked as a social worker and probation officer.

Elizabeth was from Springfield, Illinois, and visited there as often as she could to see her parents (Clifford M. Hathaway and Esther D. Ebert Hathaway), her half-brother Clifford Jr. and his wife Margaret and her sister Constance (Connie) and her husband Roger Humphrey.

Their story:

  - The Hathaway Family

  - Illinois Recollections, by Esther Hathaway

  - Robert Dwyer and Elizabeth Hathaway

  - Elizabeth Hathaway: Letters Home

Older family reunions

More recent family reunions

More recent Hathaway family photos