In 1851, after arriving from Ireland and landing in New York City, John and Johanna Dwyer and their family made their way to the north country of New York State. We do not know why they decided to cast their lot there, in a location that was remote and had only recently been carved out of the wilderness. It is possible that they had family or friends nearby -- and the Irish Catholics were clannish; in those days, being frequent victims of discrimination, they purposely grouped together and separated themselves from the Protestant majority.

There were many Irish immigrants in the area. The Canadian rebellion of 1836-1837 added significantly to the population of the Chateaugay and Clinton areas and, in particular, brought a number of Irish, including Edmund O’Neil and his son-in-law Edmund Powers. [1] In the 1840s, the Rutland Railroad had been built across Vermont and northern New York. The work had been brutally hard and most of it was done by the Irish. When the line crossed the town of Chateaugay, the workers had to build a tunnel three hundred feet long and twenty-five feet wide to carry the Chateaugay River, a tributary of the St. Lawrence. The tunnel extended through solid rock and had an arched roof of masonry. When it was completed in 1850, the designer, Walter Shanly, described it as “a magnificent work and worth going any distance to see.” [2] At that point, large numbers of exhausted workers who had been employed on the project took up lands and made their homes in the town. [3]

Chateaugay then was a small farming community in northeastern Franklin County, just south of the Quebec border. It had been part of the old “Military Tract” land set aside for Revolutionary War soldiers. The early Irish settlers were rough and “it was an unusual holiday when a dozen to a score of fights did not occur.” [4] But the place calmed down as a result of the sobering effects of the Catholic church and property ownership. St. Patrick’s was the first Catholic church in Franklin County, organized in 1834.

There were also a number of Irish in the town of Clinton, just to the east in Clinton County. [5] In the 1850s, the population of Clinton village was 750, being 131 families in 111 dwelling houses. Irish immigrants predominated. The then-new St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church was on the corner of Marvin and Prospect streets -- though the Dwyer family appears to have been members of St. Patrick's in Chateaugay. [6]

John bought and improved a farm in Clinton, which he operated until the end of his life. It was difficult work in this remote place and the weather was unpredictable. One of the most memorable events of their early days was a tornado. On June 30, 1856, the storm swept through the central part of Chateaugay. A contemporary account said that there was “complete desolation. Not a building escaped injury, and a great number are completely destroyed.” Among the lost structures was St. Patrick’s church, though it was later rebuilt. [7]

When they arrived, John and Johanna had with them seven children:

- Catherine, about 17

- Edward, about 14

- James, 13

- John D., 10

- Bridget, 7

- Michael Henry, 5

- Patrick, 1

On August 25, 1854, Johanna had her last child, and the only child born in the United States: David D. Dwyer. David is the ancestor of our line of the family.

When the Civil War came, many men from Chateaugay and the surrounding areas enlisted. The 96th Infantry Regiment, from Plattsburg, was the army's home to many local recruits. In 1863, records indicate that John Dwyer and Michael Dwyer from Chateaugay were drafted. We don’t know if these were John and Johanna's sons or if they ever served, as the draft was in excess of the required quota. [8]

Johanna seems to have led an active life in her family and community, having repeatedly been asked to be a godmother: to Johanna Curtin, born May 4, 1859; Denis Fitzgerald, born Nov. 10, 1866; and John James Ryan, born April 18, 1869. [9] Though she never became a U.S. citizen, she apparently had some education, as she was able to read and write. [10]

John died in June 1863. He was buried in St. Patrick’s cemetery where his gravestone remains. [11] We do not know how Johanna and her children fared after John’s death but they may have been aided by their nearby relatives and friends.

Johanna continued to live in the family home with some of her children: in 1870 she was living with Catherine and David, and in 1880 she was living with David alone. Later in life, she lived with, or was under the care of, David and his wife Helen. Stories of her later years can be found in the chapter on David Dwyer and Helen Sheehan and the essay Chateaugay Days by Margaret Looby.

By 1900, Johanna was living with Helen's sister Mary Sheehan and her husband Michael Spellman on a farm at 37 East Main Street in Chateaugay. [12] On April 30, 1902, Joanna died. She was buried on May 2. Both the parish records and the newspaper list her age as 93 years. [13]

Next chapter:  The Children of John and Johanna Dwyer.

NOTES:

[1] D.H. Hurd, History of Clinton and Franklin Counties, New York. J.W. Lewis & Co., Philadephia (1880), pp. 301-302.

[2] C. Schexnayder, Builders of the Hoosac Tunnel, Peter E. Randall Publisher (Oct. 6, 2015), pp. 360-361.

[3] Frederick J. Seaver, History of Chateaugay, New York, From: Historical Sketches of Franklin County and Its Several Towns; J.B. Lyon Co., Albany, NY (1918).

[4]  Id.

[5] D.H. Hurd, History of Clinton and Franklin Counties, New York. J.W. Lewis & Co., Philadephia (1880), p. 300.

[6] Richard L. Williams, Clinton in 1852.  Clinton Historical Society (August 4, 2014).

[7] Chateaugay Record, April 24, 1953; Frederick J. Seaver, History of Chateaugay, New York, From: Historical Sketches of Franklin County and Its Several Towns; J.B. Lyon Co., Albany, NY (1918); D.H. Hurd, supra, p. 462.

[8] The Palladium, Malone, NY, July 16, 1863.

[9] St. Patrick’s Parish records, Chateaugay, NY.

[10] U.S. Census, 1900.

[11] The gravestone puts the year of death as 1865. St. Patrick’s cemetery records, Chateaugay, NY. The more specific date of June 1863 is from H.W. Pratt, History of Fort Dodge and Webster County, Iowa, Pioneer Publishing Co., Chicago (1913); presumably, the author learned it from John’s son, John D. Dwyer.

[12] U.S. Census, 1900.

[13] Chateaugay Record, May 2, 1902. H.W. Pratt, History of Fort Dodge and Webster County, Iowa, Pioneer Publishing Co., Chicago (1913) puts the date at 1906. If she had been born in 1814, as the Census reported, she would have been 88.