Genea-Blogger Games - Final Day of Competition

OK, here it is, the last event I need to get the Diamond Medal in the category
Write, Write, Write! a biographical about one of my ancestors and for the category Go Back And Cite Your Sources! the last 20 citations I needed.

MICHAEL DELANEY and the WINTERBOTTOM SISTERS - LILLIE and ABIGAIL

Michael Delaney is the eldest child of my 3rd great grandparents Daniel Derondo Delaney and Ellen Collins. Daniel and Ellen were born in Ireland. Daniel in County Kerry and Ellen in County Cork. They were married 3 December 1849 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Buttevant County Cork, Ireland. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the Delaney’s arrived at the Port of New York on 8 January 1851 aboard the “Elizabeth Bentley”. By September of that year they had made their way North to Lockport, Niagara County where Michael was born 3 September 1851.

Daniel was a stone mason but upon arrival in America, he found himself a contractor to the railroads. Daniel had a team of men that graded the land where the new tracks were going to be laid. He must have been a hard worker and good at his job. The New York Central Railroad line from Lockport, south west along the southern shore of Lake Erie to Cleveland, Ohio and south west even more to St. Louis Missouri, lines up neatly with the Delaney family’s migration westward.

In 1862 the Delaney’s are in Sedalia, Pettis County, Missouri where Daniel enlists in the Union Army. In 1867 the Delaney’s are in Lawrence, Kansas where Daniel once again takes up contract work for the railroad, this time for the Central Branch Missouri Pacific Railroad.

The family migrated north to Waterville, Marshall County, Kansas where we find Michael Delaney is now 19 years old. Michael worked alongside his father in railroad construction until the line was completed in Waterville in 1879. Daniel and Ellen decided to move south to Elk County, Kansas. Michael and and a younger brother George, elected to stay in Marshall County. George went north about 35 miles to the town of Axtell.

In 1879 Michael purchased a mercantile store from J. E. Peters. He owned and operated this store until he sold it in 1907.

On 29 April 1880 in Waterville Township, Michael married local school teacher Lillie Winterbottom, the daughter of Daniel and Matilda Winterbottom. Michael and Lillian had three sons: Frederick George Delaney born 1 April 1881, Daniel Derondo Delaney born 27 August 1886 and Carl Andrew Delaney born 7 August 1888.

All three boys moved to Taloga, Dewey County, Oklahoma and all three worked as bankers for the 1st National Bank. A first cousin to their mother, J. W. Thompson, was the president of the 1st National Bank and of Citizens National Bank. In 1917, all three boys registered for the draft during World War I. All three were shipped overseas to serve their country. Only two of them returned. Daniel Derondo Delaney was killed in action in February of 1918. His widow Maud and son Roger Delaney survived him. Daniel was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Waterville. Frederick came back to his job as a banker and married Daisy Hvare. They relocated to Ventura, California and had three children: Fred George Delaney, Mary A. Delaney and Lillian Patricia Delaney. Frederick died in Ventura, California 7 April 1965 and was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Waterville. Carl married Ethel Florence Mc Elhaney and moved to Paradise, Butte County, California where they had one son Carl Roderick Delaney. Carl died 29 August 1976 in Paradise and was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Waterville.

Lillian died on 31 May 1893 and Michael remarried to her sister Abigail Winterbottom on 25 June 1895. Michael was an active member of the community, as the following list will confirm:

*Appointed Postmaster of Waterville 1888 - 1893 and again 1897-1913
*Elected as Mayor of Waterville and served two terms
*President of the Waterville School Board for seventeen years
*Chairman of the Waterville Township Central Republican Committee for twenty years during which time he also served as a delegate to district and state republican conventions.
*Vice president of Citizens State Bank
*Served as treasurer for the Riverside Cemetery Association
*Served as treasurer for Sutton Lodge No. 85
*Served as a member of the City Council of Waterville
*Supreme Treasurer of the Triple Tie Benefit Association for fourteen years
*A member of The Independent Order of Odd Fellows
*A member of The Ancient Free and Accepted Masons for 55 years
*First President of Waterville Telephone Company
*Member of the Modern Woodmen of America
*Organized the construction of the new City Hall in Waterville
*Member of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Michael died 1 May 1938 in Waterville and is buried in Riverside Cemetery.



SOURCES:
1. “The Famine Immigrants, Lists of Irish Immigrants Arriving at the Port of New York 1846-1851“, Glazier, Ira A., Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, Maryland 1985, pp. 493-494
2. “A Pictorial and Family History of Waterville, Kansas”, Bicentennial Committee of 1796, pp. 247-249.
3. “Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons”, Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1912, pp. 502-503
4. “A History of Marshall County, Kansas - It‘s People, Industries and Institutions”, Forter, Emma, B F. Bowen and Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana, 1917, pp. 201-202, 368-369, 415
5. “An Affair With The Past, From the Otoes to the Astronauts”, Guise, Byron and Eulalia, Marysville, Kansas, 1987
6. Parish Register, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Buttevant, County Cork, Ireland
7. “The Waterville Telegraph”, Waterville, Marshall County, Kansas, Thursday, May 5, 1938, Section A, p. 12, Obituary for Michael Delaney
8. “The Ventura County Star”, Ventura, California
9. “The Waterville Telegraph”, Waterville, Marshall County, Kansas, Friday, June 9, 1893, p. 3, Obituary for Lillie W. Delaney
10. “World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918“, digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com), Daniel Derondo Delaney. Serial no. 45, order no. 7652
11. “World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918“, digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com), Carl Andrew Delaney, serial no. 1223, order no. 15, Draft Board 31
12. “World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918“, digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com), Fred George Delaney, serial no., 21, order no. 587, Draft Board 7
13. 1930 US Census, Kansas, Marshall County, Waterville Township, sheet 7B (penned), Michael Delaney household #230, dwelling #224
14 “History of the State of Kansas”, Cutler, William G., 1883, A. T. Andreas, Chicago, IL.
15. Daniel D. Delaney (Pvt. , Co. E, 7th Reg., Missouri Calvary, Civil War), Invalid Pension File No. 202.017, Civil War and Later Pension Files, Department of Veteran Affairs, Record Group 15, National Archives, Washington DC
16. 1920 US Census, Kansas, Marshall County, Waterville Township, sheet 10B (penned), Michael Delaney household #153, dwelling #149
17. 1880 US Census, Kansas, Marshall County, Waterville Township, sheet 10B, Michael Delaney household #110, dwelling #107
18. 1885 Kansas State Census, Marshall County, Waterville Township, pg. 10, line 21, Michael Delaney household
19. 1900 US Census, Kansas, Marshall County, Waterville Twonship, p. 245 (stamped), sheet 4A (penned), Michael Delaney household #96, dwelling #99
20. 1895 Kansas State Census, Marshall County, Waterville Township, p. 17, line 1, Michael Delaney household
21. 1910 US Census, Kansas, Marshall County, Waterville Township, sheet 11B (penned), Michael Delaney household #138, dwelling #137
22. 1905 Kansas State Census, Marshall County, Waterville Township, p. 9, line 1, Michael Delaney household
23. 1915 Kansas State Census, Marshall County, Waterville Township, p. 2, line 18, Michael Delaney household
24. Delaney Family Headstone Photos, Riverview Cemetery, Waterville Township, Marshall County, Kansas, photos in possession of author.