Charles Horace McCarthy was born in Epworth, Iowa, on November 20, 1866, to Flerry and Mary (O'Halloran or Halloran) McCarthy. Epworth was platted in 1855, but not officially incorporated until 1879. He joined the Illinois Central Railroad as a waterboy when he was 12 years old. When fifteen, he helped build the section around Epworth, Iowa. After four years, he was promoted to section foreman. After a one-year stint running a store in Epworth, he returned to the IC to run the gravel pits at Cherokee, Iowa for five months. He was then made a brakeman, working for a year and nine months, then was named a conductor.
C. H. was a conductor for the rest of his life, running the freight line between Sioux City and Fort Dodge starting in 1889. He married Mary Ann Lennon in Farley, Iowa, on November 18, 1889. He may have been living in Cherokee, Iowa, around this time, as his eldest son was born there in 1892. By 1900, he was living in Fort Dodge, Iowa at 1210 S. 6th Avenue (Ward 2). He remained in Ward 2 in 1910. Master of the Fort Dodge "Fortress" lodge of the BRT at Redmen's Hall. Charles was also a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters, KoC, and the AOUW. He lost many of his possessions in a fire at the Hotel Julien Dubuque on April 7, 1913. A son, John Morris, was killed in France during WWI in 1918.
He moved to Ward 1 of Dubuque, Iowa, in 1916. He lived at 425 S. Grandview Ave. by 1930, a home valued at $3000, and attended nearby St. Columbkille's Church. Charles retired around 1925, after 43 years with the IC, due to failing health. He died at his home at 5:20am on March 6, 1934 after a long illness; he had been confined to his bed since the previous September. His wife and three other children survived him. He was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Key West, a Catholic cemetery south of Dubuque.
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Categories: Brakemen | Conductors (transportation) | Epworth, Iowa | Dubuque, Iowa | Railroad Workers | Dubuque County, Iowa | Mount Olivet Cemetery, Key West, Iowa | Fort Dodge, Iowa | Cherokee, Iowa