Mary Anne (Carney) McMahon (abt. 1837 - 1908)

Born about Mar 1837 in Oswego, NY

Descendants

Died 1908 at about age 70 in Watertown, Wisconsin

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Biography

Mary Anne Carney (Kearney?) was born in Oswego, NY, in 1837. She later lived in the tiny town of Union Springs, New York (2015 population, 1100 people), on the Eastern shore of Lake Cayuga not far from Cornell University. Mary Anne was an only child. Her mother, Mary Hendrick Carney (Kearney?), had married Mary Anne’s father, Lawrence Carney (Kearney?) in Ireland, but Lawrence died on the boat on the way to America. Mary Hendrick Carney was remarried after Mary Anne was born, to Hugh McMahon, at Union Springs or the nearby town of Springport, NY. There were no additional children. In 1847, when Mary Anne was 10 years old, the entire family moved to Watertown, Wisconsin, making the 48-mile journey by oxcart. Hers was one of the first ten families in Watertown.

In the 1850s, cholera came to Wisconsin.

In 1854, at the age of 17, Mary Anne married James McMahon. She bore seven children:

Eddie -- drowned at age 18 Sarah -- married Albert Flanagan, lived in Chicago, bore seven children Emma -- died of T.B. Addie -- married Tom Fleming and bore 4 children Mary Anne -- known as "May." Never married. Died of cancer in 1936. Willie -- prospected for gold in the Klondike. Later lived in Montana. Died at 40.

Mary Anne’s stepfather, Hugh McMahon, fought in the Civil War from 1861-1865. He is buried in Watertown.

Mary Anne’s second husband, James McMahon, died in 1874, leaving her, at the age of 34, with seven children and three stepchildren to raise.

Sources