From the Worst of the Potato Famine — Patrick McGuire

B. 25 Dec 1834 in (probably) County Mayo, Ireland
M. (1) before 1857 in (probably) Sullivan County, New York
Wife: Bridget Tuffy
M. (2) 7 Jan 1867 in Henderson, Minnesota
Wife: Mary Toole
D. 1 Apr 1882 in Washington Lake, Minnesota

It’s hard to imagine living in a place without money, without food, and without hope, but this was the childhood experience of Patrick McGuire, who lived through the potato famine in mid-19th century Ireland. 

 

Patrick was born on Christmas Day, 1834 to Lawrence and Julia McGuire. His mother was known to have been born in County Mayo, making it highly likely that he was as well. He had at least one younger brother and two younger sisters; none of the children learned to read and write.

County Mayo was heavily dependent on the potato crop, and Patrick’s father was almost certainly a farmer. When the crop failed for the first time in 1846, Patrick was about 11-years-old, and it didn’t take very long before nearly everyone in the county was affected. People did what they could to survive, but the details of what Patrick’s family went through weren’t handed down. They likely struggled to have enough to eat for several years in a row, while watching people around them also starving, and some of them dying. 

 

A scene of starvation in 1840s Ireland.

 

It wasn’t until about 1852, that Patrick along with his parents and siblings boarded a ship to brought them to New York. The McGuires settled in the town of Thompson in Sullivan County, New York where they were listed in the 1855 state census. Patrick’s parents didn’t find the success of some immigrants, and instead seemed to transfer their poverty to America; by 1875, his mother moved into a poor house where she seems to have died alone. His father was described as a heavy drinker, and disappeared from records after 1880.

Patrick wasn't around to witness his parents' failures because he left the household within the first few years in America. He married an Irish woman named Bridget Tuffy, and between 1857 and 1863, they had three children. At some point, Patrick moved to Minnesota, possibly living for a short time in Illinois beforehand. Sadly, Bridget died, but it isn’t known when or where.

 

On January 7, 1867, Patrick remarried to Mary Toole, whose family had also escaped the potato famine; it’s believed that she may have been from County Mayo, too. The wedding took place in Henderson, Minnesota, which was in Sibley County, but by 1870, the family was living in the town of Belle Plain in LeSeuer County, where Patrick worked as a railroad laborer. Soon after, they were back in Sibley County, and Patrick became a farmer in the town of Washington Lake. He and Mary had six children born between 1871 and 1881.

Patrick’s life was cut short as he died of typhoid fever on April 1, 1882 at the age of 47. He was buried in St. Brendan's Cemetery in Green Isle, Minnesota. His widow Mary tried to keep the farm going, but eventually had to give it up, and she and the children moved to Minneapolis in 1886.

 

Children by Bridget Tuffy:

1. Mary McGuire — B. Nov 1857, (probably) Sullivan County, New York; M. Michael Sweeney (1851-?), 1 Oct 1877, Gessen Land, Minnesota

2. Katherine McGuire — 1 May 1861, (probably) Sullivan County, New York; D. 21 Apr 1939, Peever, South Dakota; M. Joseph Renshaw Brown (1854-1930), 24 Feb 1881, Stevens County, Minnesota

3. Michael McGuire — B. Mar 1863, (probably) Sullivan County, New York; M. Mary
 

Children by Mary Toole:
1. Julia A. McGuire — B. 30 Mar 1871, Washington Lake, Minnesota; D. 18 May 1922, St. Paul, Minnesota; M. Louis Martin La Brie (1868-1911), 1 Jun 1891, Minneapolis, Minnesota

2. Margaret McGuire — B. 7 Aug 1873, Washington Lake, Minnesota; D. 19 Oct 1923, Minneapolis, Minnesota; M. Harry Albert Whittaker (1873-?), about 1902

3. William McGuire — B. 14 Aug 1874, Washington Lake, Minnesota; D. before 1880

4. John McGuire — B. 19 Feb 1876, Washington Lake, Minnesota; D. after 1915

5. Alice McGuire — B. 1 Apr 1879, Washington Lake, Minnesota; D. 1893, Sibley County, Minnesota

6. Johanna McGuire — B. 3 Sep 1881, Washington Lake, Minnesota; M. William Henning (1877-~1904), 25 Apr 1899, Hennepin County, Minnesota

Sources:
1870, 1880 and 1900 U.S. Censuses in Minnesota and South Dakota
1855 New York State census
1875 Sullivan County, New York poorhouse records
Marriage certificate of Patrick McGuire and Mary Toole, Henderson, Minnesota, 7 Jan 1867
Death certificate of Patrick McGuire, Washington Lake, Minnesota, 1 Apr 1882
Marriage record of Joseph Renshaw Brown and Katherine McGuire, Stevens County, Minnesota, 24 Feb 1881
Tombstone inscription of Patrick H. McGuire, St. Brendan's Cemetery, Green Isle, Minnesota
Joseph R. Brown – Minnesota River Center (website)
Birth certificate of Julia McGuire, 23 Jun 1871, Washington Lake, Minnesota
Death certificate of Julia La Brie, 19 May 1922, St. Paul, Minnesota
Marriage certificate of Louis La Brie and Julia McGuire, 2 Jun 1891, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Death certificate of Margaret Whittaker, 22 Oct 1923, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minnesota marriages index, 1849-1950
St. Brendan's cemetery inscriptions, Green Isle, Minnesota