M. (1) 17 Aug 1865 in Sibley County, Minnesota2
Husband: Michael Toole
M. (2) 7 Jan 1867 in Henderson, Minnesota3
Husband: Patrick McGuire
D. 14 Dec 1904 in Minneapolis, Minnesota1
In two separate instances, Mary Toole was involved in 19th-century Minnesota court cases having to do with her children. Each of these demonstrated a woman’s resolve in spite of challenging living conditions.
Michael didn’t leave a will, but he seemed to have a 160-acre farm, the typical size of a homestead, and this brought his case to probate court.9 The proceedings began around July 1866 and resulted in the land being awarded to the baby Bridget. A set of documents in the probate file point to the hardships Mary faced even after she remarried. On June 10, 1867, she petitioned the court to pay her $12 out of the estate because she and Bridget were “destitute.” The document painted a picture of starvation by saying they had “no flour or bread to eat.” The court granted her request.
The following year, little Bridget died,9 and the matter of Michael’s estate had to be settled all over again. Mary returned to court, this time with husband Patrick being assigned as administrator on what was now Bridget’s probate case. Mary was the child’s heir and so was given 120 acres of Michael’s land after one-quarter of the farm was sold to pay court expenses. In 1869, Mary and Patrick sold off another quarter in order to support themselves, getting $312 for it.10 In 1870, the McGuires had relocated to Scott County7 where Patrick worked for the railroad, which suggests that their financial struggles persisted.
Within a year, they were back in Sibley County,11 presumably back on the land they owned. During the next ten years, Mary gave birth to five children, four daughters and one son. A story has come down in the family about Mary’s family during this time. It was said that they often searched the roads for items that fell off of people's carts so they could resell the things at a profit. The family knew which roads near their farm had ruts and sharp turns, and did their collecting there.12 Along with whatever income they earned from scavenging, in 1878, Mary and Patrick sold off a small strip of land from their farm, for which they got $10.13
Things got more desperate for Mary when in 1882, Patrick contracted typhoid and died from it.14 Without a husband, she knew she couldn’t continue with her farm, and sold the rest of it in two transactions.15,16 It was time to move on, and in about the spring of 1886, she and her children relocated to Minneapolis.17 Her widowed mother was already living there with Mary’s sister Margaret, and for a time, Mary and her children moved into their house.
Not long after Mary settled in Minneapolis, her family lived through a horrible tragedy. Busy railroad tracks ran only about 130 feet from their house, and on a few occasions, Mary’s 10-year-old son John got too near the trains, narrowly escaping harm. On September 2, 1886, Mary and the children were preparing to move. John helped pack by making wooden boxes and he needed a board for a box lid. So he crossed the tracks and walked to a coal yard to get a scrap of wood. On the way back, he came too close to a freight train, which first hit him, then as he scrambled to get out of the way, he fell right under the wheels.The train accident cost both of his legs and his left arm.18
Mary went to a personal injuries lawyer who successfully prosecuted a case against the railway company, and John was awarded $13,000 in damages.19 John lived with his mother for the rest of her life, and later he lived with his sister Margaret, becoming a peddler.20 He passed away in 1917.21
During the years following John’s accident, Mary suffered a couple more tragedies. In 1890, her mother died of dysentery,22 and in 1893, her daughter Alice passed away at age 14.23 In the late fall of 1904, Mary contracted pneumonia, and she died on December 14th.1 She saw a great deal of hardship in her 58 years, but left many descendants through her surviving daughters.
Husband: Patrick McGuire
D. 14 Dec 1904 in Minneapolis, Minnesota1
In two separate instances, Mary Toole was involved in 19th-century Minnesota court cases having to do with her children. Each of these demonstrated a woman’s resolve in spite of challenging living conditions.
Mary was born in an unknown part of Ireland, possibly County Mayo, on May 3, 1846 to Timothy Toole and Hanora Coleman,1 probably their oldest child. She was an infant about the time of the potato famine, and it's likely the reason Timothy left for America in December of 1849.4 Hanora and Mary came over nearly 4 years later, arriving in July of 1853.5
The Tooles settled in Ohio, possibly the Cincinnati area.6 It’s believed that Mary didn't attend school, as she was illiterate.7 Sometime before 1865, the family moved to Sibley County, Minnesota and lived on a farm in the town of Green Isle,8 which was an Irish immigrant community. By this time, Mary had two siblings, a brother Thomas and a sister Margaret, both born in Ohio. They lived next to a family headed by a man named Dominick Toole; it's not known how Dominick was related to Timothy.
A man named Michael Toole was also of unknown relationship to Mary, and on August 17, 1865, she married him.2 No documents indicate his age, but he was likely somewhat older than Mary, who was 19-years-old. Their time together was brief; after she became pregnant, he passed away on April 6th of the following year.9 Mary gave birth to a girl named Bridget, but it isn’t known if the baby was born before or after Michael died.9 Then on January 7, 1867, Mary married an Irish immigrant named Patrick McGuire in Henderson, Minnesota,3 a widower with three children.
The Tooles settled in Ohio, possibly the Cincinnati area.6 It’s believed that Mary didn't attend school, as she was illiterate.7 Sometime before 1865, the family moved to Sibley County, Minnesota and lived on a farm in the town of Green Isle,8 which was an Irish immigrant community. By this time, Mary had two siblings, a brother Thomas and a sister Margaret, both born in Ohio. They lived next to a family headed by a man named Dominick Toole; it's not known how Dominick was related to Timothy.
A man named Michael Toole was also of unknown relationship to Mary, and on August 17, 1865, she married him.2 No documents indicate his age, but he was likely somewhat older than Mary, who was 19-years-old. Their time together was brief; after she became pregnant, he passed away on April 6th of the following year.9 Mary gave birth to a girl named Bridget, but it isn’t known if the baby was born before or after Michael died.9 Then on January 7, 1867, Mary married an Irish immigrant named Patrick McGuire in Henderson, Minnesota,3 a widower with three children.
Michael didn’t leave a will, but he seemed to have a 160-acre farm, the typical size of a homestead, and this brought his case to probate court.9 The proceedings began around July 1866 and resulted in the land being awarded to the baby Bridget. A set of documents in the probate file point to the hardships Mary faced even after she remarried. On June 10, 1867, she petitioned the court to pay her $12 out of the estate because she and Bridget were “destitute.” The document painted a picture of starvation by saying they had “no flour or bread to eat.” The court granted her request.
In an 1867 courtroom. (AI-generated image)
The following year, little Bridget died,9 and the matter of Michael’s estate had to be settled all over again. Mary returned to court, this time with husband Patrick being assigned as administrator on what was now Bridget’s probate case. Mary was the child’s heir and so was given 120 acres of Michael’s land after one-quarter of the farm was sold to pay court expenses. In 1869, Mary and Patrick sold off another quarter in order to support themselves, getting $312 for it.10 In 1870, the McGuires had relocated to Scott County7 where Patrick worked for the railroad, which suggests that their financial struggles persisted.
Within a year, they were back in Sibley County,11 presumably back on the land they owned. During the next ten years, Mary gave birth to five children, four daughters and one son. A story has come down in the family about Mary’s family during this time. It was said that they often searched the roads for items that fell off of people's carts so they could resell the things at a profit. The family knew which roads near their farm had ruts and sharp turns, and did their collecting there.12 Along with whatever income they earned from scavenging, in 1878, Mary and Patrick sold off a small strip of land from their farm, for which they got $10.13
Things got more desperate for Mary when in 1882, Patrick contracted typhoid and died from it.14 Without a husband, she knew she couldn’t continue with her farm, and sold the rest of it in two transactions.15,16 It was time to move on, and in about the spring of 1886, she and her children relocated to Minneapolis.17 Her widowed mother was already living there with Mary’s sister Margaret, and for a time, Mary and her children moved into their house.
Not long after Mary settled in Minneapolis, her family lived through a horrible tragedy. Busy railroad tracks ran only about 130 feet from their house, and on a few occasions, Mary’s 10-year-old son John got too near the trains, narrowly escaping harm. On September 2, 1886, Mary and the children were preparing to move. John helped pack by making wooden boxes and he needed a board for a box lid. So he crossed the tracks and walked to a coal yard to get a scrap of wood. On the way back, he came too close to a freight train, which first hit him, then as he scrambled to get out of the way, he fell right under the wheels.The train accident cost both of his legs and his left arm.18
(1) Site of Mary's house. (2) Site of son John's accident.
Mary went to a personal injuries lawyer who successfully prosecuted a case against the railway company, and John was awarded $13,000 in damages.19 John lived with his mother for the rest of her life, and later he lived with his sister Margaret, becoming a peddler.20 He passed away in 1917.21
During the years following John’s accident, Mary suffered a couple more tragedies. In 1890, her mother died of dysentery,22 and in 1893, her daughter Alice passed away at age 14.23 In the late fall of 1904, Mary contracted pneumonia, and she died on December 14th.1 She saw a great deal of hardship in her 58 years, but left many descendants through her surviving daughters.
Child by Michael Toole:
1. Bridget Toole — b. before 7 Jul 1866, Sibley County, Minnesota;9 D. 1 Aug 1868, Sibley County, Minnesota9
1. Bridget Toole — b. before 7 Jul 1866, Sibley County, Minnesota;9 D. 1 Aug 1868, Sibley County, Minnesota9
Children by Patrick McGuire:
1. Julia A. McGuire — B. 30 Mar 1871, Washington Lake, Minnesota;11 D. 18 May 1922, St. Paul, Minnesota;24 M. Louis Martin LaBrie (1868-1911), 1 Jun 1891, Minneapolis, Minnesota25
2. Margaret McGuire — B. 7 Aug 1873, Washington Lake, Minnesota;26 D. 19 Oct 1923, Minneapolis, Minnesota;26 M. Harry Albert Whittaker (1873-?), 1902, St. Paul, Minnesota27
3. John McGuire — B. 19 Feb 1876, Washington Lake, Minnesota;28 D. 18 May 1917, Minneapolis, Minnesota21
4. Alice McGuire — B. 1 Apr 1879, Washington Lake, Minnesota;29 D. 22 Sep 1893, Sibley County, Minnesota23
5. Johanna McGuire — B. 3 Sep 1881, Washington Lake, Minnesota;30 M. William Henning (1877-1904), 25 Apr 1899, Hennepin County, Minnesota31
Sources:
1 Death certificate of Mary McGuire, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dec 1904
1. Julia A. McGuire — B. 30 Mar 1871, Washington Lake, Minnesota;11 D. 18 May 1922, St. Paul, Minnesota;24 M. Louis Martin LaBrie (1868-1911), 1 Jun 1891, Minneapolis, Minnesota25
2. Margaret McGuire — B. 7 Aug 1873, Washington Lake, Minnesota;26 D. 19 Oct 1923, Minneapolis, Minnesota;26 M. Harry Albert Whittaker (1873-?), 1902, St. Paul, Minnesota27
3. John McGuire — B. 19 Feb 1876, Washington Lake, Minnesota;28 D. 18 May 1917, Minneapolis, Minnesota21
4. Alice McGuire — B. 1 Apr 1879, Washington Lake, Minnesota;29 D. 22 Sep 1893, Sibley County, Minnesota23
5. Johanna McGuire — B. 3 Sep 1881, Washington Lake, Minnesota;30 M. William Henning (1877-1904), 25 Apr 1899, Hennepin County, Minnesota31
Sources:
1 Death certificate of Mary McGuire, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dec 1904
2 Marriage record of Michael Toole and Mary Toole, Minnesota County Marriages, 1860-1949, FamilySearch.org
3 Marriage record of Patrick McGuire and Mary Toole, M.C.M.
4 Passenger list of Queen of the West, Liverpool to New York, 17 Dec 1849
5 Naturalization record of Honora Toole, 16 Oct 1873, Sibley County, Minnesota
6 1870 U.S. Census listing her mother in Washington Lake, Minnesota shows two of Mary’s siblings had been born in Ohio during the late 1850s
7 1870 U.S. Census, Belle Plain, Minnesota, FamilySearch.org
8 1865 Minnesota State Census, Washington Lake, Minnesota, FamilySearch.org
9 Probate file of Michael Toole, Sibley, Minnesota, Probate Estate Case Files, 1870-1922, FamilySearch.org
10 Deed of sale between Patrick & Mary McGuire and Thomas Madden, 8 Feb 1869, Sibley, Minnesota, Deeds 1867-1873, FamilySearch.org
11 Birth record of Julia McGuire, Minnesota County Birth Records, 1863-1983, FamilySearch.org
12 Interview by Laura Mitchell of Hazel Swenson and Florence Maxwell, 1978
13 Deed of sale between Patrick & Mary McGuire and Patrick O’Keefe, 26 Jul 1878, Sibley, Minnesota, Deeds 1878-1886, FamilySearch.org
14 Death record of Patrick McGuire, Minnesota County Deaths, 1887-2001, FamilySearch.org
15 Deed of sale between Mary McGuire and James Toole, 6 May 1882, Sibley, Minnesota, Deeds 1878-1886, FamilySearch.org
16 Deed of sale between Mary McGuire and Patrick Brazil, 5 Feb 1883, Sibley, Minnesota, Deeds 1878-1886, FamilySearch.org
17 1887 city directory for Minneapolis
18 Court records of John McGuire vs. the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, 1888-1889
19 “One Damage Suit Finished Up and Another Taken Up,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, 3 Jan 1889
20 City directories for Minneapolis, 1898-1916
21 Death record of John McGuire, Minnesota Deaths, 1887-2001, FamilySearch.org
22 Death certificate of Nora O’Toole, 2 Sep 1890, Minneapolis, Minnesota
23 Death record of Alice McGuire, Minnesota Birth and Death Records, 1866-1916, FamilySearch.org
24 Death record of Julia LaBrie, Minnesota Death Index, 1908-2002, FamilySearch.org
25 Marriage record of Lewis Labree and Julia McGuire, M.C.M.
26 Death record of Margaret Whittaker, Minnesota Deaths and Burials, 1835-1990
27 Marriage record of Harry Whittaker and Margaret McGuire, M.C.M.
28 Birth record of John McGuire, M.B. & D.
29 Birth record of Alice McGuire, M.C.B.R.
30 Birth record of Johanna McGuire, M.B. & D.
31 Marriage of record William Henning and Johanna McGuire, M.C.M.
3 Marriage record of Patrick McGuire and Mary Toole, M.C.M.
4 Passenger list of Queen of the West, Liverpool to New York, 17 Dec 1849
5 Naturalization record of Honora Toole, 16 Oct 1873, Sibley County, Minnesota
6 1870 U.S. Census listing her mother in Washington Lake, Minnesota shows two of Mary’s siblings had been born in Ohio during the late 1850s
7 1870 U.S. Census, Belle Plain, Minnesota, FamilySearch.org
8 1865 Minnesota State Census, Washington Lake, Minnesota, FamilySearch.org
9 Probate file of Michael Toole, Sibley, Minnesota, Probate Estate Case Files, 1870-1922, FamilySearch.org
10 Deed of sale between Patrick & Mary McGuire and Thomas Madden, 8 Feb 1869, Sibley, Minnesota, Deeds 1867-1873, FamilySearch.org
11 Birth record of Julia McGuire, Minnesota County Birth Records, 1863-1983, FamilySearch.org
12 Interview by Laura Mitchell of Hazel Swenson and Florence Maxwell, 1978
13 Deed of sale between Patrick & Mary McGuire and Patrick O’Keefe, 26 Jul 1878, Sibley, Minnesota, Deeds 1878-1886, FamilySearch.org
14 Death record of Patrick McGuire, Minnesota County Deaths, 1887-2001, FamilySearch.org
15 Deed of sale between Mary McGuire and James Toole, 6 May 1882, Sibley, Minnesota, Deeds 1878-1886, FamilySearch.org
16 Deed of sale between Mary McGuire and Patrick Brazil, 5 Feb 1883, Sibley, Minnesota, Deeds 1878-1886, FamilySearch.org
17 1887 city directory for Minneapolis
18 Court records of John McGuire vs. the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, 1888-1889
19 “One Damage Suit Finished Up and Another Taken Up,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, 3 Jan 1889
20 City directories for Minneapolis, 1898-1916
21 Death record of John McGuire, Minnesota Deaths, 1887-2001, FamilySearch.org
22 Death certificate of Nora O’Toole, 2 Sep 1890, Minneapolis, Minnesota
23 Death record of Alice McGuire, Minnesota Birth and Death Records, 1866-1916, FamilySearch.org
24 Death record of Julia LaBrie, Minnesota Death Index, 1908-2002, FamilySearch.org
25 Marriage record of Lewis Labree and Julia McGuire, M.C.M.
26 Death record of Margaret Whittaker, Minnesota Deaths and Burials, 1835-1990
27 Marriage record of Harry Whittaker and Margaret McGuire, M.C.M.
28 Birth record of John McGuire, M.B. & D.
29 Birth record of Alice McGuire, M.C.B.R.
30 Birth record of Johanna McGuire, M.B. & D.
31 Marriage of record William Henning and Johanna McGuire, M.C.M.
