ONLY ONE SURVIVES IN PARTY OF SIX
The Anaconda Standard, Anaconda, 1918-12-10, p.7
Summary
Most consequential single clipping in this Stage 6 ingest for the Beara / Butte family arc. James M. McCarthy of the Centennial Brewing company in Butte received a letter from Cork, Ireland, reporting that his nephew Jack Sullivan and four others had drowned in the Kilcatherine district on Armistice Day (11 November 1918) when their fishing boat was lost in the breakers. Six in the party, only one survivor. Among the dead were "two cousins of James Murphy of the Hennessy store": Robert Dwyer ("leaves an aunt living on Anaconda road" in Butte) and Richard Dwyer ("leaves an uncle living on North Wyoming street, and Mike, another uncle, also of Butte"). Another victim "named McCarthy" has brothers living in Butte. Jack Sullivan was a noted athlete, formerly all-around champion of West Cork. ARCHIVE SIGNIFICANCE. This is the first clipping in the archive that directly names the "James Murphy of the Hennessy store" (= person_james_murphy_son_of_pat_and_ellen, the Centerville AOH president, Hennessy superintendent, Murphy-Softley founder) as having cousins in the parish of Kilcatherine on the Beara peninsula. Kilcatherine is also the parish of the 1846 Times starvation correspondent's letter (Timothy Sullivan of Coulagh in the parish of Kilcatherine). The same shoreline runs through the archive's two narrative endpoints: pre-Famine destitution (1846) and Butte Irish-American organisational success (1918). Family-status implication. JJM-Centerville-AOH now has, in addition to his existing distinguishing details (lifelong Butte resident, AOH County President 1912-13, Hennessy career 1898- 1920, Murphy-Softley founder), a SPECIFIC Beara-parish kin tie — Dwyer cousins in Kilcatherine. Per the confidence rule, this is enough distinguishing detail to bump him substantially. Held here at family_confidence 50 ("Plausible — right name, right place, right time, plausible age, no known competing candidate") pending user signal.
People
- James Joseph "James J." Murphy (b. 1883 Ardgroom; d. 1938 LA)(as printed: James Murphy of the Hennessy store)role: relative of victims · family confidence: 10 flag
Promoted from 25 → 50 on this clipping. Cousins (Dwyers) in Kilcatherine parish, Beara peninsula — directly aligned with the family arc place vocabulary. Two-records rule continues to keep him separate from other Patrick / James Murphy candidates pending user confirmation.
- Robert Dwyer (Kilcatherine, d. 1918; identification disputed — see disambig)(as printed: Robert Dwyer)role: drowning victim · family confidence: 10 flag
Named cousin of person_james_murphy_son_of_pat_and_ellen. Lived in Kilcatherine district, Beara peninsula. Aunt in Butte (on Anaconda road). Confidence inherited from JJM.
- Richard Dwyer (Kilcatherine, d. 1918; identification disputed — likely a name-confusion of Patie Murphy per Annals + Oliver)(as printed: Richard Dwyer)role: drowning victim · family confidence: 10 flag
Named cousin of person_james_murphy_son_of_pat_and_ellen. Uncle in Butte (North Wyoming street). Confidence inherited from JJM.
- Jack Sullivan (Kilcatherine, d. 1918)(as printed: Jack Sullivan)role: drowning victim · family confidence: 0 not family
Nephew of James M. McCarthy of Butte (Centennial Brewing). Former all-around athletic champion of West Cork. Not Murphy blood (he is McCarthy / Sullivan, not Murphy), but recorded because he is a named subject and because the McCarthy uncle is a recurring Butte-Irish business name.
- James M. McCarthy (Centennial Brewing, Butte)(as printed: James M. McCarthy)role: information recipient · family confidence: 0 not family
Of the Centennial Brewing company, Butte. Uncle of Jack Sullivan (the deceased athlete). Recipient of the Cork letter that brought news of the accident. Logged because he is the named conduit between Cork and Butte for this story.
Also mentioned
- Mike Dwyer · surviving_uncle_in_butte
Uncle of Richard Dwyer (the victim), living in Butte.
- [unnamed McCarthy] · drowning_victim
Fifth named victim of the boat accident — surname McCarthy, has brothers living in Butte. No first name given.
- [unnamed Murphy / Dwyer aunt] · surviving_aunt_in_butte
Lives on Anaconda road in Butte. Aunt of Robert Dwyer.
- [unnamed Dwyer uncle] · surviving_uncle_in_butte
Lives on North Wyoming street, Butte. Uncle of Richard Dwyer.
- [unnamed survivor] · sole_survivor
One of the six survived; no name given.
Places
- Kilcatherine (parish) (primary)
- Beara Peninsula (primary)
- West Cork (primary)
- County Cork (context)
- Butte, Montana (secondary)
- Anaconda, Montana (secondary)
Themes
Story threads
Tags
- candidate_family
- direct_family
- heavy
- evidence_primary
Source type
news_item, death_notice, correspondent_report
Related sources
Transcription
Open questions
- The fishing accident — was it covered in any contemporary Cork paper? Cork Examiner / Skibbereen Eagle / Southern Star late Nov / early Dec 1918 should carry the story. Worth a focused pull at a later stage.
- The Kikcatherine spelling in the user's filename is a typo for Kilcatherine (the parish name in the body of the clipping matches the existing place_kilcatherine_parish entry).
- The Dwyer cousins / Murphy connection — is the Dwyer surname on the user's wider associated-families list? If so, the Kilcatherine-parish Dwyer match strengthens the Murphy candidacy further. Worth a check.
- What "James M. McCarthy of the Centennial Brewing company" — does he recur in other Butte clippings? The Centennial Brewing was a major Butte employer of Irish-Americans.
- Date — Armistice Day 1918. The news of the drowning probably arrived in Butte mixed in with the wave of Armistice telegrams — culturally striking. Worth a sidebar in the book.