OLD-TIME BUTTE RESIDENT PASSES — Michael Mullaney Dies at Walkerville; Funeral Not Arranged

Summary

Obituary of **Michael R. Mullaney**, age 73 (= b. ~1856), native of **Michigan**, died 19 May 1929 at his home, **500 Fourth street, Walkerville**, after a 3-week illness. - 43-year Butte resident (came c. 1886) - Employed as a **miner** - Body at **Sherman & Reed funeral parlors** (same Butte undertaking firm as the 1912 PJM funeral; recurring family- cluster funeral home) **SURVIVING RELATIVES** (key family-cluster anchor): - **Sister**: Mrs. Margaret Devitt of British Columbia - Several nieces and nephews (unnamed) - **SIX COUSINS**: - Mr. and Mrs. Pat Dougherty - Mr. and Mrs. James Duggan - Mr. and Mrs. J. Brennan (= **Mrs. Agnes Brennan** = Chatham sister) - Mrs. Margaret Sullivan (Chatham sister) - Mrs. Sy Pascoe (= the Pascoe-Chatham sister; "Sy" may be a nickname for "Sylvester" or possibly William) - **James Chatham** (= the 1904 Butte Dem Convention Precinct 5 delegate person_james_chatham_butte_dem_ delegate_1904) ## CRITICAL CONFIRMATION: Mike Mullaney is a CHATHAM COUSIN The six cousins listed in this obit are FIVE of the Chatham sisters from the 1916 Catherine Maloughney obit (Brennan, Sullivan, Pascoe) plus James Chatham (himself a Butte Chatham-line figure) plus the Dougherty + Duggan in-laws. This means **Michael R. Mullaney's mother was a Chatham** — a sister of John A. Chatham (b. 1829 Avoca, d. 1901 Butte, GEDCOM patriarch of the Chathams) or of his Chatham siblings. Therefore Michael Mullaney is a **Chatham cousin** of: - Agnes Kelly Murphy (= the 1927-d. JJM's wife) — via her Chatham mother Mary Chatham Kelly - Catherine Chatham Maloughney (Tish Maloney's mother) - All the other 1916-named Chatham sisters Born 1856 Michigan → emigrated Butte c. 1886 (age ~30) → lifelong miner at Walkerville → cousin-correspondent with Agnes Kelly Murphy (per the recovered letter docs). ## THE "JIMMIE" REFERENCE FROM HIS 1925 LETTER Per the 1925-03-31 Mike Mullaney letter to Agnes (filed as archive/documents/letters/1925-03-31_walkerville-mt_mullaney- letter-to-agnes-jimmies-death): "the tragic death of my Nephew" Jimmie occurred between Jan 1925 and March 1925. Was a violent / suspicious death with two defendants going to trial. Mike's nephew Jimmie was a "boy known to possess good, mature, and kindly disposition." Identity not yet resolved — could be a son of Mike's sister Maggie Devitt of BC, or another Mullaney/Chatham sibling's son. Open question.

People

• Michael R. Mullaney (b. ~1856 Michigan; d. 19 May 1929 Walkerville; Chatham cousin; letter-writer)(as printed: Michael Mullaney / Michael R. Mullaney)
  role: subject · family confidence: 95 certain

  Confirmed CHATHAM COUSIN via the obit's named-cousins list (five Chatham sisters + James Chatham). Mike's mother was a Chatham sister of John A. Chatham (GEDCOM patriarch). Author of the 1925 letters to Agnes Kelly Murphy in the archive's letters collection, and of the c.1916-1926 "Sixty Years / Seventy Years" poems. Bachelor / unmarried (no wife or children in obit).

• Margaret (Mullaney) Devitt (Mike's sister; Crofton BC c.1925)(as printed: Mrs. Margaret Devitt)
  role: surviving sister · family confidence: 50 candidate

  Sister of Michael R. Mullaney. Lived British Columbia (Crofton per Mike's March 31/25 letter). Devitt married name. Has a son who is Mike's nephew.

Also mentioned

• James Chatham · cousin_chatham_branch

  = person_james_chatham_butte_dem_delegate_1904. Confirms James Chatham as a Chatham-branch figure tied to the broader cousins-of-Agnes-Kelly-Murphy network.

• Mr. and Mrs. Pat Dougherty · cousin_in_law

  Dougherty-side cousin or Chatham-by-marriage cousin.

• Mr. and Mrs. James Duggan · cousin_in_law

  Duggan cluster — possibly related to Larry Duggan the Butte funeral director (cohort of Sherman & Reed who handled both Mike's and PJM's funerals).

• Mr. and Mrs. J. Brennan · cousin

  Mrs. J. Brennan = Mrs. James Brennan = Agnes Chatham Brennan of the 1916 Catherine Maloughney obit.

• Mrs. Margaret Sullivan · cousin

  Margaret Chatham Sullivan of the 1916 Catherine Maloughney obit.

• Mrs. Sy Pascoe · cousin

  Pascoe Chatham sister. = the 'Mrs. William Pascoe' of the 1940 Mary Chatham Kelly obit if 'Sy' is a nickname for William, OR a sister with husband Sylvester/Simon Pascoe. The Pascoe family is the recurring Chatham in-law on multiple cousin lists.

• Sherman & Reed funeral parlors · undertakers

  Same Butte funeral firm that handled PJM 1912.

Places

• Butte, Montana (primary)
• Walkerville, Montana (primary)
• Michigan (secondary)
• British Columbia, Canada (secondary)

Themes

• irish_american_community
• obituary
• death
• mining_west

Story threads

• The Pat-and-Ellen Murphy household — Butte 1887 to LA 1980

Tags

• source_primary_family
• direct_family
• evidence_corroborating
• book_chapter_material

Source type

obituary

Related sources

• 1916-04-21 — The Anaconda Standard, p.10 — MRS. CATHERINE MALOUGHNEY.
• 1904-05-14 — The Butte Daily Post, p.8 — DEMOCRATIC COUNTY CONVENTION IN SESSION
• 1940-05-30 — The Montana Standard, p.5 — MRS. MARY KELLY, EX-WALKERVILLE RESIDENT, TAKEN
• c1916 — Family papers — Michael R. Mullaney verse manuscripts — Mullaney verse: 'Sixty Years' (c.1916) + 'Seventy Years' (c.1926) — bachelor-cousin meditations on mortality
• 1925-03-31 — Family letters — Michael R. Mullaney to Agnes Kelly Murphy — Mullaney to Agnes Kelly Murphy, 31 Mar 1925 — Walkerville; reports tragic death of nephew Jimmie; mentions Aunt Agnes Brennan, Nellie Dennison, Maggie Devitt of Crofton BC
• c1925-1929-01-25 — Family letters — Michael R. Mullaney to Agnes Kelly Murphy — Mullaney to Agnes Kelly Murphy, Jan 25-27 (c.1925-29) — Walkerville; thanks for buffalo robe and magnifying glass; mentions Melda, Maggie, Jen, Winifred

Open questions

• Identity of "Jimmie" — Mike's nephew who died violently early 1925 (per March 31/25 letter). A son of Margaret Devitt (BC) is one possibility; could also be a son of another Mullaney / Chatham sibling. Worth a 1925 Butte Miner / Anaconda Standard search for a violent young-man death + double-defendant inquest.
• "Mrs. Sy Pascoe" — is "Sy" a nickname for "Sylvester" or a misread / nickname of "William"? Pascoe genealogy cross-check needed.
• The Mullaney-Chatham line — what is the Mullaney patriarch name (Mike's father)? Married to which Chatham sister? Pending the GEDCOM Chatham-line back-extension.