The Goldendale Sentinel, Goldendale, WA., July 16, 1925, page 6
"Local Happenings"
Thomas C. Flannery, a well known resident of the Klickitat valley, died at his home in Goldendale last Sunday of heart failure. Mr. Flannery was born in Ireland, May 14, 1850. He was 20 years old at the time he came to this country, and arrived in Klickitat county in 1882. Funeral services were held Wednesday forenoon, from the Catholic church, Rev. Edwards officiating. Interment was made in the Catholic cemetery, near Goldendale. An obituary will follow.
The Goldendale Sentinel, Goldendale, WA., July 23, 1925, page 6
OBITUARY
Thomas C. Flannery first saw the light of day in the
famous county of Tipperary, Ireland, in 1847. The sad state of affairs in
both of the government and prosperity of his native land led him to join
the great throng which, for generations, has been forced to leave home,
relatives, friends and all that was dear, to seek opportunity for life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness in all parts of the world; to become citizens
in far greater proportion than those from any other race in the land of their
adoption.
It was but natural that he should choose to follow those
whose glowing reports of conditions in the democratic young republic across
the Atlantic deluged the mails or were transmitted in person, telling of
the expansive territory as yet but hardly touched by the progress of
civilization, offering to healthy, ambitious, young men and women, irrespective
of financial status, limitless advantages in every sphere of attainment.
He arrived shortly after the close of the Civil war,
and his first means of lively hood were apparently connected with the assembly
of war supplies, which had been scattered over the large area of conflict.
For three years he labored at the Watervliet arsenal in the State of New
York. The next move is to Pittsburgh, where his mother had come after the
death of her husband, to join her three sons. She did not live long, and
consequently, there was a break-up in the family. We next see him located
in Chicago, where he was living at the time of the great fire in 1871.
The urge westward, following the advice of Horace Greeley
to young men, finds him established in San Francisco, a city, no doubt, which
reminded him of his native land, made up, as it was, of so many descendants
of the Celtic race.
Country life was apparently more to his liking, and soon
he joined the ranks of those who came to Klickitat to settle on the rich
lands available to man of small means.
So well did he like that favored section that henceforward,
from 1880 until the time of his death, he could not be lured away by the
glowing reports from many other nearby sections in the Great West, which
offered great hopes for the future.
Tom Flannery have the qualifications necessary for the
true pioneer -- health, ambition, persistency of purpose. In spite of his
humble position as a tiller of the soil, he had, as a prominent citizen mentioned
the other day, a surprising knowledge of the current events, as gleaned from
the news of the day.
His memory will be cherished by those who knew him as
a man of many good qualities, affable and witty, faithful to his viewpoint
of the qualifications of an American citizen.
He leaves surviving him, two older brothers, William
and John, and one son, James, of Portland, Ore.
The Klickitat County Agriculturist, Goldendale, WA., July 24, 1924, page 1
TOM FLANNERY, PIONEER, PASSES
Thomas C. Flannery -- whose death was briefly chronicled
in last week's Agri. - was a resident of Goldendale, having sold his fine
160 acre farm 7 miles east of the city of several years ago.
The Emerald Isle was his birthplace. There he was born,
in Tipperary county, May 14, 1850, the son of Patrick and Jane (Wills) Flannery,
both of whom were also Irish. The father, who died several years ago in his
native country, was born in 1818 and was a farmer. Mrs. Flannery was married
in Ireland; she died in the state of Pennsylvania many years ago.
At the time Thomas C. came to the United States he was
twenty years old, and took up a different kind of work in America. The first
three years of his residence were spent in the ordinance department of the
United States army. He next spent a like period in the service of the American
Express Company. In the fall of 1875 he went west to California and for two
years was employed in the shops of the Central Pacific Railroad Company.
The ensuing four years he worked for a street car company in San Francisco.
Then in 1882 he came north to Klickitat county and took
a homestead five miles east of Goldendale, that place was his home for thirteen
years, or until 1885, then he removed to his second farm. By dint of much
hard work and commendable thrift, Mr. Flannery had placed nearly all of his
land into cultivation giving him an unusually attractive place.
He was married in San Francisco, October 8, 1876 to Miss
Dorothy O'Leary. Mrs. Flannery was born in England in 1846, educated in the
schools of Britain, came to Chicago in 1870 and passed away in 1892, some
sixteen years after her marriage. One child was the fruit of the marriage,
James, who was born in California, August 4, 1877, and who is still living.
He possesses the genial nature characteristic of his race, was known as a
highly competent man and commanded the good will of the entire community.
An additional article relating to the late Thomas C.
Flannery will be found on another page of this issue.
-------------------------------
The Klickitat County Agriculturist, Goldendale, WA., July 24, 1925, page 2
BRIEF SKETCH OF TOM. C. FLANNERY
Thomas C. Flannery first saw the light of day in the
famous country of Tupperary, Ireland, in 1847. The sad state of affairs in
both the government and prosperity of his native land led him to join the
great throng which for generations has been forced to leave home, relatives,
friends and all that that has been dear to seek opportunities for life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness in all parts of the world, to become citizens
in far greater proportion than those from any other race in the land of their
adoption.
It was but natural that he should choose to follow those
whose glowing reports of conditions in the democratic young republic across
the Atlantic deluged the mails or were transmitted in person, telling them
of the expansive territory as yet but hardly touched by the progress of
civilization, offering to help healthy, ambitious, young men and women,
irrespective of financial status, limitless advantages in every sphere of
attainment.
He arrived shortly after the Civil War and his first
means of livelihood was apparently connected with the assembling of war supplies,
which had been scattered over the large area of conflict. For three years
he labored at the Watervliet Arsenal in the State of New York. The next move
is to Pittsburgh, where his mother had come back after the death of her husband
to join her three sons. She did not live longed, and consequently there was
a breakup in the family.
We next see him located in Chicago, where he was living
at the time of the great fire in 1871. The urge westward, following the advice
of Horace Greeley to young men, finds him established in San Francisco, a
city no doubt which reminded him of his native land, made up, as it was,
of so many descendants of the Celtic race.
Country life was apparently more to his liking, and soon
he joined the ranks of those who came to Klickitat to settle on the rich
lands available to men of small means. So well did he like that favored section
that hence-forward, from 1880 until the time of his death, he could not be
lured away by the glowing reports from many other nearby sections in the
Great West which offered great hopes for the future. Tom Flannery have the
qualifications necessary for the true pioneer - health, ambition, and
persistencey of purpose. In spite of his humble position as a tiller of the
soil he had, as a prominent citizen mentioned the other day, a surprising
knowledge of current events as gleaned from the news of the day.
His memory will be cherished by those who knew him as
a man of many good qualities, affiable and witty, faithful to his viewpoint
of the qualifications of an American citizen. He leaves surviving him to
older brothers, William and John, and one son, James, of Portland, Oregon.
T.A.E.
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© Jeffrey L. Elmer