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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.

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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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