Michael Cooney1819

Michael Cooney 1819

County Cork
Back to List

Sometime in the mid 1800’s two young men left Cork, Ireland, and set out for the United States, land of their dreams. They were brothers, Mike and John Cooney. They settled in New Ulm, Minnesota.

Additional Information
Date of Birth 1st Jan 1819 (circa)
Date of Death 5th Mar 1869
Login

Comments

  • Michael Cooney's birthdate was calculated from his stated age in the 1860 federal census in West Newton TWP, Nicollet County, Minnesota. He was listed as a farm laborer from Ireland and living in the household of his father in law, Patrick Murnan.

    Dwelling Number: 597
    Family Number: 612
    Name /Age/Occupation/Value of RE/PE/POB
    Patrick Murnan/56/Farmer /$1500/$300/Ireland
    Mary Murnan/38/-/-/Ireland
    James Murnan/22/Teamster/-/$75/Ireland
    John Murnan/6 /-/-/PA
    William Murnan/1/-/-/MN
    Michael Murnan/58/Farm Laborer/-/Ireland
    Michael Cooney/40/Farm Laborer/-/-/Ireland

    Michael, his wife Catherine (Murnan) Cooney and her parents were living on the north side of the Minnesota River in the New Ulm area at the time of the 1862 Sioux Uprising. In her personal papers, Michael's granddaughter, Catherine Grace (Cooney) Jackson noted:

    "They were in the New Ulm Massacre by the Indians. Katherine carried her youngest in her arms to the safety of the fort. John was killed in the battle."

    She also noted that her father, William John Cooney was a baby at the time:

    "It was a time of great unrest because of the Indians. There were many alarms and people were warned to go to the fort. They became so used to these warnings that they sometimes ignored them. However, when the great massacre at New Ulm occurred, many people became so alarmed they fled to the protection of the fort. Catherine with her baby in her arms was among them. He was then two years old. His uncle, who had tarried to take care of his stock, was a victim of the slaughter that followed, as were many others." Her uncle's name was John Cooney.

    Dakota_Cooney

    Sunday 25th July 2021 05:20PM

  • Minnesota to South Dakota

    Mike and Kate Cooney remained in the New Ulm, Minnesota area until the fall of 1868, when they moved to Yankton County, Dakota Territory. Since Catherine’s sister, Bridget (Murnan) Stanage, was already living in this area, it seems quite likely that the availability of land and the proximity of relatives brought them to this area. That spring, Mike Cooney, apparently, was caught in a blizzard, and probably suffered a severe case of frostbite, which must have been followed by gangrene. He passed away in early March 1869, and was buried in the Catholic part of the Yankton Cemetery. Michael’s obituary in the 13 March 1869 issue of the Union and Dakotian, the local newspaper, shown below, erroneously gave his age as 60 (he was actually 50), and stated that he had arrived in the area from Missouri instead of Minnesota.

    Newspaper Obituary

    Died

    In Yankton, D. T. on Friday, March 5th, A.D. 1869, Michael Cooney aged 60 years. Deceased was a brother in law of Hon. John Stanage of this county and removed to the Territory, from Missouri last fall. He was buried Sunday last.

     

    Dakota_Cooney

    Sunday 25th July 2021 05:25PM

Some communities associated with this ancestor

Some ancestors associated with these communities

Some buildings associated with these communities