Edward Toal/Toale : Short Biography

Who we refer to as Edward Emmanuel Toal I was born in Newry, County Armagh, Ireland circa 1797. There was likely other Edward Toals before him. Not much is known about Edward Toal I because of the destruction of most of Ireland’s 19th Century census records. His death is thought to have occurred in 1871. He was married to Rose Clark. Edward and Rose Toal were Roman Catholic and worshipped at Killeavy Lower Parish in County Armagh. Baptism, marriage, and death records were not recorded in the parish until about 1890. As a result, it has been difficult to obtain additional, verifiable information on their family. We do know, however, that they were the parents of Edward David Emmanuel Toal II, who was the first of our Toal family to emigrate to America and, therefore, is considered Generation I of the Toal family in our Toal family
history.

GENERATION I: Edward David Emmanuel Toal II and Anne (McParland) 1 Toal –

Edward and Rose (Clark) Toal had a son named Edward David Emmanuel Toal II (1820‐1880). He was born in Newry, County Armagh, Ireland on January 6, 1820. He died January 17, 1880, in Monmouth, Illinois and is buried in Monmouth’s St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery. It is likely Edward Toal II had siblings. However, there has not been recorded or DNA proof of their existence as of the writing of this history.

Margaret McDonnel and Arthur McFarland (McParlan) had seven children, one of whom was Anne. Arthur McParlan's father was John McParlan (McFarland), but his mother is not known. Arthur’s birth date is unknown, but the year of his death was 1861. Arthur’s father John had at least one sibling, a sister named Alice McParlan (McFarland). She married Felix Burns and they had ten children. Not much is known about the McFarland family in Ireland. However, as technology and DNA testing progress, it is possible additional genealogy research will allow for deeper study of the McFarland’s of County Armagh and all our Irish ancestors.

Anne McFarland was born in County Armagh, Ireland on September 8, 1833, one of seven children. She died on October 3, 1927, at her home in Monmouth, Illinois
and is buried in Monmouth’s St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Monmouth, next to her husband. Anne’s mother Margaret McFarland and brother Peter McFarland are also buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery and there are small grave markers near Anne and Edward. Research which have led to the discovery of five of
Anne’s six siblings:

 Catherine McParlan (McFarland) born 1831 in Newry, County Armagh, Ireland; death date and
location unknown.
 James McParlan (McFarland) born 1835 in Newry, County Armagh, Ireland and died circa 1905
in Zalewski, Vinton County, Ohio.
 Peter McParlan (McFarland) born 1836 in Newry, County Armagh, Ireland and died 1898 in
Warren County, Illinois (specific location unknown).
 Margaret McParlan (McFarland) born 1840 in Newry, County Armagh, Ireland and died August
2, 1877, at the age of 37.
 Susanna McParlan (McFarland) born 1842 in Newry, County Armagh, Ireland; death date and
location unknown.

Edward Toal and Anne McFarland were married on October 28, 1852, in the Killeavy Lower Parish in County Armagh, Ireland. The church record of the marriage of Edward Toal and Anne McFarland was found in the archives of the parish. Note that the names were spelled Edward Toale and Anne McParland.

Shortly after their marriage, Edward and Anne boarded a ship from Liverpool and sailed to escape The Great Hunger and begin a new and better life in the United States. They landed in New Orleans on the sailboat Olympus. Earlier family records indicated the ship was named Olympia. However, no ship was by that name was operating in the 1850s. There was a ship called Olympus, though, that made Trans‐Atlantic trips from Liverpool to New Orleans during this period. It is likely that they were on board this
ship, although no records of their boarding any ship from Liverpool to New Orleans exist. The Trans‐Atlantic crossing took six weeks and three days. During the trip, fresh water became very scarce, and water was strictly rationed. Edward was put in irons for stealing water and had to appear before the ship’s captain to answer for his crime. The captain learned that Anne was extremely sick and pregnant. He discovered that Edward was stealing the extra water for his young wife. The sympathetic captain not only pardoned Edward, but he also ordered double rations of water for Anne.

As Edward and Anne arrived in the United States, they encountered significant changes going on in their new country, as well. The industrial revolution had shifted jobs and people from the country to urban areas. Railroads were being built across the country, linking the East to the West and North to the South. and Indoor plumbing was making
outhouses and well pumps obsolete. Electricity was replacing gas as the primary source of power. It was into this land of opportunity that the Toals, and many other Irish families, made their home.

Warren County, Illinois was a popular destination for the Irish immigrants. Farmland was abundant for the experienced Irish farmers and the laborers were attracted by the thousands of jobs created by the expanding railroad making towns like Monmouth important stops on the westward expansion that was occurring in the United States. The influx of European immigrants and the expanding economy in the small town of Monmouth, Illinois was creating a population explosion in the once quiet town. Large
manufacturing companies developed in Monmouth along the new railroad tracks. New department stores, groceries and professional services opened to serve the growing population. A popular, successful college was flourishing in town. Churches were built for newcomers of many different faiths. A light rail service shuttled people back
and forth from neighboring towns. Monmouth had multiple theaters, high‐end hotels, factories, and a robust economy by the late 19th Century. It was in this exciting period of growth that Edward and Anne Toal (born McFarland) eventually made their way to Monmouth. Two hundred years later, there are still descendants of Edward and Ann Toal in Monmouth and the surrounding area. But the Toal family was also spreading across the United States by the early 20th Century. Everyone in this Toal Family History, irrespective of where they live and no matter their surname, have a shared ancestry with Edward and Anne Toal from Newry, County Armagh, Ireland and Monmouth, Illinois

GENERATION I: Edward David Emmanuel Toal and Anne Toal (born McFarland) ‐ When their ship arrived in New Orleans, Edward and Anne Toal went to live in Cincinnati,
Ohio with relatives. In Cincinnati, Anne gave birth to their first child, James Jacobus Toal. It was James with whom she was pregnant on the boat trip to America. She also
gave birth to a daughter, Mary Ann Rose “Mollie” Toal in Cincinnati three years later. Four years after arriving from Ireland, Edward and Anne left Cincinnati (separately) by boat to Burlington, Iowa and then by rail to Monmouth, Illinois in 1856. Edward made the trip in advance of Anne to find work and a place to live, initially settling at the J.L. Mitchener farm south of Monmouth. Edward was a day laborer and well digger. He planted the trees in Coburn Square (now called West Park) in Monmouth. Edward passed away in 1880 and not much is known about his life in Monmouth except very few family recollections that were passed down from generation to generation. Most of those remembrances have been lost and is perfect justification for why our family history and stories must be written down to be preserved.

Anne made the trip to Monmouth with her two young children. Upon arrival at the Monmouth train station, nobody was there to meet her. She knew the directions to the Mitchener farm, so she carried the youngest child in one arm and led the older child by her hand and walked about four miles to the family farm which was located south of town. Eventually, the family moved into Monmouth. Edward and Anne came to Illinois in pioneer days and Anne immediately took to an active interest in
the affairs of the community of Monmouth. She could recall almost the entire local history with a vivid memory. She was a faithful member of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, where she attended mass daily for many years. She became a familiar figure to many in the city as she passed every morning on her walk to and from the church. Anne attended the very first Catholic Mass celebrated in Monmouth, a service held in the West Ward School which then stood on the site of the present Monmouth High School, many years before the building of the Catholic Church in town. Upon her death, she was the last surviving person who had been present at Monmouth’s first mass. Anne’s deep commitment to her faith and parish are memorialized in a stained‐glass window that is still located in the Immaculate Conception Church in Monmouth, Illinois. The inscription at the bottom reads: “Donated my Mrs. Anne Toal in memory of her husband & Family.”

Edward and Ann were the parents of nine children:
 James Jacobus Toal
 Mary Ann Rose (Mollie) Toal
 Catherine Ellen (Katie) Toal
 William E. (Willie) Toal
 John Arthur (Jack) Toal
 Susan Margaret Toal
 Edward Emmanuel (Eddie) Toal III
 Joseph Dominic Toal
 William Henry Toal