John N. McDonnell was the son of Michael McDonnell and Mary Needham, the fifth of their eight children. He was born in County Galway, Ireland in about 1839 and emigrated to the United States with his family around 1850. After living in New York for a short time they settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. He died in Cincinnati on February 17, 1874 of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 35 a month after the death of his wife. John was a businessman. In the 1860's he ran the Buckeye Dining Saloon located at 170 & 172 Vine St in Cincinnati with his brother Michael and brother-in-law Michael J. Mullen. He was also involved in other businesses, including a lumber and an ice company.
John and Mary had five children: Agnes (married J. Henry Kushman), John Owens (married Adeline Huser), Charles, Mary A. (died young) and Gertrude (died young).
Related Items:
Pictures of John N. and his daughter Agnes (McDonnell) Kushman.
Pictures of John's siblings and their children.
Buckeye Dining Saloon menu, 1863
Listings for John and his family members in Cincinnati city directories.
Articles regarding John and people connected to his family in Cincinnati newspapers.
Obituaries for his sisters Mary A. Scanlon and Catherine Mullen.
John and Mary's family plot in St. Joseph New Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio.
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Cincinnati Daily Enquirer (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Thursday, February 19, 1874, p. 8
The Late John N. McDonnell.
Mr. John N. McDonnell, well known for many years as the proprietor of several of the popular restaurants in Cincinnati, died at his residence, 111 West Fifth street, on Tuesday morning, aged thirty-five years. Mr. McDonnell�s successful career as a businessman is not less remarkable than creditable. He was a native of Ireland, and came to this country when a boy of twelve years old. After working for some few months in a harness store, the lad abandoned an occupation for which he was evidently unsuited, and secured a berth as cabin-boy on board a steamboat. He worked on the river for several years, and finally rose to the position of Second Steward. In 1855 he resigned this berth to enter the employ of Mr. Eligh, who then kept the Eldorado Dining Saloon on the ground now occupied by the Montgomery bar-room, on Fifth street, between Main and Sycamore.1 Young McDonnell remained with Mr. Eligh for more than three years; and it was during this period that he learned the restaurant business. He left the Eldorado Saloon in 1858 to go into business for himself, and opened the �Central Dining Room� on the ground now occupied by Sentinel Block. About a year afterward he removed to 170-2 Vine street, between Fourth and Fifth, where he opened the old Buckeye Dining Rooms, taking Mr. Geo. V. Atkinson into the partnership. In 1862 2 Mr. Atkinson sold out his interest to Mr. M. J. Mullen, the present proprietor of the Buckeye, and the business was subsequently carried on under various partnerships, as McDonnell & Bros., the McDonnell & Mullen, etc., until April, 1870 when the lease expiring, Hunt secured the premises by a private purchase without the knowledge of the Buckeye Company, who were compelled to remove to the building next Wood�s Theater. About a year and a half subsequently Mr. McDonnell sold out his entire share in the partnership to Mr. Mullen, and soon afterward opened the excellent Dining saloon No. 141 West Fifth, where he carried on the business for nearly a year. During that short period he however lost two children; and his wife, Mary A. McDonnell, became so seriously ill of consumption, that he found it necessary to close his restaurant, and devote himself to the care of his family. Mrs. McDonnell died of consumption, on the 16th of January, and her husband, already in feeble health, never recovered from the shock of her loss, surviving her but four weeks. He leaves three young children, two boys aged respectively eleven and five, and a girl about twelve years of age, all of whom will be amply provided for.
1 In the 1855-58 Cincinnati city directories John Elitch is listed as running a coffee house at 36 E. 5th Street. In 1857 and 1858 John McDonald is listed as working as a waiter at that address. In 1859 John has opened his own dining saloon at 197 Vine.
2 City directories indicate George Atkinson left the business about 1864, not 1862.
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