Ohio

Cincinnati, Hamilton County

Surnames: Davis, Kushman, McDonnell, Mullen, Owens, Rowan

Michael and Mary McDonnell and their eight children (Patrick-married Mary Joyce, Bridget-married William Gilmore, Julia-married Thomas Rowan, Mary-married Michael J. Scanlon, John N.-married Mary Owens, Hannah-married Gregory Connelly, Catherine-married Michael J. Mullen and Michael J.-married Nancy J. Thomas) emigrated from County Galway, Ireland to the United States around 1849. Michael was almost 70 years old at the time, he lived to the ripe old age of 99. After living in New York City for a short while, the family settled in Cincinnati. The earliest verified record of the family in Cincinnati is the marriage of Hannah McDonnell and Gregory Connelly in October 1854. John N. (along with various business partners, family and otherwise) ran a restaurant called the Buckeye Dining Saloon in the 1860's. He was also involved in lumber and ice companies, and dabbled quite a bit in the real estate market, as evidenced by transactions listed in the Cincinnati papers. Michael J. and Catherine (McDonnell) Mullen left Cincinnati in 1868-69 and appear to have lived in Omaha, Nebraska and St. Louis, Missouri during that time. When they were living in Cincinnati, Michael Mullen was in the restaurant business along with John N. McDonnell.

Michael, Mary and children Patrick, Julia and John N. lived the rest of their lives in Cincinnati. Bridget Gilmore lived in Kentucky, Mary Scanlon lived in Wisconsin. Michael J. was involved in his brother John's restaurant business, after his death in 1874 he went to work for the Hamilton County Infirmary in Carthage, first as a watchman and later as a cook. Michael moved his family west in 1880, settling in Washington. Hannah Connelly moved her children across the Ohio River to Ludlow, Kentucky in about 1876. Kate and her children moved to Omaha for good in about 1879, following her husband's death in 1875. Patrick and John N.'s children remained in Cincinnati for a time following the death of their parents (Patrick's and Mary in 1880 and 1881, John and Mary in 1874). Patrick's children all moved to New York City around 1885, John's children left Cincinnati for various places in the late 1890's.

Most of the McDonnell family is buried in St. Joseph New Cemetery in Cincinnati.

Articles
• Excerpts from Cincinnati newspapers, 1860-1867. This page will be updated continuously, I have material going up to the 1890's.   NEW!
• Obituary of John. N. McDonnell (1839-1875)

Cemeteries
• St. Joseph New Catholic Cemetery, Cincinnati, Hamilton County
   Surnames: Davis, Kushman, McDonnell, Mullen, Owens, Rowan
• Old St. Raymond Cemetery, Bronx, Bronx, New York   NEW!
   Surnames: Davis, McDonnell
   All of the children of Patrick and Mary (Joyce) McDonnell except for Mary (who became a nun) moved to New York City in the mid-1880's (both Patrick and Mary died in Cincinnati in 1880 and 1881). They were: Julia A. (married Frank Davis), Thomas H., John Joyce (married Mary A. Snow) and Harry. All died in New York, and are buried in the same plot in the Bronx.

City Directories
• Cincinnati, 1853 - 1899 These provide something of a timeline for the family member's lives in the city.   Still in progress...

Maps
• Location of the Buckeye Dining Saloon run by John N. McDonnell and various partners at 170 & 172 Vine St. in the 1860-70, on the even numbered (east) side of Vine St. between 4th and 5th today.

Pictures
• Children and descendants of Michael and Mary (Needham) McDonnell, ca 1870s to early 1900s  ***Under Construction***
• Children of Michael J. and Kate (McDonnell) Mullen, ca 1870s to 1930s  ***Under Construction***
• Buckeye Dining Saloon menu, 1863. Also a table chronicling the saloon's various owners and locations.

Pictures of Historic Cincinnati
• Cincinnati postcards, ca 1902-7
• Historic photos of Cincinnati:
  - Cincinnati Panorama of 1848, part of the Cincinnati Public Library's Virtual Library.
  - Greater Cincinnati Memory Project
  - Cincinnati Views
  - 1848 Daguerreotypes
  - Old Cincinnati
  - Cincinnati photos from late 19th & early 20th Centuries
  - shorpy.com

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Erica DeCoursey © 2003-15

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