This is the third post in my series of biographical vignettes of the ladies who signed an 1882 Autograph book I found at a flea market. The young women were classmates at St. Mary’s Academy, a boarding school for girls on the campus of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.
Sarah McKenna penned her name in the book on May 25, 1882. Her flowing script is bold and occupies most of the page. She states, “I echo the sentiments which J. Rosenberg might express. Sincerely yours, S. McKenna. Quinnesec, Mich.”
I haven’t identified the J. Rosenberg Sarah refers to in her comment. Not having the first name broadens the scope since I don’t know if this is a female or male. There is no J. Rosenberg who also signed the book, so Sarah isn’t echoing the words of a classmate.
Sarah’s father, Thomas Stack McKenna, emigrated from Listowel, Kerry, Ireland. He arrived in Baltimore on 23 July, 1851, aboard the ship Living Age. He was 18 and gave his occupation as a Shoemaker. Sarah’s mother, Mary Ann Clayton Browne, was born in Canada but her father, Henry Walsh Browne, had emigrated from Dingle Bay, Ireland.
Sarah McKenna was born in Negaunee, Michigan on 7 June, 1865. According to her father’s death certificate, she was one of sixteen children. One of those sixteen, Bessie Howard, is noted on the 1880 census as being adopted and was already in the family in 1870. Of the remaining fifteen children, Sarah was the eldest.
In 1887, Sarah married Thomas Landers Dee. His occupation was as manager of a company that produced mining equipment. They had two children: Irene born in 1887 and Marjorie in 1894. There isn’t much evidence in the documents I have access to that would given an indication of Sarah’s personality. Her comment in the autograph book was academic and informational.
Perhaps as a convention of the time, in the photo below, Irene and Marjorie have their arms around their mother, but Sarah stands with her hands behind her back. She gives me the feeling of a woman who has had much responsibility in her life. I see in her someone who is efficient, practical, and proper. Her concentration is apparent in contrast to her daughter’s more relaxed expressions, especially Marjorie. This does not mean she wasn’t a warm and loving mother, she probably was, but she does maintain a certain stoicism in the photograph.
Sarah was active in numerous clubs in Chicago and participated in presentations and receptions that would feature some distinguished guests.
In March of 1893, Sarah was part of the scheduled entertainment by the Robert Emmet Club. Robert Emmet was an Irish orator and rebel leader who lived from 1778 to 1803. His birthdate was March 4, and it was celebrated with musical entertainment and a ball at Curran’s Hall. As part of the program, Sarah sang the Thomas Moore song, “O Breathe Not His Name,” as well as giving a recitation. Other entertainments included Selections on the Irish Bagpipe by J.P. Tuohy and Whistling Imitations by Mr. McCormick. Curran’s Hall was destroyed by a fire set by an arsonist on 18 April, 1924. Eight Chicago firefighters lost their lives that day.
Another organization Sarah belonged to, The Edgewater Catholic Woman’s Club, presented a reception on 18 December, 1912, at the Edgewater Country Club. Their guest of honor was Mrs. Elizabeth Dunne (nee Kelly), wife of the former Mayor of Chicago (1905-1907) Edward F. Dunne. Mr. Dunne also became Governor of Illinois from 1913 to 1917.
Of particular interest was a guest speaker on 18 January, 1914. Sarah served as the Ways & Means Chairwoman of the North End Ladies’ Club. An item in the Chicago Tribune announced the club was hosting a presentation by Helen Keller entitled, “The Hand and the Heart - The Uses of the Senses.” Also featured would be Anne Sullivan Macy, Helen’s longtime teacher and friend.
Sarah died on 15 May, 1916 of Chronic Interstitial Nephritis (kidney disease) and Myocarditis (heart disease). Thomas survived her until his death in 1927.
Sarah and Thomas’s eldest daughter, Irene Dee, married Judge Harry Dolan on 17 January, 1912, at St. Ita Catholic Church on what is now Broadway in Chicago, only a short distance from the Dee home. When the Dees lived there, it was known as Evanston Avenue.
Harry was thirteen years Irene’s senior. The Judge appears to have been prickly about this since the newspaper announcement of their marriage took the time to describe his response to their questions about the couples ages.
Irene and Harry had three children. Their youngest son had only just turned one year old when, on 26 July, 1919, Judge Dolan leapt from a window in his eleventh floor chambers. Bailiff Charles Timlin and Attorney Eugene O’Riley said the judge had descended from the bench only moments before at the close of the day’s cases. Attorney O’Riley was to accompany him to his home when the judge asked him to wait for him a moment. He entered his chambers and locked the door.
Completely unaware of what was happening, the two were still waiting in the courtroom when newspaper reporters and police burst in. The door to the judge’s room was broken down. His coat was draped across his chair and the window was open. He had fallen through the roof of the Clerk’s offices where he landed on a desk before continuing to the floor.
Judge Dolan was reported to have recently been suffering from a nervous affliction. He had been away from work for a month for rest. The first two weeks he had been at home with his family under the care of a physician and the remaining two weeks he spent as an inpatient at the Postel sanitarium in Wisconsin. He had returned home and was advised to continue to rest but, against this advice, returned to work.
Irene was widowed at 32. In 1920, she was again living at home with her father and her three sons: Harry 5, Thomas 4, and Richard 1. Irene passed in 1937.
On 19 September, 1930, Marjorie married Richard Kulleck, a service engineer for the brewing industry. They do not appear to have had any children, although in 1940, Marjorie’s three, now adult, nephews were living with the Kulleck family. Marjorie died in 1949 and Richard in 1972. Irene and Harry’s children went on to lead successful lives with families of their own.
Love this! Such great research.