Funchion, Kenna & Phelan Notes

Gerald Phelan, who was Post Master in St. Columban for at least 40 years, never married. His sister, Jessie Phelan, lived in the same house at the four corners in St. Columban. She also never married. Gerald died before Jessie. Gerald Phelan donated the land that the cemetery is on to the church. Gerald and Jessie had siblings who moved south to Massachusetts. There was a second family of Phelans who owned the next farm to Gerald Phelan’s. There were three brothers and at least one sister, but the brother who stayed on the farm was Patrick Phelan. He is buried next to my parent’s grave in St. Columban. His brother William moved into Montreal and worked for Dow Brewery as did my father. Their other brother, Maurice, moved to Chicago. There are still descendants of Maurice living in Chicago. William’s daughter, Noreen Dubord, could give you much more info into her side of the Phelan family. The sister’s name that I recall was Sadie Phelan. I believe that she died while in her twenties.

On the Funchion side, my grandfather, Martin Funchion, was the only brother to stay in St. Columban. I believe that he had 4 or 5 other brothers who moved away. One went to New York State somewhere, another moved to somewhere in Ohio, another moved to Alberta, and I don’t know where the others ended up. The Funchion farm was sold by my father to pay off the debts of his brother. The three Funchion siblings who lived and grew up in St. Columban were my dad, John, his brother Richard, and his sister Mary. Richard never married, and had no children. Mary married John Kenna, and they had three daughters, Mae, Jean, and Joan. Jean & Joan are twins, and they still live in St. Columban. Mae Kenna married Jim Templeman of Montreal. Mae has two daughters. Joan Kenna never married, but her twin sister Jean married Ernest Kutchko. Jean and Ernest had three children, all of whom still reside in St. Columban.

The farm which Pat Phelan owned was sold to my mother’s brother, Leslie Cooper. His son Barry still owns the farm that belonged to Pat Phelan. The last time that I was in St. Columban, the barns from the Phelan farm were still standing.

Tim Funchion