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+--- Thread: Phelan (& Funchion) Families - Chicago (/showthread.php?tid=50)
Phelan (& Funchion) Families - Chicago - Fergus_Keyes - 04-03-2009
I have been communicating with Cynthia Phelan from Chicago over the last few days who has interest in the Phelan Family, as well as the Funchion connection. Here is a part of the information from our e-mail communications:-
Your web site is great- I spent several hours on it last night looking at all that is there and searching the census records. ?I found all of the ancestors I knew about and was able to find a few more generations as well.
I am a Phelan, whose grandfather came from St. Columban. ?He was Maurice Phelan
My grandfather was the youngest child in the family, born in 1906. ?He moved to Chicago to work for the railroads when he was a young man. ?He never took to farming and used to tell stories about the fields full of rocks. ?He did keep to a farmer's schedule, however and was always an early riser. ?He married Mary Loretto O'Brien, of Chicago in the early 1930s and they had seven children, six boys, one girl. ?(William, Mary, Maurice, Joseph, James, John Patrick, and Richard). ?My father is William. ?My grandfather eventually joined the Chicago Police force and served to retirement age. ?He did get electrocuted during a storm while on duty in the 1950s. ?He survived, but lost some of his fingers from his right hand. ? He remained active his entire life. ?After he retired he continued to work as a security guard. ?He loved to walk through the woods around his home in Palos Hills, Illinois, and did so every day. ?I am sure that contributed to his good health. ?He died at home in 1991- his car out of the garage, ready to go to church, a pork chop on the counter thawing out for dinner. ?Three of his sons are lawyers, including my father, who served as a judge for Cook County and is now retired; one was also a Chicago policeman, also retired. ?He had seventeen grandchildren, and I truly am not sure how many great grandchildren there are right now, I guess about 30- 35- I just had one of them, and I know there are a few ?on the way! ? I enjoyed looking at some of the Funchion photos on the website- I think I see a family resemblance between those men and my grandfather! ?
If you would like to communicate with Cynthia about the Phelan / Funchion families of St. Columban - you can e-mail her directly at:
cinders27@hotmail.com