"Edward Hickey Whelan": A Catholic Irish-American immigrant at the turn of the 19th Century

By Hugh Whelan

The life of "Edward Hickey Whelan" -- a Catholic Irish-American immigrant at the turn of the 19th Century. From Ireland to Nebraska to San Diego, Edward directly participated in the fascinating and tumultuous Irish-Catholic and anti-immigrant politics of his day. Settling in Nebraska at a time influenced by Fenian General John O'Neill, Edward went from the US Army to Jesuit Creighton University where he lived through the the virulent politics of the anti-Catholic and anti-Immigrant American Protective Association. Edward would later campaign with William Jennings Bryan and interact with Eamon de Valera, president of Sinn Fein and later Ireland's head of state.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hugh Whelan
• Release date: Oct 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310887420

Book preview

Introduction

There are conflicting stories about my great-grandfather, Edward H. Whelan. 

One version -- represented by his obituary in 1936 (see Figure 37) -- says that he was born in Massachusetts, his parents returned to County Tipperary in Ireland and he lived there until he was 16.¹  He then immigrated back to the US.

Another version, related in the San Diego Daily Transcript based on an interview with my father Vincent Edward Whelan, indicates Edward was not born in the US, but in County Tipperary in 1872.  He became an orphan in his teens and then came to US.²

Both versions agree that when Edward came to Nebraska, he likely lived for some time with his uncles John or Patrick Hickey.³  While not written down, oral tradition also suggests that Edward might have been born with the last name Hickey, but assumed his mother’s maiden name -- Whelan -- when he joined the US Army.  As the story goes, this was done to counter objections from the Hickey family who believed that a Hickey should only fight for the independence of Ireland (which was not granted until 1921).  Serving in any other army indirectly supported Irish oppression.

My narrative attempts to puzzle out the truth about Edward’s life using documentary evidence, and along the way paint a portrait of what Catholic Irish-American immigration was like in the midwest at the turn of the 19th century. 

I rely on documents and interpret them on the basis of what seems most likely to me to be true.  But my narrative is also good illustration of the limits of documentary evidence.  While Edward’s life is relatively well documented, we will see that Edward responded differently on different documents.  Documents are often not conclusive; we can’t be completely sure that seemingly relevant documents in fact refer to the person of interest; and importantly we can’t be sure what documents we may be missing.  With those disclaimers, let us begin the tale. 

Chapter 1: Edward’s name, date of birth, origin and early life

I believe Edward H. Whelan was born as Edmond J. Hickey in 1873 in County Tipperary. 

Last Name: When Edward was married in Kellerton, Iowa in 1898 (see Appendix Figure 5) he recorded that his parents were Dennis and Mary Whelan.  Yet we will see that when he served in the 2nd Infantry, US Army in the early 1890’s, he used the name Edward J. Hickey. 

First Name: An additional fog that permeates Edward’s records are variations in spelling that are not at all unusual for the period.  For example his eldest son is reported as Edmond in the 1910 and 1920 US Census reports, but Edmund in the 1930 Census (the name Edmund himself used in his World War I draft registration -- Appendix Figure 7).  This particular spelling variation is quite relevant as Prior to the 20th Century, the given names Edward, Edmund, and Edmond appear to be virtually interchangeable.⁴ Thus in searching for documents related to Edward’s birth we are hunting for an Edward/Edmond/Edmund born to parents Dennis/Denis and Mary Whelan/Hickey.  In the back of our minds is the tale that Edward’s mother’s maternal name could be Whelan.⁵

Birth Year: The birth years we are searching range from 1872 to 1874.  Edward’s tombstone in Holy Cross cemetery in San Diego cites his birth year as 1872 (as does the Daily Transcript article).  Edward was captured in 4 US Census reports (see Appendix Figures 1-4) -- in 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 -- and his birth year is recorded as 1872 in 1900; 1874 in 1910; and 1873 in the 1920 and 1930 census reports.⁶  Again on his marriage certificate in 1898 he states he is 26 -- again yielding 1872. 

Birth Place: In the 1910 and 1920 Census reports, Edward reports that he was born in Ireland.  In the 1900 and 1930 Census reports he indicates he was born in Massachusetts!  Thus we are hunting across two countries.

For births in the US there were a few record results with these name/date combinations, but there were no close matches with parents Dennis and Mary that could not be ruled out (e.g., individuals whose residence in 1900 were in other parts of the country when Edward Whelan was documented to have been in Nebraska).

In Ireland there is no match for an E. Whelan born to parents Mary and Dennis/Denis in Ireland, but there is one for the birth of an Edmond Hickey on January 9th, 1873 to a Denis Hickey and a Mary Whelan Hickey (see Appendix Figure 6).  It is close to the birth year 1872, but not the same.  It agrees with the first names of his parents reported on his marriage certificate (accepting Dennis as Denis), but disagrees with the fact that he said their last names were Whelan on his marriage license.  Finally it fits with the possible idea that he took his mother’s maiden name at some point (although we will see not when he joined the Army).

The possibility that Edward’s birth name was Edmond is also supported, perhaps, by the name Edward himself gave his oldest son -- Edmund/Edmond.  Giving your oldest son your own name was a common tradition (Edward H.’s son Vincent Ambrose Whelan also followed this tradition in naming my father Vincent Edward).

Much of what is documented about Edward’s early life and his parents come from notes written by two daughters of Edward’s uncle John Hickey (Margaret and Alice).  They indicate that Edward’s father Denis was the oldest of seven children born to an Edward Hickey and Mary Sweeney.  Much of Margaret and Alice’s information can be validated by documents, but they also contain some inaccuracies. 

Denis was born about 1836.  His siblings in age order were Edward, Daniel (born about 1842), Patrick (born 1843 - 1846), John (born 1847 -1851), Margaret and Ellen.  Both Denis’s⁷ , Daniel’s⁸, and Patrick’s⁹  marriage certificates cite their father as Edward/Edmond and Daniel’s includes the name of his mother Mary Sweeney.

There is little direct information about Edward H.’s parents.  Their marriage record cited above is for a 32 year old widowed Denis Hickey to a widowed 32 year old Mary Whalen or Whelan on November 5th, 1868 at Clonoulty, Tipperary.  Clonoulty is just northwest of the town of Cashel often mentioned in Edward’s oral traditions.  Mary’s father’s name is given as David Whelan. 

The recollections of Margaret and Alice Hickey suggest that Denis and Mary had a son in Ireland who died in infancy. They then joined other Hickey’s who had first settled in the area around Webster, Massachusetts¹⁰ and had a daughter who was born in Webster who also died in infancy.  Finally they returned to Ireland where Edward H. was born.  I cannot find documentary evidence that specifically ties to a Denis and Mary