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Mary (Ream) Flanigan |
She entered into marriage with farmer Job M. Flanigan (1806-1887). Job was six years older than his bride. It's thought that Mary did not wed until after the death of her father in 1840, meaning she would have been no younger than age 28 at the time of matrimony.
The Flanigans produced five known children -- Annabelle Burnworth, Mary "Missouri" McNear ("McNair"), Thomas Flanigan, Marcellus Flanigan and Howard Flanigan.
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Johnson Chapel Methodist Church near Confluence |
When the federal census was enumerated in 1850, the family dwelled in or near Johnson Chapel in Henry Clay Township, Fayette County. That year, other Flanigan families living next door were John and Margaret Flanigan and Andrew and Isabella Flanigan. They remained in Henry Clay through the decade of the 1850s and are shown there in the 1860 census, receiving their postal mail at Somerfield, Somerset County.
Mary died on Nov. 19, 1867 at the age of about 55, reputedly in Fayette City, Fayette County. This site of death is not confirmed.
The census of 1870 shows the 63-year-old Job heading a household with his youngest three children between the ages of 15 and 23. That year, their mail was delivered at Fayette Springs, Fayette County.
Job became interested in a newly forming Methodist movement circa 1871 when Rev. Silas Mitchell began holding services "in a vacant building on the bank of the Casselman river, where the bridge is now located," said the booklet Confluence Centennial 1873-1973: Record of a Century. Other services were conducted in the open air and in the Cook building on Oden Street. Said the booklet,
A Sunday School was organized May 8, 1872. A.G. Black was the first superintendent. Due to the organization of a Sunday School spurred the erection of the first church building which was dedicated in December 1872. A.G. Black was also the first local preacher, having held both offices for many years. Some others who were active in the organization and aided financially were Job M. Flanigan, Jonathan Frantz, James Baxter, Daniel Mickey and Sebastian Tissue.
In November 1873, Job and his wife's cousin by marriage Jehu McMillen and Jehu's son-in-law Jesse Liston were among more than 100 local Somerset County men who signed a petition supporting community progress and economic development. They urged the county commissioners to fund construction of a bridge across the Upper Youghiogheny River to connect Confluence and neighboring Fayette County. It acknowledged a dispute over how much each county should pay and suggested a solution:
To the Honorable W.M. Hall and Associate Judges of the Court of Quarter Session in and for Somerset County. We the undersigned citizens of Somerset County, respectfully represent, that a bridge has been located by a joint view under the directions of the Courts of Somerset and Fayette counties and its construction authorized by the said courts, across the Upper Yough at a point connecting with the streets of the borough of Confluence and that said river makes the boundary of both of the said counties at this point -- and for a considerable distance above and below, and that there appears to be a dispute between the Commissioners of the two counties interested, as to the portion each county should construct or pay for constructing said bridge. The Commissioners in and for the County of Fayette propose to construct one half of the bridge and Commissioners of Somerset County propose to build only one abutment on the Somerset side. We therefore, petition that the Commissioners of the county of Somerset be instructed to build one half of the bridge or pay for its construction. The said bridge is of more benefit to the people of Somerset than to the people of Fayette County.
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| The 1873 petition and one of two pages of signatures |
Then in 1880, at age 76, Job dwelled with his married daughter Mary and her husband Thomas McNair/McNear in the Grant District of Preston County, WV.
He passed away in 1887. The particulars may be lost to history.
The couple sleeps for all time in Johnson Chapel Cemetery. A modern marker stands at their gravesite.
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Copyright © 2014-2017, 2020, 2024-2025 Mark A. Miner |