The Love Family, Cross Plains, Wi.
The Love Family
Of Bear Creek Township
Two Mysteries Solved
Several years ago we noticed a list of names in “Irish” John Smith’s
obituary. We have written about this list before. It reads as follows:
“There were so many out of town people attending the services that it is
impossible to mention names. Those from out of the state were Frank
McCarville, Arthur McClusky and John G. Sullivan of Lone Rock, Wisc.,
Genevieve McPhillips and Miss Rose Love of Spring Green, James Smith,
Sam Farrell, P. J. Smith, Mrs. Mary Benton and Mrs. Will Coyle of
Madison, all of Wisconsin.”
For the past couple of years we have researched these names to see how
they connect with our own family. We could identify most as relatives
except for the following: Frank McCarville, Rose Love and Sam Farrell.
Frank McCarville, we believe, is a relative but we do not know the true
connection at this time. Sam Farrell we are still investigating. That
left Rose Love. In this document we look at the Love family of Bear
Creek Township.
This is one of those situations where solving one Smith mystery ended up
solving two mysteries instead.
Rose Love was born to Dennis and Mary Ann Love in Bear Creek Township,
Sauk County, Wisconsin in 1890. Dennis Love’s father, Michael, was one
of the earliest pioneers in that part of Wisconsin. Perhaps he moved his
family to Sauk County at the same time as the James McCarville family.
Michael Love and his family left County Fermanagh, Ireland, during the
early part of the famine. Our Smith family hails from County Monaghan.
Dennis and Mary Ann were married in 1878, and by 1880 had one child,
Alice, as seen in the grainy 1880 US Census below:
The tie-in to this family was not obvious.
We assumed the Love family was related to either the McPhillips family
or to “Irish” John’s step-father, William Rooney. Michael McPhillips and
William Rooney both lived in County Fermanagh at one time. Later in life
Michael McPhillips moved to Aghabog Civil Parish, County Monaghan, and
married his future bride, Mary Smyth.
The 1900 US Census below shows the Love family and includes Rose’s name.
Even though we could see Rose Love in these
census results, the question remained how this family connected to our
own. Perhaps the census might give us a clue. Dennis and Mary Ann Love
had six children; however, one died in childhood. All of their children
were born in Wisconsin.
Dennis was born in Ireland, but Mary Ann Love was born in New York.
Perhaps this was the connection we were seeking. Mary Ann? New York?
Hmmm. It couldn’t be, could it??
Several weeks later we got our answer from the Wisconsin Historical
Society. Mary Ann Love was born Mary Ann McCabe in New York. Her parents
were Thomas and Alice McCabe. The following was found in Mary Ann McCabe
and Dennis Love’s marriage record.
You will recognize these names if you are well versed in Smith family history. Thomas, Alice and Mary Ann were all known to “Irish” John Smith and his family. Where did we see these names before? The McCabe and Smith families lived together in Brooklyn on Walworth Street shortly after arriving in America in 1850. The 1850 US census shows our families living together along with “Irish” John’s uncle, Terrance Greenan.
“Irish” John wrote many years ago that he lived with his uncles
Thomas McCabe and Terry Greenan in Brooklyn. So now we know how Rose
Love connects to our own family. We did not know what happened to the
McCabe family until we saw this marriage license. So we resolved two
mysteries at one time - a ‘two-fer’!
So what happened to Thomas and Alice McCabe? This is still a mystery but
something we hope to resolve in the future. More to follow.
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April 2010