Peter and Margaret Smyth Family - McPhillips/Smyth Genealogy
Born 1853 in pine bluff, Dane, Wisconsin, daughter of Michael and Margaret Quigley. Peter Smyth was a farmhand for her father in 1860.
- Michael Quigley , 1830-1897
- Margaretha Kerreus , 1830
James Quigley family plot, Cross Plains, Wisconsin. Click to Enlarge.
James Quigley grave, most likely the brother-in-law to Peter Smyth as noted in the 1860 census. Click to Enlarge.
John Quigley, Cross Plains, Wisconsin grave site. Click to Enlarge.
Quigley's Cafe in Cross Plains, Wisconsin. click to Enlarge.
Elizabeth Quigley, Cross Plains, Wisconsin. Click to Enlarge.
Bear Valley, Wisconsin
We have known about this family for several years; however, only recently did we understand how this family fit in with our own. Peter and Margaret Smyth (Smith) lived near our relatives in Bear Creek Township; Sauk County, Wisconsin. You may recall “Irish” John Smith’s mother, Catharine (Greenan-Smyth) Rooney, lies buried next to Patrick and Margaret Smyth in St. Mary’s Cemetery (Keyesville, Wisconsin). Peter and Margaret Smyth (Smith) lived next door to Patrick’s family. Now we know Patrick and Peter were brothers who hailed from County Monaghan. Their sister, Mary (Smyth) McPhillips, is our great-great grandmother. Their parents, William and Mary Smyth, lived very close to “Irish” John’s folks in Ireland, and may be distant relatives of his.
The following chart shows how Peter
Smyth’s family connects to our own. 
We still do not know much about Peter Smith or his family. Peter immigrated to America in 1857. We assume he traveled to Wisconsin at the same time as “Irish” John and his family. Peter married Margaret Quigley in 1862, possibly meeting her in Cross Plains, Wisconsin. Old 1860 census records suggest Peter Smith was living and working with the Michael Quigley family in Pine Bluff, Cross Plains Township, Wisconsin. Next door to Michael Quigley lived the James Quigley and Edward Coyle families. Quigley and Coyle are surnames associated with County Monaghan.
US Census for Wisconsin – 1860
The Town of Cross Plains; Dane County; Postal Address – Pine Bluff; August 9, 1860
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Early Quigley Families in Dane County, Wisconsin
The Quigley families have been around Pine Bluff since its beginning. They first appeared in the plat book of 1862. They have been involved in many aspects of the church and community. There are many different family members buried in the Pine Bluff Catholic cemetery.
There are three Quigleys that have biographical sketches in the "History of Dane County, Wisconsin -1880". All these families appear to be buried in St. Mary’s of the Pine Catholic Cemetery located in Pine Bluff, Wisconsin.
John QUIGLEY, farmer, Post Office, Verona, WI. He was born in County Monaghan about 1820 and emigrated to America in 1845 and traveled through NY>MA>WI before settling in Verona around 1857. John married Sarah FALLS and had eight children --- Margaret, Catherine, James, Sarah, John E., Owen, Maria, and William.
James QUIGLEY, farmer and carpenter;
Springdale & Primrose Townships; Post Office Clontarf (Town of Cross
Plains). James came to Wisconsin in 1850, located in Middleton, and
later Springdale. He was the son of Felix QUIGLEY and Rose CONNOLLY,
born in Fermanagh County, Ireland in 1846. He is a Democrat and a
Catholic.
Michael QUIGLEY, farmer and stockman; PO Pine Bluff (Town of Cross
Plains). He landed in New York in 1847 and came to Wisconsin in 1849 and
settled in Cross Plains. Son of James QUIGLEY and Elizabeth LENNEN, born
in the North of Ireland in 1826. He married Margarette KERNS in 1848
and they had three children -- James, Mary Ann and Thomas. He is a
Democrat and a Catholic.
We believe these Quigley families were all related to each other, and their family connects to Peter Smyth’s family tree.
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As we stated earlier, Peter Smyth was living and working with the Michael Quigley family in 1860. One of Michael Quigley’s neighbors was John and Elizabeth Bryan. In 1860 “Irish” John Smith was living and working as a farm hand for John Bryan. In 1860, at least, Peter and John Smith were living very near each other. The maps below show a portion of southeast Cross Plains Township just outside Pine Bluff, Wisconsin, which show where the Quigley farmsteads were located in 1873.
Tragedy in Sauk County
We cannot be sure when Peter and Margaret moved to Bear Creek Township; however, the news item below suggests they were in Sauk County by at least 1869. One of Peter’s sons was involved in a farm accident, horribly hurt, and probably died of his injuries.
1870 US Census
The Town of Bear Creek in the County of Sauk, State of Wisconsin, enumerated by me on the 15 day of June, 1870. Post Office: Marble Ridge.
In this census we find Peter and his family living next door to our great-great grandparents, Michael and Mary McPhillips, and their family. The land was still wilderness. A news report in October 1872 stated three boys killed a bear and her cubs in Bear Creek. Bear Creek had the highest concentration of Irish in Wisconsin during this time period. The largest ethnic group in Wisconsin then and now is Germans.
1880 US Census
Inhabitants in Bear Creek, in the County of Sauk, State of Wisconsin, enumerated by me on the 17th & 18th days of June, 1880.
This census shows Peter Smith living near Patrick Smith (Smyth) and his family. The record for Peter’s daughter, Catherine Smith, indicates she has a ‘weak mind caused by fits’. Down the road from Peter Smith lived the Bernard McCluskey family, William Rooney family and the “Irish” John Smith family. Bernard’s wife, Alice, was born Alice Greenan and was “Irish” John Smith’s first cousin. William Rooney’s wife, Catharine, is “Irish” John Smith’s mother.
1900 US Census; State of Wisconsin, County Sauk; Township or other division of county: Bear Creek Town. Enumerated by me on the 13th day of June 1900.
Margaret Smith indicates she bore 10 children, 7 of whom still survive. We are only aware of 7 children.
Margaret Smith died on October16, 1906. It is unclear when Peter died, or if he is buried by his wife. Margaret is buried in St. Patrick’s cemetery in Loretto, Wisconsin. There is a large monument in that graveyard which reads ‘Smyth’. Her tombstone is there, but no marker exists for Peter. According to the 1910 US census, Peter Smyth immigrated to the US in 1857.
Generations of Peter and Margaret Smyth Family:
The following lists the known descendants of Peter and Margaret (Quigley) Smyth.
1. Peter Smyth (Smith) (born October 1829, and died after 1910 but before 1920)
(Married Margaret Quigley; born about 1826 and died October 16, 1906)
2. Margaret Anna Smyth (aka 'Anna' born March 1864 - tombstone birthdate 1863; died November 18, 1934)
(Married Francis A. 'Frank' Weitzel)
3. William H. Weitzel (born Dec 16, 1887; died 1970)
(Married Gertrude Vosen)
3. John F. Weitzel (born July 11, 1889; died Sept 14, 1963)
3. Jacob Herbert Weitzel (born Oct 5, 1892; died Sept 19, 1961)
(Married Ethel R.)
4. Patricia Weitzel
4. Margaret Ann Weitzel
4. Francis Weitzel
4. Walter Weitzel
4. Geraldine Weitzel
4. Lyle Joseph Weitzel
4. Leona Weitzel
3. Catharine M. Weitzel (born September 1896; died unknown)
3. Peter J. Weitzel (July 1899; died Oct 5, 1957)
3. Susan R. Weitzel (born 1903; died unknown)
2. Susan Smyth (born August 1868; died about April 1930)
(Married Joseph J. Weitzel)
3. Joseph Weitzel (born 1893; died unknown)
2. John Smyth (born January 1870; died ...)
(Married Mary Ruhland)
3. Johnette Smyth
(Married Clair Brouillard)
3. Blanche Loretta Smyth
(Married Joseph Anthony Kane in November or December 1943; died May 20, 1973)
4. Michael Kane
4. James Kane
4. Thomas Kane
4. Mary Kane
3. Florence Smyth
(Married Clarence Brennan who was killed in WWII)
3. Margaret Smyth
(Married Thomas W. McKune; divorced 1943)
4. Unknown Child
4. Unknown Child
2. Catharine Smyth (aka Tutsy and Kate; born September 1871)
(Never married; 1880 US Census said she was 'weak mind caused by fits')
2. Mary E. Smyth (born 1871; died about 1944)
(Married George Ford on Sept 17, 1902 in Milwaukee, WI.
Witnesses were William Grogan and Nellie Ryan. Later divorced. No children.)
2. James P. Smyth (born March 1874; died unknown)
(Never married)
2. Alice Smyth (born 1876; died February 28, 1935)
(Married Joseph Kissane)
3. Leo Kissane
3. William Kissane
3. Ralph Kissane
3. Edward Kissane
3. Floyd Kissane
3. Earl Kissane
3. Harry Kissane
3. Margaret Kissane
