Cousin LaVerne Mooney
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| LaVerne Mooney- circa 1912 |
Part I - A Hard Start
Who was the last descendant of Edward Mooney (b. 1845, d. 1910) and Bridget Sharon (b. 1845, d. 1888) born in the 19th Century? Answer: LaVerne Mooney, born on the last day of July in 1898.
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| John Mooney |
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| Edward Mooney |
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| Bridget Sharon Mooney |
Indeed, LaVerne, as far as we know, was also the last 19th century descendant of her great grandfather, John Edward Mooney (b. 1819, d. 1904).
LaVerne, as I recall, had equipoise – modest but not shy; fashionable but not prissy as spinsters can sometimes be. Quiet and demurring, I think, are good descriptors for LaVerne Mooney.
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| LaVerne & Sharon O'Malley Cassidy, Xmas 1976 |
In acquiring those admirable traits, the first child of Captain Bill’s eldest sibling, James Leo Mooney (b. 1868, d. 1936), and the first grandchild of Captain Ed’s 8 grandchildren; LaVerne Mooney had the grace to endure a difficult beginning.
James Leo Mooney
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| James Leo Mooney |
James, (chomping on the ubiquitous Mooney cigar stub) probably on his wedding day, Nov. 26, 1896.
James Leo Mooney, Captain Ed's eldest child, married Cora Kelsey (b. 1878, d. 1902) on November 26, 1896 in the bride’s hometown of Brighton Township, Lorain, Ohio. Cora gave birth to LaVerne at home, 18 Mecca Street, on July 31, 1898. According to the 1900 census, the Mooney family -- James, his wife Cora and infant daughter LaVerne – had moved from LaVerne’s birthplace to Cleveland and rented their home at 198 Colgate Street.
The same census lists James as a laborer in the shipbuilding trades. While the name of his employer is not known, we can speculate that the yard where James worked would be close to his home. If true then the probable shipbuilder was the Globe Iron Works (GIW) located roughly where West 45h Street ends along the Old River, two miles from James’ home.
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| 1898 Globe Iron Works, Source: Ibid. |
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From the Mooney home on Colgate to the GIW shipyard. Source: Ibid. |
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| Source: Google Maps |
In 1900, Colgate Street ran between W. 65th and W. 80th street, one block south of Lorain Avenue.
In 1906, Cleveland changed its house numbering system in order to harmonize the many annexed properties into a more navigable city-wide system. This 2007 picture of 7606 Colgate Avenue is likely the site of James Mooney home of 1902. The present house shown in the picture was built in 2006.
Ships in the 19th century had transitioned from sail to steam, side wheel to screw and, at the turn of the century, from wood to steel hulls. Ship builders radically adjusted their materials and methods accordingly. By 1890, steam displaced sail and screw displaced side wheel. In James’ time, the transition from wood to steel hulls would see dramatic changes in company startups, mergers, the sale of ship yards and the relocation of Cleveland’s ship yards to the west (proximity to the Forest City’s plentiful white oak trees was no longer an economic advantage).
The owners of GIW formed Globe Shipbuilding in 1880 and in1882 the company launched the iron-hulled Onoko, the prototype for the Great Lakes ore fleet. Four years later, Globe built the first steel-hulled bulk carrier on the lakes, the Spokane. In 1888, Globe expanded their operations buying the William H. Radcliffe's shipyard at the foot of West 45th Street and the nearby Shipowners Dry Dock Company, at the foot of West 54th Street.
In 1887, Globe’s parent company, GIW, sold their interest in the Old River yards, started a new company, Cleveland Shipbuilding, and subsequently relocated to Lorain (~ 25 miles away from James’ home) renaming the company as The American Ship Building Company.
The ownership of the Old River yards near James’ home changed hands frequently until 1899 when all the yards along the Old River were sold to The American Ship Building Company. The last bulk freighter delivered from the old GIW ship yard was the M.A. Hanna in April of 1899.
The Era – End of the Gilded Age
At the close of the 19th century, the US economy was still recovering from the Panic of 1896. During this Panic, the national unemployment rate increased to 14.5% and persisted at that level until 1898. And, just as the economy recovered from the last recession of the 19th century, the first recession of the 20th century, the Panic of 1901, arrived bringing about the first stock market crash of the New York Stock Exchange.
Adding to the dicey stability of the economy in the early 1900’s, labor continued its struggle to organize in order to gain some leverage against the unjust practices of their employers. At the closing of the Gilded Age, the “Robber Barons” had so alienated workers that to improve wages and working conditions, workers accelerated the formation of labor unions and used strikes as the vehicle to achieve those ends. The companies responded with Union Busting tactics, including using violence against union organizers and picketing strikers.
The dock workers led the efforts to unionize maritime labor. Laborers in shipbuilding soon followed joining the struggles of their brother cargo handlers on the docks. In September 1893, The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers was founded. Two and a half years later, in 1896, the Brotherhood affiliated with the American Federation of Labor (AFL). In subsequent years, the Brotherhood continued to grow, and in 1902, the Helpers Division was formed. Since we do not know that James had a trade skill (the 1920 US Census records James as having no trade skills) it’s likely that he was an unskilled helper at GIW in 1900.
To sum up the times, the general instability of economic conditions, the technology changes in James’ particular industry, and the ongoing struggles between labor and owners put the ongoing future incomes of unskilled maritime workers in serious doubt at the beginning of the 20th century; especially for a father of two infant daughters as 1901 came to a close.
Until late in the 19th century, the word "unemployment" didn't exist -- in an agrarian society there is always some work to be done by the unskilled. With the industrial revolution came unemployment. In James’ time, aid and relief for the unemployed was a private matter to be provided by extended families, churches and neighbors; public programs did not exist.
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| Super imposed 1912 Map showing Edward Mooney's 12.37 acre plot |
Family Crises
LaVerne’s mother, Cora Kelsey (b. 1878, d. 1902), gave birth to the couple’s second child, Loretta, on Sept. 29, 1901 at home. LaVerne did not get to know her younger sister -- little Loretta died before her first birthday the following year from, according to family tradition, influenza. Nor did LaVerne get to know her mother very well. Cora died later that same year on Nov. 14 from pneumonia. LaVerne was 4 years old.
Laverne was soon to
virtually lose her father as well. Grief
stricken at the loss of his child and wife, James began to manifest apparent epileptic
fits with increasing regularity.
Diagnosing epilepsy in 1902 was more an art than a science and those
suffering repeated hysterical seizures were sometimes misdiagnosed as
epileptic. Psychological factors can
induce hysterical seizures which can appear similar to epileptic fits. James -- 34 years old, burying his child and his wife
in the same year, with uncertain job security, and a 4 year old daughter
to care for -- could have had sufficient psychological stress to explain the
onset of frequent hysterical seizures.
Three years later James was institutionalized. Whether James was admitted or committed on March 25, 1905 to the Gallipolis Hospital for the epileptic is not clear. LaVerne was 7 years old.
Not pictured is (Aunt) Zita who we know "adopted" LaVerne not as a neice but as her younger sister. The two would be lifelong frieneds, always spiritually close and, except for a brief period, physically as well. More on LaVerne and Zita and their special relationship in Part II.
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| One Big Family - Circa 1914 at the farm |
Post Script: Mooney's No Strangers to Premature Deaths
Edward Mooney buried his infant 8 month old daughter, Margaret (“May”) in 1880; his son Martin (“Leo”), age 3 years, in 1884; his first wife, Bridget Sharon age 39 years; in 1888; and his second eldest son, Joseph (“Eddie”) age 22 years, in 1894. Only four of Edward’s and Bridget Sharon’s seven children survived to see the 20th century: James, Francis, William, and Charles.
In 1902, his second grandchild, Loretta (b. 1901, d. 1902) dies; his daughter-in-law, Cora Kelsey Mooney, dies at age 24; and in 1905 Captain Ed places his eldest son, James, in an asylum. It is understandable that Captain Ed is not smiling in his photos in my collection.
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| Edward Mooney - circa 1905 |
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