On meeting and becoming acquainted with these people whose opportunities were so limited, on marvels. With

almost no exception, they have handled their family and home problems as well as their business in an intelligent

manner. They have read well, have been active in local, state and Federal government, and have been well aware

of the need for loyalty and service to their Country. They had a great appreciation for education. Those who could

afford it sent their children to boarding schools for the four years high school; and, those who went on to college

certainly sought out the Catholic College. Many have become outstanding in the Church and in the professions, as

well as in the business world. Of course, the next generation did not all stay in the Carimona district, but they did

not usually wander far away. Most of them settled in neighboring towns such as Preston, Fountain, Spring Valley,

Wykoff, Lanesboro, Harmony, Austin, Rochester and a few settled in South Dakota becoming pioneers in the new

Territory and going through much the same trials and inconveniences their parents had experienced.

THE FAMILY GROWS

A new baby was making its appearance in the O’Connor family every year or two. Medical help from professional

physicians was far away, so the women had to help each other, while the men were not left out. Everyone served.

Neighbors did not mean those within blocks, not a mile or two, but 10 or 20 miles. Michael often had to go out in

the middle of the night to get help or to take Bridget when sickness struck. Bridget seemed to be the all-wise little

lady in her own home as well as in the neighborhood. Though small in stature, she was large of heart and very

versatile. She seemed to have the magic touch when sickness or tragedy struck.

She, too, was the economizer. The clothes she had saved while working in Boston were brought out and made into

lovely garments for her little ones. No such material was available in Minnesota, so with her ability to sew well

and to even tailor the boys’ and men’s clothes, this family was outstanding. She shared her know-how with her

neighbors, even though they had to do it by hand for years. Cotton does not grow in the North, but flax does and,

of course, sheep were a part of the farmers’ responsibility. from the flax, this little mother made linen and from

the wool she made material for winter-wear, for blankets and the many needs of a cold climate. Carpets for the

floors were also made at home. The spinning wheel, the knitting needles and sewing needle plied away late into

the night after the meals were finished and the children in bed. These women not only took care of the children,

the house and the clothing, but the garden, the fowls of all kinds were their particular responsibility as well as the

baby lambs that are so delicate that they often had to be brought into the house for some care during the first day of

their existence.

How Bridget ever handled so much was hard to understand for she had certainly not been reared under such

circumstances. But the greatest enigma of all was how she handled her husband. Though he was a religious and

honestly a good man, he never lost his inclination to spend his money for his friends and for a good time. He

seemed to have need to get away from the domestic problems and find some escape from the responsibility of

economizing and attaining security for a large and growing family. Bridget always looked to the future and

wanted the "little nest egg" in case of emergency. She demanded they provide for independence in their old age.

With her diplomacy, she persuaded him to re-invest his money in more land, so together they accumulated what

was a small fortune. As the children grew up, they had a share in the work; so, when they were old enough to

marry, they were better provided for than many of the youths are today. The boys in the family were given a farm

provided they would stay on it. The philosophy of the day being that the man must be able to own a home and

support a wife when he married. The girls got some help, mostly in clothes, linen and household furnishings. No

pre-nuptial parties helped to provide for their needs--that was a family affair entirely well taken care of in this

closely knit family group.

Civil War was in progress in 1861, so most of the able-bodied men had to serve in the army. Those who remained

home helped take care of the farms of their neighbors as well as their own. The farm products were needed at this

time more than at any other. Michael could not serve because of the broken foot that gave him trouble, but he

worked his farm as well as helped on those whose men were in service. They were all a very patriotic people so

men and women put forth more effort in order to feed and clothe the men in the service. Besides trying to produce

more food, they made blankets, hose and woolen sweaters and prayed while they worked that the Nation that had

been free and generous to all might not be divided. When Jim Kirwin had to report for service, Mr. O’Connor took

him and his wife over to Winona while the baby stayed at the O’Connor home for the week. On her return, Mrs.

Kirwin and the baby as well as their farm became the responsibility of the O’Connor family. In order to appreciate

in some slight manner the work and the extra burden placed upon the pioneers of the day, we need to think in

terms of oxen as the beasts of burden and of work, the hand plow, hand threshing and planting; then, no means of

communication except by walking or riding long distances. Only after the war was it possible to get horses at all

and only after 1890 did the first telephone reach these people.

A NEW HOME

By 1864 there were 9 children in the O’Connor family and they needed a larger house than the log house to which

there had been additions from time to time. They decided that during this winter they would get lumber from

Winona -- which still took a week for the trip and return -- and built the first frame home in the district using real

lumber. The war was still in progress, so help was almost unavailable. The oldest son, Andrew, only 10 years old,

was his father’s companion on these trips. It was an arduous task traveling by such slow stages through bitter cold

and great drifts of snow that could only be cut through with shovels or other hand tools. Sometimes they had to dig

into these drifts turn the wagon box over and sleep under it for the night. No such thing as snow plows or any kind

of official guidance and the farms homes along the way were miles apart. However, they succeeded and any

neighbors available helped Mr. O’Connor build the home that with some renovations was still in use in the last

‘20s when Mrs. O’Connor could be persuaded to moved into her son, Timothy’s home. Almost immediately after

the war, they built new barns for horses and cows, sheep sheds, carriage and wagon sheds. Soon the family had a

fine looking farm plant with the traditional white home, the red and white out-buildings and even the little red

school house. In a short time other families were building and progressing in the same manner. In this home the

thirteen children grew up and later nine orphans, which the O’Connors adopted, also were trained and reared in

the Church. They all attended the school that they felt the home and all was theirs to uphold and support and love

until they married.

We have mentioned much to the credit of Mrs. O’Connor, but her husband deserves credit for much of the

leadership and the accomplishment of many things done in a section of our Country that required rugged and

continued effort. So much to accomplish and so little with which to do it demanded initiative, diplomacy was well

as constructive judgments.

Michael was a tall, heavy-set man, so the foot injury he received in Boston soon became a real handicap when

plowing, planting and harrowing all by hand and walking. Even at that, we hear his son telling of how he walked

all the way to Preston -- 10 miles -- to sell eggs and butter and bring back other food commodities that were

needed. He only relinquished the farm to his son, Michael, in 1914 at the age of 81. Even then he tried to help

wherever he could, he and Bridget remaining in the home. Of course, the son build a home for his own family.

Mr. and Mrs. O’Connor wanted to be independent and have a place for other visiting members of the family. It

was pathetic to watch his efforts in those later years. He was determined to split wood for posts or the furnace no

matter what it cost him. He would sit on a stool or stump and hack away, and even that may have been painful

because he had arthritis, and the bad leg was a real nuisance to him.

Quite early in the Minnesota days, Mr. O’Connor developed an open abscess in this leg. Doctors were practically

unavailable and for treating such a condition they would have little to offer. He was in great misery, but there was

work to do and a large family to support. Everyone had home remedies to offer and some bordered on the

superstitious. He had wanted a dog, but Bridget was not anxious for one. Someone suggested that a dog would

lick that sore and cure it, so he gladly bought a Shepherd dog for a dollar. Bridget had more practical ideas and he

permitted her to use them too. She had been informed that wet clean clay used a poultice would cure it, but she

had her children praying for they daddy’s cure. They NEEDED him and needed him badly. Not too long after

Bridget’s efforts, the wound healed and never opened again. Today we are inclined to believe that the clay, in the

light of penicillin’s values, with God’s help did the job. Both of these people had a real sense of humor, so in their

teasing, witty way this incident was remembered. Both claimed that their remedy was the effective one.

TRAVEL

Outside of business trips, little traveling or visiting was done in the very early days in Minnesota because the only

means of going was either on foot or by driving a yoke of oxen, and the wagon had not yet taken on the luxury of

springs to soften the jars. However, as soon as possible, after horses were available and the spring-wagon could be

bought, the O’Connors bought a team of horses and a three-seated wagon. In the winter the wagon-box was put on

a pair of bob-sleigh runners. This meant a wonderful means of conveyance, so frequently the parents with all the

children took a trip. If they were to be gone over night, some of the older children remained home to attend to the

animals that must be cared for. The little towns growing up in the southeast part of the State might have a visiting

priest, or a fair, and there were friends to meet in Spring Valley, Preston, Fountain, Wykoff, Lanesboro or in

Cresco and Harmony across the Iowa state line. These visits and friendships later led to marriage for the

O’Connor clan. No one would think of marrying a non-Catholic. The only one who considered it later was

Frances -- she married John Triggs and helped to convert him and his family. They had two daughters who are

members of the St. Joseph Order in St. Paul and one son who is an Oblate of Mary. He is at present the Rector of

the Cathedral in White Horse, Yukon Territory, Canada. Of course, these are only the religions in this family.

Twenty miles or more, even in the severest cold, never seemed to phase the O’Connors for they loved to travel and

to see the country. When one realizes that at the age of nine or ten some of the children took on the responsibility

of the farm chores along with the caring for little folks, we wonder that some tragedy such as fire did not happen.

Mother O’Connor just left them in charge of Our Blessed Lady and seemed to have no worried except about the

trip and whatever it required of her. She was her husband’s best friend as well as the careful mother of the

children. Those who remained at home could confidently expect some reward for their faithfulness. A new dress

or other article of clothing was a real gift as was a nickel or a dime’s worth of candy. If available, one got a big

sack of candy with a very small outlay of money. Common sense and a real interest in the good of the home was

the responsibility of every child and the children accepted this with no bickering.

After Ann, Mrs. O’Connor’s sister, married Mr. Lawler, she lived in Braddock, Pennsylvania; and, after Mr.

Mulhall’s death in Ireland, the mother of Bridget, Catherine and Ann came to this Country and lived with Ann for

several years. She was quite active until in her late 90’s when she kept almost entirely to her room upstairs in the

Lawler house. Her mind was very clear, but her strength gradually lessened, but she lived to be 104 and seems not

to have needed too much help from others. When she was about ninety-seven, Mr. and Mrs. O’Connor decided

that they could afford to take a trip to visit their relatives, especially Bridget’s mother, but did so without informing

those they were to visit. Probably schedules were uncertain; then, too, the O’Connors wanted no one to go to any

trouble when they came. A surprise visit was their idea of making sure that no extra preparations would be made;

and, of course, Bridget immediately began to help with the meals if she were allowed to.

On this occasion, shortly after the arrival of the O’Connors, everyone was astonished to hear light footsteps on the

stairs. When they saw the little old mother all dressed up making her way down the stairs saying, "God tells me

that my little daughter, Bridget, is here.", they felt that it must be an apparition. For years she had not made that

stairway without help; and, for a long time before this, she had never left her room. Ann had help so they sent

meals to her and spent as much time as they could with her. She slept and read much, so she was happy upstairs in

her own room. On this trip they also visited Catherine Dooling, the mother of Father Dooling, of whom we will

hear more later. Both of these girls had married good men and were what many people considered wealthy.

Michael was much impressed with his wife’s family and was determined that Bridget and their children should

have only the best. He always had a reverence for Bridget that impressed outsiders, but now she was his "Royal

Queen." While on this trip, they bought beautiful silk materials for wedding gowns for their oldest daughters yet at

home. At this time the parents seemed to have had a hand in the choice of husband and wife, so they were then

planning a couple of weddings and "no daughter would be better clothed than were the O’Connor girls."

Go to Part III

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