The Sweeney family lived on the corner of Big Mine Run, Butler Township, Schuylkill Co., PA, USA in the large 3-story home that was very plain on the front with one or two steps. The back or side had a porch with 5 steps. The front of the house on one corner was a saloon. The other corner was a country store selling butter, dairy products, eggs, etc. In the back of the house on the ground level was a classroom where Michael J. Sweeney, one of Sarah Devitt Sweeney’s sons taught school to the neighborhood children. His mother, Sarah Devitt Sweeney did not want any of her children to work in the coal mines.

Her son, Michael was a tax collector in Ashland and then went to a teaching college in Millersville, PA.  He then moved the family to Brooklyn, NY where they lived until he died. Upon his death, his daughter Rosemary Sweeney Davenport assumed the responsibility of her 4 maiden Aunts, Susie, Annie, Sarah & Elizabeth. Annie married a McNamara and their son Michael Mack lived with his aunts on & off. He had a drinking problem and was down on his luck when he would return to stay with them. He died young and is buried in the Sweeney family plot in St. Pat’s Cemetery in Pottsville, PA.

Jean went many summers and weekends with her mom to visit her aunts. She remembers Michael Mack as a young kid in PA. The Petersons are related also.The last aunt to pass away was Elizabeth in the 1930’s. She had gone to Washington, D. C. in the early 1900’s to work in the US Mint but returned to Big Mine Run.

After Elizabeth passed away, Rosemary inherited the land and everything in the home and saloon. The building was deteriorating and was not worth much so she let it go for the taxes on it. Rosemary was married to Monroe Milton Davenport and had 2 children, ( Rosemary )Jean & her brother, Milton Monroe Davenport. Milton has passed on sadly to say.( page 2 ) 

Jen remembered a cousin of her mother’s, Theresa Carey, who’s husband was Dan from Girardville, PA. They moved to & lived in Chicago. When visiting Ireland and looking for the Devitt-Dixon home, Jean & her husband John Moretti had a hard time finding it. They looked on maps and it did not show. They drove into Westport where there was a bookstore and picked up books on County Mayo that had maps on their fly leafs. One was a 2-volume book. It was not listed on that map, but then she found another map finally, that had it on it. They were way out on the west coast of the county; closest place was Bellmullich (Bellmullet). Glen Laura was just outside of Bellmullich. There was nothing but peat farms. When Jean looked up she saw a sign saying Glen Laura. She got out of the car & her hubby John took a photo of her & the road sign with the arrow. But there was nothing there. A man driving a load of peat moss in a truck yelled out his window, if he could help them, they looked lost. She asked where Glen Laura was, he said this is it and she said what is it, there’s nothing here. He told her to look over at three rooftops just above the distant trees and that was where the Dixons lived. 

Jean approached the house and a lady answered. Jean asked if they had known a Rodger Dixon and that she was a relative and had a letter from Ireland that was sent to her Great Aunt in 1882. The lady took the letter & went in the back and outside to where a man was. They conversed and came back. Once they established that Rodger was the man’s father, the Irish Welcome Mat was rolled out & they treated them like family & royalty. After Jean & John returned to the States, they received a wedding invitation to the wedding of Rodger Dixon’s granddaughter. They accepted and went and had a wonderful time. Since then they have gone back two & three times and once for a wedding that was celebrated in Rome, Italy. Many of the families do that. There’s a church basilica, St. Sylvester’s, has many weddings from out of the country celebrated there in Italy. Jean’s son, John who is a priest took a group there from the parish and Jean accompanied them and again had a wonderful time.

I mentioned my great-great grandmother, Mary Gallagher, and Jean said she remembers the Gallagher’s. She said they have a large tombstone in St. Pat’s in Pottsville. She said Tillie Gallagher was the first American Women’s Doctor in the USA. The Gallagher Family are in Washington.Our conversation was then cut short as I had a previous engagement. We closed by promising to send each other all that we had and to speak again soon. What an absolutely wonderful conversation and lady and cousin. Now to tell my siblings and cousins Robert, Cass, Toots, Jackie, Billy and Harold.I asked Jean about Cornelius, Winifred, John and others. She only remembers hearing about Sarah & her brother, but may have more in all of her belongings and is going to look for us.

One Brick Closer, Pat Carroll Bennett
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