December, 2004 Letter from Sister Eleanor Joyce

 

 Thanks to Mike Seeman for providing this letter. In it, S. Eleanor does a bit of interesting reminiscing.  My notes are in [].

This is Gary's side of the family - Sister Eleanor was the daughter of Raymond and Mildred (Knox) Joyce.  Raymond was the grandson of our immigrant ancestors, Michael and Catherine (Finnerty) Joyce.

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Dec. 23, 2004

Dear Brothers, Sisters, Cousins and Friends:

... [omitted]

Then on Sunday all the Joyce cousins were together for the day - Thomas, Shirley, Mary and Dorothy to remember old times at Redfield, Rockham and Burdette [South Dakota].  Since July we have become acquainted with many relatives whom we had never met before.  The reunion at Willmar hosted by Jack and Mary Seeman, (Mary Joyce's and Earl Seeman's son), brought families together from Minnesota and Iowa who had not been with us at former reunions in the Black Hills.  2007 is the next tentative date for a get-together, but the place has yet to be decided.

Recently I found a list of the members of Dad's uncles.  Besides John, Pat, Joe and Frank there were Tom, Jim and Peter who never came to Dakota, either stayed in Wisconsin or went back East.  [note: These are sons of Michael and Catherine Joyce; Tom and Jim stayed in WI and Peter died young, buried at St. Mary's cemetery near Ripon, Wisconsin.]

In 2003 there were two Sisters here from New York who belonged to the newly amalgamated Community from Fitchburg, MA and Newburgh, NY that now make up the New Windsor Presentation group.  They have a S. Eleanor Joyce in their community, and gave me her address in Kingston, NY, so last week I finally went on a search!  Might she have some knowledge about the three lost uncles?  If so, there could be other cousins on the East coast whom none of us have ever met!

I was glad to have seen S. Ramona Fallon at the Willmar reunion of the Michael Joyce-Catherine Finnerty clan.  That reminds me of the renowned threshing crew employed by Jim Fallon in the early 1920's - Joe (Pat's) and Gene (Mike's) Joyce were part of the force, who must have had a hilarious time on the job!  Stories that came out of those early years when their generation was growing up would fill books - Murphy, E. Fry and J. Brown were characters oftentimes, and we kids wondered?

... [omitted]

Sister M. Eleanor Joyce

Michael Joyce - Is the Fog Beginning to Clear?

Is this the Declaration of Intent of our hard-to-find ancestor Michael Joyce?

This Michael Joyce lives in Clinton, Massachusetts, district of ???, and was born in the County of Galway, Ireland in the month of October, 1830, and is 22 years old.  He arrived at New York in the District of New York on or about the 13th day of April, 1849.  The date of the Declaration is September 13, 1852, and has his signature.

I have been trying to find definite information on our Michael's life for years.  Several years ago, I wrote a post outlining some of the difficulties I've had.  Various sources and documents have birth years ranging from 1829 to 1831, mostly 1830.  Some say his birthday is September 29, others October 2.

I have had the same sort of luck with trying to pin down exactly when and where he entered the country.  His obituary says 1848, but census records say 1846 and 1849.  The first documentation I have of him in the United States is in the 1850 census.

Then, along comes this Declaration of Intent.  Attaining citizenship was a two-part process, the first being Declaration of Intent papers, and Final Papers, or the "Naturalization Petition."  Law requires five years of residency before citizenship would be granted.   I should point out that citizenship was not required, and the process could be started without being completed.  Michael's census records do indicate that he was a naturalized citizen.

The Michael Joyce in this document states that he was born in October 1830, but unfortunately does not specify a particular day in October.  So far, this makes him a good candidate to be our Michael Joyce.

This document states he came to the United States in April of 1849.  This, also, is consistent with one of the censuses of our Michael.

This Declaration of Intent was done in 1852, and the declarant lived in Clinton, Massachusetts.  Our Michael lived in Clinton, Massachusetts in 1852.  The Massachusetts State Census shows only one Michael Joyce in Clinton in 1855, and that was ours.

There isn't anything here that provides absolute iron-clad proof that this our Michael, but the circumstantial evidence is good.  I believe this is probably our Michael Joyce.

With that, some caution.  The Michael Joyce in this Declaration entered the country at New York. There is another Michael Joyce who entered the country at Boston a little more than a month later, on May 26, 1849.  He was 20 years old (b. abt 1829), and was a passenger on the ship "Kate."  His previous residence was Liverpool (England), which would probably rule him out as our Michael.  I have no information on where this Michael ultimately went, if he settled in Massachusetts or if it was simply where he entered the country.

I have a signature of Michael Joyce from his will, dated August of 1914.  I compared it to the signature on the Declaration.  However, the signature on the will is extremely shaky, and the will was signed just 6 weeks before his death; the signatures of the 85 year old Michael Joyce and the 22 year old Michael Joyce don't have any striking similarities.

With this date of entry to the United States, I hoped to find a passenger list.  As I discovered, in 1849 when a passenger ship docked at the U.S., the passengers simply left the ship and began new lives, no "processing" or anything.  So... that ends that.

Now, the focus is to "flesh out" more information on the Michael Joyce family's years in Clinton, and to search for a Naturalization Petition, if one exists.  The family left the area ca. 1855-1857, and his five year residency requirement would have been completed about 1854, so there was ample time to complete the process.  Whether or not he actually did, I don't know.

Hopefully the next breakthrough won't take as long...

Father James Joyce

I learned many new things about Father Jim while transcribing this newspaper article from 1988. The specific origin of the article is unknown.  One of the things I found interesting was that he was inspired by Father MacConnachie, whom Joyce family members will recognize as the priest to the Joyce family on the plains of South Dakota in the early days.  You can read more about Father MacConnachie on my companion blog, Ancestor Soup, here.

BRANDON PASTOR, FATHER JOYCE, HONORED BY FRIENDS AND FAMILY ON 40^TH ANNIVERSARY

By Randal Hunhoff

                Brandon – When Father Jim Joyce was sent to Risen Savior Catholic Church in Brandon in 1986, he must have been confounded by the new surroundings.  Risen Savior is a new church, built in 1981, and usually where Father Joyce is sent, a building follows close behind.

                Last Sunday, Father Joyce celebrated his 40^th anniversary in the priesthood; he was ordained by Bishop William O. Brady on March 13, 1948.  Rise Savior parishioners celebrated with Father Joyce and members of his family, including a brother and sister who traveled from California to be with him.  Bishop Paul Dudley of the Sioux Falls Diocese and retired Bishop Lambert Hoch also attended.

                Father Joyce, a Redfield native, has been instrumental in supervising several major building projects completed in the Sioux Falls Diocese in the last three decades.

                He worked closely with architect Howard Perez when O’Gorman High School was built in 1960-61 and helped design the school.

                In the fall of 1964, when Roncalli High School was built, he was there, and remained as superintendent of the school until 1967 and the first class graduated.

                And when Holy Spirit Parish in Mitchell built a new church in 1976, he was the pastor who led them in the project during the money-tight years of the mid-70’s.

                He now serves on the Diocesan building commission, and will help with planning of the new parish in Sioux Falls.

                But it is teaching that Father Joyce recalls most fondly.  He taught science and math at Sacred Heart Junior High in Aberdeen, medical ethics at the McKennan Nursing School, religion at O’Gorman, sociology at Heelan, and many subjects while teaching 13 year[s] at Holy Spirit Grade School in Mitchell.

                Father Joyce attended St. Bernard’s Seminary in Sioux Falls for two years, and graduated from St. Paul’s Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1948, with majors in English, Latin, history and religion.  He earned an M.A. in Educational Administration from St Thomas College in St. Paul in 1958.  He credits Father George MacConnach[i]e, the parish priest in Redfield when he was growing up, with instilling in him an early interest in the priesthood.

                Father Joyce is not thinking of retirement and said he is happy to work at whatever job the Bishop gives him.  Anyway, as Father Howard Carroll told him in the reception line: “The first 40 years are the hardest, it’s all downhill from here.”

                Father Joyce’s first assignment was as an assistant pastor to Father Thomas Flood at Vermillion in 1948. He was also in charge of the Newman Club at the University.

                In 1949, he transferred to Sacred Heart Parish in Aberdeen, where he stayed for six years, and was chaplain at the Newman Club at Northern State.

                He was secretary to Bishop Brady and then Bishop Lambert Hoch from 1955-57, while also serving as chaplain to McKennan Hospital and teaching at the nursing school there.

                From 1958-61, he helped build O’Gorman High School and taught there, and also served as chaplain to the state penitentiary, “one of the most fascinating assignments I’ve had,” he says.  He also taught for a year at Heelan in Sioux City.

                He was pastor of Millette, near Aberdeen, serving two missions in Chelsea and Athol, at the same time helping to plan Roncalli High School.  He was superintendent of the school for three years, 1964-67.

                He served as pastor at St. Agatha’s in Howard for a year, and then spent 13 years at Holyl Spirit Parish in Mitchell, as pastor, teaching and planning a new church.

                In 1980 he was sent to St. Wilfred Parish in Woonsocket where he stayed four years.  He spent part of a year at St. Nicholas Parish in Tea, and then became Chancellor of the Diocese from 1984-87. 

                He is currently serving as pastor at Risen Savior parish in Brandon.

Pheasants Raised on Miller Farm Are Displayed at Washington Zoo

Huron Daily Plainsman (Huron, SD)

Sunday, May 26, 1968

Page 15

[Caption 1]: The Raising of Pheasants is a project of the Seeman Pheasant Farm, which is located at the northwest edge of Miller.  The farm is operated by Mrs. Mary Yost and owned by her two sons, Jerry Yost, of rural Miller, and Jack Seeman, of Willmar, Minnesota.  The majority of the pheasants are sold for “the dinner table,” although last year 500 were purchased by Pheasants Unlimited, Inc., of Sioux Falls, to stock Hand County.

[Caption 2]: Pheasants raised on the Seeman farm at Miller are a cross between a ringneck and a monogolian.  The eggs (shown at top) are not nested, but instead lay in the open, requiring 24 ½ days to hatch.  Once the egg is hatched, it takes another 16 weeks before the chicks (shown at bottom) are full grown.

PHEASANTS RAISED ON MILLER FARM ARE DISPLAYED AT WASHINGTON ZOO

                Miller – A Miller woman who has been raising pheasants for the past six years says when she first started “I didn’t know anything about this business.”

                Mrs. Mary Yost, who manages the Seeman Pheasant Farm located at the northwest edge of the city, said she’s in the pheasant business “for profit” and last summer sold 500 ringnecks to Pheasants Unlimited, Inc., of Sioux Falls.

                “The birds which were purchased by Pheasants Unlimited were used to bolster the pheasant population in Hand County,” she said, “and we anticipate they will do the same again this year.”

                The farm is owned by Mrs. Yost’s two sons, Jerry Yost, of rural Miller, and Jack Seeman, of Willmar, Minn.

                “When we first started this business I didn’t know anything about raising pheasants,” Mrs. Yost said, “but have learned from experience.”

                But, this business has gained in popularity and in 1965 received national recognition when the State Game, Fish and Parks Department acquired six of Mrs. Yost’s pheasants and gave them to Sen. Karl E. Mundt, R-S.D., for display at the Washington zoo.

                The request for the birds came after Sen. Mundt had visited the zoo and found only one ring-necked pheasant displayed – and that one looked like a “scrawny rooster.”

                The South Dakota senator immediately contacted the State Game Department and requested “six healthy species” of the state’s official bird to be placed in the zoo.

                Upon receipt of the birds, it was first announced that they had been “trapped in the wild,” but this was quickly straightened out and proper credit given to the Seeman farm.

                Mrs. Yost said she is faced with numerous problems – topped by the fact that pheasants are cannibalistic.

                “Only about 50 per cent of the hatched eggs live and we can’t put two hatches together – otherwise the older birds will eat the young ones,” she said.

                The eggs lay out in the open since the pheasants don’t nest and it’s necessary to check the pens frequently and collect the eggs before they are eaten by the birds, she added.

                “The wild pheasant hen usually does nest – finding a good hiding place for her eggs,” Mrs. Yost said.  There are approximately 400 eggs in each hatch, with a total of five hatches counted last year. 

                Other problems are cats and horned owls “who are constantly a threat to the young pheasants, although Mrs. Yost said she has had little trouble with hawks or skunks.

                “It takes about 24 ½ days for an egg to hatch and 16 weeks before the bird is full grown,” she said, adding: “We clip one of the chick’s wings at birth to keep them from flying away.  If we didn’t we’d have to put a roof on the pens.”

                The pheasants raised on the Seeman farm are a cross between the ringneck and mongolian pheasant, she said.

                When asked if the drop in the state’s pheasant population has bolstered her business, Mrs. Yost replied: “We sold more pheasants last year than we did a year ago, but I don’t think this had anything to do with it.”

                “Pheasants which are raised on a farm such as this are much tastier eating than the wild ones,” she said – a fact which has probably played a major role in the recent success of the farm.  

Miller Woman Keeps Watchful Eye On Domestic Pheasant Flock

Huron Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota)

Sunday, December 11, 1966

Caption [photo very poor]:  Pheasant caretaker Mrs. Mary Yost, of Miller, feeding her flock of pheasants which are raised in captivity.  A bird from the flock was presented by Sen. Karl Mundt to the Washington Zoo and is thriving there as a center of attraction in his new captivity.

MILLER WOMAN KEEPS WATCHFUL EYE ON DOMESTIC PHEASANT FLOCK

                Miller – Raising pheasants is the professional concern of the game biologists, but just a hobby “to keep busy with” for Mrs. Mary Yost, of Miller.

                While the biologists seek ways to increase the pheasant population in the native habitat, Mrs. Yost is concerned with the bird population on the Pheasant Farm, started eight years ago as a hobby by her sons Jack Seeman, now of Willmar, Minn., and Jerry Yost, a plumber here in Miller.

                “The boys started raising birds to see if it could be done,” Mrs. Yost related last week while babysitting with her grandchildren.  “Because Jack has moved away and Jerry is busy during the day, I keep watch over the flock for something to do.”

                And raising pheasants in captivity requires a heap of watching at times, too, she added, pulling a grandchild away from a “no-no” in the kitchen.

                The task starts in the fall with the selection of the breeding hens and cocks.  This year the Yosts decided to keep 65 hens for next year’s production.  Then in the spring, the birds are penned (one cock with six or nine hens) and the watch starts.

                “Pheasants are cannibalistic.”  Mrs. Yost explained.  “In pens, the hens don’t nest, so you have to pick up the eggs right away or the hens will eat them.”

                Each hen will lay between 50 and 60 eggs, Mrs. Yost said, compared with game birds which hatches 12 to 15 eggs in her nest.  About half the eggs hatch, she continued.  The eggs are hatched in an incubator, purchased from Claude (Bud) Ebert, who raised pheasants as a hobby when he lived in Huron.  The eggs hatch in about 23 days and then the chicks are placed in brooders for six weeks.

                When they are ready to be moved into the 75-by-125-foot pens, the right wings are clipped (“So they can’t fly away on me,” Mrs. Yost said) and the commercial feed ration is changed to a growing mash with wheat screenings added.

                “You can’t mix the broods in the pens,” she commented, “or they will kill each other.”  Thus the chicks raised in the brooder batch are penned together as young birds.

                The feed ration is varied during the summer to bring the birds to the proper weight (a dressed weight of three to four pounds) and then just before the start of the pheasant hunting season, Mrs. Yost puts a finishing feed in the trought [sic] to “top off” the tender birds.  Then she starts dressing and freezing the birds for her son’s fall trade.

                “For some reason, the business comes during the season, mostly hunters,” she said.  “Few hunters this year, little business.  It varies with the game population.”

                The hunters are not buying birds to claim they bagged one, she explained.  Often the buyers have their limit which will be given to friends to dress and cook while the hunter takes home a domestic pheasant, more tender, cleaned, frozen and without broken bones or shot for his wife to serve, Mrs. Yost said.

                “Oh, sometimes a hunter will ask me to kill one for him to take home as a hunter’s bag,” she said, “but frozen pheasants aren’t part of the limit.”

                In the years of raising pheasants, the family has found nature to be a hazard and that even domestic pheasants can be victims of predators.  One year a windstorm about wiped out the flock and cats prey on the young chicks while dogs are a threat to the bigger birds, Mrs. Yost related.

                “And I have one bird whose wings weren’t clipped, she said.  “She flies from the pen whenever I come out, then returns to eat.  I think my birds finishing feed in the through to [sic] their wings weren’t clipped, but this one likes the security of the pen.”

A Brush with Stardom… (Seeman Ancestors)

Lawrence Welk

Except it was well before stardom hit Lawrence Welk.  As a young man, he and his band traveled throughout North Dakota and eastern South Dakota playing for dances, and one of those jobs was at Cottonwood Lake, near Redfield, South Dakota, when he was just 17. One night, he asked 19-year-old Mary Joyce out on a date.  After that date, he told Mary she was too old for him, so asked her 15-year-old sister Ag out instead!  She went out with him a few times, but eventually declined his requests as his breath was terrible!

There are a few things about this story that don’t line up perfectly – Mary and Ag’s ages would make the year 1916, but Welk would have been only 13 then.  Perhaps it was a few years later – but Mary was married in 1920, so it would likely have been around 1919.  This story came from uncle Jimmy Yost, about 2002, through his nephew Brian.

Mary (left) and Agnes Joyce

Michael Joyce: The Man Who Can’t be Pinned Down (Seeman Ancestor)

Michael and Catherine Joyce

When you’re researching a man named Michael Joyce from Ireland, you have to expect that things aren’t going to be easy.  Probably much like researching a man named John Smith from New York City, I’m assuming.  I have been able to prove Michael and his wife, Catherine Finnerty, back to 1850, but no further.  With a date of birth, emigration from Ireland, death date, etc., I was hoping for a way to differentiate him from all of the other Michael Joyces out there, and find his immigration information as well as maybe trace him back to to Ireland. Ah… we can always hope…

So, when and where was Michael born?  His obituary states that he was born in 1829 in Fraemstown, County Gall, Ireland.  However -

     -1855 Massachusetts State Census indicates 1830
     -1870 Federal Census indicates 1830
     -1880 Federal Census indicates 1831
     -1900 Federal Census says Sept. 1830
     -1910 Federal Census indicates 1830
     -his obituary says Sept. 29, 1830
     -his death certificate says Oct. 2, 1829
     -his original headstone says Sept. 29, 1829.

And regarding his place of birth – there is no county in Ireland by the name of Gall, and “Fraemstown” appears to be nonexistent.  The general vicinity for the Joyce family in County Galway has been established, but an 1781 map of the area doesn’t show “Fraemstown” or anything similar, which is a bit troubling.  His wife was still living at the time of his death, and came from the same area of County Galway, so if it were she who supplied the information, one would have to give it some sort of credibility.

Michael supposedly emigrated from Ireland aboard the “Victoria” but I have not been able to find a ship by that name operating in the appropriate time and place.  And when did he emigrate?

     -1848, per his obituary
     -1846, per the 1900 census
     -1849 per the 1910 census

He married Catherine Finnerty in 1851, according to his obituary.  Their first child was born in May of 1852, so this seems to fit – for a change.

They supposedly relocated from Massachusetts to Wisconsin in 1851, but birth places of their children make 1855-1857 more feasible, and a Michael and Catherine Joyce with two children by the appropriate names appear in the 1855 Massachusetts State Census, making the 1855-1857 time range more likely.

And his death? At least it’s either October 5 (death certificate and probate papers) or October 6 (original headstone).  Ironically, his obituary never exactly states when he died.

My conclusion is that Michael Joyce just dropped out of the sky and landed in the United States, and from thence we all sprang.  Seriously, the only solid information (I’m making a big assumption here) are the names of his parents from his death certificate.  Unfortunately, his father has a common name as well (Patrick) and his mother is Rose “Maden” – or perhaps Madden.  There are plenty of Maddens in the same area of Ireland as the Joyces, but no Madens that I have been able to find.  Hopefully, I'll be able to find a solid piece of information that will set him apart from the others, and help me to work back back a generation or two.