Notes

[NI0293] Lydia Almgill died at age 43 when her youngest child was but 4 years old
and the family was still living in Ohio. She is buried in the Old Zion
Cemetery, German Township, Harrison County Ohio. Subsequently, the
family moved on to Missouri where her husband Obadiah lived for another
35 years.

[NI0294] Agness Jane was also known as Dorothy Agness. She is said to have
married several times, the last time to Bert Hooper. She had no children.

Agness Foraker is the lady that all of Mildred's family knew as "Aunt
Dorothy." Apparently she changed her name at some point.

[NI0295] Some indication Edward may have been born in England, not Ireland: In the Census records from Denver, 1900, for the family of Thomas Thompson, Mary's second husband, it gives the birth place of both Delia's and Michael's father as England. Their father was the same man as Martin's father, the one here given as Edward Foraker (Farahar/Faragher).

Edward's birthplace is given on his daughter Delia's death certificate as "Ohio" but this is in conflict with other information we have about him, indicating that he was born in England or Ireland.

[NI0296] San Joaquin Memorial High School, Fresno, June, 1966.

[NI0297] 7lb 10 oz at birth.

San Joaquin Memorial High School, Fresno CA, June, 1960.

[NI0298] Roosevelt High School, Business College.

[NI0302] Aunt Gladys was a twin, her sister being Goldie Nelson, never married.

[NI0303] Valedictorian in his graduating class at St. Columba High School, 1931.

Joseph died in a traffic accident on highway 99 somewhere south of
Fresno. He is buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Fresno.

[NI0304] Edward and his sister Mable graduated from the Sacred Heart School in
Denver. The family church was of the same name.

Edward drove the Foraker family from Denver to California, initially
Oildale, then Fresno, in a 1919 Chandler Touring Car. This trip was in
the Spring of 1921 or 1922.

On Saturday, Feb 11, 1978, Ed received the Benemerenti Medallion, a Papal Award for service to the church, the first one given in the Diocese of Fresno in 10 years, for his service to the Our Lady of Victory Parish in Fresno. The award was conferred by Bishop Hugh Donohoe on behalf of Pope Paul VI in a Mass at the parish church.

Ed's obituary from the Fresno Bee (2/12/1979) read as follows:
"The rosary for Edward Bernard Foraker, 74, longtime active in Catholic church activities, will be recited at 7 p.m. today in the Our Lady of Victory Church. He died Saturday.
"A year ago, Foraker was awarded the Benemerenti Medallion a papal award for service to the church. He and his wife, Gladys, had been members of the Our Lady of Victory since the parish was founded 29 years ago.
"In addition to church activities, Foraker was a past district deputy in the Knights of Columbus, a past grand knight of Council 840 and a member of the Young Men's Institute.
"A native of Denver, he had lived in Fresno 57 years and had worked as an automobile parts salesman for Electric Lab Inc.
"In addition to his wife, Foraker is survived by a son, Dennis of Fresno; a sister, Mildred Shaffer of Fresno, and four grandchildren.
"A Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Monday in the Our Lady of Victory Church. Burial will be in St. Peter's Cemetery. The Whitehurst Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements."

[NI0305] Harvey died at age 4 months. He is buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, 12801 West 44th Ave., Wheatridge (Denver) Colorado, in Section 1, Block 1, Lot 3, Grave 18. Apparently he shares his grave with another infant named Bridget. The Cemetery staff thinks this baby (Bridget) is also named Foraker. I looked over their records on August of 1994 and found one hand-written note "w/ Baby Briget" on Harvey's index card in their records and another on their original, hand-written book of grave and monument records. This second entry reads "FOXAKER, HARVEY AND BRIDGET" and shows their grave to be between Hazel Falasco's and Julia Colacito's, both of whom are infants as well. Harvey's grave is unmarked but both of the adjacent graves have markers.

[NI0306] Mable and her brother Edward graduated from the Sacred Heart School in
Denver.

[NI0307] Little is known clearly about Patrick Riley. It is said (Lois (Shaffer)
Parker's notes from conversations with Grandma Foraker) that he was
twenty years Mary's senior and that he "waited for her to grow up so he
could marry her." This would suggest that he knew her in her childhood
in New York and that this might be a suitable place to look for him in
the years of his young adult life (while he "waited" on Mary's
maturation), about 1860 - 1880. His birth year of 1833 is estimated
based on the comment that he was 20 years Mary's senior.

It is also said (same source) that Reiley simply abandoned his family
sometime in the youth of Margaret as she remembers the sight of her
mother, Mary, sitting in a front window of their (Denver?) home waiting,
and watching, for Reiley to return. He never did. Margaret was born in
1882 in New York, the daughter of Patrick and Mary, and her mother later
had daughters by Loftus in 1892 and 1896, so Reiley's departure must have
been sometime between about 1887 and 1890.

Other notes say that Riley and his family settled in Utica New York after
immigration from Ireland. Also, his and Mary's first child is said to be
buried in Utica. Utica is approximately 30-40 miles southeast of
Osceola, New York, where Margaret was born in 1882.

Another account also says that Mary left Patrick and moved west and
married Eugene Loftus.

[NI0308] Much information about Eugene Loftus, including parents, birth place and date, and death place and date, remain a mystery. However the Loftus name appears closely tied with the Foraker and Haley names, possibly back to County Mayo in Ireland. Thomas Haley, Mary's father, is said in our family notes to have been Eugene Loftus' Godfather.

[NI0309] There is considerable uncertainty about Mary's family name, variously given as Colclough, Coelclo, Coehlo, etc. It was apparently pronounced something like Coleklo. This from Lois (Shaffer) Parker's notes of conversations with her Uncle Eddie Foraker and Grandma Foraker.

The following publication appeared in an unknown newspaper on an unknown date (clipping in Margaret Foraker's scrapbook):

MARY E. LOFTUS, of Sheridan, Wyoming, who on July 17, 1916, made Homestead Entry No. 09543, for E1/2 SW1/4 NW1/4 SE1/4 Section 7, NW1/4 NW1/4 Section 17, NE1/4 NW1/4 W1/2 NE1/4 NE1/4 NE1/4 Section 18, Township 57N, R. 82W., 6th Principal Meridian.
She names as witnesses:
Claude Voles, Albert R. Richards, Ira Nash, Fannie Wright, all of Sheridan, Wyoming.
RALPH R. READ,
Register
August 1 5 8 12 15 19 22 26 29.

As indicated above, Grandma Loftus had a homestead in Wyoming. Joe Gephart, her grandson, went to live with her after the death of his mother, Agnes Loftus in 1927.

Grandma Loftus came to Fresno in about 1926 or 1927 from Swink Colorado where she had lived with her grand daughter Agnes.

Mary is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Fresno.

Mary's birth date is given in her obituary in the Fresno Bee as 17 Dec 1853, not 1854 as it is recorded elsewhere.

Two announcements of Mary Loftus' death appeared in the Fresno Bee. They read as follows:
Mrs. Mary Loftus Dies Following Long Illness
Mrs. Mary Loftus, 82, died last night at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Margaret Foraker, 160 Thesta Street, following a long illness.
Besides her daughter she leaves a brother, Harvey Loveland, of Long Beach, and a sister, Mrs. Rose Walters, of San Diego. She also is survived by seven grandchildren and four great-grand-children.

LOFTUS - In Fresno, September 30, 1936. Mary Loftus, a native of New Jersey, aged 82 years, 9 months, and 13 days. Beloved mother of Mrs. Margaret Foraker of Fresno, sister of Mrs. Rose Walters of San Diego and Harvey Loveland of Long Beach. She is survived by seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Friends are invited to attend the funeral from the Sulliven Funeral Home, Van Ness at San Joaquin, Saturday morning, October 3rd, at nine o'clock, thence to St. John's Cathedral, where a requiem mass will be celebrated for the repose of her soul commencing at nine-thirty o'clock. Interment Holy Cross Cemetery.

[NI0322] Mary Jane is buried at the McCrary Cemetery, Daviess County Missouri.

[NI0325] John A. Ramsbottom is said to have gone to California for the gold rush
then on to Australia or New Zealand where he married and had children.

[NI0329] Samuel was baptized on August 25, 1754 at the Bingley Independent
(Presbyterian) Church in Yorkshire, England.

Samuel is buried at Bingley, England.

[NI0342] Death Certificate indicates that Edward was born in San Jose but lived in Bakersfield for 56 years at the time of his death, i.e., moved to Bakersfield in 1889.

[NI0348] Thomas Haley is said to have been the godfather of Eugene Loftus in
Pennsylvania. Eugene was the 2nd husband of Mary Colclough. (Mary's first husband was Patrick Riley, remember?)

[NI0349] Mary's birth date is uncertain. May have been 1854 or 1859.

Mary married Thomas H. Thompson in Denver in 1892. How did she come to be in Denver at that time?
Speculative answer: Connection with Eugene Loftus. Remember, it is said that her father was Eugene's Godfather in PA. Is it coincidence that Eugene and Mary both show up in Denver at about the same time, and she with a bunch of kids in tow? Probably not. First record of Eugene in Denver is in 1895. Some indication he is _not_ there in 1893 (not listed in 1893 Denver Directory). See also notes on Eugene Loftus.

Mary's birthplace is given on her daughter Delia's death certificate as "Ohio" but this is in conflict with other information we have about her, indicating that she was born in Pittston, Luzerne County, Penn.

[NI0350] Mr. Gargell (first name unknown) was Rosamund Loveland's husband. He died before her (she in 1962) at an unknown location. He is not buried with Rosamund in Bakersfield. She is buried with her parents.

[NI0351] Rosamund's death certificate states that she was a resident of San Diego for 38 years (i.e., from ca. 1924) and a resident of California for 67 years (i.e., from ca 1895). The name of the informant on her death certificate is given as "Self, Pre Need." She must have been alone...

[NI0353] Lauren Kathleen Parker, born at 7:59 AM, 6lb 3oz, 18", 1-8-1958, Dr. Reynolds in attendance.

[NI0354] Fresno High School, Fresno CA, June, 1974
B.A., History, CSUF, May, 1979.

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