Three Star Mother, Boonville, NY

 

Dorothy Christina Cavanagh Moonan

                    123 Schuyler St., Boonville, NY. Circa. 1944

Recently widowed Dorothy Christina Cavanagh Moonan proudly standing in front of her home. The two star flag in the window is evidence to the fact that two of her sons were currently serving in active duty during, World War II. A third son, my father, Edward Reginald Moonan had just graduated high school and enlisted and was training at Sampson.

So, in July of 1945 Grandma Dodo had three sons in active duty military during World War II.

Edward served on a floating dry dock in the Philippines until his honorable discharge in August, 1946.

Some gave all. Our family certainly contributed to the War effort. Grandma Dodo was remarkable and must have been very proud of her family.

July 1945 Boonville Herald

William J. Moonan, Jr., United States Air force

John L. Moonan, United States Navy

Edward R. Moonan, United States Navy 

The Cornerstone

Oral history in our family has always been that my great grandfather

John T. Cavanagh was an altar server at the ceremony when the cornerstone of

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Boonville, NY, was placed.

Cornerstone dated 1878.

St. Joseph statue in front of our church. 

Note cornerstone lower right.

John T. Cavanagh circa 1912, at daughter

Dorothy Christine Cavanagh Moonan’s

First Holy Communion

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Boonville, NY.

He is second man from left back row, white hair, dark mustache.

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Charles St., Boonville, NY. 

                               Photo taken in 2015

John T. Cavanagh was a devout Catholic. His marriage to Christina (Tina) Pirnie Cavanagh in February 1886 was unusual in that she was of the Protestant Faith, in those days, it was considered a, mixed marriage, she worshiped independently at the Presbyterian Church on the corner of Church St & James St, Boonville.

John T. Worshiped and raised his children in the Catholic faith at St. Joseph’s.

In continuation of the oral history of the Cavanagh family in Boonville.

Boonville has a Catholic cemetery where the ground is consecrated for Catholic burials. There is a separate cemetery for Protestant burials. John T. Cavanagh was diplomatic in his solution to the conundrum of his final burial wishes to rest with his beloved wife, (Tina) Pirnie Cavanagh.

He purchased burial plots on both sides of the dividing line between the Catholic and Protestant Cemeteries. Allowing the family members to be buried in their respective consecrated ground, according to their faith practice of choice, together in one plot.

This row of trees demarks the Catholic and the Protestant sides of the Boonville, NY, Cemetery.

Nestled there together on each side of the line are the graves of our beloved Cavanagh, Pirnie & Moonan family members.