By Ben Bares & Kathleen O’Laughlin
This blog-post begins a number of posts connected to the central role of education which was adopted by various clan members, while also promoting a sense of cultural identity for those generations which developed following the arrival of the original clan immigrants c 1850 to the Midwest.
The opportunity to develop through educational pathways had been denied to previous Irish generations through the 1700’s. The Education Act of 1831 (Ireland) began the process of primary education, although it contained many aspects which ignored or negated the treasures associated with Gaelic culture as mention of clan was omitted from the curriculum. Even up to the 1960’s Irish school kids could rhyme off both the cotton and woolen towns of England, with little or no emphasis on the richness associated with their own locality.
To the early clan groups that made their way to the Midwest during the Great Famine, education had been a focal point in their lives and was evident by the range of trades and professions they held. The importance of quality education was passed from generation to generation and was truly exemplified by the children of Michael and Mary Ann (Carey) O’Laughlin. The son of Andrew and Ellen O’Laughlin, Michael was born in 1845 in County Clare and immigrated to the US with his parents in 1848. Andrew was the first of six brothers that would leave Ireland for the US between 1848 and 1850. He joined his brothers in Wisconsin from 1850 to 1866, and eventually settled on a farm in Illinois. Michael and Mary Ann would farm 400 acres near Ransom, Illinois and have nine children, eight of which would reach adulthood.
Later, Andrew O’Laughlin (1871-1936), the second born child of Michael and Mary Ann would be the first to attend College at Valparaiso in Indiana. As a young man Andrew would go to work for his uncle, ‘Big’ John O’Laughlin (1856-1913) at the Waukesha Lime & Stone Company. Andrew would go on to found the A.C. Material Company, and after a number of mergers owned and operated by siblings and cousins, he would go on to lead the Consumers’ Company – the leading provider of coal and ice to the Chicago area. The Consumers’ Company had fifty locations including quarries, gravel pits, coal and ice plants in the Chicago and lower Wisconsin areas. Andrew’s successes would help support his family and would lay the foundation for the charitable support of St. Mary’s College, which is a women’s liberal arts college located across from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Known as the “Fighting Irish”, the University of Notre Dame has long held a significant connection to the Irish diaspora throughout the United States.
Sister Francis Jerome (1877-1949) – Brief Profile:
From a family biography of Michael O’Laughlin’s descendants, “The fourth child of Michael O’Laughlin and Mary Ann Carey, Susan O’Laughlin (1877-1949) attended St. Angela’s Academy, a school operated by the Sisters of the Holy Cross in Morris, Illinois as a boarding student. When Susan entered this community, she received the name of Sr. Francis Jerome. She received her B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Notre Dame. She received a Ph.D. from Fordham and did post-graduate work at Columbia University. She was Chairman of Classical Languages at St. Mary’s College for over fifty years. In that capacity she was responsible for the production of three Greek plays – by Euripedes and Sophocles. In 1929 and in 1939 she traveled to Europe. She returned to the U. S. in a freighter because of the beginning of WW II. From 1931 to 1949, she was Vice President of St. Mary’s College. She died of cancer in 1949.”
Front row: Frank O’Laughlin, Jane McClellend (granddaughter of Matthew O’Laughlin), Maurine LaNeve O’Laughlin (wife of Frank), Sister Madeleva, Helen Hayes (wearing garland), Mary Alice O’Laughlin, John O’Laughlin, Charles O’Laughlin (brother of Kathleen O’Laughlin), Susan O’Laughlin (daughter of Ray (Raymond))
Second row: Mary and Robert O’Laughlin (children of James), unknown, Catherine O’Laughlin (wife of John), Michael O’Laughlin, Nancy O’Laughlin, Mayme O’Laughlin, Rita McIntyre O’Laughlin (Rita’s brother married an O’Laughlin from Wisconsin, USA), Virginia O’Laughlin (wife to Ray, listed in the back row)
Back row: Paul O’Laughlin, Ray (Raymond) O’Laughlin and possibly John (O’Laughlin)
In 1955 the O’Laughlin Auditorium at St. Mary’s College was dedicated to commemorate the centenary of Saint Mary’s College (1855-1955). The construction of the center was made possible after a significant contribution was made by Sr. Francis through the exceptional generosity of her brother Andrew. Helen Hayes performed at the dedication. Known at the time as the “First Lady of the American Stage,” she set the cornerstone for the O’Laughlin Auditorium on November 12, 1955, the year of her Golden Jubilee as an actress. After the dedication Sr. Francis was remembered by the institution to which she devoted her life – “Beloved Teacher and Friend Through whose family heritage the O’Laughlin Auditorium first became possible.” Today the 1,500 seat performing arts center auditorium continues to be an important cultural center not only for Saint Mary’s College, but for the South Bend, Indiana community as well.
Clan Ólochlainn 