Michael R. Mullaney (b. ~1856 Michigan; d. 19 May 1929 Walkerville; Chatham cousin; letter-writer)
Also known as: Cousin Mike, Mike Mullaney, M.R.M.
family confidence: 95 — certain (corroborated)Chatham (Kelly maternal grandparent line)
Bachelor / unmarried miner of 500 N. Fourth street, Walkerville. Native of Michigan; emigrated Butte c.1886 (43-year resident at 1929 death per his Montana Standard obit). Cousin of Agnes Kelly Murphy via the Chatham line. Author of three surviving family documents in the archive: - 1925-03-31 letter to Agnes Kelly Murphy (Jimmie's death) - c.1925-29 January 25-27 letter to Agnes (buffalo robe) - c.1916/1926 "Sixty Years / Seventy Years" verse manuscripts Per the 1929 obit, his six cousins are five Chatham sisters (Brennan, Sullivan, Pascoe, plus the Dougherty + Duggan in-laws) plus James Chatham. This places him in the second-generation Michigan-Chatham diaspora to Butte. Family confidence 95 — confirmed Chatham branch member by obit's cousins list.
Facts
Each fact shows how sure the archive is of it (0–100) and the sources it rests on.
- Birth:
- ~1856, Michigan 951929-05-20 — The Montana Standard, p.7; 2026-05-27 — Luke Murphy family tree (Ancestry.com)'Michael Mullaney, 73, a native of Michigan' (May 1929) = born May 1855-May 1856. The tree gives 10 Dec 1855, Michigan, citing the Montana death record, the 1870 and 1880 censuses and Find a Grave.
- Death:
- 1929-05-19, Butte, Montana 951929-05-20 — The Montana Standard, p.7; 2026-05-27 — Luke Murphy family tree (Ancestry.com)'died yesterday morning at his home, 500 Fourth street, Walkerville, after an illness of three weeks' duration' in the Monday 20 May 1929 issue = Sunday 19 May 1929; the tree agrees (Montana death record).
- Residence:
- Butte, Montana
| Date | Fact | Conf. | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1870-1880 | residence · Hancock, Houghton County, Michigan (1870 census); Schoolcraft, Houghton County, single son (1880 census) (tree) (Houghton County, Michigan) Tree only. | 75 | 2026-05-27 — Luke Murphy family tree (Ancestry.com) |
| 1910 | residence · Walkerville Ward 3, single, head of household (tree: 1910 census), on the same census page as his cousin Catherine Maloughney's household (Walkerville, Montana) Tree only (Roll T624_836, ED 0123, p. 13B for both). | 75 | 2026-05-27 — Luke Murphy family tree (Ancestry.com) |
| 1913-1929 | residence · North Fourth street, Walkerville: 500 Fourth street at his death; letters signed 'North Fourth St. Walkerville, Mont.' (Walkerville, Montana) Obituary and letters; the tree has '4th Street' in the 1913 and 1914 directories. | 95 | 1929-05-20 — The Montana Standard, p.7; 1925-03-31 — Family letters — Michael R. Mullaney to Agnes Kelly Murphy; c1925-1929-01-25 — Family letters — Michael R. Mullaney to Agnes Kelly Murphy |
| 1923-1926 | description · his eyesight failing: 'Up to a year ago last fall, I generally done all my scribbling at night, but these days is over, and even reading ... has joined the past'; 'were my eyes not so sensitive to strong light' His own words. | 95 | 1925-03-31 — Family letters — Michael R. Mullaney to Agnes Kelly Murphy; c1925-1929-01-25 — Family letters — Michael R. Mullaney to Agnes Kelly Murphy |
| 1925-01/1925-03 | event · 'the tragic death of my Nephew' Jimmie, early 1925: 'The police proved one of the pair, at least, lied at the inquest'; 'The house was packed every night, for each of three nights' (Butte, Montana) His letter. Who Jimmie was: see issues. | 95 | 1925-03-31 — Family letters — Michael R. Mullaney to Agnes Kelly Murphy |
| 1925-1926 | event · wrote to Agnes Kelly Murphy as 'Cousin Michael Mullaney' (31 Mar 1925) and 'Cousin Mike' (25-27 Jan 1926), thanking 'all the Murphys' for a buffalo robe and Agnes for a magnifying glass The two letters. | 95 | 1925-03-31 — Family letters — Michael R. Mullaney to Agnes Kelly Murphy; c1925-1929-01-25 — Family letters — Michael R. Mullaney to Agnes Kelly Murphy |
| 1926-01 | employer · 'Miss Boulton, of our office' (he worked in an office, or a mine office, in the mid-1920s) His words; the obituary calls him a miner, so 'our office' may be a mine office. Letter dated 'January 25/26' (see issues). | 75 | c1925-1929-01-25 — Family letters — Michael R. Mullaney to Agnes Kelly Murphy |
| 1929-05 | event · body at the Sherman & Reed funeral parlors (1929); the tree has his body at the home of his sister-in-law Catherine Mullaney, 610 W Daly (21 May 1929) (Walkerville, Montana) Obituary (95); the 610 West Daly item is a tree citation (75). | 95 | 1929-05-20 — The Montana Standard, p.7; 2026-05-27 — Luke Murphy family tree (Ancestry.com) |
| — | occupation · 'had been employed as a miner' (Butte, Montana) Obituary. | 95 | 1929-05-20 — The Montana Standard, p.7 |
| — | description · single: no wife or children in the obituary; 'Single' in the 1880 and 1910 censuses (tree) The obituary does not say 'unmarried'; the censuses are the tree's. | 75 | 1929-05-20 — The Montana Standard, p.7; 2026-05-27 — Luke Murphy family tree (Ancestry.com) |
| c. 1886 | emigration · 'He had made his home here for the last 43 years' (in Butte since about 1886) (Butte, Montana) Obituary. The tree's uncited note 'moved from Houghton MI to Butte' under 1895 conflicts (50). | 95 | 1929-05-20 — The Montana Standard, p.7 |
| c. 1915-1926 | event · author of two short poems, 'Sixty Years' (signed Michael Mullaney) and 'Seventy Years' ('10 years later', signed Michael R. Mullaney, with a note initialled M.R.M) Typed copy from the family papers; the dates are estimated from the titles and his birth (75). | 95 | c1916 — Family papers — Michael R. Mullaney verse manuscripts |
Relationships
Family (blood)
- sibling of Margaret (Mullaney) Devitt (Mike's sister; Crofton BC c.1925)95'a sister, Mrs. Margaret Devitt, of British Columbia' (1929); 'Letters are received pretty regularly from Crofton. I can boast a sister well worth having' (1925; the name in the transcription is an editor's bracket); the tree's Margaret Mullaney, m. Joseph Devitt, d. Vancouver. · 1929-05-20 — The Montana Standard, p.7; 1925-03-31 — Family letters — Michael R. Mullaney to Agnes Kelly Murphy; 2026-05-27 — Luke Murphy family tree (Ancestry.com)
Nexus
Open the full web →blood relationmarriageother documented tienamed in the same sources (×count)circle colour = family branch
Appears with
- Agnes Kelly Murphy3 shared sources
- Margaret (Mullaney) Devitt (Mike's sister; Crofton BC c.1925)2 shared sources
- Margaret (Chatham) Sullivan1 shared source
- Nellie (Chatham) Dennison Tracy1 shared source
- Agnes (Chatham) Brennan1 shared source
- James Joseph "James J." Murphy (b. 1883 Ardgroom; d. 1938 LA)1 shared source
Sources linking to this person
≥75 — High confidence — 4
- c1916 — Family papers — Michael R. Mullaney verse manuscriptsMullaney verse: 'Sixty Years' (c.1916) + 'Seventy Years' (c.1926) — bachelor-cousin meditations on mortalityrole: author · identity 100 family confidence on this source: 95 · as printed: Michael Mullaney / Michael R. Mullaney / M.R.M.
Identity: Signed Michael Mullaney / Michael R. Mullaney / M.R.M.
- c1925-1929-01-25 — Family letters — Michael R. Mullaney to Agnes Kelly MurphyMullaney to Agnes Kelly Murphy, Jan 25-27 (c.1925-29) — Walkerville; thanks for buffalo robe and magnifying glass; mentions Melda, Maggie, Jen, Winifredrole: writer · identity 100 family confidence on this source: 95 · as printed: Cousin Mike
Identity: Signed 'Cousin Mike, North Fourth St., Walkerville'.
- 1925-03-31 — Family letters — Michael R. Mullaney to Agnes Kelly MurphyMullaney to Agnes Kelly Murphy, 31 Mar 1925 — Walkerville; reports tragic death of nephew Jimmie; mentions Aunt Agnes Brennan, Nellie Dennison, Maggie Devitt of Crofton BCrole: writer · identity 100 family confidence on this source: 95 · as printed: Cousin Michael Mullaney
Identity: Signed 'Cousin Michael Mullaney, North Fourth St., Walkerville'.
- 1929-05-20 — The Montana Standard, p.7OLD-TIME BUTTE RESIDENT PASSES — Michael Mullaney Dies at Walkerville; Funeral Not Arrangedrole: subject · identity 100 family confidence on this source: 95 · as printed: Michael Mullaney
Identity: His obituary.