Bridget McManemon, daughter of Thomas McManemon and Bridget Kelley, was born about 1827 in County Leitrim, Ireland. Around 1844, Bridget married James Conlon. Bridget and James had the following known children:
- Mary Ann Conlon
- John Thomas Conlin
- Margaret Ellen Conlin
Bridget McManemon Conlon died in Muscatine, Iowa on May 1, 1857..
Bridget McManemon was born in County Leitrim, Ireland, about 1827, the fifth child of Thomas McManemon and Bridget Kelley McManemon. Around 1844 or before, Bridget married James Conlon. In 1845, their daughter Mary Ann was born.
About this time, life in County Leitrim became extremely difficult due to the Irish potato famine and the family immigrated to the United States. While their immigration records have not been located, according to Mary Ann's census records, she arrived in the United States in 1849, age 4, probably with her mother. It is not known whether James arrived in the U.S. earlier or whether the family came together. While the family apparently lived in the United States during the US 1850 census, their location remains unknown.
Bridget's father and mother, and several of her brothers and sisters arrived in New York in September of 1850. Records suggest that the Conlons along with the McManemons made their way west to Wayne county, Indiana. In Wayne county in 1853, Bridget's second known child John Thomas Conlin was born.
Also in Wayne County, two of Bridget's siblings married and her brother Michael was assigned a land warrant for property in Iowa. Around 1855, the Conlon family traveled along the National Road and joined Bridget's parents in Cedar Township, Muscatine County, Iowa. Her parents and older brother John had settled on land next to the Cedar River the prior year and may have readied a home for the Conlon's arrival. The McManemon family and Conlon family lived together along with Bridget's older brother John and farmed the land. In February of 1856, Bridget's third known child Margaret Ellen Conlin was born.
The following year, on May 1, 1857, Bridget died at the age of 32. She was buried in Jean's Cemetery, also known as Oak Grove Cemetery, across the road from where the family lived. Bridget's mother died a few months later and is buried next to her. Bridget's husband James, never remarried and lived on the same farm until about 1878, when he moved with his son John and John's family further west to Taylor County, Iowa.
Genealogical research and Life Sketch completed: 15 July 2020Sources:
Thomas McManemon household, 1856 state census of Iowa, Muscatine County, Cedar Township, p. 579, line 19-26; microfilm 008984721, FHL, Salt Lake City, Utah.
"United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch, James Conelen, 1860.
"United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch, Miss Mary A Berry in household of William Berry, Grandview Township Lettsville town, Louisa, Iowa, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 85, sheet , family , NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm .
"Kansas, Births and Baptisms, 1811-1940", database, FamilySearch, John Thomas Conlin in entry for Charles Franklin Conlin, 1886.
“Conlon, Mary”, obituary, Muscatine News-Tribune, Feb 1, 1907.
“Conlin, John Thomas”, obituary, Sabetha Herald, July 13, 1932.
