Note: This
is one in a series of historical stories about local families
in the Trinidad region.
Click here to find out more
about how these stories were collected.
Thomas and Margaret (Mahoney) O'Mara
lived in Trinidad, Colorado from the late1870s to About
1890. The O'Mara Family Bible states that Thomas O'Mara
was from Kings County (Offaly), Margaret Mahoney from
Cork County, Ireland.
According to the 1900 census in Denver, Thomas O'Mara
was born January, 1822 and emigrated to New York C. in
1855, his wife, Margaret Mahoney born December, 1819
and emigrated to the U.S. in 1850. Margaret had a sister,
Mary, who married Michael Carroll and they lived in Plattsmouth,
Nebraska. They had no children. Mary died in Denver on
February 26, 1902 at the home of her sister, Margaret.
Mary owned a lot of property in Plattsmouth and had a
lengthy probate record. Mary Carroll's death certificate
stated that her parents were Denis Mahoney and Mary Bryne
and that she was born in Ireland, birth date unknown
but about 70 years old. Margaret (Mahoney) O'Mara also
had a brother, John Mahoney, who had 4 daughters according
to Mary's probate Records.
Two of Thomas and Margaret O'Mara's children were born
in New York City, the oldest, Mary Ann, born July 21,
1859 and Patrick born November 15,1861. By 1863 we find
them in Portage City, Portage, Wisconsin where Katherine
(Kate) was born August 4, 1863 and Margaret on November
15, 1865. There were no official birth records that early,
only Margaret's birth was listed in the Catholic Church
records there. It was a fluke that we found the name
of the town where they were born, as it was found on
Kate (Margaret’s sister) O'Mara Lynch's death certificate
in Mary Caroll’s probate record. Someone had written
in the name of the town, as it was not part of the death
certificate.
Next we find the O'Maras in Council Bluffs, Iowa in
1876 where Mary Ann O'Mara married Hugh Jacob Nesbitt
on August 18, 1876 (the Nesbitts were from Pittston,
Luzerne Pennsylvania and went to Table Rock, Pawnee Territory,
Nebraska in 1859.) Their daughter, Margaret May "Etta" was
born on February 25,1878 in Urbana, Ohio. Why they were
in Ohio is anyone's guess. Was that where John Mahoney
and his family were living? In 1880 we find the O'Maras,
Nesbitts, and Lynchs in the 1880 census in Trinidad,
Colorado. They were listed as of June 8 & 14th as
Thomas O’Mara 45 yrs railroad foreman, ATSE (Atchison,
Topeka. & Santa Fe Railroad) born in Ireland. Thomas
had a gold railroad watch which might have been given
to him at his retirement. A letter was written to the
AT &SF railroad headquarters in Topeka, Kansas to
see if they had any employment records, but a reply was
never received.
On October 24, 1880 Katherine O'Mara married Phillip
Patrick Lynch (see the Lynch Family story) at the Holy
Trinity Catholic Church in Trinidad. Phillip was born
in Dublin, Ireland on May 15, 1859, the son of Thomas
Lynch and Mary Catherine O 'Reilly .In 1883 Kate and
Phillip began their family's show business careers at
the Halstead Street Theatre in Chicago, Phillip was a
comedian and Kate an actress.
Phillip's father, Thomas, and brother, Thomas, were
listed in the 1880 census in Trinidad, but not himself,
brother, Barney, nor sister, Mary. There is a photograph
of Thomas, Phillip, and Barney and two workers in front
of the Lynch Shoe Store at 215 N. Commercial St, Trinidad.
The county clerk at the time was Hugh T. O'Reilly, but
we do not know if he was related to Mary.
On September 4,1881 Phillip and Kate's Ist daughter,
Margaret Mary "Maggie" was born in Osage City,
Kansas, she was named for her grandmothers, Margaret
Mahoney and Mary Lynch. Phillip's mother, Mary was living
in Osage, Kansas during the 1880 census along with her
son, John (7yrs) who was born in Virginia. It is not
known why they were there, possibly visiting with friends
or relatives. The sponsors of Maggie's baptism at the
Church of St. Patrick in Osage on September 25, 1881
were Thomas Graham and Ellen Cahi1l. On April 24, 1883
the~ 2nd daughter, Mabel Agnes, was born in Denver. Why
they were in Denver is unknown.
On September 6,1881 Margaret O'Mara, the daughter of
Thomas and Margaret married John Lyman Davis in Trinidad.
The following year their only child, Josephine Augusta,
was born in Trinidad on Jun 28, 1882. Besides Margaret
May 'Etta, , Mary Ann O'Mara and Hugh Jacob Nesbitt had
four other children: 1. William Edward born August 7,
1879 Table Rock, Pawnee, Nebraska, 2. Robert Henry April
18, 1881, Hoehne Station, Las Animas, Colorado, 3. Thomas
Albert, born January 1,1883, Hoehne Station, Las Animas,
Colorado, 4. Bert Wending Nesbitt, April 18, 1885, Montrose,
Montrose, Colorado Mary Ann and Hugh Nesbitt moved to
Camp Creek, Oregon in 1899.
By 1889 Patrick O'Mara moved to Denver and et and married
Agnes Mary Tanner (her parents names?) on June 18, 1889.
From conversations the Inez Nesbitt Kline, Patrick was
a real character. He was a conductor on the Georgeto & Silver
Plume Railroad and later an insurance salesman. Their
children, all born in Denver, were' d Henry born March
26, 1893, Frances Arthur born January 11, 1897 and Charles
Leo born June 17, 1898. Edwin Henry O'Mara married Eileen
Frazier in Denver on August 10, 1918. They had one daughter,
Kathleen. Edwin died in Massachusetts in December, 1962.
Francis Arthur married Janet Sophia Williams in Canon
City, Colorado in 1930. They had one daughter Jean Ann.
Francis Arthur died October, 1942. Charles Leo never
married and died September 25, 1948 in Ft. Lyons, Colorado,
he was a veteran of WW I. They are all buried in
Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Denver, Colorado. Patrick O'Mara
died in Denver on October 31, 1914 of lobar pneumonia.
They were living at 1567 Williams at the time of his
death. Agnes Tanner O'Mara born 1868 in Illinois, died
November 20, 1947 in Massachusetts-
On June 1, 1889 Phillip Patrick Lynch died of pneumonia
in Trinidad. His wife and daughters earned a living by
continuing with their stage careers. Sometime after his
death the O'Mara’s, Kate and children moved to
Denver and lived at 535 13th Street. On February 17,
1898 John Lyman Davis died in Denver and is buried in
the Fairmont Cemetery. His wife, Margaret, and daughter,
Josephine died to Needles, California. According to her
death certificate, Margaret was a librarian there. An
inquiry at the Needles Library and the Historical Museum
did not turn up any information. The Gonzales Inquirer
newspaper in Gonzales, Texas had several stories on parties
given in honor of Josephine Davis from Needles, California
in 1905. This was close to the birth of her 1st cousin,
Maggie Lynch Mason's daughter, Mabel, so maybe that was
the reason for her visit.
Josephine Davis married George Sumner Scott on September
19,1908 in Needles, California. They
had no children that c d be found. Margaret O'Mara Davis
died in Needles August 18,1919 and
is buried in Fairmont Cemetery in Denver. After many
years of looking for Josephine and George Scott, their
death certificate were located in the California death
records. They were living at 4412 Van Ness Ave., Los
Angeles, California. He is listed as a telegraph operator.
He was born in Ohio on November ,1879, the son Thomas
J. Scott and Sarah Jane Constable both born in Ohio.
He died in Los Angeles on May 28, 957 of coronary sclerosis,
arteriosclerotic heart disease, and Parkinson' disease.
Josephine died August 1,1959 of bronchial pneumonia,
heart disease and acute cystitis. They are both buried
in Inglewood Memorial Park in Inglewood, California.
On November 22, 1902 Kate Lynch died of heart disease
in Denver. The New York Clipper, one of the leading show
business newspapers, had the following article on her
death on December 6, 1902, Deaths in the Profession: "Mrs.
Kate Lynch, a retired actress, died at her home in Denver,
CO. Nov. 22 from heart disease. She was the widow of
Phillip Lynch, a comedian, who died a few years ago,
and the mother of Maggie and Mabel Lynch, formerly the
Lynch Sisters. Mrs. Lynch began her career in Chicago
with her husband, in 1883, at the Halstead Street Theatre,
and retired from the profession two years ago. She leaves
a father, mother and two daughters."
On May 23, 1906 Margaret Mahoney O'Mara died in Needles,
California but no death certificate was issued for her.
According to Inez Kline Margaret was a very tiny lady
and the Indians in Needles loved patting her on the head.
Inez also said the reason she lived in Needles is because
she and her husband did not get along. On August 1, 1908
Thomas O'Mara died in Denver. His death certificate states
his father was Michael O'Mara, mother unknown. Margaret
O'Mara Davis died in Needles, California on August 18,
1919. All are buried in the Fairmont Cemetery in Denver.
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