The Fenoughty Family, Paola, Kansas

Anthony Fenoughty and his wife, Catherine McAndrews, emigrated from County Mayo, Ireland, in 1817. They came to Kansas in 1868 and to Paola in 1870. There were four children in this family, all having lived to be over eighty years of age in Kansas. One of the sons, Michael Fenoughty, married Cecelia Davis in St. Ann’s Church, Jennings County, Indiana, on May 2nd, 1866, and immediately set out for Kansas.

By good fortune they were directed to Stanton Township, Miami County, where they procured 320 acres of rich land and there established their home. There are nine children in this family. Although living at a distance of about seven miles from Paola they were never known to miss Mass on Sunday even when the lumber wagon was the only mode of conveyance.

The result of the good example of the parents is seen in the children. Mary and Ella became nuns, Sister Angela and Sister Veronica, respectively, of the Sisters of Mercy, and Joseph is a distinguished priest of the Society of Jesus. John, the eldest son, married Miss Anna Pickles and resides with his wife and three sons on a farm near Osawatomie.

Henry and George are in business in Illinois. Emma married W. J. Sheehy of Paola. Frank is married and lives on an extensive ranch in western Kansas, and Charles entered the army during the great European War. He is now married and occupies the old home place.

Mrs. Cecelia Fenoughty was greatly loved and respected by all; a splendid Christian woman, a faithful wife and a kind and gentle mother. Her death took place on May 27, 1916, at the age of 72. Michael Fenoughty is still active in his old age. His only sister, Mrs. John Dyer, lives with her daughter, Mrs. Charles Butel, near Paola. Her two other daughters are Sisters of Charity of the Leavenworth Community.

Rev. Thomas H. Kinsella, A Centenary of Catholicity in Kansas, 1822-1922 (Kansas City: Casey Printing, 1921), 69-70.