Family Nibbles – Volume 10 is here! This book is about the lives of our Gallagher ancestors from 1915 to 1941.
This volume begins in 1915. We find Tom Gallagher in Junction City, Kansas. He’s recently transferred from Lamar, Missouri to manage the shoe department for Cole Brothers Dry Goods Store.
Just as Tom settles in to a work and social routine, the U.S. ramps up its preparations for war. In 1917, Tom is accepted into Officers’ Training School. He’ll be in the first group of officers that will lead and train a million-man army in World War I.
Tom is assigned to the 805th Pioneer Infantry, a regiment made up of black soldiers from Kansas and Louisiana.
The 805th deploys to France in 1918 and is part of the Battle of Meuse-Argonne.
After the war, Tom resumes his career with Cole Brothers.
In 1920, he transfers to Sedalia, Missouri to open and manage a new store, Cole’s Women’s Shop.
In Sedalia, Tom meets Catherine Rose Riley, a member of a prominent local family. Tom and Catherine marry in 1922.
In 1923, Tom and Catherine’s daughter Kathleen Gallagher is born. In 1926, a son Tom, Jr “Buddy” is born. Tragically, Catherine dies of an infection ten days after Tom’s birth.
Throughout the 1920s, the Riley family helps care for Kathleen and Buddy. Tom continues as manager of Cole’s Women’s Shop.
Brother Henry Gallagher has been a Cole’s employee for decades. He’s now the store manager in Junction City.
Sister Nell Gallagher has married Lee Donahoe. They live in Sedalia, and have two sons.
Brother Jim Gallagher works for the Missouri-Kansas-Texas “Katy” Railroad. Jim and his wife Nell Mahoney Gallagher have two children, Helen and Jim, Jr.
It’s a decade of prosperity – The Roaring Twenties. People have jobs, and money to spend. Those with money in the stock market have seen the values skyrocket.
In 1929, the stock market crashes. For average Americans, it’s no big deal at first. But as the months become years, the Great Depression will affect most everyone.
In 1930, Tom marries Mary Agnes Riley, Catherine’s younger sister. Tom and Mary Agnes’ daughter Jane is born in 1932.
In 1933, Prohibition is repealed. Tom and his father-in-law Will Riley see an opportunity in beer distribution, the same business that brought Will Riley earlier fortune. Tom quits his job at Cole’s. Things don’t quite work out.
As the Depression escalates, the Gallaghers find occasional employment, often with New Deal government agencies.
By 1937, the Tom and Mary Agnes Gallagher and their three children move from Sedalia to Junction City. The family moves in with Henry and Grandma Ellen Gallagher. It’s a packed house.
Nearby Fort Riley is on the receiving end of huge sums of War Department money and contracts. By 1940 Tom and Henry Gallagher are working at good jobs at Fort Riley. The Depression is coming to an end.
Tom and Mary Agnes’s children Kathleen, Buddy, and Jane are coming of age.
This volume of stories ends in 1941, just as the U.S. enters World War II. For continuing news on our families’ future and fortunes, stay tuned.
Family Nibbles Volumes
- Family Nibbles – Volume 1 Stories of Our Teply Ancestors 1600-1865
- Family Nibbles – Volume 2 Stories of Our Teply Ancestors 1865-1925
- Family Nibbles – Volume 3 Stories of Our Jarvis English Heritage
- Family Nibbles – Volume 4 Stories of Our Jarvis Ancestors 1680-1800
- Family Nibbles – Volume 5 Stories of Our Jarvis Ancestors 1800-1865
- Family Nibbles – Volume 6 Stories of Our Jarvis Ancestors 1865-1920
- Family Nibbles – Volume 7 Stories of Our Jarvis Ancestors 1920-1938
- Family Nibbles – Volume 8 Stories of Our Pensa and Riley Ancestors
- Family Nibbles – Volume 9 Stories of Our Large and Gallagher Ancestors
- Family Nibbles – Volume 10 Stories of Our Gallagher Ancestors 1915-1941
You can get the books any of three ways: Amazon paperback, Google eBook, or Kindle eBook.
Amazon Books Paperback
You can get the paperback books at Amazon. Search for ‘Family Nibbles’ or ‘Family Nibbles book.’
The price for each volume is $35. They’re worth every penny!
Google eBook
You can find the eBooks on Google Books or Google Play. They’re free!
They’re best read on your iPad or tablet using Google Play Reader app. And you can read in Firefox on your Macbook.
Kindle eBook
You can find the ebooks on Amazon or Kindle Store. The price is $2.99 per book.
You can read this version on any Kindle reader or Kindle app on your iPad.
Thanks
Thanks to all you readers.
It’s rewarding to collect Family Nibbles stories into this book, but the part I most enjoy is the research and discovery and sharing of our family stories.
We’ve discovered stories about three of our four grandparent families – Teply, Gallagher, and Jarvis. We’ve brought those family histories up to about 1940, just before World War II.
Our next series will discover stories about our Cheney ancestors, completing our exploration of our four main ancestral families. The Cheneys were early immigrants to the American colonies. Generations of Cheneys moved from Maryland to Pennsylvania to Illinois, and finally to Kansas.
Sources
- Photo composite – men in relief line – FDR Memorial – Washington D.C. – photo by Mark Jarvis – 2012
- Photo composite – Tom Gallagher in military – Teply family documents – Catherine Jarvis collection
- Newpaper composite – Cole’s ad – The Sedalia Democrat – March 7, 1927
- Photo composite – Catherine Riley Gallagher – Teply family documents – Catherine Jarvis collection
- Photo composite – Helen, Nell, and Jimmy Gallagher – Brosseau family documents – Jim Brosseau collection
- Photo composite – picnic – Picnic at Cobbitty, NSW in the 1930s by Sam Hood – Wikimedia – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Picnic_at_Cobbitty,NSW_in_the_1930s_by_Sam_Hood(24754999347).jpg
- Photo composite – Jane Gallagher – Teply family documents – Catherine Jarvis collection
- Photo composite – 333 West Second Street, Junction City – various portrait photos, most from Gallagher family documents – Catherine Jarvis collection
- Photo composite – Kathleen and Mary Agnes Gallagher – photo by Mark Jarvis – c 1988
Family Nibbles 
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