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- MAHONEY FAMILY HISTORY John and Hiram Mahoney came from Magnolia, Iowa to Deadwood S. Dak.in 1877. They homesteaded on Centennial Prairie between Spearfish and Whitewood. In 1886 they moved to Alva, Wyoming. where they filed on claims south of Alva on Lame Jones Creek. They were undoubtedly inspired to come to Deadwood and the BlackHills because of the gold rush fever of 1876. They walked the streets of Deadwood with Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane as well as other famous frontiersmen. John was married to Harriett Hall in 1880 and they had three children : Morris, Catherine and Benjamin. Morris and Catherine died while quite young. Ben grew up at Alva and married Nina Morris and they had five children : Harriett ( Mrs. Lee Waugh), Ben Blair (married Dorothy Bush), Margaret (Mrs. Oscar Conklin), Lyle (married Mable Ownsby), William (married Roseabelle Ripley) and Dorothy (Mrs. Max Razo). 'Aunt Hattie', as John's wife was known, was a strong pioneer wife and told of there being six or more months at a time that she never saw another woman. Their home was a 'half-way' place where many stopped for meals and their night lodging. She died in 1909. In 1915 John married Gertrude Seeley Morris, a widow with two children : Ellen (Mrs. Harry Turner) and Joseph (married Bernice Lown). John and 'Gertie' had five children : Fredrick (married Jean Bush), Alice (Mrs. Chub Long), John (married Neil Willson), Lloyd (died when 5 years old) and Edward (married Evelyn Nilson). John operated his ranch, raised Belgian horses and was one of the first registered Hereford cattle breeders. He was also a stockholder inthe Hulett State Bank and the creamery that was started at Alva around 1914. He also had a sawmill and donated the lumber to build the Alva church. He died in 1936. Hiram Mahoney married Belle Tuttle in 1881 and they had one son, Stephen, who married Myrtle Bear. They had one son, Lowell. Hiram and his first wife separated and he later married Orah McClendon who bore him four sons : Jay, Thomas, William and Rex, and one daughter Martha. Jay married Loraine Gray and they had five children: Barbara, Leon, Hiram, Gerald and Alan. Jay and Loraine divorced and Jay later married Elsie Holcomb. Hiram died in 1920. John and Hiram's mother was Martha Barrowclaugh and came from Barnsley, England. Their father, Stephen Mahoney, was born in 1809 and came from Elkton, Maryland; his ancestors came from Ireland. He was married twice, John and Hiram being of the second family. They had two other brothers, Benjamin and Elisha and two sisters, Margaret (Benson) and Sarah (McWilliams). Sarah and her husband lived at Alva, where they had the Post Office from 1876 to 1908. They lived in a dugout and had the Post Office there too. Their father's first marriage was around 1830 and they had 11 children, 5 girls and 6 boys, making a total of 17 children. John and Hiram came across from Iowa in their wagons pulled by oxen and horses. The oxen yokes were kept around for a long time. After home steading, they decided to go back to Iowa and bring back other things, including some chickens. They told of seeing Indian camps along the way and tried to avoid them as much as possible. They did give the Indians some of their chickens at one time. 'Buckskin' Johnny Spaulding was one of their friends. He was an Indian scout during that time and visited quite often in later years. Written by Alice Mahoney Long in 1977.
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1918 - 2006 (88 years)
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