THE FOY(E) SIDE 

 This essay by Marilyn Maloney Wasylk of Junction City, KS give interesting details of the lives of the William Foy(e) (1843 - 1922) and Anne Halligan Foy(e) (1845 - 1931) family who moved to Kansas in 1885.

  Irene Lucille Foye (June 7, 1907 - Aug. 23, 1986) and Francis Patrick Moloney met at a St. Xavier church supper in Junction City. (There is a stained glass window in the St. Xavier church with our grandfather, James Moloney's, name on it. He probably donated the money for it.) Our mother, Irene, said that when their glances first met, they knew that they "were meant for each other".

Originally, her last name had been spelled Foy, the e had been added to keep her father's family mail from being confused with that of another Foy family who lived near them in Ottawa County, whose members had many of the same first names. Because it was spelled Foye on her Certificate of Baptism, Irene kept the e, even though her parents later dropped it.

She and her parents, Michael Joseph Foy (Sept. 12, 1875 - Sept. 20, 1962) and Mary Helen Rice Foy (Dec. 28, 1883 - Nov. 21, 1962) had moved to a forty-two acre farm that they had purchased just north of Junction City, in 1928. Our mother went to work at the Duckwall Store.

 Our grandfather Foy, "Mike", born in County Mayo, Ireland, was a son of Anne Halligan (June 28, 1845 - Jan. 5, 1931) and William J. Foy (June 8, 1843 - Dec. 8, 1922). Anne was the daughter of Bridget (it is Anne on her tombstone-the name Bridget was obtained after it was erected. I remember our mother saying to someone over the telephone, "I'm not sure of her first name. I only heard her called 'Grandma’ .“ She was perplexed, but it was concluded that her daughter had been named "after her", which was often the case, in those days!) Bridget's maiden name was Curry and her husband was John Halligan. William was the son of Michael "Mick" Foy and Margaret "Peggy" Moran, born at Garryedmond, County Mayo, Ireland. This information has been taken from an account that Helen Berry, one of our grandfather's nieces, had. One of her first cousins once removed, Margaret Riley, has passed this on to me. All of our grandfather's siblings were born at Garryedmond. They all attended the Loughnamon School, which their father had attended. Others who attended were Helen's father, John Berry; her Aunt Mag Dulohery; Aunt Mary Egan; Uncle Pat Berry; and Mary and Delia Lally. Their way of paying to attend school was to take some turf, (sometimes known as peat), to heat the school. Her grandpa would take a load to the school every now and then. Two of their teachers were Mr. Kelly and Miss Cavanah.

 Mike came to this country with his family, when he was nine years old. On Easter Monday, April 6, 1885, the Foy family left Kilcolman for Queenstown and, on arrival there, they were all checked for vaccinations. A Concannen girl, in their group, needed to be revaccinated. "Grandma went with her." They left Queenstown in a few days and were on the water for ten days, on a White Star Liner, City of Berlin. (Click here for the data from the ship manifest of the City of Berlin.) They landed at Castle Garden, New York. A cousin of the Concannen girl, from Philadelphia, met her and he bought ice cream and wafers for all the women and children, in the group, and another treat for the men (alcoholic beverage?). It was the first ice cream that they had ever had! (This reminds me that our grandfather Mike gave me and my siblings money for ice cream many times — I wonder if it was because of that memory.)

They left for Abilene, Kansas, on the train. The trip took three nights and two days. They arrived early in the morning of April, the 23rd. There was a big crowd "to see the greenhorns, as they were called", the account stated. They stayed with the Berry families around Abilene. Later, they moved to a farm near the Fred Bowen farm north of Vine Creek, referred to as "on the hill". They got their mail at Wide Range and moved there, across from Aunt Carrie and Uncle Bert Randall, in March of 1892. The account states that they moved to "Uncle Mike's" (Berry) before 1900. Later, some of them moved to the town, Vine Creek. The family included our grandfather's grandmother, Bridget Curry Halligan; his mother, Anne Halligan Foy (June 28, 1845-Jan. 5, 1931); his father, William J. Foy (June 8, 1843-Dec. 8, 1922); their children: John (June 1, 1867 March 9, 1920); Margaret, "Maggie" (May 1, 1869 - Feb. 10, 1929); Bridget, known as Delia (June 8, 1872 - July, 1958), who had a twin, Ellen, who died as an infant; Marie Gertrude (Aug. 4,1873 -Jan. 7,1944); Michael Joseph (Sep. 12,1875 - Sep. 20,1962); Ellen (Sep. 1, 1879 - Apr. 12, 1945) in those days, a deceased infants' name was sometimes used again; and Anna E. (Aug. 1, 1881- Sept 7, 1956).

 John had gone to Chicago to live. When he returned for visits, he brought gifts for all his relatives. Many times, it was fabric for the women and girls. Irene, Mike's daughter and our mother, remembered, fondly, some pretty blue material that he brought for her. In 1920, a letter to him, from one of his sisters, was returned, marked "deceased"! There is some confusion regarding his marital status. He was registered at the hospital, where he died, as married, 41 years of age, and a streetcar conductor. He may have registered as "married" to enable a "significant other" to visit him, when only relatives were allowed. He was ill for about a month. Irene said that someone had wanted to call the family, but he said, "No, my sisters would cry their eyes out!" The causes of death were flu and pleurisy. Mike Foy's wife's brother, Edd Rice, lived in Chicago, and went to a boarding house, where John had lived with an elderly couple! He indicated in a letter to Mike Foy that he felt 41 was not his correct age, adding, "of course, it is hard to hold a job in the city, if you are past 50"! He added that there was a woman who showed a lot of interest in his belongings. She went to see Edd, but they missed each other. She had requested a sister's address. We have a letter to Aunt Anna from a Mrs. H. Fitzgibbons, stating that she had been trying to locate some of his relatives. She was probably the woman, who someone had reported, had visited him regularly and "was a welcome visitor to him". This same woman attended his funeral, but sat in the back of the church. He belonged to the Streetcar Men's Union and they arranged for his funeral. He died on March 9, 1920, and was buried at Mount Carmel in Chicago. Later, his only brother, Mike Foy, Mary and Irene went to Chicago, to try to learn more. I don't know of any success.

 "Maggie" married Eany Kelly (1857.1936), who was a peddler. A peddler sold "wares" to settlers from a horse drawn cart. Later, they operated a general store in Vine Creek, and lived in the quarters in the back of the building. They had one daughter, Catherine Helen (later spelled Katherine) (Feb. 5, 1902-0ct. 22, 1999), who married John Riley (Jan. 29, 1890.June 16, 1988). They had two children, Francis Eugene (Aug.8, 1931-Dec. 31, 1938) and Margaret Lucille (Aug. 29, 1934). Francis had never been well. (His sister, Margaret, thinks he was injured at birth.) After graduating from Marquette, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Margaret was employed in an office in Kansas City For a short time. Later, she taught reading to secondary special education students and worked with adults who needed improvement in the English language, while living in Tucson, Arizona. Because of her "battle" with rheumatoid arthritis, since she was a college student, she has divided her time between Tucson and Salina, Kansas.

"Delia" married John M. Berry (1870-1919). They had two daughters, Helen Anne (Apr. 13, 1908-Dec. 31, 1984) and Cecelia Marie (Dec. 17,1910 – Feb 18, 2003). When John died suddenly of apoplexy, Delia and their girls moved from the farm to Salina (228 North 13th), with the help of relatives on both sides. Later, Helen was hired as a rural schoolteacher for the Berry School, which was in the same section as the Berry farm, but, because she was a Catholic, the students didn't go to school! A school board member, Ed Riley (a member of Margaret's dad's family), said that as long as she would remain, even if she were sitting alone, reading a book, she would be paid. Later, after attending Brown-Mackie Business School, she and her mother spent some time in Washington, D.C., where she worked in a government position. After returning to Salina, she did work of a clerical nature at a government agency, there. Cecelia Marie "Sammie" lived with their cousin, Lucille Cramer, and they both worked in Washington, D.C. and, later, in Kansas City. After Lucille married Dick Belton, Cecelia Marie moved into an apartment with a new roommate. The roommate had a brother, Jack Butler, who was a widower with two children, J.W. and Ann. Cecelia and Jack met through his sister, she "was drawn" to his children (as well as to him!) and they married on October 25, 1950, in St. Louis, with Father Martin Berry officiating. They had two sons, Stephen, born December 17, 1952 and Michael L., on December 4, 1954. Her sister, Helen, seemed to enjoy her nephews and all children who visited her. The Butlers have always resided in Frankfort, Kentucky. “Mike” married Phyllis, in 1984, in Frankfort. She had two sons, --- Michael Ware and Edward Engelking, who became Mike's stepsons. Stephen married Melinda Dow, in 1984, in a little town in Maine. They have one daughter, Katherine Anne "Katie", who was born September 5, 1990.

 Marie married John McDade (July 4, 1874?-Apr. 11, 1936) and had a son who died as an infant and a daughter, Genevieve Evelyn (April 3, 1910 - July 29, 1978). "Gennie" married Lloyd M. Heigele (Nov. 15, 1909-0ct. 25, 1984). She operated a switchboard in their Longford home. They had two sons, Richard Bruce "Dick" (Oct. 13, 1937) and Douglas Leo "Doug" (April 18, 1942). "Dick" married Delores Fracchia in Memphis, Tennessee and had two children, Heather (February 17, 1963) and Christopher (May 28, 1964). They lived in Dallas, Texas. They divorced and in 1997, Dick married Sue Anstutz. Heather married Danny Frazee. They have two children: Emily, (April 30, 1999) and Jack, (September 26, 2001). They live in Orlando, Florida. Christopher married Yolanda Lopez. They live in Grand Prairie, Texas and also have two children: Melanie (October 3, 1998) and Kristin (October 3, 2000). They share their birthday celebrations, like twins do! "Doug" married Judith Delaney from Salina, on Aug. 12, 1959. This union produced a daughter, Debbie Lee, born February 15, 1961 and three sons: Scott Alan (Sept. 3, 1962), Kevin Christopher (November 15, 1963) and Kirk Matthew (Nov. 10, 1964 - November 12, 1984). Doug and Judy divorced in April of 1976. Debbie has two children, Kelli (Jan. 11, 1983) and Kyle (July 4, 1984). Her first husband, Douglas Eugene Kempton, is their father. They divorced and she is now married to Steven Rothenberger. Scott was married to Sharon V. Udit, but they divorced. Kevin is single at this time and lives in Lyons, Kansas. Kirk was killed late in 1984 while working on a road construction crew, near Salina. He was only twenty years old, _1..1 leaving a pregnant wife and a small child, Joshua (Sept. 4, 1983). Kacey was born on Feb. 14, 1985. His widow married again. Her last name is now Fritz. Kirk was an especially personable young man! I had met him shortly before the tragedy, when we went for his grandfather Lloyd's funeral.

 Because Michael Joseph was my grandfather, there will be an entire chapter about his life after he married Mary Helen Rice, and they had their only child, Irene. He'll also be a part of subsequent chapters about her life after she married our father and had my siblings and me. We all lived in Geary County, near Junction City, Kansas, and our lives were intertwined.

Ellen married Roy M. Cramer from Abilene, who owned a ferris wheel in a carnival. They had one daughter, Margaret Lucille (who went by her middle name) (Mar. 6, 1910 - May 6, 1990) before he lost his life in a train accident. Several years after she and Cecelia returned to Kansas City, Lucille married Dick Belton, whose family was from Ottawa County (his mother was a Curry). They didn't have any children.

 Anna, the youngest member of this Foy family, lived in Vine Creek with their parents and cared for them until they died. She was a very devoted daughter. She never married, although she was, at one time, engaged to Perry Rice, a brother of the wife of her brother, Mike. She taught at a rural elementary school in the area of Vine Creek. In later years, she moved to a house on Park Street in Salina, where she ran a boarding house. She had a lively personality, was flattering (had she kissed the blarney stone?) and wore lots of rouge (isn't it amusing that a child my age noted that?). She loved to chat with us, her young great-nieces (as she had with our mothers, when they were young) about attending dances. In those days, it seems that dances were the “high spots” of the social world. She'd say, "Dear, tell me all about it". She walked with a limp for as long as I can remember, and I never knew the reason. She would have been in her 60's during the years that I was around her the most. Possibly it was something that developed only in her later years (like arthritis?). We were taught not to discuss any subject that a person might be sensitive about, with them or anyone else. There was only one house between hers and that of her sister, Delia, and niece, Helen, which was on the corner of Park and 13th. The John Riley home is also located on Park, on the other comer of the same block, which is Park and 12th. That address is 701 Park Street. Genevieve and Lloyd Heigele raised their boys in a little house, at 604 Ash Street, less than two blocks from Rileys. Since their deaths, their son, Doug, lived there and later, sold it. There had been a "mass exodus" of the remaining relatives that had lived in Vine Creek, which was almost totally abandoned. Most of them and many other relatives have their final resting place in the St. Patrick's Cemetery, near the site where the town and Catholic Church had been. The church was closed in the spring of 1945.

John Foy (1867 - 1920)
Maggie Foy (1869   -  1920  )  married Eany Kelly (1857 - 1936)
Ellen Foy (1872 - 1872)   died at birth
Bridget "Delia" Foy(1872 - 1958)  married John Berry(1870 - 1919 )
Marie Gertrude Foye(1873 - 1944)  married John McDade (1874 - 1936)
Michael Joseph Foye(1875 - 1962) married Mary Helen Rice (1883 - 1982)
Ellen Foy (1879 - 1945)  married Roy Cramer (???? - ???? )
Anna Foye (1881 - 1956)

The author, Marilyn Maloney Wasylk, is the granddaughter of Michael Foy and Helen Rice.

References:   In 1984, a woman named Carole Price, who was living in Vine Creek at the time (she and her husband were the only inhabitants!), stated that she paid taxes on lots, with specific numbers, which indicated to her that it's still officially a town. I'm not sure that is correct. She did much research of former residents of Vine Creek and the surrounding area and had planned to have a book prepared for the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the town, which was in 1887. Unfortunately, her husband became terminally ill and because of that, she didn't complete her project. She left a wealth of material with her sister, Sue Metcalf, who lives in White City, Kansas. When my sister, Therese Howe, and I went to visit her, she passed it on to us. Since that time, we gave parts of it to Dan Wagner and Colleen Lambert, both of Bennington, when they expressed interest. She had given audio tapes to Margaret Riley, on which she had interviewed Margaret's mother, Katherine Riley; Helen Berry and our mother, Irene Moloney. These have contributed to this family history.   

most recent revision:   30 October 2003

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