Not all, but most of the basic facts on the Hannagans we have incorporated here were provided by Colleen Branigan, another descendant (though the interpretation of the facts she sent is ours). The photos that she provided are credited to her where they are shown. We would probably never have come upon these photos ourselves and are very grateful to have them. Information on and photos of Ottawa, Illinois are not from Branigan.

Note that there are many different spellings of this name. These include: Hennegan, Hennigan, Hannigan, Hanahan, Henehan, Henigan, and others. We have mainly used the spelling "Hannagan" on these pages because (as Colleen Branigan pointed out) this was how the name was spelled in the St. Columba church record of the marriage of Thomas Gilchrist and Mary "Hannagan," but the name was different for different family members at different times. Maybe they were very easy-going people who always said "However you want to spell it is okay with me."

JAMES HANNAGAN -- was supposed to have been born in 1808 in County Mayo, Ireland, though there is some evidence he may have been born c. 1815. He died on April 14, 1887 in Adams County, Nebraska. He was buried in the Assumption Catholic Cemetery in Adams County (10 miles south of Hastings, Nebraska)

BRIDGET O'DONNELL -- was supposed to have been born on February 2, 1812 in Ireland, though there is some evidence she may have been born c. 1816. She died on June 17, 1904 in Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska. She was buried in the same cemetery as her husband.

-- MARY, born December 1838 in Ireland. Married on November 30, 1855 to THOMAS GILCHRIST at St. Columba's Catholic Church in Ottawa, La Salle County, Illinois. There is more about her here.

-- JOHN, born 1840 in Ireland. We know nothing else about him.

-- JAMES, born March 15, 1843 in the state of New York, near the Canadian border (it is assumed that the family entered this country via Quebec). James "Henigan" (as the name is spelled in military records) died (or at least was reported missing) on July 12, 1863 in a Civil War battle in Jackson, Mississippi.

-- JULIA ANN (2nd to youngest child), was born February 28, 1857 in La Salle County, Illinois. She was married on October 15, 1877 to John Walter Brannagan at St. Columba's Catholic Church in Ottawa, Illinois. Julia died on March 29, 1934 in McCook, Red Willow County, Nebraska (she was living with her youngest daughter). She and her husband were buried in Parkview Cemetery, Hastings, Nebraska. Colleen Branigan says that Julia and John Brannagan were buried between JAMES and MARGARET GILCHRIST (Thomas Gilchrist's brother and his wife, Julia's sister), and Julia's brother Frank Hannagan and his wife Elizabeth.

POSSIBLY (PROBABLY) ALSO THESE CHILDREN:

-- WILLIAM, born 1845 in Illinois.

-- THOMAS, born 1848 in Illinois.

ALSO - THERE WERE FOUR OTHER CHILDREN WE HAVE NO INFORMATION ON

Thomas and Mary Gilchrist

Ottawa, Illinois

...OUR IOWA FAMILY
...Preface
...Introduction
...Table of Contents
...Links to All Maps
...Questions & Answers