Patrick Gough
Patrick Gough was my 3x great Grandfather. Â He was the father of James Gough and grandfather of Ruth (Gough) Murphy. Â I recently was in contact with a distant cousin thru ancestry and he provided me with a picture of an obituary he had on Patrick Gough. Â While I am having some trouble getting the imaging to upload correctly, I thought I would share the translation with you all.
Patrick Gough Dead at Age of Ninety-six
Was the oldest resident of East Taunton Section. –An Iron Worker of the Olden Days when the Squawbetty Mills were prosperous.
Patrick Gough, probably the oldest resident of Taunton, died this morning at his home on Liberty street, East Taunton. He was born in County Lowth, Ireland 96 years ago, and came to this country in 1843. He raised a large family of whom there are three who survived him, John H. Gough, of Dean avenue, Ann E., wife of Patrick Burke of East Taunton, and Mr. Jennie Russell of this city. Mr. Gough had been in unusual heath for one who was approaching to within less than a half decade of the century mark, up to about two weeks ago. He was a man of strong and sturdy character, straightforward in his dealings, firm in his convictions, and a war hearted, good neighbor. His mental faculties had been retained to the last, and he had taken an interest in Taunton affairs and general political affairs to the last. He was since his retirement an exhaustive reader of the daily papers and well informed as to current events. His wife Ann (Conaty) Gough died several years ago.
Mr. Gough was born in Lowth County, North of Ireland, in 1819, his life had covered the period of the important inventions of the last century, and he had watched the development of transportation from the old sailing vessel and the one horse chaise, to the fast express train, the automobile and the trolley. He had seen the growth from the rush light, of the early part of the 19th century in Ireland, which he knew how to make, to electricity, and recalled the days when care was taken in keeping a coal buried alive in the ashes over night for the starting of the fire in the morning.
He is also survived by one brother, James Gough , known to some of the older Taunton residents, and who is a wealthy San Francisco business man and the head of the most extensive furniture business in that city. After coming to this country Mr. Gough located in Boston and was employed in the old Iron Works at the North End. That was in 1843 an immigrant settler of seeing the big ocean going vessels anchored where the stores of Friend and Causeway and Haverhill streets now are, and when Beacon hill descended to the water’s edge. The original iron works that he was employed in were in the vicinity of what is now Howard street.
He lived afterward in Pennsylvania and finally settled and reared his family in Squawbetty in the days of prosperity of the rolling mills. His trade was that of a puddler, hard in requirements but remunerative in the receipts from the pay envelope, and he recalled the days when the Squawbetty puddlers earned better than $14 a day for their labor and of the chagrin and pessimism that he felt when after the war the wages came down so that $11 a day was his stipend.
He was a full hearted patriotic American and his training of his family was at a family circle where high principles of patriotism were taught. For a number of years he had been retired from active business, but up to the present winter was a frequent trolley visitor from East Taunton to the Green, always unattended, and keen minded. He was one of the old people whose old age inflicted with no puerility or childishness. He appeared to be a man of not more than 70 and clear to the time of his death he was in the full possession of his faculties.
He was interesting in his reminiscences and accurate in his recollections. A short time before his death he was discussing the ancient water front of Boston and procured from histories support of his coutention that he saw big ships lie at anchor considerably to the east of Friend street.
He is the last of a generation of old-time Irish immigrants and exemplified the sturdy manhood of this immigration.
His brother, James Gough, who came to this country at about the same time, was one of the pioneer cattlemen of the Western plains, in the Black Feet country, where he amassed a considerable fortune, and then founded the Gough family, today prominent in San Francisco circles.
Doctor’s Letter of Sympathy
This is the letter that my Great Grandfather Charles Albert Seekell received from the doctor and Taunton Hospital after the death of his wife Mary (McAloon) Seekell.
Jessica's Family Genealogy 