Home > United States of America > Iowa > Clinton County > Clinton > Saint Mary's Cemetery > Henry James Mongoven

Henry James Mongoven

Birth	:	21 Jul 1861 Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA
Death	:	18 Jan 1947 Berlin Center, Ionia County, Michigan, USA
Burial	:	Saint Mary's Cemetery, Clinton, Clinton County, USA
Coordinate	:	41.8417015, -90.2272034
Description	:	[From "The History of Dennis Henry Mongovan" by Jan Patrick Mongoven in 2012.] Henry James Mongoven was Dennis and Catherine (Darcy) Mongoven's oldest son. He was born July 21, 1861, at Chicago but moved with his parents and brother to Clinton County, Iowa, sometime after the Civil War. The family first lived at Berlin Township, but settled permanently on a farm at Camanche Township, immediately south of Clinton and less than two miles west of the Mississippi River. As of the 1880 census, the Mongovens were at Clinton. Henry, the 18-year-old son of a blacksmith, was in... Read More	[From "The History of Dennis Henry Mongovan" by Jan Patrick Mongoven in 2012.] Henry James Mongoven was Dennis and Catherine (Darcy) Mongoven's oldest son. He was born July 21, 1861, at Chicago but moved with his parents and brother to Clinton County, Iowa, sometime after the Civil War. The family first lived at Berlin Township, but settled permanently on a farm at Camanche Township, immediately south of Clinton and less than two miles west of the Mississippi River. As of the 1880 census, the Mongovens were at Clinton. Henry, the 18-year-old son of a blacksmith, was in charge of a driving team of horses. Several years later he left his parents' farm and headed for St. Paul, Minnesota, where he and his brother, Michael Stephen ("Steve"), discovered a new livelihood. Henry and Steve, bonded by blood and the tracks, were nearly inseparable. Railroaders in those days were a breed apart. They lived dangerously. In one month in 1887, 34 railroaders died in on-the-job-accidents. They controlled powerful machines, traveled to distant places, and earned the respect and admiration of little boys and most grown men. Theirs was a close-knit fraternity whose members took pride in working their way up the ladder. Both men worked – and one died – for the Northern Pacific Railway. After Steve married Elizabeth Traufler in 1889, Henry moved in with them at 690 Burr Street. The brothers were brakemen for the St. Paul & Duluth Railway (bought by the Northern Pacific in 1900). When Steve, Elizabeth, and their two babies moved a block west to 691 Desoto Street a couple years later, Henry joined them. By 1893, both men worked for the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, & Omaha Railway Company, according to a city directory. Steve was a switchman, and Henry remained a brakeman. A switchman controlled the track switches within a yard. Brakemen helped couple and uncouple cars as they were dropped off and picked up in the yard. Both positions sometimes involved interchangeable work and were dangerous – Steve lost two fingers on his right hand when they were crushed by a defective railcar coupling in 1893. Although the 1895 Iowa state census shows Henry back on the farm at Camanche, Iowa, his stay there proved temporary. By 1896, he was in Whiteside County, Illinois – a move that indelibly altered family history. Henry fell for Katherine Agnes Kelly, a dressmaker and the daughter of Michael Kelly and Nora Talty. They took out a marriage license in Sterling, Illinois, on February 11, 1896, and were married at St. Patrick's church the same day. The Sterling Standard wished the couple happiness and prosperity. Sadly, they would have little of either. "Mongovern – Kelly "Henry J. Mongovern, of St. Paul, and Miss Katherine Agnes Kelly, of this city, were united in marriage at St. Patrick's church at high noon Tuesday, Rev. Father Bennett officiating. The wedding was not large, being witnessed by a few of the intimate friends and relatives of the families. The beautiful service that is customary at the Catholic church was used. The bride was simply attired in a well-made traveling dress of dark brown. The bridesmaid was a sister of the bride, Miss Helen Kelly. She was attired in a manner similar to the bride. George Mongovern, of Clinton, was the best man. "At the close of the ceremony the wedding guests departed for the home of the bride's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Kelly on West Eighth street. Here a substantial wedding dinner was served. It was well-prepared and a credit to the culinary skill of Mrs. Kelly. The bridal couple will start soon for Chicago where they will visit about two weeks with relatives and friends. From there they will return to Sterling and visit here for another two weeks. They will then go to St. Paul, Minnesota, where they will make their future home. "Miss Kelly is well known in this city, having resided here many years. She has been industrious, having followed the dressmaker's trade for a long time. She is beloved by all who know her. The groom now has a position with one of the railroads at St. Paul, Minnesota. He was formerly of Clinton and his parents reside there now. He is well known in this city and possesses a host of friends who will wish him well. The Standard congratulates Mr. and Mrs. Mongovern and extends to them best wishes for a long life of wedded happiness and prosperity." Nine months later at St. Paul, Henry and Kate welcomed their first baby, Leo Vincent. Daughter Marie arrived two years later on a farm at Harmon in Lee County, Illinois. According to the 1900 census, Henry's occupation was farmer, so he had given up his job on the railroad. Catherine was a homemaker, and Leo and Marie were three and one, respectively. In April 1901, the Dixon Evening Telegraph reported that "J.H. [sic: H.J.] Mongoven had been elected town assessor at Harmon. Sadly, life in the Mongoven household was about to change. Henry James Mongoven was sometimes an angry man. Newspaper articles from 1903 through 1907 paint the grim family story. On April 21, 1903, the Morning Star (Rockford, Il.) described Henry's arrest on assault charges, stemming from an argument he had with his sister-in-law, Helen Kelly. After this incident, Henry left the farm and returned to the Northern Pacific. He was the brakeman on freight train Extra East 660 on Saturday evening, February 6, 1904, when it stalled in a snowstorm outside Grafton, North Dakota. His brother, conductor Steve Mongoven, cut an engine loose and traveled a few miles to Grafton to alert agents of their predicament, before returning to their disabled train. A relief train was sent south from Pembina, North Dakota. As the brothers huddled in the caboose several hours past midnight, the rescue train's forward engine smashed into it. Steve was killed instantly, and his body was badly burned. Henry, too, was injured but survived. As his younger brother's funeral took place the next week, Henry recuperated in the Northern Pacific hospital at Brainerd, Minnesota. Though his injuries healed sufficiently, Henry's life on the railroad was finished. He returned to Kate and the children on the farm at Harmon, Illinois, but within a short time Kate had him arrested for assault. The Sterling Standard announced as much on July 17, 1906. On August 29, 1906, the case of Mongoven vs. Mongoven was heard in a Lee County courthouse at Dixon. Several witnesses were called in from Sterling to testify for one party or the other. At the end of the proceedings, the judge had heard enough. He granted custody of the children – Leo and Marie – to their mother and urged the couple to behave themselves for the good of their children. The Sterling Standard printed its story on August 31, 1906, and expressed serious doubts about the couple's desire to remain married. The two never divorced, but they remained permanently separated. On January 4, 1907, the Republic (Rockford, Il.) told of Henry's attempt to kidnap his son, Leo. Without his wife's knowledge, Henry took his 11-year-old out of school at Harmon and headed several miles east toward Dixon. Kate and her sister, Helen Kelly, were in hot pursuit of the pair and, soon enough, the boy was returned to his mother. The Morning Star reported on May 16, 1907, that the court had summoned Henry to explain why he hadn't made his alimony payments. For his part, Henry did his best to mask his net worth, filing false real estate documents with the court. A grand jury indicted him for this offense, and Sheriff Tourtillott was dispatched to arrest him. Henry was discovered at his boyhood home in Clinton, 50 miles west of Dixon. He was returned to Dixon and placed in the Lee County jail, as indicated by the Sterling Standard on October 15, 1907. By 1910, Henry was back on the Mongoven farm at Camanche, immediately south of Clinton. His brother, George, was head of the household, according to the census, while Henry was listed as married with two children. A search of the same census for Kate and the children proved fruitless. It may be that she went into hiding in Chicago so that Henry could no longer find her and the children. Henry was at Clinton – not on George's farm – when the 1915 Iowa state census was taken. He was a laborer who had earned $600 the previous year. For the time being, George had taken in his widowed sister-in-law, Elizabeth (Traufler) Mongoven, and her son Frank, though they didn't stay for too many months. When the 1920 census took place, Henry was with George at Camanche and performed farm labor. Kate had been in Chicago for a few years by that time. Leo had married Loretta Harvey and got himself a job with the Chicago Northwestern Railroad Company, as stated on his WWI draft registration card in June 1918. The 1920 census shows Leo as the head of household with two young children, Michael and Rita, as well as his sister Marie, his aunt Helen Kelly, and his mother Kate. Leo worked as a switchman for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company – the Milwaukee Road. Meanwhile, Henry's life spiraled downward, and he was committed to the Ionia State Hospital for the Criminally Insane at Berlin, Michigan, on November 26, 1927. Construction of the sprawling facility was authorized in 1883, and it opened in 1885 as the Michigan Asylum for Insane Criminals. Men incarcerated there included insane felons, criminal sexual psychopaths, insane convicts from other prisons, patients transferred from other state institutions who had developed dangerous tendencies, and those who were charged with crimes but acquitted on the grounds of insanity. The Ionia inmate listed in the 1930 census as "Harry" Mongoven (age 68, widower, born in New York, parents born in Ireland, and "ward worker") is Henry James Mongoven. All subsequent hospital records refer to him as "Harry." Henry was a 68-year-old widower by then, as Kate Mongoven had died of kidney cancer on October 1, 1927, at Bethany Hospital in Chicago. Henry would spend nearly two decades in the Ionia hospital, as he is also listed in the 1940 census as "Harry" Mongoven (58 [clearly an error], single, born in New York [another error], and present in the same institution as of April 1, 1935. Henry James Mongoven, still held at Ionia State Hospital, fell and fractured his hip on October 23, 1946. He was 85 at the time, and an injury such as this to people his age was of some concern. As might have been predicted, pneumonia set in a week after the New Year arrived. Death came at 10:30 p.m. on January 18, 1947. "Harry Mongovan's" death certificate, based upon hospital records, identified his parents as Dennis (Mongovan)and Catherine Dorsey. At 85, Henry had outlived all of his nine siblings. Hopefully, he found peace as the years passed at Ionia. The body was returned by train to his boyhood home at Clinton, Iowa, for burial. Unfortunately, some records of St. Mary's Cemetery – where his parents and several of his siblings are known by their death records to have been buried – are missing.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Henry James Mongoven's memorial?
Henry James Mongoven's memorial is located at: Saint Mary's Cemetery, Clinton, Clinton County, USA.
When did Henry James Mongoven death?
Henry James Mongoven death on 18 Jan 1947 in Berlin Center, Ionia County, Michigan, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Henry James Mongoven's memorial?
Latitude: 41.8417015
Longitude: -90.2272034

Family Members:

Parent

Dennis Henry Mongoven

(1831 - 1912)

Catherine Darcy Mongoven

(1833 - 1908)

Spouse

Siblings

Michael Stephen Mongoven

(1863 - 1904)

John Mongoven

(1866 - 1882)

William Joseph Mongoven

(1868 - 1893)

George Arthur Mongoven

(1873 - 1934)

Mary Jane Mongoven

(1877 - 1884)

Children

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Saint Mary's Cemetery
Clinton, Clinton County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8417015, -90.2272034

2. Pine Grove Cemetery
Clinton, Clinton County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8442001, -90.2253036

3. Hess Cemetery
Clinton County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8586006, -90.2225037

4. Springdale Cemetery
Clinton, Clinton County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8530998, -90.2067032

5. Mount Saint Clare Cemetery
Clinton County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8514179, -90.1973494

6. Clinton Lawn Cemetery
Clinton, Clinton County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8172000, -90.2482990

7. Pleasant Hill Cemetery
Clinton County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8535995, -90.2658005

8. Holy Cross Cemetery
Clinton County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8731003, -90.2433014

9. Dierks Cemetery
Clinton County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8880997, -90.2236023

10. Rose Hill Cemetery
Camanche, Clinton County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7928009, -90.2518997

11. Oak Ridge Cemetery
Albany, Whiteside County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7865930, -90.2202200

12. Lusk Memorial Cemetery
Albany, Whiteside County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7856700, -90.2198400

13. Calvary Cemetery
Fulton, Whiteside County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8758011, -90.1641998

14. Fulton Township Cemetery
Fulton, Whiteside County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8725014, -90.1603012

15. Rood Cemetery
Albany, Whiteside County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7811130, -90.2176990

16. Calvary Cemetery
Clinton, Clinton County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8944016, -90.1808014

17. Saint Boniface Cemetery
Clinton, Clinton County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8960991, -90.1844025

18. Oakland Cemetery
Clinton, Clinton County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8964005, -90.1800003

19. Garden Plain Cemetery
Garden Plain, Whiteside County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8014070, -90.1204100

20. Minta Cemetery
Garden Plain, Whiteside County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7639008, -90.1502991

21. Elvira Cemetery
Elvira, Clinton County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8607000, -90.3553000

22. Cousins Cemetery
Malone, Clinton County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8171000, -90.3790000

23. Baker Cemetery
Whiteside County, USA
Coordinate: 41.8883018, -90.0828018

24. Shaffton Cemetery
Clinton County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7574997, -90.3443985