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Louise Gaffney Flannigan Papers
Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
405 Babbidge Road, Unit 1205
Storrs, Connecticut 06269-1205
URL http://doddcenter/uconn.edu/
Overview of the Collection |
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| Repository: | Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center. |
| Creator: | Flannigan, Louise Gaffney. |
| Title: | Louise Gaffney Flannigan Papers. |
| Dates: | undated, 1887-1897, 1911, 1915, 1932. |
| Quantity: | .5 linear feet. |
| Identification: | MSS20070066 |
| Language: | English. |
| Abstract: | Louise Gaffney Flannigan (1867-1949) of New Haven, Connecticut, was the sister and wife of railroad brakemen, and frequently wrote poems and other writings about railroad workers, particularly those who were members of the Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen Elm City Lodge #201 in New Haven, in memorial to those who died while in service to the railroad, or in celebration of their good work and bravery. The Papers consist of poems and writings, including about train trips she took to Orlando, Florida in 1888, and to California in 1897. |
History
Louise B. Gaffney Flannigan was born on June 14, 1867, in New Haven, Connecticut, in a house on Portsea Street (possibly 272 Portsea Street). As the sister and then wife of railroad men, Louise was the "poetess" of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen Lodge #201, in New Haven, Connecticut (also referred to as the Elm City Lodge), whose members were employed by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. Louise wrote poems and memorials to those who died in the line of duty, or in celebration of their heroism and fortitude. Some of her writings were published in such magazines as The American Federationist and The Railroad Brakemen’s Journal, and in the local newspaper, the New Haven Register.
A Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen Lodge, #388 (possibly number 336), in Needles, California, was named in honor of Louise Gaffney Flannigan.
Louise married Francis J. Flannigan (Frank), a railroad brakeman, in 1889. Louise and Frank had seven children – Frederick, Isabel, Elvira, Frank, Viola, Rhetta Louise, and Virginia.
Frank Flannigan was born on March 21, 1864, in Ireland. Family legend describes his early life in this way: Frank came to the United States through Canada and was put into an orphanage in New York City. He ran away from the orphanage and "went out west" to join the army. On a train going west he met a man named Dave Medill who befriended him. Medill told him that when he got out of the army to come to New Haven, Connecticut, and he would help him get a job on the railroad, the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad . Frank did just that -- when he got to New Haven, Medill helped him find a room and board and sent him to the Portsea Street address where he met Louise.
Frank died in a railroad accident on February 11, 1915. His death is described, again through family legend, in this way: The railroad switched its warning system for incoming trains from bells to electric flashing lights. Frank did not know the switch had taken place that day and was crushed to death by a train. This took place at Union Station in New Haven, Connecticut. Louise would not sue the railroad after Frank's death and the railroad apparently promised to hire her children for jobs with the railroad if they so wished.
Family legend also has it that Louise's brother Fred, known as "Gaff" (and referred to frequently in her poems and writings), went off to fight in the Spanish American War (1898-1899) but came down ill with diptheria and "Louise brought him home to die."
Little is known about Louise's life after Frank's death except that she lived in her sister Isabella's house on Portsea Street and herself worked for the railroad "in the office" until she retired in 1936. Louise died on May 2, 1949. Both Frank and Louise are buried at St. Bernard Cemetery in West Haven, Connecticut.
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Scope and Content
The Louise Gaffney Flannigan Papers consist of 52 poems and writings written by Louise, mostly in the late 1880s, in her unofficial position as "poetess" of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen Lodge #201 of New Haven, Connecticut. Most of the poems were written in memorial to railroad brakemen who died in the line of duty or in celebration of their work. Interesting items in the collection include an undated jingle Louise wrote in praise of Solution Soap; a report of a visit Louise and her husband Frank made to a Chicago, Illinois, home for "crippled" brakemen, with a request for donations from the members of the New Haven lodge; a 1895 poem written on the "terrible sea disaster of the Steamer Elbe" which sank in the North Sea off of the coast of England; and a ten-page description of a train trip Louise and her husband Frank took in 1897 from New Haven, Connecticut, to California, where she describes the journey in great detail, including her impressions of Indians.
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Organization
Series I: Poems and writings (undated, 1887-1897, 1932) consists of 52 poems and writings by Louise Gaffney Flannigan. Most of the writings were written in memorial to railroad men who died on the job, others were written in celebration of their good work and fortitude. Most of the items are manuscript, presumably by Louise, with the exception of the girl's quiz, also manuscript but not in the same handwriting as the other documents (although it is possible that it was written by Louise when she was a very young girl).
Series II: Photocopies of photographs (1889, 1911, 1915) consists of photocopies of three photographs: of Louise and Frank on their wedding day in 1889; of a large group of people in a park, labeled "Family Day of Elm City Div 317, 9-24-'11, from 1911; and of a large group of men and women (including Louise and Frank), all sitting on the steps of what is possibly the New Haven, Connecticut, post office, in 1915.
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Restrictions
Restrictions on Access
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
Restrictions on Use
Permission to publish from these Papers must be obtained in writing from both the University of Connecticut Libraries and the owner(s) of the copyright.
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Related Material
Archives & Special Collections has a substantial collection of materials pertaining to New England railroads. See especially the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Records and related collections. For detailed information on these collections please contact the curator or ask at the reference desk.
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Index Terms
This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Persons:
Organizations:
Places:
Subjects:
Document Types:
Occupations:
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Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
[Item description, #:#], Louise Gaffney Flannigan Papers. Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.
Acquisition Information
The Louise Gaffney Flannigan Papers were donated in June 2007 by Mr. Timothy F. Flannigan (Louise's great-grandson), of Northford, Connecticut. The Papers were previously held by Mr. Flannigan’s great-aunt Viola, daughter to Louise.
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Detailed Description
| Series I: Poems and writings, undated, 1887-1897, 1932 | |||||||||||
| 1:1 | Quiz, as if for an unmarried girl, of "Husband's Name," "Husband's Wages", "Husband's Occupations," "Color Hair," etc., with possible choices [manuscript, seemingly not written by Louise], undated | ||||||||||
| 1:2 | Jingle written in praise of Solution Soap, addressed to Messirs Schultz and Company, in response to a contest, undated | ||||||||||
| 1:3 | Report of a visit Louise and her husband Frank made to a Chicago, Illinois, home for "crippled" brakemen. She asks for donations to the home from members of the Elm City Lodge, undated | ||||||||||
| 1:4 | Letter to "Dear Editress" about her interest in contributing to the Journal (probably the Railroad Brakemen's Journal, which published her poems in May and December 1887). Includes a poem beginning "My Husband is only a Brakeman...", undated | ||||||||||
| 1:5 | Untitled poem dedicated to the Louise B. Gaffney Lodge No. 388, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen (in Needles, California), undated | ||||||||||
| 1:6 | Drafts of poems/memorials to fallen railroad workers, undated | ||||||||||
| 1:7 | Poem, "The Brotherhood Chart", undated | ||||||||||
| 1:8 | Poem, "The Dying Brakeman", undated | ||||||||||
| 1:9 | Two poems, "God Speed the Brakemen," and "To My Dear Friend, in Memory of Your Little Grandson", undated | ||||||||||
| 1:10 | Two stanzas of the end of an unknown poem, the first line of which reads "The wild flowers form a garland bright...," about a dead soldier, undated | ||||||||||
| 1:11 | Poem, "Henry H. Hook," about a member of the Elm City Lodge #201, killed in a train accident in Milford, Connecticut, undated | ||||||||||
| 1:12 | Poem, "The Lonely Grave", undated | ||||||||||
| 1:13 | Poem, "One More," beginning "One more brakeman has passed away...", undated | ||||||||||
| 1:14 | Poem, "The Sailor's Grave"; verso has a drawing of a sign for the Louise B. Gaffney Lodge No. 336, Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen, Needles, California, undated | ||||||||||
| 1:15 | Poem, "I Won't Hear the Brakeman Run Down," and on verso an untitled partial poem beginning in mid-sentence "...beneath those wheels mangling that fire from that was in manhood's prime...". Also includes notes for a letter she wrote entreating the receiver of the letter to "pass that bill of Senator Callow's" (possibly the Railroad Safety Appliance Act of 1893), undated | ||||||||||
| 1:16 | Untitled poem beginning "What is this dreadful accident people ask as shuddering they pass...", undated | ||||||||||
| 1:17 | Untitled poem beginning "Love one another my brakies, of all maxims I like this one best..." [note that the first letter of each line spells out the name Louise B. Gaffney], undated | ||||||||||
| 1:18 | Untitled poem beginning "A vast pile of debris and wreckage on the west track is found...", undated | ||||||||||
| 1:19 | Poem, "Brakemens Brotherhood", undated | ||||||||||
| 1:20 | Poem and writing about the death of railroad brakeman P.D. Roach of Potterbrook, Pennsylvania, who was known to many in New Haven, Connecticut, undated | ||||||||||
| 1:21 | Poem, "A Greeting to the Members of Louise B. Gaffney Lodge #388 Needles, California, from their friend Louise B. Gaffney Flannigan, New Haven, Conn.", undated | ||||||||||
| 1:22 | Poem, "The Fish Train," about the crew of freight train no. 121. Several trainmen are mentioned, including George Devine (the engineer), Fred Clark (head brakeman), Fred Gaffney, George Clark, Billy Curran, Harry Winchell, and George Dade (the conductor), undated | ||||||||||
| 1:23 | Untitled poem beginning "Happy and loyal are those jolly boys, and may God always keep them so," and ending with "1 sweet word of welcome the gates of Heaven I'll extend to our boys of No. 111", undated | ||||||||||
| 1:24 | Poem, "The Star Spangled Banner to the Noble Soldiers + Sailors Who Lost Their Lives for Their Country + Their God, and to the Members of the G.A.R. + R.A. + N.U.", undated | ||||||||||
| 1:25 | Poem, "The 10.50 Gang," about the crew of Caboose No. 43, mentioning Larry Cotter, Fred Gaffney, Sam McCarty, and "Mr. Talmadge" (note that this poem is partial of the poem in folder 32), undated | ||||||||||
| 1:26 | Poem, "Benevolence, Sobriety, and Industry," in honor of the Elm City Lodge #201 of the Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen, noting in particular Laurence Cotter, E.J. Sherman and Francis Flannigan, undated | ||||||||||
| 1:27 | Poem, "In Memoriam, Lines on the Death of Laurence Cotter", undated | ||||||||||
| 1:28 | Poem, "A Brakeman's Death", undated | ||||||||||
| 1:29 | Two poems, "In Memoriam, Dedicated to John Potter of ------ a Member of No. 118," and "A Greeting" [note that the first letter of words in the middle of each line of the verse spell out "Elm City No. 201," undated | ||||||||||
| 1:30 | Poem, "Our Martyers", undated | ||||||||||
| 1:31 | Writing and poem to the "Ladies Department of the Brakemen's Journal," in memory of Owen J. Comisky, who was killed at Noroton, Connecticut, on September 14, 1887, [1887] | ||||||||||
| 1:32 | Two poems, "The 10.50 Gang" and "The 12 O'Clock M. Train". The first poem is an expanded version of the poem by the same name in folder 25, with a note accompanying it of July 10, 1887 (possibly when it was recited at the lodge). The second poem mentions several trainmen, including "Gaff" (Fred Gaffney, her brother), Si Baldwin, Sam McCarty, Rev. Sauren Talmadge, Jack Hammer, "Mr. Brady," and Jack Harmon, with a note accompanying it of May 20, 1887 (possibly when it was recited), 1887 | ||||||||||
| 1:33 | Poem, "Our Heroes," with a note that it was published in the May 1887 issue of the Railroad Brakemen's Journal, 1887 | ||||||||||
| 1:34 | Poem, "The Brakeman's Mother," with a note that it was published in the December 1887 issue of the Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen Journal, 1887 | ||||||||||
| 1:35 | Poem, "The Wanderers," dedicated to Louise's mother and Uncle Lawrence who left Ireland as children for the United States, 1887 | ||||||||||
| 1:36 | Poem, "To My Dear Brothers, by their Little Sister Louise," to her brothers George and Fred, one of whom died when he was a child. On back side is an untitled, undated poem beginning "Lovely the sun shines now skies of blue...", 1888 | ||||||||||
| 1:37 | Two page writing about a journey Louise took from New Haven, Connecticut, to Orlando, Florida, by train, in January 1888, 1888 | ||||||||||
| 1:38 | Poem, "Express Freight Train 7.10 A.M.," about the crew of Mogul #109 out of New Haven, Connecticut, mentioning several trainmen, including Engineer Hopkins, Fireman Steinway, Head Brakeman Dick Connors, Skip Draper, Middle Brakeman Keyes, Frank Flannigan, Flagman William McGann, and Conductor Jerry Wall, 1889 | ||||||||||
| 1:39 | Poem, "A Brakeman's Sister", 1891 | ||||||||||
| 1:40 | Poem, "Dedicated to the Memory of Bro. Harry M. Newhall who was Killed Jan. 13th, '92, Near Needles, California, a Member of #388 BRT," 1892 | ||||||||||
| 1:41 | Letter to and poem dedicated to the members of the Louise B. Gaffney Lodge no. 388, 1892 | ||||||||||
| 1:42 | Writing and untitled poem about the death of railroad man Patrick McKiernan, 1892 | ||||||||||
| 1:43 | Poem, "Dedicated to the Conference of the St. Vincent DePaul of the Sacred Heart", 1892 | ||||||||||
| 1:44 | Poem, "The Car Coupler Bill," dedicated to L.S. Coffin, written in celebration of the signing of the bill in 1893 (the bill's official name is the Railroad Safety Appliance Act, passed by Congress in March 2, 1893, which made air brakes and automatic couplers mandatory on all trains in the United States; it took effect in 1900), [1893] | ||||||||||
| 1:45 | Writing and poem, "In Memoriam," about the death of Joseph McNally of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, who died of typhoid fever on Oct. 2, 1893, and Michael Broderick, who was killed "while coupling cars November 30, 1893, at Fall's Village, Connecticut," 1893 | ||||||||||
| 1:46 | Poem in memorial to brakeman Peter F. O'Toole of Clinton, Massachusetts, 1894 | ||||||||||
| 1:47 | Poem, "Lines on the Terrible Sea Disaster of the Steamer Elbe Which Sank in the North Sea on Jan. 30, '95, with a Terrible Loss of Life" (about the steamer which collided with another ship off of the coast of England), [1895] | ||||||||||
| 1:48 | Poem, "Cure for the 'Blues,' Lines on the Great European Circus and Mid-Winter Carnival at the Grand Opera House for the Week Commencing Feb. 11th, '95", 1895 | ||||||||||
| 1:49 | Poem, "The Shamrock," dedicated to a publication of the same name, published in Cork, Ireland, 1895 | ||||||||||
| 1:50 | Poem, "The Switchman", 1895 | ||||||||||
| 1:51 | Writing, "A Trip to the Pacific Coast," [transcript] about a journey Louise and her husband made beginning May 4, 1897, from New Haven, Connecticut, to California, by train (10 pp.), 1897 | ||||||||||
| 1:55 | Essay, "Looking Backward," published in the November 1932 issue of Along the Line, the employee magazine of the New Haven Railroad, 1932 | ||||||||||
| Series II: Photocopies of photographs, 1889, 1911, 1915 | |||||||||||
| 1:52 | Photocopy of a photograph of Louise Gaffney and Francis Flannigan on their wedding day, 1889 | ||||||||||
| 1:53 | Photocopy of a photograph labeled "Family Day of Elm City Div 317. 9-24-11." Posed group photo of about fifty people in park-like setting. Louise and Frank Flannigan are the 4th and 2nd from the right, top row, 1911 | ||||||||||
| 1:54 | Photocopy of a photograph of a large group of men and women, all sitting on the steps of what is possibly the New Haven, Connecticut, post office. Louise and Frank Flannigan are the 2nd and 3rd from the right, top row, 1915 | ||||||||||