“December 1st,
a Memorable Day”
William &
Anna Gallagher painted by Pauline Gallagher for 50th
wedding anniversary Today is The wedding was simple fare with only a
few close family members in attendance. Coll and
Anna McCaffery stood as witnesses as William and
Mary Gallagher stood by proudly to watch their only son William exchange vows
with his future wife Anna Marie McCaffery. It would appear to the readers of this
article that the same names are used over and over again. It may even be
confusing. But as confusing as it seems, it is really very simple. William
Gallagher married Mary Keller. They had a son named William and a daughter
named Anna Marie. Anna Marie Gallagher married Coll
McCaffery. William Gallagher married Anna Marie McCaffery, Coll’s cousin. 1928 Manayunk
was a small bustling blue collared town where everyone knew their neighbors.
Social life was built around the local church and the corner bar. Automobiles
were a luxury and transportation was mainly provided by one’s own two
feet. This in turn forced those who worked in Manayunk
to live in Manayunk. It was a time where families
moved and lived near employment. A time when few blue collared workers raising
house loads of children actually owed the houses in which they lived. A time
when children played in the streets freely as their mothers hung the family
laundry in their backyards. I call this period in time the calm before the
storm. (Before the stock market crash and the start of the depression) When and where William and Anna first
met is not known. They were neighbors and related in marriage when
William’s sister and Anna’s cousin were married. What I can tell
you is when they fell in love. Anna McCaffery
lost her mother when she was 3 years old. After the death of her mother in
1915, she was sent by her father to live with her maternal grandparents John
and Ella (Ellen) Boland. The next four years were spent in peaceful childhood
bliss in the very loving arms of a grandmother who adored her. Tragedy would
strike young Anna’s life once again when her grandmother Ellen died
suddenly in 1919 leaving behind a small grieving girl. The 7 year old Anna
could not be sent back to live with her father because at this time her
father John McCaffery had already succumbed to a
life of alcoholism. A habit he picked up after the sudden death of his wife
Agnes Bridget, Anna’s mother in 1915. Though there were other Aunts and
an Uncle in Young Anna’s life, it would be the home of her
mother’s younger sister Catherine in which she would be sent and spend
the next nine years of her life. Years that would place a permanent scar on a
woman’s life. Life in the home of Catherine Boland Malervey was nothing less then cruel. Affection was rare
and punishment was often. Punishment that continued until Anna at the age of
16 years old was taken into the home and tender care of a neighbor Mary
Gallagher. It was in this home that attraction then affection and finally
love blossomed between the young Anna and the older William. It would not be
long before the two would want to marry and begin their lives as husband and
wife. So it was on a cold December day that the two stood hand in hand at the
altar in “ Fifty years, five children, fifteen grandchildren
and one great grandchild later, William and Anna stood in the living room of
their daughter Mary’s home and exchanged their wedding vows once again
in front of God and family. It would be one of the last happy moments the
couple and their family would share together. “ It was on this day that the family would all stand together again. Except on this day, the family stood together in the funeral home as Anna kissed her life long love William goodbye before placing the casket blanket over him. Then the family stood in the church as the priest up on the altar spoke words of peace and eternity. Finally the family stood together one last time at the cemetery around the casket and placed red roses upon the coffin as we said our final goodbyes. Fifty two years, five children, fifteen grandchildren, two great grandchildren later.
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