About PetersPioneersDavid and Emma Starke Carroll Family

Carroll Witherell Fultz provided much of the research on which this family history is based.

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David Born in 1867

Thomas Carroll Irish Flag
Edward Carroll
1835-1906
Unknown
 
Irish Flag
David William Carroll
1867-1945
Unknown Higgins
 
Irish Flag
Catherine Higgins
1846-1908
Unknown Irish Flag

Irish flagCounty Limerick, 1867-1880. David William Carroll was born in County Limerick, Ireland, on June 15, 1867. His parents were Edward and Catherine Higgins Carroll. Based on the 1880 U.S. census, David had three brothers when he was born: Thomas in 1861, John in 1863, and Patrick in 1865. After David, another brother and two sisters were born in County Limerick: James in 1869, Mary in 1872, and Anna in 1876. His brother Patrick was born in the townland of Stonepark in County Limerick (see birth record). This is in Ballybricken & Bohermore Parish (St. Ailbe's Church), in the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly.

38-Star US Flag 1877-1890Chicago, Near West Side, 1880-1899. In 1880, when David was eleven years old, his family brought him and his six brothers and sisters from County Limerick to Chicago, Illinois. The U.S. flag had 38 stars, the most recent one being for Colorado. The President was Rutherford B. Hayes.

Steamship Parthia
Steamship Parthia, owned by the Cunard Line. Built in 1870, the ship had three masts rigged for sail and a single funnel. Length: 360.5 feet. Beam: 40.3 feet. Service speed: 13 knots. Passengers: 200 1st class, 1,050 3rd class.

The family arrived in Castle Garden, New York, on April 9, 1880, aboard the steamship Parthia. The voyage had started in Liverpool and took on additional passengers at Cobh (named Queenstown in 1849 to commemorate a visit by Queen Victoria and so remained until the name Cobh was restored in 1922 with the foundation of the Irish Free State). There were 392 steerage passengers, includng the nine Carrolls, and 28 cabin passengers.

On June 3, 1880, when the census was taken where they lived in Chicago, the family was living on the Near West Side at 683 14th Street (1634 W. 14th Street after 1909). This was in Holy Family Parish, an Irish parish at 1080 W. 12th Street (Roosevelt Road).

Holy Family Church
Old post card of "Church of the Holy Family, West 12th St., Chicago"
Along with St. Ignatius high school, Holy Family Church is still at 1080 12th Street, a few blocks west of Halsted. Built in 1860 by Jesuit priest, Father Arnold Damen. In the 1880's the church had 26 parish priests, 20,000 parishioners, and 3,200 children in school. One of the parishioners here was Mrs. O'Leary, whose cow allegedly started the Chicago Fire in 1871. In 1885, St. Charles Borromeo Church was opened at 2060 W. 12th Street and at some point became their church.

The 1880 census shows David's father working as a roofer, while the 1880 city directory shows him working as a carpenter. The 1880 census shows the four oldest boys working: Thomas in the stock yards, John and Patrick at a liquor store, and David, age 13, in a lumber yard.

On October 6, 1888, David renounced allegiance to Queen Victoria and became a naturalized citizen of the United States by order of the Cook County Circuit Court. He was a minor when he immigrated and so had to wait to become naturalized until after his 21st birthday, which was June 15, 1888. His older brother Thomas vouched for him.

1888 Naturalization     1940 Certificate

David was still living with his family when, sometime between 1888 and 1890, the family moved a half block north to 239 Hastings Street (1627 W. Hastings Street after 1909). The 1890-1892 city directories show David working as a fireman.

David was still living with his family when, in 1893, the family moved back to 14th Street, to 635 W. 14th Street (1538 W. 14th Street after 1909).

In the 1893 directory and later, David is shown working as a policeman. This was probably a probationary position because an employment history from the City of Chicago shows that David was not appointed to the position of patrolman until March 14, 1898, and continued in that position for 21 years until resignation on September 22, 1919. He was assigned to the 27th Precinct, on the Near West Side. The station house was at 19 S. Desplaines Street (120 N. Desplaines Street after 1909), three miles north and east of where the Carroll family lived. City directories show that the 27th Precinct was there throughout David's employment.

On October 25, 1893, David's brother James married Margaret Powell. They were married at Holy Family Church by Father J. L. Weinmand. Maggie was born in Michigan. James worked as a steamfitter.

In January 1894, David's brother, Patrick Carroll, 29, died. Their mother Catherine purchased a plot at Calvary Cemetery (Section X, Block 15, Lot N4).

David was still living with his family when, sometime between 1894 and 1897, the family moved a few blocks to 522 S. Wood Street (1129 S. Wood Street after 1909). A year later, David and his family moved a few blocks to 658 S. Ashland Avenue (1419 S. Ashland Avenue after 1909).

David Carroll
David Carroll, circa 1899.

Emma Born in 1878

Unknown Starke Swiss Flag
George Casper Starke
1835-1895
Unknown Swiss Flag
Emma Starke
1878-1944
Petro Wittenmeier Swiss Flag
Kathryn Meyers
1834-1910
Maria Alleman
1802-1883
Swiss Flag

38-Star US Flag 1877-1890Chicago, Near West Side, 1878-1899. Emma Magdalen Starke was born on the Near West Side in Chicago on May 31, 1878. The U.S. flag had 38 stars, the most recent one being for Colorado. The President was Rutherford B. Hayes. Emma's parents were George and Kathryn Meyers Starke, Swiss immigrants. They lived and worked, with Kathryn's mother, Maria Allemann Wittenmeier, at the Fort Wayne House, a hotel, restaurant, and saloon owned by Kathryn's mother. The address was 89 Stewart Avenue, which, based on the 1886 Robinson Atlas of Chicago, was at the southwest corner of 14th Street and Stewart Avenue, across the street from the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad.

Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad.
The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad opened officially on Christmas Day of 1858 and was a major connection to the East Coast. The tracks of this railroad eventually became a major part of the Pennsylvania Railroad System, then the Penn Central railroad, and today Conrail.

The Fort Wayne House was five blocks from St. Francis of Assisi Church. A German parish opened in 1853, St. Francis of Assisi is at 813 W. 12th Street (Roosevelt Road), two blocks east of Holy Family Parish, the Irish parish where David Carroll's family settled after immigration from County Limerick.

Emma's parents were both born in Solothurn Canton, Switzerland.

George immigrated to Chicago in 1853 based on his death certificate. After her father Petro's death, Kathryn immigrated to Chicago in 1853 based on her mother's death certificate, 1854 based on her aunt Emma Wittenmeier Franzen's 1900 census record, and 1859 based on her death certificate. Emma Starke's parents were married in Chicago around 1869 based on the age of their oldest child.

Emma was the fifth child of George and Kathryn Meyers Starke. She had a sister and three older brothers: Amelia was born in 1870, William in 1871, John Peter in 1874, and George in 1877. Two sisters were born after Emma: Eliza in 1880 and Mary in 1881.

Sometime in 1878 or 1879, the Fort Wayne House moved a block west and a short block south to 609 S. Canal Street (1420 S. Canal Street after 1909). Based on the 1886 Robinson Atlas of Chicago, this was on the southwest corner of Barber Street and Canal Street.

On October 5, 1883, Emma's grandmother, Mary Allemann Wittenmeier died of old age. She was 81 years old. She died at 221 W. 14th Street (648 W. 14th Street after 1909), a couple blocks west of the Fort Wayne House. This may have been the home of her daughter Emma Wittenmeier Franzen, whose husband John was a lumber inspector. She was buried at St. Boniface Cemetery, a German cemetery. The plot (Section C, Block 6, Lot 6-southern half) had been purchased by Emma's father George in 1868.

On December 22, 1892, Emma's brother John Peter, a steamfitter, married Gertrude Pfeifer. They had four children: Catherine, Maria, George, and Millie.

On November 14, 1893, Emma's sister Amelia married George Ollie Myer.

On September 8, 1894, Emma's brother George died of typhoid fever at age 18. He worked as a clerk at a store on the northwest corner of 16th and Canal Streets and lived at 5363 Shields Avenue. He was buried at St. Boniface Cemetery with his grandmother Mary Allemann Wittenmeier.

Eight months later, on May 31, 1895, Emma's father George Casper Starke died of "softening of the brain." He was 59 years old. Following a funeral mass at St. Francis of Assisi Church, he was buried with his son George at St. Boniface Cemetery in the plot he had purchased in 1868.

In September 1898, Emma's niece Catherine, daughter of her brother John Peter and his wife Gertrude, died at age 5 in Cook County Hospital. She was buried at St. Boniface Cemetery with her grandfather George and great grandmother Mary Allemann Wittenmeier.

Emma Starke
Emma Starke, circa 1899.

David and Emma Marry in 1899, Have 8 Children

Marriage License

David William Carroll, age 31, and Emma Magdalen Starke, age 21, were married by Father James J. Curran, S.J., assistant pastor of Holy Family Church, on September 20, 1899. David was a patrolman with the Chicago Police Department.

Chicago, Near West Side, 1899-1907. After their wedding, David and Emma lived with his parents and brother John on the Near West Side at 772 W. Taylor Street (1801 W. Taylor Street after 1909).

In 1899 or 1900, David's sister Mary, age 17, and John J. Moran, age 19, were married. John was a steamfitter.

On January 1, 1900, the Inter Ocean newspaper in Chicago included an article about a fire near the Bijou theater that mentioned Police Officer David Carroll. The Bijou was a vaudeville theater at Halsted Street and Jackson Boulevard.

On January 3, 1900, David's brother Thomas M., age 39, and Alice E. Roach, age 28, were married. John was a saloon keeper.

David and Emma's fist child, Catherine E., was born on July 24, 1900.

In 1900, Emma's sister Mary married Thomas Danaher, a Chicago fireman.

In 1901, David and Emma moved with his parents and brother John to 756 W. 14th Place (1653 W. 14th Place after 1909).

St. Charles Borromeo Church
St. Charles Borromeo Church, Twelfth and Cypress (now Hoyne) Streets.
In 1902, David and Emma moved with his parents and brother John to St. Charles Borromeo Parish at 14 Cypress (913 S. Hoyne Avenue after 1909) in Chicago, Illinois. St. Charles Borromeo Parish, at 2060 W. 12th Street (Roosevelt Road), was opened in 1885 and closed in 1968.

David and Emma's second child, David, was born in 1902.

On October 28, 1903, David's sister Anna married George F.McDonough.

On July 13, 1904, David's brother, Thomas M. Carroll, 43, died. He was survived by his wife Alice, 32.

David and Emma's third child, Mary Anastasia, was born October 20, 1904, but died of whooping cough seven weeks later on December 6, 1904. She was survived by her brother David and her sister Catherine. David and Emma purchased a plot at Mount Carmel Cemetery, to bury Mary (Section F, Block 3, Lot S4).

In 1905, Emma's brother William married Clara.

In August 1905, Emma's brother John Peter died of tuberculosis at age 31. He left a wife and three children ages six to 11. Following a funeral at St. Francis of Assisi Church, John Peter was buried at St. Boniface Cemetery with his daughter Catherine.

David and Emma's fourth child, Edward William Carroll was born February 11, 1906.

On April 26, 1906, David's father Edward died of nephritis--two months after Edward William was born. He was 70 years old. David's parents lived at 1165 W. 13th Street (2146 W. 13th Street after 1909) in St. Charles Borromeo Parish. Edward was buried in the plot that David's mother, Catherine, had purchased in 1894 to bury Patrick Carroll. The plot is at Calvary Cemetery (Section X, Block 15, Lot N4).

Just a few months after Edward William was born and David's father Edward died, David and Emma's son David died of scarlet fever at age 4. He died on May 26, 1906, and was buried next to his sister Mary at Mount Carmel Cemetery. He was survived by his brother Edward and his sister Catherine.

Sometime between 1906 and 1908, David's brother James J. Carroll died, leaving his wife Margaret and five children under age 15.

Carroll Family 1910
Carroll Family, circa 1910. Emma and David with their children Catherine and Edward.
Chicago, Garfield Park, 1907-1944. In 1907, David and Emma moved six blocks west and four blocks north, from the Near West Side to East Garfield Park, from St. Charles Borromeo Parish to Most Precious Blood Parish. They bought an apartment building at 1147 W. Congress Street (2701 W. Congress Street after 1909).

On September 14, 1907, David and Emma's fifth child, Genevieve, was born.

In April 1908, Emma's sister-in-law, Gertrude Pfeifer Starke, died at age 37, leaving three children ages nine to 14. Following a funeral at St. Francis of Assisi Church, Gertrude was buried in St. Boniface Cemetery with her daughter Catherine and husband John Peter.

On September 16, 1908, David's mother Catherine Higgins Carroll died at age 62 of nephritis and heart disease. She was living with David and Emma. The funeral was at Most Precious Blood Church. Catherine was buried in Calvary Cemetery next to her husband Edward.

On October 31, 1909, David and Emma's sixth child, Emma, was born premature (6-1/2 months). She was unable to survive. Seven days later, on November 7, 1909, Emma died. She and was buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery next to her brother David and her sister Mary.

On December 28, 1909, Genevieve died at age 2 of tubercular meningitis and was buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery next to her brother David and her sisters Mary and Emma.

On January 5, 1910, Emma's mother Kathryn Meyer Starke died at age 75 of bronchial pneumonia. Following a funeral mass at St. Francis of Assisi Church, she was buried at St. Boniface Cemetery next to her husband George and sons George and John Peter.

Within two weeks of her mother dying, Emma's aunt Emma Wittenmeier Franzen, age 67, and her husband John, age 72, died. They lived at 98 w. 14th Street and were buried at St. Boniface Cemetery.

On December 15, 1916, David and Emma's seventh child, Thomas Jerome, was born.

On February 8, 1919, David and Emma's eighth and last child, Loraine, was born.

On September 22, 1919, David retired from the police force and began work as a private security guard at the brokerage offices of Logan & Bryan. He was 52 years old.

In May 1920, Emma's sister, Amelia Starke Myers, died of tuberculosis at Kankakee State Hospital. She was buried at St. Boniface Cemetery.

In September 1920, David and Emma's son Edward entered St. Mel High School, a Christian Brothers school, where he excelled in athletics. Baseball was his favorite sport.

Sometime between 1920 and 1925, David and Emma sold the building on Congress Street and bought one two blocks north at 2730 W Jackson Boulevard, still in Most Precious Blood Parish.

Around 1922, Catherine Carroll graduated from college at St. Mary's of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. She went on to become a fourth grade teacher and elementary school principal in Golf, Illinois.

336 S. Homan Avenue
336 S. Homan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois.
In 1923, Emma and David purchased an apartment building at 336 S. Homan Avenue. This was about a mile west of where they lived. In 1926, they sold the property to their daughter Catherine.

After high school graduation in 1924, David and Emma's son Edward went into the business world and also played semi-pro baseball in the Three-I League, a Class B minor league. Edward also played handball, receiving many tournament trophies and medals.

On August 13, 1925, David and Emma's son, Thomas Jerome, died at age 8 of rheumatosis. He was buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery next to his brother David and sisters Mary, Emma, and Genevieve. He was survived by his brother Edward and his sisters, Catherine and Loraine.

In 1927, Damen Avenue, formerly Robey Street, was officially renamed for Father Arnold Damen, the Jesuit priest who founded Holy Family Church in 1860.

In December 1928, Edward joined Chicago office of the Kohler Co. in the Tribune Tower. He started as a stenographer, then became a showroom salesman. In 1930, he was promoted to plumbing fixture salesman.

On May 15, 1931, the Tribune newspaper in Chicago included an article about a stabbing at the Logan & Bryan broker's office on the fourth floor of the Bankers Building at 105 West Adams Street. A disgruntled customer stabbed former police sergeant David Carroll who was working there as a guard with former police captain Thomas J. Coughlin. They were taken to Iroquois Hospital at 87 Market St. (today's Wacker Drive), where it was found that they were not seriously wounded.

David and Emma's daughter Catherine was a school teacher and later principal. She was married twice: first to Sewell Baker and then to James Hennessy. David and Emma's first grandchild, James Hennessy, was born in 1931.

On June 20, 1934, David and Emma's son, Edward, age 28, married Henrietta "Bunny" Kenny, age 26, at St. Thomas Aquinas Church. Bunny was an executive secretary for the Field Estate.

In April 1938, David's sister, Mary Carroll Moran, died at age 66 and was buried at Calvary Cemetery next to her child Harold, her brother Patrick, and her parents Edward and Catherine. She was survived by her husband, John J. Moran and their children, William and Earl.

David and Emma's second grandchild, Marilyn Kathryn Carroll, was born to Edward and Bunny on January 3, 1940.

Emma and David Carroll
Emma and David Carroll at the marriage of daughter Loraine to Robert Nelson Witherell in 1941.
Emma and David Carroll
Source: Chicago Tribune, June 3, 1942, p. 17.

On March 15, 1941, David and Emma's daughter Loraine married Robert Nelson Witherell.

Emma and David Carroll
Emma and David Carroll and grandson Jimmy Hennessy at their home on Jackson Boulevard. Circa 1943.
Emma and David Carroll
David and Emma Starke Carroll with Catherine "Kay" and her son Jimmy Hennessy, Henrietta "Bunny" Kenny Carroll, and Loraine Carroll Witherell on Jackson Boulevard, circa 1943.

David and Emma's third grandchild, Maureen Joan Carroll, was born on to Edward and Bunny on June 19, 1942, at Garfield Park Hospital in Chicago. Maureen was baptized at St. Thomas Aquinas Church.

David and Emma were no longer alive when their last two grandchildren were born to Robert and Loraine Carroll Witherell: Carroll and Robert Nelson Witherell.

David Widowed at Age 77

Chicago, Garfield Park, 1944-1945. David was widowed at age 77 on November 4, 1944, upon the death of his wife Emma. They had been married 45 years. David continued to live at 2730 W Jackson Boulevard

Emma Dies in 1944 at Age 66

Death Certificate     Cemetery Record

Emma Starke Carroll died of a heart attack on November 4, 1944. She was 66 years old. She left her husband and three children, Catherine, Edward, and Loraine. Following mass at Most Precious Blood Church, she was buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery (Section F, Block 3, Lot S4).

Chicago Tribune, November 5, 1944
Emma M. Carroll, loving wife of David W., fond mother of Edward W., Catherine and Loraine. Funeral Monday, 9:30 a.m., from chapel, 2346 W. Madison street, to Most Precious Blood church. Interment Mount Carmel cemetery.

Tombstone for David and Emma Carroll
Tombstone for David and Emma Carroll at Mount Carmel Cemetery, which reads: David Carroll, died May 26, 1906 - age 4 yrs.; Mary Carroll (daughter who died in 1904 of whooping cough at age 7 weeks); father David W. Carroll, 1867-1945; mother Emma M. Carroll, 1878-1944. Also buried there are children Emma who died in 1909 after a premature birth, Genevieve who died at age 2 in 1909 of tubercular meningitis, and son Thomas J. who died at age 8 in 1925 of rheumatosis.

David Dies in 1945 at Age 77

Death Certificate     Cemetery Record

David was a widower for only three months. On February 4, 1945, he died of a stroke. The funeral was at Most Precious Blood Church, and he was buried next to Emma at Mount Carmel Cemetery (Section F, Block 3, Lot S4).

He left three children, Catherine, Edward, and Loraine. He was survived by his sister, Anna McDonna. His brother Patrick died in 1894. His sister Mary Moran died in 1938. His brothers, Thomas, John, and James, died sometime before 1945.

Chicago Tribune, February 6, 1945
Services for David W. Carroll, retired policeman and later a guard in the brokerage offices of Logan & Bryan, who died Sunday at his home, 2730 Jackson blvd., will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow in Most Precious Blood church. He is survived by two daughters, Catherine and Loraine, a son, Edward, and a sister, Mrs. Anna McDonna.

Chicago Tribune, February 6, 1945
David W. Carroll of 2730 Jackson boulevard, beloved husband of the late Emma, nee Starke; loving father of Edward, Catherine, and Loraine, dear brother of Anna McDonna. Funeral Wednesday, Feb. 7, at 10:30 a.m., from chapel, 3246 Jackson boulevard, to Precious Blood church. Interment Mount Carmel. Member of P. B. A., Holy Family Court, C. O. F., St. Patrick's court, K. of C., and member of Holy Name society, Precious Blood parish. Kedzie 2394.

David and Emma Starke Carroll: 8 children, 5 grandchildren

Catherine E. Carroll 1900-1987  m1. Sewell Baker  m2. Edward J. Hennessey 1898-1973
  • James Edward Hennessy 1931-1995  m. 1959 Bonnie Jean Schlort 1937-1990
David Carroll 1902-1906

Mary Anastasia Carroll 1904-1904
Edward William Carroll 1906-1955  m. 1934 Henrietta Kenny 1907-1989 Genevieve Carroll 1907-1909

Emma M. Carroll 1909-1909

Thomas Jerome Carroll 1916-1925

Loraine Marie Carroll 1919-1970  m. 1941 Robert Nelson Witherell 1916-1967
  • Carroll Witherell b. 1945  m. 1966 Albert F. Fultz 1942-1988  m. 2008 Joel Michael Gartner
  • Robert Nelson Witherell b. 1949  m. 1971 Andria Dickholtz b. 1951

13 great grandchildren

Information on great grandchildren has been excluded. A version of this page without the exclusion is available upon request. Contact Peter Biggins:

Email

Peter: pabiggin@optonline.net

Phone

203-655-3694

Address

230 Old Kings Highway North
Darien, CT 06820 USA

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