(Page 1 of 4)
Kitty was the
fourth child and second daughter of Mary Jane Tinneny and John Patrick
McColgan. She was born in Pennsauken, New Jersey on March 20, 1913. At the
time of her birth the family lived at 221 Highland Avenue in Pennasauken in
a house that her father built.
The home that John
McColgan built for his family at 273 Highland Avenue, Pensauken, New Jersey.
A close-up of
the family, Mary Jane holding Kitty with daughter Isabella seated in chair.
Sons John and Edward sitting on floor with John Standing.
 |
The McColgan children with their McKenna cousins.
Taken during a visit of Mary Jane’s sister Margaret Tinneny McKenna and her
family to the McColgan home in in Pennsauken, c.1913. Back
Row L-R: Edward McColgan, John McColgan, Margaret McKenna,
Center: (baby) Catharine “Kitty” McColgan', Front Row L-R: Edward McKenna, Helen McKenna, Isabella (“Pat” McColgan.
|
About 18 months after her birth, Kitty’s mother died of pneumonia and
complications from a miscarriage. John found it
very difficult to work and to care for his four young children. To help
him, he brought his sister Isabella McColgan over from Scotland to live with
them in Pennsauken. It didn’t work out and the arrangement came to a smoky
end. One day while caring for the children, Isabella put a roast in the
oven, put the children to bed for a nap and left the house to socialize.
The roast burned, filling the house with smoke and rescuers had to put young
Johnny, Ed, Isabella and Kitty out of the house through the windows.
After that incident John made his
brother-in-law, Mary Jane’s oldest brother John Tinneny, executor for his
estate, which included the house in Pennsauken. He then put the children
into orphanages, where they remained for an unknown amount of time between
1915 and 1919, and was never seen or heard
from again by the family. His granddaughter Joyce-Ann Roff said she had
heard that her grandfather had been traced to Canada where he attempted to
reenter the military service in an effort to get back to Scotland. Mary
Jane’s brother John returned to Scotland at least once. While
there he checked with family and friends in Greenock but none had
information about John’s status or whereabouts after he left the
family in New Jersey. However, the search for him was successfully
concluded in 2004. See John
P. McColgan Mystery Solved.
The children were placed in a Catholic orphanage
in New Jersey in which boys and girls were housed and managed
separately. Thus, Isabella and Kitty were separated from their
brothers and had little or no contact with them. From the orphanage the
children were “farmed out” which meant they were literally sent out to farms
each day to work as laborers. At some point their Uncle John Tinneny took the children
out of the orphanages. He and his wife Alice took Isabella to live with
them. Maggie Tinneny and her husband Edward McKenna took in John, James Tinneny and his wife Gertrude took in Edward. Mary
Jane’s maternal uncle, Barney Malloy and his wife Mary took Kitty.
At some point Mary
Jane’s youngest brother Patrick gathered the children form the homes of his
siblings and returned them to the orphanages. When his brother
James learned this he and his brother in law Ed McKenna went to the
orphanages, removed the children and returned them to the homes from which
they were taken. James then confronted his younger brother Patrick, they got
into a heated argument over the matter and Jim struck Patrick and “knocked
him on his behind.” Years later, Kitty’s sister Isabella recalled how
their grandmother, Margaret Malloy Tinneny, who by then was a widow,
visited Kitty and her siblings while they were recovering from
illnesses acquired in the
orphanages and brought them cookies.
Kitty grew up with her elderly Aunt Mary and Uncle Barney in the Malloy home
at 4519 1/2 Ritchie Street in Manayunk. She used the Malloy name from
the time she was taken in by them although they hadn’t adopted her. Her
sister Isabella did the same thing using the last name of her uncle John
Tinneny until the time she completed school at which time she reverted to
McColgan on the advice of Father Grace the pastor of Holy Family Church.
Their brother Edward who was raised by his mother’s brother James wanted to
officially change his name to Tinneny but was told by his Uncle Jim that he
wouldn’t consider it that “every man should have his own name.”
