Mary Josephine Hannon Fitzgerald
Mary Josephine "Josie" Hannon (October 31, 1865 – August 8, 1964) was the wife of John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, the mother of Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald, mother-in-law of Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Sr. and maternal grandmother of Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr., John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Rose Marie Kennedy, Kathleen Agnes Kennedy, Eunice Mary Kennedy, Patricia Helen Kennedy, Robert Francis Kennedy, Jean Ann Kennedy, and Edward Moore Kennedy. As of 2013, she is the only person who has lived to see a grandchild become president of the United States.
Mary Josephine Hannon was born on October 31, 1865 in Acton, Massachusetts to Irish immigrants Michael Hannon (1832–1900) and Mary Ann Fitzgerald (1834–1904), both from County Limerick. She was the sixth of nine children, only six of whom survived past childhood. One brother, Edmund (1859–1865), died of fever at the age of six, while Josie's mother was pregnant with her; another, John (1855–1861), had died of a lung inflammation four years earlier. Two brothers, Michael (1860–1881) and James (1863–1889), died early of alcoholism, while her youngest brother, John Edmund (1877–1951), had his leg crushed by a train at age thirteen. The youngest girl, Lizzie (1869–1873), drowned with her best friend while Josie was supposed to be caring for them, an event that would mark her and her two surviving sisters, Ellen Augusta (1857–1928) and Emily (1867–1931), for the rest of their lives.[1]
On September 18, 1889, she married John Francis Fitzgerald, her second cousin.[2] He was a son of Thomas Fitzgerald and Rosanna Cox.
Josie died on August 8, 1964, at the age of 98. Her death came 9 months after the assassination of her grandson President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Family members claimed she was never told of his death.
Children [edit]
| Name | Birth | Death | Age | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald | July 22, 1890 | January 22, 1995 | 104 years | Married on October 7, 1914, to Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Sr.; had nine children: Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr., John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Rose Marie Kennedy, Kathleen Agnes Kennedy, Eunice Mary Kennedy, Patricia Helen Kennedy, Robert Francis Kennedy, Jean Ann Kennedy, and Edward Moore Kennedy. |
| Mary Agnes Fitzgerald | November 1, 1892 | September 17, 1936 | 43 years | Married on April 29, 1929, to Joseph F. Gargan, Sr.; had three children: Joseph F. Gargan, Jr. and two younger daughters, Mary Jo Gargan and Ann Gargan. |
| Thomas Acton Fitzgerald | April 19, 1895 | September 1968 | 73 years | Married on September 7, 1921, to Marion D. Reardon (died February 7, 1925); had one daughter: Marion Eunice Fitzgerald. Married again on October 11, 1930, to Margaret Bernice Fitzpatrick; had two children: Barbara Ann Fitzgerald and Thomas Acton Fitzgerald, Jr.. |
| John Francis Fitzgerald, Jr. | December 7, 1897 | April 1979 | 81 years | Married on April 28, 1928, to Catherine O'Hearn; had three sons: John Francis Fitzgerald III, Robert P. Fitzgerald, and Fred Fitzgerald. |
| Eunice Fitzgerald | January 26, 1900 | September 25, 1923 | 23 years | Never married or had children |
| Frederick Hannon Fitzgerald | December 3, 1904 | February 1935 | 30 years | Married on October 26, 1929, to Rosalind Miller; had one son: Frederick Hannon Fitzgerald, Jr.. |
References [edit]
- ^ McGoldrick, Monica (1995). You Can Go Home Again: Reconnecting with Your Family. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 155. ISBN 0-393-31650-5.
- ^ Goodwin, Doris Kearns (2001). The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga. Simon and Schuster. pp. 88–89.
