Today, I went to the Douglas County Historical Society, which has a lot of really lovely people who help do genealogical research. On their webpage, it said they had a family file on John and Eliza Rooney. It turned out they didn't have much, and they weren't able to find any obituaries. They did have a page from what is clearly one of those county history books that were so popular in the U.S. in the early 20th century. The page had an entry for A.A. Rooney, John and Eliza's youngest son. Here's what is says that's of interest to the wider family:
A.A. Rooney, one of the well-known and successful farmers of Osakis township, Douglas county, was born in Dodge county, Wisconsin, on September 17, 1870, the son of John and Elizabeth (Kelly) Rooney, who were born in Ireland and there received their education in the common schools, grew to manhood and womanhood and were married. In 1848 they decided that they would leave the land of their birth and seek a home in America, where so many of their countrymen had come. After landing in New York they decided to locate there, and for the next seven years that was their home. In the fall of 1854 they removed to Dodge county, Wisconsin, where they lived until 1887, when they became residents of Minneapolis, where they resided for the next two years. In 1889 they located in Austin, Minnesota, and lived there three years, after which they removed to Farmington, where they remained until 1901. They then removed to Osakis township, Douglas county, and there Mr. Rooney died in 1907. They were the parents of the following children: Patrick, Thomas, Isabelle, Lizzie [This is Elizabeth, who married a Cunningham and is my direct ancestor], Anna, Frank, Stephen, Margaret, Isabelle, Jennie, and A.A. [his name was Ambrose Aloysius]. The first-born Isabelle is now deceased. The family are devout members of the Catholic church.
A.A. Rooney received his education in the public schools of Dodge county, Wisconsin. As a young man he started farming for himself, at Austin, Minnesota. In 1901 he moved to Osakis township, Douglas county, where he is now the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land, which is well developed and improved with good and substantial buildings.
The genealogy volunteer at the historical society asked me if I was related to the Rooney family that owned the hardware store in town. I had to say "I don't know!" Maybe I'll find out as I trace more of Ambrose's descendants.
The useful new information in this biographical sketch is the description of their movements, which were too frequent to be caught in the census. They moved to Minneapolis around the same time as their daughter, Elizabeth Rooney Cunningham. The Cunningham's stayed, but the Rooney's moved on. Perhaps I'll be able to find more information at the historical society.
