Biographies and Obituaries
In loving memory
Thomas Donahue
History of the Catholic Church in Indiana.
Logansport, Ind., A.W.Bowen & Co., 1898, Vol 2, pp 392-393
Thomas Donahue, station agent for the B. & O. S. W. R. R., at Washington, Daviess County, Indiana, and an expert telegrapher, is a son of Paul and Maria (Kearney) Donahue, and was born in Altoona, Pa., December 22, 1853. Paul Donahue, a native of County Kings, Ireland, came to America in 1848, married Maria Kearney, a native of County Queens, Ireland, and to this marriage were born six children, viz: Thomas, our subject; Martin, train dispatcher at Edgerly, Calcasieu Parish, La.; Patrick, of Fort Wayne, Ind.; Catherine, a public school teacher of Mitchell, Ind.; Joseph, train dispatcher of Washington, and Edward, of Mitchell. Paul Donahue found his first employment, in a regular way, on coming to America, in Pittsburg, Pa., as a railroad section foreman, and was transferred from point to point along the line until 1855, when he came to Indiana and settled in Mitchell, Lawrence County, where he continued in railroad work until his death, in July, 1891. Thomas Donahue, our subject, attended the public schools of Mitchell, Ind., until eighteen years of age, when he began his business life as a section hand on the O. & M. railroad; next he entered the station as a student of telegraphy, and a year later became night operator, which position he filled three months, and was then transferred to Milan, Ind., nineteen months later he was sent to Vincennes, Ind., where he remained four years, and was then stationed at Aurora, Ind., for a year and a half; he was then appointed agent for the company at Medora, Ind., and remained there seven years, at which time he resigned and went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was engaged in telegraphy two years. Finally, on April 10, 1890, he settled in Washington, Ind., where he has since filled, in a most satisfactory manner, the position of agent for his company. Mr. Donahue was married, in Mitchell, Ind., October 6, 1879, to Miss Mary Jane Keane, a native of Cincinnati, and this union has been blessed with four children - Thomas, Helen, Lena, and William. The family belongs to the Catholic parish of St. Simon, and socially occupy a high position, owning a very pleasant home on Poplar street, where their numerous friends always receive a warm welcome. In politics, Mr. Donahue is a staunch democrat.
Contributed by: John D. McMullen