The Family of Edward Connelly
and Katherine Walsh

        The three sons of Daniel James Connelly and Bridget "Bertha" Carney: Edward [1888-1973], Lawrence [1884-1954?], and Harry [1886-1908]. The address 47 Washing[ton] can be seen on the back of the photo. Harry "the Horse Thief" died at the age of 22 in Trinadad, Colorando. Family tradition has it that he was hung as a horse thief.

Ed "Pep" Connelly as a catcher.
Ed is in the front row, far left on this Salem team photo taken about 1916.

        Ed attended Lasalle Academy (Providence, RI), Dean Academy (Boston, MA), and Syracuse University on an athletic scholarship. He played both football and baseball at the university. After graduation he played semi-professional baseball. It was through his deep interest in baseball that he became friends with two Major League players--the Walsh brothers--and met their baby sister Kathryn.

Ed and Kathryn (Nana) over the years.
Ed in 1924, '47, and '68--Nana in 1924, '44, and '58.

        Ed and Nana "eloped" to Ohio in 1917 after she became pregnant. An older sister, Anna Walsh Reynolds, lived there and could help the young couple out. Rita was born on December 22, 1917, but they managed to convince everyone that she was a honeymoon baby--born on February 22, 1918. ("Aren't you glad you weren't born at Christmas time?" Nana used to tell Rita. Then people would only give you one present.) Rita didn't find out the truth until she was about 40 years old.
        Notice Nana's short hair. She apparently bobbed it when that style became popular in the 1920s. She didn't consult Ed ahead of time. What a surprise! He was NOT happy about it, I guess he got used to it though.

Love Child.
Rita as a baby in 1918.

        Family life must have agreed with Ed and Kathryn. Within a couple years after Rita was born another baby girl, Martha, followed. Ed continued to be active in sports as a boxing commisioner in Akron and as head of the B.F. Goodrich athletic program.

Left photo: Rita, Joan, Marty with dog

Right photo: Marty (top), Joan, Dan, and Rita

Connelly Children about 1928 in Massechusetts.
The three Connelly girls show off their dog and baby brother.

        Business was booming in the 1920s. The family moved to Worcester, Massechusetts, where with his connections to B.F. Goodrich he went into the tire business. Two more children were born.

Before the Crash.
Dan, Edward, Rita, Martha, Katherine, and Joan.

        Prosperous businessman Edward Connelly and his family have their photo taken at the peak of Coolidge Prosperity, just before the Stock Market Crash of 1929. When times got hard the family moved to Boston, where he became an executive at Boston Edison. In 1953 Ed and Nana moved to Falmouth, Cape Cod into a big two-story house with a large yard just up the road from New Silver Beach--a wonderful place for the children and grand children to gather during summer vacations.

Finishing School and the War.
Rita at Katie Gibbs (1936 and '40)
and then in the Red Cross (1944 and '45).

        Rita was a good math student in high school. She wanted to attend Northwestern University in Chicago, but her father thought that was too far away from home. So she settled for M.I.T. College was fun, but studying wasn't. She dropped out in her freshman year. The next year she and Marty attended Katharine Gibbs together. The 1940 photo may have been taken after they graduated.
        After graduation she wanted to travel. She worked with her father in Bermuda, then when the war came she joined the Red Cross. Her job was to set up parties, so soldiers could enjoy their time away from the front. She was in Italy towards the end of the war, then when peace came headed to the orient ... Japan, Korea, and the Philippines. That's where she met Bob Blair on August 25, 1947--engaged Oct 5th and married Dec 10th.

Marty and Joan.
Marty in the 1960s; Joan at Choate in 1944.

        Rita was always keenly interested in family and in education. Even as a young adult, she helped pay for her little sister's schooling at Choate. This impressed the Mother Superior so much that she arranged to find scholarship money for Joan.

Soldier from the Seminary.
Dan as a school boy ('39), seminary student ('45), and soldier ('52).

        As Dan approached draft age, his mother worried that he might be sent off to fight in World War II. So he was sent off to a seminary to avoid that possibility. But the best laid plans of mice, men, and parents ... Dan ended up serving in the army during the Korean War.

Pearl Harbor 1991.
Three survivors of the attack return.

        Army Air Corps pilot James "Buzz" Toner was stationed at Schofield Barracks / Wheeler Air Field in the center of Oahu when Japanese planes attacked on December 7, 1941 (December 8th in Japan). Wife Marty and their 1 year-old daughter Susan were living on post / base with him. After the attack family members of armed forces personnel were evacuated by ship to San Francisco.
        In early 1967 Rita, Russ, and Greg moved to Schofield Barracks to join Col. Bob Blair, who had been transferred to Hawaii in the fall of 1966. (Bob Jr and Jeff were away at school, so they came for summer vacation.) The Blair family soon moved to Ft. Ruger on the back of Daimond Head (now the Kapiolani Community College campus). When his tour was finished Bob retired and moved to Foster Village then to the Mott-Smith Laniloa.
        The 50th anniversary of the attack was marked ceremonies of rememberance. Rita hosted the three Toner survivors (photo above--Rita, Marty, Susan, and Buzz).

Any and all relatives are encouraged to copy this site and edit their copy to accurately reflect their own ancestry. If any such copies are posted on the Internet, please inform me so that I can include links to such sites from this website.