Sullivan-Potter County PA Archives Biographies.....GAHAN, Thomas W. 1861 - 
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  Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com April 27, 2007, 2:41 am
  
  Author: Thomas J. Ingham (1899)
  
      THOMAS W. GAHAN. - Among the many successes of the hardy sons of Erin who
  emigrated to America, a fitting example is found in the family history of the
  progressive farmer whose name is at the head of this sketch. Mr. Gahan is
  himself a native of America. He was born on the farm which he now so
  successfully cultivates, December 22, 1844. But his parents were natives of the
  Emerald Isle and crossed the ocean in that tide of sturdy Irish emigration,
  which in 1833 set in so strongly toward the land of freedom. When Patrick Gahan
  came in 1833 to the present farm of his son in Cherry township it was an
  unbroken wilderness. With Patrick came his brother Morris, and each bought fifty
  acres of wild land, paying for it one dollar an acre. A little later Morris sold
  to Patrick his little farm and moved to Bradford county. In Sullivan, then
  Lycoming county, Patrick Gahan met his future wife, Nora Fitzgerald. Both were
  natives of county Kerry, Ireland. To this marriage were born five children:
  Elizabeth, wife of Cornelius Harrington, a farmer of Cherry township; Thomas W.,
  the subject of this sketch; Mary, wife of John Reilly, a farmer of Idaho;
  Morris, a machinist of Williamsport, Pennsylvania; and William, deceased. The
  mother died in 1851, aged thirty-five years, and the father married as his
  second wife Mary Manning. Patrick Gahan died in 1883, aged seventy-three years.
  He was a thrifty farmer and in politics a Democrat. Both parents of our subject
  were devout members of the Catholic church, and both are buried in St. Basil's
  Catholic cemetery, Dushore.
  
      Thomas W., our subject, was reared on the farm in Cherry township, and
  obtained a fair education in the schools of his youth. At the age of twenty
  years he went to West Branch, Potter county, and to Clearfield county, where for
  many years he followed lumbering. He was married February 2, 1874, at Dushore,
  to Miss Bridget Curry, who was born in Cherry township, Sullivan county, May 15,
  1851, a daughter of Martin and Margaret (Flynn) Curry, natives, respectively, of
  counties Cavan and Mayo, Ireland. The parents of Mrs. Gahan were early pioneers
  of Sullivan county; they were married at Wilkesbarre, and in 1842 came to Cherry
  township, Sullivan county, where they remained through life. They entered into a
  wilderness home and the father cleared the acres, year by year, transforming it
  into a prosperous farm. The children of Martin and Margaret Curry were as
  follows: Mary, who married Thomas McCale and is now deceased; Edward, who
  married Mary Blade and is now deceased; Charles, a resident of Garfield county,
  Colorado, who for his first wife married Mattie Harper and for his second Ellen
  Carney; Michael J., who died at the age of two years; Bridget, wife of our
  subject; Cecelia, wife of Michael O'Toole, of Garfield county, Colorado; James,
  who lives on the old homestead; and Margaret A., who died unmarried. Martin
  Curry and wife were consistent members of the Catholic church. He died in
  January, 1883, aged seventy-five years; the wife died December 10, 1893, aged
  seventy-two years; both are buried at Dushore.
  
      To Thomas W. and Bridget Gahan have been born the following children: Nora,
  Maggie, Thomas F., Mary, Charles, Winnie, Patrick, Edward and Leo. In 1879 Mr.
  Gahan returned to Sullivan county, and has since that time devoted himself to
  farming. He is one of the representative farmers of Sullivan county. His clear
  and active mind is quick to see improved methods and his force of character
  impels him to undertake that which seems to him best. He is therefore
  progressive. He has been highly successful in his agricultural pursuits. Like
  his ancestors, he holds to the faith of the Catholic church and politically he
  is a Democrat. He has served his fellow citizens as township treasurer, school
  director and road commissioner. In 1896 he was a candidate for representative,
  but at the polls was defeated by a very small majority. In his township and
  county he is regarded as a strong and capable man, one who ranks easily among
  those whose opinions have weight and whose example is worthy of close emulation.
  
  
  Additional Comments:
    Additional Comments:
              Extracted from: 
                
              History of Sullivan County Pennsylvania
              by Thomas J. Ingham
                
              Compendium of Biography
                
              The Lewis Publishing Company
              Chicago: 1899
  
  
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