CASHMANS Family Reunion article Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives April 14, 2002 by Carol Jeffries ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cashmans Hold Reunion Here Hudson, Wi August 29, 1940 175 Grandchildren of Pioneer Couple Meet Here Sunday For First Reunion One of the largest family reunions ever to be held in Hudson took place at Prospect Park Sunday afternoon when 175 of the grandchildren of the late Mr and Mrs John Cashman with their families met. This is the first reunion that the descendents of the Cashmans have held. They hope to make it an annual affair. Mr & Mrs John Cashman, pioneers in the St Croix valley were fine examples of those early settlers who opened up this valley for settlement. Both came from Ireland. Mr Cashman was born in County Cork in 1805 and Mrs Cashman in the same county in 1816. Although little is known of the early history of these people, it is known that they came from hardy Irish stock, deeply religious in the Catholic faith and had an education which was good according to middle class standards of a century ago. The two were married in Ireland in 1833 and were the parents of four children born in Ireland. They were Mike, Elizabeth, John and Tom. They came to America by way of Canada and settled in St Louis in 1843 where a son, Patrick, was born and a daughter who died in infancy. After living for a while in St Louis the Cashmans heard of the opportunities in the great Northwest and joined the emigrants who were seeking their fortunes in the new lands of the upper Mississippi valley. They made their first stop at Catfish Bar, then an important boat landing, where they ran a boarding house for a while. In 1848, they came to what is known as Buckeye. Later they took a claim in the town of Troy where they lived until 1883. They sold this farm to the Larsons, parents of Ted Larson, present owner of the farm. The main part of the house on this farm, built by the Cashmans, is still in use and is in good repair. It was in this house that most of the younger children were born. These were named James, Lawrence, Mary, Frank and Henry. In 1855 their daughter Elizabeth married Patrick Martin and in 1872 their daughter Mary married Patrick O'Keefe. These were the only children to be married in this home. Mr & Mrs Cashman underwent all of the difficulties and hardships of the early pioneers. They were terrified by the Indians, suffered the hardships of poor crops and weathered the difficult days of depression of the Civil War times. In the 1860's when times were very hard, Mr Cashman stayed at home to care for the family while his wife skated to Hudson to do washing and ironing for the wealthy lumber families who were then developing the timber industry of the St Croix Valley. She was able to earn much more this way than her husband could at this work. After years of hard work and diligent savings, Mr & Mrs Cashman were able to acquire a comfortable home in Hudson on 6th St. This was in 1885. Mr & Mrs Cashman now felt that they had saved enough money to take care of their modest needs. However, after Mr Cashman's death, Mrs Cashman lost much of her savings in a bank failure, receiving only 30 cents on the dollar of her deposits. Mrs Cashman died in 1896. Both are buried in the Catholic cemetery here. John Martin, the first grandchild was present when the old farm in Troy was sold. He tells of how Mr Larson brought the entire purchase price in coins of small denominations and that although the money had been counted by witnesses, Mr Cashman was just skeptical enough to demand that the entire amount be recounted before he would close the deal. The descendents of Mr & Mrs Cashman who attended the reunion included: Mrs J McGrogan and Mrs John Hutchinson of Buffalo, NY; Mrs Nettie Cashman and daughter; Laura and Dr and Mrs Walter Cashman with fourteen children and grandchildren and Mr & Mrs Hans Peterson of Superior; Mr & Mrs J Sullivan and family of Stillwater; Mr & Mrs O Bly, Mr & Mrs M C Winter and Mr & Mrs Tom Cashman all of Minneapolis; Mr & Mrs John Cashman, Mr & Mrs Wm Hutchins and family, Mrs Anna Cashman and daughter Eleanor, Mr & Mrs Joe Cashman and Mr & Mrs John Bohmert and children and grandchildren all of St Paul; Mr & Mrs Andy Fogerty and family of Dresser; Mabel French of Huron, SD; Lyle Callander of Sandstone, Mn; Mrs C W Marquart of Clear Lake; the Marty families of New Richmond; the Browns and the Fogertys of Roberts; the Murphys of Boardman; the Allan and William Cashman family and Mrs L Brathal Hudson. Mrs Aimee O'Keefe was in charge of reunion. There were several families that had planned to come but were unable to be here because of inclement weather. Among those who could not be here was Gen. O'Keefe who is now confined to the Veteran's Hospital in St Paul. Mr O'Keefe was the first man to enlist in the army when the World War started. This was on April 6, 1917, the day the US declared war. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain written consent of the author/ contributor and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The contributor has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access.