Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Flanigan

Patrick Flanigan and his wife Mary unfortunately died at nearly the same age in almost exactly the same way in almost exactly the same location. The only thing? They died five years apart.

According to census and other records, Patrick was born around 1843 in Ireland. When he arrived in the US is unknown, but he was living in Brooklyn, NY when he enlisted in the Union army on August 22, 1862. (See Arthur DeNeufville Talcott for more information about a soldier's experiences in the war.) You can learn more about his NY Infantry Regiment here. Patrick made it safely through the war, although he was wounded and recovered in June of 1864 in Cold Harbor, VA. He mustered out in September of 1865, having been listed as sick since March of that year.

Chesapeake Hospital, Hampton, VA where Patrick Flanigan may have spent many months at the end of the Civil War recovering from illness.

After mustering out, Patrick married a woman named Mary and within a year, they had a daughter Mary. In 1870, the family lived in Hartford, CT and had grown to include daughter Mary (age 4) and son Edward (age 2). I did not conduct a more thorough search on this period, as the majority of the story is about Patrick and Mary's deaths. By 1880, Patrick and Mary had added three other daughters to the fold. They were called Josie, Anna, and Kate in the 1880 census. 

Around 1893, Patrick and Mary moved to West Hartford and Patrick was working at "the shop of Frank A. Knox" on the evening of March 23, 1898. Patrick apparently had worked around town as an assistant (in 1870 and 1880 he was listed as a house carpenter and therefore could have done any number of useful tasks). 

The next morning, Patrick's body was found lying along the train track that ran along what is now New Park Avenue. He was found across from Charter Oak Park, which was at the time a racetrack and amusement park. The details of the discovery are graphic and were reported by the Hartford Courant as follows:

"[The body] was cut in two across the stomach. The man's legs were cut almost to bits. The top of his head was broken in and his brains were scattered for some distance along the track... The man's face was not bruised [and] he wore a Grand Army button on the lapel of his coat." The paper goes on to say that "The body was identified by Mr. Flanigan's wife."

Mr. Flanigan was later laid to rest at the St. Benedict Cemetery in Bloomfield, CT. 

Five years later, on December 1, 1903, a woman's body was found at nearly the same place along the train tracks across from Charter Oak Park. It was discovered to be Patrick's wife, Mary Flanigan. it seems that she had been hit by a train on the way home from her daughter's home and had taken a local trolley. It seems to have been assumed that she was crossing the tracks after leaving the trolley and was hit by a train between about 5 and 8 p.m. At that time of year, the city is nearly dark by 5 p.m. and she may not have been seen at all by the train that hit her. 

While the article does not describe the state of Mary's body in detail, she was described as having been badly cut up with broken ribs and a badly broken left arm. All trains that had traveled along the route were subject to examination to find which engine had hit her and when. 

The Courant noted that "It is a remarkable fact that Mrs. Flannigan's husband, Patrick, was killed in the same manner only a short distance west of the same spot, about four years ago. He was crossing the tracks on his way home." Mrs. Flanigan was buried beside her husband at St. Benedict Cemetery.