Arthur C. Flynn : Short Biography

Arthur C. Flynn immigrated to the United States circa 1857, most likely together with his younger brother, James. Later their parents, Owen Flynn and Martha Crawford, and younger siblings, Martha, Anna, William and Joseph, would also join them in Naugatuck (New Haven County), Connecticut. The only consistent detail passed down about the family was that they emigrated from County Cavan, Ireland.

Biographical sketches of two of Owen and Martha’s sons, James and William, add some details to this family’s immigration story. Although similar in broad terms, there are some key differences. In a sketch of James Crawford Flynn published in Walter B. Steven’s St. Louis, the Fourth City, 1764-1909 (Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1909, pp. 260-261), it states he came to the U.S. in 1857 and "joined his sisters, who were living in Connecticut."

The 1860 census corroborates this as Arthur and James are living with their sister, Sarah Flynn Curtiss, her husband Charles. The sketch goes on to say his parents “came about ten years later” and after his mother’s death, his father returned to Ireland, where he later died. A briefer sketch of James appeared in The Book of St. Louisans by Albert Nelson Marquis (St. Louis: St. Louis Republic, 1912. 2nd Edition, pg. 201) also states James immigrated in 1857. James’ younger brother, William Charles Flynn, was profiled in W. L. Kershaw’s History of Page County, Iowa (Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1909, pp. 409-410), but his account of Owen and Martha's journey to America is slightly different:

The parents came to the United States in 1863, the family home being established in Connecticut. The climate, however, did not agree with the father and he returned to his native land in 1864, there passing away three years later. The mother, after her return to Ireland, found it lonesome without her children, who all sought the advantages offered by the new world, and the same year in which she had accompanied her husband on his trip back to the Emerald Isle witnessed her second arrival in the United States. While en route for America, however, she contracted a severe cold, from the effects of which she died a short time later.

The question remains, did Martha leave Ireland for the second time to be reunited with her children before her husband died or after? The one detail that can be confirmed is that Martha Crawford Flynn died in Naugatuck on September 24, 1866, at the age of 63, and is buried at Hillside Cemetery, in that city. 

In the picture above: Left to right: James Flynn, William Flynn (standing) and Arthur Flynn.