Sis: Baby Pictures
Later pictures of Sis are in ‘Margaret A. O’Donnell‘. All of her pictures can be found by entering her name into the search bar.
Kevin: Baby Pictures
Later pictures of Kevin are in ‘Kevin M. O’Donnell‘. All of his pictures can be found by entering his name into the search bar.
Start Here (RTFM🙄)
Purpose This archive is the start of a genealogical history of the O’Donnell family branch created by the marriage of James O’Donnell and Margaret Kortsch in 1944…… The historical biographies of the earlier generations of the O’Donnell and Kortsch families…
Baby Book: Sis
From 1947. As with Paul’s, Sis’ baby book doesn’t record much information. Printed on light cardboard stock in a single sheet, small octavo format.
Baby Book: Paul
From 1948. Only Paul and Sis have extant baby books. Mom didn’t make many notations in either one. Dad’s can be seen here. Printed on single sheet cardboard stock, small octavo format.
Jim and Kevin: The Bath Collection
Taken while living at Grandpa O’Donnell’s apartment in downtown Milwaukee (Summer 1947).
Jim: Baby Pictures
Later pictures of Jim are in his ‘James P. O’Donnell‘ post. The park pictures were taken in Red Arrow Park.
Mom and Dad’s Wedding
April 8, 1944, at Immaculate Conception Church, Bay View. Dad’s brother Bill, stationed in Europe at the time, was unable to serve as best man. Dad asked Jack Kortsch instead.
Mom and Dad As Young Adults
In a variety of settings, Mom and Dad in their late teens and middle 20s.
Dad In Law School
Dad with law school friends. The letter is an August 17, 1945, inquiry written two days after the end of the war while aboard the Effingham to the Marquette registrar about how many years of education he would be given…
History of Lines, Spooner, & Quarles (1910-1960)
Dad worked for Lines, Spooner, & Quarles as an office boy before he went into the Navy and again from 1947 to 1949 while he was in law school. On p. 25 of the History he is said to have…
Letters: From Mom to Dad (1944, 1945)
Mom wrote Dad 19 letters between August 16, 1945, and October 14. Also included here is a Christmas card from 1944. There were earlier ones from Mom because of references to them in the extant letters but none of them…
Letters: From Dad To Mom (1942-1945)
Fourteen letters, including the earliest letter between Mom and Dad (November 22, 1942), and continuing until September 1945. There is a gap of eighteen months when he sent no letters (April 1943 through October 1944). He was not yet at…
Wisconsin Supreme Court Appeal (1981)
The only legal work of his that Dad chose to keep in his personal records. The dispute under appeal is the value of the city bus system Milwaukee County bought in 1975 from the Milwaukee and Suburban County Transit System.
Letters: To Dad From Family and Friends
Letters from Bill O’Donnell can be seen in the separate ‘Letters to Dad From Bill‘ album. From His Mother First, five touching letters to Dad from his mother (1943-1944). Her love for him and her gentleness shine through the words.…
Letters: To Mom and Dad From Ann and Sis
Two letters from Sis while travelling, the first from England, the later one from Finland. Annie’s letter was written from a car dealer showroom in Atlanta while trying to win a 1981 Toyota Tercel in a ‘last man standing’ contest.…
Letters: To Dad/Mom From Bill
Seven letters Bill wrote to Dad (1940, 1944) and one to Mom (August 10, 1944). The first one to Dad was before the war, July 29, 1940. Bill was 18 at the time. To Dad, June 19, 1944 To Dad,…
Documents: Odds and Ends
Documents not fitting into any of the other text categories. Some of the more interesting ones are highlighted below. The remainder are at the bottom of the page. Death of Sr. Pancratia Three news clippings announcing the death of Sister…
Documents: Dad at Santa Anita Racetrack
Racing form from the Santa Anita racetrack in Los Angeles, April 24, 1989. Only the cover and pages with Dad’s notes have been preserved here.
Edward J. O’Donnell, S.J. (1909-1986)
Dad’s cousin. The first of the seven children of Edward O’Donnell, Dad’s father’s younger brother (1875-1939) and Ella Lloyd O’Donnell. The family lived in the O’Donnell Flats, too. Fr. Edward–not Edward the father–attended Marquette High School and University and was ordained…
A Marine’s Guide to North China (September 1945)
A 30 page booklet printed on heavy paper stock intended to introduce the 1st Marines to northern China, where they were posted immediately after the war. It was the 1st Marines the Effingham carried for most of its time as an amphibious…
Yosemite National Park (June 1945)
Fifteen pictures taken at Yosemite while Mom and Dad drove from San Francisco to Milwaukee two months before Jim was born. For a little more information on this trip, see ‘World War II: Miscellany‘.
WWII: Spokane, 1944
A number of pictures placed in an envelope labeled “Spokane” in Mom’s handwriting. They must have been taken when Mom and Dad moved to the west coast just after being married. What is most striking about them is how lighthearted…
WWII: Seattle, 1944
Mom and Dad as newlyweds in Seattle, waiting for Dad to be shipped out. Several pictures of the apartment they lived in from September to October, 1944. See, as well, the Seattle photobook Mom sent back to her parents where…
Seattle Photobook
A 1944 photobook showing scenes of Seattle, postmarked September 1, 1944. Sent by Mom to her parents three days after she and Dad arrived from the Farragut Naval Training Station in Idaho. Mom’s note inside mentions the difficulty of finding…
Dad’s Pocket Phone Book: 1940s
A small (3 ½”x 2 ½”) leather bound book listing Dad’s friends, family, and acquaintances. It also includes a number of entries for Kortsch family members and lists Mom’s measurements on the last page (18½ inch waist), showing comfortable familiarity,…
WWII: Life Aboard the Ship
Life On the USS Effingham Dad was fortunate as a wartime sailor in that his life was not jeopardized on a ship that endured repeated battles. A Haskell-class attack troop transport, the USS Effingham was completed late in the war…
WWII: Ship Assignment and Operations
Naval Paperwork Mostly routine Navy paperwork. The first transfer order (August 29, 1944) moves Dad from the Farragut Naval Training Station to Seattle, where the Effingham was going to be commissioned on November 1, 1944. It lists two transportation authorizations,…
USS Effingham Reunions
Those Effingham people planned a lot of reunions. Really. A lot of them. They even succeeded a couple of times. Dad kept a file folder of paperwork relating to planning for reunions of the USS Effingham men and their attempts to…
WWII: Naval Photos Annotated By Dad
Introduction Twenty one pictures Dad took and annotated between November 1944, when the USS Effingham was commissioned, and September 1945. For somewhat fuller accounts of Dad’s ship, see ‘WWII: Life Aboard the Ship’ and ‘WWII: Ship Assignment/Operations.’ Effingham’s Launch and…
World War II: Farragut Naval Training Station
Basic Training After induction Dad was sent to the Farragut Naval Training Station in, of all unlikely places, landlocked northern Idaho sometime in late October 1943. The copy of the “Farragut News” he kept is dated October 27, 1943, telling…
World War II: “Farragut News”
A 16-page base newspaper dated October 27, 1943, telling us that Dad was undergoing boot camp at the Farragut Naval Training Station on that date. The newspaper is a predictably bland cut and paste collection of PR releases, morale boosting…
World War II: Miscellany
A collection of 40 photos, objects, and text documents from Dad’s time in the Navy not falling into any of the other categories covering the war years. Includes pictures of Dad in his uniform, his photo ID for the US…
Postcards From the 1940 Canoe Trip
Postcards Dad–and Roman Renk–sent to Dad’s family during the 1940 canoe trip. You can read Dad’s diary of the trip in typeset or autograph versions.
Diary of a Canoe Trip on the Wisconsin River to the Mississippi (July 27-August 4, 1940) (Typeset)
Typeset version of Dad’s handwritten account of the canoe trip with Roman Renk. Pictures have been added to show some of the places he mentions as he might have seen them.
Diary of a Canoe Trip on the Wisconsin River to the Mississippi (July 27-August 4, 1940) (Autograph)
Nine page diary of the 1940 canoe trip with Roman Renk in Dad’s handwriting. For easier reading, see the Typeset version.
Dad’s Friends
Dad’s closest friend, Jim O’Herrin (1918-1936), died young, when Dad was a high school senior. Afterward, he remained close to Jim’s younger brother, Bill (1920-2009), and the O’Herrin family. After Dad’s mother died in 1944, Mrs. O’Herrin wrote an affectionate letter…
West Division High School Memorabilia
Dad was manager of the West Division football team, definitely in 1936 and probably the following year, too. The three bench tags are dated 1936. None of the news clips are dated, but the last one refers to the trade of…
West Division High School Yearbook: 1937
Dad’s senior yearbook. Only pages with annotations have been included here although the complete hard copy is available in the physical archive. Dad’s portrait is on p. 35 and a reference to him on the preceding page. Numerous references to…
West Division High School Yearbook: 1936
Dad’s junior yearbook. Only the annotated pages are shown here, though the complete hard copy is available. Dad’s homeroom group picture is on p. 66.
Dad: Boy Scouts (1932-1934, 1959)
Dad’s Personal Health merit badge certification (second picture), as well as five of those for Robert Quinn, who graduated from Gesu Grade School with him in 1932 and must have been a friend. Why Dad had them is a mystery.…
Dad’s Baby Book (1918-1919)
Five-page booklet on cardboard stock, supplied by Hartman Furniture and Carpet Company, on West Water Street. With, of course, a recommendation to buy a Hartman’s baby carriage. Dad was born at home, 1219½ Clybourn Street, at 10:28 (presumably a.m.). Weight…
O’Donnell Flats and Tory Hill
Dad started a memoir of the O’Donnell Flats that he didn’t finish, including a description of the building interior and some character sketches of a number of its many inhabitants. (Fair warning: Dad’s spelling could be wobbly at times.) Also…
Guiney Family
Introduction A little Guiney genealogy here. For Kortsch family genealogy, see the post on Mom’s father, Paul Kortsch Jr. (1887-1957) and grandfather Paul Kortsch Sr. (1854-1921) Look, too, at the Ferdinand Kortsch post for information about the founder of the…
Ferdinand Kortsch (1826-1900) (Corrected 12-15-2025) (N.B. add family tree sections to post to keep reader centered)
Overview This account sketches the life of the founder of the Milwaukee branch of the Kortsch family in America, with a digression on some distant but interesting cousins. Information on the lives and work of Ferdinand’s son, Paul, Sr, and…
The O’Donnells: Dad’s Notes
Dad’s handwritten notes listing family information for his grandfather, father, and several of his aunts and uncles. Next is Dad’s list of the six graves in his father’s family plot (below). What looks like “Lena” is actually ‘Sena’ (1874-1912), his…
The O’Donnells, Generation 4: James J. O’Donnell (1918-2010): Biographical Sketch
Born September 7, 1918 Graduated Gesu Grade School (1932) Graduated West Division High School (1933-1937) U.S. Navy, World War II, Dental Technician First Class, USS Effingham (1944-1945) Married Margaret M. Kortsch (1944) Graduated Marquette University, B.S., Business Administration (1947) Graduated…
The O’Donnells, Generation 4: William F. O’Donnell (1922-2004)
Born William Frances, 1922 (The feminine form of his middle name is unusual for a male but not unknown, nor is it a mistake.) Attended Lincoln High School Served as Milwaukee county supervisor, 1948-1976 Served as Milwaukee county executive, 1976-1988…
William F. O’Donnell: Campaign Materials & News Clips
Bill’s campaign materials and newspaper articles that Dad kept. The first shows him in 1949 as a newly-elected county supervisor, trying his best to look comfortable in front of a group of small children. He wasn’t successful. The future father…
The O’Donnells, Generation 4: Marie O’Donnell (1925-1926)
Marie was the third child and first daughter of James and Margaret McIntyre O’Donnell. She lived only one year. The cause of her death is not known. She’s buried in Holy Cross Cemetery with her mother and father, brother Lorny,…
The O’Donnells, Generation 4: Laurence (‘Lorny’) O’Donnell (1927-1961)
Introduction Lorny’s name was frequently misspelled, even by his own family, but it was Laurence, a common Irish variant since the 12th century, in honor of the saint Laurence O’Toole. This picture shows Lorny around the age of ten or eleven (so…
The O’Donnells, Generation 4: Marion O’Donnell Eldredge (1931-2025)
Fifth child, second daughter, and only surviving daughter of James J. O’Donnell Sr. and Margaret McIntyre O’Donnell. In 1950 Marion was living with her father and working 16 hours a week as an assembler at a metal products manufacturing company.…
The O’Donnells, Generation 3: James J. O’Donnell Sr. (1874-1955)
Early Years Third child of James O’Donnell (1844-1906) and Bridget Quinn O’Donnell (1850-1884). We know a little more about Dad’s father than we do the two earlier generations of our American ancestors, with the assistance of Bruce’s History of Milwaukee…
The O’Donnells, Generation 3: Margaret McIntyre O’Donnell (1888-1944)
Overview After Sena Thompson O’Donnell died in 1912, Dad’s father James married Margaret McIntyre in 1915, when she was 27 and he, 42. She became the mother of: James J. (1918-2010) (Dad) William F. (1922-2004) Marie (1925-1926) Laurence L. (‘Lorny’)…
The O’Donnells, Generation 3: Sena Thompson O’Donnell (1874-1912)
No pictures of Sena are known. Sena B. Thompson was born in Illinois in 1874 and at some point in the late 1880s moved with her parents to St. Paul, Minnesota. One of seven children, she was raised on her…
The O’Donnells, Generation 2: James O’Donnell (1844-1906)
Son of William O’Donnell, he was born in 1844 and age two when his parents emigrated. Life He married, first, Bridget Quinn on May 6, 1869 (below), when he was 24 and she, 19. Their ten children are listed in…
The O’Donnells, Generation 2: Bridget Quinn O’Donnell (1848-1884)
Early Life No pictures of Bridget are known. Her father was Michael Quinn, her mother, Betsy (sometimes ‘Bessie’) Curby (sometimes ‘Curley’). She was born in (choose only one!): Vermont, Troy, New York, Ireland, or Milwaukee. The only conclusion we can…
The O’Donnells, Generation 2: Susan Reddy Collopy O’Donnell (1847-1915)
The second wife of James O’Donnell (1844-1906). Born October 1847. Died March 5, 1915. Life and First Husband Susan Reddy was born in Brandon, Vermont, in 1847, though later in life she would take to giving it as 1851. Her…
The O’Donnells, Generation 1: William H. O’Donnell (1825-1899)
The first of our family to come to America. Early Years Born about 1825 in Clonmel, Tipperary, Ireland (see the naturalization Declaration of Intent). Father: William O’Donnell, born about 1796 in New Inn, Tipperary. Mother: Mary Mecham O’Donnell. Dates not…
The O’Donnells, Generation 1: Bridget Clifford O’Donnell (C. 1824-1904)
Introduction Bridget Neavin Clifford O’Donnell may be the most elusive person in the archive. Bridget’s Life With Some Certainty Here’s what we know about her with reasonable certainty: according to her death record, she was born into the Neavin…