Spouse:
Anne Morony (married on July 20, 1856; she died in 1857); Catherine Theresa Ryan (remarried on November 30, 1862, after he left office)
Children:
One child (while in office), Thirteen additional children (after he left office): Anna (with Ann, while in office, died in 1858); William Austin, Edward Thomas, Joseph Patrick, James Michael, John Henry, Austin S., George Bennett "Ben", Matthew J., (sons, with Catherine, after he left office); Mary Ellen "Nellie", Mary Elizabeth, Frances R., Mary Gertrude, and Agnes "Dolly" (daughters, with Catherine, after he left office)
Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:
History of Ramsey County and the City of St. Paul, J. Fletcher Williams, 1881 lists his birth year as 1831. His great grandson says according to church records in Ireland he was born in 1829.
History of Ramsey County and the City of St. Paul, J. Fletcher Williams, 1881 says he came to America in 1848. He lived in New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois before he moved to St. Paul, Minnesota in May 1849. His great grandson says that he found ship passenger lists that indicate that he arrived in New York City, New York on May 23, 1850.
He became a naturalized citizen of the United States on September 17, 1859 in the District Court of the State of Minnesota for the Second Judicial District in St. Paul.
He was listed as a Democratic party candidate in the 1857 election. (A History of the City of St. Paul to 1875, 1983 edition, by J. Fletcher Williams, p. 382)
Davern Street in St. Paul, Minnesota was named after him. (Upham, Warren. Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance, 1920)
He died, from a cerebral hemorrhage, in St. Paul, Minnesota and was buried in Calvary Cemetery in that city.
Birth place, birth county, birth state, family data, alternate spelling of his last name, naturalization date, and cause of death provided by his great grandson.
Religion provided by his great grandson.