John Francis Flanagan was born on February 19, 1878, in Napa, California to Patrick and Kate Flanagan. He was the fourth child of eight in this family line. Based on what I can find, he was very likely born at the Flanagan home at 606 Seminary Street, Napa, CA. The Flanagan Ranch house had not been built yet so the family lived in town during the early years.
John Francis was known to his mother, Kate, and apparently to his immediate family as Frank or Fran. At some point, he must have outgrown this nickname and was known as Jack Flanagan. There are newspaper articles and at least one book that talk about Jack.
As I've posted previously, Jack married Mary Elizabeth "Minnie" McLaughlin (my great grandparents) on September 1, 1904. She was the oldest child of seven born to Thomas Michael McLaughlin and Ellen Maxwell. I know very little about Minnie and her family. Minnie was a teacher before she married Jack. I am hoping that my Fratessa cousin's can shed some light on her.
In her later years, after Jack passed away, Minnie moved to Monterey County to live with her daughter, Kay, and nearby to her other daughter, Ellen. Kay and her husband, Joe Fratessa, had four children. While Minnie passed away in 1949, these four grandchildren, the children of Kay and Joe, would have known her. My own mother is also a grandchild of Jack and Minnie but was very young when her grandmother passed away and lived in Napa at the time.
Jack and Minnie did have five children all born and raised in Napa, California. Their children were Ellen Maxwell (b. 1905), Catherine "Kay" Veronica (b.1908), Robert "Pat" Francis (b.1910), Richard "Dick" Joseph (b.1912), and John "Max" Maxwell (b.1916). Minnie must have really wanted the Maxwell name to live on. I believe that all of the children were born at the Flanagan's home on Stockton Street which is now Palmer Street. The house was very close to Pat's and Kate's original Napa home on the corner of Seminary and Stockton.
To be continued..........
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