Daniel Joseph McSweeney
Diane Bader
Daniel Joseph Sweeney was born on November 12, 1869, into
one of the large Irish families in the burgeoning young city of San Francisco.
He waof s the ninth child born to Julia Lenahan of Roscommon and Daniel Sweeney County Donegal, Ireland.
His father, Daniel Sweeney, owned one of the first
stockyards in San Francisco. He ran his successful cattle business there for
twenty-five years. During the early years of young Daniel’s life, San Francisco
was a flourishing city. Lavish homes were being built by Leland Stanford Jr.,
Mark Hopkins, Collis P. Huntington, Charles Crocker and others. The Palace
Hotel, the Baldwin Hotel, prosperous banks, and magnificent churches were all
under construction. Many streets were paved and gas lights were being
installed.
Then in 1877, when Daniel was only eight years old, his
father decided to retire and return to Ireland with Julia and their eight
living children. He purchased an estate called Carrowcannon House as well as
fifty-three acres in Falcarragh, County Donegal, North West Ireland.
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| Carrowcannon House |
When the Sweeney family arrived in Ireland, the children saw
a beautiful but very poor country. In contrast to what they were used to in San
Francisco, there were no mansions, no two-story houses, one small wooden
church. The children had to learn to speak Irish; they rode in a horse cart to
school and church. All the children, including Daniel, wanted to return to San
Francisco. It was especially hard for them when their older sister and brother
did return after only two years and the six younger children had to remain in
Ireland for six more years.
Upon arrival, Daniel’s father saw how poorly the peasants
were being treated by the landlords. Their rents were constantly being raised
and when they couldn’t pay them, they were evicted from their tiny homes. He
decided to help them by organizing the Land League in four parishes of County
Donegal, becoming president of one branch and traveling around the county
delivering fiery speeches against the landlords and urging the poor not to pay
their unfair rents. Young Daniel watched how hard his father fought for
justice.
When his father was arrested at Carrowcannon House on June
2, 1881, Daniel, then 12 years old, raised the American flag over their home
and said, “Father, they’ll pay for this yet!” Although he was an American
citizen, the elder Daniel was imprisoned for 14 months without trial and
without help from the U.S. government. With his father in prison, Daniel’s
mother, Julia, joined the Ladies’ Land League and gave fiery speeches of her own.
The family remained in Donegal for 4 more years. Daniel was 16 years old when
his father was released and they finally returned to San Francisco where he
completed his education. An interesting fact: when they returned, they all used
the name of Mc Sweeney which has confused genealogists ever since, especially
since the eldest two children never changed their names from Sweeney to Mc
Sweeney.
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| 540 Baden St. |
Daniel Mc Sweeney moved to South San Francisco with his
brother, Ambrose Mc Sweeney, on November 17, 1895. He was employed as the first
U.S. meat inspector on the Pacific Coast for the Western Meat Company.
Previously, he had worked as a butcher in the Customs House in San Francisco.
Soon after moving to South San Francisco, Daniel went into the hotel business.
He purchased the Grand Hotel on Bayshore Blvd. He also obtained a contract with
the Ocean Shore Railroad Board to act as commissary head with accommodations
for 400 men. The earthquake came along in 1906 and ruined this business
contract, although he still kept the hotel. He was also the proprietor of The
Old Bohemia Saloon.
In 1908, Daniel became interested in the incorporation of
South San Francisco and ran for city council. He was elected and then reelected
in 1910. Then he was selected by his fellow trustees to serve as the second
mayor of the city from 1910 to 1912. Daniel also served on the county
Democratic Central Committee for over 30 years. During the Wilson
administration in 1916, he became postmaster until 1917 when it was taken over
by San Francisco Ferry Station Post Office.
Daniel then became personnel manager at Pacific Coast
Steel. He was elected to the position of
City Clerk of South San Francisco in April 1920 and was reelected four times.
He remained in that position until his death in 1946.
According to the April 10, 1910 Enterprise Journal, Daniel
“is a very active and earnest man in all his work and undertakings and a most
genial and jolly good fellow. Although one of the town’s first city fathers,
Dan is, we are sorry to say a bachelor. However, he is not old and his friends
still have hopes for him.” Daniel was 41 years old.
His friends’ hopes were fulfilled when he married May
Elizabeth Ryan. Daniel never had any children of his own but was father to his
wife’s son and daughter: Joseph Lloyd Ryan and Gladys Ryan.
On Dec. 8, 1939, The Enterprise said, “His sunny disposition and friendliness
has endeared him to all who come in contact with him. His pleasant Irish face
framed by the wings of white hair is a familiar and welcome sight around the
city hall.”
Pictures: Personal File
Newspaper: The Enterprise, South San Francisco, CA
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Diane
Bader is member of the Sacramento Genealogical Society, where she lives. She grew up in Menlo Park and Atherton,
attending St. Joseph's School, College of Notre Dame and Stanford. Diane has
written a book about her life in Menlo Park in the 1940s and early 1950s. She remembers when Silicon Valley was all
fruit trees where people would come each spring to see the blossoms. Her father
had a dental office in San Carlos and her mother and family were from San Francisco. Diane is a retired teacher, church musician
and liturgist. She presently sings with
the Consumnes River College Gospel Choir. Her book "Setting Donegal on
Fire", about her great grandfather Daniel McSweeney, was launched in
Falcarragh, Donegal, last August by the Minister of the Diaspora, Joe McHugh.
You can contact Diane at kianna4064@gmail.com
© 2017 Diane Bader - Please contact author for use of any portion of this story.
