The first was a Lucas Countyan post entitled "The 'Power of Love,' a sex scandal and tragic deaths." In it, Dr. Riordan was mentioned as the physician who in 1886 boarded a C.B.&Q. passenger train at Melrose after Bert Neuse shot himself and tended to the unfortunate young man en route to Chariton.
The second was a fresh set of photographs of the Sacred Heart Church windows, taken as a comprehensive restoration effort continues and posted at the "Chariton Sacred Heart History" Facebook site.
One of those windows is the Sacred Heart window high in the chancel, north of the main altar, that was given by Dr. Riordan in memory of his parents. That's my photo of the window, taken a few years ago. It is balanced by an Immaculate Heart of Mary window south of the altar, given by the Rev. Henry Maniett.
The windows most likely were moved here from the original parish church, St. Mary's, when the new church was built in 1915. But neither Dr. Riordan nor his parents, Michael and Catherine, ever lived in Chariton. He was one of the rocks of the St. Patrick's parish at Melrose; they lived and died in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, where the family settled after arriving from County Kerry, Ireland, during 1855.
But Dr. Riordan, both a physician and successful entrepreneur, was widely known for his benevolence so it's not that surprising that he would have funded something like this in a neighboring parish where he was widely known and admired. Sadly, the old St. Patrick's Church at Melrose was struck by lightning and burned during 1971, so we have no way of knowing what sort of memorials he might have left behind there.
The inset photo is of Dr. Riordan's tombstone in St. Mary's Cemetery, Fulton, New York, hometown of his first wife, Delia (Flannery) Riordan. Late in life, the Riordans established a second home there, eventually his full-time home, and he died at Fulton at the age of 73 on Dec. 10, 1925.
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Dr. Riordan was born Nov. 19, 1851, in County Kerry, Ireland, to Michael and Catherine (Donohue) Riordan. Michael was a farmer and school teacher who brought his family to the United States during 1855 and purchased a small farm in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, where he lived until his death in 1890. Michael Jr. was the youngest in the family upon arrival although others were born later.
Michael attended the schools of Berkshire County until after the Civil War when, still a teen-ager but faced by the need to support himself, he headed for Iowa, perhaps to join relatives who lived at Mt. Pleasant in Henry County.
What happened next is told as part of a tribute to Dr. Riordan written by Henry Clay Eschbach, of Albia, and published in the April 1926 edition of the Journal of the Iowa State Medical Society:
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"Dr. Mark Ranney, superintendent of the State Hospital at Mt. Pleasant, gave him (the young Michael) a position as a general utility boy --- taking care of his horses, running errands, and whatever he was called upon to do. It was not long until Dr. Ranney was impressed with his intelligence and his quick and accurate way of sizing up facts, and his ability to do well what was given him to do.
"Dr. Ranney then mapped out a course of study for him and personally supervised his studies, until he had prepared him for entrance in the medical department of the State University of Iowa. In 1872 Dr. Ranney furnished him the means and he matriculated in the medical department of Iowa University, and here the loyalty to the faith Dr. Ranney had in him began to tell, as did the inheritance of his simple but sturdy Irish ancestry, for he quickly took rank as a leading student in his class, and his brilliance carried him along as a leader to his graduation as first honor man and valedictorian.
"Following this, he received the apointment as assistant physician in the Mt. Pleasant Hospital, under his old patron Dr. Mark Ranney. Here he remained until 1878 when he resigned and began private practice in Melrose."
Some years after establishing himself in Melrose, Dr. Riordan met and married Delia Flannery --- the date given in his obituary is May 2, 1886. Delia was a native of Fulton in Oswego County, New York, where the balance of her family lived and it's not clear how she ended up in Melrose. She is identified in the obituary as Delia "Sullivan," so it may be that she was a young widow at the time of her marriage to Michael.
The Riordans, who had no children, lived in Melrose until the spring of 1912 when, as her health was failing, they established a second home in her hometown, Fulton, and moved there. She died in Fulton on Dec. 29, 1912, and was buried there in St. Mary's Cemetery.
A little more insight into Dr. Riordan's medical career is provided by an obituary published in The Fulton Patriot on Dec. 16, 1925:
"For several years he practiced in Melrose, Iowa, where he was unusually successful. He was also interested in business there aside from his profession and was accounted one of the prominent and successful business and professional men of that state.
"Dr. Riordan for many years was the chief physician of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad. He was also prominently identified with the medical societies of the state of Iowa."
Michael returned to Melrose after Delia's death, but now semi-retired traveled widely. On one of those trips --- to his former hometown near Pittsfield, Massachusetts --- he married Elizabeth Eldridge, some 25 years his junior, on Oct. 27, 1914, and they returned to Melrose to live and build a new home.
Within a couple of years, however, they decided to make their permanent home in Fulton, where Dr. Riordan, although no longer practicing medicine, became active in the community and Immaculate Conception Church. In 1918, he established himself as something of a local hero, as recorded in his 1925 obituary:
"He was noted for his acts of charity, performed in many ways. In the year of 1918, when Fulton was stricken by the influenza plague which wiped out many of the population, Dr. Riordan, while not a licensed state practitioner, volunteered his assistance and was granted a special permit by the state of New York to practice. This he did night and day without compensation and lending his efforts to many families who were strucken and who were in need of medical attention."
The good doctor died in Fulton on Dec. 10, 1925, after a four-week illness and was buried beside Delia in St. Mary's Cemetery. His widow, Elizabeth, known as Bessie, continued to live in Fulton until her death during 1973 at the age of 96.
H.C. Eschbach, in his Medical Society Journal tribute, attempted to convey a little of Dr. Riordan's character, as follows:
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Some years after establishing himself in Melrose, Dr. Riordan met and married Delia Flannery --- the date given in his obituary is May 2, 1886. Delia was a native of Fulton in Oswego County, New York, where the balance of her family lived and it's not clear how she ended up in Melrose. She is identified in the obituary as Delia "Sullivan," so it may be that she was a young widow at the time of her marriage to Michael.
The Riordans, who had no children, lived in Melrose until the spring of 1912 when, as her health was failing, they established a second home in her hometown, Fulton, and moved there. She died in Fulton on Dec. 29, 1912, and was buried there in St. Mary's Cemetery.
A little more insight into Dr. Riordan's medical career is provided by an obituary published in The Fulton Patriot on Dec. 16, 1925:
"For several years he practiced in Melrose, Iowa, where he was unusually successful. He was also interested in business there aside from his profession and was accounted one of the prominent and successful business and professional men of that state.
"Dr. Riordan for many years was the chief physician of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad. He was also prominently identified with the medical societies of the state of Iowa."
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Michael returned to Melrose after Delia's death, but now semi-retired traveled widely. On one of those trips --- to his former hometown near Pittsfield, Massachusetts --- he married Elizabeth Eldridge, some 25 years his junior, on Oct. 27, 1914, and they returned to Melrose to live and build a new home.
Within a couple of years, however, they decided to make their permanent home in Fulton, where Dr. Riordan, although no longer practicing medicine, became active in the community and Immaculate Conception Church. In 1918, he established himself as something of a local hero, as recorded in his 1925 obituary:
"He was noted for his acts of charity, performed in many ways. In the year of 1918, when Fulton was stricken by the influenza plague which wiped out many of the population, Dr. Riordan, while not a licensed state practitioner, volunteered his assistance and was granted a special permit by the state of New York to practice. This he did night and day without compensation and lending his efforts to many families who were strucken and who were in need of medical attention."
The good doctor died in Fulton on Dec. 10, 1925, after a four-week illness and was buried beside Delia in St. Mary's Cemetery. His widow, Elizabeth, known as Bessie, continued to live in Fulton until her death during 1973 at the age of 96.
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H.C. Eschbach, in his Medical Society Journal tribute, attempted to convey a little of Dr. Riordan's character, as follows:
"He was very patient with children, because he loved them and evidently they loved him. He was considerate of the feelings of all classes. He was generous to a fault. He was helpful to those needing help. He was public spirited, taking active part in the betterment of conditions in his community and in the parish. He gave of his means generously, but he also gave of himself, which so often means much more.
"He had a keen sense of humor and could use his native Irish brogue with ludicrous effect, though his usual diction was as precise and clean cut as that of any English scholar. He had a keen mind, an active brain, and an unusually fine physique which served to carry him through the hardships of an exacting practice.
"... his memory will always remain among the people to all of whom he had been for so many years the medical adviser, but more than that, the staunch and understanding friend."
So now, if you look up at the Sacred Heart window in Sacred Heart Church, you know something about the life and character of Dr. M.F. Riordan, who commissioned it in memory of his emigrant parents, Michael and Catherine.
"... his memory will always remain among the people to all of whom he had been for so many years the medical adviser, but more than that, the staunch and understanding friend."
So now, if you look up at the Sacred Heart window in Sacred Heart Church, you know something about the life and character of Dr. M.F. Riordan, who commissioned it in memory of his emigrant parents, Michael and Catherine.
Delia (Flannery) Riordan left a bequest of $350 in her will to fund this family stone in St. Mary's Cemetery, Fulton, New York.
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