Bernard McArdle
by granddaughter Julie Snively
Bernard McArdle,
his brother and two sisters were part of an Irish family that lived in Rochester, N.Y. Their father, Michael, was a barrel maker. In 1879 the family moved to Chicago, where Michael expected to find steady work. Soon after they arrived, the children's mother, Mariah, died. Michael, unable to work and care for the children, put them in a Catholic orphanage, where he paid for their upkeep.When the children first went to the orphanage, the conditions were nice and their father visited regularly. Then, the visits stopped and they were moved to a part of the orphanage where destitute children lived. Conditions in that area were rugged.
No one knows what happened to Michael. The two girls were sent back to Rochester, where they were taken relatives. Both boys were put on a train. Bernard, then about 9, was taken by a widow, Mag Kilev, who owned a farm near South Wayne, Wis. On his first Christmas at the farm, the widow, whom he called Aunty gave him a quarter. Thrilled, he put the money in a cupboard. When he came back from the barn after milking, the money was gone. Neither he nor she ever mentioned it.
He stayed at the farm until he was 16 years old. Then, he worked for railroads until his death in 1935. He and his wife, Margaret, lived in Rockford and had three children. The only surviving child is my mother, Helen Smith. He saw his brother only once after he left the Kiley farm. He and his sister, Julia, were reunited in about 1920, after he traced her through the Catholic Church. Neither he nor Julia ever were able to find the other sister.
I never knew my grandfather, but my mother says that, perhaps because of his childhood experiences, he was an especially kind, loving and supportive husband and father.
