Frank R. and Catherine (Gorman) Larkin
Great grandfather Frank R. Larkin (1849-1902) was born in the village of Lebanon in Dodge County, Wisconsin, one of many places his parents stopped enroute from Ireland to Milwaukee. Before Frank was too old, his family had moved again, this time to Watertown in Jefferson County, where he lived until he was a young adult. By the mid-1870s, he had moved on to Milwaukee.
Great grandmother Catherine (Kate) Gorman (1855-1933) was a bit hard to track in her early years. We know that she was born in the state of New York to Irish immigrant parents, and she remained in New York at least until the birth of her brother, Thomas, in 1863. However, the next time Catherine appears she was living with her mother and brother (no father) in Milwaukee in 1870.
Frank R. Larkin and Catherine Gorman married in Milwaukee on June 19, 1877, and they lived at 127 N. 17th Street. From 1878 to 1898, they produced and raised a large family. Their kids were named Jas. F., Mary, Lillian, Charles, Loretta, George, Albert, Oliver, and Cyril. The oldest child, Jas. F., would later reverse his name to become Frank J., and still later he would become our grandfather. Very shortly after their marriage, Catherine's mother, Elizabeth Gorman, would move in with their family and remain with them throughout their married lives. This makes their large family an even more impressive fete!
Frank R. Larkin was the only male among the 12 males in the first two generations of our family tree not to engage in either farming or some skilled trade. Rather, Frank was a business person, although the exact nature of his business isn't clear. Over the years he used fairly generic job titles, like reporter in a commercial agency, merchant, and assistant manager at the R. G. Dunn Company. At the age of only 53, and with a house full of kids, Frank R. Larkin died in Milwaukee on November 4, 1902.
And this must have been a particularly bad time for his wife, Catherine. Just six months earlier in 1902, her mother had also died. So, Catherine went from being one of three adults caring for nine children to being a single mom with nine children. Catherine moved a few blocks away, to
605 N. 17th St., and she remained there with a house full of middle-aged adult children until her own death on April 28, 1933. Frank R. and Catherine Larkin are both buried in Holy Cross Cemetery.