Kearney family papers

Table of Contents

Summary Information

Scope and content note

Administrative Information

Collection Inventory

Francis J. Kearney and Edith Doreen Kearney (nee Govier)

World War II: War Brides' Stories, 29th Infantry, and Other Memorabilia

Family Memorabilia

Summary Information

Repository

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Title

Kearney family papers

ID

4187

Date [inclusive]

1900-2015

Extent

2.8 Linear feet ; 9 boxes, 1 flat file

Author

Finding aid prepared by Susan E. Kearney.

Language

English

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Scope and content note

Francis Joseph Kearney (1919-1995) was a third-generation American of Irish descent, tracing all of his great-grandparents to the generation that fled Ireland during the great Famine (1845-1848). After being drafted into the U.S. Army, 29th Infantry, in 1942, he trained in England where he met his future wife, Edith Doreen Govier, an English nurse. Frank Kearney was a radioman with Regimental Headquarters, 115th Division. On D-day, he and his unit were part of Operation Overlord; he came ashore on Omaha beach late on 6 June 1944 and served with the 29th through the Battle of St. Lo and through to Bremen, Germany. In June 1945, he returned to England to marry his English war bride. The couple had about a week to plan the wedding and spend time together. Frank then returned to Germany and finally was sent home to Philadelphia via England in September 1945. In March 1946, his wife arrived in New York as part of the massive influx of war brides. She travelled on a troop ship, the E. B. Alexander, with a boat full of other women and children coming to their new homes and lives in a foreign country.

This collection has been divided into three series. The first series centers on the lives of Francis Joseph Kearney and Edith Doreen Govier (aka Frank and Doreen). The second and largest series includes materials related to World War II, war bride stories, and the 29th Infantry. The third collection contains family memorabilia from not only Frank and Doreen but also from their eldest daughter, Susan Kearney (1948- ).

The first series includes genealogical notes on Francis Kearney’s Irish Roots going back to his great-grandparents, the famine generation: Michael Kearney and Mary Ann McGuigan, James Fitzpatrick and Mary T. Finnegan, Matthew Patton and Mary Smith, and Patrick Shannon and Sarah Murray. In some cases, the names of his great-great grandparents are also noted. No genealogy is included for Edith Doreen Govier because her line has been developed in a published book entitled A Bold Peasantry: The Ancestry of Bert and Mabel Govier of Chulmleigh, Devon. The book is part of HSP’s family genealogical collection. This series also includes copies of letters Frank sent to Doreen from the spring of 1944 through March 1946 upon her arrival in Philadelphia. These letters are personal in nature with few details about the war itself. There are copies of Doreen’s nursing lecture notes including some detailed drawings from a class in anatomy and physiology from her time studying at Oxford, and a copy of her Civil Nursing Reserve Certificate. Some newspaper clippings from 1944-1946, three telegrams from Frank to Doreen, and a copy of a page from the E. B. Alexander’s ship manifest complete this part of the collection.

Series II is rich in World War II material. The series begins with ten war brides’ stories. These stories vary in detail. They were collected by Frank and Doreen’s eldest daughter, Susan. There is also a CD of a conversation between two of these women, Doreen Kearney and Violet Halas, recalling how each met their husbands and the difficulties faced in arranging marriages given the time constraints of military servicemen during the war. Newspaper articles on war brides, together with two books on the subject, are part of this series. A pamphlet entitled “The 29th Lands on Omaha Beach [Box 2, Folder 6] by Louis M. Gosorn (1951) begins the collection’s focus on the 29th Infantry. There are copies of the Infantry’s shoulder insignias, an undated pamphlet titled after the unit’s famous battle cry: “29, Let’s Go,” and three unit movement maps showing routes from Britain to Bremen, Germany. The bond developed by the men of the 29th during the war remained strong for many for the rest of their lives. The Philadelphia Post of the National 29ers was Post 92. Frank Kearney remained active in this from the group’s inception shortly after the war ended until his death in 1995. Post 92 held annual events and this collection contains many photographs (some identified) of the men at various reunions, often at Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, PA. The Unit’s national newsletter, “The Twenty-Niner” contains many personal war stories; this series has an incomplete collection of the newsletters from 1979-2018 publications. Other items of note include original letters written by John Tyrrell, an Englishman stationed in Palestine during the turbulent post-war years, to Doreen Kearney (1945-1946); a war-time map of Paris; a copy of Frank Kearney’s Certificate honoring his part in the liberation of St. Lo; two letters sent by British school children to Yank soldiers; a photograph of Heavyweight Joe Lewis visiting British troops; articles on the incident at Slapton Sands (1944); D-Day commemorative newspapers and magazines; and the program from the dedication of the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia in 2001.

Two additions to Series II were added to the Collection in 2023. These are housed in Boxes 8 and 9. Box 8 contains some personal papers belonging to a friend and fellow-29er of Francis Kearney. Frank Oberle and his wife Jane were active in the National Association with Frank serving as the Association's President Commander and its National Chaplain. During the War, he served with Co "L" Infantry, survived Omaha Beach on D-Day and earned two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star. The remainder of Box 8 contains additional copies of "The Twenty-Niner" with incomplete dates ranging from 2005-2023. Of note is the edition from Autumn/Winter 2023 that highlights an article about Bodmin written by Frank and Doreen's daughter Susan. The event involved a replacement plaque at Bodmin Keep (Victoria Barracks during World War II) where Frank Kearney was stationed in 1943. Box 9 contains Sheet Music belonging to Doreen, mostly dated from 1939-1950 with a heavy emphasis on World War II selections such as "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square," "The White Cliffs of Dover," "A Badge from Your Coat," When They Sound the Last All Clear," and "Light Out, 'Til Reveille." One piece of note is a copy of "The Star Spangled Banner" printed as part of a collection of Allies' national anthems. Doreen signed this copy on July 4, 1944. She was recently engaged to Frank in late May 1944. At the time Doreen purchased this piece of music, Frank was fighting in Normandy and she was planning a future in the USA.

Series III is a small collection of family memorabilia. Passenger lists and menus from the SS United States (1953) and RMS Queen Elizabeth I (1957) show that Doreen Kearney was able to return home for visits with her daughters, Susan and Christine. As a member of the Collegiate Cathedral Choir of SS Peter and Paul from 1970 to 1980, daughter Susan participated in the 41st International Eucharistic Congress, sang the Canonization of St John Neumann in Rome, and sang for Pope John Paul II when he visited the city in 1979. Photographs, newspaper articles, a CD recording, and liturgical programs commemorate these events. As a teacher, Susan also moderated the yearbook at Cecilian Academy, a small Catholic girls’ school in Germantown that is now permanently closed. The collection has yearbooks from this school (1971-1974) and Frank Kearney’s yearbook from North Catholic (1938). Mary Mauger was Frank Kearney’s great aunt. Some papers from her and her husband John including the Owner’s Service Policy for a 1936 Plymouth Tour Sedan, Veteran’s notes from 1929-1934, and Income Tax returns from 1950-1953, reflect the economics of middle-class life in the mid-20th century. Life in the early 21st century is represented through Doreen Kearney's Smarty Jones memorabilia. The Philadelphia-based horse created a local sensation when he was only the second Pennsylvania-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby in 2004. The horse easily won the Preakness but failed in his attempt to be the 12th Triple Crown winner in June 2004.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

 Historical Society of Pennsylvania ; 2019.

Access restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Provenance

Gift of Susan Kearney, 2018.

Accession number 2018.110.

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Collection Inventory