Jesse Alonzo McConnell was born in Denver, Colorado on September 11, 1852 the
second oldest son of Noah and Eliza (Quinn) McConnell
First Known Photograph of Denver - 1860
Family recollections come from Mary McConnell Shumeyer, grand-daughter of Tony. While Mary was born 13 years after Tony died, these
memories undoubtedly come through her father William, who was Tony and Mary's fifth child:
- Came from Colorado
- Didn't get along with his parents, Noah & Eliza McConnell
- Went with the circus
- Handsome - had 'purple eyes like Elizabeth Taylor' and a little mustache
- Spoke 9 languages
- Loved boats
- Worked on a riverboat
- Excellent swimmer
- Horseback rider
- Excellent marksman
- Was a private man
- His first wife, Mary Morton, fell off a horse and was confined to a wheelchair
- Mary thought of her grand-father as the cowboy in the painting 'The Wagon Boss'
Tony was born on the frontier, Denver, in 1852 but found his way to St Louis, Missouri and married Mary Moreton
on June 22, 1875. Tony was 23 yr old and Mary was 22. They remained in St Louis and there are multiple family lines still living there today.
In the 1880 St Louis census Tony is 28 yr old and his occupation is 'laborer.' Mary is 23 and is noted as 'cannnot read or write.'
Their first son, George, is 4 yr old and daughter Nettie (Jeannette) is 1 yr old. Living at the same address is Samuel Moreton and his wife Dora.
Samuel lists the birthplace of his parents as 'England' just as Mary does so he is likely Mary's brother.
Twenty years later, in the 1900 census for St Louis, Mary is noted as 'married' but Tony is not in the hosuehold. Mary is listed along with 6 children:
- George - born 1876 - 23 yr old - day laborer
- Jennette (Nettie) - born January 1879 - 21 yr old
- Samuel - born 1881 - 18 yr old - day laborer
- Jessie - born Aug 1884 - 15 yr old - at school
- William - born January 1891 - 9 yr old - at school
- Florence - born August 1899 - 1 yr old
Tony was Catholic and was supposed to be a very close friend of a Father Paul reinert of St Louis University. They had a falling out and left the church.
We know that at some point Tony remarried to Julietta Stark. It was Julietta Stark McConnell that filled out Tony's death certificate when
he died on September 2, 1912. The cause of death is listed as 'pneumonia.'
Mary McConnell Shumeyer said that Tony and his 21 yr old son William were fishing on the Mississippi River when Tony fell in. William dove in and rescued his father
but Tony died a month later. Jesse Alonzo McConnell is buried in Zion Cemetary in St Louis. His son William is buried in the same grave.
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