Our Colbert family ancestors settled in Minnesota during the mid to late 1800s, mainly in the St. Paul region. The first ancestors on this side of the family were the Kennedy's who arrived in the frontier town of St. Paul around 1852. Thomas F. Kennedy and Mary E. Woods were married in St. Paul by Bishop Cretin in 1852 and had their first son, John Daniel Kennedy in 1853. Less than 20,000 people lived in Minnesota Territory at the time. Thomas was born in Ireland in 1823 and immigrated to the U.S. between 1847 and 1850. He died in Minnesota in 1905. Mary E. Woods was born in Ireland in 1828, daughter of Daniel Woods who was buried in St. Paul in 1886. Mary died in St. Paul in 1912.
John Daniel Kennedy married Bridget A. Glynn (1860-1919) in Shakopee, Minnesota in 1882. Bridget was the daughter of two Irish born immigrants, Nicholas Glynn and Mary O. Purcell, who settled in Scott County, Minnesota before 1856. John and Bridget lived in Morton County, MN and their son Thomas Francis Kennedy was born there in 1888. Thomas married Philomena "Minnie" Catherine Stemper in 1913. Philomena was the daughter of Nicholas Stemper and Caroline "Carrie" Claus from Dubuque, Iowa. Caroline's father Bernhard was an immigrant from Alsace Lorraine, France in 1844 and her mother Catharine Schleicher was born in Baden, Germany.
Thomas and Minnie Kennedy's daughter married the son of William Richard Colbert and Gertrude Rose Fleissner (Michael Fleissner family pictured above). William Colbert's parents were Richard and Johanna Woulfe who immigrated from Ireland between 1880 and 1882. Richard was born in County Limerick in 1860 and Johanna was born in 1865, most likely in County Limerick. Richard's parents were William Colbert and Bridget Woulfe. Johanna's parents were Richard "Dick" Woulfe Jr. and Mary McAuliff, who were both born and died in County Limerick, Ireland. Gertrude Rose Fleissner's parents were Michael Fleissner (1864-1941) and Margaret "Maggie" Beck (1869-1931). Michael and Margaret were married in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1888 after immigrating from Austria between 1870 and 1881. Michael's parents were Johann Fleissner and Maria Anna (Steiner) Stopfer. Margaret's parents were Jacob (Becht) Beck and Barbara Eckel. |
