Jessie Callahan Mahoney (also spelled as Callaghan, born May 17, 1887 – June 12, 1956) was an American rancher,

Eureka County Eureka County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 1,855, making it the second-least populous county in Nevada. Its county seat is Eureka, Nevada, E ...

commissioner, and an advocate for women to pursue higher education.

Biography

She was born Jessie Callaghan on May 17, 1887, to parents Eliza Farrell and Dan Callahan in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. Her parents met at the

California State Fair The California State Fair is the annual state fair for the state of California. The fair is held at Cal Expo in Sacramento, California. The Fair is a 17-day event showcasing California's industries, agriculture, and diversity of people. The CSF ...

in Sacramento. They lived in her father's homestead ranch which was named after him Mt. Callahan (or Callaghan). An accident involving a team of horses caused her father's death when she was three months old. Mahoney's two uncles loaned her mum the money to pay off the ranch. Eliza married Hugh McAfee two years later. Jessie studied in then St. Mary’s of the Wasatch Academy in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. She had a brief stint as at Waltis’ ranch near

Grass Valley A grass valley (also vega and valle) is a meadow located within a forested and relatively small drainage basin such as a headwater. Grass valleys are common in North America, where they are created and maintained principally by the work of b ...

. She later met William Mahoney, fellow Irish emigrant from

County Cork, Ireland County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, who came to America and worked in Reese River Valley. He supervised a massive estate in California owned by William Dunphy. The property had well over 100,000 acres by 1877. In 1915, the couple got married at a Catholic cathedral in San Francisco and Jessie went on to live with William at the Dunphy estate. She later became a

postmistress A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

, teacher, and the

commissioner. Jessie Mahoney died on June 12, 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahoney, Jessie Callahan 1887 births 1956 deaths American ranchers American women activists County commissioners in Nevada