Paul Christopher Riley was born in Providence on this date to William Leo Riley (1912-1985) and Helen Frances Manning (1921-1994). Paul grew up in Pawtucket and has spent most of his life in and around the environs of his home town.
Paul’s grandparents were Patrick Leo Riley (1875-1955) and Marguetta E. Greenhalgh (1876-1962).
90, of Pawtucket, passed away peacefully with her family by her side, Thursday, June 27, 2019. She was the wife of the late Frederick Daley. Born in Pawtucket, she was the daughter of the late Patrick and Margaret (McSally) Riley. A lifelong resident of Pawtucket, Joan was a teacher’s aide for the city of Pawtucket School Department for 15 years before retiring. She is survived by her children, Tammie McNaught and her husband Peter, Maryanne Ricci and her husband Robert, Lynne Nelson, Elizabeth Mahony and her husband Thomas, and John Daley and his wife Deborah. She also leaves her brother, Dennis Riley and 11 grandchildren. She was the sister of the late Barbara Fleury, James and William Riley, and cousin of the late Margaret Silva. The funeral will be held Monday, July 1st at 9AM from the Costigan-O’Neill Funeral Home, 220 Cottage Street, Pawtucket, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11AM in Saint Teresa Church, 358 Newport Avenue, Pawtucket. Burial will follow in Mount Saint Mary Cemetery. Relatives and friends are invited. Visiting hours Monday from 9-10:30AM, prior to the Mass in the Costigan-O’Neill Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, donations to Hope Hospice & Palliative Care RI, 1085 North Main Street, Providence, RI, 02904, in memory Joan, would be greatly appreciated. http://www.oneillfuneralhomes.com
Margaret Frances (Bartley) Riley (1911-1978) was born and lived her whole life in Pawtucket. Her parents were Francis J. Bartley (1889-1957) and Margaret Z. Read (1890-1935). Peg, as she was called, married Patrick J. Riley on February 5, 1947. They had one child, Dennis Patrick on March 3, 1948.
Tim Fleury was born on this date to Richard Bernard Fleury and Darleen Fisher. He was born in Providence and grew up in Bristol, RI. Tim’s Riley connection, is his late grandmother, Barbara (Riley 1927-2015 and his great grandfather Patrick J. Riley (1900-1985).
Andrew McNaught was born on this date. Andrew is the son of Tammie Daley and Peter McNaught. His Riley connection is on his maternal side. Andrew’s grandmother is Joan (Riley) Daley, daughter of Patrick J. Riley (1900-1985). A nice touch on Andrew’s Daley side, is that his great grandmother, Delia Bridget Calahan, was born in Ireland.
Sean Fleury was born on this date to Karen Ann Matteson and Timothy Patrick Fleury. His paternal grandparents are Richard B. Fleury (1928-1992) and Barbara Hope Riley (1927-2015). Sean was born in Warwick, RI and grew up in Massachusetts.
Susan Moore was born on this date to Judith A. Mulligan and David Moore. Susan’s grandmother is Margaret Ernestine Riley and grandfather is Walter Frances Xavier Mulligan.
Patrick Leo Riley was born on June 7, 1875 in Pawtucket, RI, his father, Patrick, was 40 and his mother, Rose, was 32. He married Marguetta E. Greenhalgh in 1898. They had eight children in 16 years, Patrick Leo died on April 7, 1955 in Pawtucket at the age of 79.
His sister, Rose Riley was born on June 7, 1887 in Pawtucket, RI. At the time of her birth, her father (Patrick) was 52 and her mother, Rose was 42. Rose never married and lived her life in Pawtucket. She was 85 years old at the time of her death on April 5, 1973 and was living at 181 South Bend Street. See the attached item.
Nancy (Fleury) Orlando married to Tony Orlando (yes, that’s correct). Daughter of Barbara (Riley) Fleury and Richard B Fleury, Nancy was born in Providence and grew up in Pawtucket.
Patrick J. Riley on this date in 1900, son of Patrick L. Riley and Margaret E. Greenhalgh. Born and raised in Pawtucket, he was one of eight children and the first born son. Patrick had to leave St Joseph’s Grammar School after the 8th grade in order to earn money for the family. One of his first jobs was hustling coal. He would follow the horse carts used to deliver coal to businesses and homes. As pieces fell off, and hit the ground, he would have to out hustle the other kids for that fallen piece of coal. Some of the pickings would be brought home and others would be hawked in the neighborhood. PJ, as he was called, liked to reminisce about carrying “dinner pails” from the Pond Street area in Pawtucket, to the Potter and Johnson factory which was located where Hasbro now sits on Newport Avenue. He said a good day was when you got to carry four pails for all three shifts.
Pictured above is a 1920 photo from the shipping room at US Finishing which was located on Prospect Street in Pawtucket. PJ is the man in the vest and tie looking directly at the camera. His job was to check the length of the cloth bolts before they were shipped out. In 1925 he went to work for the Blackstone Valley Gas and Electric Company and remained with the utility for 42 years until he retired in 1965.
Patrick J. was widowed twice, Margaret C. McSally in 1938 and Margaret F. Bartley in 1978. He had 5 children and passed away on August 22, 1985.
Maryanne (Daley) Ricci, daughter of Joan L. Riley and Frederick A. Daley. Granddaughter of Patrick J. Riley (1900-1985) and Margaret Cecelia McSally (1900-1938)
Mary Ann Riley, daughter of Patrick Riley (b-Ireland) and Rose Kiernan (b-Ireland), on this date in 1871. Mary Ann, who never married, worked for many years as a “winder” at Narrow Fabrics in Pawtucket. The company was one of the world’s largest manufacturers of shoelaces.
Mary Ann resided at 181 South Bend Street, Pawtucket (right across from what is now McCoy Stadium). She, and some of her siblings, lived at the South Bend Street address for quite a few years. It was her home when she passed away at the age of 71, on December 27, 1942.
Katherine (Kate) Agnes Riley, daughter of Joan M. Burggraf and Stephen F. Riley, granddaughter of Frances C. Riley and Rita Coleman Riley
Recently, while culling through some files, I came across this Ask the Globe (Boston Globe) article from 6/16/92, and thought you would get a kick out of it.
Q. Who leads the “Life of Reilly”?
A. Anyone who so chooses, although the original name was “O’Reilly.” The expression comes from the American vaudeville song “Are You the O’Reilly?” popularized by Pat Rooney in the 1880s about everyone’s pleasures once the the song’s namesake strikes it rich. Two of the promises made in the lyrics are “A hundreds day will be small pay,” and “On the railroads you’ll pay no fare.” At the end of each verse the vaudeville audiences would join in the chorus: “Are you the O’Reilly they speak of so well? Are you the O’Reilly they speak so highly? Gorblime me, O’Reilly, you’re looking well.”
Kathleen Agnes (Riley) Mulligan, b) April 15, 1899 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island and passed away on August 19, 1988 in Norton, Massachusetts. Kathleen married Willian Frances Mulligan of Foxboro, MA on June 1, 1920 in Pawtucket.
19 Pond Street 