MICHAEL S. QUINLAN Company "G" 27th Virginia Infantry (Confederate) "The Shriver Grays" Researched and compiled by Linda Cunningham Fluharty. The research of Michael Quinlan was prompted by a message from Jim Schmidt, a Civil War researcher who is doing a book about the important and interesting role played by Notre Dame in the Civil War. Although I can't say for certain that the Michael Quinlan from Wheeling was the Notre Dame student, I can say that he could have been because he was associated with the most affluent families in Wheeling. The fate of the parents of Michael Quinlan is not known at this time. However, at the time of the 1850 census of Ohio County, (West) Virginia, Michael was living in the home of Henry and Mary Jamison, both born in Maryland; he was a (illegible) Merchant. The Jamisons had children of their own, as well as other children in the home, including four Quinlans: Mary, 19; Robert, 11; Michael, 9; Daniel, 7 and Patrick, 5. Henry Jamison died in 1856. In the 1860 census, Michael, along with his brothers, Robert, Daniel and Patrick, were residing in the home of MARY M. S. ZANE. Each of the four Quinlans had personal estate valued at $6000. Mrs. Zane had Real Estate valued at $83,000 and Personal Estate at $29,000. Michael is listed as a printer. In 1850 Mrs. Zane had $100,000. She was the widow of Ebenezer Zane [EBENEZER ZANE, b. Abt. 1813, Wheeling, Ohio Co., VA; d. July 27, 1843, Wheeling, Ohio Co., VA; m. MARY M. S. MCGOVERN, November 24, 1833, Ohio Co., VA; b. Abt. 1807, Wheeling, Ohio Co., VA.] Ebenezer Zane was the son of NOAH ZANE and MARY CHAPLINE, both wealthy, prominent families. Mary M. S. Zane died in Baltimore in 1867. MICHAEL QUINLAN is found in the roster of a community militia group in Wheeling in 1859 called the Virginia State Fencibles. In one of the books I wrote, I used that roster to show how these men were divided (north vs south) two years later when the war began. There is not yet proof that this Michael Quinlan was the Notre Dame student but the record from his service in the Shriver Grays shows this same young man as a printer, and also a student, in the various pages. He was diagnosed as having Valvular Heart Disease and received a medical discharge on December 19, 1862. In addition to their parents, Michael and his siblings were all dead by 1878. Records indicate conclusively that the parents were Michael and Mary Quinlan, and the children were born in Staunton, Virginia. MICHAEL S. QUINLAN died 25 Dec 1863, age 22, of inflammation of the lungs. The death notice in the Wheeling newspapers states that he was a native of Staunton, Virginia.
Mary Quinlan, the sister, married Daniel M. Stockton in Ohio County on June 14, 1852. She died of Puerperal Fever May 22, 1853. Robert E. Quinlan died October 11, 1862 at the age of 23. His death record indicates he was born in Staunton, Virginia, and his parents were Michael and Mary. Patrick Quinlan was murdered? in March 1876 by Melissa Robinson, a prostitute in Wheeling. She was charged with murder but claimed self-defense. The verdict is not known but "Pat" had a bad reputation and had spent time in prison for assault. He was murdered soon after his release from the Ohio State Penitentiary. He is buried in the Mt. Calvary (Catholic) Cemetery in Wheeling, which opened in September 1872. His father is listed as Michael. Date: 1876-04-14; Paper: Wheeling Register In 1870, Daniel O. C. (O'Connor) Quinlan, with $3000, was living at the McClure House Hotel in Wheeling, where a number of wealthy people stayed. Like Patrick, he was a conman and had brushes with the law. He died of yellow fever in New Orleans, according to an article published in the Wheeling Register on August 20, 1878. One news article states that Dan and Pat were brothers. Date: 1875-01-09; Paper: Wheeling Register
Date: 1877-02-15; Paper: Wheeling Register
NOTES Dec 19, 2011 - E-mail from <jjmessersmith@comcast.net> Hi Linda: I stumbled onto your information tonight about my Quinlan cousins; Mary, Robert, Michael, Daniel and Patrick. They were the children of my ggg grand aunt Nancy Talley who married Michael Quinlan 12 August 1830 in Augusta County, VA. I had independently found some of the information you have discovered but not all of it. Apparently Michael Quinlan, Sr. died before 1850 because he was not in the Quinlan household on the 1850 census in Augusta County, which was headed by a son named Edward who was born about 1833 who you do not have. Before tonight I had found their mother Nancy at an insane asylum in Missouri on the 1860, 1870 and 1880 censuses. Tonight I took another look at the 1850 Augusta County census and there is an Anna Quinlan, age 30, born in VA, who as a patient at the Western State Asylum in Staunton, VA, which is within Augusta County. Although her age is off a little, which as you know is not unusual for census records, I feel quite confident that she was the children s mother. BTW, on the 1850 census, Edward Quinlan, the head of the household at age 16, had real estate with an estimated value of $17,000. I appreciate all the time and effort you have put into researching this family which seemed to have more than its fair share of bad luck. I look forward to hearing from you. Jim Messersmith Rockville, VA