Harry W. and Mary W. Breen - Cedars Memorial Gardens - Mineola, TX
N 32° 39.359 W 095° 29.584
15S E 266178 N 3615895
Thomas Breen was an Irish immigrant who came to Mineola in 1873 and became a prominent civic and business leader. A zinc headstone marks the final resting place of two of his children, Mary and Harry, here in Mineola's Cedars Memorial Garden.
Waymark Code: WMW71B
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 07/18/2017
Views: 2
A 2004 Texas Historical Marker in town provides some history about Mr. Breen and his family:
Irish immigrant Thomas Breen came to Mineola working for the Texas & Pacific Railroad Company, which reached the town in May 1873. He stayed to be the first ticket agent. In the late 1870s, he wed Irish native Lucy Wilson. In the 1880s, he opened a hardware store. He served for many years as postmaster and later as city alderman. Of the Breens' twelve children, one also served as city postmaster, one served as city commissioner, one played on the 1912 baseball team, one helped establish the Mineola Canning Company, and three served during World War I. The Breen home, now razed, served for many years as a meeting place for early Catholic residents of the city.
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As they were Catholics, there is a cross at the top of the headstone, and throughout is the common floral detail seen on zinc markers. On the front, on the plinth, is the family name, "Breen", and the panel above it features a harp. On side two, "1886" is on the plinth, probably when this headstone was placed, and above, is the panel listing the two children:
Harry W. Breen,
Born --- Died
Sept. 27, 1880, July 31, 1882.
Mary W. Breen,
Born --- Died
Feb. 26, 1883, Oct. 11, 1883.
Side three's panel shows a funeral wreath, with roses, and panel four shows a lamb. Some of the screws are missing, and some have been replaced with something less fancy but more modern.
Website: [Web Link]
Additional Coordinates (optional): Not Listed
Date of birth (optional): Not listed
Date of death (optional): Not listed
Headstone text (optional): Not listed
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