James Traynor birth abt 1803-death? The first record we have of any of the Traynors in America seems to start with James Traynor and his wife, Bridget Henry. We have little record of them at this point except for a few small items. We have the death certificates of their children that point to them as being their parents, and we also have an newspaper article from 1911 that describes James Traynor as being the grandfather of Harry Traynor, who was the brother of John Hanrahan Traynor, who was the father of Harry S. Traynor. James was mentioned to be a tollgate keeper on the Nicholasville to Lexington pike for a period of about 50 years. James and Bridget originated in Ireland and settled in the Jessamine Kentucky area and had at least three children: James M. Traynor, Mary Traynor McGlone and John A. Traynor. They may have had 2 other children, Henry Traynor and Eliza Traynor. John A. Traynor married Bridget McGuire and had four children (James Traynor, Annie Traynor, John H. Traynor, Harry T. Traynor), but after sometime, Bridget died and John married her sister Eliza, with whom he had two more children (William Traynor and Sallie Traynor). At one point John moved the family to the country, to a village called Athens, Kentucky, where they lived for a time just after the death of Bridget. They eventually moved back to Nicholasville in Jessamine County where John remarried to Bridget’s sister, Eliza McGuire. John held a few occupations during his life living in Jessamine County. He was at one time a grocer and was also a police judge for the county. Local history has it that John was appointed to the position by the local city council, but for some reason, which was probably politically motivated, Governor Breckenridge appointed another person to the judge position. John initiated a protest and at the behest of the community, filed a lawsuit (Traynor vs Beckham 1903) to stop the Governor from appointing his own man. In the ensuing trial, the prevailing decision was in favor of John Traynor and the decision that the local council had the right to appoint their judges, not the Governor. A few documents have mentioned his name for different cases he presided over. JTT-Central Record 4-10-1902 John, along with other police, sheriffs and detectives met to form an organization between them to create a more systematic plan for capturing criminals. They will decide to make the organization permanent and across the state. They met in the office of Chief of Detectives, Harry Stough of Lexington on April 10, 1902. The Lexington Herald-10-3-1914 John was involved in getting an ordinance limiting liquor licenses as a means to protect the liquor dealers of the city from other dealers being pushed out of “Dry” counties in Kentucky. He was on a committee of wholesalers who having merchant liquor license called upon Mayor Cassidy to ask that the number of merchant licenses be limited to protect their businesses. The Lexington Herald-7-9-1920 John Traynor has leased the building of GW Lyne on Main St where he will conduct a grocery. The Lexington Herald-9-2-1921 John D. Funk purchased the grocery stock of John Traynor, on South Main Street. John H. Traynor was born Jan 12, 1872 in Lexington, KY at the corner of South Limestone and Winzell (Sp) street and was the son of John Aloyisus Traynor and Bridget McGuire. He had two full brothers: Harry Thomas Traynor, James Traynor, a half brother named William Traynor, a full sister by the name of Annie Traynor and half sister named Sara Traynor. His mother died when he was but two years old, and his father then moved to the country near a small village of Athens in Fayette County, where John spent his childhood days and received his early education. John was educated. Athens had no school at all. He was privately tutored by a Miss Nelly Parker. He started. He went through the first grade through high school with her. And he was privately tutored by her, and also that was grammar school then high school, too. And later on he did take a business course. That was the basics of his education. And I’ll tell you this: He loved to read Shakespeare, and I think that was the only thing mother was jealous of was Shakespeare, because he loved to read it. And he would always help me with my lessons. Arithmetic, he was a whiz at math. And even when I diagrammed sentences, he’d diagram them for me. And I’d go to school the next morning, put them on the board as big as life, and the teacher said someone helped you with that. Didn’t they? And I’d say Oh, yes. That’s my daddy. (Rose Leverone 1978) He spent time with his aunt, Mary McGlone, who also lived in Jessamine County. While yet a mere boy, he obtained employment on a farm. He later worked on the bridge over the Kentucky River (Southern RR High Bridge) south of Nicholasville and then worked later in Williamstown, Kentucky. I’m not sure what occupation but I have a faint recollection that he was probably working for the Southern Railway. After continuing for a few years, he was induced by the good people of the village to accept the office of Marshal of Athens, one of his considerations was to be taught Latin for two hours a day by Dr. S. L. Parker. This was during a turbulent time for the city, as this militant hamlet imposed important responsibility on young John. He won the esteem and gratitude of the town by standing up to the lawless elements whom learned respect till this day. After remaining in the service for about two years, he resigned as Marshal and entered the Lexington Commercial College where he completed a course in business training. He then located to Seattle, WA, where he was associated with his brother Harry in the lumber business for about a year when he returned to Kentucky. Later, he went into the liquor business, where he opened a store in South Bend, Indiana known as the Barrel House. He stayed there for several years before returning to Lexington, Kentucky where he opened a store at 105 North Broadway in Lexington, which is a wholesale liquor distributorship or sales store. After that, he was in the automobile service business on Church Street in Lexington and for a short time was in the real estate business. He also accepted a position as chief clerk of the Saint Nicholas Hotel in Nicholasville, KY, which he held until 1909 when he came to Lexington and engaged in the Sheehy Mercantile business. There he continued until ill health forced him to retire. On 11-9-1910 he married Mary Augusta Punch Leverone Sheehy in Lexington, KY, and they had five children (Harry S. Traynor, John Traynor, Louise Traynor, Patricia Traynor, Rose Traynor). They lived in the Lexington area where they raised their family. At the time of his death, he was survived by his widow, his three children, John, Mary Patrica and Harry Traynor and also by his father, Judge John Traynor, and by his brother, William Traynor, and two sisters Annie and Sallie Traynor. He died on August 27th, 1925. (Harry Traynor 1978) Contributed by Dan Sweeney. |