McKanna, Katherine
Primary Name: McKanna, Katherine Ann
Filed as: McKanna, Katherine Ann
Also known as: Katherine Ann Rooney; Katherine Rooney McCanna; Katherine McKenna; Katherine McKanna
Occupation / Association: Teacher; Charter Member, Pioneers of Alaska Women's Igloo Auxiliary No. 6
Born: April 2, 1852, Farrellton, Quebec, Canada
Died: May 2, 1939, Los Angeles, California
Parents: Rooney family of Farrellton, Quebec
Spouse: Michael Bernard McCanna (married April 9, 1874, Raymond Township, Minnesota)
Children: Elizabeth Elinor McCanna (born May 13, 1875, Raymond Township, Minnesota); James Adelbert McCanna (born December 16, 1876, Fargo, North Dakota); Emmett Joseph McCanna (born 1879, Miles City, Montana); Phillip Frances McCanna (born May 1884, Miles City, Montana)
Associated places: Farrellton, Quebec, Canada; Padua, Minnesota; Raymond Township, Minnesota; Bismarck, North Dakota; Fargo, North Dakota; Miles City, Montana; Douglas, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Los Angeles, California
Keywords: Katherine Ann Rooney McKanna, Katherine Rooney McCanna, Katherine McKenna Alaska, Katherine Rooney pioneer teacher, Pioneers of Alaska Women's Igloo 6 Charter Member
Biography
Katherine Ann Rooney McKanna was a Charter Member of the Juneau Women's Igloo Auxiliary No. 6 of the Pioneers of Alaska.
She was born April 2, 1852, in Farrellton, Quebec, Canada. Her family immigrated to the United States in 1865 and settled in Minnesota near Padua.
In 1872, she became the first teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in nearby Raymond Township, Minnesota.
She married Michael Bernard McCanna on April 9, 1874, in Raymond Township, Minnesota. Their first child, Elizabeth Elinor, was born there on May 13, 1875.
The family moved to Bismarck, North Dakota, in 1876. Their second child, James Adelbert, was born December 16, 1876, in Fargo, North Dakota. They later moved to Miles City, Montana, where Emmett Joseph was born in 1879 and Phillip Frances in May 1884.
Although the family spelled their name McCanna, newspapers often rendered it as McKenna. Over time, the spelling settled as McKanna.
Katherine Ann Rooney McKanna died May 2, 1939, in Los Angeles, California.
Sources
1900 and 1910 U.S. Federal Census, Douglas, Alaska; 1920 U.S. Federal Census, Juneau, Alaska; Alaska Weekly, June 2, 1939