Thomas Dolan, born on November 14, 1827, in County Longford, Ireland, was a successful merchant tailor in Dixon, Illinois. He immigrated to the United States in 1841, initially settling in Lee County. Overcoming early hardships, including a severe leg injury, Dolan learned the tailor’s trade and worked in various locations, including Joliet, Chicago, and Polo, Illinois. In 1871, he permanently established his tailoring business in Dixon. He married Rose Crawford, and they had sixteen children, ten of whom survived. Active in the Roman Catholic Church and the Democratic Party, Dolan also served as a City Alderman in Dixon, contributing significantly to local developments such as the city waterworks and cemetery. He passed away, remembered for his industrious and community-focused life.
Thomas Dolan, a merchant tailor of Dixon, doing business in the Dolan Block on Galena Avenue, located permanently in this city in 1871, but had resided here previously, the date of his coming being 1841. He was born in County Longford, Ireland, November 14, 1827, and is a son of Michael and Ellen (Phiney) Dolan, who spent their entire lives in County Longford, on the farm which had been the family homestead for three generations. The death of the father resulted from an accident incurred at the age of fifty-four years, and his wife only survived him about six months. They both adhered to the faith of the Roman Catholic Church. Only two of their children are yet living — Thomas, of this sketch, and Mary, wife of James Carroll, who for thirty-seven years has been foreman of the water works of Jersey City, N.J.
Our subject is one of the self-made men of Lee County, having made his own way in the world from the age of fourteen years. Prior to that time, he remained under the parental roof, but in the spring of 1841 bade good-bye to home and native land, and accompanied by a brother as far as Liverpool, England, whence he crossed the Atlantic in the sailing vessel “Kilber,” landing at New Orleans several weeks later. He then proceeded up the Mississippi River to Peru, Ill., and the same year joined another brother, William, in Lee County. Empty-handed, he began life in the New World, and for the success which has crowned his efforts he deserves all the credit. Not long after his arrival, he met with a sad accident. While working in a dye house, his right leg was scalded and fears were entertained for his life, but through the kind treatment he received in the Sisters’ Hospital of St. Louis, he ultimately recovered after two years of illness, but was left a cripple. In the fall of 1843, he began learning the tailor’s trade in Joliet, Ill., where he remained until 1846, when he went to Chicago, and in that city spent fourteen years in the line of his chosen profession. He was also employed as a journeyman in a tailoring establishment in Morrison, Ill., for five years, and for six years engaged as cutter with Wilson Allen in Polo, this State. In the meantime, he had spent the years 1852 and 1853 in Dixon, and now returned in 1871, making a permanent location. For more than twenty years he has carried on his tailoring establishment in Lee County with good success.
While in Chicago, Mr. Dolan wedded Miss Rose Crawford, who was born in Ireland, and in 1851 came with an uncle to this country. Her mother had died in the Emerald Isle, and subsequently her father, Nicholas Crawford, crossed the Atlantic to America, joining his daughter in Chicago. In after years, he went to Kankakee, Ill., where he is still living at an advanced age. He belongs to the Catholic Church, as did also his wife. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Dolan have been born sixteen children, among these being triplets and twins. Ten of the number are yet living — Lucy, wife of John McBride, a publisher of periodicals in New York City; Thomas F., who wedded Maria O’Conner, is engaged in merchant tailoring in Chicago, as a partner with his twin brother, Joseph M.; Minnie, Nina, and Maggie are all stenographers of Chicago, one being employed as a court reporter, another in the Leland House, and the third in the Palmer House; William, who is a tailor by trade, but is now employed as a salesman in a wholesale grocery house of Chicago; Agnes, who attends the Normal College of Dixon, where she is studying elocution; and Lizzie and John, both of whom are High School students.
Mr. Dolan, his wife, and children are all active members of the Roman Catholic Church, and in politics he is a supporter of the Democratic party. While in Chicago, he took quite an active part in local military affairs and was First Lieutenant of the Emmet Guards from 1856 until the late war broke out. With Capt. Pat O’Conner and First Lieut. D. M. Ward, he organized a company for service in the Rebellion, and out of the eighty-five men, he was the only one not accepted, his rejection being due to his lameness. He has been quite a prominent citizen in Dixon for many years, and in 1883 and 1884 served as City Alderman. During this time the city waterworks were put in and the cemetery also laid out, Mr. Dolan acting as Chairman of the Cemetery Committee. It was largely through his influence that the Protestants and Catholics joined in making this burial city for their dead. Mr. Dolan has led a busy and useful life, and by his industry and perseverance has acquired a comfortable property, being now well-to-do.