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Person

Norman M. Gallagher

Also Norman Gallagher · Norman M. Gallagher

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypePerson
Born1917
Died1974-07-21
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Person
Born
1917
Died
1974-07-21 · Beaver Island
Parents
William John Gallagher · Mary Elizabeth Gallagher
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
catholicismcommunityheritageeconomymaritime
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

Norman M. Gallagher (14 March 1917 – 21 July 1974) was a Beaver Island-born teacher who settled in Port Huron. He kept a financial tie to the island — offering 100 shares in the Beaver Island Boat Company for sale in February 1974 — and died five months later; his obituary and a subsequent correction ran in the Beacon that summer.

History

Gallagher was born on Beaver Island on 14 March 1917, the son of William John and Mary Elizabeth (Duffy) Gallagher.1 In February 1974 a classified advertisement gave his Port Huron address as the contact for 100 shares in the Beaver Island Boat Company, offered at the going price.2 He died on 21 July 1974 at Port Huron General Hospital; the Beacon’s obituary records a funeral service at Holy Cross Church on July 25 and burial at Holy Cross Cemetery, and covers his teaching career and Port Huron church membership.3 An August 1974 correction to that obituary and a family thank-you notice named Msgr. Victor Gallagher and Fr. Bernard Scheid, his cousins, among the officiants.4 A June 2004 Beacon “Thirty Years Ago” retrospective independently corroborates his 1917 Beaver Island birth and parentage as “the son of Willie John,” and adds that he was married to the poet Eleanor Herington — a detail not found in the 1974 obituary sources held here.5

Significance

Gallagher’s record — an islander who left for a mainland teaching career but kept a financial stake in the Boat Company that served the island — illustrates the continuing ties emigrant Beaver Islanders kept with home.

Evidence and limits

This record merges two episode articles the seeder minted from separate February and August 1974 newspaper appearances of “Norman Gallagher.” The bridge is the Holy Cross Cemetery index, which lists a single Norman M. Gallagher (1917–1974), son of William John and Mary Duffy Gallagher, and his mother’s own 1971 obituary, which places her son Norman in Port Huron — the same city given as the contact address on the February 1974 Boat Company share classified. The July 1974 Beacon obituary independently confirms the birth date, death date and parentage. The underlying original obituary text is not held in the current archive batch; the August 1974 correction and thanks notice, and the July 1974 obituary itself, are the sources for the death and funeral details.

Open questions

  • Gallagher’s teaching career (subject, school, and years) is named in the July 1974 obituary but not detailed further in sources read here.
  • What correction the August 1974 notice made to the original obituary is not established; only that one was published.
  • Eleanor Herington, named as his wife and as a poet in the 2004 retrospective, does not have an article here and is not otherwise documented in sources read for this record.

See also

Sources

See also the full sources: block above.

Footnotes

  1. Holy Cross Cemetery index, Beaver Island Historical Society. ↩

  2. Beaver Beacon, February 1974, classified advertising, “For Sale.” ↩

  3. Beaver Beacon, July 1974, “Norman M. Gallagher.” ↩

  4. Beaver Beacon, August 1974, “Correction” and “Thank You.” ↩

  5. Beaver Beacon, June 2004, “Thirty Years Ago” retrospective column. ↩

Kin

Mary ElizabethGallagher1887 – 1971William JohnGallagher1889 – 1960This articleNorman M.Gallagher1917 – 1974
Only relations stated in the sources are drawn; absence means unrecorded, not childless or unmarried.

The dated record

3 dated events · 1917–1974These years on the timeline →

Sources

  1. Refers to Norman Gallagher’s prior obituary and prints funeral thanks from his family, establishing a 1974 death. It identifies Msgr. Victor Gallagher and Fr. Bernard Scheid as his cousins and officiants. The underlying obituary is not held in the current archive batch, so no month or day is asserted.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-08_Beaver-Beacon
  2. The held ten-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1974-08_Beaver-Beacon
  3. Reports Norman M. Gallagher’s July 21 death in Port Huron General Hospital, July 25 Holy Cross Church service, Holy Cross Cemetery burial, March 14, 1917 Beaver Island birth, teaching career, family, and Port Huron church membership; it is a newspaper obituary, not a civil or cemetery record. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-07_Beaver-Beacon
  4. The scan confirms the obituary, funeral sequence, birth date, teaching history, and family details.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1974-07_Beaver-Beacon
  5. Lists Norman M. Gallagher (1917–1974), son of William John and Mary Duffy Gallagher. His mother’s 1971 obituary places her son Norman in Port Huron, matching the February 1974 Boat Company share notice and establishing this identity.
  6. Gives Norman Gallagher’s Port Huron address as the contact for 100 shares in the Beaver Island Boat Company offered at the going price. A March 1971 obituary names a Norman Gallagher of Port Huron as Mary Elizabeth Gallagher’s son.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-02_Beaver-Beacon
  7. The held eleven-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1974-02_Beaver-Beacon
  8. Corrects an obituary for Norman Gallagher published in the prior issue and prints thanks from his family, confirming his 1974 death.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-08_Beaver-Beacon
  9. The held eleven-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1974-02_Beaver-Beacon
  10. Beaver Beacon, June 2004, "Thirty Years Ago" retrospective column.
    Retrospective on June 1974 reports "a sad month for the Island" including the passing of Norman Gallagher, "the son of Willie John," born on Beaver Island in 1917 and married to the poet Eleanor Herington -- corroborates the birth year and William John Gallagher parentage independently of the cemetery index, and adds the wife's name, not found in the 1974 obituary sources. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2004-06_Beaver-Beacon

Added 1 August 2026 · revised 3 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Norman M. Gallagher”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/norman-m-gallagher/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, August 1974, “Correction” and “Thank You.” (and 8 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-03. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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