Sacramento County
Biographies
MARTIN HALLORAN
The honor of forty-two years of continuous
identification with the Southern Pacific yards at Sacramento belongs to Mr. Halloran, who entered the employ of the company July 9,
1869, and continued with intervening promotions until February 1, 1911, when he
was placed upon the pension list of the organization he had served so long and
so well. From a very humble, unimportant job at a switch he was promoted
through various positions to be general yardmaster, and as such he served for
thirty-three years, meanwhile making an absolutely clean record for efficiency,
trust-worthiness and successful yard supervision. Among railroad men he has
enjoyed a wide acquaintance, particularly among the officials at the California
terminals of the road. An expression of the esteem in which they held him
appeared in a letter sent him by H. W. Sheridan, superintendent of the
Sacramento division. Under date of February 3, 1911, the note assured him of
the general recognition of his faithful service and the continued good-will of
the company which had so long received the benefit of his industrious
application.
The life record of Mr. Halloran
indicates what it is within the power of unaided efforts to accomplish, for he
had no means and little education to assist him in securing a start in the
world. The family was hampered by poverty and the early life of the young Irish
lad was filled with hardships, not the least of these being a long separation
from his parents. In county Kerry, Ireland, against whose broken coast line
dash the mighty waves of the Atlantic Ocean, Martin Halloran
was born November 12, 1844, and there he passed the years of childhood. Early
in 1851 his father and mother came to the United States, accompanied by three
sons, these being the eldest of their six children. The three youngest sons
were left with their grandparents in Ireland, while the parents settled in
Toledo, Ohio, and endeavored to secure a livelihood for themselves and the
children with them. At first they encountered many difficulties and suffered
many privations, but from poorly-paid day labor the father rose by successive
steps until he was chosen city assessor of Toledo.
At last it became possible to send for the
youngest children and thus re-unite the family. Friends emigrating from Ireland
brought the lads with them. Martin, the eldest of the three, was almost fifteen
at the time. The father went from Toledo to New York City to meet the ship, but
found the passengers had debarked and it was necessary to go to Fourth avenue
and Forty-second street. Being a stranger, he had some
difficulty in finding the place. While searching for the house he met a German
who was in business in the neighborhood. An inquiry brought out the fact that
the German had seen the boys, and when told by the father that they had been
separated for almost nine years he followed, anxious to witness the meeting.
After the lads had been found and the first joy of the reunion was over, the
father started with them for Toledo, where all the neighbors gathered to join
with the family in a celebration honoring the event.
Immediately after his arrival in Toledo a
search for employment was made by Martin Halloran,
and he secured work in a nursery. After a year he began in a railroad freight
house at the age of sixteen. Later he was promoted to be a brakeman on the
Wabash between Fort Wayne, Ind., and Toledo. From Ohio he went to Chicago and
secured work as a brakeman on the Chicago & Alton railroad, being first on
the run from Bloomington to Chicago, and later from Bloomington to Alton, Ill.
From the freight service he was promoted to a passenger route. At the time of
the second inauguration of President Lincoln he carried many delegates on his
train and thus became familiar with the faces of many of the leading statesmen
of that period. Returning to Toledo at the close of the war, he resumed work as
a switchman on the old Cleveland & Toledo railroad. At the expiration of
four and one-half years he resigned his position, went to New York City, took
passage for the Isthmus June 1, 1869, crossed at Aspinwall,
then sailed up the Pacific, and on the 25th of June landed at San Francisco.
For a few days he worked in a harvest field. On the 2d of July he came to
Sacramento and made application for a switchman's job. Through the influence of
Mr. McCray he was given a position July 9, and had the distinction of being the
third man to move cars in the Sacramento yards. There were then only three men
employed, but at the time of his retirement one hundred and twenty flagmen and
switchmen were given steady work.
Investing some of his
earnings in property, Mr. Halloran still
owns six lots and houses in Sacramento, and he recently sold a ranch of two
hundred and forty-three acres eight miles from this city. The land was sold at
a considerable increase over the purchase price, and represented an excellent
investment for him. With his wife and daughter, Miss Lizzie L., he resides at
No. 1218 D street, where he owns a comfortable home.
Prior to her marriage in 1872 Mrs. Halloran was Miss
Mary O'Connor and lived in San Francisco. She had come to California via
Panama, landing in San Francisco May 12, 1868. The family are
devoted members of the Roman Catholic church and Mr. Halloran
has been actively connected with the Knights of Columbus. In addition he is a
charter member of the Foresters in Sacramento. Upon attaining his majority he
adopted the principles of the Democratic party. While
still adhering to that organization in national elections, he does not follow
party lines in local affairs, but votes for the men whom he considers best
qualified to promote the welfare of the people and the upbuilding
of the city.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Willis,
William L., History of Sacramento County,
California, Pages 837-839. Historic
Record Company,
© 2006 Sally Kaleta.