Finley Peter Dunne

Although most people think Finley Peter Dunne, the creator of the comic Irish bartender, Mr. Dooley, was born in Ireland, he wasn't; his parents, Peter and Ellen Finley Dunne, however, were Irish. After separate immigrations to America, they had met, married, and settled in Chicago where their son Peter was born on July 10, 1867, hard by St. Patrick's, whose first pastor had been Dunne's uncle Dennis. Young Peter's twin died, but he still had plenty of company from his four sisters and two brothers. Ellen, from garrulous County Kilkenny, was a great reader, while Peter Sr. kept the family nourished through his prosperous carpentry work. Although young Peter was the only son deemed smart enough to attend high school, he graduated l