Two-year-old Jennie Cullen died in Dayton February 21, 1881 and is buried in the Dayton Cemetery. She is not related to anyone in the cemetery. The Cullen family lived in the area for only a few years, but luckily Jennie appeared in the 1880 census in Ottawa. From that entry we discover that her parents were Thomas and Emma Cullen and she had two older sisters, Josie and Hattie. Following these facts led to this account of the Cullen family.

Thomas Cullen was the son of Patrick Cullen and Bridget Finnell, immigrants from Ireland. He was born in New York in October 1852 and married Emma Schuyler in New York in 1874.  In late 1879 or early 1880 they moved from New York to Ottawa, Illinois.

In 1880 Thomas gave his occupation as “working in  glass factory”. This was probably the Ottawa Glass Company, a plate glass company, which opened on April 1, 1868.  In January 1880, the Ottawa Free Trader reported that “The Ottawa Glass Co has 140 hands, 20 are blowers.” At this time there was also a bottle factory in Streator, another place Patrick may have worked, as his son Frank was born in Streator.

A number of family members worked in the glass industry. By 1900 the family has moved to Covington, PA, where Thomas is now a glass gatherer. His 18 year old son Frank is working as a glass cutter, and daughter Josephine is married to a glass blower.

In 1910 the family is living in Roulette, PA, where Thomas and son William are both glass workers, probably at the Fairchance Glass Works.  Son Frank is working as a glass cutter in Putnam, PA.

Thomas and Emma had nine children:
Josephine (1875-1918) married Edward Cauffeld
Harriet (1876-1928) married Ezra S. Cochran
Jennie (1879-1881)
Frank (1882-1946) married Grace Sullivan
Carrie (1886-1956) married 1st William Sheldon; 2nd Oren Verne Tippen
William Roy (1887-1940) married Edith May Hutchinson
Margaret Agnes (1889-1967) married Hollis A. Clark
James Andrew (1891-1962) married Ruth Getman
Mary (1895-1942) married Gordon Legacy