The Thomas Breen Family

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the Thomas Breen family of Mineola, Wood County, Texas. Pull up a chair, because this one's got layers. The railroad came to Mineola in May of 1873.

The Texas and Pacific Railroad Company laid its tracks, the train rolled in, and riding along with it, in a manner of speaking, was a man named Thomas Breen. An Irish immigrant, come to work for that same railroad. But Mineola had a way of holding onto people, and Thomas Breen was not leaving.

He stayed on to become the first ticket agent the town ever had. First one. The man who handed you your passage and sent you on your way, while he stayed right where he was.

In the late 1870s, Thomas wed Lucy Wilson, herself an Irish native. Two people from the old country, planting roots in the East Texas soil. Then the 1880s came around, and Thomas opened a hardware store.

He served for many years as postmaster, and later as city alderman. Now that is a man who made himself useful to a town in just about every direction a person can. But here is where the story really opens up.

Thomas and Lucy had twelve children. Twelve. And if you think the Breen name faded into the background of Mineola history, you have not been paying attention.

One of those children served as city postmaster, carrying on what their father had done. One served as city commissioner. One played on the 1912 baseball team, which, depending on the season they had, may have been either a proud distinction or a conversation nobody brought up at supper.

One helped establish the Mineola Canning Company. And three, three of the Breen children, served during World War I. The Breen home itself, now razed, stood for many years as a gathering place, a meeting place for the early Catholic residents of the city.

Gone from the ground now, but not from the record. One Irish immigrant, one railroad job, one town that held him. And from that, a family that ran the post office, sat on the commission, played ball, built industry, and went to war.

Mineola kept Thomas Breen, and Thomas Breen, it turns out, gave quite a bit back.

What the marker says

Irish immigrant Thomas Breen came to Mineola working for the Texas & Pacific Railroad Company, which reached the town in May 1873. He stayed to be the first ticket agent. In the late 1870s, he wed Irish native Lucy Wilson. In the 1880s, he opened a hardware store. He served for many years as postmaster and later as city alderman. Of the Breens' twelve children, one also served as city postmaster, one served as city commissioner, one played on the 1912 baseball team, one helped establish the Mineola Canning Company, and three served during World War I. The Breen home, now razed, served for many years as a meeting place for early Catholic residents of the city. (2004)