Mick Byczek is the fifth generation of a founding Chicago settler family. William Rooney was born in 1811 in County Tipperary, and married Julia Phelan in Ireland. They traveled to New York city with their daughter Alice. Two sons were born in New York, and the family moved to Chicago in 1835. Katherine (Kittie) Rooney is the great-grandmother of Mick Byczek. She is the daughter of William and Julia and was born in Chicago. The family survived the Chicago Fire of 1871, and Katherine married Edward Talbot in 1880 at Holy Name Cathedral on State Street. Their daughter Marie Talbot spent the early years of her childhood at the William Rooney home located at 43 E. Division in Chicago. Marie went to live with John Rooney after her parents passed away. John was the eldest son of William and Julia, and he inherited the 140 acre farm in Elk Grove from his father William. The Bridgeport neighborhood became her home for the majority of her life. Marie wed Martin Flanagan at Holy Name Cathedral in 1922, and their daughter Marie was born in 1923. The family remained in the Bridgeport neighborhood and Michael Byczek married Marie Flanagan at St. Bridget's after he returned from World War II service on islands in the Pacific Ocean with the army. Their son Mick is an Applied Physics Engineer and lives in Chicago with his wife Betty. His family consists of his son Michael and daughter Katie.
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