We have to step out of order a bit, our Sunday afternoon was full of twists and turns. After contemplating whether to hold onto this story or not, I decided to insert this as an unexpected surprise of our Sunday afternoon. Read on and hope you enjoy the sidetrip. If you are confused after this entry, refer back to the entry DISCLAIMER. This is the beauty of a blog; things happen. If this unconventional genealogy project bothers your formally educated senses, click out now J ……
After our succesful trip to St John’s cemetery concluded, we drove up Broadway to see if we could locate the last home we found on record as the residence for the Horan-Shay family. We’d come to Fall River the month prior but had trouble finding the exact buildings that matched street addresses from documents over a hundred years old. Driving in circles and pointing cameras out of car windows at private residences isn’t one of the safest weekend activities we suggest! As we headed across town on Broadway, a sign caught my eye and we pulled over quickly. We’d inadvertently found the original home of another family member we knew of, but had not yet pursued. This was the grand home of Uncle Michael J Doran. He was the brother of Mary Ann Doran, wife of George F. Horan. George Horan and Mary Ann Doran are great grandparents of my husband, Peter. The photo above was submitted by Uncle Bill Horan/Aunt Mary Hawes. ( left to right: George R. Horan (son) , Mary Ann (Doran) Horan, Catherine Horan (daughter), George H. Horan, Dorothy (Donaghy) Horan, Michael J Doran). We think our grandfather, Thomas Horan (son), husband of Dorothy, is likely the one taking this family picture.
(*Cousin John Horan in Virginia has kindly noted this is not the home he resided in with his parents, George and Agnes and his grandparents. It is another block away on Broadway. This is likely the rear of the Doran/Boule Funeral Home, which we show below. Also, he adds that Cousin Clare Horan Brady's son purchased the family home after Aunt Catherine passed in the 1990's and still has ownership today. Thank you, John!).
The Doran family name is and was a prominent name in Fall River society. Michael Doran was a successful business owner who had a department store at 235-237 South Main St in downtown Fall River. As was the fate of many, he lost everything in the Great Depression by 1930. Mary Ann and George took in their brother after his loss. His department store building is still standing ( a national drugstore chain operates on the street level) with his name inscription. (photo by Marc Belanger, 2007)
We parked in front of Boule Funeral Home at 615 Broadway and as I frantically searched through research notes about this property, the current business owner had seen us pointing and examining the façade and approached our car to greet us. What a wonderful introduction we had as we sheepishly rolled our window down and identified ourselves as descendants of the original homeowner, Michael Doran. Mr. Thomas Wilkinson is the director/owner of the Boule Funeral Home and was so gracious and excited to meet us as well. He joked he thought we might be insurance inspectors or something and perhaps he should inquire about our curiosity! He invited us inside for a quick tour as he had been working on restoring Michael Doran’s home and was equally fascinated by our family research project.
The Boule Funeral Home kept the property in excellent condition all these years. Mr. Wilkinson has been keen to restore as much as he could to the home’s original character. Some things he showed me were removal of heavy damask draperies applied to the front windows and once the mitered cornices were removed, the found original gilded carved valances were still intact above the windows. Much of the carvings, timber, stained glass and fixtures were still intact. This property and the house next door were built as identical twins. Michael Doran took his home to another level and added many more architectural details like the front columns and so many more interior upgrades. A Doran genealogical tree notes Michael J Doran III married Catherine McFarlane in 1910, but she died in 1922. Not yet sure when he purchased his Broadway residence, but he supposedly live alone with several servants on staff in this grand house. 
This is a mahogany mantle installed by Michael Doran and had his initials carved and gilded into the face. When the Boules took occupancy, they apparently attempted to alter the “D” to a “B”. If you look closely at the letter, can see where the change was made. At least they left the overall fine workmanship alone!
Mr Wilkinson was so kind to take the time to give a brief tour of the property---unexpected and surprisingly, a Viewing was in progress while this conversation took place! On a side note, he did know members of the Horan family in Fall River who had passed away and Boule handled a few of their burial arrangements decades ago. He invited us to return again and would take us upstairs to view the rest of the house. He did ask if we knew of any photos of Uncle Michael Doran existed in the family. We have one which Uncle Bill Horan kindly sent us. If anyone else reading this blog happens to know of any further documents or photos of Uncle Michael, please contact me. Mr Wilkinson said he would love to have something of Michael Doran to display in this home they preserved so nicely all these years. Irish Proverb
I scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine.
Meaning: People live in each other's shelter.
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