Mullally Family Recollections — Mid October 2026

These notes preserve family recollections concerning Emmett James Aeneas Mullally and Mary Etta Mullally, including personal memories of their household, artistic and literary interests, and stories passed down within the family.

The information includes firsthand childhood memories, family traditions, and references to surviving artifacts. Some details remain unverified.

Emmett was reportedly associated with a writing group connected to St. James. He also wrote poetry, including poems about physicians and a medical conference he attended.

He was remembered as having served as an attending physician at St. Patrick's Orphanage in Montreal.

Additional papers and writings belonging to Emmett are believed to remain in the possession of extended family members.

Mary Etta painted in both oils and watercolours, producing still lifes of flowers and fruit, landscapes of Montreal, and portraits of family members.

Surviving works include a portrait of Peter, son of Peter Hamilton Gruner, and an unfinished childhood portrait of a granddaughter.

The unfinished portrait was begun at the granddaughter's request, after other grandchildren had received portraits, but remained incomplete following Mary Etta's death.

Numerous paintings and watercolours remain in family collections.

Her artistic style has been compared to that of women artists featured in a Montreal exhibition, although she was not herself included in the exhibition.

Mary Etta was remembered as a resourceful woman with an active interest in property investment. She reportedly arranged the purchase of several properties during her marriage.

Family tradition includes a humorous story of Mary Etta placing property documents among other papers for Emmett to sign, sometimes without his realizing that he was authorizing another purchase.

The story reflects a family perception of Mary Etta as financially enterprising, although the details and ownership of these properties have not been verified.

Mary Etta was remembered for her interest in fashion, her dislike of photography, and her unusual discomfort around birds. A small number of photographs of her survive.

One family memory describes her defending a young granddaughter's choice to wear a scarf around her neck rather than over her head, explaining that it was the more fashionable style. The gesture was remembered affectionately as an occasion when the granddaughter felt understood and supported.

Mary Etta grew up as the only surviving child of James Mullally and Mary Ann Grannell, following the death in infancy of her older brother, Patrick Thomas Mullally.

Her own Mullally ancestry was remembered as distinct from her marriage to Emmett, although the relationship between their respective family lines remains unresolved.

Family recollections describe regular childhood visits between the Mullally and Gruner grandparents, with grandchildren sometimes spending alternating weekends in each household.

Two of Emmett and Mary Etta's daughters, Mary Patricia (“Pat”) and Eileen Isabel Mullally, also lived with their parents during an unspecified period.

The following materials were identified as potentially relevant to the archive:

Oil paintings and watercolours by Mary Etta Mullally.
Portraits of family members, including an unfinished childhood sketch.
Photographs of Mary Etta.
Additional papers and writings associated with Emmett Mullally, reportedly held by extended family members.

Identify the St. James writing group associated with Emmett.
Locate Emmett's poetry and writings about medical conferences.
Verify Emmett's association with St. Patrick's Orphanage.
Document and photograph Mary Etta's surviving artwork.
Identify the Montreal exhibition of women artists whose work was compared to Mary Etta's.
Investigate property transactions associated with Mary Etta and Emmett.
Establish the genealogical connection, if any, between their Mullally family lines.
Locate and catalogue additional surviving family papers.