Page "Francis Spellman" Paragraph 1

Francis Spellman was born in Whitman, Massachusetts, to William and Ellen ( née Conway ) Spellman.

His father ( 1858 – 1957 ), whose own parents had immigrated to the United States from Clonmel and Leighlinbridge in Ireland, worked in shoemaking before becoming a grocer.

The eldest of five children, Francis had two brothers, Martin and John, and two sisters, Marian and Helene.

As a child, he served as an altar boy at the Holy Ghost Church.

He had a difficult relationship with his strict father, but was very attached to his mother.