Movie Short - The Book and the Rose

I recently watched a movie short called "The Book and the Rose".  It too was about some historical letters.  Quite a nice 30 minute movie that includes a big of romance and WWII.

Movie - Possession

I recently watched the movie called "Possession" on Netflix streaming.  It was made in 2002.  The reason why I post about it here is that it has a bit of a genealogy/ancestry slant to it.  It involves letters from the late 1800s Victorian Era making it seemingly historical fiction.  Gwyneth Paltrow is in the movie.  I will warn that some people may object the content as it does involve some adult themes.
  

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Break for MYOG

It's time for a Christmas Break for MYOG.   Posts will be begin again after January 7th, 2013!

Rerun Friday - My Most Viewed Post

A handy tool that Google provides with a blog is the ability to see what post is most popular.  I find this fascinating.  To complete my final rerun Friday for 2012, I thought I'd share what appears to be my popular post.  For whatever reason the following post is my most viewed of all time at just over 1400 views.

That seems pretty amazing.  Those are not all my personal views by the way.  Also, I wonder if someone is searching for an O'Brien (as it is a common name) and my post comes up on their search.  Whether they found who they are looking for may not really be a mystery.  Let's just say that I always say that Kate Flanagan (Catherine Mary O'Brien) is one of the most interesting people in my family tree.  This supports that for sure.

By the way, since I wrote this post, I have found Kate's family members in Australia and the area in which they lived in New Zealand!  Or rather, they found me.  My networking online and using this blog to share and communicate does work.

Originally post on Tuesday, October 26, 2010

O'Brien's And The Curious Message Board Post

So have I reached a dead end with my O'Brien Family line?  Will I be able to find Kate Flanagan's (Catherine Mary O'Brien) family in Ireland?  Or in Australia?  I wonder.  I've posted on various message boards online and haven't really gotten anywhere.  I think I found my O'Brien's on an Australian passenger list, recently.  That information still begs for more information. 

O'Brien is a fairly common Irish surname.  It is extremely common in the Castleconnell area of County Limerick, Ireland.  I think that there is even a bridge named after an O'Brien in Castleconnell.  I've tried to research my O'Brien family line on the internet but have found much difficulty in doing so.  Not only is O'Brien a common Irish name but apparently there are a lot of Edmund (or Edmond) O'Brien's too from this area.  I am not sure visiting the location will turn up any new information.  I would love to at least drive through Castleconnell and see what it looks like.  It is, at least, the location where Kate was baptized.

Maybe I should be looking for the Gleeson's, or is it Gleason?  They must have been from this area too.  Anne Gleeson married Edmund O'Brien.  They had some children including Kate.  I only wish I knew more about this family unit.  It would certainly help in my research.

I know some information about Kate.  There is her reputation and her letters.  I still need to finish reading her letters.  They are full information.  Kate was pretty direct and even to the extent of being blunt.  She must have been quite the character and smart.  I am fascinated by her.  I believe one of my next projects will be to read all of her letters.

The other day I did receive a response to my message board post.  I find it rather curious. 

Re: Catherine Mary "Kate" O'Brien - Castleconnell, County Limerick, Ireland



Posted by: R.... C...... (ID *****9163) Date: September 26, 2010 at 13:40:43
         
In Reply to: Catherine Mary "Kate" O'Brien - Castleconnell, County Limerick, Ireland by K...E... of 4591
     
Hello K......:


For Cat(herine) O'Brien B 1843 (exact), Castleconnell RC parish, Co. Limerick, with the father's forename unknown, I found 10 rcds. None had a father forenamed E(dmond).
          
For Edmond/Edmund O'Brien M 1840 +/- 3 yrs, Co. Limerick, I found 5 rcds: 1837 Patrickswell RC, 1841 Murroe & Boher RC, 1841 Bruff RC, 1842 St John's CI, and 1843 Hosptial & Herbertstown RC parishes.
   
For Ann(e) Gleason M ditto, I found 4 rcds: 1839, 1841, 1841, and 1842. None are a match at the parish level with those for Edmond/Edmund.


The transcription of Co. Limerick B/M/D rcds is essentially complete. It is doubtful more will be discovered. It looks like the rcds for your ancestors didn't survive.


Sorry. Good luck.

I have some more questions for this person.  I so appreciate him looking up info.  I emailed him but have not heard back yet.  I find this information very curious.

Rerun Friday - Past-Present-Future

Originally posted on Thursday, November 3, 2011

Past-Present-Future

There are many people in the world who find the past something to forget.  Many people may think that exploring their genealogy is just that, something in the past.  Others find it fascinating and a way to find out more about themselves.  For example, why am I tall and my sister is pretty short?  Who did the phrase "wait a while" originate with in my family?  How and why did my family line end up in the United States and in California, specifically Northern California?

While I do know the answers to some of those questions above, the connection to our past is important to understanding our present and our future.  I look forward in my quest to find more about my connection to the past through my ancestors.  I wish to use and understand this information in the present.  My hope for the future is to share this with my children when they are older as a gift from the past.

Past - Present - Future

Linked Together By Time

Rerun Friday - A Window In Time

Originally posted on Tuesday, October 4, 2011

A Window In Time

Photographs are like small windows in time.  You can look at the photo and get a quick glimpse of the people.  I love photos and wish for more old photos.  It does help if we know who's in each photo.  I realize that is not always possible though.

A photo can share some information about people including what they looked like.  Most photos were taken on happy occasions when people were enjoying themselves.  I find it interesting that in many photos, no one is smiling.  I suppose that was not the practice in the 1800s.  It does help when those in the photos don't look like they're frowning though.

Below are a couple of my favorite photos.  I only wish that I had a true copy of the original for the second photo.

Photos still leave much to the imagination.  I still have to wonder what my ancestors were like.  A photo can't tell you about their personality.   You might be able to pick out some emotion.  Joy, for example, can show through in a photo.  I think that I spotted some joy in these.

Feature Article - Meals and More Personal History

I don't usually post too much about my own personal life.  As time passes, I do think that I should write some of my own personal experiences down, however.   I started a blog about cooking and wine but have not had much time to add to it in recent months.  Below is a little personal history and experience with my own challenge in learning to cook.   This is for my children who I hope someday get the chance to read this blog about our family history.

Feature Article

Learning To Provide the Meals - September 26, 2011

Just over two years ago, I stopped working in "Corporate America" to be a stay-at-home mommy. With that came the need to learn how to cook.  In my entire life, I really had never learned how to cook. From having a mother who is an awesome cook and made sure that dinner was on the table every night by 6pm to my husband who cooked dinner for the first eight years that we were together, there was not much need for me to spend a whole lot of time in the kitchen.

While there were those years that I was a student and a working adult single woman, I always figured something out for mealtime. College campuses are great places to find some food.   I was not a starving student in those days. When I began my career, I easily acclimated to the yummy cafeteria food at work where they served breakfast, lunch, and, for a while, dinner. When you work for a large company with many employees, the cafeteria services are generally available. In fact, for many years the company that I work for had two cafeterias on site plus a coffee bar. They also subsidized the food for a number of years but that was discontinued into the new millennium.

While I was still working, I had a couple of babies along the way which perpetuated the need for my husband to continue as chef, kitchen help, and grocery shopper. Heck, I was busy feeding my children as infants and toddlers. A mother's work truly is never finished. That's why dad needs to jump in to handle things, especially, when both parents work all day.

During my work hours, I did not have to worry an ounce about what my children would be eating. They attended "school" (daycare) at a child development center that provided breakfast, lunch, and snack. How lovely was this? Well, you never truly appreciate things until you don't have them any longer. Let's just say the cook at the center was marvelous plus all of the meals were approved by a dietitian. You have to love that. There was even more to love. The children were served hot meals every day. From the youngest children in the infant room able to eat table food up through the preschoolers, they all sat at tables and ate family style. It was truly a unique situation in a day where few families have a chance to eat dinner together in the evening. I won't mention the cost of the child development center here. We did pay for it! I am only now really beginning to understand the full value of what we paid for. It was so worth it and I'm not just talking about the food plan.

Trying to figure where your next meal is coming from can be challenging. Two years ago the full responsibility did fall to me for our household. The pressure was on and I am still in my learning curve two years later. I thought I'd start this blog to document what I have learned - mistakes and all. I figure that we'll see where this blog takes me along the way. I do love to eat, drink, and be merry. Cooking is starting to become my forte for a few meal items.

Well, that blog has been put on hold for now.....I continue with my genealogy blog though while I've got dinner cooking in the crock pot or oven most evenings.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from MYOG!

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

MYOG is taking a break for Thanksgiving Week.  Have a great time with friends and family!

Rerun Friday - Borrowing From Trees on Ancestry.com

Originally posted on Saturday, May 21, 2011

Borrowing From Trees on Ancestry.com

Beg, borrow, and steal.....Ok, steal is a bit too forward.  Beg....I'm not opposed to asking for family tree information from those who have the research done and I know are of my family line.  I suppose that it is not really begging as I am more than willing to share in return.  As for borrowing from a tree off Ancestry.com, that leaves something to be desired.  My uncle warned me just about a year ago...."Buyer Beware!".  Not everyone on Ancestry.com checks their facts and sources their tree.

If you post your family tree as a public tree on Ancestry.com, you'd have to expect that eventually someone will try and borrow information from it.  How else would a college professor or other relatives have found me (or I found them)?  Well, they are the real deal in looking for my specific Flanagan Family line.   They do, in fact, "get it" and have the line with the associated history and stories of this family.

I had someone select Michael Flanagan (1839-1904) from my tree as a direct line ancestor for their tree last summer.  Given that Michael never married or had children, made it rather impossible for that person to be one of Uncle Mike's great grandchildren.  I sent them a quick message to let them know.  Once they had linked into Michael, they had "sucked in" all of my information in the past up to my original Patrick Flanagan ancestor.  Oops!  That's a lot of people to "back off" of one's tree.  Mistakes happen but this is why it is so important to check what you've pulled over to your own tree online.

What I noticed the other day, is someone else borrowing from the distant past of my Flanagan Tree.  They were borrowing Patrick Flanagan (The Grandfather) and Judith Kirwan along with Richard Flanagan and Alice Bellew.  I think that the person found a decent match and picked Patrick and Judith.  This person's John Flanagan of Cavan was married to a Barbara Maguire.  Apparently, his line continues with an Elizabeth Flanagan.  The "John" matches, right?   Not really.

Are there other Flanagan's from County Louth, specifically, in the Termonfechin Area?  You bet there are a few.  I am just not all the familiar with those lines and much of the information does run cold into the more current generations.  Going back 300 years, they were probably all related to one another.  
                                                  
So John is a common name.  John Flanagan is probably pretty common too.  What do you think I did next to my Flanagan comrade?  I emailed him, of course.  I peeked at his tree and let him know where he got off track.  Frankly, I just don't want people thinking that their line is one way when it is not.  Let's face it, I like accuracy, insasmuch as that is possible on a family tree.

How sourced is my Flanagan Family Tree on Ancestry.com?  Not very.  It's hard to attach 240 years of written history to include letters, farm account books, and a PowerPoint Presentation on a DVD.  At this point, I have to consider making my Flanagan Family Tree on Ancestry.com a private tree.  I am not setting a very good example by not sourcing it online while making it public.  As is probably obvious, it will be hard to fix the online tree given the way I maintain the sourcing.

I guess for now, the tree will be private.  Those who have been invited to it will still be able to see it via their invited guest status.  Everyone else would need to contact me and discuss their connection to this line.

Nicknames

Chickie, Bunny, Jack, Minnie, Dolly, Mo, Max, Dick, Fannie, Popeye, Mama, Papa, and many more nicknames of this sort appear on my family tree.  In fact, for my Flanagan's, I have written a special "key" for deciphering the nicknames of the family members to match them to their legal, given names.

Now, I know why my grandmother used to say that she could not stand nicknames because then you never really know the real name of the person that is being referred to.  As cranky as that might have sounded at the time, I think she was onto something.  She insisted on calling her own children by their given first names.  She refused to shorten them when addressing or referring to them.  Robert for her was always Robert and not Bob, Rob, or another variation of the name Robert.

In my quest to find my family, I completely understand why nicknames on census and other source documents are completely confusing.  My granddad's legal, given name was Francis but I see it as Frank everywhere.  That may not be a big deal but it can still throw you off when you're using a picky search engine to locate your ancestors.

I looked up a definition of the word "nickname" and found the following on Wikipedia: "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name, or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name."  I further found where nicknames are usually awarded to and not generally chosen by the recipient.  I must admit that a few people have tried to call me Kris and it just doesn't really work for me.

Now, I do have quick cute nicknames for my own children but generally call them by their full first given names.  I am not opposed to nicknames in their entirety.  I refer to Sacramento as "Sactown".  My only wish of past documents is that people would have spelled out legal, given names rather than nicknames.  That's a rather rhetorical request that just can't be filled at this point.  I live with my "keys" and "legends" to help guide my research when it comes to my ancestors' "nick" names.

My Ancestors At Tulocay Cemetery

The internet can be such a handy tool at times.  In my quest to find my family tree, I found many of my ancestors final resting places at one cemetery in particular.  As was really no surprise, I found them at Tulocay Cemetery in Napa.  The interesting part is the number of people.

While this may not be the most interesting post, it does contain notes that will live online for my future reference.  I can quickly pull these up if and when I make it over the cemetery.  I can also easily share this information with others.

The following are my family members and the basic and/or detailed locations of their final resting places at Tulocay Cemetery.  By the way,  I have four pairs of great great grandparents in this cemetery.

Borchers
Henry and Anna (Jackel) Borchers - Block 82
Albert Borchers - Block 82 next to Anna and Henry
Herbert and Mary (Vienop) Borchers - Block 1, Upper Section, 282D
Henry and Clara (Borchers) Gruenhagen - Block 104, Row 16, A67 & A66

Vienop
John H. Vienop - Block 81
Anne Marie Louise (Koch) Vienop - Block 81
Alma P F Vienop - Block 81 (between John and Anne)
J. Henry Vienop - Block 81
Adella (Bruns) Vienop - Block 81
Ernst Vienop - Block 81

The above six Vienop's are buried almost exactly across the cemetery road from Henry and Anna Brochers (Block 82).  Mary (Vienop) Borchers is buried with her husband, Herbert Borchers above.

More Vienop's........

Ernest W. Vienop - Block 1, Upper Section, 114D
Ida M. (Frank) Vienop - Block 1, Upper Section, 114D
Edwin J. and Mageline (Inman) Vienop, Block 1, Upper Section, 283D
Martin L. and Anna Minnie (Vienop) Reidenbach - Block 1, Upper Section, 79D
Esther Reidenbach - Block 1, Upper Section, 79D

Flanagan
Patrick and Kate (O'Brien) Flanagan - Block 82
Agnes Flanagan - Block 82
Edward Flanagan - Block 82
Dr. Leo Flanagan - Block 82
Ignatius Flanagan - Block 82

The above Flanagan's are buried together in block 82 in unmarked graves above Malcom Brown and his wife.

More Flanagan's...............

Louis Flanagan - Block 80
Mary "May" Flanagan - Block 80
Richard Austin Flanagan - Block 80

The above Flanagan's are buried at the base of an oak tree on the premises.

Additional Flanagan's.......................

John Francis Flanagan - Block 153
Mary Elizabeth (McLaughlin) Flanagan - Block 153
Richard J. Flanagan - Block 153
Dorothy (Borchers) Flanagan - Block 153
Gary Richard Flanagan - Block 153
Ellen Maxwell Flanagan - Block 153
Catherine Veronica (Flanagan) Fratessa - Near Block 153
Joseph Fratessa - Near Block 153
Anne (Fratessa) Scoville - Near Block 153

McLaughlin
Thomas Michael McLaughlin - Block 131, Lot 18, grave #2
Ellen (Maxwell) McLaughlin - Block 131, Lot 18, grave #1
Catherine "Katie" McLaughlin - Block 131, Lot 18, grave #3
Albert and Ellen (McLaughlin) Heflin

See Mary Elizabeth McLaughlin under the "Additional Flanagan's" .

That's about 43 people that are on my family tree who are buried a Tulocay.  I have either placed or found online memorials on Find A Grave's website.  There are probably more relatives at this cemetery including but not limited to more people on my Vienop side.  I just have not yet pursued the information.

Rerun Friday - Compelling Storytelling

Originally Posted Thursday, May 19, 2011

Compelling Storytelling

What makes a story unique and compelling?  I am almost certain that my high school English teacher would say something like "a story, no matter the length, that pulls people in....draws their attention....peeks their interest......has a draw, a catch, and cleverness about it....something unique or novel......"  The originality of a story or the ability to tell a story in quite a "first time", "can't stop reading or put it down manner" is the goal.   Did I succeed at this in my freshman year of private high school?  Well, not exactly.  I was the star Math student if you can believe that.
 
When it comes to writing, I am again practicing.  I am praciticing on anyone who reads this blog.  I can only imagine the thoughts of my seventh grade teacher reading this and continually critiquing the grammar.  If only I had her to proofread my writing, I'd be in a grand place.   Back in the 1980s, I'd hear my teachers say that most people write at a "seventh grade level".  I believe that they now write at a "TEXT" level.  That's the result of phones and technology.
           
Back to compelling storytelling.....When it comes to your own family history, anyone or any story can make you feel proud.  I find that any shred of information that tells me what someone was like interests me when the person is my relative.   I even find other people's family trees interesting.  Does everyone find this information interesting when the people are not apart of their own family tree?  The answer is no. 

What I have grown to realize though is that many, many people do find the story of the discovery process of one's family tree interesting.  To watch someone find their family roots and see the excitement and gratification that it gives them, is entertaining.  This is why the show, "Who Do You Think You Are?", is so popular.  The discovery process and the elation (or sometimes disappointment) that follow is interesting.

Are there any compelling stories in my family history that await me or have I already found some?   I hope to someday find out more about the people on my tree including something about their character, personality, and motivations.  Have I already found at least one compelling story?  Why, yes, I think that I have.  Putting the story together in written form to share with anyone who wants to read it is another thing.

Below is an excerpt from an essay about storytelling.........

Perceiving The Foundation of Storytelling
by Bill Johnson

Revised 12/27/98

A storyteller should to be able to perceive what a story is about at its deepest level, and how to move that to a resolution that offers fulfillment to a story's audience. Understand what about the movement of a story engages the interest, the needs of an audience. Such a writer can better perceive how characters, plot devices and POV work to create a dramatic movement of a story toward its fulfillment. How every element of a story works together in its characters, plot, environment and ideas to make vivid and potent a story's world.

That's why I say that at its heart, a story must have an issue at stake that is of consequence to the story's audience. Something the members of the audience will desire to experience in a state of resolution and fulfillment. Love. Courage. Redemption. Renewal. Some issue that revolves around the aching need of humans to feel they matter, that they have a place in the world.

Now, I think that I have a story.  Can I make it compelling?

Napa - Threatened Treasures

The list of "Threatened Treasures" in Napa is always interesting to me.  I also like to note that the Flanagan Ranch House is no longer on this list.   It has new life with its remodel.

Enjoy this article from the Napa Valley Register. "Ctrl Click" to get to this link:

Napa "Threatened Treasures"

The Glos Family

A few months back I found an article about a pioneer family of the Napa Valley.  I'd say specifically in the mountains above Calistoga.  The following is a link to the article.  What struck me as interesting is that they were everyday people making the best of what they had.

Napa Valley Register Article - The Glos Family

Rerun Friday - The Game of "Telephone"

Thursday, March 3, 2011 -  The Game of "Telephone"

When I was a kid, we'd gather a group of people together at a kids party and play the game called "telephone".  The players sat in a circle and whispered a short, detailed story to their immediate neighbor and passed it on.  The short, detailed story would be passed along person by person in the circle until it got back around to the first person that started the story.  The success of this game was that the final message bear little to no resemblance to the original message.   There really was no particular "winner" of the game but the entertainment value was worth it.

The cumulative effect of mistakes and misunderstandings along the communication lines of person to person could completely change the story.  In some cases, the deliberate change of the story was part of the game although this would be considered cheating by most.

So why do I bring this up now?  Well many family stories, plus facts and information, are handed down by families through the years.  Imagine how they can be misconstrued along the way.  I will say that most of the time, families don't intentionally misconstrue information unless they are trying to paint a rosier picture than what really occurred.  

Then there's those "tall tales" as we know.  Not to get overly religious here but the Old Testament of the Bible is a good example of a great story book but, honestly (and I learned this at Catholic school), there are some definite "tall tales" in there.   The lesson learned is what is important in that great book.  For our own family history, we want the lesson to be a historical truth.

At this point, I will cut to the chase.  I have come across lots of historical truths in my quest for my family tree.   I have found a few "tall tales" but many appear to be historical truths once investigated.  That leads me to my latest find.  My Granddad, Francis "Frank" Robert McGuire (1908-1993), had always indicated that there was a Dutchman from New Orleans, Louisiana, somewhere back on the "Roman" side of our family.  He did not have specifics but this is what he remembered being told.  I will admit that his information has been "right on" in my recent discoveries.  Most of his information was just a shred of information but led me down the path of successful discovery.  My regret was that I did not ask him more when he was alive.

Now, I have spent time looking for my "Roman's" (could be Romaine, Rohmann, Rohman, Romain, etc.).  I've looked in New Orleans and New York City.  I think that I found them at 240 Delancy Street, NYC circa 1870-1880.  I also think that later they may have been in Brooklyn or just went to St. Louis Catholic Church there.   I'm not exactly sure.  My great grandmother was Mary Elizabeth Romaine McGuire.  Her married name was McGuire, of course.  Her parents were Joseph Romaine ("Roman") and Frances Lakervine (or was it Luchwurm, Lendevorson, or Lindeaurm).   Frances my have been Francesca too.  Your guess is as good as mine on her last name.  Was she Dutch?

I don't know if Joseph Romaine or Francis Lakervine were Dutch or related to a Dutchman from New Orleans.  What I am starting to discover though in my searches on Ancestry.com is Deutschland.  That is Germany in the German language.  I have found it time and time again on U.S. Census.  Does this location really refer to those from Germany or were they Dutch from Holland.  I don't know but it certainly begs the questions that I have especially when it pops up on my potential ancestors' information.

So am I as lost as ever?  Were my relatives Dutch or from Deutschland?  Was it written down wrong on U.S. Census?  I seek the truth here and add one more thought.  

My thought is about prejudice and segregation in New York City when my grandparents were young and, I'm sure, before then.  My father grew up in Franklin Square, New York.  If you have ever been there, it's a small town/location just off the Hempstead Turnpike in Nassau County, on Long Island.  Like the neighboring Levittown, NY, it is "wall-to-wall" houses.  Levittown was the "original" suburbia type community.  Franklin Square is not much different.

While you can say this is suburbia and a mixture of people who originated in "The City", there was still prejudice to an extent.  My grandparents would admittedly say that they were the only Irish family living on a street with a bunch of Germans.  They felt rather separate from their German neighbors and maybe that was because of their own prejudice.  That does sound bad as I write it down but was a sign of the times (1930-40s) and their upbringing.

Knowing that my Irish family differentiated themselves so strongly from the German families, makes me wonder if someone in the family was trying to cover up some true family roots.  I am just throwing this out here as a possibility and one of the "secrets" that my family took to their graves.  I really don't know the truth but so want to find out.

As you can imagine, this leads me to a comparison to the game "telephone".  How much was the information changed from person-to-person and was it deliberately "tweaked" to paint a rosier picture?  Today, I must admit that acceptance of diversity is important, commonplace in my life, and should be everywhere in the U.S. and the world.

Will I find the historical truths about my Romaine's?  I hope so but for now I've written down the "telephone" person by person version of my family history.

Halloween in the United States

Happy Halloween!

Last year a wrote a post about the origins of Halloween from pagans to Christians with a mention of Ireland.  This year I did a little research about the history of Halloween in the United States.  Initially, I found remarks online that in the U.S. we adopted what they've been doing in Europe and the British Isles for hundreds of years.  Well, that's not the whole story.

In the early years of the United States, Halloween was not celebrated.  With mostly Protestants making up the Christian population of our country, Halloween was considered mainly a Catholic holiday and celebration at the time.  While early colonial America in places like Virginia and Maryland celebrated harvest, they did not take in the full aspects of Halloween.

Based on my quick research, it looks like you can point the finger at those Irish Catholic immigrants fleeing the potato famine for how we celebrate Halloween in the United States.   They brought Jack O'Lanterns with them and other "harvest" and "all hallows eve"  traditions with them.

By the 20th Century, the religious influence in Halloween was gone in the U.S.   It had become and still is a more of a secular holiday for all to celebrate.  We have parades, costumes, trick-or-treating, parties, and more.  The holiday is really aimed at children here in the U.S. at this point in time, but adults still have a lot of fun of their own.

I still recall as a child my own impression of Halloween.  I always thought of Sleepy Hallow and stories of the headless horseman.  Back East, Fall is so distinct, especially in New England.  It really lends itself to the Halloween theme.

So, "BOO!" to you all and Happy Halloween.

The Bruns Girls of Napa

Quite a number of months ago, my aunt mentioned her aunt, and I suppose, my aunt too.  I never knew Aunt Della Vienop.  She was J.H. Vienop's first wife who passed away in 1956.

At the mention of Della and her death came out a quick anecdotal story about J.H.'s (Uncle Henry) second wife, Eva Cook Hunter.  She was apparently not the nicest person according to the family and was perceived as a bit of a gold digger at the time.  Uncle Henry was a successful contractor and businessman in Napa when he lost his first wife.

In came Eva and some unpleasant feelings from the family for sure.  My aunt wondered if Eva and Uncle Henry divorced or separated.  Eva ended up living further north in California the last part of her life.  I believe she actually lived in Scotia.  There was a time when my great grandmother, Mary Borchers, who was Uncle Henry's sister, and her friend were in the vicinity of Scotia.  Mary said that they should stop by to see her sister-in-law, Eva.  I guess her friend thought that was ridiculous yet it sounds like Mary got her way.  For whatever reason, Mary thought it appropriate to stop and see Eva.

Mary had a big heart and forgiveness was one her traits for sure.  She also was probably liked by Eva as Mary was liked by everyone.  I find this an interesting side story for my Vienop side of the family as information like this is not actually written down anywhere.  I am writing it down now.

My true goal with this post is to write about the Bruns sisters.  Adelheid Helena Bruns (Aunt Della) was married to John Henry Vienop, Jr. of Napa, California.  Her story along with her sister's starts earlier than this, however.

Adelheid Helena and Louise Marie Bruns were both born in Bethany, San Joaquin County, California in 1901 and 1902, respectively, about 21 months apart in age.  Based on census, there were older children too.  All of the older siblings were boys.

1900 United States Federal Census about John Brauns

Home in 1900: Murray, Alameda, California
[Alameda]

Household Members:

Name	Age
John Brauns	43
Atilhiet Brauns	33
August H Brauns	8
John Brauns	7
Claus H Brauns	5
Detrick Brauns	3
Otto Brauns	6/1

As seen above, I actually found the family in the 1900 U.S. Census near this Bethany location.  This was before Della and Louise were born.  Knowing that the girls were born in a place called Bethany, California, I narrowed my search to anything that specifically indicated this place.  Two of the older brothers indicated on their military registrations later in life that they had been born in Bethany, San Joaquin County, California.  Bethany Reservoir near Tracy, California is what you can find on a map these days.  The census location in 1900 looks to be in Murray, Alameda County, California between Tracy and Livermore.

By 1910, they are all living in Napa, California with two more children (including Della and Louise) but their mother is no longer living and I don't find John, Jr.  By 1920, it looks like Louise is living with the Wentworth's as their maid and Della is living with the Deffners indicated as their daughter.  Their father, John Bruns, still lived in Napa with his son Harry (Claus).

You might ask how I know that I found the correct location of these young ladies.  Well, there's a story that goes along with this.

It seems definite that by 1910, John's wife had passed away leaving him with several children to care for.  He also needed to work by farming.  The men in the family seemed to have gone with him to work while the two youngest children who were girls remained at home.   By 1910, the girls were about seven and eight years old.  Left to their own devices, they were seen playing unsupervised and may have been getting themselves into a bit of trouble.

In a day were Napa was really starting to fill up with homesteads, families, and farmers, something like two girls running around unsupervised did not go unnoticed.  They also belonged to the local Lutheran Church.  As the story goes, each girl went to live with two different families in Napa.  By 1920, Della is with the Deffners and Louise is with the Wentworths.  It is even possible that Louise lived with the Deffners for a while too.  It is known that the girls were separated for a time.

I'm sure that the girls still saw their father and siblings.  What I find interesting is that Della is indicated as the daughter in the Deffner household in 1920 while Louise is indicated as the maid in the Wentworth household in 1920.  I'm sure that there are other details to this story but these are the basics.  I find it rather interesting.  You can almost piece the story together via U.S. Census source documents.

Anyway, the connection to my family is that Della went on to marry J.H. Vienop, Jr.  Louise went on to marry August Gruenhagen.  Louise Gruenhagen, as she was known from then forward, was one of my great grandmother's (Mary Vienop Borchers) closest friends.

Rerun Friday - Scotch-Irish

Back on January 27, 2011, I posted about the "Scotch-Irish".  My post back then seems a little confusing even to me so I've rewritten it.  I want to be as clear as possible with this terminology.  So......here's my updated "Language Lesson" on the term Scotch-Irish with some other terms thrown in.

I'm just not fond of the term Scotch-Irish.  I see it used as a catch all phrase for any surname that could be considered Irish or Scottish.  It is especially common in the United States where so many people have no idea of their surname origins.  On many an occasion, people have asked me if my McGuire surname is Scottish.  My response to them is that I really don't think so.  It's a pretty definite Irish name.  The name is found around the world, however, and even in Scotland.  So is it Scotch-Irish?

The term Scotch-Irish is an American term that is not used in England, Ireland, or Scotland. Scotch-Irish actually refers to Irish Presbyterians and other Protestant dissenters from Ulster Province who immigrated to North America during the colonial years.  Most of the Scotch-Irish were descended from Scottish and English families who had been transplanted to Ireland during the 17th century.   This was known as the Plantation of Ulster.  Many of these "Ulster Scots", as they are referred to in Britain, had descendants who immigrated to America in the 18th and early 19th centuries.  They immigrated from Ireland and mainly to the Appallachian region of the U.S.

Much confusion stems from the use of this term even among those who deem themselves Scotch-Irish.  I think I can clear this up by reminding anyone who thinks of themselves as Scotch-Irish that this group of people were not Roman Catholic.  If you are Catholic and/or your Irish immigrant ancestors were, then you are highly likely not Scotch-Irish.  The more I read about this term, the more I realize that my McGuire's were not Scotch-Irish.  My Maxwell's, while they may have been part of the "Plantation", may be "Ulster Scots".  That's a big maybe on the Maxwell side by the way.

So where did the term "Scots-Irish" come from?  Well it appears to be a misinterpretation of Scotch-Irish.  Scotch-Irish was coined in 1744 and generally refers to those living in the Appalachian region of the U.S.  This term came into play in the U.S. when the mass Irish immigrations occurred in the 1840s-50s.  To differentiate the Protestant Irish in the Appalachian region, they were named Scotch-Irish since the masses of recent Irish immigrants were, in fact, Irish Catholics.  The term Scots-Irish/Scot-Irish does not show up until around 1972 and appears to be a mispronunciation of its predecessor.

Why dislike the Scotch-Irish term?  It really is a misnomer.  People seem to use, or misuse, this term when they come across a surname that could be Irish or Scottish.  I have also seen the Protestant Irish in Northern Ireland referred to as Scot-Irish. I am betting they would not like to hear that since they consider themselves Irish.

I stay away from using these terms as I don't think I identify with the use of them since my ancestors were Roman Catholic.  I actually cringe now when I see Scots-Irish written and used.  I did have a discussion online with someone about the term.   She found it very confusing.  Ultimately, she indicated that there were probably prejudices that went along with the use of these terms.  I agree.

So, whatever you think of the term Scotch-Irish, bear in mind that it is misused and misunderstood by many and those labeled as such may not be fond of it.

Why Deviate Off Your Direct Line? - Revisited

Following Your Blood Line, or The Whole Family

Believe it or not, "choice" comes up time and time again with regards to my family tree.  I am continually presented with a new branch of my tree.  Do I follow the new branch or continue to head up the main branch to the top of my tree?  That tree, by the way, continues to grow and get "taller", if you will, as I creep back in time.

I have come across people who are growing their tree taller and fuller, wider, or overgrown as maybe my tree appears to be.  Yes, there are massive family trees out there on Ancestry.com and on other sites online that represent hours and hours of research and "trailing off" as I call it.  Trailing off on a branch of your family tree can be quite rewarding, complicated, and distracting at times.

There are those that just grow their tree "taller" and have few branches.  It is a different choice than my own.  Many people out there choose to follow only their direct blood line.  They refrain from "trailing off" on other branches of the tree.  Sticking with this method can keep one's family tree research simple and easy to source.  It can also be rather limiting.

If you limit yourself to just your direct blood line, you might miss out on learning about communities and finding stories of how your ancestors lived with the others around them.  When the concept of community and collaboration are added to one's family tree research, the discoveries become endless.  The complexity of this approach can turn some people off, however.  The more complex a family tree, the harder it becomes to share it with others and keep their attention.
                                                                             
So will you lose people if you do choose a more complex approach to your tree?  Probably.  But, can you give up all of the possibilities that come with the "complex" tree?  The possibilities include, and are not limited to, finding relatives with shared research interests, finding research has already been completed, and discovering stories about a family line.

I seek stories about people.  Whether the stories are lengthy or anecdotal, I love the stories.  You never know when you might find 193 letters that were written as correspondence between family members from the U.S. to those who remained in the old country.  You never know if you might find photos of your great great grandfather that were saved by the second cousin that you've never met.  You never know what you might find, so why limit yourself.

In the 1990s, I sought my direct blood line.  That was interesting and all that I had time for, or made time for, back then.  Now, I seek the clusters of people.  It's the way that I have found my female family members but also the stories of the people and the communities in which they lived.  From the Irish Settlement in Newport, New York to my Flanagan's of Termonfechin, discoveries abound from my complex family tree.

From my perspective, seeking the whole family is the way to go.  I have found relatives who have what I refer to as living memories of those who came before us, those whom they knew.  Limiting myself is not in the game plan when it comes to my family tree.  I'll continue to allow my family tree to lead me up or down different branches as they present themselves and offer an interesting story.

Rerun Friday - What's in your backyard? - The California State Library

"What's in your backyard? - 900 N Street, Sacramento, CA" was my original post about the California State Library posted on Thursday, November 18, 2010.

900 N Street, Sacramento, CA, is located about 9.2 miles from my front door. Sometimes you never fully realize what resources are located in your own "backyard" when it comes to genealogy. 900 N Street is the current location of the California State Library. It is across the street from the historical state library on Capitol Mall which is currently undergoing revonations until 2013.

For a somewhat temporary location, 900 N Street is pretty awesome and modern. Most of the library collection had existed in the "old library". 900 N Street houses, and has for quite a number of years housed, the California History Collection. The key with the California history portion of the library is that the collection is on site. The rest of the library is packed up in warehouses somewhere in West Sacramento during the main renovation.

I was amazed by a few things about this library. First and foremost, it is a good size and modern but the building is also occupied by the appellate courts. The lobby area is rather grand and looks like a modern museum. Parking downtown is rather dismal as usual but there are public parking garages nearby within walking distance. The "big deal" is that this place is free just like any other library.

The librarians are onsite to assist you but they do other research for the State of California at the same time. One catch to this place is that unless you are an employee of the State of California, you can't check out the books. The librarians indicated to me that the library is mainly for research. Apparently, people use this location for genealogy research but also writers come there to do their research.

My goal was to locate this library and find the book that contains the mini-bio from 1891 about M. Flanagan (Michael Flanagan). The copy that I have is becoming faded. I wanted a new copy plus the opportunity to see what this library has in store for my research. Within about 20 minutes of getting myself acclimated to this library, I found the book that I was looking for with much assistance from the librarians. The book was in the back marked "fragile". This book is over 100 years old. They allowed me to view it and make photocopies of a few pages.

While trying to locate this book, I looked in their card catalog. It is the real deal when it comes to card catalogs and not computerized as many card catalogs are these days. It is a piece of wood furniture with drawers, cards and all. I went to the drawer that had Flanagan in it. While looking for Michael Flanagan, I also found Joaquin Joseph Flanagan (Corning, CA) and Leo J. Flanagan (Burlingame, CA). I did not have time to fetch the books that contain information about the two of them but I know with some certainty that these two gentlemen are also my relatives.

My success in finding the book with Michael Flanagan included gave me hope in finding more information at that library. The librarian indicated that they also have a photo collection. There exists the possibility that the state may have photos of my relatives. I certainly need to check on my McLaughlin's in this library too. I definitely found Michael Flanagan.

I had limited time to spend at the library that day plus I had my two year old in tow. She was good for about the first 45 minutes and then it was time to get going out of there. My research is there for another day and when I am by myself!

Ancestry.com DNA Beta - Mixed Results

Instead of submitting my own DNA to Ancestry.com which would have likely produced the results of "British Isles", "Central Europe" (Germany included), and "Scandinavia", I decided that any new and interesting finds in our family roots and origins might actually be on my husband's side of the family.

With the legend of a Native American back in his heritage, we submitted his DNA for testing.  What we found was rather unsurprising and seemingly uninteresting at first glance.

-74% British Isles
-16% Central Europe
-10% Uncertain

We had pretty much pegged his origins as 70% Irish and Scottish.  I suppose some English is in there too bringing his DNA up to 74% from that part of the world.  We did not find any Scandinavian DNA in his results at this time.  Sometimes that can be surprising given the Viking influence in the British Isles and, in particular, in Ireland.

Given our very German last name, I was rather taken back that he is only 16% Central Europe.  So while we live with a German last name, we are both around three quarters (no DNA proof for me yet) British Isles.  He's mainly Scottish/Irish and I'm Irish.  We've both been able to trace that back in time for the most part.  In Germany, we both know where our ancestors originate too.

The 10% "Uncertain" leaves us scratching our heads.   What are the testers uncertain of?   Were they uncertain of a potential Native American match or some other origins.  My husband was hoping that that this DNA test would either eliminate or confirm his "American Indian" heritage.  Now, we are still left wondering.

I must admit that my husband does not really look Irish at all.  He looks to be German and maybe some rugged Scottish.  If his DNA proved to be Native American, we would not be surprised at all.  Appearances aside, you just never can tell.

In reviewing the "Beta" DNA for Ancestry.com, we must remember that this is in its infancy.  Ancestry.com is gathering DNA and putting it into a database to help people find blood relatives.  In fact, the test results found a potential DNA match of a 4th or 5th cousin for my husband with 95% certainly.   That's a pretty distant cousin if you ask me.  We actually could not find any surname matches on that person's tree right now.  Will we find a closer relative once more DNA is collected?

It becomes a waiting game.  Any Beta test works that way.   As more and more people order the DNA test, more matches will form, and a more definitive origin can result.  The 10% of uncertain for my husband could shrink over time providing a more exact ethnicity.

I'm certainly game to see what happens.  Once Ancestry.com opens up the DNA tests to everyone, I will submit mine too.  For now, the solo invite was used for my husband.  It has generated quite a bit of interest in his family. 

Francis Raymond McLaughlin

A few months ago, I logged onto Ancestry.com and found someone pulling over some information about Francis Raymond McLaughlin.  I sent them a message but did not hear back. In fact, I could tell that they were not pursuing their McLaughlin line and just Francis' wife's line.  This particular Frank McLaughlin appears to not have really been a family man.  I suppose that his reputation as such has trickled down some to his descendants.  Maybe someday they will be interested in finding out about their McLaughlin line.  In the meantime,  I'm post what I have about this particular Frank McLaughlin, son of James McLaughlin and Julia Mahoney.   His connection to me is that he was my great grandmother's first cousin.

The following research was completed by George Capes.  It may not be in the best format but for anyone looking for this particular Frank McLaughlin, it is as good as gold for them.

FRANCIS  RAYMOND  McLAUGHLIN, b. 03 Sep 1876 in Newport, NY.; d. on 12 May 1931 and was bur. 15 May 1931 at Austin, Lander Co., NV. Frank was brought back east to Newport, NY, after his mother died in 1891, to be raised by his uncle and aunt, Michael  and Mary McLaughlin. He continued school and work-ed on Uncle Michael’s farm until after his 16^th. birthday. 
                                                                                                       
            In a correspondence from his father, James, to his mother’s sister, Katherine (Mahoney) Biche, dated 10 Aug 1891, James states: “I do not think now I shall return this fall as I expected. Frank writes me that I could not make a living there and he is ‘dissadisfide’ with the country, and says that Mike don’t seem to want him to have him stay there. He wants to come back here. I wrote him, Frank, I would send him $100. the first of Sep. and to come here. The boy wants to be doing something for himself. I shall try my best to send him to school here. If he had 2 years more he would be a good ‘schollar’. He learns easy and fast.“ 
                                                                                                   

     It’s not determined when Frank returned to Austin, NV, but he became a lead and silver miner in later years, living in Austin and also in Boise, ID.  One old-timer      Austin,    who knew Frank, reported that he was quite tall and thin. His nicknames were ‘Slim’ and ‘Highpockets’.

The next news of Frank appears in the ‘Reese River Reveille”, the local newspaper in Austin, NV, dated 10 Feb 1917:  “AUSTINITES TAKE LEASE ON CAMP’S OLDEST PROPERTY.” “ Frank McLaughlin and George Gordon have taken a lease on a vein system on the Austin                Extension claim, known as the old Highland Mary property, owned by the Nevada Equity Mines Company.”

Shortly  thereafter, on 17 Mar 1917, Frank continues in the news:  “709 OUNCE ORE IN HIGHLAND MARY.” – “Gordon and McLaughlin, leasers on the Highland Mary lode property of the Nevada Equity Mines Co., have struck some high grade silver ore which closely resembles the surface high grade found on Lander Hill.  An assay taken from across the vein where first struck yielded 709 ounces in silver.”
             

Again, on 07 Apr 1917, the newspaper reads:  “GORDON & McLAUGHLIN TO MAKE SHIPMENT.” – “A shipment of fifteen tons of ore will go forward early this week to the smeltery from the Gordon and McLaughlin lease on the Highland Mary lode. The ore body carries a high percentage of lead and silver. The silver is being mined separately.”
                                                                

No other information on Frank appears until the following date:  Saturday, 16 May 1931; “Car Over The Bank Results in Death of F. R. McLaughlin.” (He was thrown from the car and the body was discovered near the wreckage). “ It was discovered that the body was that of Frank R. McLaughlin, who was raised in Austin and for years has been a well-known miner and prospector in this vicinity. The body of McLaughlin was terribly mangled and there were a number of injuries, any of which might apparently have been the cause of death. “  An excerpt from his obituary on Saturday, 23 May 1931 reads as follows:  “ The funeral of Frank R. McLaughlin, who lost his life in the terrible plunge of an auto into the gorge of Pony Canyon on Tuesday night last, took place on the following Friday from the mortuary establishment of  H. A. Kearns. Frank McLaughlin had many friends and a large number of them were present at the interment.  The deceased was aged 54 years. He was the son of James McLaughlin, who came here with his wife and children nearly fifty years ago. Young Frank for some years lived with Father Phelan, who was in charge of the Catholic Church in Austin at that time. His mother died here and is buried in the Austin cemetery. When he was about 14 years old his father took him, with his brothers George and Fred and a sister (Mary Etta), (and an infant brother, James "Jay") all of whom are said to be surviving, back to (The Irish Settlement, Newport, Herkimer County,) New York and he did not come back to Austin until about 1918. Since that time he was engaged in mining and prospecting in this vicinity and made Austin his home. He at one time lived in Boise, Idaho, where he married and where a son and his mother (Lottie Haggerty) still live.”

Rerun Friday - O'Napa

"O'Napa" was originally posted on Tuesday, November 16, 2010

O'Napa the secrets and stories you hold. Those Irish and German families O mine were there and now almost gone. Wine is your crop but my prize is my family line. From Alta Heights to Carneros, from Spencer Street to the Salvador Area, you hold history of a simpler time.

Those Vienop's farmed fruit orchards and knew cigars. Those McLaughlin's knew dairy and sold milk. The Flanagan's were the ultimate farmers with dairy, vegetable crops, and grapes. Vino of Carneros did not have quite the same meaning as today but the reputation was growing at the time.

The Flanagan's, McLaughlin's, and Maxwell's brought with them their Irish Catholic heritage as farmers in the Napa Valley. My Vienop's and Borchers' brought with them their farming skills and Lutheran religion.

Times have changed some but family ties still carry my heart to Napa.

Rerun Friday - Networking

"Networking" was originally posted on Thursday, October 28, 2010

In my quest to trace my family tree, I have found networking with others to be a key to my success. While message boards are sometimes a futile source of information, the sheer contacts that can be made reviewing them can make the tour of these seemingly timeconsuming posts worth it.

The Member Connect option on Ancestry.com is a networking tool designed to bring people together who are seeking the same family tree information. I find it to be quite effective. How else would I have found my McLaughlin's, Maxwell's, and other descendants of Jack and Minnie Flanagan.

Another rather interesting consequence that can arise out of reviewing Member Connect is that you might find relatives or college professors borrowing your information. I like to refer to it as "snooping around". I mean that with the utmost respect, with a little humor thrown in, and as the bold researcher that I have become can appreciate that method. The boldness is what gets you connected,  can even connect a college professor to the owner of some source documents or letters, plus more stories of those who lived before us.

So I continue with my ultimate attempt at networking which includes this blog, my website, my Facebook site for this blog, and my internal network of family and relatives who have gathered and shared their research about our family lines. I look upon my information online as a respository for anyone who is connected to my family tree or just interested in reading about my quest for more information about my ancestors.

Catholic Church Not Sharing

I don't usually use my blog to talk about religion and politics and I'm not planning to continue to do so in the future.  Even this post does not have much to do with politics from a governmental standpoint.  It does have to do with politics of religion and the consequence it has on genealogy.  I hesitated briefly on posting something so controversial but then I decided to post this anyway.

As to no surprise, the Catholic Church does not like the Mormons (Latter-Day-Saints).  That's probably not a real shocker for anyone who pays attention to these two religions and how they interact (or rather don't interact).

In 2008, the Catholic Church told the LDS Church that they couldn't have their records.  HA!  Now, you LDS can't try to baptize those faithfully departed.  As I read through the online article called "Vatican Orders Catholic Parish Registers Off-Limits to the LDS Church", I had to question what the heck the Catholic Church is thinking.

As a practicing Catholic and with twelve years of Catholic School under my belt, I find that I have a broader perspective on the church and its teachings than your everyday church goer.  Sometimes I don't agree with everything they teach by the way.  Choice and thinking for myself is probably why I am still Catholic.  If there is one thing that those Dominican Nuns taught me, it was to think for myself and seek the truth. 

The truth of the matter in Catholic Genealogy is that church records are spread out all over parishes and you have visit each one to find what you are looking for.   How antiquated and frustrating for the non-LDS genealogist.  That's me!  I have a whole family tree full of Roman Catholics along with a few Lutherans.  I guess the Catholic Church does not think share and share alike is appropriate with church records.

The Vatican's point with ordering Catholic parishes to hold back their records baffles me a bit.  The basis of their denial is so that the faithfully departed Catholics cannot be posthumously baptized in the LDS Church by proxy.

My goal here is not to poke too much fun at or disgrace either church.  Instead, I am noting what I think is unreasonable.  The Catholic Church does not want to share their records for fear that dead people will be converted to LDS.  This insinuates that the Church puts stock in what the LDS believe in that you can baptize dead people.   


I find the refusal of the Catholic Church to share church records with the LDS repository to be quite stifling.  It makes my job in completing my family tree so much tougher.  I completely respect and appreciate that the LDS Church has preserved so much family history and records.

I never did hear back from that Catholic Church in Brooklyn, New York which holds the key to my past ancestors in their church records.  I pray everyday that church does not burn down.  It's the only place where those records exist.  I hope to get there someday and hope that the Catholic Church comes up with a better plan for genealogy for all Roman Catholics.  We need a solution that gets to the main point of all of this --- proving one's family tree and finding your roots.  Mine are mostly Roman Catholic!

A Documentary: Out of Ireland

Well, I finally sat down and watched the documentary, Out of Ireland:  Emigration into America.  I thank my relatives for sending a copy and have spotted it on Netflix streaming now. 

The documentary is very well done and includes some very familiar celebrities narrating the program.  I finally realized about a quarter of the way into the program, that the American gentleman doing most of the in person commentary was Prof. Kerby Miller, himself.

Prof. Miller was rather integral as the first to fully review the Flaanagan Letters belonging to my family.  The program was quite interesting for sure giving me a better perspective on the plight of the Irish immigrant.

Rerun Friday - My Box of Treasures

"My Box of Treasures" was originally posted on Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Sterilite......Storage Box.....Ideal For Sweaters, Shirts, Lingerie.......16in.x11in.x6in.......1654...White...Made in U.S.A

With a lingering hint if cigarettes covered up by the scent of an envelop of lavender, my "box of treasures" is not remarkable in appearance by any means. My Grandma was a heavy smoker so everything in my grandparents house smelled of cigarettes. The box containing family tree information is no exception. The smell is slowly subsiding though since it has been years since a cigarette was near the box.

                                                   

I have not exactly exhausted all of the information in the box but am getting close after all of these months. What remains for me to do is to go through the box once more, scan everything into the computer and photocopy everything for myself. I should also create a CD to store away too. Technically, the box belongs to my Mom and I should return it to her soon so that I may borrow the box that she has about my grandparents. 

                                                                      

It would be so wonderful to go through the box about my grandparents, Richard Joseph Flanagan and Dorothy Marie Borchers. The issue that I know I will have in looking through that information is the emotional response. That information will probably only generate a few posts. I have discovered that it is hard for me to write about people that I knew well. 

                                                    

I do have some photos and am trying to figure out the best way to place them in my blog or on Ancestry.com. I have posted the majority of the the loose photos on Ancestry. I also have photo albums. Another project is to figure out the best method of duplicating these photos without removing them from the albums. These projects will most definitely take me away from my daily blog posts. For now, I think I have more to write about.

Rerun Friday - Language Lesson - Heraldry

"Language Lesson - Heraldry" was originally posted on September 28, 2010

Heraldry - What is it? I mentioned doing language lessons a while back about terminology related to genealogy. I suppose I should live up to that previous post.

I came across the term 'heraldry' years ago when I was seeking "write-ups" about the individual surnames within my family tree. Various heraldry websites would come up in the search engine results online. So what is heraldry?

The word herald comes from a Germanic word referring to an "army commander". When it comes to family surnames it mainly revolves around the coat of arms and family crest. It appears to expand into the "write ups" about the meaning of specific surnames too.

Irish heraldry seems to have heavy influence from the Gaels, Anglo-Normans, and the English. From what I've read online, the Irish still did their own thing when it came to heraldry in and around the 1600s when the English were still trying to refine their rules and things were in constant flux. Let's just say that maybe the Irish kept it simple. That can be a good thing for sure. There is a regulatory division in Ireland who grant coats of arms and monitor the official use of them from what it sounds like.

Heraldry is also considered a way of tracing one's genealogies. I agree with this statement but it is a rather generic genealogy. I suppose if all you can find or know is your surname and cannot trace the family line, then the high level, general information about the surname is all you can hold onto. I know that's what is going on for several of my family lines at this time. It does give us a sense of where our ancestors came from. That can be a comfort and give us a goal of where we might want to travel.

I'm not sold on heraldry merchandise but I do own some. I suppose it gives one hope of finding more about your family line someday.

Rerun Friday - A Living Document In Cyberspace

"A Living Document In Cyberspace" was originally posted on Thursday, August 19, 2010

I worked for years for a company who documented everything. We even placed notes in a system that an attorney once referred to as a "living document". The living document could be added to but not edited once filed.

In the case of my blog, I'd like to refer to this as a "living document". It can live in cyberspace for as long as Google wants to support it. Since there are no legal restrictions, I do have the ability to edit previously posted documents. This is handy since sometimes I do make mistakes and typos.

For the sake of history, even if it is just my own family history, my blog will live on for quite some time. I do not have plans to take it down at any point. Also, I wouldn't be opposed to it changing with the times. Change is a good thing and ideas are always welcome here.

A Story - Mary Elizabeth Rohman McGuire - Part 2

By the 1920 U.S. Census, I cannot find Mary and her children.  I am assuming that they still lived in Manhattan and lord only knows where her estranged husband was at that point in time.  I am assuming he was not in the picture at all.  His father, Charles McGuire, does not appear to be living by this time but I can find some other family members on the McGuire side living in The Village.

I kind of have to wonder where Mary's parents and siblings are at this point in time.  I could not locate them in any census except 1880.  I can find Mary in 1930 with all four of her children living in Manhattan.  They were living at 172 8th Avenue just north of Greenwich Village.

When I was growing up, my father would always say that he was full Irish from New York.  That is all fine and dandy to say.  My mom would say that Rohman doesn't sound very Irish and would kind of laugh.  She was right.  It's not Irish.

Now, Mary Rohman certainly grew up around a lot of Irish Catholics.  I will say that 240 Delancy Street where she was born is not exactly that close to Greenwich Village but there were lots of Irish living right around her Rohman Family at the time along with some Germans.  Somehow she met Frank J. McGuire and they got married.  Her family must have been Catholic.

My granddad used to repeat a story that he had been told.  He said that he was Irish but somewhere back there in his line was a Dutchman from Louisiana, thus the Rohman name.  I am not sure if that was a tall tale passed onto him by his mother.  It's an interesting story and got me to look in Louisiana records a bit for the Rohman name.  That name is in the New Orleans area for sure.  It is possible that someone came from Louisiana but were they Dutch?

Now, my grandparents did not like Germans per se.  Ironically, they lived on a suburban street where almost every last name was German and they were the only Irish family.  Irony again, when I discovered that Mary Rohman's parents indicated themselves as being Prussian on the 1880 U.S. Census.  The greater part of Germany was Prussia until after WWI.  After the WWI, Germany went back to being as such and my own immigrant family members on my mom's side started to refer to themselves as German instead of Prussian.  So, Mary was German!  I suppose that they were German Catholics as opposed to German Lutherans but I think there is more to discover there.

So was the Dutchman story a way of covering up that Prussian/German origins to make the marriage of a German to an Irish Catholic more palatable?  I am starting to think so.  There could still be some stock in the Louisiana reference but I just can't seem to get back beyond the 1870s for my Rohman's right now.  It would be great to even find Joseph Rohman in the 1870 U.S. Census.

Let's hope more information presents itself soon.

Remembering 9/11

My photo from 1990.

A Story - Mary Elizabeth Rohman McGuire - Part 1

My father actually spent quite a bit of time with his grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Rohman McGuire.  She apparently did not really like him though.  That may sound like a rather unkind remark but it is rather telling about the family dynamic in the household in which he grew up in.  While I do think that he grew up in a very loving, Irish Catholic New Yorker, middle class family who lived in the suburbs of New York City out on Long Island, the members liked to laugh, crack jokes, and even pull some practical jokes, sometimes at the expense of others.  I suppose it was a way to express themselves and their personalities.   My father might have also had a bit more energy than the rest of the kids in the family.

Imagine sitting around a dining room table with two witty parents, two comedic older brothers, a somewhat reserved sister, and the grandmother who visited frequently and stayed for a while.  My dad was rather stuck in the middle.  The reason why I bring my father up is because of his interaction with Mary, his grandmother.  Mary shook like a leaf apparently.  My dad would pick up his glass at the table and mimic her by shaking his too.  Now, that did not go over very well.   He would say that his older brothers put him up to it.  Do I believe that?  Probably, but which brother put him up to it is something that we may never know.  I wish that I could have been a fly on the wall at that dinner table!

It seems extremely likely to me that Mary suffered from Parkinson's Disease or something like it in her older years.   By the time my father was born, she was 67 years old.  By the time my father was mimicking her shaking, she was probably into her 70s.  Mary ultimately passed away of colon cancer which so dominantly runs through that part of my family line from Mary to her son/my grandfather, Frank, and to her grandson/my father who passed away in 2004.

Mary Elizabeth Rohman was born at 240 Delancy Street, Manhattan, New York on 20 Nov. 1878 to Joseph and Frances Rohman.  It is not really clear what Frances' given maiden name was as I've seen it transcribed all sort of ways.  To me it looks like a German name that starts with an "L".  Mary lived a pretty long life.  She passed away on 25 Dec. 1956 in New York.  Based on what I know, Mary spent her older years living with her adult children - Marion, Cecilia, John, and Frank.

On September 4, 1903, Mary married Francis Joseph McGuire in Manhattan.  He did not turn out to be the best husband.  Frank seems to have stuck around until after 1910 and even until all of his children had been born.  By his 1917-18 WWI Draft Registration, he lists his father, Charles McGuire, as the nearest relative at 528 Hudson Street, Manhattan.  That's where he indicates he is living too.  What is odd about this is that he did not list his wife.  Every other registration that I've looked at indicates the person's wife if the man was married.  Frank did not list Mary.

So what happened between Frank and Mary?  Well, the rumor and comment that was always made was that Frank had a drinking problem and took off to the "high seas". Talk about a rift in the family.  This was a big one.  I wonder if this was why my grandfather was never very connected to his McGuire side of the family except to his own siblings.

In 1910, Mary and Frank were living with their two living young sons, Frank and John, at 105 Christopher Street, Manhattan, New York.  Their first son, Charles, had passed away at age 3 in 1908.  I can see where other McGuire Family is living nearby on Hudson Street.  This is no surprise as they lived in Greenwich Village, a mecca for Irish Catholics.  Oh....but....Mary was not Irish.

To be continued........

Rerun Friday - O'McFitz - What does that all mean? Irish Surnames

"O'McFitz - What does that all mean? Irish Surnames" was originally posted on Saturday, August 14, 2010

Have you ever wondered what the "O'" in O'Brien means? How about the "Mc" in McGuire? Those Fitzpatrick's make me wonder what "Fitz" is all about. Irish surnames derive from Gaelic and Norman roots primarily. The further north in Ireland you go, the more the names derive from Gaelic. During the 1600s and 1700s, the English definitely discouraged the continued use of Irish surnames in favor of English surnames. Maybe that's why there are Smith's in Ireland.

When the surname begins with "Mc" (or even "Mac" which is typically Scottish), the surname suffix means "son of". When the surname begins with "O'", the surname suffix means grandson of. When the surname suffix begins with "Fitz", it means that these Irish are French. Just kidding! Well, maybe. It does have something to do with the French.

"Fitz" has a Norman origin, from the Latin flius, meaning son. The Normans were from Normandy, France. They conquered the Irish in 1169. So...The Normans were French and brought that Fitz name with them when they conquered Ireland. Then the Normans were converted to being Irish. That is really making a long story and hundreds of years seem like a short story.

Are the Irish, French? The Irish were conquered by many including the Vikings, Normans, and English. Take your pick on the ancient national origin of Ireland. Was Ireland the original melting pot? One could certainly find an argument for that. I suppose I get my love of meat and potatoes from the English. The Irish improved upon it though.

When I toured Ireland in 2004, our tour guide was full of fascinating trivia. As we entered the City of Galway, he indicated that at one point in its history, the residents tried to keep out anyone whose surname began with an "O'" or a "Mc". I can't recall the whole story but I would imagine that applied to many Irish. Of course, that did not last long for Galway. This McGuire's thought of Galway was, "What a beautiful city it is!" No hard feelings from a "Mc" here.

"O'", "Mc" and "Fitz" live on for Irish surnames although some have dropped the leading suffix for a more English or even Americanized style of surname.

Rohman - New York City

Here are the records that I have found for my Rohmann/Rohman/Roman/Romaine Faimly line.  Take your pick on the spelling of the name "Roman".  I did find my correct family members but this is far from a complete set or family unit.  Also, this is really all that I've been able to nail down definitively in over a year.  I do think that the name is spelled Rohman.  Mary Rohman McGuire was my great grandmother.

"New York, Births and Christenings, 1640-1962," Joseph Rohman, 1872

Name:

Joseph Rohman

Gender:

Male

Baptism/Christening Date:

Baptism/Christening Place:

Birth Date:

26 Oct 1872

Birthplace:

Manhattan, New York, New York, USA

Death Date:

Name Note:

Race:

Father's Name:

Joseph

Father's Birthplace:

Father's Age:

Mother's Name:

Frances Lendevorson

Mother's Birthplace:

Mother's Age:

Indexing Project (Batch) Number:

C00772-1

System Origin:

New_York-ODM

Source Film Number:

1315320

Reference Number:

"New York, Births and Christenings, 1640-1962," Mary Roman, 1878

Name:	Mary Roman
Gender:	Female
Baptism/Christening Date:
Baptism/Christening Place:
Birth Date:	20 Nov 1878
Birthplace:	240 Delancey St , New York City, New York
Death Date:
Name Note:
Race:
Father's Name:	Joseph Roman
Father's Birthplace:
Father's Age:
Mother's Name:	Francis Lindeaurm Roman
Mother's Birthplace:
Mother's Age:
Indexing Project (Batch) Number:	C71508-7
System Origin:	New_York-ODM
Source Film Number:	1322134
Reference Number:

"New York, Births and Christenings, 1640-1962," John Rohman, 1887

Name:	John Rohman
Gender:	Male
Baptism/Christening Date:
Baptism/Christening Place:
Birth Date:	23 Aug 1887
Birthplace:	Manhattan, New York, New York, USA
Death Date:
Name Note:
Race:
Father's Name:	Joseph Rohman
Father's Birthplace:
Father's Age:
Mother's Name:	Franeisca Luchwnrm
Mother's Birthplace:
Mother's Age:
Indexing Project (Batch) Number:	C00539-1
System Origin:	New_York-ODM
Source Film Number:	1322224
Reference Number:

"New York, Marriages, 1686-1980," Mary Romaine, 1903

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Groom's Name:	Francis Mcguire
Groom's Birth Date:
Groom's Birthplace:
Groom's Age:
Bride's Name:	Mary Romaine
Bride's Birth Date:
Bride's Birthplace:
Bride's Age:
Marriage Date:	04 Sep 1903
Marriage Place:	Manhattan, New York, New York
Groom's Father's Name:	Charles Mcguire
Groom's Mother's Name:	Sarah Mcgrath
Bride's Father's Name:	Joseph Romaine
Bride's Mother's Name:	Frances Lakervine
Groom's Race:
Groom's Marital Status:
Groom's Previous Wife's Name:
Bride's Race:
Bride's Marital Status:
Bride's Previous Husband's Name:
Indexing Project (Batch) Number:	M00391-5
System Origin:	New_York-ODM
Source Film Number:	1570985
Reference Number:

1880 U.S. Census

Household

Gender

Age

Birthplace

SELF

Joe Rohmann

M

40

Germany

WIFE

Frances Rohmann

F

35

Germany

SON

Joseph Rohmann

M

7

New York, United States

Rosa Rohmann

F

4

New York, United States

Mary Rohmann

F

1

New York, United States