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.

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 - 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.

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. 

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 - 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.

Rerun Friday - Genealogy Research Accurancy and Sourcing

"Genealogy Research - Accuracy and Sourcing" was originally posted on Thursday, August 12, 2010

I find that the more research I do on my family tree, the more questions I have. Who were all of these people on my tree? How did they live? How did they interact with each other? What did they do for a living? Were they content with life or was it difficult? The list goes on. I hope to find some answers along the way. Of course, as more people show up on my family tree, there are more questions.

My brother-in-law asked me recently about the accuracy of my tree. I did admit to him that the further away on the tree I get from myself, the more I have to question the accuracy. When it comes to cousins down other lines, I have to question how far I should take my tree. I’ve been warned by other family “treers” to be careful of the information that you bring into your tree from Ancestry.com. I know that I found a mistake on my tree just last week.

The time will come when I need to, again, carefully review each and every person on my tree. I need to make sure that I have source information to cite for everyone. I need to scan some information and make it source information in the future. I never thought there’d be so much to do and so little time. Again, I need to remind myself that it’s "not a sprint, it’s a marathon". I’ve got to pace myself.

Rerun Friday - People not interested in Genealogy

"People not interested in Genealogy" was originally posted on Saturday, June 19, 2010.

So where you came from, or rather who you came from, can explain a lot about you.  While your immediate family unit has the most influence over you while growing up and moving into adulthood, those extended family members are usually involved too.  I have come across people who are not interested in their family tree because of past experiences with their immediate family unit and extended family.
            
When bad things happen within the family, sometimes people shy away from their relatives.  I can only imagine how people feel when multiple catastrophic or even uncomfortable events occur.  I do say that exploring your family tree is a personal choice.  If you explore back far enough and then drop down into cousins and other relatives, you may actually find some distant cousins that you do want to be around.

Adoption; now, that can be a different story, especially if you are the child of a parent who was adopted.  That does make it hard to trace that line in your genealogy but hopefully not all lines.  I do know someone who was adopted and as an adult she found her real parents.  She has been able to find out why she was put up for adoption, their medical history, and actually build a relationship with them.  That is amazing to me and wonderful.  Her adoptive parents are still her "real parents" by the way.

Descendant - Thomas S. McLaughlin - Part 2

Sent: Monday, May 28, 2012 9:41 AM

Subject: RE: McLaughlin Relative

Hi T, 

This is very exciting and I am so glad that you got in touch.  I have been slowly finding other McLaughlin relatives over the past two years.  For whatever reason, the McLaughlin side of our family didn't keep in close touch.  I don't exactly know why.  I have found that though after a few generations pass that people forget to keep in touch or just don't know who people are.

My great grandmother was the oldest child of Thomas Michael McLaughlin and Ellen Maxwell.  Her name was Mary "Minnie" Elizabeth McLaughlin.  Her married name was Flanagan.  She was born in Austin, Nevada in 1870.  Her siblings were Ellen (Ella Heflin once married), Catherine (Katie, never married), Thomas S., Anna "Dolly" (Anna Lewis), Joseph, and Hugh Robert.  The family moved to Napa, CA in 1886 from Austin, Nevada.  All of the children except Hugh Robert were born in Nevada and he was born in Napa.  I also have Thomas Michael McLaughlin's death certificate.

My mom was born and raised in Napa, California as were both of my grandparents.  My grandfather, Richard Joseph Flanagan, was one of Mary Elizabeth McLaughlin's children.  I have quite a bit of family history in Napa.  I spent a lot of time there as a child. 

About two weeks ago, I finally got a photo of the whole McLaughlin family.  My side is definitely short on any photos of the McLaughlin's.  The photo that I have is of Thomas and Ellen McLaughlin's 50th wedding anniversary in about 1919, Napa, CA.  I would love to have photos.  My mom's cousin's can probably identify the people if we don't know who they are too.  So feel free to scan and send them via email.

I must say that where I lack photos,  I have information about our family tree.  There have been at least five researchers that have really paved the way on the McLaughlin/Maxwell Family tree back to Ireland.  Ireland is where the research is rather stopped and stuck right now.  Needless to say, what we have stateside in the way of information is pretty amazing though.  I only found it about 2 years ago.

When it comes to Austin, Nevada, I have never been there but I do have the church records that were retrieved by another relative from Napa.  His name was Thomas Malloy and he is a cousin on our Maxwell side.  That might be a little confusing as there is a bit of information to explain on who is who.

I too have been to Ireland but was not researching our family tree at the time.  I did stay with Flanagan Relatives.  My Flanagan's first came to Napa in 1870 and kept ties to Ireland.  There was a brief break in ties but they found our family in Napa and we've kept in touch ever since.  The Flanagan Family farm is in Termonfechin, Louth, Ireland.  For 240 years, generations of Flanagan's have lived in that same location.  It's pretty amazing.  They actually drove over to County Longford almost two years ago to find McLaughlin information for me but to no avail.  I have not given up on that just yet though.

Did you go to St. John's in Napa, CA to do some research?  Funny, I have never been there to look at their church records but have been to that church many times.  I was baptized in Napa at that church.  My parents were married there and the history goes on.  The original church was torn down in the 1960s and the church was replaced.  Both my mom and my grandfather went to St. John's Catholic School.

There is a lot of longevity in our genes. I can share a lot more information with you too.  My great grandmother, Minnie McLaughlin Flanagan, passed away in 1949, aged 79.  My grandfather, one of her sons, Richard Flanagan, passed away in 2000 at the age of 88.  My mom was basically an only child. 

I leave you with this information:

Thomas Shaffrey McLaughlin's parents were Thomas Michael McLaughlin and Ellen Maxwell.  Thomas Michael McLaughlin was born in Upstate New York on 19 Feb. 1840, at the Irish Settlement in Newport, Herkimer County, New York.  He was the oldest of 7 children.   His parents were James M. McLaughlin and Mary Ellen Gartlan.  James was born on 25 Oct. 1816 in Ringowny, Parish of Edgeworthstown, County Longford, Ireland.  He immigrated to the Irish Settlement in New York around 1823 via Quebec, Canada with his parents and siblings.  Mary Ellen Gartlan was born on 1 Aug 1816 in and around Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, Ireland.  She too immigrated to the Irish Settlement with her parents and siblings around 1824.

James M. McLaughlin's parents were Michael and Marcella McLaughlin.  Mary Ellen Gartlan's parents were James Gartlan and Hannah Fox.  They are all buried at the Irish Settlement Cemetery just outside of Newport, New York.

Thomas S.'s mother, Ellen Maxwell, immigrated from the Shancarnan area, Parish of Moynalty, County Meath, Ireland in 1854 with her parents and siblings to the Irish Settlement in Newport, New York.  Ellen was born in Ireland on 22 March 1846.  She was the 4th oldest of 8 children for Joseph Patrick Maxwell and Judith "Julia" Shaffrey.  After Julia passed away, Joseph married Rebecca O'Harriet and had two more children.

I have more information.  A McLaughlin researcher dug through all of the church records in Newport, New York and wrote it all down.  He also visited Austin, Nevada, to complete extensive research.  He found information in the local newspaper archives there.

Thomas Michael McLaughlin and Ellen Maxwell (married in 1869) were not the only ones to leave the Irish Settlement in New York and head to Austin, Nevada.  Thomas' brothers followed.  They were James, Francis "Frank", and Hugh McLaughlin.  Ellen's sister Catherine Maxwell also ended up there where she married Philip Duffy.  The Duffy's moved onto Napa, CA too.

I hope that I did not just throw too much information at you to overwhelm.

I have more.  I'd love any photos that you might have too.

Let's chat soon. 

By the way, I live in Carmichael, CA near Sacramento.

I was recently looking for Thomas S. McLaughlin's last resting place.  I have it written down in family records at Rockville Cemetery in Fairfield, CA (Suisun Valley).  I actually grew up near there in Fairfield.  Upon my visit to the cemetery, they could only find Alice Loney's headstone.  They went through records but did not find information to indicate that Thomas is buried there.  I could send you their reply.  He and Alice both passed away in Mendocino County.  There are other Loney's buried at Rockville Cemetery. I am assuming they are more of your ancestors. 

KME

Descendant - Thomas S. McLaughlin - Part 1

Just as I received a photo of my McLaughlin's of Napa, CA a few months back from a cousin, I found a descendant of Thomas Shaffrey McLaughlin, my great grandmother's brother.  Ever since I started researching my family tree just over 2 years ago, I have been slowly finding living descendants of Thomas Michael McLaughlin and Ellen Maxwell.

The irony of my search was that I was working and continue to work on finding the final resting place of Thomas Shaffrey McLaughlin.  According to the Rockville Cemetery in Fairifield, California (Suisun Valley), only Alice M. Loney is buried there.  There is no sign of Thomas S. McLaughlin despite my own family records that indicate he is interned at that location.  I might need to check in Napa.  Why wouldn't he be buried with his wife?

Anyway, as has become my habit, I have started including email correspondence in my online blog/journal so that it does not get lost in a drawer or in my Outlook folders.  As always, living people and details of their current lives, are kept private.

Here's the first correspondence with Thomas S. McLaughlin's descendant that was sent to me found via Ancestry.com.

Sent: Sunday, May 27, 2012 6:01 PM

Subject: McLaughlin Relative

Hello,

I am the granddaughter of Thomas S McLaughlin.  I never met him since he died before I was born.  My father never spoke of him and I don't believe my mother ever met him.  It wasn't until I was in high school that I learned I had an aunt and uncle.  My uncle had no children but my aunt had one son.  Unfortunately, he is now gone so I have no information other than what I find from the census.  His widow did have a lot of old photographs from the Napa Valley photography studio.  I am going to have her send them to me so I can try to figure out who they were.  There was one family picture in particular that was a little creepy looking.  It looked like a patriarch, his wife and all the children.  You could certainly tell they were Irish because of the bushy eyebrows.

I went to our public library and did some family history research years ago.  My father's side of the family is the only information I found out of all the relatives I looked for.  From the census, I was able to see that Thomas was born in Austin, Nevada and that his father was born in New York.  I did not have Thomas' father's name or where in New York.  My goal is to eventually travel to Ireland to where it all started.  I have traveled to where Thomas was born in Austin, Nevada.  The Catholic church has been sold and all the information is in Reno at the Archdiocese.  One of these days I will go back to Reno and look at the birth, death and baptismal records to see if there are any other names to investigate.  The cemetery in Austin did have an Elizabeth McLaughlin headstone.  She was an older woman.  It is funny while in Nevada I visited a tourist stop that had silver mining equipment and history.  They mentioned a McLaughlin discovering silver nearby.  One can only wonder!

It looks like it is only the females of families who care about the history of the family.  On my mother's side, a relative has done all the research on the female side.  I still need to investigate the male side.  I have been to the church where my grandfather grew up and seen some of the records but not all of them.  Most churches will let you look for yourself, they do not do the research for you.

I hope I did not scare you off with my rambling.  I am in the middle of getting a 90th birthday party together for my mother.  At our last reunion in 1995 we had my parents, four daughters and six grandchildren.  This time there will be my mother (dad passed away at the last reunion), four daughters, five grandchildren and six great grandchildren.  The age range is from 2 years to 90 years!  I am glad there is longevity in my genes.  There are more but not everyone can attend.

I hope to hear from you soon.

TM

Weekly Rerun Friday - It begins with where you came from.

Currently, I post new journal entries on Wednesdays and Saturdays for the most part.  I've decided to add another "post day".  It will be on each Friday.  The catch is that it will be reruns.  I've decided to pick out some of my more interesting posts and rerun them on "Rerun Fridays!"  My first rerun is the very first post of my blog from Monday, June 14, 2010..............

It begins with where you came from.

It begins with where you came from. Right? Well sure. You came from your parents after all.  Where did they come from?  The simple answer might be "their parents". As we all know this builds on itself and follows a line backward in time.  The line also splits off to others, creating more branches.  I suppose that's why it's called a Family Tree. Genealogy is more than that.  In my opinion, it is the network of family histories that builds on each other.  It can allow us to discover our national origins and others who are distantly, or not so distantly, related to us.

I am seeking to discover not just my family tree but a network of family who may be scattered across the United States and beyond, or who might be living in my neighborhood.  Sometimes it disappoints me how family can lose touch over time.  In another instant, I start to think about my own situation and how "busy, busy, busy" I am in my daily life.  I run out of time to keep in touch, I suppose.  Or is it a choice?  Personalities can sometimes interfere as can life's experiences some of which are not so kind.  They can really split up a family despite individual's best efforts to remain close.  I see that in my own family line going back and find that some days I am confronted with it in my own expanded family dynamic.

Anyway, I thought I'd start a blog of sorts about genealogy called "Mine, Yours', and the Other Guy's Genealogy".  I've been working on my family tree off and on since about 1990.  In the past, whenever I had an opportunity to grab onto to some information, I took it.  At the age of 19, I recall sitting at my grandparents dining room table in Long Island, New York, asking them about their parents and on up the line.  I wrote the information down as quickly as I could on one sheet of paper. I remember my grandmother correcting my granddad on facts of his family line.  It was pretty funny to witness. They knew each other very well along with all of those family members which they really weren't in contact with any longer.  For various reasons, everyone seemed to have gone their own way.  Maybe some individuals or families moved away, passed away, or just got "busy, busy, busy".

My mother recently gave me the sheet that she'd held onto for the past 20 years.  It had some definite "hints" on it that I'd forgotten. I only wish that I'd asked for more information and written more down.  On that day in the summer of 1990, I did receive a gift though......a gift of finding out where my dad came from.  At least it was a start.

Photo Tips and Tricks - Part 3

Even in the world of social media and handy apps to help you along with uploading photos,  I shy away from relying on those types of photos as my copy.  You can download a photo right off Facebook or the internet but it's not going to be the best quality.

Instagram is an interesting photo program that Facebook recently purchased.  It can give a photo that nostalgic 1970s color photo effect.   I must admit to having plenty of photos with that effect in my own personal photo album from my childhood.  I don't need more plus I wouldn't want to apply that "effect" to photos found on my family tree.  That's just my personal preference plus those photos in my own personal album look that way because they are faded and old.

Preservation and, in some cases, restoration of an old photo is necessary.  That's where Photoshop and Adobe Photoshop Elements comes in handy.  For me, I can pluck a photo off the internet, from an email or scan an old photo and, basically, make it look better.  I have zoomed, cropped, and retouched photos to my delight.  The basic functions included in Photoshop Elements make it fairly easy for anyone to enhance a photo.  The following was literally thumbnail in printed form found in my grandma's album.  It's amazing what zoom and resizing the photo can do.

Mary Borchers ------ Maria Luise Katharine Vienop, Circa 1900

Now actually fixing a photo, can be a little more involved.  My MIL asked my husband to see what he could do with an old photo of his great grandfather.  The photo was at least an 11 X 17 and had a rather large tear in it that crossed the portrait up to the check of his great grandfather.   What a shame this would be without Photoshop.

Armed with a plan and technology, my husband first tried to scan the photo but that did not produce a workable result.  Next,  he laid the photo flat under some large books for a week or so.   The photo would just curl up on it's own so this was a very necessary step in the process.  Once the photo was flat, he setup a make shift easel/stand for the photo rather than laying it horizontal.  He got the lighting up to his liking in our office and took some photos with our Nikon SLR Digital Camera.  This photo of a photo really did work but he was only half way there.

The final part of this process was to open this photo in Photoshop and repair the tear that was still showing.  Photoshop can work miracles for sure.  Suffice it to say that the photo no longer has a tear.

William Ross

Fixing and/or repairing a photo can be quite rewarding.  When you've only got a handful of old photos of ancestors, pulling out the best of each photo can be done so well with current technology.  I feel as though I've just touched on the tip of the iceberg in photo enhancement.  I am so fortunate to have these tools at my fingertips.

Compressing A Photo

Uploading to a website or emailing a photo may force you to downsize it a bit.  Good quality photos tend to be over 600 DPI and/or 1MB or larger.  Generally, websites will not allow this size photo to be uploaded because of space.  You may even run into issues trying to email an 8MB photo to someone.

To send a "right sized" photo or complete an upload when your hand is forced to do so, you will want to compress the photo.  Photoshop Elements allows you to adjust pixels and resize the photo plus change the quality level.  In the absence of a program like this, what does one use?   I have used the compression tool found in MS PowerPoint but that is geared toward the photo living within a PowerPoint presentation or project.

Additionally, I used to use a website known as Picnik.   What happened to Picnik?  Well, if you go to that website it does say that "The Picnik is over."  It refers you to Google+ (yes, Google Plus).  I have not explored this option.  I use Google products but have not gotten into the "Google Plus" mode.  Never fear though, you can find "online quick use" compression tools.  I just "Google" it.  No pun intended.

In the end, I still have a call out for photos of my family to relatives who may be just discovering the treasures that they have hidden in a drawer, box or storage somewhere.

Photo Tips and Tricks - Part 2

With so many options available to manage photos, what works best?  There is the traditional practice of printing them out, followed by the storage of them electronically, and then there's online storage.  Whatever option you pick for photo storage depends on your purpose in using the photos.

Personally, my goal is to print and/or reproduce only the very best photos for framing and physically sharing with others.  With so many sharing options and a large volume of photos, I do not print much in the way of individual photos these days.  I do love making photo books via Shutterfly and find the process and end result quite satisfying.  I must admit that even in the face of the top quality photo book, nothing beats an actual printed photo on appropriate photo paper.

Storing photos electronically on a CD, USB drive, hard drive or the like is a great way to stay organized and manage a large volume of photos.  I find this task to be daunting at times and must continue to persevere in order to backup my photos.  As most people would agree, electronically storing anything that you value requires a duplication of it to protect from loss.  So...Backup!  Backup!  Backup!  This so definitely applies to your photos, especially old photos of your ancestors.

With my genealogy projects, printing and producing a physical book or album kind of defeats my overall purpose of sharing my family tree experience with whomever wants to read about it in the here and now online but also with my family near and far.  Don't get me wrong, at some point I will produce a bound book for my own family.  In the meantime, I work hard to not hide my family tree research away in a drawer or closet in my home for my children to find when they are old and gray.   Sharing photos and information online is my way of preserving this information including photos in an open forum.

While my blog is wide open to whomever reads my genealogy journal, my Shutterfly photo share site is exclusive to family members associated with my genealogy.  I set this share site up many months ago.  To be honest, I have not added many photos recently but will soon.  It is just sitting there for now.  In the future, I plan to continue loading photos in accordance with my overall family tree project.  That way sharing a photo becomes quick and easy.

When I upload a photo to my blog, Google places it into Picassa.  Picassa is yet another photo sharing site.  This is done by default so it really is a no brainer for me to use Picassa.  I have not used the site for separate uploads in an effort to keep that storage location exclusive to photos posted to my blog.

Storing photos can be a big deal.   What about fixing a photo?  See my next post for the results of fxing the following photo:

William Ross

Photo Tips and Tricks - Part 1

I wish that I had a photo for each and every person on my family tree.  To be able to gaze into their faces is quite an experience in and of itself, especially the very first time you lay eyes on your great great grandparents, the uncle who was a medical doctor who died young, or the uncle who saved the farm in Ireland.

My old HP scanner from circa 2000 just could not handle the job of scanning photos.  It was actually designed to scan text and documents rather than pictures.  As you can see, the scanner puts lines through the photos even after having the glass cleaned and appropriate maintenance done to the machine.  Even 1200 DPI scanning did not improve the photo quality either.  It just made the lines worse.  Anna and Dorothy Borchers deserve better, right?

Anna Marie Jackel Borchers and Dorothy Marie Borchers Flanagan Circa 1925, Napa, CA

In 2011, we purchased an Epson Perfection V500 Photo Scanner.  It is solely a scanner and not a printer combo like so many are these days.  This scanner does fabulous work.  I dare only scan photos at 1200 DPI that I will save on my own computer.  At that quality level, they take up a whole lot of space.  At 600 DPI, you will find that most websites will allow you to upload a photo of that quality.  I have found that 300 DPI is the default scanning quality level and just does not cut it.  I recommend to everyone to shoot for at least 600 DPI.  Once it is uploaded to a website it may only reflect 200 DPI or less.  

Mystery Photo....Possibly a Strehlow on my Borchers Side

Anyway, I'm not sure that I should get too technical about photo quality and size.  I have found that from a "Mega Bytes" perspective, the largest that most websites will accept is 1 MB.  Websites, in general, don't want photos hogging up the space online. My suggestion to everyone is to save your photos at high quality somewhere on a CD, USB drive, or hard drive, knowing that if you post them online, they are usually at a degraded quality.  That shouldn't stop people from sharing photos though on a website.

If your photo is too large to upload, you'll need to compress the photo.  This basically takes the quality and size of the photo down a few notches for sure.  I will revisit this topic later.

More on scanning..........Forget the photocopier or color copier these days.  Those are tools of the 1990s and Xerox in their heyday.  Trust me, I know all too well the machines that could produce so much and yet are so outdated these days.  The scanner is the way to go.

How many people know that even if you don't have a scanner at home, you can access one quite easily to produce a great photo?  The Costco's, Rite Aid's, and Walgreen's of the world still have photo departments.  I think that I even spotted one at my local Target.  I hardly ever print out photos any longer.  When I do, Costco is my choice photo lab.  Heck, they produce wonderful prints right on site at a bargain price.

The other point I'd like to make about these places is that they tend to have a scanner.  You can scan photos (provided they are not copyrighted) and get more copies.  I have not yet tested the capabilities of these machines but wonder if there is also a way to share the photos with others via an online service similar to www.costcophotocenter.com, Shutterfly (who just bought out Kodak Gallery), or Snap Fish.  I'm am thinking there is probably a share option.   You just need to have the person's email you want to send the photo to handy.

This is where I will ask my readers if they know of share options on these in-store scanners.  Does that exist?  It would certainly make sharing photos by those who do not have a scanner much easier.  If anyone has experience with this, let us all know here in the comments section of this blog post.

Smart Phone Scanning Options

With the advanced camera technology on modern day Smart Phones, I have found photos are starting to turn out pretty great.  My own iPhone is a 3GS or something like that.  The photos are OK provided you're outside in good light and close to the person that you are photographing.  Mind you, I'm not a big mobile phone person and don't even have a data plan.

On the other hand, my husband has the iPhone 4GS something or other.  He's got all the bells and whistles on his phone.  For those of you who are adept, he can even make his phone a "hot spot" for me to mooch of off the internet connection when we are together and away from home.  The other thing that his phone can do is take pretty awesome photos.  Even taking a photo of a photo produces a pretty great result.  The phone can also scan documents, photos, and text.  It's like having a hand held scanner with you all of the time.

In the absence of a full fledged scanner, these Smart Phones do the trick.  I had a relative send me the following photo/scan of a photo from her phone.  It worked out pretty darn great.

McLaughlin Family Circa 1919, Napa, CA

To be continued..........................

Photos and Photography

Since around 2001, I have been honing my photography skills.  My husband definitely introduced me to "real" photography.  What I mean by "real" is the use of professional and semi-professional level equipment to take photos.  The other goal early on for me was to use the available technology that was out there.  Cameras and the way we take, display, and store photos, along with the quantity in which we take them has changed so much in the past 10 years.  I can hardly manage the quantity but I think I've got the technology down which includes how to retouch photos in a basic fashion and store them appropriately.

My learning curve in photography really peeked in 2005 when we had a couple of  "point and shoot" digital cameras that were great at the time.  We also had a Nikon SLR film camera from 2003.  Yes, a film camera that even now takes the most awesome photos.   The only drawback is that it is film.  A film camera does force you to be smart about your photo taking.  It can really make you get it right the first time.  The other catch is that you can't preview what you've taken on the back of the camera.  I must admit though, our film camera does such an awesome job that it is almost fool proof.

2003 Castaway Cay, Bahamas

Since about 2008, the film camera has been sitting in the closet.  Even though we'd be sure to have the photos put on a CD when we'd have the film developed, we no longer pull that camera out.  The best use of that camera now is not just to show our children a little piece of history but that camera takes the best black and white photos using good old black and white film.  We now use our Nikon Digital SLR.  It takes amazing photos and you can take them in large quantities.  I am, however, beginning to realize less is more.  If I take 200 photos at an event, I try to keep only the best and essential photos.  You can over do it with digital photography.

Whether it's my volunteer work on the school yearbook, school photographer at my daughter's school, or work on my family tree, photos are everywhere in my life.  They can tell a story or just solidify family memories.  I love photos in general.  The older photos that people have either sent to me or I have come across in my own collection, are truly a way to peek at the past and at those who came before us.

So, I think I will try to embark on a few part blog post about photography and photos as it relates to and is useful in genealogy and building your family tree.  The next post will be on July 11th.  I hope to offer tips, solutions, and share ideas about this very important subject within genealogy - Photos!

The Irish Settlement Cemetery - Newport, New York

As is my practice these days, I am posting a recent email correspondence about a very important subject in my family research - Old St. Patrick's Cemetery at the Irish Settlement in Newport, New York.

May 19, 2012

Hi P and J,

I recently received a message online from someone that Old St. Patrick’s Cemetery at the Irish Settlement is in jeopardy of basically disappearing.  From what it sounds like, there are only around 50 identifiable headstones of the 240 or so buried in this location. 

Some sort of volunteer project took place at one point…maybe by the Boy Scouts…..which involved moving and lining up all of the remaining headstones on the site.   I guess the headstones no longer rest where they were originally laid for the most part.  Anyway,  I am not sure that this is something new.  You may already know this.  The cemetery is quite old but still marked from the roadside from what I understand.

I thought that I’d share the comments below from one R.W.  She is a volunteer who helps on Find A Grave and found me online.  I was able to tell her who the Mahardy’s were but I don’t know about the rest she indicates in her information below.

She has photographed a few headstones for me at this location.

Given that McLaughlin’s and Maxwell’s are here and at St. John’s Cemetery, I thought I’d let you know. 

Also, I went through my notes again to locate where Joseph Patrick Maxwell is buried.  Everything I have points to St. John’s Cemetery in Newport.  While his wife, Judith “Julia” Shaffrey Maxwell, is buried at the Irish Settlement Cemetery, my notes indicate specifically that Joseph Patrick is buried at St. John’s.  I noticed online at Find A Grave that many, many Maxwell’s of our line are buried there but JP’s grave is not indicated.  It is sad to say but I wonder if it is unmarked.

Thanks,

K.E.

From:
Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2012 4:22 PM
To:
Subject: Old St. Patrick's Cemetery

Here is the list that I would like to share with you to get your reaction to it. 

At the old St. Patrick's Cemetery a list of names was posted by somebody.  It looks like it has been there at least a couple of years but there is no indication who posted it or when it was posted (possibly part of the misguided Boy Scout project of years past).  There is no other information at all. There is no indication where the person who posted the list found the names and there are no dates. We found the Cullin/Cullen stones and the name is spelled both ways -- parents one way and children the other.  We'll blame that one on the stone carver.  I did not find both husband and wife Bahen/Beahen stones so I don't know if that is the fault of the stone carver or the person who made the list.  Mahada is probably Mike Mahardy since we know that he is buried in the cemetery and doesn't appear on this list.  John Broscaru's name may be spelled incorrectly, if not, then he is the only Romanian in Newport.  And I have never known anyone named Behamam -- in Newport or anywhere else. Here is the list:

Name

Barney, Nancy

Barry, Patrick

Bartol, Andrew

Beahen, Elizabeth

Bahen, Patrick

Behamam, Catherine

Bell, Mary

Bowers, Ann

Boylan, Catherine

Boylan, Luke

Boylan, Margaret

Brayton, Lydia

Brayton, Mercy

Brayton, Neil

Broscaru, John

Bullard, Bezaleel

Butler, (Mrs.)

Butler, Mary

Carver, (Mrs.)

Cary, Daniel

Casey, William (Mrs.)

Clark, James

Clark, Michael (Mrs.)

Clark, Peter

Clarke, Mary

Clifford, Daniel

Clifford, Mary

Conway, Mary

Corcoran, Michael

Cullen, James

Cullin, Bridget

Cullin, James

Curtin, Mary M.

Daily, Jo (Mrs.)

Daley, Patrick

Daley, William

Daly, Elizabeth

Dempsey, (Mrs.)

Dempsy, (Miss)

Desmond, Jeremiah

Dewyer, Patrick

Dorcy, Morris

Doyle, May

Drum, William

Duffy, Nancy

Dwyer, Patrick

Eaton, Albert

Eaton, Luther

Fitzsimons, Cathenne

Flavin, Martin (Mrs.)

Fox, Charles

Fox, James

Fox, Michael

Fox, Thomas

Gartland, Hannah

Gartland, James

Hardy, (Mrs.)

Harkins, Avis

Harkins, James

Hawkins, Daniel

Hawkins, James

Lynch, (Mrs.)

Lynch, Morris

Mahada, Michael

Mahoney, Kate

Martin, Aaron

Martin, Daniel

Martin, Patrick

Maxwell, (Miss)

Maxwell, (Mrs.)

Maxwell, Catherine

Maxwell, Julia

Maxwell, Mary

McCabe, Andrew

McCaul, Bernard

McGinnis, Anne

McLaughlin, James

McLaughlin, Mary

McLaughlin, Michael

McNaley, Elizabeth

Mulerhill, Bridget

Mulerhill, Daniel

Murphy, Carrett

Murray, Mary

Nolan, Elizabeth

O’Riley, James

Pierce, Anne

Pierce, William

Riley, (Mrs.)

Riley, Bridget

Riley, Majorie

Rounds, Reuben

Scanlon, Martin

Spain, Charles

Spain, James (Mrs.)

Spain, Mary

Spain, Stephen

Spellman, Patrick (Mrs.)

Sullivan, James

Tassel, Ann

Ward (son)

Ward, Philip

Young, Caty