New Year, New Genealogy

Happy New Year! (Better late than never?) The holidays afforded me a great opportunity to catch up on some genealogy work, think about the kinds of things I want to do this coming year, and find entirely new paths to explore.  So here is my genealogy "To Do" list for this winter:

• Visit the Connecticut State Archives (again).  I never got around to visiting them last fall, but I did just after the new year.  Unfortunately, it was incredibly busy, and I was fumbling around with the microfilm a bit.  The last time I ever used any was probably when I was about 10 years old.  Now I have a much better sense of what kinds of records are of present use to me in the library, how to find them, and how to best navigate (and print) them.  I'd very much like to go again, this time more prepared.
• Research Hurons and their records.  Growing up, I was told there is Huron ancestry on my Québec side.  Just a few weeks ago, I uncovered a source that I believe documents an ancestor's membership in the Huron community near Charlesbourg.  I'd like to look into this further so that I fully understand the meaning of the records and try to find more.
• Read more history books relevant to what my ancestors may have lived through. I'm still working on the book The American Invasion of Canada: The War of 1812's First Year, and after I finish it, I would like to continue on to Pierre Berton's other book, Flames Across the Border: 1813-1814.  I'm still hoping to find information on the battle of Fort George in particular, in which one of my ancestors fought for the British.
• Communicate with more people researching common ancestors.  I started reaching out to individuals lately who are researching common ancestors, particularly those who seem to reach different conclusions than me.  I think it's important to do this using family trees, and not just DNA.  It's really enlightening to exchange thought processes with others looking at the same information you have; sometimes someone has a great idea you didn't think of!  Also, it's a great way to get help in your research while hopefully helping others along the way.
• Trace one ancestor back in Europe.  I believe my third great-grandmother's marriage certificate for her second husband is on its way to me from England.  Also, I am talking to someone with a common (but unknown) ancestor in Ireland, and I have an extensive resource book from the New England Historic Genealogical Society called Tracing Your Irish Ancestors (4th Ed.) by John Grenham that should help me find at least one relative back in Ireland.  This will probably be my most difficult task for the spring, but I think it's doable.

Additionally, I plan to get back to blogging regularly now that the holidays are past.  Keep looking for updates on some of my "series" posts in particular!

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you and yours a very happy holiday season!!

I know Santa brought my family some very wonderful genealogy gifts including Tracing Your Irish Ancestors by John Grenham (an incredible book of resources on Irish history and records for those of us with our research still stuck in America) and a gorgeous daggerreotype to complement the ambrotype I received last year.  I don't actually know the difference between the two yet, but I can sense a new "To Do" for 2013!

Let's not forget the true meaning of this season, though - family, friends, and giving.  No matter what holiday you celebrate, if any, reach out to someone you haven't talked to in a while.  Tell someone you appreciate them.  Or, to keep up with the theme of this blog, just help a stranger with their genealogy any way you can.  It'll only cost you a few minutes.

Tombstone Tuesday - A McTiernan Family

In October, I took a trip to Saint Bernard's Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut.  It's a very old cemetery that contains, among other types, many late 19th century headstones for Irish families.  What's so special about these Irish headstones?  Many if not most of them include both the county and parish of birth back in Ireland of at least one of the family members.  Sadly, the cemetery is also suffering from severe vandalism, and this wealth of information may be lost in a matter of several more decades.

While at Saint Bernard's I took the following photographs of a McTiernan family from Drumreilly, county Leitrim, Ireland.  They are not my ancestors, but I do have McTiernan ancestry from either Leitrim or Roscommon that settled in New Haven.  Therefore, I may share common ancestry with this family.  Sometimes it's important to look at collateral relatives or potential cousins to connect the dots and find your own past.

My camera was malfunctioning, so I was unable to get a photograph of the bottom portion of the back side of the obelisk, which contains information on Margaret McTiernan, most likely the wife of Patrick Brady.

Main face of the McTiernan stone.
Photograph Copyright 2012.

Photograph Copyright 2012.

 In memory of

JOHN McTIERNAN

WHO DIED

Oct. 3, 1866.

AE 51.

He was born in 

Ballanaglaragh,

Parish of

Drumreilly,

Co. Leitrim, Ireland

May he rest in peace

amen.

ERECTED BY

his affectionate Sister

ROSE.

Right side of the stone. Presumably John's sister.
Photograph Copyright 2012.

Photograph Copyright 2012.

 IN MEMORY OF

ROSE McTIERNAN

WIFE OF

PATRICK DOLAN

DIED

NOV. 14, 1880[?].

AE. 72.

BORN IN THE PARISH

OF DRUMREILLY,

CO. LEITRIM, IRELAND

MAY SHE REST IN

PEACE.

IN MEMORY OF

MARK NEARY

Born Aug 10, 1865

Died April 20, 1889

May his soul rest in

peace, Amen.

Back side of the headstone.
Photograph Copyright 2012.

In Memory of

PATRICK E. BRADY

Born.

Jan. 13, 1844

Died.

March 29, 1882

MARGARET McTIERNAN

[...]

(Belated) Tombstone Tuesday - Charles Cody & Bridget Hennessy

I know it's a few days late, but this headstone photo could not wait until next week!

On Sunday, I took a trip with my father to Saint Lawrence Cemetery in West Haven, New Haven county, Connecticut.  I found it interesting how sections of the cemetery were clearly segregated into Italian and Irish family names.  The cemetery was actually quite "busy" with people, but we were able to locate my great-great grandparents' headstone.  My dad had seen it a very long time ago and vaguely remembered its location in the vast cemetery, so it didn't take too long to find.  Also, the cemetery office is closed Sundays, so we would've been out of luck if we needed directions to the headstone.  I was really impressed by the size and style of the headstone.  Hopefully it will stick around for many more years to come.

Photograph Copyright 2012.

CODY

Charles Cody

1867 - 1953

Bridget M. Hennessy

His Wife

1868 - 1936

Both Charles John Cody and Bridget Mary Hennessy (sometimes spelled Hennessey) were born in Ireland.  They came to Connecticut and spent most of their lives in New Haven.  Various records indicate Charles arrived in 1885 or 1890, while Bridget arrived in 1886 or 1892.  They had 5 children together of whom I'm aware, 4 daughters and 1 son, all born in New Haven I suspect.  I have photos of their son in WWI attire and one of a daughter in high school.  I've been told by family that the symbol between Charles' birth and death years is the symbol of the company where he worked for many years.  I haven't done as much research into this family branch as I intended yet because the relatively recent immigration from Ireland feels like an early brick wall, but seeing this stone was just the inspiration I needed.

Mystery Monday - Mabel Frances Downey - Part 1

Whenever I'm researching an individual, I try to lay his or her entry foundation with census records.  Doing so, I not only get some idea of birth/death dates and locations, but I can also connect the person to other family members who may not otherwise pop up in my research.

About a year and a half ago, I was "tracking" John W. Mullett in the U.S. Census records and stumbled across an unknown individual with a familiar surname living with him.  John was the second husband of my third great-grandmother, Mary Ann Keegan (spelling debatable).  Mary Ann had one living child with her first husband, Mary E. Showler (sometimes Scholes or Scholer).  Mary E. Showler, my second great-grandmother, was born on March 4, 1858, in Manchester, England according to most records.  On September 21, 1874, she married John Francis Downey, who was born about 1854 in Saint John, New Brunswick.  As far as I was concerned, they had five children together in Springfield and Worcester, Massachusetts, before John F. Downey died in 1885.  Mary E. Showler eventually remarried George Tootill, who was born about 1856 in Suffield, Connecticut.  They had two surviving children together before Mary died on March 15, 1914 in Springfield.

According to the 1900 U.S. Census record (below), John Mullett was living on Franklin Street in Springfield with his and Mary Ann's daughter, Ellen Mullett.  I already knew about Ellen.  With them, however, the census also lists a "Mable F. Downey."  Since John Mullett's step-daughter, Mary E. Showler, married a man with the surname Downey, this immediately caught my attention.

Ancestry.com

Mable [sic] F. Downey is listed as being John Mullett's niece in the census.  I knew this was unlikely by today's definition of niece because she appeared to be related to his late wife's first husband, and the census states she was born in January 1879.  While still possible, the age gap bordered on large for an uncle and niece.  So I assumed the term "niece" was used broadly while keeping the possibility open that John Mullett could be related to some Downeys.

Furthermore, this record lists Mabel's father's place of birth as English Canada (of which New Brunswick is a part), and her mother's birthplace as England.  There is only one couple matching these birthplace descriptions in my family tree who could be Mabel Downey's parents, John Francis Downey and Mary E. Showler.  However, this is not nearly proof enough that Mabel was their daughter, especially since I had been able to find so many other records of Mary's children.  Why would all traces of just one child be missing?

A quick search on both Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org came up with nothing for this mysterious Mabel.  I then went to the Springfield City Directory for 1900 for clues.  I found John Mullett, the career shoemaker, living at 116 Franklin with his daughter, Ellen A. Mullett.  There was no one named Mabel Downey in the directory, and none of the Springfield Downeys by any given name lived on Franklin Street.  There was one Mabel F. Downing listed as boarding at 32 York, so I made a note of that in my research log, scanned the other Downings for anyone living near the Mulletts or this Mabel F. Downing, and, after finding none, called it a day.

My father has separately been researching our family history for over a decade now, so he has more knowledge about individuals and families than I do.  He personally knew his grandmother, a daughter of Mary E. Showler and John Francis Downey, as well as other older relatives I never had the chance to meet. Yet when I asked him about mystery Mabel, he only knew as much as I did from that one census record.  He had never heard of her, thus begging the question, who is Mabel F. Downey?

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a new lead that enabled me to answer that question and add an entire branch to my family tree.  For the sake of not writing a book instead of a post, I'll conclude next Monday with my findings.