CONTACT

Well, I've been hearing from some distant cousins and am learning more about my extended Brennan family.  A few contacted  me by email in response to the blog, and a few emailed or phoned me after I sent them letters. 

I had been somewhat reluctant to send letters to those family members who were only names on the family tree, thinking they might not want to make a connection, or wanting me to mind my own business, so to speak.  But since all I had were addresses (no phone numbers, no email addresses)  and because I really wanted to complete as much as possible of the family tree and find out more about the lives of my distant cousins, I went ahead and took some chances.

And besides learning the names of more people, I have made some very valuable connections with people I wish I had known all my life.  While I can't complain about the fact that we moved away from the family when I was ten years old (who can complain about moving the California with its wonderful weather and great opportunities?) I do regret not having more contact with some of these family members. 

Yes, family can be a double-edged sword.  Sometimes there are fights, grudges, and misunderstandings, and sometimes people become separated and never reuinited, and I have a hunch that such things happened in this Irish family.  I don't know for sure, of course, but I know families pretty well (having been a family therapist for 30 years) and I suspect some of the separations between branches of the family are the result of hard feelings.  Other separations may be because some families felt they had nothing in common with other families, while still other separations may be because families moved away.  That's what happened with my small branch of the family, and that's what happened with the oldest daughter of Ned and Mary Brennan.  Her name was Mary Ann Brennan and she moved to New Jersey with her husband Tom Ryan and their children, and her branch has been the most difficult to track down. Right now, the search is in the hands of the researchers at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. I hope to hear from them soon.

I have no illusions that everyone of the Brennan descendants will reunite as one big happy family, but I would like to see everyone's name and perhaps a few details of their lives included in this book. 
So I'm forging ahead in my quest to reach out to as many people as I can.  I still have a few letters to send out, and my dream is to include every descendant of Ned and Mary Brennan in this book. 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  

BRENNAN FAMILY HISTORY

Well, it's time to finally put together everything I have gathered regarding the Brennan family (my father's father's family) and write a family history book.  Since I've been unbable to trace the family back before my 2nd great grandparents, Ned and Mary (Fahey) Brennan, even with a trip to Ireland, I've been studying Irish history so as to give my readers a flavor of the country where Ned and Mary's ancestors lived.  That has enabled me to write a brief history of Ireland, which will be included in the book. 

But before I go any further, I want to make one last attempt to contact some family members that have remained elusive.  So I'm using this blog to appeal for help.  My hope is that a few Brennan descendants may come across it in a Google search (as others have) and contact me.  So this is what I am looking for: Information regarding the families of:

Mary Ann Brennan (1861-1889) who married Thomas Ryan and had 9 children.  After living in Ohio for several years, they moved to Jersey City, New Jersey, where they seem to have disappeared into what was apparently a vast Irish community of many Ryans.  Tracing them past the 9 children has been impossible so far. The children's names are:  Edward, Patrick, Thomas, Mary or Mae, Raymond, Sarah or Sadie, Anne, Joseph and Rita. Mary married Samuel Francis Pierce.  The other girls married as well, but I do not have their married names.

Michael Brennan (1863-1939) who married Elizabeth McGrath. They also had 9 children and remained in Lima, Ohio for their entire lives. The children's names are: Lenore or Nora, Alice, Rose, Irene, Edward, Paul, Elizabeth, William and Clement. Lenore married Russell Young.  Alice married Wilbur Hanthorne.  Rose married Charles Frese.  Irene married William Cole.  Paul married Lillian Meurer.  Rose married Louis Fleck.  Elizabeth married Neal Grant.

Bridget Brennan (1870- 1951) married Matthew Carrig and they had 5 children., Marie married Paul Christy.  Angela married Bernard Kennedy.  Raymond married Lenore Barton. 

Edward Brennan (1871-1943) married Bridget O'Brien and they had 8 children.  The children's names are:  Robert, Cyril, Mary Cecelia, Margaret, Alfred, John Joseph, Catherine and Ralph.  Cyril married Margaret Harter.  Mary married Paul Abt.  Alfred married Helen Fellows. 

John Brennan (1875-1953) married Theresa Graff.  These are my great grandparents and I have the most information about this family. John and Theresa had 7 children.  Their names are Camilla, Margaret, John, Cletus, James, Eleanor, and Richard. Camilla married Lee Blackburn.  Margaret married William Furry.  Cletus (Keech) married Katie Shaw.  Eleanor married Loren Allen.  Richard married Lois Hannan. 

So there you have it.  I do have a great deal of information about many of these families, but there are a few - especially those who moved away from Lima, Ohio - who I've been unable to contact.  I would dearly love to hear from any of you who may come across this blog.  The more complete we can make the family history, the more valuable and interesting it will be.

So I'm waiting to hear from you. Make a comment or send me an email (ellenterich1@verizon.net) and I'll get back to you right away.  Thanks.