ODD DUCKS

One of the things you get used to when you get bit by the genealogy bug is that many people think you're a bit of an odd duck.  I have to admit, I share that view to some extent.  I've been to genealogy conferences and some of those people are a bit odd.  Not all, of course.  Not me, of course!  Or maybe I am.

I certainly was not interested in genealogy when my dad was all caught up in it.  I thought I had better things to do with my time, or maybe they were just more urgent:  going to work, raising children, welcoming grandchildren, remodeling my house.  But once my parents were both gone, my only brother having died over 40 years before, I began to feel a little untethered to the past and my family - what we call in psychology the "family of origin."  Of course I had my husband, children and grandchildren, but since the age of 10, I've been mostly disconnected from my aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.  A few visits, a few letters, some correspondence relayed from relatives to me through my parents, but no contact on a  day to day or at least regular basis.  No feeling of being part of something larger. 

And that started to feel very lonely. 

So I got out my dad's genealogy charts and notes and went to town.  And it has become an addiction, one that has gained me some wonderful cousins I never knew I had - cousins who share my philosophy of life, my political views, and my interests.  Some have surprised me in that regard.  Other cousins may not share all of my views, but they are fun and interesting and I love talking to them.  I think my life would be poorer without them - it's certainly richer with them. 

One think I have noticed among some relatives and friends who share my interest in genealogy is that most (though not all) of us are in similar circumstances - separated from other family by distance, or coming from a smaller family.  Those who come from larger families, or those who see cousins and other family members on a regular basis, don't seem as interested.  We all tend to be older as well.  I don't think genealogy is something younger people have time for.  They're too busy living their lives to think about the past. 

Trying to gather all the data I need to make this family history book as comprehensive and complete as possible means that I have to contact a lot of people I don't know.  I worry that I'm bothering these people, especially since I know some of them have little interest in family history.  As I sit down to write each letter, I wonder if they'll respond or simply throw the letter away.  Will they think my request is legitimate, or will they worry that I'm a fraud and simply want to steal their identity?  Will they brush off my request as something they care very little about, or will they simply humor me by answering my questions, or better, will they actually welcome the letter? 

Most of them have had a positive response. Some have actually enjoyed our new connection.  A few have not replied, and I can't blame them.  As I said, there was a time when this would have meant nothing to me, and perhaps it means nothing to them. As I said, there are those of us who love genealogy and those of us who think genealogists are odd ducks.  When you have lots of contact with family on a daily basis (whether it's your parents, children, siblings, nieces, nephews, or cousins)  you are probably going to be less interested.  Family is right there every day, so why search for more?

The same seems to be true for Europeans vs. Americans.  I don't know the actual statistics on how many Americans vs. non-Americans sign up to build a family tree on ancestry.com, but my guess is that far more Americans do.  When I was in Ireland 18 months ago, I noticed that the Irish seemed uninterested in genealogy. Now maybe that is because so many of their records have been destroyed that they could find very little even if they tried, but it may also be because most of them live in the same townlands where their ancestors lived, and all they have to do is visit the nearest cemetery to remember their family members.  We Americans, on the other hand, have only been living here a few generations and there is a great curiosity about the land where our ancestors lived. 

Knowing this - that so many people I contact help me out even when they have little interest in genealogy - is touching to me.  I'm sure it is a bit of an annoyance for some, but they help out nonetheless.  There are a few, though, who seem overjoyed when they get my letter.  I cherish the new connections I have with them. 

And just yesterday, I got a letter from a woman I feared I might never hear from.  Am 89 year old woman who was my dad's 2nd cousin and a friend of my mother (it's a small town) - a woman who has 12 children, 31 grandchildren, and 21 great grandchildren.  And she not only sent me a lovely note, she gave me the names of every one of her family members.  She really  made my day! 

So if someone contacts you that asks for  help with a genealogy project, even if you think they're an odd duck, help them out. They are usually coming from a place like me, one of a severe shortage of family members.  And if you are on the other end and are looking for your family, never give up. Reach out, write letters, send emails, take a chance that someone will write back.  Because when they do, it's magic and suddenly, you don't feel so odd or alone. 

MORE CONTACTS WITH BRENNAN DESCENDANTS

It has been a good week.  Besides my children coming to visit for my husband's retirement celebration, I have heard from a number of Brennan descendants. 

First, I heard from the ex-wife of a deceased Brennan descendant.  She did not have to call me after I wrote her a letter, but she did.  I didn't think I could laugh so much with someone I had never met.  She was such a fun and delightful person, and she had some pretty funny stories to tell me - some that could never be included in a family history book.  Though she had been divorced from this descendant, she still had fond memories of him and of his family. 

As I type this, I'm waiting for a call from another wife of a deceased Brennan descendant. 

My paid research at the Family History Library did not produce any new information.  Several hundred dollars for nothing.  But in the meantime, I took a chance and sent a letter to someone I thought might be a descendant of Mary Ann Brennan, the eldest child of Ned and Mary Brennan, the original immigrants from Ireland.  She was the correct person, put me in touch with another descendant, and I'm on my way to finally learning something about this  lost (to me, at least) family. 

And several family members suggested I sign up for Facebook to connect with other family members.  I had joined Facebook several years ago but terminated my account for a number of reasons, including spending too much time on the computer reading posts from friends and family  members.  I really didn't need to know who was eating at what restaurant at any given time, who was having a bad day, whose children were acting up, who  wanted to argue about politics, religion, or whatever.

So I was reluctant to begin again, but I did.  I signed up under my maiden name so my Brennan relatives would at least have a clue as to who I was.  I plan on using this particular account just to correspond with my Brennan, Mueller, Schulien and other relatives.   Since I have never met some of them, or may have met them once as a child, I was worried that they would ignore my friend request.  But using the name Brennan seems to have done the trick and every family member I have reached out to has accepted my friend request, while others have sent me a request.  It is wonderful getting to know a little about them. 

So I'm connecting with members of a very large Irish family, as well as some of my German relatives from my mom's side of the family.  Soon the book will be written, and everyone in the Brennan family will know what I know - the result of over 5 years of research, building upon the decade of research my father did before that.  I'm really pleased, and so excited to meet so many wonderful people that are part of my family.   

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.

DNA and GENEALOGY

I've been reading up on DNA and how researchers use it to help them learn about where a person's ancestors came from and what migration routes they might have taken over thousands and tens of thousands of years. 

The most interesting thing I have learned so far is about mitochondrial DNA or mDNA.  DNA, as I'm sure you know, is a coded message, in the form of chemicals attached to each other, that tell the cells which proteins to make. Every cell nucleaus contains a full set of DNA.  Half comes from the father, half from the mother.  But there is another type of DNA.  This is called mitochondrial DNA or mDNA and it exists in the liquid cytoplasm surrounding the nucleus of the cells of the body.  This type of DNA comes only from the mother and it has to do with the size of eggs compared to the size of sperm. During fertlization, the small amount of mDNA in the tiny sperm is destroyed, while the amount of mDNA in the larger egg is much higher.  Thus, you inherit MDNA only from your mother. 

Scientists use mDNA to trace matrilineal lines.  And, although all humans have mDNA in the cytoplasm of their cells, only females can pass on that type of DNA.  So my great great great grandmother, Anna Maria Elizabeth Gerdemann, passed on her mDNA to my great great grandmother, Maria Bernadina Wrocklage, who passed it on to my great grandmother, Mary Gertrude Frecker, who passed it on to my grandmother, Mary Bernadine Schulien, who passed it on to my mother, Frances Joan Brennan, who passed it on to me.  I, in turn, have passed it on to my daughter, and she to her daughters. 

Just for fun, I decided over the weekend to see how many descendants of my great great great (or 3rd great) grandmother are living with her mDNA.  I was quite shocked that there may be only two lines remaining that carry her mDNA - mine and that of one other family.  And this is quite remarkable, as I have many female ancestors among the descendants of Anna Maria Elizabeth Gerdemann.  I will only report the female descendants below.  Keep in mind there are also many male descendants, but they cannot pass on the mDNA.

Anna Maria Elizabeth (1801-1840) had three daughters.  One never married.  One had two daughters, two granddaughters, and one great granddaughter.  The female line stops after that.  The third daughter was my great great grandmother, Maria Bernadina Wrocklage Frecker.  She had three daughters.  One of those daughters  had three daughters herself.  Of those three daughters, one became a nun, one died young, and the third had one daughter.  The line of daughters ends at that point. The second daughter of Maria Bernadina had three daughters, all of whom had only sons, so the line of women stops there.  The third daughter of Maria Bernadina is Mary Gertrude Frecker, my great grandmother.  She, too had three daughters.  One had no children, and another had one daughter who is still living.  This daughter has four of her own daughters, and they produced several granddaughters who are all living.  The third daughter of Mary Gertrude was my grandmother, Mary Bernadine. She also had three daughters.  One never married and one had only sons.  The third daughter, my mother, had one daughter - me.  I have one daughter and two granddaughters.

So even though Anna Maria Elizabeth had a large family, including three daughters, 5 granddaughters, 11 great granddaughters,  today there are only a handful of women and girls who have passed on or will be able to pass on her mDNA.

While this tidbit of genealogical information may not seem all that exciting or even relevant, it was very interesting to me.  In a time when sons are still valued more than daughters, at least in many parts of the world, and in a time when the male surname is still passed on much more than the female surname (though that seems to be changing a bit) it is comforting to note that some things only women can pass on - and one of thse things is their mDNA, which gives researchers some of their best clues as to where our ancestors came from.  I think that's pretty nifty. 

2014

As the New Year begins, there are new genealogy projects.  I hope to spend some time on several family history books, but each of them will require some deeper digging to find information and lost ancestors.  As I've noted before, there is one branch of my Brennan family I have been unable to locate, and so I am considering a trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City with a group of experienced researchers to see what I can find.

I'm also planning another trip - this one in October.  My husband and I will be traveling to France, Germany and Belgium.  We will be starting in Paris, then moving on to Normandy where we will visit the memorials to those who died in WW II, and also visit the town of Bayeux, where a 1000 year old tapestry chronicles the Battle of Hastings and the victory of William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy.  Then we'll travel on to the South of France where we will spend 7 days on a Viking River Cruise, visiting vineyards, small towns, Roman ruins, and more history.  After that, we'll head up to Nancy, France, in the region of Alsace-Lorraine, then hop over to a small town in Germany for a day, drive up to Belgium, through the small town of Turpange and on to Bruges, a lovely medieval town, and then back to Paris before heading home.

While our main goal is to just enjoy the culture, history and people, the final leg of our journey, from Nancy to Turpange, will be to indulge my genealogy interests.   Nancy is a lovely town in the eastern area of France where my ancestor Ralph Brennan, a 1st lieutenant and commanding officer of Company F of the 134th Infantry Regiment during WW II, died in the Battle of Flavigny. In July, 1944, Ralph Brennan was wounded in battle and after recuperating in England, returned to the front in September.  His job three days later was to take the Government Bridge at Flavigny,  and retake the town from German occupation. The mission was successful, but Ralph died in the battle and today there is a memorial plaque honoring him and his men who died to save the town.  I have been in contact with a woman whose father also died in battle near Nancy, and she is putting me in touch with residents of the town who will greet us and show us some of the sites and memorabilia associated with the battle. 

After spending two days in Nancy, we will be heading across the border into Germany to the small town of Losheim am See where my Schulien relatives lived before immigrating to America.  Some relatives still live there, and I hope to meet them and learn more about the family.  Following a day and night in Losheim, we will leave Germany, drive through Luxembourg and into Belgium.  In the south of Belgium is a small town named Turpange.  This was where many of my Mueller ancestors were born.   I suspect there is  nothing there to see, but it will be interesting to drive through the area, just knowing some of my ancestors once lived there.

After that, we will head up to Bruges to experience a few days in that lovely medieval town, and finally return to Paris for the flight home. 

I am looking forward to the trip for so many reasons, but obviously one of the biggest ones is to experience something of a connection with ancestors I never met, and to see the towns where they were born and/or died.

"Merry Christmas to You and Many of Them" - an Irish Christmas with the Brennans

My genealogy work slows down this time of year, even though many of my ancestors and family members are on my mind as we approach Christmas.  The people I miss the most, of course, are my parents and brother.  My brother only shared 20 Christmases with us before his premature death, but I have some wonderful memories.  I especially remember the Christmases in Illinois.  I remember, for example, the Christmas we both got sleds from Santa, the one where we learned to ice skate, and the Christmas Eve when my mother sent my father, brother and I out to look at Christmas lights while she stayed home "to hang up the laundry in the basement."  When we arrived home, Santa had already left his stash, and my mother insisted she thought she "heard something" while she was down in the basement which caused her to rush up to find the source of the noise. When she arrived in the living room, she could see that Santa had arrived early.   My mother never could wait for Christmas to arrive.  She loved to find presents we had hidden, and was very adept at peeling the tape off the wrapping paper to peek and then reattaching it so we wouldn't know.  We always knew, though.

After that, I figured out the secret about Santa Claus, and as soon as my brother caught on, my mother began the big celebration of Christmas  on Christmas Eve.  That's when we opened our presents and when my mother fixed the big meal of ham, scalloped potatoes, and various desserts.  When I married and had children, she continued the tradition, and we brought our own children to my parents' house for Christmas Eve.  When they were young, they had two Christmases: one on Christmas eve at Grandma's and one Christmas morning, when Santa came.  As they got older, everything centered on Christmas Eve, until they ventured out and got married, when the tradition finally ended.  

At this time of year, I also wonder what Christmas was like when my grandparents and great grandparents were young.  Fortunately, I have some idea of what life was like when my great great grandparents, Ned and Mary Brennan,  were raising their family in the late 1800s, from the writings of Father Robert Brennan, their grandson.  He tells us what Christmas was like in the Brennan household, which he calls "Vinegar Hill."  Vinegar Hill was the name of a great battle in Ireland, and my grandparents named their property after it.

"Christmas on Vinegar Hill was always a time for great merriment, but Grandmother was strict about the fast that goes before feasts - a habit she brought with her from Ireland.  On Christmas Eve, therefore, there was only one full meal, taken when the family was assembled in the evening.  Traditionally, it consisted of oyster stew and potato cakes, and the custom is still observed among some of the present-day members of the clan.

A Christmas candle burned all night in the window, another of the lovely customs that the Irish brought with them to America.  The candle was made from tallow by Grandmother's sister, Julia...  Springs of green, hung here and there about the house, gave a homey atmosphere to the Yuletide festivities. 

On Christmas morning, the first Mass in St. Rose Church was at five. Grandmother always attended it along with some of the children.  It is easy to picture her picking her steps through the snow drifts that covered Vinegar Hill; glancing up from time to time at the stars overhead that were singing for joy at he Birth of our Saviour.  On returning home, the fire was built up and the good goose that was plucked and prepared the day before was set in the oven. All morning there was the fragrant odor of roasting fowl filling the house.  This, like the fare of the night before, was alaso a traditional dish among the Brennans, served with mashed potatoes and thick gravy. Mince pie was the usual dessert, with nuts and hard candies and an occasional orange to finish off the meal.

Friends and relatives were in and out of the house all day; and, to the "Merry Christmas" greeting of one, the answer of the other, "The same to you, and many of them," never varied."

So I wish a "Merry Christmas to you, and many of them," and I'll be back to my genealogy work after Christmas.