If you had asked me five years ago if I was interested in finding out about my ancestors, or my husband's ancestors, and if I might be willing to spend between 2 and 6 hours every day on my computer trying to find those ancestors, I would have looked at you cross-eyed. At that time, my dad was still searching for our Brennan ancestors, and I let him be the family genealogist. I had more important things to do, or so I thought.
Now I'm eagerly anticipating April 2, when the 1940 census will be released to the public. Actually, it will be released to places like ancestry.com which will have to digitize the records and catalog them. I have no idea how long it will take to actually be able to access the records, but I am so excited about it, just like all the other amateur and professional genealogists out there.
I guess this makes me an official nerd - a genealogy geek, if you will. The best way to describe it is like this: You like to put jigsaw puzzles together and you've been missing several pieces for months. You've left the puzzle out on the table, hoping that someday those pieces will turn up. And suddenly you find them and can put that puzzle together.
Or you're a detective, working on a murder case. If you only had access to some restricted DNA or arrest records, or a piece of evidence that has gone missing, you might be able to solve it. Then, you finally gain access to that one missing piece and you know you will be able to figure out whodunnit.
These 1940 records will answer a lot of questions for me, not so much for my husband's family, as I have interviewed so many of his relatives, most of whom live near us, that I don't really need the census.
But my relatives in Ohio - the Brennans, Shaws, Muellers and Schuliens - relatives that I don't even know, from families I lost track of when I was 10 years old and moved to California - are hiding in the 1940 census and I'm looking forward to finding them.
Showing posts with label Brennan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brennan. Show all posts
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
Goals for the New Year
Last year was a big year for me. In finally finishing my book, The Waiting Room, I closed a chapter in my life. Not only did I accomplish something very important to me, in a way I also said good-bye to my parents again. Even though they passed away over two years ago, writing about them nearly every day for over a year kept them in my thoughts constantly. Now, it is time to return to genealogy and involve myself in family activities.
And, in that regard, this is looking to be a busy year. In June we will be traveling to Seattle for my son Terry's graduation from Seattle Pacific University (with a Master's in Education) and in August, we're heading to Ireland to meet a distant cousin, explore some genealogy, and get to enjoy the land of my great-great grandparents' birth. There will be at least one family wedding to attend, and a number of wedding and baby showers. But in between all the planned vacations and events, I have some genealogical goals.
First, with the help of my husband, I'm writing an Eterovic family history. Last year I hired researchers in both Croatia and the Czech Republic and I have all of their findings dating back to the 1700s. I have already written most of the narrative regarding the genealogy, but I am waiting on a few pictures and stories. I have also collected Croatian recipes and even tried cooking a few. Most of the narrative is already written. What remains on my to-do list are a few interviews with senior family members. In the meantime, my daughter-in-law, who is an amazing artist, is working on the cover. Fortunately, one of my husband's nephews went to Brac, Croatia on his honeymoon and brought back pictures of the towns of Milna, and Pucisca, the birthplaces of my husband's grandparents, and one of those pictures will be the focus of the cover. My hope is to have the book completed and printed sometime in March.
Once that project is finished, I want to return to my father's side of the family. So another goal is to see if there is anything else I can find in the nearly non-existant Irish records regarding Ned Brennan and Mary Fahey, my 2nd great grandparents who arrived in America from Ireland in 1860, the year before the beginning of the Civil War. I have asked a research company to do some preliminary work for me and they have suggested several possible avenues they can follow to see if there are any other hints regarding the family. I have also been contacted by a second relative in Ireland who may be able to put me in contact with her uncle, who has done some genealogical work on the family. Then, of course, I hope to meet more family members when I visit Ireland. Maybe someone will have information that has so far eluded me.
A third goal is to find out more about my mother's side of the family. Her ancestors are from Germany and Belgium and while I have many names and dates, there are a few ancestors who remain a mystery. One is her great grandfather, Herman Henry Frecker. He died in his thirties and while I believe I have located a sister and mother, I know very little other than the fact that he was born in Germany and lived in Delphos, Ohio. Recently, my cousin Tim sent me a newspaper article announcing his death. It said only that he had been ill for years because of multiple tumors. I don't know when he arrived in America or how old he was when he came, though Tim believes he may have been born at sea on the journey from Germany. I have so far been unable to confirm that. I'm going to look into the possibility of hiring a researcher in Germany, though the cost my be prohibitive. Maybe in another year or two, I'll travel to Ohio and spend some time looking into records there. I'm certain there must be information locked away in some dusty library or county hall of records. In the meantime, I'm also going to learn more about Germany, its history, and its many geographical regions. After my visit to Ireland, followed by a visit to Croatia in 2013, I may have to visit Germany myself.
A fourth goal is to work on another family history - that of my mother-in-law's side of the family. Hers is the one that goes back to at least three Mayflower passengers. I have already written some of the narrative, as I find it so compelling, and I'm anxious to put it all together for the rest of the family to see. (Before I began doing this work they had no idea they were descendants of Mayflower passengers.)
Finally, like all professional and amateur genealogists, I look forward to the release of the 1940 census in April of this year. That census alone will answer many questions about many relatives, and I can't wait!
So, in terms of genealogy, (as well as family activities and vacations) it's going to be a very busy year and I look forward to many exciting discoveries.
And, in that regard, this is looking to be a busy year. In June we will be traveling to Seattle for my son Terry's graduation from Seattle Pacific University (with a Master's in Education) and in August, we're heading to Ireland to meet a distant cousin, explore some genealogy, and get to enjoy the land of my great-great grandparents' birth. There will be at least one family wedding to attend, and a number of wedding and baby showers. But in between all the planned vacations and events, I have some genealogical goals.
First, with the help of my husband, I'm writing an Eterovic family history. Last year I hired researchers in both Croatia and the Czech Republic and I have all of their findings dating back to the 1700s. I have already written most of the narrative regarding the genealogy, but I am waiting on a few pictures and stories. I have also collected Croatian recipes and even tried cooking a few. Most of the narrative is already written. What remains on my to-do list are a few interviews with senior family members. In the meantime, my daughter-in-law, who is an amazing artist, is working on the cover. Fortunately, one of my husband's nephews went to Brac, Croatia on his honeymoon and brought back pictures of the towns of Milna, and Pucisca, the birthplaces of my husband's grandparents, and one of those pictures will be the focus of the cover. My hope is to have the book completed and printed sometime in March.
Once that project is finished, I want to return to my father's side of the family. So another goal is to see if there is anything else I can find in the nearly non-existant Irish records regarding Ned Brennan and Mary Fahey, my 2nd great grandparents who arrived in America from Ireland in 1860, the year before the beginning of the Civil War. I have asked a research company to do some preliminary work for me and they have suggested several possible avenues they can follow to see if there are any other hints regarding the family. I have also been contacted by a second relative in Ireland who may be able to put me in contact with her uncle, who has done some genealogical work on the family. Then, of course, I hope to meet more family members when I visit Ireland. Maybe someone will have information that has so far eluded me.
A third goal is to find out more about my mother's side of the family. Her ancestors are from Germany and Belgium and while I have many names and dates, there are a few ancestors who remain a mystery. One is her great grandfather, Herman Henry Frecker. He died in his thirties and while I believe I have located a sister and mother, I know very little other than the fact that he was born in Germany and lived in Delphos, Ohio. Recently, my cousin Tim sent me a newspaper article announcing his death. It said only that he had been ill for years because of multiple tumors. I don't know when he arrived in America or how old he was when he came, though Tim believes he may have been born at sea on the journey from Germany. I have so far been unable to confirm that. I'm going to look into the possibility of hiring a researcher in Germany, though the cost my be prohibitive. Maybe in another year or two, I'll travel to Ohio and spend some time looking into records there. I'm certain there must be information locked away in some dusty library or county hall of records. In the meantime, I'm also going to learn more about Germany, its history, and its many geographical regions. After my visit to Ireland, followed by a visit to Croatia in 2013, I may have to visit Germany myself.
A fourth goal is to work on another family history - that of my mother-in-law's side of the family. Hers is the one that goes back to at least three Mayflower passengers. I have already written some of the narrative, as I find it so compelling, and I'm anxious to put it all together for the rest of the family to see. (Before I began doing this work they had no idea they were descendants of Mayflower passengers.)
Finally, like all professional and amateur genealogists, I look forward to the release of the 1940 census in April of this year. That census alone will answer many questions about many relatives, and I can't wait!
So, in terms of genealogy, (as well as family activities and vacations) it's going to be a very busy year and I look forward to many exciting discoveries.
Monday, October 24, 2011
The Dangers of Childbirth
Our ancestors generally had very large families, with as many as a dozen or more children in some families. And it is quite miraculous that so many children and mothers survived childbirth, especially when you think of all the things that can go wrong including breech presentation, incompatible Rh factors and infection.
Although the majority of my female ancestors survived childbirth, I have come across a number who didn't. One was my grand aunt Rebecca Shaw Waggoner, my grandmother's younger sister. I remember my grandmother talking about this with my mother. Becky was apparantly Rh Negative and her baby Rh positive. Since this was her second child, she had already built up antibodies in her own blood to Rh positive blood, but of course routine tests were not done for blood factors then so Becky and her husband had no way of knowing how dangerous a second pregnancy could be, especially if the second child was also Rh positive. Both Becky and the baby died from this incompatibility.
I discovered another death related to childbirth several months ago. Bridget, the wife of my great grand uncle, Edward Brennan, had already had seven healthy children when she died along with her eighth child. This appears to have been due to an illness or infection but since this was in 1914, when medical science was very primitive, we cannot know for certain the exact cause of the deaths.
Just today, I discovered a third death which I believe is related to childbirth. I discovered it by accident. Elizabeth Wagner, my second great grandmother, died on August 1, 1864 and in the 1870 census her husband John is remarried to a woman named Sophia. At least, it appears to be the same John Wagner who was once married to Elizabeth, as the children's names are the same.
I began searching in the cemetery records of Delphos, Ohio, where the Wagners lived, to see what I could find out about a Sophia Wagner. (In the St. John's cemetery records, the names of spouses or parents of the deceased are often listed.) I couldn't find a Sophia Wagner, but I did a Wagner infant. The child's name was Michael John Wagner and he died in November, 1864. He was listed as the son of Elizabeth and John. I then looked at his birth date: August 1, 1864, the same date Elizabeth died. I think it is reasonable to assume that Elizabeth died in childbirth, and the infant died a few months later.
I can't help but be impressed with the courage of these women. In the days before antibiotics, sterile environments, modern medicine and the drug Rhogam that helps prevent deaths due to Rh incompatibility (I was a beneficiary of this life-saving medication) women faced danger with each pregnancy. They are true heroes.
Although the majority of my female ancestors survived childbirth, I have come across a number who didn't. One was my grand aunt Rebecca Shaw Waggoner, my grandmother's younger sister. I remember my grandmother talking about this with my mother. Becky was apparantly Rh Negative and her baby Rh positive. Since this was her second child, she had already built up antibodies in her own blood to Rh positive blood, but of course routine tests were not done for blood factors then so Becky and her husband had no way of knowing how dangerous a second pregnancy could be, especially if the second child was also Rh positive. Both Becky and the baby died from this incompatibility.
I discovered another death related to childbirth several months ago. Bridget, the wife of my great grand uncle, Edward Brennan, had already had seven healthy children when she died along with her eighth child. This appears to have been due to an illness or infection but since this was in 1914, when medical science was very primitive, we cannot know for certain the exact cause of the deaths.
Just today, I discovered a third death which I believe is related to childbirth. I discovered it by accident. Elizabeth Wagner, my second great grandmother, died on August 1, 1864 and in the 1870 census her husband John is remarried to a woman named Sophia. At least, it appears to be the same John Wagner who was once married to Elizabeth, as the children's names are the same.
I began searching in the cemetery records of Delphos, Ohio, where the Wagners lived, to see what I could find out about a Sophia Wagner. (In the St. John's cemetery records, the names of spouses or parents of the deceased are often listed.) I couldn't find a Sophia Wagner, but I did a Wagner infant. The child's name was Michael John Wagner and he died in November, 1864. He was listed as the son of Elizabeth and John. I then looked at his birth date: August 1, 1864, the same date Elizabeth died. I think it is reasonable to assume that Elizabeth died in childbirth, and the infant died a few months later.
I can't help but be impressed with the courage of these women. In the days before antibiotics, sterile environments, modern medicine and the drug Rhogam that helps prevent deaths due to Rh incompatibility (I was a beneficiary of this life-saving medication) women faced danger with each pregnancy. They are true heroes.
Friday, May 27, 2011
The Brennans
My father was a Brennan and the Irish tradition was strong in his family, even though he was only one fourth Irish. Since my mother's ancestors are from Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg, I am only one eighth Irish, and yet the Irish story is what I have always identified with as well. Perhaps that is because the Irish are extremely proud of their heritage and try very hard to keep their legends and traditions intact. One needs only look at St. Patrick's Day parades to realize that.
While my father made sure I knew I was Irish, and often sang Irish songs as I was growing up, I knew very little about my extended Irish family. We had moved away from the Brennan stronghold (Lima, Ohio) when I was quite young, coming to California when I was only ten. I knew my grandfather Keech was Irish, and my Dad spoke often of "Grandma Brennan," my great grandmother, but I knew little beyond that. I guess my parents never thought to educate me about my relatives.
After my father died, I searched through his genealogy records and found much valuable information. Included in his papers was a story written by a distant cousin, Father Robert Brennan, about his grandparents Ned and Mary (my great great grandparents) and their life in Lima. He also named his brothers and sisters, and mentioned some of his aunts and uncles, including my great grandfather, John.
This much I know: my paternal great great grandparents, Ned Brennan and Mary Fahey, emigrated from Ireland in 1861 and raised six children in Lima, Ohio. Five of those children, including my great grandfather, John Brennan, married and had large families. My great grandparents, John Brennan and Theresa Graff, had seven children, and though I met some of their sons and daughters, I never really knew them. After my father died, I asked my aunt Sheila to give me a family history so that I could at least know some of their names.
From there, I started my own search through ancestry.com. I found a few family trees that had information I could borrow, and I examined census reports. The census data available online, however, stops at the census of 1930, in order to protect the identities of the living. (The 1940 census will be released next year, and genealogists everywhere - including me - can't wait!) After that, I began searching the issues of the Lima News to find stories about my relatives. This was an incredibly rich source of information. From marriage announcements, obituaries, and simple stories about relatives visiting other relatives, I pieced together a much more comprehensive picture.
Now I know the names of all of Ned and Mary Brennan's children and grandchildren, and the names of some of their great grandchildren. I also contacted a third cousin, whom my parents met several years ago, and learned more about her branch of the family.
And to this day I continue to gather stories from those newspaper articles. Stories about ancestors who died young and those who lived to old age. Stories about female ancestors who died in childbirth. Stories about ancestors who became priests and nuns. I learned the occupations of many ancestors. Several women were nurses. A good number of Brennan men worked for the railroad. One was a cigar maker.
However, there are still gaping holes that I hope to fill. Some may be resolved with the 1940 census. Others may remain mysteries. It has been impossible, for instance, to find out anything about Ned's parents, though Mary's mother came to America with her, so at least I know something about her. My own parents traveled to Ireland to see what they could find, but census records there are mostly destroyed. They did meet a distant cousin while they were there, however, and recently I contacted him by mail and asked for more information. He is a great grandson of Mary Brennan, Ned Brennan's younger sister, and he gave me some names without dates.
I have decided that the only way I can learn more is to visit Ireland myself and use the detective skills I have developed over the past year to see if there is anything I can find. Recently, I learned the name of the cemetery where the Brennan family was buried. Fr. Robert Brennan (who wrote the story about my great great grandparents) also wrote An Irish Diary, where he mentions it. Perhaps that's a place to start. Even if I find nothing, it will still be a valuable - and no doubt emotional - trip to one of my ancestral homes.
While my father made sure I knew I was Irish, and often sang Irish songs as I was growing up, I knew very little about my extended Irish family. We had moved away from the Brennan stronghold (Lima, Ohio) when I was quite young, coming to California when I was only ten. I knew my grandfather Keech was Irish, and my Dad spoke often of "Grandma Brennan," my great grandmother, but I knew little beyond that. I guess my parents never thought to educate me about my relatives.
After my father died, I searched through his genealogy records and found much valuable information. Included in his papers was a story written by a distant cousin, Father Robert Brennan, about his grandparents Ned and Mary (my great great grandparents) and their life in Lima. He also named his brothers and sisters, and mentioned some of his aunts and uncles, including my great grandfather, John.
This much I know: my paternal great great grandparents, Ned Brennan and Mary Fahey, emigrated from Ireland in 1861 and raised six children in Lima, Ohio. Five of those children, including my great grandfather, John Brennan, married and had large families. My great grandparents, John Brennan and Theresa Graff, had seven children, and though I met some of their sons and daughters, I never really knew them. After my father died, I asked my aunt Sheila to give me a family history so that I could at least know some of their names.
From there, I started my own search through ancestry.com. I found a few family trees that had information I could borrow, and I examined census reports. The census data available online, however, stops at the census of 1930, in order to protect the identities of the living. (The 1940 census will be released next year, and genealogists everywhere - including me - can't wait!) After that, I began searching the issues of the Lima News to find stories about my relatives. This was an incredibly rich source of information. From marriage announcements, obituaries, and simple stories about relatives visiting other relatives, I pieced together a much more comprehensive picture.
Now I know the names of all of Ned and Mary Brennan's children and grandchildren, and the names of some of their great grandchildren. I also contacted a third cousin, whom my parents met several years ago, and learned more about her branch of the family.
And to this day I continue to gather stories from those newspaper articles. Stories about ancestors who died young and those who lived to old age. Stories about female ancestors who died in childbirth. Stories about ancestors who became priests and nuns. I learned the occupations of many ancestors. Several women were nurses. A good number of Brennan men worked for the railroad. One was a cigar maker.
However, there are still gaping holes that I hope to fill. Some may be resolved with the 1940 census. Others may remain mysteries. It has been impossible, for instance, to find out anything about Ned's parents, though Mary's mother came to America with her, so at least I know something about her. My own parents traveled to Ireland to see what they could find, but census records there are mostly destroyed. They did meet a distant cousin while they were there, however, and recently I contacted him by mail and asked for more information. He is a great grandson of Mary Brennan, Ned Brennan's younger sister, and he gave me some names without dates.
I have decided that the only way I can learn more is to visit Ireland myself and use the detective skills I have developed over the past year to see if there is anything I can find. Recently, I learned the name of the cemetery where the Brennan family was buried. Fr. Robert Brennan (who wrote the story about my great great grandparents) also wrote An Irish Diary, where he mentions it. Perhaps that's a place to start. Even if I find nothing, it will still be a valuable - and no doubt emotional - trip to one of my ancestral homes.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Welcome
I have been working on my family tree as well as my husband's for over a year. My father had begun tracing his family (Brennan-Shaw) and my mother's (Mueller-Schulien) and shortly after his death I picked up his files and began exploring. To say that I have been amazed, schocked, delighted, and thrilled would be understating it. I have definitely caught the genealogy bug and I believe there is no cure.
I have decided to start this blog to keep my family and my husband's (Terich-Ruby) family informed about what I have found. Since I have been working on these trees nearly every day for over a year, there will be many posts to help everyone catch up.
Today, however, I am going to write about something I discovered just yesterday.
Most family researchers will tell you they periodically hit brick walls and that has certainly been true for me. When I find myself stumped, I usually go to a different line within the tree, and leave the brick wall for a while. Then I come back later to see if there are any new records on line or if there is some path I have overlooked.
I had not visited the Brennan tree in a while because I seemed unable to find anything new, and instead I had been focusing on the Eterovic line in my husband's family. (More on that later.) So I decided to return to the Brennans and found two new paths of discovery. The first was the daily newspaper of the town where my parents and I were born: Lima, Ohio. I had discovered earlier that every issue of the paper was on line, but in the last few days, I began searching obituaries and marriage announcements that gave me the names of new relatives. So I have been able to add many cousins to the tree.
Then I found military records, specifically the WW I and WWII draft cards and enlistment records of many ancestors. The draft cards gave me both information and insight into the lives of these men. First, I was able to confirm some birthdates, which were listed. After that, I looked in the sections that listed marital status and occupation. In the WW II records, a good number of these men were unemployed and unmarried, even at the ages of 40 and 50. I found this puzzling at first until I realized this could very well have been the result of the Great Depression. It was, after all, only WW II that finally pulled us out of the long term effects of the Depression and restored full employment.
I got tears in my eyes thinking of these men who not only couldn't get a job, but probably couldn't marry as they had no means to support a wife and family. I thought of how sad and lonely they must have been, and wondered how many of them actually went off to war willingly as there was nothing to keep them here. I thought of their poor mothers, watching them go and I felt gratitude that my own father, though drafted during the war, was able to avoid combat and serve one year in Japan after the war.
So that's one small sample of what you can learn from genealogy other than names and dates. I hope you will join me in this journey of discovery as I do what many others have started to do -- turn family mysteries into family history.
I have decided to start this blog to keep my family and my husband's (Terich-Ruby) family informed about what I have found. Since I have been working on these trees nearly every day for over a year, there will be many posts to help everyone catch up.
Today, however, I am going to write about something I discovered just yesterday.
Most family researchers will tell you they periodically hit brick walls and that has certainly been true for me. When I find myself stumped, I usually go to a different line within the tree, and leave the brick wall for a while. Then I come back later to see if there are any new records on line or if there is some path I have overlooked.
I had not visited the Brennan tree in a while because I seemed unable to find anything new, and instead I had been focusing on the Eterovic line in my husband's family. (More on that later.) So I decided to return to the Brennans and found two new paths of discovery. The first was the daily newspaper of the town where my parents and I were born: Lima, Ohio. I had discovered earlier that every issue of the paper was on line, but in the last few days, I began searching obituaries and marriage announcements that gave me the names of new relatives. So I have been able to add many cousins to the tree.
Then I found military records, specifically the WW I and WWII draft cards and enlistment records of many ancestors. The draft cards gave me both information and insight into the lives of these men. First, I was able to confirm some birthdates, which were listed. After that, I looked in the sections that listed marital status and occupation. In the WW II records, a good number of these men were unemployed and unmarried, even at the ages of 40 and 50. I found this puzzling at first until I realized this could very well have been the result of the Great Depression. It was, after all, only WW II that finally pulled us out of the long term effects of the Depression and restored full employment.
I got tears in my eyes thinking of these men who not only couldn't get a job, but probably couldn't marry as they had no means to support a wife and family. I thought of how sad and lonely they must have been, and wondered how many of them actually went off to war willingly as there was nothing to keep them here. I thought of their poor mothers, watching them go and I felt gratitude that my own father, though drafted during the war, was able to avoid combat and serve one year in Japan after the war.
So that's one small sample of what you can learn from genealogy other than names and dates. I hope you will join me in this journey of discovery as I do what many others have started to do -- turn family mysteries into family history.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)