102nd BKTF Day

Today is the 102nd Be Kind To Francis Day. I hope you all remembered to spoil someone you love.

Nanny is getting "analyzed"!! Imagine what she would say...

I won a contest today! I submitted this letter from Nanny for handwriting analysis and it was selected! This analysis will be broadcast in an upcoming Genealogy Gems podcast episode and I will keep you posted. Other samples have been very interesting to listen to and I'm looking forward to what this expert will have to say.

And here's what I had to say when I submitted the letter: Attached please find a candidate for handwriting analysis on your show. This is a rare example of a handwritten letter from my grandmother C. Paula Nevins Flynn. She normally used a typewriter so I have very few extended samples of her handwriting, so I treasure this especially. One reason I believe this is worthy of consideration is that I haven't heard any analysis of female ancestors yet and I hold my grandmother in very high esteem as a great example of a woman living before her time.She was born in 1910 and grew up in family who held the value of education very dear. She graduated from college in a time when this was relatively rare. Even more "appalling" was that she chose to work outside the home when my mother (her only child) was young (mid to late 1930s). I do believe it was a choice and not necessarily dictated by the Depression economy.Throughout her life, she made unconventional choices. Even in death, when she chose to be cremated knowing the Catholic church did not approve. Her Catholic roots and devotion ran deep yet she decided to forgo a "proper" Catholic funeral and burial due to her desire to be cremated.For this and other reasons I created and sponsor a graduation award to honor a graduate pursuing unconventional educational opportunities.I am so proud to have come from such a strong role model, but am curious about the parts of her personality I never got to know. Another reason I find this letter interesting is that it was written just post the great "No-Name" storm on the East coast in March 1993 which we all remember quite vividly. We got some 3-4 feet of snow dropped rather suddenly in mid March which "cancelled" my daughter's 5th birthday. Many memories arise from that weather event (hey--how about that podcast question/survey?) and this letter helps commemorate my grandmother and the storm.

Well Known to the Older School of Fishermen

This is the story of Timothy Ryan, our great great grandfather--the Ryan who emigrated from Ireland and started the whole story in this country. I don't know enough about him yet but I recently obtained his newspaper death notice which told me he was "well known to the older school of fishermen". I love that phrase!

Gloucester records indicate Timothy arrived in Boston in 1847 at the age of 20. He stated he was born in Tipperary. He made his way to Newfoundland and married Mary Ann Squires. It must have been the call of the sea because he was apparently a fisherman most of his adult life. About 5 years after his arrival in Boston, his first child Michael was born in Newfoundland closely followed by sister Elizabeth. Two years or so later, they were in Gloucester welcoming another baby Catherine.

Eight Ryan children were born to this family. William, our ancestor, was child number 5, born a few short months after his 2 1/2 year old sister Mary died.

By 1900 when he was probably in his early 70s he and his wife were living with their son James in Gloucester. They apparently moved to Portsmouth around this time perhaps with James' family. That has me curious--what was in New Hampshire for them?

Just a short time later, in 1903, Ann died and was brought "home" to Gloucester for burial. Timothy died suddenly while visiting his long time hometown of Gloucester in 1909.

The Gloucester Daily Times states: "He was a most industrious man, of great integrity, honorable in his dealings with all men, and gained the confidence and respect of those with whom he had business dealings."

A new blog you might like!

Ryan has started his own blog at http://dalpmania.blogspot.com and he'd be pleased to have you take a look and leave a comment if you like. It's meant to be from the perspective of a HS athlete and I think he does pretty well for himself.

First day of football season today so you can expect to be hearing about that! At least it's not unbearably hot today.

So Much for the Happiest Place on Earth!

OK--we are back in the real world now. The Disney trip was great and we ended up spending an extra night in Orlando--at the airport! Not as bad as it sounds because USAir (yes, USAir) gave us 2 rooms in the Hyatt right in the airport--it's a great hotel and just steps away from security check-in. Here's Amy with Ranier from her dolphin encounter!

And another announcement--no sooner did we get home than we adopted a new kitten: Izzy! Can't wait to see you all soon. Don't forget the party Sunday Aug 31.

More on names

I found Weenie's baptism certificate noting that none other than Francis and Frances Blumle themselves were Weenie's godparents! I thought you might be interested.

I always like to look at when such documents as these were issued and speculate as to why Weenie needed his baptismal certificate in 1940, for example. In this case, I believe it was probably so that Mom could receive her First Communion. Remember those days when you had to prove six different ways that you were worthy to receive sacraments from the Catholic church?

I have an additional baptismal extract for Weenie dated 1954--no doubt for Mom's wedding. Oddly enough, this 1954 extract says Bettie Lippman (as it does on her wedding record) but it says Barbara Lippman on the 1940 extract. Just noticed that today and thought I would share it!

Anyhow, I've been thinking more about names and how they came about. We know Uncle Tim's middle name Bentley comes from Captain John Bentley (his great grandfather) and Peter's middle name is also a family name (his grandmother's name was Edith Grover Handran--but I"m not really sure exactly where it came from for Edith). So we suppose that Milton is also a family name someplace. Dad was a Junior, so Milton was bestowed on his dad by his grandparents in 1901 when he was born. Since Paul Senior was child #6, I can imagine it's possible the Milton might be referring to a close friend or respected acquaintance such as with Weenie. So that's one of my new research angles. Who is Milton? It is not likely I will solve this and I may never even be able to make an educated guess but I'll never stop wondering.

A Rose by any other name....

When you study family history, you learn that some cultures have traditions when it comes to naming children. For most, the first son is named after his paternal grandfather and so forth. Although this is not as common these days, it's a tool that can be used when studying ancestors.

Weenie's parents have always been a bit of a mystery and I've been making some progress recently with Patrick and Barbara. Their parents names have been a bit elusive so it is natural that I'd be looking at Weenie's given name for clues. Francis Patrick.

The Patrick part is pretty easy, Weenie's father. But where did Francis come from? There is no evidence of Francis in either family tree even though I haven't gotten too far back with them yet. I think he was named after an influential family and town forefather in Emporium PA, Weenie's birthplace.

When Barbara's sister Anna came to America, she reported she planned to live with her Aunt Mary in Emporium Aunt Mary Gallenmiller, her brother John Bauer and husband Andrew all worked the Blumle farm (pictured).

FX Blumle was a brewer (!) and farmer. He was known as Frank and his wife Frances. I feel certain Barbara was also influenced by Aunt Mary and her patrons the Blumles. In fact, I recall the church representative telling Mom and I that Weenie had the Blumles as his godparents and that the Blumles were a very important family. I believe Francis came from the Blumle influence.

BUT Weenie's original birth certificate lists his name as James Thomas. No James' in the lineup either, but I'm not done yet! Thomas is Weenie's German (maternal) grandfather.