Alice May Brotherton Campbell 1887 - 1916

I am currently reading a book called The Black Flag written by Barry Stacks of Gloucester.  Though not exceptionally well written, I am enjoying Gloucester as a main character in the book.  The Black Flag refers to ships returning to harbor flying a black flag indicating a death on board while at sea.  It's an interesting coincidence that I'd been trying to verify that a William Campbell who died at sea aboard a Gloucester vessel in 1905 was the Campbell in-law that I was looking for.  My search led me to a new cousin and a new "view" on what the Ryans looked like back in the day.

This is Alice May Brotherton, daughter of Mary Ryan and John J. Brotherton.  I recently showed you a picture of Mary Ryan Brotherton I found on my last trip to Gloucester.  This young lady is just beautiful!  Unfortunately she died at a very young age due to kidney problems.  She did marry C. Angus Campbell whose father William is the aforementioned death at sea I was attempting to confirm. I got this picture from our new cousin who is a descendant of Angus and Alice Campbell. 

This cousin, Pam, was able to verify that the William Campbell I'd found in the newspaper as having died at  sea aboard the Schooner Senator was indeed Alice's father-in-law.  Pam was tickled that I could provide her with the verification of his death at sea and I was very pleased to obtain this picture--especially since most of those old Ryan ancestors weren't overly fair of face. I'm certain God blessed them with other qualities. 

Victims of the Prevailing Epidemic

The Ebola crisis recently in the news brings to mind the flu epidemic of 1918-19.  This pandemic killed 50 MILLION people, largely healthy young adults from age 20-50.  You could feel fine in the morning and be dead by midnight.  So I wasn't surprised to find a family connection to this crisis as a result of my recent Gloucester research.  Sadly, this is a particularly tragic story.

William Bentley is a first cousin of ours, William being the grandson of Captain John Bentley. 

You will note he married Blanche Wagner.  Blanche and her sister Margaret survived a horrific fire as children that killed two of their siblings.  Their father had recently committed suicide and I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for their mother to move forward in her life.  Obviously she did and the girls went on to marry and have families.  I posted about this family and fire earlier. 

Tragically, you also notice that Margaret also died in the flu epidemic just one day after William died, leaving behind four young children including a 2 month old baby. 

Very tragic story all the way around.  Flu related news was all over the papers in this time period, in Gloucester and around the world.  Sometimes we don't consider that our families participated in the history of our country or world, but this is one small thread in the tapestry of world history. 

Just a reminder to check out the Gathering the Cousins blog once in a while.  I try to alternate Italian posts with Irish interests but you may find each interesting.  I usually update a post from the past with a little polish to make it more readable to a general audience.  The purpose is as "cousin bait" so that anyone with the same family history interests might come across it and make contact.  The more hits it gets, the higher it will appear in search results.  Let's hope we "catch" a cousin! :)

Birthday greetings

This blog was created November 2007 upon our return from a fall trip to Gloucester so it is celebrating its 7th birthday!  Wow! Seven years of following my ramblings and wandering.  Congratulations to you all for hanging in there.  I have a gift for you!

I was tickled to find a picture to accompany this obituary for Mary (Ryan) Brotherton.  Mary was our immigrant Timothy Ryan's daughter--she was born in 1866 and died 1943.  This Mary appears to have been named after a sister Mary who died when she was 2 a few years before this Mary was born.  This picture was obviously from later in her life but I see a little resemblance here to her brother William (who is our direct Ryan ancestor). 

This is William Ryan and his wife Catherine (Bentley) from whom we descend.  If you look at William and Mary I think we get a glimpse into what immigrant Timothy might have looked like.  But perhaps they favor their mother instead..........

In related birthday news, it was also Uncle Tim's birthday this week.  He turned 73.  Happy Birthday!

Paddy Ryan in the Flicker Yearbook Class of 1945

While in Gloucester, I visited the archives at the Cape Ann Museum.  I was looking for records pertaining to widows and orphans of lost fisherman, but what I found was Dad's high school yearbook: Flicker 1944-45.  This yearbook has been available on eBay for some time but I was not willing to pay $65 for something I was pretty sure we threw out when we emptied 42 Bruce Street.  The staff very nicely made copies for me.

This was in the "When They Were Young" section of the yearbook and I sure do wish we had this photo on hand.  I see Paula in this picture.  No wonder Paula is Uncle Tim's "favorite niece". 

As you know, Dad was a cheerleader in college as well as in high school.  He's the guy in the white pants here (you probably figured that out).  Look at the crowd behind them!

This is the Boys Glee Club.  I think these are ROTC uniforms. (Reserved Officers Training Corps) I do remember Dad was actively involved in such programs.  In the mid 1940s, it would have been very common as World War II raged overseas. 

I saw this senior picture and couldn't help but think there was a time when such a character would find himself stuffed in a locker every single day.  If you read his summary, you'll see his ambition is "to go around the world in the Merchant Marine with Umbriago at the wheel."  Umbriago was apparently an imaginary sidekick to Jimmy Durante.  I don't quite get it either, but I'll bet it's clever. 

A few days after I got these, Jim found another copy of the yearbook in a local bookstore.  Someone had very handily labeled all the seniors in the book and this verified that "Paddy" appeared several other times in the yearbook as well but I think these pictures are a fair reflection of Dad in high school.

A Nor'Easter for my birthday!

It's been an interesting weather week here in Gloucester.  A nor'easter hit with a bit more impact than I think was expected.  Though it didn't feel threatening in any way, the wind blew ferociously and the rain came in sheets.  When we went out to take the pictures, I had to anchor myself carefully.

It was pretty impressive and we did get to observe some of it from the Elks Club where we had lunch with Uncle Peter and his girlfriend Andrea.  It's been great to spend a little time with Peter, especially since we missed him the last time we were here.  He's full of great stories I can't wait to share.

Jim arrived last Saturday to start his extended stay (and finish mine:) ).  His brother Robert and wife Bobbie came also for a few days so we had a good time showing them around.  I had a very nice birthday--I've decided I very much like spending it here.  And Paula is on her way this weekend for a visit which everyone is looking forward to. 

Our time here is wrapping up and I feel very settled.  My bloodlines are full of sea air and family stories.  I've begun to recognize people on the streets and in the stores so it's probably time to return home!  See you on the other side.

Report from the Gloucester Front

I am collecting all sorts of stuff I can't wait to share but it will need to wait til I get back to my scanner at 2682 Colesville Road.  Today I went to the library at the Cape Ann Museum and dug up Dad's high school yearbook.  CLASSIC stuff in there, let me assure you.

As some of you know, Paula and I follow a blog called Good Morning Gloucester, Joey Ciaramitaro is the host.  He works off the dock that is at the base of Haskell Street (remember that BIG hill?).  By coincidence, I came across a newspaper article in a 1938 Gloucester Daily Times that described the marriage of two sisters--one of the couples I'm pretty sure are his grandparents Joseph (his name) and Felicia (his sister's name).  I printed it for him and decided to deliver it.  Unfortunately I kind of forgot that people WORK on the dock and I interrupted him unloading fish into some guy's truck so I did not linger.  The fish wasn't the only reason.  But I did introduce myself and leave the article for him.  I would want someone to do the same for me.  He may have used the paper to wrap fish.  If he did, I think we'll hear about it on the podcast. 

We are very happy with the apartment. 

Daytime

Evening

 

 

I haven't seen much of the kids this week but I have babysitting on my calendar for Friday and Saturday!  Jim and I went to the Elks with Tim for Oktoberfest -- I think you saw the Facebook picture but here you go again

We had chicken schnitzel and Timothy's company.  Priceless.  The band that played was the same band that played at Giuseppe's on our last visit!!!!!

We went to Boston University to watch a Harpursville alum play against them for her UConn team.  UConn won in a shootout after double overtime.  I was a good test run for my planned trip to Boston tomorrow by train and subway.  Wish me luck. 

When Jim comes back this weekend, it will be for his 10 day visit.  His brother Robert and wife Bobbie are planning to come for a few days so we'll get to be the guides this time.

I forgot to mention that I went with the kids to the Topsfield Fair and had a blast.  Their parents allowed them to "win" plastic trumpets that tooted all the way down the midway.  It made everyone smile as they marched by.

This is me after the Tilt-a-Whirl

First October 2014 Gloucester Report

As you know, I am spending most of this month in Gloucester.  I'm lucky enough to have all the time in the world to do family history research to my heart's content and still share the weekends with Jim.  Already I have gotten a great deal of cool information to share.  But most of that is going to have to wait until I can access my scanner.

For now, here's a little treat for your eyes:

These were taken at the Cape Ann Marina Fall Fest -- also featured on Good Morning Gloucester for those that follow Joey (Paula!).  It was drizzling but still lots of fun.  This is the "home" marina for Wicked Tuna and we always check out the FV (fishing vessels) when we stop by there.

Our first night we decided to have dinner at Giuseppe's, a restaurant we hadn't been to in a while.  We were having a drink at the bar while we waited for Tim and Emmy to join us.  A woman was celebrating her 94th birthday so Jim offered to buy her a shot to celebrate.  She refused (which is when I knew she wasn't related) but was quite charming and Jim flirted her up pretty good.  We were telling this story to Tim and Emmy after we had been seated when a man approached the table and asked Jim if he was the guy that offered the birthday lady a drink.  He thought it was a cool thing to do, so he left his gift card saying it had a little left on it for us to apply to our dinner.  He said he was paying it forward.

I thought it was a nice turn of events after my recent efforts to do the same until we heard the very next day that Giuseppe's had unexpectedly closed its doors for good!  Makes me wonder if that guy knew something we didn't......and I hope the place we have Jim's birthday dinner will still be open the next day.