Sepia Saturday: Kids and Kids

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt is certainly on time for thoughts of Spring and of Easter.

These young folks look pleased with their calf.

Friends or relatives (?)
of Helen Killeen Parker
about 1920

Spring or Winter, Easter or not, my cousins always had dogs. Of course, puppies were the best.

Bobbie and Glenn and the pups 1950s

For several years, when my sister and I were quite young, my grandparents gave us ducks or chicks at Easter. I do not know what happened to our Easter pets when they got older. I doubt we ever asked. Surely we did not want to know. Our friend Rusty from around the corner got rabbits one year.

Easter 1962 or 1963
Me and Mary Jollette and her duck

Mary Jollette's duck and Rusty's bunnies

Rabbits were popular with my family in the 1920s.

Helen Killeen Parker's bunnies

Velma Davis and bunny

My mother's brother
Orvin Jr. about 1928

My husband grew up on a farm. Baby animals were just a regular part of the routine with chicks arriving often and calves in the spring. So an Easter pet was not met with the same enthusiasm as a new stuffed animal.

My in-laws and their first 2 children
Ervin holding Wayne, Helen,
and Donald
probably Easter 1942 or 1943

But getting up close and personal with farm animals was a treat for our city-raised daughter. Her aunt and uncle and their boys are poultry farmers.

Cousin Neal let Jordan pet a baby chick 1983

The goats, however, would not pose.

It is Cuteness Overload at Sepia Saturday this week with lots of animals in the spotlight.

© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Wordless Wednesday: Top O' the Morning

Wordless Wednesday is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers that asks family historians to create a post in which the main focus is a photograph or image.

Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh’s sister Delia Christian was always faithful about sending cards for birthdays, Easter, and Christmas. No good Irish woman would miss St. Patrick’s Day.

© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Mystery Monday: Sadie's Family

Mystery Monday is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers that encourages bloggers to write about mystery ancestors or mystery records – anything in their genealogy and family history research which is currently unsolved.

Information about Robert Byrnes has been proven to be in error. Please disregard. His story has been updated HERE.

During the month of March, I am remembering my Irish ancestors by writing about my recent discoveries. The stories still qualify for “Mystery Monday” as there are so many questions yet unanswered.

Julia Walsh and Sadie Byrnes
between 1917-1920

I grew up with my cousins. We were close as children and remain so today. Even though my paternal grandmother’s cousins lived miles away in New York while she lived in Portsmouth, Virginia, my great-grandmother made sure her children knew their cousins by making frequent trips to New York. One of my favorite photos is of my granny with her cousin Sadie.

Another photo of Sadie was taken in 1969 when she visited her Portsmouth cousins. I had always heard that there was a nun in the family, and there she is. I tried unsuccessfully to trace her life as a Dominican nun, but without her religious name, no one could help me.

Sadie Byrnes August 1969 Williamsburg, VA
Sr. Vincent Carmel

Then a little bit of serendipity came my way. My aunt recently gave me Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh’s scrapbooks where she had saved greeting cards. Several are from her loving niece “Sr. Vincent Carmel Byrnes.” In that one card I learned both Sadie’s religious name and the correct spelling of her last name. I had searched census records for “Sadie Burns” or “Sarah Burns” because that is how someone spelled it on the back of the photo.

I also had sought Sadie with a mother named Sarah. An old family chart identified one of Mary Theresa’s sisters as Sarah Burns. But the census records offered too many possibilities in some years and unlikely possibilities in other years, such as the one with Sadie still living at home at age 30. Surely MY Sadie would have been a nun by then.

The same scrapbooks came to the rescue with cards signed “Pat and Peggy Byrnes.”













Crossing my fingers in the hopes that Pat or Patrick was Sadie’s brother, I went to FamilySearch and entered “Patrick Byrnes” born in New York between 1890 and 1915 with a sibling named Sadie. One possibility looked especially promising. It was a 1920 Manhattan, New York census.   

from 1920 Manhattan, New York, New York census

Cousin Bob and Helen  1919
"Atop the roof, New York"

Looking at the children’s names, I recalled some photos belonging to my grandmother’s half-sister Helen Killeen Parker. The one of “Cousin Bob” with Helen “atop the roof New York” in 1919 is probably Robert who was born in 1901. He looks to have been about 18 in the photo.


Then “Cousin Jack” is probably John who was born about 1903.

"Cousin Jack"
possibly John Byrnes

The two younger children are not identified, but the girl resembles the early photo of Sadie. The boy appears to be younger, so maybe this is either Joseph or Patrick. They would have been about 10 if Joseph or 8 if Patrick; Sadie would have been about 11 or 12.

Cousins in New York 1919

Any thoughts that I was perhaps forcing the pictures to match the census dissipated when FamilySearch gave me a death record for Patrick Byrnes. Parents named were Patrick Byrnes and Elizabeth Sheehan. And just for good measure, the spouse was Margaret, for which Peggy is a common nickname. Ding Ding Ding I think we have a winner.

So Sadie’s mother was not Sarah after all. It was Elizabeth. The third daughter and fifth child of Daniel Sheehan and Bridget Gorman, Elizabeth was born in Croom in County Limerick, Ireland, April 18, 1871 and baptized in the Roman Catholic Church six days later. One point of confusion in the record, however, is that her parents were identified as Daniel Sheehan and Margaret Gorman, not Bridget as was recorded in every other birth and baptism record for this family. Whether this was an error on the part of the recorder or an indication of either her first or middle name is not known.  

Baptism record for Elizabeth Sheehan, daughter of Daniel Sheehan and Margaret Gorman
Ballingarry Diocese of Limerick
April 24, 1871
from Catholic Parish Registers at National Library of Ireland nli.ie

The New York census records are fairly consistent in details of Elizabeth’s and Patrick’s lives. Both came to the US in 1888 and were naturalized in 1896.  They married about 1897 and had 8 children, two of whom died before 1910. Patrick worked most of his life as a driver for a brewery although in one census he was a carpenter for the hospital.

As for the rest of the family, I have found only bits and pieces:

• Robert moved to Florida and worked as a boat captain. On July 22, 1936 he married Lorraine Garfunkel in Henderson, North Carolina. Their home though was in Miami, Florida. In 1940, Robert was a salesman of motorboat supplies. Lorraine was a public school principal.
• Joseph worked as a bank clerk according to the 1930 census. In 1940, he was boarding in a home in Bronx and working as a credit man for a silk house. His wife Elizabeth was a dental assistant.
• Patrick worked as a clerk in a silk factory. In 1937 he married Margaret Mary “Peggy” Cook. They were still just newlyweds, really, when he died three years later.

The Byrnes Family:

Elizabeth SHEEHAN (18 Apr 1871 Croom, Limerick, Ireland – After 1930 probably New York) & Patrick BYRNES (1868 Ireland – After 1930 probably New York) married about 1897 New York

1. Richard Aloysus BYRNES (9 Aug 1899 Manhattan, New York – 10 Dec 1932 Manhattan, New York)
2. Robert BYRNES (3 Aug 1901 Manhattan New York - ) & Lorraine GARFUNKEL  married 22 Jul 1936 Henderson, North Carolina
3. John BYRNES (1903 Manhattan, New York - )
4. William BYRNES (5 May 1905 Manhattan, New York – 7 May 1905 Manhattan, New York)
5. Sarah “Sadie” BYRNES (16 Feb 1907 Manhattan, New York – about 1970)
6. Joseph BYRNES (27 Jan 1909 Manhattan, New York - ) & Elizabeth UNKNOWN
7. Patrick BYRNES Jr. (1911 Manhattan, New York – 5 Nov 1940 Manhattan, New York) & Margaret Mary COOK married 6 March 1937 Manhattan, New York

Wendy
© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Victorian Lady's Rocker

Treasure Chest Thursday is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers encouraging bloggers to create a post with the main focus being a family treasure, an heirloom or even an everyday item important to the family.

Helen Killeen Parker was the sixth child of my great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan and her first husband John Joseph Killeen. Aunt Helen enjoyed company and we visited her often. I loved her living room. It was a large room filling the center of the house from front to back if you count the office; it was separated from the living room by French doors which were always open. Light flooded the room from all directions.

Helen's living room 1953
(photo taken from the office toward the front of the house)

Helen was from that generation of Southern women that changed rugs and slipcovers with the seasons. While I cannot remember the slipcovers precisely, I clearly recall when the wool Oriental rug and the “straw rug” – what was it? Jute? Rattan? – swapped places signaling the end of one season and the beginning of another.

Helen Parker 1957 

Knowing her death was imminent, Helen made sure her fine things went to people she wanted to have them. In addition to a child’s rocker, I received a lovely little walnut Victorian lady’s rocking chair. Helen kept hers in the living room. So do I.

© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Wordless Wednesday: Picked By Loving Irish Hands #2

Wordless Wednesday is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers that asks family historians to create a post in which the main focus is a photograph or image.

These shamrocks from home must have been such a comfort for my great-grandmother. I wonder if she ever again saw her brother Denis and her niece Myra Sheehan or any other family that did not make the move to the United States.

© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Mystery Monday: Myra's Family

Mystery Monday is a daily prompt at Geneabloggers that encourages bloggers to write about mystery ancestors or mystery records – anything in their genealogy and family history research which is currently unsolved.

During the month of March, I am remembering my Irish ancestors by writing about my recent discoveries. The stories still qualify for “Mystery Monday” as there are so many questions yet unanswered.

My favorite “new to me relative” is Myra Sheehan. The minute I saw the St. Patrick’s Day card signed “Your loving niece Myra,” I knew for sure that my great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh had family still living in Ireland. Myra’s last name was Sheehan, signaling that Mary Theresa had a brother. I wanted to know more about this branch of the family, but I was almost convinced finding them would be nearly impossible. I asked Dara of Black Raven Genealogy whether it was even worth trying to research this family with so little to go on. She asked me a few questions, and surprisingly came back with two census records plus a baptism record for Myra’s father. Voila – the Sheehan family.

Myra’s father was Denis Sheehan. He was apparently the third child born to Daniel Sheehan and Bridget Gorman of Castletown District, County Limerick, Ireland. His birthdate was May 13, 1866, and he was baptized in the Ballingarry Diocese of the Catholic Church on May 20 of that year. The record was written in Latin, so his name appears as Dionysus. The sponsors were Thomas Gorman (maybe a brother to Bridget) and Honoria Grady. These two were sponsors at the baptism of several of Denis’s siblings as well.

About 1891, Denis married a woman from County Tipperary named Alice. In the 1901 census for Croom in County Limerick, Denis and Alice had 4 children: Mary age 7, Daniel age 4, Margaret age 3, and Honoria age 9 months. Denis was a stone and brick mason. He and Alice both spoke Irish as well as English, while the children spoke only English. If Denis spoke Irish, then I can safely assume that my great-grandmother Mary Theresa did as well.

1901 Census Croom, Limerick, Ireland
from National Archives Ireland

In 1911, Denis and Alice reported they had been married 20 years and that 6 of 8 children were living:  Myra (Mary) age 17, Daniel age 14, Gretta (Margaret) age 13, Rose (Honoria) age 10, Denis age 9, and John age 6. The four older children spoke both Irish and English. Denis was still a brick and stone mason.

1911 Census Croom, Limerick, Ireland
from National Archives Ireland

The 1901 and 1911 census records in Ireland are so interesting for the added details about the houses and out-buildings. Myra’s family home was described as having either stone, brick, or concrete walls instead of mud, wood, or other perishable material. Likewise the roof was either slate, tile, or iron, not anything perishable like thatch or wood. Their house had 5 or 6 rooms with 3 windows facing the street. As such, the house was considered a 2nd class house, with houses rated between 1st class and 4th. They also had a piggery and fowl house. The landowner for the Sheehans’ home and for most of their neighbors was Earl Dunnivan.

Myra's house on Main St, Croom, Limerick, Ireland
The dark yellow house fits the description of having
3 front windows (counting the dormer).
from Google Maps

The census records make me think this family did fairly well. At least they were not living in a house made of perishable materials, and everyone had at least some basic education since all of them could read and write.

Somehow Myra kept up with her aunt Mary Theresa who left Ireland about the time Myra was born. While I am so glad to have this little outline of a family, I would like to know more. I wonder how well they knew one another. Was Myra the spokesperson for her father? Or was he already deceased when she sent the St. Patrick’s Day cards? What became of Myra and her brothers and sisters?

I’m casting out that cousin bait – come, come, my Irish cousins.

© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Sepia Saturday: Holding Water

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt shows men with wheelbarrows loaded with water jugs. While there is no wheelbarrow in this picture, the unidentified girl is carrying a bucket which undoubtedly must have held water at some time.

Unidentified girl
in photos from Helen Killeen Parker

In this terribly damaged and out-of-focus photo, my grandaunt Lillie Killeen and three unidentified women seem to be having a grand time at the water pump.

3 unidentified women with Lillie (front right)

These photos and hundreds more are the story of my life: unidentified people and a bunch of theories; unlike the jugs and bucket, however, some of my theories just don’t hold water.

Death Certificate for Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh

Take this death certificate, for example. As the informant, Aunt Lillie supplied the information about my great grandmother. She said Mary Theresa’s father was Daniel Sheehan and her mother was Nora.

Daniel Sheehan and Nora SULLIVAN were the same names given by Josie Sheehan at her marriage to Charles/Carl Krause in 1897. Right time. Right place. Yep, this must be Mary Theresa’s sister Josie, the one pictured here.

Josie with John Jr. and "Bob"

What a find. Finally I knew Mary Theresa’s parents’ names, or so I thought, until I found a death record for her sister Delia Sheehan Christian. It names her mother “Bridget O’Gorman.” Hmm. Evidently Daniel married twice. Yeah, that explains it.

from FamilySearch.org

That theory made sense until a search for information about Mary Theresa’s niece Myra Sheehan led to a different conclusion. Having never worked with Irish records before, I sought the advice of fellow blogger Dara of Black Raven Genealogy. Instead of sending me a list of sources as she had offered, she sent a marriage date that preceded the birth of Mary Theresa. Daniel and Bridget married 21 January 1857.

Marriage register for Daniel Sheehan and Bridget Gorman
Witnesses: Thomas Gorman and Johanna Burns

Obviously Bridget was not a second wife as I had speculated. Nor could Nora be a second wife because Delia was born ten years after Mary Theresa. If the truth was not clear by now, it certainly came into focus with Dara’s list of birth and baptismal records for the children of Daniel Sheehan and Bridget Gorman.

At last I had names for Mary Theresa’s siblings. Most are different from what I had been told, but I suspect the names listed on an old family chart could be middle names. What about “Nora” on Mary Theresa’s death certificate? Was that a diminutive for a middle name, such as Bridget Honoria? Or was Lillie just mistaken? And what about the photo of Josie? Was Josie a nickname for Johanna? Could Margaret’s middle name be Josephine?

Johanna Sheehan 10 March 1861 Sponsors Thomas Gorman and Ellena Grady

John Sheehan 28 June 1863 Sponsors Michael and Elizabeth Sheehan

Denis Sheehan 20 May 1866 Sponsors Thomas Gorman and Honora O’Grady

Mary Theresa Sheehan 10 January 1869 Sponsors Michael O’Brien and Mary Grady

Margaret Sheehan 21 December 1873 Sponsors Patrick Gorman and Mary O’Shea

Bridget (Delia) Sheehan 26 January 1879 Sponsors Thomas Gorman and Honora O’Grady

With some clues in Mary Theresa’s collection of greeting cards and Dara’s amazing finds, I have been able to track a few of my great grandmother’s sisters and brothers. I will be sharing these discoveries in the coming weeks – after all, St. Patrick’s Day is a big day for the Irish, and what better time to focus on my Irish ancestors than the month of March.

Thirsty for some fun reads? Wheel your way over to Sepia Saturday.

© 2016, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.