While scanning my family’s photo albums I have found there are a fair number of mystery folks to us. But, the process of going through all of our albums has at least given me some clues to groups of people that go together and thus some educated guesses of who they might be.
However, the best help I’ve had was last year when was able to go through photos with a cousin from Ireland I’d met for the first time. We decided that a few of the photos were probably of my grandmother May Egan’s daughter Elizabeth, whom she had before she left Ireland.
Elizabeth remained in Ireland when my grandmother emigrated, presumably somewhere near Creggan, Endrim or Ferbane, Ireland.
We know very little of Elizabeth, but do know she came to New York at some point because we have some later photos of her with her baby son, my grandmother and my toddler father in New York circa 1930. (In fact, I’ve just found a cache of photos that weren’t used in albums and include more photos of Elizabeth – including her in what look like group outings with friends. I will post more about those at a later date.)
Now, while cleaning up some damaged photos in Photoshop a possibility occurred to me – a girl in a photo at Coney Island (center above) resembles the girl we believe is a young Elizabeth in Ireland. Is it her?
There is a “Lizzie” Egan immigrating with my grandmother’s sister Bridget around 1924 that I suspect may be Elizabeth, but since I believe this photo is about 1920 (based on the Tierney children’s ages) that would mean she couldn’t be the girl in the middle photo. (Unless she traveled back and forth between Ireland and NY a couple of times, which I think unlikely.)
With no more info than this it has been fairly impossible to track her down so far. I hope one day to be able to find some record of her – she was my Aunt, after all. Maybe there’s even a cousin or two descended from her that might one day find this while doing their own researching.
I remain, as always, confused. But curious. and tenacious. Also, a little hungry.
Update (June 13, 2013): I have a long post to write on the search for my Aunt Elizabeth – quick version here is I believe I have found her emigrating to New York in 1921 under the name of “Lizzie Jennings”. Stay Tuned…
