Currach - Discovering my ancestry before the canvas frays.

Jun1

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Cousindipity

Posted in: Ruminations, Serendipity

Last year I was lucky to get reconnected to several first cousins that we hardly knew about, much less met.

Tierney Siblings: Michael, Sabina and John, Jamaica Queens, 1929
The short short version of the story is that my grandfather John Tierney (sounds familiar) married Sabina Gilroy and had four children. Sadly, he lost his wife and 3 year old Winifred in the 1918 Spanish Influenza epidemic in New York.

The next year he married my grandmother May and several years later they had my father. By all accounts their marriage was stormy and not good for the kids. After my grandfather died in 1935 the family drifted apart and my father apparently had very little contact with his brother and two sisters. (All half siblings to him.)

More than a dozen years ago I started to get interested in genealogy, but worked at it sporadically. However, I kept adding to my findings and kept them on an Ancestry tree that was discovered last year by my father’s brother’s grandson’s wife. (Got that?) Read More
May30

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Memorial Day, LI National Cemetery

Posted in: Photo

Visiting Grandpa Mike on Memorial Day
May20

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Excellent 1900 Census Example

Posted in: Census, New York

I’ll start by saying I don’t mean my example is excellent – but the varied information in this particular record is…

While seeking my wife’s great-grandfather Michael A. Duffy’s family in the 1900 census, I went through several possibilities until I found one that appears to be a pretty good match. It helps that his father had the first name of Anthony which doesn’t appear to be too common. For Duffys in New York anyway.

One thing that is off is Michael’s birth year – but since some of the years listed in my Tierney family’s 1900 record are way off from documented dates, that’s not bothering me too much.

So, I’ll be following these folks around awhile and see where they lead me. But, even if it doesn’t work out between us I will still be glad that I found this record – it is an excellent teaching example! Take a look below… Read More
May18

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Double Check Your Certificates

Posted in: Resources

A quick and simple blog post to remind everyone to double check their documents, whether new or old. Recently I found an index record at Familysearch that was a perfect fit for my wife’s great-grandparents marriage in Iowa (giving leeway for some obvious surname misspellings, of course.)

So, we ordered a copy of the original and it came very quickly.

However, as I scanned the certificate and became annoyed that their exact dates of birth were missing, I soothed myself with the knowledge that we now had the names of Michael A. Duffy’s parents: Anthony Duffy and Annie O’Hara, as I had read on the index.

Or did we? It turned out the county recording office mistakenly typed in the bride’s surname as the groom’s mother’s surname! That would have spun someone’s wheels for awhile in the next generation or two.

An honest mistake – the county nicely apologized and told us to just send back the certificate for a replacement.
May16

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Keep Your Thumbs Safely Locked Away

Posted in: Technology

In an article on Ancestry.com entitled Preparing for Disaster, Maureen Taylor wrote a nice informative article on some preparedness tips for photos and family treasures.

I noticed one comment on that article that I thought could use some elaboration:

I keep a thumbdrive containing scanned photos and documents, along with data from my genealogy software program, in a safe deposit box. However, these storage devices are not guaranteed to last forever. They should be replaced at least every 10 years.

As someone involved in information technology, security and and disaster recovery for many years, I like to see people mention how they have things locked away in alternate locations.

However – don’t lock yourself into the idea that technology has a finite or even solidly estimable time to failure. That will only cause you some sort of loss in the long run. Having a thumb drive in a safe deposit box is terrific and way ahead of most people’s plans, I’d guess. Read More