So Many Ancestors

So many ancestors, so little time!

This month’s “Carnival of Genealogy” topic is to pick four ancestors with whom to have dinner.

If you could have dinner with four of your ancestors who would they be and why?Would you have dinner in the present day or in one of their eras? Would you dine out or opt for a home cooked meal? What would you discuss at the dinner table? What would you most like to share with them about your life?

Hmmmm. I think I would have dinner in the eras of my ancestors to give me a taste of yesterday. Dessert, however, would be in current times so I could give them a taste of today. I would have a home-cooked meal; preferably one the ancestor cooks! Not because I don’t want to bother (sometimes I almost like to cook), but because even as a very finicky eater I think it would be fascinating to eat what they ate. Besides, I’m really not a fan of eating out. Some of what we discuss would be about questions I have about them and/or their family. Some would be about their lifestyles, their hobbies, their work.

One ancestor I would like to eat with is Margaret (DOYLE) CONROY (1867-1948). She is the one that has been elusive in the 1880 U.S. Census. She would have been 13 in 1880. She is not listed with her family, William and Mary DOYLE, and children John (my great-grandfather), Peter, James, Mary Ann, and William. I couldn’t find her among neighbors, either. I would ask her where she was in 1880 first thing. With my luck, the answer would be as simple as “at home. I guess someone forgot to list me”. During dessert, in modern times, I would also ask her if she ever found out how her young sons died around 1904. The story goes that one son, Albert, of Margaret (DOYLE) and Thomas CONROY died. They took him back to PA to bury him. When they returned to NYC they found their other son, William, dead. Was it Smallpox? I would hold this question until dessert during modern times because I figure that by now, 104 years after her children’s deaths and 60 years after being reunited with them, she’d be okay to talk about it. In the picture below, Margaret is at the left, in the darker dress. She's standing next to her sisters, Mary Ann, Alice and Johanna. Another ancestor I’d share a meal with is my great-grandfather on my mother’s paternal line, James O’ROURKE (1876-1944). As I’ve shared in several posts, my first question for him would be “Who the hell are your parents?”. Honestly I don’t know of any other specific questions I’d have for him. I guess I’d just converse about the times. Oh wait! I’d also ask where his forbearers lived in Ireland.
I think the next ancestor I’d choose would be Mary (GRIFFIN) McHUGH, my father’s paternal grandmother (1867 – 195?). I’d ask about her birthplace, her parents’ identities and location in Ireland, and through what port they entered. My dad had a story in his head that her family emigrated to Canada, and dad’s paternal grandfather, Dennnis McHUGH, followed them there to take Mary away to the U.S. to marry. Alas, Census records show that Mary likely immigrated to the U.S. at about age 8 and Dennis around age 15. Of course, another Census year states age 19 for Mary (immigration year 1886) and around age 29 for Dennis(1896 immigration year). This information is almost certainly incorrect, however, given that their first born son Patrick was born in PA in 1887.
Finally, the last ancestor I’d dine with is my father’s maternal grandmother Justina (NAHODIL sp?) HODICK (1875-1950). First thing I’d ask her is the correct spelling of her maiden name. It was always thought to be NAUCHADILE; however, during my research it is more likely a version of NAHODIL / NAHADIL. It may have been both; perhaps they changed it when they immigrated. I’d ask her where she was born. A family Bible somewhere stated Fuenfkirchen, Austria, which *may* now be Pecs, Hungary (or it may not). Every census record I’ve found her in states Czechoslavakia. Below is Justina with her husband, my gr-grandfather, Edward(1867-1951).
With a little luck, each of the above ancestors would be able to answer questions about their spouses’ ancestors, too. I’d like to confirm the 1885 ship Pennland as the one on which Justina’s husband, my dad’s maternal grandfather, sailed with his family when they immigrated to the U.S. It likely is, as the ship’s manifest to the U.S. via St.Kitt’s matches what my dad recalled about the family having stopped in that part of the world before arriving in the States. Also, this ship’s manifest identified Austria as the HODICK family’s country of origin.

I’d like to confirm my maternal great-grandmother’s maiden name’s spelling as McCUE as opposed to McHUGH. I’d also like to know her birth name. Her marriage record states Jennie; family knew her as Jane. Perhaps it was Genevieve? Perhaps Margaret DOYLE would have known.

I know that someday, when I finally get around to ordering vital recores, many of these questions will be answered. But it sure was fun imagining I could get the answers directly from their mouths!

I said this before, and I’ll say it again:

So many ancestors, so little time.

Whatever Happened To ...

I've always enjoyed reading stories or watching T.V. specials that spotlight celebrities of years past. It makes me feel connected to my past, or as if the past wasn't all that long ago. I had a wonderful childhood, so anything that brings me back to it, even for just a short time, makes me smile.

This morning I awoke to an email that included an obituary for my mother's first cousin, Mary Margaret "Molly" (Williams) Jurkin. Molly was the daughter of Raymond and Margaret (Doyle) Williams. The obituary was sent to me by a cousin in PA.

I recall Molly very vaguely. I know that as a child my brothers and I were taken to the Jurkin house to play. I don't recall what she, her husband (John, who died in 1993), or her children looked like (one child died in 1979, two years after my family had moved from Niagara Falls, NY to Tempe, Az). I've seen pictures of her since -- recent ones at that -- thanks to the aforementioned PA cousin.

Molly's sister, Jane, died in 1996. Now Jane I remember quite well. She and her family lived about 6 or 7 houses down from us in NY. Her daughter used to babysit us (but not for long, since my oldest brother wasn't too far behind her in age). She worked for many, many years at our elementary school; in fact, the media center and library is now named for her. One of her sons used to work at the junior high school we attended, and all the kids loved Mike.

My dad's sister Norie (McHugh)(Scibilia) Rozanski also died in 1996. I remember her well, too. Those of you who read my Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories blog posts on "The Oracle of OMcHodoy" might recall the picture of me as a child in a hot pink velvet skirt and vest and a woman in a really hot pink miniskirt outfit. That hot woman in the mini skirt was my Aunt Norie. I remember her children well, too. We'd all traveled across the country and back in a truck when I was in the 6th grade. And because we all lived in the same area until 1977, we saw each other quite a bit.

My mother's brother Jimmie died in 2005. We hadn't had any contact with him or his family since my mother died in 1988. We spent a lot of time with him and his family, too. They joined us on that cross country trip in 1976, but they chose a different route than us, so we didn't finish the trip together. I was able to track Jimmie down many years ago, but all I was able to get was the location of his daughter, my first cousin. Several years after that and not long before Jimmie died in 2005, I managed to track Patty down and make contact with her and her father. And a little later, her mother. I haven't heard from the other cousins in this line, though I hear about them all the time from Aunt Joyce.

The point of this diatribe is this: Sometimes it makes me sad that the people I often wonder "Whatever Happened To..." are my very own cousins ... people I grew up with. Perhaps this is the year I follow Thomas' lead, and make an effort to find out.

Left to Right: The Hot Pink Family, with Norie sitting on the armchair; Uncle Jimmie and his mother, my grandmother, Regina Doyle O'Rourke; Mary "Molly" Williams Jurkin; Jane Williams Johnson.