'To grandmother's house I go...'

When I was a young child at school, it seemed to me as though I was the only one without a grandmother, and I felt this absence keenly. Even those children who had lost their parents, somehow managed to hang on to their grandmothers. Some were being raised by them; some had their grandmothers living close by, or at most a few miles away. It was easy for them to go to grandmother's house. They could hop a bus to visit, or drive a short drive to drop by.

To skip across the schoolyard and share in the chant, 'to grandmother's house I go', was not a part of my childhood, because my grandmothers and I did not exist in the same dimension of time. My maternal grandmother died when my own mother was barely five years old, and my father's mother died almost a full decade before I came along. For me, a grandmother was someone who existed only in old photographs, was rarely spoken about, and had long ago turned to dust. The facts of the matter did not dissuade me, though. They haunted my dreams, these grandmothers, and so I made a decision.

'To grandmother's house I go...'

It is not such a long journey, once I am in Dublin. It is grandmother Mary's house I decide to visit first. On the south side of the Liffey, it is in a neighbourhood that has always sounded like magic to me, Ringsend. I travel across a stone bridge, up and over the Grand Canal, and notice the ruins of an ancient mill to my right, a spray of deep green English Ivy across a wire fence to my left. I turn one corner, and then another; the house is about half way down the street. Among the rows of smokey red brick, I spy its silken black painted door, and golden door knocker.

I find myself slightly short of breath, as I stand across from the small row house on Gordon Street. Inexplicably, I search the upper windows for any sign of her looking out. A deep pain echoes in my chest, and tears begin to stream down my face, mourning the loss of someone I never even had a hold of, 'Grandmother'. I take the word and roll it around inside my mouth, 'grandmother', 'mother grand'. It sounds like celebration. I think about the word in Irish: 'seanmháthair', 'old mother', one who is old and wise, and takes care of you. I think about the word en français: 'grand-mére', 'great mother', like something which towers over you, towers over your life.

Leaving Gordon Street behind, I take my bicycle up and over the Liffey, travelling along the quays and then north into Stoneybatter, and Grandmother Anne's childhood home, another erasure. I am drawn directly to the little cream painted cottage on Ostman Place, with its bright canary-coloured door. I run my hand along the smoothness of its plaster facade. It is cool to the touch, and somehow feels familiar. Under the shadow of the afternoon clouds, I envision her face in the window, 'Grandmother', her cheek pressed up against the cool of the glass, waiting for her brother to return, listening for the strike of his boots on the cobblestone road. The sound which never arrived.

What is it I expected to find? Did I imagine that somehow gazing upon these stone buildings, and whispering the magical word, 'Grandmother', would bring these women back to me? Doors would open wide, welcoming arms would draw me in to sit before a turf fire, to learn all of their stories, and to share mine. It is too much to bear. I climb on my bicycle and travel back down the hill toward Collins Barracks and Irish History, away from family history, and grandmother's house.

Copyright©irisheyesjg2012.

Thankful Thursday: What made you fall in love with your family history?

What did it for you? What made you fall in love with your family history and genealogy?

Can you think of the one item or artifact that first drew you in, and had you spending hours doing research?

Was it perhaps a single conversation that sent you off in search?

Was it the discovery of an old photograph or document that put you on the path of your love affair with family history?

What made you fall in love with the history of your family?

Recently, I have been thinking about this topic all over again, and it reminded me of a post I wrote last year about what gave me my start in family history.

Today, I would like to again share that post with you, with some new edits, and ask you to think about what gave you your start in family history research, and what made you fall in love with it.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers,
Jennifer

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One Friday night in 2011, on GeneaBloggers BlogTalkRadio, Thomas MacEntee asked us to consider this question: "Who gave you your start in Genealogy/Family History?", and further to that, "Who helped you along the way?".  On the chat board, immediately I typed in the first 'name' that popped into my head, 'my father'.  After the show I sat down and gave the question some serious thought. In my world, the history of my family is one about which my family members, particularly my parents, were often reticent to talk, but every now and then I was given brief glimpses.

If I was to pinpoint when I felt as though I was being actively encouraged to uncover our family's stories, then I would have to say it was born out of two conversations, and both of those were with my father. The first began during a very long commute, and may have been spurred on by the desire to avoid uncomfortable silences. The second was filled with detail and driven by the fact that my dad was dying.

1. The Second World War and free leather boots.

When I was in graduate school, I lived about 60 miles from the university I was attending. The commute was a long and often uncomfortable one; however, the time spent on the inter-city bus allowed me to get reading done, or grade assignments for the classes I was teaching. One semester the teaching work I was offered included a lecture session at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday mornings. Since the inter-city bus schedule didn't include a trip that would get me to the university on time, my dad very generously offered to drive me, leaving every Thursday morning at 6:00 a.m., so that I could teach the class.

Truth be told, my dad and I had not spent a lot of one on one time together as I was growing up, so at first I think each of us was a little uncomfortable with the seventy-five minute drive to the university.  Initially we talked about the weather and sports, and he talked about his work a bit, but after a while there were noticeable lags in the conversation.


Then, one day he asked me what I was working on at school. There are two things about this conversation that I remember very clearly. First, my dad began by saying, "I'm not an educated man, but would you mind telling me about what you're working on at school?".  I remember feeling a little stunned that somehow I'd made my dad feel as though he had to justify asking such a question, and I certainly didn't want him to feel that way. I talked about my belief that life offers us all sorts of education that is in many ways better than anything you might ever learn inside a classroom.  The second thing I remember about that conversation is that I didn't want to just talk about what I was doing, I wanted to know about what he had learned in life, so I started asking him a few questions. I learned so much from his answers.

One of the stories which stands out in my mind from this conversation is one in which he talked about working for the Irish version of the ARP (Air Raid Precautions) during the Second World War.  Ireland was officially neutral during this war; despite that, and given their proximity to England, the Irish government built air raid shelters, distributed gas masks, and required homes to hang black-out curtains.  When the air raid sirens sounded, it was the job of members of the ARP to go out into the streets to ensure street lights were extinguished, citizens were taking shelter, curfews were being respected, and black-out curtains were drawn so that no lights were visible.

To say I was dumbstruck by the story of my father as a 14 year old doing something so risky is an understatement. All I could say was "Wow", and then I asked him what prompted him to join, and his answer was even more astonishing.

"They gave us leather boots for free Jenn", he said. "Leather boots! We were very poor, and my whole life I wanted leather boots, and they gave them to us for free. Those boots were a thing of beauty."

I felt a catch in my throat and tears welled up in my eyes when my dad told me this, and I literally could not speak. Just then I understood that I really had no idea of the kinds of challenges my dad had faced in his life, on his way to being a successful self-made man. I was so very grateful that he thought enough of me to share this story with me.

2. A diagnosis and a map.

My father had been a smoker for a very long time, and although he had quit smoking about fifteen years before his death, it was lung cancer that was killing him. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer on the tenth day of February, and he died thirty-four days later on the sixteenth of March.

Very clearly I remember the phone call I received from my sister-in-law saying my father was ill, and I needed to go home. When I returned home I was shocked to see my father. To me, Dad was always a very powerful man, tall and imposing. He was a handsome man with a mass of blond hair, and he took pride in his appearance. Within a short time Dad had lost a lot of weight, and now looked to me like a small boy curled up tight under soft blankets.

About two weeks before he died, one afternoon my father got out of his bed and joined us downstairs for tea. His once formidable figure, which walked firm and deliberate everywhere he went, now shuffled slowly toward the room in which we were to sit. My mother followed close behind carrying the tube through which the oxygen travelled which was now helping him breathe. His slight body swam in a soft cotton shirt and corduroy pants which were now much too large for his disintegrating frame. We didn't talk about what was going on in his body; we didn't mention the 'C' word, although clearly it was growing within him with a voracious and vicious appetite.

Dad brought an old road map to the table, a tourist map really, of Dublin. His hands moved over the map pointing out places of significance: St. Stephen’s Green, the Four Courts, Trinity College, O'Connell Street. I was struck by the beauty of his hands. On the back of each, a light dusting of soft beige down covered skin which was a whitish grey colour. His nails were perfectly square and unblemished, like smooth pebbles. They looked as though they were manicured, which they were not. His hands concealed the anger at work in the rest of his body. They were peaceful, even happy, and they were willing to share.

As he pulled the map out full across the dining room table it made a lovely crinkling sound, and I felt as though I was being presented with a gift. It shoved back the plates and tea cups, the napkins and little fancy cakes that my mother had laid out — the river Liffey, Phoenix Park, Dublin Castle, The General Post Office. His hands skimmed over the poor areas of Dublin which he had known best. I didn’t know exactly why he brought that map to the table, but he was dying, and it seemed to be of irrational importance to him that I look at it. It was as if he was trying to prove that he had come from somewhere real, a place of substance.

He began to talk about his life, and as he spoke, I dug down into the bottom of my purse, found a crumpled piece of paper, and scribbled down notes about what he told me of his family. He seemed quite happy to answer any questions that I had. Throughout my life my father and I had been on opposite sides of a lot of issues, but at that moment I felt honoured that he would share his stories with me. Even though, like my mother and my brother, I didn't fully understand that he would be dead in a couple weeks, I guess a part of me knew enough to recognize how important this time was, and for that I am very grateful.

So, that is where this journey began for me, with these two conversations. My love for my family history has just grown from there. Each and every time I visit Ireland, as soon as the plane touches down on the tarmac, I whisper, "Thank you Dad, thank you for once more bringing me safely home". Each time I uncover a new piece of the puzzle I say, "thank you Dad, thank you for helping find this." Each time my dad told me any of his stories during those drives to the university, I always made sure to thank him for sharing them with me, and I thank him each and every day for guiding me on this wonderful journey of family history research.

Thanks Dad!

Wordless Wednesday, almost: In the Crypt of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin

The crypt of Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin is the largest of its kind, not only in Ireland, but in the entire geographic entity which is the British Isles. You enter the crypt through the massive door pictured below. The crypt was renovated in 2000 so that it could be opened to tourists. Unfortunately at that time they also chose to put in a small café, souvenir shop and tuck shop. It is oddly off-putting to be viewing a family tomb while someone noshes on pastry at a table nearby. A large number of pot lights were also installed which makes photography more of a challenge. Nonetheless, it is a thoroughly beautiful and interesting place.

The two statues are the oldest known secular statues still extant in Ireland.
The coat of arms is carved entirely out of wood.
The statues once stood outside of Dublin's Medieval City Hall which was demolished in 1806.

Visit my other blog  'Over thy dead body' to view a genealogist's dream tombstone from the crypt of Christ Church Cathedral.

Visit the Christ Church Cathedral Website for a complete history and timeline of the church.

Copyright©irisheyesjg2012.
Click on photographs to view larger version.

Wisdom Wednesday: 10 Sage Cogitations from those on my family tree

Cogitations, advice, maxims or wisdom? No matter what you call these sayings, which have been passed down through the years on both my maternal and paternal family tree, they remain timeless. This post originally appeared in 2010 and consisted of seven sayings, or bits of advice, but today I've been able to add three more to the list.

1. "You've more to fear from the living than the dead".

Attributed to: my mom Mary, my dad Michael, Great-grand aunt Alice Fitzpatrick Ward (maternal), Uncle Patrick Geraghty (paternal), and a whole host of others principally in the 20th and 21st centuries. Good advice to keep in mind when you're feeling a little uncomfortable in an old cemetery while searching for familiar names.

2. "If you worry you die; if you don't worry you still die, so why worry."

Attributed to: my dad Michael. I also recall hearing the same from another relative, my father's uncle, my granduncle, William Halpin, a very calm and gentle soul who lived the maxim.

3. "Beware of hurting anyone to the heart, even though circumstances may appear to justify you."

Attributed to: Alice O'Kavanaugh Kettle, my maternal great-great-great-grandmother. According to his memoir, Andrew J. Kettle received this advice from his mother around 1847. Despite the fact that life in the period was very difficult in Ireland, due to the Great Famine, Alice O'Kavanaugh Kettle instilled in her children the importance of always considering others before yourself.

4. "For every ounce of pleasure in life, there is a pound of pain".

Attributed to: Great-grand-aunt Alice Fitzpatrick Ward (maternal). Strictly speaking this is not advice as such, but perhaps more of an acknowledgement that sometimes life can be difficult.

5. If he'd lived 'til next Thursday, he'd be dead a week.

Attributed to: No specific family member, but used by many. This is one of those odd sayings that always makes me laugh. I've heard this a lot in Ireland, particularly from older relatives, and once asked my mom why they don't just say 'he died two days ago', or whatever the number might be. Mom usually raises an eyebrow at me, and tells me it's just a way of speaking that does no harm.

6. "Cut your cloth according to your measure".

Attributed to: Grandfather Patrick Ball (maternal). In other words, 'don't spend what you don't have'. Wise advice in this age of credit crisis.

7. "A ha'penny saved is a punt earned".

Attributed to: Great-grand-aunt Alice Fitzpatrick Ward (maternal). This woman really knew how to save, and how to stretch a punt (the Irish version of pound). It is alleged that she was a wealthy woman, and gave a man, by the name of Harry Sutton, a significant portion of her wealth in order to pay for a Catholic church to be built in the United States, although I have yet to find evidence supporting this claim.

These days in Ireland, there is no long a half-penny since the Euro is the official currency, so I guess you could say a penny saved is a Euro earned. I'm pretty sure this saying is heard all over the world, no matter what the currency.

8. "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all".

Attributed to my mom Mary and her great-aunt Alice Fitzpatrick Ward. Sage advice in our era of bullying.

9. "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."

This is one of my favourite sayings, and although I'd like to be able to attribute it purely to my dad who used to say it, the saying was actually coined by the Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde. I think it speaks to the power of positive thinking. For those who believe in the power of the positive, no matter how bad things might get around them, they always look for the bright side, those stars twinkling in the sky.

10. "Always say Thank You."

Attributed to my mom Mary, and her mom Mary Angela, and her mom Mary, and quite possibly all moms (and dads) down through the ages. Showing Gratitude never goes amiss.

So...THANK YOU for reading this post and visiting this blog. Cheers! Jennifer

What sayings are popular on your family tree?

'I beg your pardon sir, but the Marquis isn't yours, and the Mayoress isn't mine': Irish False Pedigrees

Today I am revisiting a post I wrote last summer which was originally inspired by a tweet of this link from Leslie Ann, of Ancestors Live Here, to a site about false pedigrees. The subject has re-emerged for me this year after I was contacted by a man who says he is connected to me through the Ball line, and we are in turn connected to Blessed Margaret Ball, the martyr and 16th century mayoress of Dublin. More about this later.

Some of you may be familiar with the practices of 'pedigree pedlars'.  They represented themselves as professional genealogists, engaged in questionable research practices, and produced false pedigrees.  The most creative among them even produced fake documents to support their spurious claims.  If you worry that some of your surnames appear on these pedigrees, such thoughts may make you want to bury your head in the sand, but before you do that, take a look at the information via the link. Also, head over to FamilySearch.org and peruse this page. It lists the names of those best known to have engaged in the practice of creating false pedigrees, along with details of publications about them.

Perusing the list of 'pedigree pedlars' got me thinking about the possibility that false pedigrees may be produced unwittingly, by even the most well-intentioned family history researcher.  A researcher may worry about disappointing someone, particularly if the outcome of their work proves that a long standing family tale is false.  Also, many of us are familiar with hitting the proverbial 'brick wall', that moment when the document trail goes cold, and we are left with nothing but questions.  Unfortunately, instead of presenting family members with a 'brick wall', a well-meaning researcher might grease that wall a little and swing themselves up over it, all the while believing they will break those bricks eventually. I suppose I must also include those who make a false claim simply because a connection to someone famous, or infamous, is very appealing.

The problem is: False pedigrees do more harm than good.

Consider the case of actor John Hurt (star of The Elephant Man, and Mr. Ollivander to Harry Potter Fans).  On the summer 2010 U.K. version of "WDYTYA?", the actor was very disappointed to discover that his family is not connected to Ireland.  Throughout his life he had been told by his mother, and other family members, that they were descended from the Marquis of Sligo.  The connection was borne out of the belief that his great-grandmother, Emma Stafford, was the illegitimate daughter of the Marquis.  Hurt described how he had always believed Ireland was his ancestral home, given his great-grandmother's paternity.  Because of this belief, he held a special place for Ireland in his heart.


Ultimately, John Hurt discovered that, although his great-grandmother was indeed illegitimate, her father was not the Marquis of Sligo.  Further information provided by his family purported that it was her husband, Walter Lord Browne, who was descended from the Marquis; however, this also proved to be untrue.  The interesting thing is, it appears that Browne was the source of this false pedigree, as well as many other rumours about his own parentage, which falsely connected him to the Marquis.  In fact, Browne's father was a lowly clerk who ended up in debtor's prison.  In the end, researchers were able to uncover no connection of any kind to Ireland.  The truth seemed to cut through John Hurt; his disappointment over these lies was palpable. Unfortunately, claims of connections to the rich and famous often emerge from false pedigrees.

On the grounds of St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral Dublin,
Blessed Margaret Ball & Blessed Francis Taylor,
both imprisoned (in different time periods)
for refusing to renounce their faith.

As far as a possible connection from me to Blessed Margaret Ball, at this point I remain unconvinced. Margaret Ball was born Margaret Bermingham in County Meath Ireland sometime around 1515, although there is no evidence of her exact birth date. She married Bartholomew Ball of Balrothery, who eventually became Mayor of Dublin. As his wife, Margaret became Mayoress. She died in the dungeons of Dublin Castle sometime around 1584, having been imprisoned there by her own son Walter, then Lord Mayor of Dublin. In addition to refusing to renounce her Catholic faith, Mrs. Ball's 'crimes' consisted of providing refuge for Catholic priests, and allowing them to say Mass in her home, at a time when the Catholic faith was outlawed by the throne.

Blessed Margaret Ball has been in the news a bit lately because she is one of the patron saints of the 50th Eucharistic Congress which will take place in Dublin in June of this year. My email friend says the surname Ball proves our connection; however, with respect to such connections, having the same surname is proof of nothing. I have not yet been able to reach back to the 16th century Ball line, either via documents or historical evidence of any kind, so I cannot confirm the connection. Mrs. Ball did have ten children, of whom four allegedly survived to adulthood, but I have found no evidence connecting me to them. In my opinion, as disappointing as it may be to my friend, at this point to connect myself to Blessed Margaret Ball purely on the basis of a surname would be to create a false connection.

Beyond avoiding feelings of deep disappointment, to claim a false connection means that the real connections may be ignored or even buried.  In my own family tree, I have connections to some persons who had a degree of fame in their day, but do I view them as more worthy of remembrance than others who languished in anonymity?  Would I give up my maternal great-grandfather Francis Ball, who died in a workhouse infirmary, in favour of someone rich and famous? Not a chance.

So, once again thank you Leslie Ann for pointing out these pedigree pedlars.  It reminds us of the need to be accurate, to use primary source documents where possible, to use only reliable resources, and to document and cite those resources. The further we move away from the original documentary history, the more malleable that history becomes.

Copyright©irisheyesjg2011-2012.
Click on photograph to view larger version.
Thank You to The Graphics Fairy for the crown image.

Your Irish ancestors and The Titanic

Headline from The Cork Examiner Newspaper,  Tuesday 16 April 1912, page 5.

Today, Sunday 15 April 2012, is the 100th anniversary of the foundering and sinking of the luxury ocean liner Titanic. Built in the Harland and Wolff shipyards of Belfast, Northern Ireland, to the exacting specifications of the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, better known as The White Star Line, the magnificent ship was widely believed to be unsinkable. Of course, now we know the end of that story.

Did any of your Irish ancestors perish onboard the Titanic? Was he one of five Irishmen to die during the construction of the ship?  Did a member of your family thankfully miss the boat?  Click on the blue link below to search a PDF document on which I have compiled a list which bears the names, and other pertinent information (town, County, etc.), of those Irish citizens, both passengers and crew members, who lost their lives in the sinking of the Titanic.  I have also included the names, ages, and job titles of those who died in the Belfast shipyard during construction of the Titanic.  The last list provides details of those twelve Irish ticketed passengers who for unknown reasons failed to board the ship at her last port of call, Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland.

Irish Lost on the Titanic, those killed in the shipyard, and those who never boarded

This file consists of four alphabetical lists as follows:

Irish born passengers who lost their lives in the sinking of the Titanic, 15 April 1912
Irish born crew members who lost their lives in the sinking of the Titanic, 15 April 1912
Irish persons killed during construction of the Titanic
Irish ticketed passengers who were scheduled to board at Queenstown (Cobh), but did not.

All persons included in the lists were Irish born. All of the locations given are locations of birth; the person indicated may have had an address outside of Ireland at the time of his/her death.

Copyright©irisheyesjg2012.

References:

Encyclopedia Titanica
Molony, Senan. The Irish Aboard Titanic, Mercier Press, 2001.

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Wordless Wednesday, almost: 'The Watchers'

'The Watchers' is a name I've given to those small heads you might see over doorways or hanging from precipices on various castles, churches, and other buildings around Ireland. I like to imagine all the history to which their stone eyes have been privy. They silently watch as the world goes by.

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin

St. Patrick's Cathedral Dublin

Kilkenny Castle, County Kilkenny

Kilkenny Castle, County Kilkenny

Dublin Castle, Dublin City

Copyright©irisheyesjg2012.
click on photos to view larger version.

Tuesday's Tips: Is someone playing 'Telephone' with your Irish family history?

Courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

In her comment on this post, Kathy Reed of Family Matters made reference to the childhood game of 'telephone'. Kathy's comment made me think about just how much a family story can change as it is passed down, much like the story in the game of telephone. On the WDYTYA episode which featured Edie Falco's family history, Ms. Falco also mentioned the game. In the case of Edie Falco, family stories had created a connection to Wales which did not exist. In fact, the person in question was born in Wisconsin, not Wales.

Perhaps when you were a child you played the telephone game, also called the gossip game, or the whisper game, and probably lots of other names too. With a group of your friends you would sit in a circle. One member of the group would begin by whispering a story to the person beside them, who would then whisper it to a second person, who would then whisper it to a third person, and so on, all around the circle until you reached the last person. He/she then had to recount the story he/she had been told. I remember howling with laughter over this game when I played it at an eighth grade sleepover party. The story which emerged from the final player was often very different from the one first told. It seemed the larger the group, the more cockeyed the story became.

So...

Is someone playing 'Telephone' with your Irish family history?

There are lots of clues out there which can show us why the story of an ancestor may not quite fit; however, that does not mean there isn't some truth to the story. Just as in the telephone game, the story may simply have become somewhat skewed along the way as it was passed down. There are a number of elements, such as timeline, geography, and extant evidence, which we can look at to help us uncover the truth of the matter. Each of the stories I have included here was passed on as actual family history.

1. Timeline:

Story: A man says his uncle joined the Irish Volunteers in the fall of 1921, and fought in the Easter Rising.

Problem: The 1916 Easter Rising was in, well 1916. If his uncle was a member of the Irish Volunteers, but did not join them until 1921, then he would not have taken part in the Rising, at least not officially.

Solution: If he joined the Irish Volunteers in the fall of 1921, that was after the Truce of July 1921, so chances are he may have been involved in the Irish Civil War, either as a Volunteer with the Anti-Treaty forces (Eamon de Valera's men), or a Free State soldier (Michael Collins' men). Contacting the Irish government, via the Military Pensions Office (see 'Granny was in the IRA': Turning a story into a history), to find out if there are extant records may help him uncover the whole story.

Also, create a timeline for persons on your family tree. Notice which historical events mesh with the dates on your timeline. Are there possible connections to the 1798 Rebellion, the 1803 Rebellion, An Gorta Mór: the Great Famine of 1845-52, The 1916 Easter Rising, and a whole host of other events relevant to Irish History?

2. Geography:

Story: A woman searching for Mayo ancestors says her Westport born great-grandfather was imprisoned for preventing the local Mayo fishermen from fishing in the Irish sea.

Problem: Mayo is on the west coast of Ireland; the Irish sea is on the east coast of Ireland. Mayo fisherman fished in the Atlantic ocean, not the Irish sea.

Solution: Her great-grandfather may have been imprisoned, but not for the reason stated. Look at Irish Prison Registers and Petty Sessions Order Books from the area in which he lived, on the paid site FindMyPast.ie, to see if you can find him in the records, and discover the real reason for his internment.

3. Evidence exists which counters a claim:

Story: A man researching his family's connection to the Irish War of Independence claims two distant cousins were shot and killed on Bloody Sunday in the summer of 1920.

Problem: Two problems with this story. First of all this particular Bloody Sunday occurred 21 November 1920, not in the summer of that year. Also, a comprehensive list of those wounded and killed on that day is extant, and his cousins are not on the list.

Solutions: Use this as an opportunity to learn more about Irish history by reading about the Irish War of Independence, and incidents such as Bloody Sunday. Although family members may not have been killed or wounded in these events, just learning about the conflict gives you an understanding of what life may have been like in the period. (see Going to the bookshelf to find family history)

Also, finding the exact date of death and acquiring copies of their death certificates, which will state the cause of death, will perhaps help to clear up the details of the story.

4. Some elements of the story simply cannot be true:

Story: A woman was told her great-grandmother was in Cumann na mBan, and in order to help the cause she melted down her gold Irish dancing medals and donated the gold to the IRA.

Problem: Irish dance medals were not awarded until the 1930s, and they were never made of solid gold which could be melted down.

Solution: Although the medals part of the story cannot be true, this great-grandmother may have been a member of Cumann na mBan. Again in this case, contacting the Irish government, via the Military Pensions Office, to find out if there are extant records of her membership in Cumann na mBan, may help in uncovering the whole story. (See 'Granny was in the IRA': Turning a story into a history)

5. Attaching someone famous to the family tree:

Story: A woman with the surname Pearse claims that her family looks forward to commemorating the 1916 Easter Rising every year because Padráig Pearse was her grandfather.

Problem: The HUGE problem with this claim is that at the time of his death, Padráig Pearse was unmarried and had no children (either real, alleged, or imagined), so it would not be possible for him to have grandchildren.

Padráig Pearse is the man most readily associated with the Easter Rising. He was a teacher, orator, and founder of St. Enda's School. Also, he was the man chosen to read the 'Proclamation of the Irish Republic', on the steps of the General Post Office in Dublin, at the start of the 1916 Easter Rising on Monday 24 April 1916. He was executed by firing squad 3 May 1916 in the stone breakers' yard at Kilmainham Gaol Dublin.

Solution: Although Padráig Pearse is not this woman's grandfather, it is possible she might be connected to his family in some other way. Pearse's brother William, who was also executed, was like his brother, unmarried and without children, so she would not be connected to him. However, Padráig and William did have two sisters, so it is possible this woman's family is in some way connected to one of  them. Also, going further back she could be connected to a sibling of Pearse's father or mother; however, any claim of a connection would require actual proof, so looking at primary source documents would be essential.

In conclusion:

As is the case with the telephone game, the story which emerged when these family stories were passed down may have some element of truth to it, but it may have gotten a little mixed up along the way. By consulting the large number of resources out there to help us, we can get to the bottom of the story, and turn it into an actual history.

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Copyright©irisheyesjg2012.
Thanks to The Graphics Fairy for the image of the girl on the telephone.

Remembering Titanic: St. Colman's Cathedral in Cobh, County Cork, the last port of call for the Titanic

Sunday 15 April 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Every day this week on my other blog 'Over Thy Dead Body', I will be remembering victims of the Titanic with photographs of some of their graves from Fairview cemetery in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Cobh (pronounced cove), County Cork, Ireland was the last port of call for the R.M.S. Titanic. The metal behemoth was far too large to enter the narrow harbour and so was anchored at the mouth of the harbour on 11 April 1912, before departing for America. For many the spire of the St. Colman's Cathedral of Cobh would be the last sight of civilization they would ever see.

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Proclamation Of The Irish Republic: Commemorating The 1916 Easter Rising

Today 8 April 2012, the 96th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising is being commemorated in Dublin Ireland. The true anniversary falls on 24 April, and it is on that date that I will publish family history relating to the Rising. Today in commemoration, here is the text of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic as read by Padráig Pearse on the steps of the General Post Office, Monday 24 April 1916.

POBLACHT NA h-EIREANN

THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OF THE

IRISH REPUBLIC

TO THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND

Irishmen and Irishwomen:

In the name of God and of the dead generations from which she receives her old tradition of nationhood, Ireland, through us, summons her children to her flag and strikes for her freedom.

Having organized and trained her manhood through her secret revolutionary organization, the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and through her open military organizations, the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army, having patiently perfected her discipline, having resolutely waited for the right moment to reveal itself, she now seizes that moment, and, supported by her exiled children in America and by gallant allies in Europe, but relying in the first on her own strength, she strikes in full confidence of victory.

We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible.  The long usurpation of that right by a foreign people and government has not extinguished the right, nor can it ever be extinguished except by the destruction of the Irish people.  In every generation the Irish people have asserted their right to national freedom and sovereignty; six times during the past three hundred years they have asserted it in arms.  Standing on that fundamental right and again asserting it in arms in the face of the world, we hereby proclaim the Irish Republic as a Sovereign Independent State.  And we pledge our lives and the lives of our comrades-in-arms to the cause of its freedom, of its welfare, and of its exaltation among the nations.

The Irish Republic is entitled to, and hereby claims, the allegiance of every Irishman and Irish woman.  The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities of all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all the children of the nation equally, and oblivious of the differences carefully fostered by an alien government, which have divided a minority in the past.

Until our arms have brought the opportune moment for the establishment of a permanent National Government, representative of the whole people of Ireland and elected by the suffrages of all her men and women, the Provision Government, hereby constituted, will administer the civil and military affairs of the Republic in trust for the people.

We place the cause of the Irish Republic under the protection of the Most High God, Whose blessing we invoke upon our arms, and we pray that no one who serves that cause will dishonour it by cowardice, inhumanity, or rapine.  In this supreme hour the Irish nation must, by its valour and discipline and by the readiness of its children to sacrifice themselves for the common good, prove itself worthy of the august destiny to which it is called.

Signed on behalf of the Provisional Government,

THOMAS J. CLARKE
SEAN MAC DIARMADA
THOMAS MACDONAGH
P.H. PEARSE
EAMONN CEANNT
JAMES CONNOLLY
JOSEPH PLUNKETT

Our beautiful girl is gone...

'Sarah Jessica Barker'
27 April 2006 - 3 April 2012
RIP sweet girl

Our hearts are broken. Our beautiful Sarah is gone. She died yesterday at 5:30 in the afternoon at the hospital where she was receiving her care. We were there with her, as was her little brother Ulee.

Just nine weeks ago, I shared with you this story of Sarah and how much she means to our family. She brought 'joie de vive', the joy of life, into our home at a time when it was sorely needed, and we shall never forget her.

Sarah was such a young dog; she died only a couple of weeks short of her sixth birthday. We find it hard to understand why a little being who brought only joy into this world should be taken away from it, especially in a world that needs joy.

The little red ball that Sarah so much loved to play with now sits still upon my desk. It will remind me of all the laughter that Sarah brought into our lives.

Each and every day we will look at photographs of our girl and try to remember the joy, but for now only tears fill the place she once loved.

Tiny Sarah on the first day we met her.

Sarah and her red ball.

'Bridget Geraghty for churching': The Thanksgiving of Women after Childbirth

'Bridget Geraghty for churching'
From The Register of Leckanvy, Diocese of Tuam, 1865

Although being able to view transcribed church records online is convenient (and no doubt more cost effective), one of the things I most love about examining original records in Ireland is the interesting things you might come across within the text of a document. In an 18th century Roman Catholic Parish register, I once came across what looked like a grocery list scribbled in the margin. Aside from such amusing notes, you can also find entries which lead you to learn about practices which are no longer commonplace, and which in turn may lead you to records not yet uncovered.

The 'Thanksgiving of Women after Childbirth', commonly called the 'Churching of Women' is a good example of one of these practices. I have come across reference to the practice of 'churching' many times in registers of the Roman Catholic Church, such as the one in the image above, but it can also be found in registers of the Church of Ireland, as well as those of other denominations.

Specifically, what is churching?

In Christian traditions, the 'churching' of women was a rite, an ecclesiastical tradition which manifested in a ceremony in which a blessing was given to a mother after childbirth. The ceremony included prayers of thanksgiving for the woman’s survival of childbirth.

In the Roman Catholic tradition a woman would be 'churched' as soon as she was physically able to go to church following the birth of her child. In the Church of Ireland, a woman did not receive the blessing until forty days after the birth of her child.

The Rules of Churching

Before I share with you the rules of churching, I would like to point out that this rite was not laid out in Canon Law. Although she may have been compelled by members of her family or her community, a woman was not ordered under church law to receive this blessing; she chose to be churched. If churching was chosen, then certain rules had to be followed. Although history tells us that over time the practice went through some changes, in 18th and 19th century Ireland the rules were very clear.

1. The woman must be married.

2. The child must not be born out of wedlock.

3. The child must have been baptized in the church in which the blessing of the mother was to take place.

4. The churching may follow not just live births, but still births as well.

5. A fee must be paid to the priest.

Why are such entries helpful for genealogy research?

An entry for the 1760 churching of my own maternal fifth great-grandmother, Allice 'Ally' Howard, led me to discover that she had given birth to more than just the two children for whom I had previously found records. In fact, Allice Howard birthed at least four live children for her husband John Cavanagh. References to churching led me to look for baptism records for the other two children in years I had not previously examined.

Also, churching was by no means an inexpensive ceremony. In the parish register the priest notes a paid fee of 2 shillings and 6 pence. In 1760, this price was the equivalent of one day's paid labour for a craftsman. Such an entry signals that the family were probably doing well since they could afford the ceremony.

Controversy

Over time the practice of 'churching' women has been a controversial subject. There has been a lot posted about it online, some of it accurate, and some of it way off the mark. Despite the fact that the ceremony itself contains absolutely no elements of purification, some view 'churching', not so much as a blessing, but instead as the requisite cleansing of an unclean woman prior to her being allowed to once again enter a house of worship. The last Catholic missal which makes reference to the rite is very clear that it is "a ceremony of blessing and thanksgiving".

My own mom views the rite of churching in a positive way. Mom was 'churched' only once, after the birth of my brother Michael, and she felt it was a celebration, a supportive blessing. She felt as though God was watching over her at a time when, as a first time mother, she was feeling a little uncertain.

The rite was essentially dropped by the Catholic church after the Second Vatican Council of 1962-65, although in some areas of the world it morphed into a blessing of the family after the birth of a child, and it is still possible to request such a blessing in some churches.

No matter what your personal opinion of the practice may be, the fact of a female ancestor's churching tells us that sometime within the forty days prior to the blessing ceremony, she gave birth to either a living child for whom we might find a record, or a still-born child for whom a record may or may not exist.

References:

The Catholic Encyclopedia online.
Donabate Parish Register, Diocese of Dublin, 1760
Leckanvy Parish Register, Diocese of Tuam, 1865
The Tridentine Missal, 1962.

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Madness Monday: Too many cooks in the Irish records 'kitchen'

Duelling knives in the Irish records kitchen.
 In the background is the Bank of Ireland building.

Recent reactions to changes in the fee schedule of the Irish Family History Foundation have made me take pause to consider just how frustrating it can be to access Irish records from this side of the pond, and in some instances even in Ireland.

With the Irish government still "in talks" to create a National Genealogy and Family History Centre, possibly in the Bank of Ireland Building, one has to wonder if the creation of such a centre ever does come to pass, will it make any difference as far as the custody of records, and our access to them? One thing which makes me absolutely boiling mad about politicians is that they seem to be able to 'talk' about issues for years on end. Meaningful action comes about at a snail's pace, and in some cases, even the snail is way out in front.

To state the obvious:

The goal: the goal of the Irish government with respect to family history and genealogy research is to increase tourism.

The hook: Give researchers outside of Ireland just enough access to get them started, and ultimately they will go to Ireland in order to complete the picture.

The Irish government should not be faulted for this strategy; after all, one of the jobs of any government is to draw money into their respective country.

However:

The fact is that in Ireland there are too many cooks in the kitchen when it comes to family records, and everyone wants their piece of the pie. Someone in the Irish government needs to step up to the plate, say enough is enough, and impose unification on this system of disparate record holders. By doing so they might stop frustrating the hell out of researchers outside of the country, and perhaps end up with a one stop shop.

While the government should not be faulted for trying to build tourism, they should be faulted for allowing this madness to continue. Here are just a few of the matters currently making me mad.

1. Online frustration:

In addition to the fact that we now have to pay to view the index of search hits, (yes, a minimal payment, but it's the principal of the thing), when we deal with the Irish Family History Foundation, IFHF, we do so under the threat of being bounced from the site, and subject to legal action, if we don't follow their ever evolving 'terms and conditions' to the letter.

How is it that the government, as well as various organizations in Ireland, such as the Catholic Church, and The Representative Body of the Church of Ireland, have allowed the IFHF to claim that they have not only have ownership, but also copyright, on church records, Griffith's Valuation, and Census Records? When did the County Centre Overlords take over the island, and why have they been allowed to do so?

In addition to the rules about use of the information held on the site, we have to trust that the transcribers got it right when they transcribed the records, because we are not allowed to see the originals.  Why is this the case?

News flash: sometimes transcribers make mistakes. I have written to both the IFHF and irishgenealogy.ie to ask for corrections on transcribed records which I know to be incorrect, because I have seen the originals.  Why are originals available to view on a free government website, but not on this paid site?

2. More online frustration:

Why does the irishgenealogy.ie website imply they have parish records for all of Dublin City when they don't? In their update, the site specifically states, "The remaining Roman Catholic records of Dublin City...have now been added to the website". (see http://www.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/about/aboutprogress.html)

Oh really?  The remaining records of Dublin City have been added?  Why then, just four weeks ago, did I have to pay a €10 fee plus €5 each for records from St. James Roman Catholic Church in Dublin, in order to have a couple of baptismal records pulled?

If the remaining Dublin City records are on the Irish Genealogy website, then why are those records not on the site?  The answer: 'Remaining' doesn't mean the rest of the total parish records in Dublin City. In this case 'remaining' only means the rest of the group of records they planned to post, not the total records of Dublin City.

In the case of St. James Church, the site claims to have posted their records from 1737 to 1890. The records I requested are from 1888, 1889 and 1893, so I should have been able to find the first two out of the three. All three records exist, but the two within the time period are not on the site.

I have no problem paying for records, but don't try to snow me. Just give me the straight goods about what is actually available.

3. With respect to a National Genealogy and Family History Centre:

Why are they still "in talks" over the Bank of Ireland building becoming a heritage site?  When the bank received their bailout from the Irish government, which now owns 36% of the bank, it was implied by Minister Deenihan that the building would be given to the Irish people. Why hasn't it been handed over?  Did Mr. Deenihan put the cart before the horse? According to an Irish Times article in May of 2011, the Bank of Ireland wasn't onboard with the idea, although as late as January of 2012 Mr. Deenihan still seemed to think it will happen. He stated, "I met the chair and chief executive of the Bank of Ireland and had a constructive engagement on the issues. That positive dialogue is continuing with the Bank of Ireland". (see Oireachtas website: Dáil debates)

4. Heritage Centres or Heritage Overlords?

Dealing with the individual County Heritage Centres is another frustrating matter, whether you are outside of Ireland, or in the country.  Although I have never laid out a dime in any of these centres, I know many people, both offshore and in Ireland, who have spent A LOT of money trying to find ancestors via the research services offered by the centres. One of the biggest frustrations on this score is that some centres hold records which cannot be viewed elsewhere.

My question: Why do they behave as though the records are a big secret which must be hidden from view, and are for their eyes only?

Like Golem with the Ring, 'my precious', in The Lord of The Rings, they hide records and databases away from public view. They do the research, and we have no idea if they even have good research skills.

An experienced family history researcher emailed me to say that she had gone to a Heritage centre, and was surprised to find she could not do her own research. She filled out the requisite form, paid the €75 fee, and then watched as the researcher pulled a couple of volumes and went upstairs to another room, where he allegedly conducted the research sight unseen. Although she did not share the end result with me, the woman indicated that she came away with much less than she had expected.

Was the Heritage Centre staff member afraid she might look over his shoulder, catch a glimpse of a record, and then run out into the street shouting to non-paying customers, "He was born in 1796! He was born in 1796! Woo Hoo!"?

When I contacted a Heritage centre in County Mayo to ask why I could not do my own research there, I was told "members of the public" don't have good research skills, so the centres are there to help by doing the research for us. Really?

There are lots of so-called members of the public who have spent many years conducting research in every kind of library, repository, and archive you can imagine, but as members of the public, apparently we don't have good research skills. In my own experience, I have not only conducted research for years, but when I was in graduate school I was required to take a course in which the entire syllabus was on conducting research in libraries, repositories and archives. I just love it when people make assumptions about members of the public.

Why not charge a fee, even a hefty one, and give people with research skills the opportunity to do their own research. Even those people with little or no skills could be afforded the opportunity. They could pay the fee, and the Heritage Centre Overlords could offer guidance. If there are limitations in terms of availability of computers which hold databases, then at least allow the person requesting the information to sit alongside and engage with the researcher to see what is being done.

In Conclusion

I fully recognize that it is not easy to get everything straightened out. I also recognize that because of the way the world works most of this is driven by the almighty dollar, or Euro in this case; however, there is such intransigence at work in some of these sectors, it seems as though some people in Ireland want to keep the past all to themselves.

I am an Irish Citizen. The blood of my family was spilled in the fight to free Ireland from British rule, yet because I now live in the so-called Diaspora, as a researcher I am subject to the intimidation of various 'terms and conditions', treated as though I am stupid, and generally disrespected, when all I want to do is uncover my family history.

Article 45, Section 3, Part 2 - Bunreacht na hÉireann, The Constitution of Ireland, states:

"The State shall endeavour to secure that private enterprise shall be so conducted as to ensure reasonable efficiency in the production and distribution of goods and as to protect the public against unjust exploitation."

So I have to ask what the heck is going on here?

I am deeply grateful for the National Library of Ireland, and for the National Archives of Ireland, with their respective initiatives in the areas of family history and genealogy. In particular, Catriona Crowe of the NAI should be given a gold medal or a bag of money for the work she does. However, with respect to the above mentioned issues, numbers one through four, someone is seriously falling short.

Here's an idea: why not appoint a Czar, or to keep it all Irish, a Taoiseach (Chieftain) of Irish family history and genealogy. Such an individual, preferably not a politician, would be entirely and only responsible for bringing together the disparate groups currently controlling Irish records.

Sound crazy?

Well just think about the fact that 70 million people worldwide claim Irish heritage, and think about the money in the pockets of those 70 million. Want to increase the Irish coffers, then try building some good will by solving these problems, not just talking about them.


Copyright©irisheyesjg2012.