PONDERING THE IRISH

I have just had a chance to peruse the NEWLY RELEASED LDS WEBSITE I had searched it when it was in beta format and did not find anything.

Today I found my great grandmother Bridget Naughton. I knew the names of her parents, Thomas Naughton and Catherine Ward, but what I did not expect to find was she was born and was Baptized in Galway. More information to be discovered. It gives the file number which I, hopefully, can research.

Perhaps now I can find her twin sister, whom my father had said looked just like her and he could not tell them apart.

I can not find my O'Rourke's or Mortel’s. Since both Patrick and Ellen were born in 1851, I now have to investigate whether they were born in England, this would have been in the midst of the Potato Famine. Did they leave and move just to survive.

I will need to check the UK census records for 1851, 1861 and 1871. They both emigrated in 1874 for the USA.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

COMMENT ABOUT WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

When I found the photo it made me laugh. I think the Chevy was was outfitted for a trip to PYMATUNING STATE PARK. That trip was a family favorite and they always took the row boat.

The reason for the three tones 57 Chevy was the result of Claudia's encounter with a tree. I am the oldest of six siblings and one day a trip to the PITTSBURGH ZOO was planned.

My father came up with the idea for me to drive. I only had my learners permit for about two weeks.

I told him I did not want to drive because I didn’t feel comfortable driving in the city. He told me to drive anyway.

After turning at an intersection (this was pre power steering and pre power assist brakes) I did not straighten up the car in time and I hit a huge Sycamore tree. He was so angry and spent the rest of his week of looking for a installing a new fender on the station wagon.

I never again had to drive that tribe anywhere again.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

 

WARM AND SUNNY WEDNESDAY

I have been remiss in my postings.   I think, maybe perhaps,  I have gotten the bugs out of my computer.

We were all having connectivity issues….last week the electricity was out and when the kid came home the internet would not boot. 

She was doing a lot of texting about the service, or lack of it, with our Windstream Internet.     Since I was working, I did not have time to offer any advice.

When I got home the Windstream van was in our driveway and the tech guy was rebooting the system.    Somehow (????) the internet was plugged into the phone line and the line dedicated to the internet was not in use.

One problem solved, then he had to download the information to reboot the wireless.  

The next time she tells me that she does not know how to do something I will remind her how she got the computer tech out to our house in hyper speed….

Then another thing I did, as I had read on AOL was to check the systems.

Step one Click on Start,   then My Computer,   next right click on  Disc C, down to properties,  click on Tools and check the two boxes.   First is Automatically Fix File System Errors and Scan for and attempt Recovery of Bad Sectors.

After those two boxes were checked it prompted me to reboot the computer and when it restarted it took a few hours (honestly, no lie) to do its thing.   I suppose that it exorcised what ever demon that was living in  the computer.   My old (2004) computed is working in about the same time mode as it took Emily to get the computer guy to our house.

 

WHAT WAS I THINKING??

I have been thinking about retirement and what will I do then. Thought of becoming a professional genealogist occurred.  But, then I had an eureka moment, how can I find others ancestors when I can not find my own.

I must admit that there is the thrill of discovery when I find a new tidbit.   So, now I am thinking, I had better put that idea on a backburner and concentrate on finding my own ancestors.

I think what hampers me the most is the fact that my ancestors did not come over on the Mayflower.  The first to emigrate came to the USA in 1874, so there is no Civil War records for me to search, or don’t even toy with the idea of researching for the DAR, or First Families of Pennsylvania.

I have found the emigration, ship arrivals and census records and there they are all neat and tidy.    Actually, I think I am descended from boring people who stayed put in one place.   Sort of like me, actually.

I have found Irish records back to my great grandfathers (Thomas Dowd) birth in 1860, and the record of his parents (Thomas Dowd and Cate Sweeney)    My other Irish set (O’Rourke) seem elusive.   I have an obit that says they are in County Limerick, but Denis is next to impossible to find, not to mention is wife Mary ????? 

The Germans are another enigma.   I can not find the city that my great grandfather Heinrich Theodor Frederich Schridde,  was born.   I suppose the lack of progress has me down but I must keep on plodding. 

SENTIMENTAL SUNDAY

My first comment is that the little girl posted a week or so ago is me, Claudia.

This is a picture of my grandmother, Gertrude O'Rourke Dowd's brother William Francis O'Rourke.    I do not know how old this picture is but it was printed on some shiny metallic type film.    I have read about such things but since he was born 6 May 1888, I thought it was too old for the same ones taken during the Civil War.     I am probably wrong but don't have the time to sort it out at this point.

After my grandmothers second husband (Peter Graham) died she moved in with her brother Bill and sister Mary, who remained unmarried.

On Sundays I would sometimes go to visit and help my grandmother around the house.    Bill liked to watch the Pirates play baseball.  I must have been around the age of eight or so when he was all set and they started to play the National Anthem.   Bill got up off his chair and removed his hat and placed it over his heart.

I thought this was the funniest thing I had ever seen, but did not laugh in his presence.

Bill lived till 1979 and is buried in Braddock Catholic Cemetery with his parents and sisters Ann and Mary.  

 

Week 14

After reading GeneaBlogger post about using new search engines I decided to give it a try. Honestly, I did not hold out much hope for finding anything.

But much to my surprise and it was the last one I had tried BING came thru.

What I found was published in the THE PITTSBURGH POST dated 16 October 1889 was the marriage license application for my Great Grandparents Thomas Dowd and Bridget Naughton. What I found out is that Bridget was living in the same town as Thomas. My question is where they met, and were there other Naughton relatives who were living in the area at the same time. I have found a few others who are in the same age group to be her brothers, the search continues.

I am glad I did this exercise.....