NEW NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF IRELAND WEBSITE I found this link and information. I have not perused it in great depth but I think I will be spending a lot of time on it.
How did our ancestors celebrate Thanksgiving.? My father never mentioned the celebrations. He grew up during the depression and perhaps there was not any celebration. What he did mention was in his childhood he ate a lot of “soupy potatoes” His mother was widowed in her late twenties and remarried about ten years later. She did housekeeping jobs to keep the family and I can not imagine there being much money doing that. My dad also recalled her taking in ”boarders” to help with the expenses.
My father had one biological brother and a few stepsiblings. The only one I remember was his stepbrother Bill. Bill was a police officer and he had died early from a heart attack. I have no ideas about Bill’s sisters, but, I think that they had also died young.
I only know back as far as my grandparents. But when I was in grade school my mother took over the job. What I can not remember is having the dinner with both of my grandparents at the same time. I wonder if they did not get along to cause this and why did I not find it strange. I will have to ask the siblings.
What I remember is the smell of roasting turkey when I awakened on Thanksgiving morning. I suppose my mother got up early and started the process. We always seemed to eat our meal about one o’clock in the afternoon. She did the whole process herself. On the menu was turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, cranberry sauce and pies with whipped cream for dessert.
When dinner was done we would all help with the dishes. My father washed them and one of the children would dry. It was his was of saying Thank You to my mother for preparing the meals.
Today we will meet at my brothers and the clan extends to about twenty one today. Most will be there and along with new family members as the nieces and nephews start to marry. No children yet.
I have been so busy the past two weeks, I had hardly anytime to breathe. GIRLS WEEK OUT, me, my daughter and my sisters had a road trip and a good time.
Last week I attended the GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF PITTSBURGH. The biggest thing I learned is how much I have to learn. I took the class INTERMEDIATE GENEALOGY: TOOLS FOR DIGGING DEEPER. Paula Stuart Warren and D. Joshua Taylor both gave excellent lectures, and now my brain is full.
I have been sitting here going over my notes, highlighting links I wrote and books I may want to purchase that were mentioned in the lectures. I was successful in an attempt to follow their advice. Paula said to search all in your tree. One of my goals is to find the parents of my great grandfather Patrick O’Rourke. He has a sister Mary who married Daniel Rogan in about 1876. Sometime closer to 1890-1900 they moved to New Castle PA.
I found two of their children's Baptisms and one death on the Family Search site. My theory is that they were married in Pittsburgh and some of their children were Baptized there. The death was a infant daughter, Mary Rogan who died from diarrhea and is buried in ST. Mary's Cemetery. There were many St. Mary’s cemeteries and now I have to find which one it was. If I find the marriage record, perhaps, it will name the parents. Irish Catholic records are sort of minimalistic but I do have a bit of hope for that.
If not there I will send for Mary’s death certificate.
For the past few months I have not made much progress in my ancestor searching. Today I was perusing Family Search and who knows why, but I entered my great grandmother, Anna Meta Margarethe name and came up with SIX siblings.
I knew her date of birth (8 April 1868) from a hand written note that I found among my fathers paper after he had died. The rest of those listed is her husband and their children and spouses.
The second line says “Mutter 8 April 1868” So when I came to her information I knew I had the correct parents. As it develops she had six brothers, and I have not found any sisters. Her fathers name was Ernst Frederich Wilhelm Hackmann and her mother was Elsie Marie Rittel
Hermann August Karl Hackmann 22 September 1865
Ernst Frederich Wilhelm Hackmann 24 February 1867
Friedrich Wilhelm Hackmann 5 March 1871
Michael Friedrich Hackmann 21 July 1872
Heinrich Wilhelm Hackmann 23 July 1873
Friedrich Jacob Heinrich Hackmann 24 December 1874
Now I was really excited and I searched for Elsie Marie Rittel, my great great grandmother, and what did I find was a list of Elsie’s siblings. Her father’s name was Karl Friedrich Bermandi Rittel and her mother was Anna Meta Margarethe Lurssen. That was my great grandmothers name.
Michael Friedrich Bermandi Rittel 26 December 1842
Elsie Marie Johanne Rittel 13 July 1844
Karl Friedrich Rittel 27 October 1845
Jacob Friedrich Heinrich Rittel 10 March 1848
Johann Friedrich Lucie Rittel 14 March 1850
Adelheide Henriette Rittel 25 December 1853
Johanne Friedrika Louise Rittel 1 June 1856
Johann Gottfried Rittel 25 May 1859
Johann Bernhard Rittel 2 September 1861.
Where do I go from here? That was certainly a lot of family to find for one day. My hat is off for the person who indexed this list. The list was updated recently and I am extremely glad to find it.
This is another photo from my cousin Erin O’Donnell. From the style of her dress I would estimate that the date of this pictures is in the late 1890’s. Bridget would have been about thirty to thirty five at that time. To me she appears to be pregnant.
I am thinking that the children in the photo are top left to right, Catherine born 1893, Thomas born 1891 or John born 1896, Norah born1896 and Mary born 1898. If she were pregnant that would be her son Richard born 1900.
My grandfather Thomas would have been about eight at the time the photo was taken and John would have been three to four. I think it is Thomas my grandfather. Mary looks like she is about to escape.
Erin told me that the Dowd’s did not take very many pictures, I am glad that trait escaped me.
My dad circa 1959, with me, my mother and brother. He must have said something funny to get us to look at him.
My grandfather and my father circa 1918.
My grandfather circa 1935.
My great grandmother, grandmother and great grandfather, circa 1910.
My great grandparents (Schridde) circa 1890?
My husband and I. Not the best picture…
MY BROTHERS
MY GREAT GRANDPARENTS
ALL GREAT DADS.
Is it Bridget and Catherine or Catherine and Bridget? After a long time searching I have found a picture of my great grandmother and her twin sister. My father was correct when he said he could not tell them apart. Bridget is my great grandmother and I had heard rumor of a twin but I discovered the rumor was true a few months ago.
The only great grandparent I need a picture of now is Bridget’s husband Thomas Dowd.
Picture from the collection of my newly found cousin Erin O’Donnell, Bridget was her great grandmother too. Thank you Erin.
This week will be a busy one. My daughters birthday is this week and I am going to drive to see her. On the way home my road trip will involve stopping at the HUNTINGDON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
I am on the prowl to find my daughters and her fathers Coleman ancestors. I have lived in Pennsylvania most of my life, but never have I been to Huntingdon PA. The Coleman's lived in the area and are known as Revolutionary War Militiamen and also Indian Fighters.
There were four brothers and I hope to find the connection between his 5x great grandfather and one of the Coleman Brothers. The families all lived in close proximity so I know they are related. The Coleman brother, whoever he turns out to be, will he his 7x great grandfather.
Happy Mothers Day to my sisters and I
Our mother
Our Grandmothers, Gertrude O’Rourke Dowd
, 
Our grandmother Anna Bartels Schridde, and our Great Grandmother Maria Korbach Bartels
Our Great Grandmother, Meta Margaretha Hackmann Schridde
Our Great Grandmother Ellen Mortel O’Rourke
Mary O’Rourke was my grandmothers( Gertrude O’Rourke) sister. She would have been eleven at the time of Gertrudes birth. Mary never married, my father said that she had gone to the Church to make arrangements for her wedding, but called it off.
The mystery is, was that rumor true? If it was, who was the intended and why did she call the wedding off.
This is another O’Rourke sibling. Uncle Bill also never married. What I had heard was “he stayed home to take care of his mother” William and Mary shared a home, Uncle Bill and Aunt Mary took care of the home and cooking.
My dad said that Aunt Mary was kind and gentle and never lost her temper, she would have made a good mother.
Yesterday was my day at the Archives and the request pile is getting larger. There are seven volunteers and yesterday I found out that there are 78 requests. We all routinely go in one day a week, when you volunteer you make your own hours. I, and some of the others, also put in another day of research I think the deluge of requests is because of the recent interest in Genealogy and the shows on TV.
I was speaking to a librarian and they said that about three hundred fifty hours of research goes into the making of one of the shows. The problem with the shows is that it seems like you can call the library and ask them to get all of your information, put it in a folder and all you have to do it pick it up.
Yesterday I did work for three clients, so I guess it is now down to 75 and then I have to add in the number of request that arrived yesterday.
People complain that they are charged for the search, well I will tell all and let others know that the money you send goes to maintaining the Archives and the old books that are falling apart. They need to be restored and rebound and the cost is not cheap. Why is it that people want everything for nothing?
On the Easter in Germany in 1915, my grandmother, Anna Bartels, made her confirmation. She is in the second row from the bottom, last sear on the right.
I checked my email on Friday and found a pleasant surprise. I had an email from a cousin who found me by reading this very blog. That was a fantastic surprise. Her grandmother was a sibling of my grandfather Thomas Dowd.
We have corresponded and are exchanging pictures and information. The best so far is the fact that another cousin of hers had sent her information of our Great Grandmother Bridget Naughton. It appears that Bridget did indeed have an identical twin, name of Katherine. I found Irish records of Mary and Bridget but not Katherine. I am now supposing that it was an error in recording. On Bridget's death certificate it had listed Norah Nee as mother, but I had the Baptismal Record stating Thomas Naughton and Catherine Ward. Did Catherine died in childbirth or shortly thereafter the birth? I had a theory that Catherine had died and perhaps it will be proved true.
I had been searching for confirmation of a twin birth since I have heard about it from my dad and another descendant of the original Dowd Siblings (my grandfathers brother John). So off to the races with that one.
Also listed was a sister, Maria Downs, Norah Connelly, Margaret Naughton, and brothers Dudley and Joseph. I had found and researched Mary Downs in the records of the Archives of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Mary and her husband Michael are still an enigma.
Norah Connelly, Margaret Naughton and Dudley Naughton were listed as sponsors for the Dowd and Downs children in the records of St. Thomas RC Church in Braddock PA. More research to be done to gather the information on the other five siblings.
I have been examining some photos that were in my dad’s collection. These seem to be from my grandmothers sister Anna O’Rourke. They are related but who are they?
This how Al Capone’s cell was furnished at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia.
I am sure the walls looked better at the time he was incarcerated.
As usual, I have many things going on about what I want and need to do My search for the parents for Michael A Coleman and Mary Ann Saylor is still ongoing. I have enlisted help on this project. I belong to the NORTH HILLS GENEALOGIST and before each meeting they have a “tiptime” feature. The moderator puts a second set of eyes on your problem and does a little research of his own. The meeting is next Tuesday and I am hoping he came up with some ideas or information. I will get him a gas card because it may involve some travel. He said he will present this case, so I hope he finds more than I have.
My mystery about my great grandmother’s (Bridget Naughton Dowd) sister, Mary Naughton Downes is still in my thinking process. I found her marriage record (Michael Downes) and Baptism of six daughters in the Archives of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. BUT, I can not find them in the 1900 census, it is like the family disappeared off the face of the earth.
Yesterday I started to sort out my genealogy papers and I came across the Document from the Diocese of Pittsburgh from 2008. As sponsor from my grandfather’s brother, Richard Dowd, born in December 1900 was Maria Downes. The census had already been taken at that time, but where was the Downes Family? Then again, in 1906 I find a sponsor, Maria McCoskey, who is this Maria?? I searched for the McCoskey Family in the 1910 census but have not found them either. I have all the other sponsors accounted for, is she Maria Downes? My next step will be to contact the cemetery where the families are buried and search for the Downes Family.
I have started on my organization and put everything in a folder related to each family name. I will then go and organize each family name folder into Family Groups. I need more hanging file folders, I will check to see if anyone has them on sale this week. I have my email correspondence in another separate binder. I will leave them in there for now and perhaps forever.
I have been working on creating collages, I am trying to find the best program to do this. There set of my great grandparents.
I seem to have a way of not getting things done. I guess it is the procrastinator in me. I had promised by brother in law and sister in law that I would get some pictures of him scanned from his mothers album that I found in a box when I cleaned the basement.
The three boys circa1951
Charles Hawthorn Coleman and Martha Hauser Coleman, Verona PA, 1934
This is a never seen before picture of my husbands grandparents.
Charles Michael Coleman and Lois Elizabeth Coleman Sperl c. 1924
Lois Coleman Sperl, age13, that would be about 1938.
