Carnival of Genealogy - Swimsuits

The topic for the Carnival of Genealogy is: The 5th Annual Swimsuit Edition! Yes folks, it's that time again. It's time to think of summer and lazy days spent at the pool or beach. Dig out those wonderful swimsuit pictures of days gone by and share them with us!


This is my first submission to the Carnival of Genealogy. When I saw the topic is swimsuits two photographs of my mother came to mind: one with her Dad at Coney Island and one as a young woman when she was dating my Dad. The second photo reminded me of the story of a hot summer’s day and how my mother saved my father’s life.

Nathaniel & Alberta Joy Gardner, NY City 

My mother, Alberta Joy (Gardner) Brown, was born in New York City, the daughter of Nathaniel & Helen (Coyle) Gardner. Early on her parents taught her to enjoy the water & swimming. They took the subway from the Bronx to Coney Island and other parks. My mother told me her father liked to float on his back in the water and read the newspaper. He could do that without getting the paper wet.

My parents met about 1947 after both their families had moved to rural New York State. They liked to go to square dances, to the movies followed by root beers and hot dogs, and on picnics. On hot summer days they would pack a picnic basket with sandwiches, deviled eggs, watermelon slices and a thermos of lemonade, climb in my father’s car and head to a shady park. Sometimes they would meet friends for a fun afternoon.






Alberta Joy Gardner c 1947

These summer picnics sometimes included swimming. My father was not a confident swimmer. He preferred pools where he could see bottom when he swam. One day my parents went swimming in a lake. They relaxed and talked as they swam. Then my father realized he could not see the bottom. He panicked and began to sink. My mother told me she looked down and saw his blonde hair moving with the water. She reached down and pulled him up. He resisted her efforts because he thought he’d pull her under. She managed to get her arms under him and started pulling him to shore. Others saw their dilemma. People in a row boat came along and pulled him into their boat. They did not think to pull in my mother who was exhausted from struggling with her six foot boyfriend. She did make it safely back to shore. The story has a happy ending with the wedding in 1948 of my parents, Delbert K & Alberta Joy (Gardner) Brown.

Read the other entries into this Carnival of Genealogy.

Census Sunday - The Gardners in the 1940 US Census

State & National Census Reports are filled with information for genealogists. Both the population & nonpopulation schedules give us insights into the lives of our ancestors. What have you found that is Surprising? Reassuring? Bewildering?

Good friends: Jimmy Ryan & Joy Gardner in the Bronx

Many of us are stepping into the 1940’s by way of the US Census. Our family has been busy with weddings this spring; our son’s and our nephew’s. Now that they are behind us and those young men have happily begun married life I have had an opportunity to begin my search.

I was happy to discover that New York State has been indexed. The first people I wanted to find were my mother and her parents, the Nathaniel Gardner family in New York City. Thanks to ancestry.com I found them quickly.

The Gardners were living at 2856 East 197^th Street in the Bronx. I had this address from letters and other family documents. They rented their apartment for $37.00 a month. Nathan was 57 and a telegrapher for the Western Union Telegraph Company. [He had worked for them since he was a young boy delivering telegrams on his bicycle.] He worked 46 hours a week. [He had asthma and his doctor wanted him to work less hours. He finally decided to retire when WWII began and he was needed to work even more hours.] His income was $1,200.

His wife, Helen (Coyle) Gardner, was 42. Their daughter, Joy [indexed as Jay], was 11 years old. All of them were born in New York City.

I even found my mother’s good friend, Jimmy Ryan, who lived next door. His father, Michael, was a subway motorman.

There were no big surprises in the report. Instead it is reassuring to see what I expected to find. My mother and her parents were in their apartment in New York City where they would live for a few more months. In November they would move to a little country house in Columbia County.

When I see the 1950 Census I will see that Helen is a widow, still living in the small house in the country. Her only child, my mother, will be a young married woman. To see our family stories verified is comforting. 

Sepia Saturday – The Ultimate Amusement Park, the 1939 - 40 Worlds’ Fair

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

The Trylon & the Perisphere were the symbols of the fair. 

The 1939 - 40 Worlds’ Fair was held in New York City. The theme was ‘Building the World of Tomorrow.’ My mother, Alberta Joy Gardner, went to the fair on more than one occasion. Her mother and her mother’s sisters took her to see the exhibits. She was amazed by everything she saw there. Twenty five years later she took my brothers and I to see the ‘Peace Through Understanding’ World’s Fair in her old home, New York City. We were just as enchanted by the exhibits and rides and the vision of the future as she had been.

Alberta Joy Gardner at the Worlds' Fair 1940

Ancestor Anniversaries, June 17 - 28

17 June 1933           Glenn Raymond Jolliff [son of Samuel Martin Jolliff & Margaret Maude Mark] & Helen Vanita Eschelman. They had two children. Glenn spent his life in Ohio.

18 June 1924           Karl Jackson Miller & Mellie Arlene Jolliff [daughter of Samuel Martin Jolliff & Margaret Maude Mark]. They were married in Ohio.

20 June 1804           Johan Abraham Keck [son of Georg Keck & Elanora Catherine Schaut] & Magdalena Kingensmith. They were married in Pennsylvania.

21 June 1928           Robert Rugh Hile & Grace Eva Jolliff [daughter of Samuel Martin Jolliff & Margaret Maude Mark]. They had one daughter. 

21 June 1930           Home Grant Sheets & Mary Mildred Jolliff [daughter of Samuel Martin Jolliff & Margaret Maude Mark]. They were married in Wayne Co. Ohio. They had one daughter. 

23 June 1861           Henry Jackson Ritter [son of John Ritter & Elizabeth Born] & Veronica Suzanne Wagner

24 June 1901           Clarence Guy Lee Wolf [son of Isaac Ezra Wolf & Mary Cathrina Wireman] & Maude Elivara Collins. They were married in Oklahoma.

26 June 1877           Franklin P. Mark [son of Abraham Mark & Mary Isabella Heffelfinger] & Laura M. Miller. They were married in Wayne Co., Ohio. They had four children, all born in Ohio.

26 June 1932           Glen Ralph Brophy [son of William Clarence Brophy & Frances Gertrude Moore] & Elieen Mae Reis. They had two children.

28 June 1889           Smith Sebastian Boney & Matilda Jane Ritter [daughter of Isaac Ritter & Isabell Fisher]. They were married in Wayne Co., Ohio. They had three children, born in Ohio.

28 June 1948           Vern James Simons & Dorothy June Hurd [daughter of Howard Merton Hurd & Marian Louise Lehman]. They were married in Indiana. They had three sons. Dorothy died in 2008 in Michigan.

28 June 1952           Floyd Edgar Rowlee [son of Karl Clayton Rowlee & Florence Vera Morrison] & Helen May Waggner. They were married in Stark Co., Ohio. Helen died in Ohio in 1989 and Floyd died in Ohio in 2000.

Cunningham in Co Cavan, Ireland

Johnston Central Library, Cavan

Mary Cunningham married Michael Coyle (b c 1820) in Ireland c. 1838. They were my third great grandparents in my mother’s family tree. For the longest time that is all I knew about Mary Cunningham.

Death Record

This spring I found Mary's death record. Knowing that Michael and Mary lived in County Cavan, Ireland I browsed through the list of available microfilm records through Family Search. I looked for County Cavan in general and the townland of Moat/Moate specifically. The list was not long. I saw & ordered:

Microfilm #1279229: Parochial Registers of Drumlumman South and Ballymachugh, 1837 - 1935. (County Cavan), Item 7: Diocese of Ardagh & Clonmacnois, Carrick Finea Parishmicrofilm #1279229, Parochial Registers of Drumlumman South and Ballymachugh, 1837 - 1935. (County Cavan), Item 7: Diocese of Ardagh & Clonmacnois, Carrick Finea Parish

When it arrived at my local Family History Center near Albany, NY I spent a quiet morning, slowly looking through the images on the film. I found long lists of Coyle & Brady death records. Although both these names relate to my family I could not tie any of the specific people to my family lines. However, I carefully copied them into my bright pink spiral notebook for future reference. After copying out five pages of names without specific connections I was becoming disheartened. Then I came across, on page 16, Maria Cunningham! I had not, specifically, been looking for her but there she was. Maria Cunningham of Moat who died 25 January 1848. I wanted to jump out of my chair and shout, but unwilling to disturb the quiet atmosphere, I just smiled to myself and copied her onto the page, highlighting her name in bright yellow!

Irish Census

My next Cunningham discovery came during my trip to Ireland in April. Before my visit I had commissioned a genealogist at Cavan Genealogy, Johnston Central Library, Cavan to search for my Coyle family in their records. When my daughter and I arrived in Cavan we met with Concepta McGovern and she went over her findings with me.

You may know that 1901 & 1911 Irish census records can be very helpful. There is also an 1821 census. This census has only limited sections that survive. Undaunted, Concepta searched the 1821 census and found the Cunningham family in Drumlummon, Co Cavan. The Cunninghams & the Coyles were living near each other.

James Cunningham was a 50 year old farmer, married to Bile (?), aged 45. Six children were listed: Laurance 15; Anne 13; Mary 11; Catherine 8; Bridget 4; Rose 1.

It would be marvelous to find a note in the census records saying, yes, this is your family. However Concepta and I believe this is the same Mary Cunningham who later marries Michael Coyle, has four children and continues to live in Co Cavan for the rest of her rather short (about 38 years) life.

What else can I discover about these Cunninghams?

Follow Friday – Explorations in Connecticut Genealogy

Do your family roots lead you to Connecticut? Are you wondering where, in Connecticut, to look for information? Do you like history? If you do, be sure to visit Explorations inConnecticut Genealogy by Bryna O’Sullivan. Bryna tell us she is “a professional genealogist and local historian”. She is certainly well versed in Connecticut and its resources. Bryna is helpful to people with an interest in the Nutmeg state.

My Patrick Coyle family found their way to Waterbury, Connecticut after leaving Ireland. Reading Bryna’s blog has helped point me in the right direction to uncover new facts about this family and the place they lived for many years. Thanks, Bryna!

Visiting Explorations is like taking a trip to Connecticut. Pack your bag and get going. You’ll be glad you did.

Forget Me Not: Brigid (English) Mullane of County Tipperary

Brigid (English) Mullane

Death of Mrs. Mullane, Clonmel

We regret to announce the death of Mrs. Bridget Mullane, wife of Mr. D. Mullane, coachpainter, Upper Gladstone street, Clonmel , which occurred on Sunday. Deceased had been ailing for some weeks and, despite the best medical care and loving nursing, she gradually grew worse and passed peacefully away fortified by the rites of holy Church, of which she was a practical and devout member. The remains were removed to SS. Peter and Paul’s Parish on Monday night. On Tuesday Requiem Mass was offered for the repose of her soul Rev. W. Walsh being celebrant. The funeral took place to Newcastle where internment took place in the family burial ground. The chief mourners were – Mr. D. Mullane (husband); Mr. Timothy Mullane, Mr. D Mullane (sons); Miss Ellie Mullane (daughter); Mr. T. J. Horgan (brother in law); Miss B English and Miss Ciss English (cousins). There was a large attendance of the general public.

from the Nationalist 4/12/1920

I am continuing my research into my Irish roots, including the Mullanes in my maternal line.

This obituary is courtesy of Mary Guinanm of the Thurles Library, Cathedral Street, County Tipperary. Thanks, Mary!

 

Ancestor Anniversaries, June 1 - 15

June is a traditional time for weddings. My husband & I were married on June 10.

1 June 1945             Loyce Blades [son of Wiley Blades & Elizabeth Breland] & Lindsey Atthea McDaniel

2 June 1951             Calvin Douglass Cochran & Doris Joan Jolliff [daughter of Samuel Martin Mark Jolliff & Arvesta Lavonne Saum] Her second husband was Ralph Walker.

3 June 1880             Allen G. Messmore & Barbary Ann Ritter [daughter of Isaac Ritter & Isabell Fisher]. They had six children, all born in Ohio. Barbary Ann also married John Mangues.

4 June 1932             Roy Robertson & Irma Ruby Blades [daughter of Eli Eddie Blades & Annie Clotee Cutrer]. They were married in Louisiana. They had one son. Irma also married Henry Lattimore Lea. They were married in 1941.

4 June 1955             Howard Merton Hurd, Jr. & Fern Marie Atkins

6 June 1931             Onice Odwell Cutrer [son of Isaac Omer Cutrer & Fannie Rebecca Smith] & Malinda McBrayer. They had five children.

8 June 1841             Warren Jackson Alford [son of Edwin Barksdale Alford & Martha P. Smith] & Celia Ann Lewis. They had eleven children, born in Mississippi and Louisiana. 

8 June 1949             Fay Seward Smith [son of Denny Herbert Smith & Mavis Marie Brown] & Patricia Ann Brock [daughter of Leslie William Brock & Dollie Lura Smith]. They were married in Mississippi. They had three children. 

9 June 1935             Anthony Valente & Fay Brigandi [daughter of Carmen Brigandi & Angela Valenti]. They were married in Brooklyn, NY. They had three children. 

11 June 1830           Jesse Brumfield [son of John Brumfield & Margaret Kelly] & Hannah Youngblood. They had nine children, born in Mississippi.

12 June 1731           Johan Adam Dick & Anna Ottilla Knack were married in Germany. They had seven children; the first three born in Germany; the fourth born at sea as they crossed the Atlantic; and three born in Pennsylvania. 

12 June 1912           John Rickert Shaw & Mary Jeanette Mark [daughter of William Mark & Elidia Rebecca Ritter] They had one daughter. 

13 June 1943           Chester M. Burns & Carmella Palilla [Calogero Palilla & Grazia Brigandi]. They were married in Brooklyn, NY. They had two children.

13 June 1953           Charles DeMar & Carmella Pasquale [daughter of Frank Pascale & Giovanna Pascale]. 

13 June 1953           Donald Bogan & Helen Marie Good [daughter of Albert Edward Good & Elizabeth L Moore]. They were married in Ohio. They had one daughter. 

14 June 1898           Delbert Milton Swagler & Lena Bella Morrison [daughter of Seth Benner Morrison & Margaret Jane Gruissy]. They were married in Michigan. They had four children. 

15 June 1870           Henry C. Miller & Mary Catherine Ritter [daughter of Isaac Ritter & Isabell Fisher]. They were married in Ohio. They had nine children. Henry was a farmer.  Henry died c. 1910 7 Mary died in 1938.