My Trails into the Past

Randy Seaver’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun Challenge this week is: Knowing that a "Bucket List" is a wish list of things to do before death: What is on your Genealogy Bucket List?  What research locations do you want to visit?  Are there genea-people that you want to meet and share with?  What do you want to accomplish with your genealogy research?  List a minimum of three items - more if you want! I do have some places I’d like to visit that concerns my genealogy research. I don’t necessarily need to research there but would love to walk on the ground where our ancestors lived. I’d visit the churches and learn about the history of the area at the museums. Perhaps I’d buy a souvenir or two as well. Ireland: County Cork where my Sullivan line came from and County Tipperary where my Gleeson and Tierney folks came from. Germany: Lippe county, in particular the towns of Oldenhundem, Kirchhundem, and Altenhundem in Westphalia where my ...

Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing has another challenge for us today: For this week's mission (should you decide to accept it), I challenge you to:   1)  Determine what is your longest unbroken line of ancestral gravestones - how many generations can you go back in time?  Do you have photographs of them? 2)  Tell us and/or show us in a blog post of your own, or in a comment to this blog, or in a Facebook status or a Google+ stream post. This is a very interesting project. I worked on my father’s line this week and found four generations of female ancestors where I have tombstones. Thankfully either I took the photos or they were photos that my friends took for me. My grandmother, Anna M. Sullivan Hork, was buried at the Los Angeles National Cemetery. [1] Los Angeles National Cemetery - photo taken by L. Gorrell © Her mother, Anna M. Gleeson Sullivan is buried at Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Anaconda, Deer Lodge Co, Montana. [2] Mt. Carmel Cemetery, photo ...

William Cyril Hork was my paternal grandfather. He was born 10 Jul 1899 in Hamilton, Ravalli County, Montana to John Anton Hork and Julia Sievert. [1] He was baptized at St. Francis Xavier Church in Missoula, Missoula County, Montana on 16 Jul 1899 by J.B. Carroll, S.J. [2] His parent’s names were listed as Casper A Hork and Juliana Civert. So had he been born in Hamilton and then the family traveled six days later to Missoula to be baptized? Or had he really been born in Missoula? The birth certificate for William Cyril was created in 1941 as a delayed birth registration. Three pieces of evidence was used to support his birth date: Family Bible, dated 1866, showed William Cyril Hork born July 10, 1899 at Hamilton; his father  John Anton Hork born in Germany and his mother Julianna Sievert born in Joliet, Illinois; and that he was the tenth child listed in the bible. Mabel M. Lindstadt, Superintendent of Schools of Ravalli County, signed and dated 10 Sep 1941...

Mary Martha Gleeson was born in Carleton County, Ontario, Canada on 8 July 1863 to John Gleeson and Margaret Tierney. [1] She was the second daughter and fourth child born to John and Margaret. She was baptized on 2 August 1863 at St. Phillip’s Catholic Church by Father O’Connell. James Douras and Susan Smith were the sponsors. [2] James Douras was John’s sister, Honora’s husband, or rather, Mary Martha’s uncle. At this time, I don’t know who Susan Smith was. Was she a relative of John or Margaret Gleeson, or was she an in-law like James Douras? [Note: Mary Martha’s brother, John, married a Susan Smith later in 1894, but this was not the same Susan.] She moved to Dakota  Territory with her parents around 1880 and married her husband, Warren Edmond Gilbert on 9 Sep 1886 in Mitchell, Davison Co, South Dakota. A newspaper article about the marriage: "Gilbert-Gleeson.  At the Catholic church in this city at 8:30 am Thursday, by Rev. Father Sheehan.  Mary Martha...

Susan Nicholas Davey is my husband’s great grandaunt. She was born 11 Aug 1834 in St. Agnes in County Cornwall, England to Thomas Davey and Mary Nicholas. [1] She was the second child of fifteen. The family, which included five brothers and sisters, left England for America in 1851 or 1852. The ship’s list has not been found but the family was enumerated in the 1851 census in Debtford, London, [2] and on 10 October 1853 birth of the youngest son, Frederick Henry Davey was born in Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania. [3] Susan was married twice, but the first marriage was to Joseph Muir on 4 July 1854 in Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania. [4] The marriage occurred at St. Peter’s Church by Rev. Newton Heston. Joseph was also of Reading. St. Peter's Church, Reading, Pennsylvania By 1860 the family, including their son, William Muir, was living in Jeffersonville, Clark County, Illinois. [5] Joseph was an engineer. William was five years old. Joseph died 1...

Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing has another great theme. It's Saturday Night and the Fourth of July is Tuesday - let's have some Genealogy Fun! If you're reading this on Sunday morning, or even later, it's not too late for you to participate. 1. Think of the best Fourth of July you remember from your childhood. 2. Think of the best Fourth of July you remember from your adulthood. 3. What will,  you do on the holiday? 4. Write about one, or all, of them on your blog or in Comments to this post, or on Facebook or Google+. Here's mine: Childhood Memories I don’t remember any particular Fourth of July but often my dad barbequed some kind of meat, perhaps hamburgers or a large steak that was sliced thin for sharing. My mom made potato salad or cucumber and onion salad (or maybe both). For dessert we had watermelon or ice cream with chocolate syrup. If the doughboy pool was set up, us kids would swim all day. Some years my dad would drive down...