My Trails into the Past

I have completed seventy-six (76) weeks of semi- lock down due to Covid-19. This past week, I left the house to have an anniversary dinner, work at the History Center, do phenology, and work the WCMRS show on Friday. Genealogy Blog Writing : I wrote two posts this week. 52 Ancestors—Week 34: Character—McFall Daughters Both Actresses.   I wrote about May Noble and Julia Gray, two daughters of Joseph & Catherine Rose (Davey) McFall. They were the first cousin, twice removed of my husband. Saturday Night Genealogy Fun—Your Junior High School (or Middle School) Memories.     I wrote about attending Parkmead Intermediate School in Walnut Creek and the outside activities I did.  O nline Study Groups & Meetings Attended:  I had fewer meetings this week. I hosted the Monday Morning meeting, while some members were in Salt Lake City researching at the Family History Library. I met with my AppGen partners for our weekly planning meetings. I recent...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: It's Saturday Night again - Time for some more Genealogy Fun!! Here is our assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings : 1)  Do you have memories of your Junior High School (or Middle School) years?  Please share several of them. Actually, I attended neither a middle school or junior high but an intermediate school consisting of seventh and eighth grades. Parkmead Intermediate was located on Newell Avenue in Walnut Creek, California adjacent to Parkmead Elementary, which I also attended. I walked to school. In the low water part of the year, I took a shortcut by crossing the creek and cutting through Mr. Newell’s property. Both grade years had English, math, science, social studies, P.E., foreign language, music/art in 7th grade and home ec. in 8th grade (boys had shop), and one elective, which for both years was girls’ chorus. I took German for foreign language from Mrs. Harvey. My grades were average (couldn’t find the report cards I...

Last week I wrote about the tragic death of Joseph McFall (1836-1908) . At the end of the newspaper article was a paragraph about his two daughters, both who were actresses: Sue McFall, known as Julia Gray, and May McFall, known as May Noble. These ladies were my husband’s first cousin twice removed. Their mother was my husband’s great-grandfather, Frederick H. Davey’s sister. May McFall, was born about 1869 in Indiana, likely Jeffersonville. I have not found much about her, but did find a connection with her birth name and her stage name. “The Dramatic News says that Miss May Noble, of the John Dillon comedy Company, now playing in the Northwest, has made a great hit and has won justly deserved promotion. “May Noble” is known in Indianapolis, which is her home, as May McFall.” [1] I found a few articles of her with the Dillon company, and then no more. There are articles about a May Noble with the Leonard Grover Company, starting in Los Angeles in 1894. [2] From there, the compan...

I have completed seventy-five (75) weeks of semi- lock down due to Covid-19. I left the house on several occasions: went to the History Center twice, phenology, and the Maker’s Faire where we had a booth selling used books. Wore my mask when around people or going into a restaurant. Genealogy Blog Writing : I wrote two posts this week. 52 Ancestors—Week 33: Tragedy—Death By Train . I wrote about Joseph McFall being killed by a train he stepped in front of. Saturday Night Genealogy Fun—Tell Your Life Story in Two (or even Five) Minutes . I wrote a brief biography about myself.  O nline Study Groups & Meetings Attended:  On Monday, I met with Jacqueline and heard out her trip to the coast, and later with my AppGen group to do more planning. I met for a short time with Amigos on Wednesday. We’re going to move our meeting time to Tuesday afternoons so I can work my volunteer shift at the Oakland FamilySearch Library. Our Friday peer group caught up with our progre...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: It's  Saturday Night  again - time for some more  Genealogy Fun!! Here is our assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings : 1)  Everyone has a life story, and mine is still ongoing.  Tell us your life story - start with today and go back to your birth.  Do it in 200 to 500 words so you could tell it in two to five minutes. 2)  Tell us in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or on Facebook.  Be sure to leave a comment with a link to your blog post on this post. Here's mine: I like Randy’s idea of starting at the end of the life. I am Lisa Gorrell, born Lisa Suzanne Hork. I’m in my 68th year and will be married 41 years in two days. We have two beautiful daughters, one who lives within an hour and the other across the country in New York. I am retired and spend most of my day doing some kind of genealogy. I also volunteer with the Contra Costa County Historical Society and serve on their...

As I search my database for a person to fit this theme, I came across several who came to tragic deaths. Some by their own hand, some by accidental shootings, and some by accidents involving transportation. This story is about Joseph McFall (1836-1908) who met an untimely death on 6 January 1908, when he was run over by a Chicago, Elgin & Aurora train near the Seventeenth Avenue station in Maywood, a suburb north of Chicago, Illinois. [1]   The newspaper was rather graphic about the condition of his body; even the headline was sensational: “Cut to Pieces; Son Sees it.” That probably got everyone to read the article. [If you don't want to read the graphic description, skip the newspaper article.] It seems that the seventy-two-year-old had poor eyesight and perhaps didn’t see the fast-traveling train coming as he was crossing the tracks near the station. He was cut up pretty badly and because of the speed of the train, parts were flung far. What was most sad, was his son,...

I have completed seventy-four (74) weeks of semi- “lock down” due to Covid-19. I left the house on several occasions: got new shoes Big 5, dropped off a box at the UPS store to return to Amazon, went to the History Center and phenology, visited a house for sale, and had a family lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory with 18 other people. Genealogy Blog Writing : I wrote two posts this week. 52 Ancestors—Week 32: In the City—Shopping in Oakland I wrote about my mother and her mother getting caught on film while shopping on Broadway in Oakland. Saturday Night Genealogy Fun—Three (Or More) Things About a Great-Grandparent I wrote about my father’s maternal grandmother, Anna Gleeson Sullivan, who applied for homestead land. O nline Study Groups & Meetings Attended:  Our AppGen group met twice this week to plan out how to draw for the scholarship and classes. On Saturday we drew for the scholarship. I met with Amigos on Wednesday and the Friday peer group. It’s always grea...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: It's Saturday Night again - time for some more Genealogy Fun!! Here is our assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing : 1) Pick a great-grandparent of yours - any one of your eight. Tell us three (or more) things about him or her. I have selected my paternal great-grandmother, Anna Marie Gleeson. She was born 13 February 1860 in Carleton County, Ontario, Canada, to John Gleeson and Margaret Tierney. She came to the United States with her parents and nine brothers and sisters around 1879. It is likely the family came to Dakota Territory because of the draw of free land through the Homestead Act. Four of the Gleeson family obtained land: her father, John, her brothers, Martin and John James, and Ann herself. She received a patent for 160 acres in Davison County, Dakota Territory. She purchased the land for $200 at $1.25 per acre. Because she was a single woman, she was allowed to petition for the land. This land was located the northeast quarter o...

I have completed seventy-three (73) weeks of semi- “lock down” due to Covid-19. I went out to the bank, the history center, the court office and county recorder's office, and an afternoon trip to a museum (see below). All wearing a mask of course. Also got in a few walks around the neighborhood, one where we toured an open house, and did some weeding in the garden, which is so dry. Genealogy Blog Writing : I wrote two posts this week. 52 Ancestors—Week 31: Favorite Name—When Hazel was a Man’s Name I wrote the four people named Hazel in my family, three of which were men! Saturday Night Genealogy Fun—Newspaper Headlines on Your Birth Date I found a newspaper in Dayton, Ohio, with news of the Academy Award winners. It is often broadcast near my birthday. O nline Study Groups & Meetings Attended:  Besides the weekly meeting with my AppGen partners, I met with Jacqueline, Thursday evening ladies, and Friday peer group. It was the first time in months that four of us la...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: It's  Saturday Night  again - time for some more  Genealogy Fun!! Here is our weekly assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing : 1)  What was your own birth date? 2)  Find a newspaper from your hometown, or a nearby larger town or city, that was published on that date.  What was the major headline on page 1 of that issue of the newspaper? Here's mine: I was born in Concord, California but no local newspaper is available online. I decided to search Newspapers.com on the exact date. Multiple newspapers were covering the same news and I selected the Dayton, Ohio Journal Herald because these headlines were all easy to see on the front page. Journal Herald (Dayton, Ohio), 26 March 1954, p. 1 “Reds Report Full Recognition for East Germany” has the Soviet Union announcing that East Germany was recognized as a fully sovereign state, while the U.S. state department claimed it a phony gesture. “Holden and H...

I have completed seventy-two (72) weeks of semi- “lock down” due to Covid-19. I did not go out much this week due to attending IGHR virtually. I walked during lunch most days and walked twice with my husband. I picked up two books from the library and returned a package that Amazon sent incorrectly. It was sent again incorrectly, so I gave up buying that item, which must be mislabeled at the warehouse.   Genealogy Blog Writing : I wrote two posts this week. 52 Ancestors—Week 30: Health—Finding Rev. Albert M. Hork’s Death Certificate & a Tip I wrote how I found an elusive and mis-indexed death record for my great-grandfather’s brother. Saturday Night Genealogy Fun—Tell Us About Your Favorite Aunt or Uncle I wrote about my dad’s sisters. O nline Study Groups & Meetings Attended:  I met twice with both my AppGen partners and with Jacqueline. Jacqueline and I met to discuss the DNA class we were taking. I also had a nice conversation with Alex from my certific...