tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75093132503375928452024-03-12T19:20:46.754-04:00Genealogical Gemsby Jeanne Ruczhak-EckmanGenealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.comBlogger1384125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-66826240024417460732020-02-13T08:49:00.000-05:002020-02-13T08:49:09.371-05:00Living History Offers Opportunity to Step Back in Time<div style="padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to work the fields on a plantation during the Revolutionary War? Or stroll through an 18th century village? Or fight in battle during the Civil War? </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Living history</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> offers an interactive perspective which incorporates </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">historical</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> activities and dress providing a sense of stepping back in time. So, how can YOU step back in time?</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8vy6qudDHK16pOxJAtvhqhyio32GM43gUaWlZOxgi5QxMvOO4e63Oo8EF3oGxzoxEJcVoXn3un6tJlkQIJ_Y0xNXm_NOnmNvYW3qd29CTMdOm5Lp_IgJmSZp0elOnFgT7FBMg34CGjg/s1600/Rock+Ford+Volunteer+Recruitment+Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8vy6qudDHK16pOxJAtvhqhyio32GM43gUaWlZOxgi5QxMvOO4e63Oo8EF3oGxzoxEJcVoXn3un6tJlkQIJ_Y0xNXm_NOnmNvYW3qd29CTMdOm5Lp_IgJmSZp0elOnFgT7FBMg34CGjg/s320/Rock+Ford+Volunteer+Recruitment+Photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Rock Ford volunteer Nancy Bradley in the Study of the mansion</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Rock Ford Plantation, in Lancaster County, PA, will be hosting a Volunteer Tour Guide Recruitment Event on Sunday, 22 March. They need tour guides for its upcoming tour season. </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Built circa 1794, Rock Ford was the home of Edward Hand and his family. Hand, an Irish immigrant and physician, served as Adjutant General to George Washington during the Revolutionary War.</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Volunteer tour guides at Rock Ford bring the past to life for museum visitors. A tour guide can be any person aged 18 years and up. No experience is necessary, and training will be provided by the Curator. Printed materials are also provided so that all guides can become confident, successful and valuable members of this historic site. Rock Ford’s tour guides are offered other volunteer opportunities after they have become an established tour guide. A tour guide should have the ability to be on his or her feet for at least an hour and the ability to climb stairs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The event will begin at 2 p.m. with an information session in the Rock Ford Barn, followed by a brief guided tour of the mansion. Interested persons should confirm their attendance prior to 19 March by calling the Rock Ford office at 717-392-7223. </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Rock Ford Plantation is located at 881 Rockford Road, Lancaster, PA 17602. The historic property is open for tours Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. from April to October. It is operated by the non-profit Rock Ford Foundation. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.rockfordplantation.org/" target="_blank">www.rockfordplantation.org</a>. </span></div>
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Another great opportunity in Lancaster County is the Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum. Landis Valley is a 100 acre plot situated on the crossroads of a former rural village. B<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">rothers </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_K._Landis" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Henry K. Landis">Henry K. Landis</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> and George Landis, who grew up in Lancaster during the 1870s and 1880s, shared and interest in Pennsylvania German history. They became active collectors of a range of historic artifacts, antique furniture, buttons, coins, Conestoga Wagons, dishes and glassware, farm equipment and tools, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">guns, pottery, quilts and more. In 1925 the Landis brothers founded the Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum in order to preserve that history. In 1953 the brothers transferred the property to the Commonwealth, at which time it became a living history museum. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">Today, Landis Valley offers numerous classes and workshops to the public. Subject matter varies from broom making to blacksmithing, from rug hooking to gardening, baking, livestock classes, and so much more.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">Volunteer opportunities at Landis Valley include: museum guides, store volunteers, gardeners, office support, curatorial work, and special events. </span></span></span>For more information on volunteering at Landis Valley, visit: <a href="https://www.landisvalleymuseum.org/support/volunteer/">https://www.landisvalleymuseum.org/support/volunteer/</a>.</div>
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<i>Photo credit:</i> Rock Ford Plantation</div>
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(c) 2020, Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman</div>
Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-49176907322709406442020-02-01T18:36:00.001-05:002020-02-01T18:36:32.346-05:00Remembering National Freedom Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTCUL0UChTpgRfVMjvj-lD9wYkMmLIfElG3kQSxo5yOWu3i-NuXKrh8tBHTg6J_tiobfapG3JgKucbuRpyAR2nZvTZf5RAunSv0d0BVUClwO1bjeHPo5xNeQu1hGwKz6OseVHdxd4Wtec/s1600/National_Freedem_1February.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="724" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTCUL0UChTpgRfVMjvj-lD9wYkMmLIfElG3kQSxo5yOWu3i-NuXKrh8tBHTg6J_tiobfapG3JgKucbuRpyAR2nZvTZf5RAunSv0d0BVUClwO1bjeHPo5xNeQu1hGwKz6OseVHdxd4Wtec/s320/National_Freedem_1February.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Did you know today - 1 February - is National Freedom Day? I had no idea, to be honest, until I was searching for an article for Black History Month (which is February by the way). It was on 1 February 1865 that President Abraham Lincoln signed the joint resolution - the 13th Amendment - abolishing slavery.<br />
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How did National Freedom Day come about then?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhilRHz4xcqOOOLzJUR3VXbIzVPuoLad4o90qQpB0HwUXyEFsuhkBzAJMGcPJ4w1UuwAAB7hJ9PMBhRpxHlWR7cvRpjLpi-0LWPGuv49SH0PaYxwyrZ1T7AjWvSHkphSlBBPk8RqWnMJVI/s1600/31July1948_WeeklyReview_BirmingtonAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="486" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhilRHz4xcqOOOLzJUR3VXbIzVPuoLad4o90qQpB0HwUXyEFsuhkBzAJMGcPJ4w1UuwAAB7hJ9PMBhRpxHlWR7cvRpjLpi-0LWPGuv49SH0PaYxwyrZ1T7AjWvSHkphSlBBPk8RqWnMJVI/s400/31July1948_WeeklyReview_BirmingtonAL.jpg" width="271" /></a></div>
According to the Weekly Review, in Birmingham, Alabama, from 31 July 1948, Major R. R. Wright, Sr. organized the National Freedom Day Association in 1941. The purpose of the association was to establish a national Freedom Day.<br />
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Wright was born a slave in 1853 in Georgia to Richard Wright and Harriet Lynch.<br />
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The 1880 Census shows a R.R. Wright living in Cuthbert, Randolph County, Georgia. He was 27 at the time and an editor. He lived with his 23 year old wife and two children. According to the census, both his parents had been born in South Carolina. Other sources confirm his name is Richard Robert Wright and his wife's is Lydia Elizabeth Howard Wright.<br />
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Clearly educated, Richard is the President of the Georgia State Industrial College in Savannah in 1900. This census lists him and his family residing at the college. He and wife Lydia - they married in 1877 - have seven children. Their children are: Julia, age 17; Essie, age 15, Lillian, 13; Edwina, 11; son Niittier, age 10; Henrietta, 2; and son Emanuel, 11 months.<br />
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Side note about the college ... The Georgia State Industrial College was established in 1890 as a result of the Second Morrill Land Grant Act. The school opened with five faculty members and eight students. The school moved to Savannah in October 1891. Richard, according to the <a href="https://www.savannahstate.edu/about-ssu/history.shtml" target="_blank">school's website</a>, was appointed the first president that year. He served in that position until 1921. The school is still in existence today and is now known as Savannah State University (SSU).<br />
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The 1910 Census shows Richard R. Wright to be the President of a college. He had been married for 32 years now to 49 year old Lydia, who is now listed as being mulatto, not black. Only two of their nine children - 12 year old Harriet and 10 year old Emanuel - are still at home.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsZ7UYVFiasTdLniuuxyLdGf6beGFhFh5O6TDo1Mrsd5XxtEmhzE_H9D0_EGpkaMWQPVpUEV0914CcqIsjllAxW4W3fNHitfirKJ-8XUBfYPzljCQ4IkdwuP7PmI1Am-wWsTdh14tm6A/s1600/Wright_passportapplication.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsZ7UYVFiasTdLniuuxyLdGf6beGFhFh5O6TDo1Mrsd5XxtEmhzE_H9D0_EGpkaMWQPVpUEV0914CcqIsjllAxW4W3fNHitfirKJ-8XUBfYPzljCQ4IkdwuP7PmI1Am-wWsTdh14tm6A/s1600/Wright_passportapplication.jpg" /></a></div>
In 1919, Richard went abroad, traveling to Belgium, England, and France. The purpose of his trip, according to his passport application, was to study school conditions abroad. He listed his occupation as teacher and expected to return in three months Passport applications were generally accompanied with a photo of the applicant. Richard's is shown here at left.<br />
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Lydia preceded Robert in death. She died in Philadelphia on 11 October 1933, at the age 75. Her death certificate lists her parents as Alexander Howard and Matilda Mitchel. I include this because I understand it is rare for a slave to know his or her parentage.<br />
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Richard Wright died 2 July 1947 at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, PA.<br />
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<b>Sources:</b><br />
Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.<br />
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"History", Savannah State University. <a href="https://www.savannahstate.edu/about-ssu/history.shtml" target="_blank">Ssavannahstate.edu</a>.<br />
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National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; Roll #: 818; Volume #: Roll 0818 - Certificates: 93000-93249, 02 Jul 1919-03 Jul 1919<br />
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Year: 1880; Census Place: Cuthbert, Randolph, Georgia; Roll: 163; Page: 114C; Enumeration District: 059<br />
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Year: 1900; Census Place: Militia District 5, Chatham, Georgia; Page: 17; Enumeration District: 0022; FHL microfilm: 1240185<br />
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Year: 1910; Census Place: Militia District 5, Chatham, Georgia; Roll: T624_178; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 0080; FHL microfilm: 1374191<br />
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(c) 2020, Jeanne Ruczhak-EckmanGenealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-64581662302965133612020-01-27T09:50:00.001-05:002020-01-27T09:50:53.087-05:00Thaddeus Stevens at the Lancaster Convention Center<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihwobkmKbmjZWiu1eRcyvPZl4svzfZIbHdRjXC1Sby5xgHH9FRAUui5bUV5g57xwtw8IgW-VuzNGSuv86XrE9kAH4HuQDj6gMHvt7ZK7nKYlAyG87L7Xi1uYxMmsn7NZ323k2xEurQ5T0/s1600/Thaddeus_Stevens_-_Brady-Handy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihwobkmKbmjZWiu1eRcyvPZl4svzfZIbHdRjXC1Sby5xgHH9FRAUui5bUV5g57xwtw8IgW-VuzNGSuv86XrE9kAH4HuQDj6gMHvt7ZK7nKYlAyG87L7Xi1uYxMmsn7NZ323k2xEurQ5T0/s200/Thaddeus_Stevens_-_Brady-Handy.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Within the Lancaster Convention Center (Lancaster, PA) is a small section dedicated to Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith. The section is known as the Stevens & Smith Historic Site. It is scheduled for development this year. At the moment one can only get a glimpse of it through the Convention Center or by peeking in from the outside.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Here at Queen and Vine Streets in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania, Thaddeus Stevens had his law office. Stevens was an abolitionist. An abolitionist is a person who favors the abolition of a practice or institution, especially capital punishment or (formerly) slavery.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Stevens was born 4 April 1792 to Joshua Stevens and Sarah (Sally) Morrill in Danville Vermont. One of four children, he attended Vermont University from 1810 to 1812 when the War prompted its closure. He then went to Dartmouth, where he graduated in 1814. He then studied law and found himself set up in Gettysburg, PA in 1816. He practiced law there until 1828 when he found himself pulled into politics. He became a member of the state legislature. His anti-slavery and anti-Masonic views were not always the easiest road for Stevens to travel. In 1842, Stevens moved to Lancaster where he continued to practice law.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZSa2IySn71rJPxRs-OJCcrTgSwRYoXSERt7QVy-mVvk-cYyT4OCla_YCUvoCwrNExNmtJsTf359s1WMPMi7__E1cgwQFlQdoXJdyYcb_gboPWehgoRFXzeec3ZfNajnH_ieDO2kVhwNI/s1600/Stevens+DeathNotice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="557" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZSa2IySn71rJPxRs-OJCcrTgSwRYoXSERt7QVy-mVvk-cYyT4OCla_YCUvoCwrNExNmtJsTf359s1WMPMi7__E1cgwQFlQdoXJdyYcb_gboPWehgoRFXzeec3ZfNajnH_ieDO2kVhwNI/s320/Stevens+DeathNotice.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stevens death notice as it appeared in the Daily Evening Express, Lancaster, PA.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Stevens died in Washington DC on 11 August 1868. He is buried at Shriener's Cemetery in Lancaster. He chose that particular cemetery since it did not discriminate among the races, as the public cemeteries in Lancaster did at that time. He left this burial lot as a place in the City for those who could not afford a place to be properly buried. His estate also founded an orphanage for children regardless of race.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Photo:</b></span></span><br />
(Death Notice) Daily Evening Express (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) · 14 Aug 1868<br />
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">(Portrait) Mathew Brady - Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Brady-Handy Photograph Collection</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, Public Domain.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Sources:</b></span></span><br />
Ancestry.com. Appletons' Cyclopedia of American Biography, 1600-1889 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.<br />
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #181a1c;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #181a1c;">Ancestry.com. </span><em style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #181a1c;">Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Mennonite Vital Records, 1750-2014</em><span style="color: #181a1c;"> [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #181a1c;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #181a1c;">Ancestry.com. <i>Vermont, Vital Records, 1720-1908</i> [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #181a1c;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #181a1c;">(c) 2020, Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman</span></span></span>Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-75730999989945281982020-01-12T19:13:00.002-05:002020-01-12T19:19:15.270-05:00Kurenda Found in WWII Hospital Admission Files<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ancestry is always adding new content. One of their recent additions is "US: WWII Hospital Admission Card Files 1942-1954. Knowing my Uncle Paulie - Paul Kurenda - died in the War, I searched for him. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I searched only by his surname.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS_ok27cuqqTeHjRGeDAs0qS13PoHaHEtSyJnloz17vQrB_bv_DdFGBBcncapxJa8XIpvOtpuQfWYE2W_eZDlkn_IDOhjiOyq5KhAGK1U3b0y3ztgo0BxJCAIe_Ku0zBGaNmFQQRx6sC8/s1600/Paul+Hospital+Records.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="986" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS_ok27cuqqTeHjRGeDAs0qS13PoHaHEtSyJnloz17vQrB_bv_DdFGBBcncapxJa8XIpvOtpuQfWYE2W_eZDlkn_IDOhjiOyq5KhAGK1U3b0y3ztgo0BxJCAIe_Ku0zBGaNmFQQRx6sC8/s400/Paul+Hospital+Records.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The only entry matching his name, is most definitely him. There were a couple other similar last names, but only one Kurenda.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Race: White</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Rank: Enlisted </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Admission Age: 22 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Born: abt 1922</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Admission Date: Mar 1922</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Discharge: Aug 1922</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Military Branch: Infantry, general, or unspecified</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Diagnosis: Tuberculosis, generalized military</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Type of injury: Disease</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Injured in line of duty: Injured in line of duty</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Type of Discharge: Died</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Length of Service: 1 Year 3 months</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Service number: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181a1c;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">33478954</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The original database is: <i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #181a1c; font-size: 16px;">Hospital Admission Card Files, ca. 1970 - ca. 1970</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181a1c; font-size: 16px;">. NAI: </span><a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/570973" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #005c7d; cursor: pointer; font-size: 16px;" target="_blank">570973</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181a1c; font-size: 16px;">. Records of the Office of the Surgeon General (Army), 1775 - 1994. Record Group 12. The National Archives at College Park, MD. USA. To find this database, go to Ancestry's Card Catalog. Click on Search. At this time, it happens to be first on the list. In time, you may need to click on Military and type in the title.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181a1c; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkl-NyL-XdxrAQ3x7uBdUqKjJdxZh4ktFY0Av7GPtTcV8VcoMST0PLZLt-wESdBzZu8-uU61Gn57QCaxW8u58SBtzWEn-xOfkvNNkgOL-ATlCU8KS7ZqTNoIm1AumJ_LTSxAN1GQczqVE/s1600/Card+Catalog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="1600" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkl-NyL-XdxrAQ3x7uBdUqKjJdxZh4ktFY0Av7GPtTcV8VcoMST0PLZLt-wESdBzZu8-uU61Gn57QCaxW8u58SBtzWEn-xOfkvNNkgOL-ATlCU8KS7ZqTNoIm1AumJ_LTSxAN1GQczqVE/s400/Card+Catalog.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181a1c; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181a1c; font-size: 16px;">I knew most of this information already. My grandparents told me he died in the War. They had said he was injured "over there" and sent home. He died at the Valley Forge General Hospital in Phoenixville, Chester County, PA. He was there from 21 July until his death on 11 August 1944. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181a1c; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181a1c; font-size: 16px;">(c) Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2020</span></span>Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-91602715874101568992020-01-01T10:25:00.000-05:002020-01-01T10:25:08.348-05:002020 Genealogical GoalsEveryone sets New Year Resolutions or Goals. I personally prefer goals. I set health goals (like I would like to loose 40 pounds this year), and I have financial goals (pay off cards, improve credit score, build savings, improve business revenue). I also set Genealogical Goals each year.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhcHRt1MNdmPFvTIqOyIQOv9DnlazOtSv-Nn3MHiTBipREVX19Qa1tCm76bGpe2b7lEVq5NBGxAXQBzn4OuJr5axOGxldRNuhFJK6L8Vs5uiR7szigkM4essBqeprTvL-rXRgWmuf_jiE/s1600/word-cloud-3331301_1280.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="1280" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhcHRt1MNdmPFvTIqOyIQOv9DnlazOtSv-Nn3MHiTBipREVX19Qa1tCm76bGpe2b7lEVq5NBGxAXQBzn4OuJr5axOGxldRNuhFJK6L8Vs5uiR7szigkM4essBqeprTvL-rXRgWmuf_jiE/s320/word-cloud-3331301_1280.png" width="320" /></a></div>
My genealogical goals are really five areas I want to focus on. This year, they are:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Matys line. ... nothing specific I just felt called to focus on that line this year.</li>
<li>Walsh/Welsh descendants ... where are my Uncle Leo's kids and Uncle Gerry's kids? What happened to my great grandfather's siblings and their kids?</li>
<li>Where is Michael Walsh? ... what happened to him? where is he buried?</li>
<li>Anna Keating ... how did she get from Ireland to Ringtown? What happened to her siblings? How did she get from Ringtown to Shenandoah?</li>
<li>O'Flaherty line ... How did they get here? When? Where in Ireland did they come from exactly? Who are Dennis' parents? Any siblings?</li>
</ol>
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<br />
What are your goals - or intended areas of focus - this year?<br />
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(c) Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2020Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-43729831616433411892019-12-07T07:00:00.000-05:002019-12-07T07:00:15.642-05:00Pear Harbor Remembrance Day<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0d5_Cu32rQrylUNM0p-2fW3hpkkJK4LS0niik-8Fca0UedrsyZWUtRLgAsOQ4XNXsgCIecAVJJAKnCJmxUzmW4K4ChfH1qpjoaeD1wkeOdONb52rRsdZ8wUSZVoIfafQRaUPsnPT4UDQ/s1600/1024px-Pearl_harbour.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1024" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0d5_Cu32rQrylUNM0p-2fW3hpkkJK4LS0niik-8Fca0UedrsyZWUtRLgAsOQ4XNXsgCIecAVJJAKnCJmxUzmW4K4ChfH1qpjoaeD1wkeOdONb52rRsdZ8wUSZVoIfafQRaUPsnPT4UDQ/s320/1024px-Pearl_harbour.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Public Domain Photo: <br />
(l-r) USS West Virginia (sunk); USS Tennessee (damaged);<br />
and the USS Arizona (sunk).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">Every year, on 7 December, the United States observes Pearl Harbor Day. The "Day of Infamy" </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">remembers and honors the 2,403 citizens who were killed in the Japanese surprise </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Attack on Pearl Harbor">attack on Pearl Harbor</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> in Hawaii on Sunday, 7 December 1941.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">That Sunday, by all reports, began as a beautiful, tranquil morning. The morning was soon devastated. The Japanese bombed the ships that were in port. Explosions. Fires. Sirens. Sounds and smells no one ever expected.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">Our <a href="https://www.nps.gov/valr/learn/historyculture/navy-casualties.htm" target="_blank">Navy</a> bore the brunt of the attack, obviously. The US National Park Service has compiled a list of those killed in action that day. They are: <a href="https://www.nps.gov/valr/learn/historyculture/navy-casualties.htm" target="_blank">Navy</a>, <a href="https://www.nps.gov/valr/learn/historyculture/us-marine-corps-casualties.htm" target="_blank">Marines</a>, <a href="https://www.nps.gov/valr/learn/historyculture/us-army.htm" target="_blank">Army</a>, and <a href="https://www.nps.gov/valr/learn/historyculture/us-army-air-forces-casualties.htm" target="_blank">Air Force</a>. In addition, 68 civilians lost their lives that day as well.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Vichnaya Pamyat.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;"><b>Sources:</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">"Military Casualties," National Park Service. </span></span></span><a href="https://www.nps.gov/valr/learn/historyculture/military-casualties.htm">https://www.nps.gov/valr/learn/historyculture/military-casualties.htm</a><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">Wortman, Marc. "The Children of Pearl Harbor," Smithsonian Magazine. </span></span></span><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/children-pearl-harbor-180961290/">https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/children-pearl-harbor-180961290/</a><br />
<br />
(c) Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2019Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-37012719793307025362019-11-30T15:53:00.001-05:002019-11-30T15:53:22.134-05:00Great Great Grandfather Got Lost in the Coal StrikeMy great great grandfather, Michael Walsh, got lost in the coal strike. The United Mine Workers of America demanded higher wages, shorter workdays, and union recognition in eastern Pennsylvania. On 12 May 1902, the coal miners laid down their pickaxes, hammers, chisels, and pans. At this time most homes in America were heated with anthracite, that is hard coal. It lasted through October that year. In the end, the miners' demands were met. It was also the first time in American history that the federal government stepped in as an arbitrator to negotiate. Most important to me personally is that it was due to this strike that I lost my Michael Walsh.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwla-Cl6p7fhNNEXdBz20FFEJ-PA0cDUX2wzLAbJ2Q9HG4kGOCK9RmWkJ8taCZXJI9ah2rqrURwI8t8jviLwQ8MxJuATbZHKPbXGDqlR5K9ack3PWlFy4hxlnZCg6SGXB2zG_iIzILw-M/s1600/Coal_miners_in_Hazleton_PA_1900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwla-Cl6p7fhNNEXdBz20FFEJ-PA0cDUX2wzLAbJ2Q9HG4kGOCK9RmWkJ8taCZXJI9ah2rqrURwI8t8jviLwQ8MxJuATbZHKPbXGDqlR5K9ack3PWlFy4hxlnZCg6SGXB2zG_iIzILw-M/s320/Coal_miners_in_Hazleton_PA_1900.jpg" width="311" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Public Domain Image of miners in Hazelton, PA in 1900.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Now, to clarify, when I say I lost him to the strike, I do not mean that he died in the mines. I do not mean that there was an argument on the streets and he died. No, I mean I lost track of him at that point.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
It was reported by Commissioner of Labor Carrol D. Wright, at that time, that there was 147,000 strikers. Of those men, he estimated 8,000 to 10,000 returned to Europe. In addition, 30,000 left the area. Just picked up and left home. Some left families behind while they went in search of work. I believe my Michael, and perhaps some of his sons, were among those men who left the area.<br />
<br />
He was born about 1847 in Ireland, in the midst of the Great Famine. My grandmother had told me the Walsh Family came from Dublin.<br />
<br />
The next documentation I have of him is from the 1880 US Census. He is 33 years old, married to Anna, with three children: Katherine, Daniel James, and John. They lived at 67 West Lloyd Street in Shenandoah, PA. It was a large tenement house, according to the 1880 Census. At least 30 families lived there. Many miners. Most appeared to be immigrants or first generation.<br />
<br />
Ten years later, in 1890, he is still in Shenandoah, according to <i>A Directory of the eleventh census of the population of Schuylkill County</i>, which I found through Ancestry.com. It does not list the rest of the family and by now he goes by Welsh. It simply reads, "Welsh, Michael, 45, miner." There is no Walsh listing. I do not have the 1890 Census to confirm or deny that information as a fire destroyed most of those records, but I believe it to be accurate.<br />
<br />
In addition to the three children Michael and Anna have in 1880 (listed in the census), they have three additional. They are: Margaret Agnes (b. 1881), Martin Joseph (b. 1884), and Michael Joseph (b. 1893). All list their birth location as Shenandoah on various sources relevant to them.<br />
<br />
The 1910 Census shows Anna and son Michael living at 306 1/2 West Lloyd Street. She rented. He worked in a colliery. She notes she had 11 kids but only six living. I have no record of the other five so they may have been stillborn or died in infancy or between available census records. She also notes that she is a widow. Hence, Michael died sometime between 1893 (when son Michael was born) and 1910.<br />
<br />
I've not been able to find a death certificate for him. He may have gone north to New York. Walsh and Welsh are such common names that I have folders of possible matches but still cannot confirm any of them. He is ... for the moment anyway ... lost in the Coal Strike of 1902.<br />
<br />
<b>Sources:</b><br />
Grossman, Johnathan, The Coal Strike of 1902: Turning Point in US Policy. US Department of Labor. Retrieved 30 November 2019: <a href="https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/coalstrike" target="_blank">https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/coalstrike</a>.<br />
<br />
Year: 1880; Census Place: Shenandoah, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1192; Family History Film: 1255192; Page: 38A; Enumeration District: 203; Image: 0379
<br />
<br />
(c) 2019, Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman<br />
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<br />Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-31361627515068251482019-10-30T05:42:00.000-04:002019-10-30T05:42:58.441-04:00William Penn ... in Maryland<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">This past weekend, we were at a show down in Solomons, Maryland. On our way back to Pennsylvania, we saw this Historic Marker along Route 2 in Harwood, Maryland. I had to turn around and come back so we could actually stop and read it. I grew up relatively near the Mason-Dixon, yet I never knew this! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_uUyO8iPA2qge1HRsBKaUDc_8DG0vXp_AXzEPk-6RF7z0_NSqKdTz2l8DVU6i2SqfsO6BqgULnXDrkEJObkAq9lInFwrnkFiqW0cJ9f21ymPkb93vhl5mLDuyJGj6eUDscuPNGlpGtxY/s1600/WP_20191028_12_57_36_Rich.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_uUyO8iPA2qge1HRsBKaUDc_8DG0vXp_AXzEPk-6RF7z0_NSqKdTz2l8DVU6i2SqfsO6BqgULnXDrkEJObkAq9lInFwrnkFiqW0cJ9f21ymPkb93vhl5mLDuyJGj6eUDscuPNGlpGtxY/s400/WP_20191028_12_57_36_Rich.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">A quick search led me to this site: </span><a href="https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=3042">https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=3042</a><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: center;">(c) 2019, Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"> </span><br />
<br />Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-2572988915631018022019-07-01T18:38:00.001-04:002019-07-01T18:38:48.016-04:00US Postage Stamp Day<span style="color: #14171a; font-family: Segoe UI, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">My Aunt Helen used to write me long letters about various family stories and information. Sometimes the letters were nothing more than a specific line's names and vitals. Sometimes she would include little stories about her mother or family stories she had heard growing up. Sometimes it might be a newspaper clipping she thought I'd enjoy. No matter what she sent, even if it was simply a birthday car, she always found the most interesting stamps.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #14171a; font-family: Segoe UI, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2sZ5oalVEnT2rJhRip57uYLWh4pIEWkxEa-Q4NigdX5BUhD4qSpsos-bul1_dz7hsmIM6EcVvUeL8r_Y_FucI5wOmI4JneWiM-N0wNhrkWzVGZpC_cil6PCrwPFUT5ekiT7TS8GtFmQ/s1600/NATIONAL-U.S.-POSTAGE-STAMP-DAY-%25E2%2580%2593-July-1-768x384.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="768" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2sZ5oalVEnT2rJhRip57uYLWh4pIEWkxEa-Q4NigdX5BUhD4qSpsos-bul1_dz7hsmIM6EcVvUeL8r_Y_FucI5wOmI4JneWiM-N0wNhrkWzVGZpC_cil6PCrwPFUT5ekiT7TS8GtFmQ/s400/NATIONAL-U.S.-POSTAGE-STAMP-DAY-%25E2%2580%2593-July-1-768x384.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #14171a; font-family: Segoe UI, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today, it is US Postage Stamp Day. T</span></span><span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">he United States issued its first postage stamp on July 1, 1847. They were not mandatory thou until 1855. Today, not only are they mandatory, but they cost an arm and a leg.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">To put this in perspective, Aunt Helen was actually my great grandfather's youngest sister. Born 24 August 1903, Helen Mae Still was the youngest of six children of Franklin & Sarah Jennie Van Horn Still. She was an incredible woman. She grew up on the family farm. All the Still girls were educated and Aunt Helen was no different. She attended West Chester State Normal School in West Chester, PA. At 21, she married Ellwood James Webster. They had two girls: Gloria and Janet. Gloria died in infancy, only two months old. Janet only recently passed away. She lived, as her mother did, in the old family farm for most of her life. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #14171a; font-family: Segoe UI, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was through Aunt Helen that I came to have letters from her uncle to her father (my 3rd great grandfather!). Her uncle - Benjamin Franklin Van Horn - had fought in the Civil War. After the War, he married a girl from Virginia and moved to California. Letters kept the brothers united. Today they serve as an insight into not just their relationship, but of the times. Again, each of their letters brought not just family stories but also the history of the United States through our postal service. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">For more information on the history of the US Postage Stamp, visit the <a href="https://about.usps.com/publications/pub100/pub100_022.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">US Postal Service</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: center;">(c) 2019, Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"> </span><br />
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<br />Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-54157471969581032042019-06-17T14:06:00.000-04:002019-06-17T14:07:33.728-04:00Play Ball<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0zJ__6qPlrquQIiTLmGiU7LLJeAobXgVNfUOoFCCnJDSkgFVbo28RDOgLvQBdtpFXHbkT8eKSOsKs2791S4u_EjFThpMLsa6q73WfjsFw88JWKA2iHWpmsyzoIEkHZsp6vO3HlgV-bo/s1600/Robert+Still.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="217" data-original-width="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0zJ__6qPlrquQIiTLmGiU7LLJeAobXgVNfUOoFCCnJDSkgFVbo28RDOgLvQBdtpFXHbkT8eKSOsKs2791S4u_EjFThpMLsa6q73WfjsFw88JWKA2iHWpmsyzoIEkHZsp6vO3HlgV-bo/s1600/Robert+Still.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1968 MS State University<br />
Robert P Still</td></tr>
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I found a Baseball Questionnaire today on Ancestry.com. I got excited because there is a family story that involves a local baseball team but this questionnaire was for the professional teams. So naturally I played with family names. I got a hit, even though I doubt he is of the same line.<br />
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Robert Philip Still was born 24 April 1949 in Georgia to Clinton H Still and Louise Cowan Still.<br />
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In May 1972, Robert Philip STILL filled out a questionnaire. He played for the Oneonta Yankees, a minor league team of the New York-Penn League.He played Third Base for the Oneonta Tigers.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8S31ukLLtW6Lu3u5X3I3PAk-fzAltzxpBFk2fxG5m6anTaQJ1EHgd1xTRKs_OP-g0LBhOmQ8icZNutUpw1ZaxEcO3NwpYHaO7FaCBi4vZu2kjhb8jzWBkq_9KIFKFeu5U2XIHMjh_DNs/s1600/Baseball.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="656" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8S31ukLLtW6Lu3u5X3I3PAk-fzAltzxpBFk2fxG5m6anTaQJ1EHgd1xTRKs_OP-g0LBhOmQ8icZNutUpw1ZaxEcO3NwpYHaO7FaCBi4vZu2kjhb8jzWBkq_9KIFKFeu5U2XIHMjh_DNs/s400/Baseball.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
Still was born in 1949 and lived down Decatur, Georgia. He graduated from DeKalb HS in Decatur in 1967.</div>
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That same year then, in 1967, he was drafted out of high school by the Cleveland Indians in the 27th round of the 1967 MLB June Amateur Draft, according to <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=still-002rob" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Baseball Reference</a>. Three years later, the Baltimore Orioles drafted him in the 10th round of the 1970 MLB June Draft-Secondary Phase from Mississippi State University, MS. Finally, in 1971 the New York Yankees, in the 9th round of the 1971 MLB June Amateur Draft from Mississippi State University, MS drafted Still.<br />
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In May of 1971, when he filled out this questionnaire, he stated he did not have a steady job but rather worked whatever was available in the off season. He was married.His wife's name was Sally but they had no children at that time.<br />
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Robert died on 17 March 2004. He is buried in Loganville, Georgia. He was just 54 years old.<br />
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<b>References:</b><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Society for American Baseball Research (SABR); San Diego, California; U.S., Baseball Questionnaires, 1945-2005; Box Number: 555707 </li>
<li>"U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012"; Yearbook Title: Reveille; Year: 1968 </li>
<li>Ancestry.com. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
</li>
<li>Find A Grave. <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74485905">https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74485905</a></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; text-align: center;">(c) 2019, Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman</span><br />
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Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-2010305582219230812019-05-13T18:14:00.001-04:002019-05-13T18:14:58.305-04:00Landis Valley Museum Remembers Inventor-Machinist William Chester Ruth of Chester County<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">William Chester Ruth, son of </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.16px;">Samuel and Maria Louisa Pinn Ruth, invented several pieces of farm machinery. He was born 19 July 1882 in Ercildoun, Chester County, one of 12 children to Samuel and Maria Ruth. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">Ruth </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.16px;">married Gertrude Miller on 6 June 1906. They moved to Gap, Lancaster County in 1917. He was, at that time, working for Midvale Steel in Coatesville. Six years later, Ruth opened Ruth's Ironworks Shop. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ruth became a well-known and capable blacksmith to the farming families of Eastern Lancaster and Western Chester Counties. Among his patents were a machine feeder used between the thresher and straw baler, a cinder-spreading truck, self-raising elevator, and other machines. </span></span></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Landis Valley Museum will remember Ruth on 6 June</span>. The event is scheduled for 10 a.m.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> at the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">Landis Valley Christian Fellowship, next to the Landis Valley Museum. It will last until 2:30 p.m. </span><span style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">After a light complimentary lunch, Dr. Leroy Hopkins will speak, putting Ruth's life and accomplishments in a historical context. He will touch on the Underground Railroad and displaced African Americans, Quaker ethics and abolitionism, Pennsylvania German agricultural and work craft technology, according to Landis Valley Museum's site. The presentation will conclude in the Bitzer Building where three of Ruth's machines are on display.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: center;">The program is possible through a grant from </span><span style="color: black; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: center;">the H. F. Lenfest Fund of The Philadelphia Foundation. To register, call </span>Cindy Kirby-Reedy at 717-581-0591.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>RESOURCES:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #181a1c;">Ancestry.com. </span><em style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #181a1c;">U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918</em><span style="color: #181a1c;"> [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Brubaker, Jack. "The Scribbler: African-American inventor made farm work easier" Lancaster Newspapers. Retrieved from: <a href="https://dk-media.s3.amazonaws.com/AA/AU/salisburytwphistory-org/downloads/309309/The_Scribbler__Wm_Chester_Ruth-1.pdf">https://dk-media.s3.amazonaws.com/AA/AU/salisburytwphistory-org/downloads/309309/The_Scribbler__Wm_Chester_Ruth-1.pdf</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"Residents celebrate legacy of local inventor" (19 October 2016) Southern Chester County Weeklies. Retrieved from: <a href="https://www.southernchestercountyweeklies.com/news/residents-celebrate-legacy-of-local-inventor/article_16e68232-ffd1-507f-9f85-425954e108bf.html">https://www.southernchestercountyweeklies.com/news/residents-celebrate-legacy-of-local-inventor/article_16e68232-ffd1-507f-9f85-425954e108bf.html</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Wills, A. (2012, December 31) William Chester Ruth (1882-1971). Retrieved from <a href="https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/ruth-william-chester-1882-1971">https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/ruth-william-chester-1882-1971</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: center;">(c) 2019, Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman</span></span>
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Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-8528878210597484312019-04-30T06:02:00.002-04:002019-04-30T06:02:21.572-04:00Coatesville's First Serial KillerYoung Alexander Meyer was a disturbed and angry young man with some major issues. He had failed sixth and seventh grade, and instead of having to repeat eighth grade again, he finally gave up on school. At age 16 he quit Downingtown Junior High. Meyer is not a relative, nor are his victims (that I am aware). I stumbled upon young Alex while reading <i>Tortured Minds: Pennsylvania's Most Bizarre - But Forgotten - Murders</i> by Tammy Mal.<br />
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On 11 February 1937 Alexander Thweatt Meyer killed young Helen Moyer as she walked home from school in Coatesville along Modena Road. She was not his first. The jury was out only three minutes after hearing Dr. Michael Margolis' testimony on the death of Helen Moyer. The jury determined Meyer had murdered Moyer and should be held for first degree murder. The jury also condemned the parole system which had released Meyer back into the public, after having served just 14 months in Huntingdon Reformatory, for the murder of two other girls - Anna Blasch and Viola Bauder - previously.<br />
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The people of Coatesville and Modena were outraged. Law officials, even the Governor of Pennsylvania, was concerned about the crowds. They all well remembered, according to Mal, the lynching of Zachariah Walker in 1911. Walker killed Edgar Rice, a policeman at the steel mill.<br />
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On 12 April 1937, Meyer was sentenced to death in the electric chair. He was taken to Rockview Penitentiary in Bellfonte, Pennsylvania. Over 8,000 people, according to Mal, requested to drive up to Bellfonte to watch as Meyer's execution, which was set for 12 July 1937.<br />
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Alexander had been born in Germantown near Philadelphia on 2 August 1917. He was the son of Oscar Jackson Meyer, a wealthy farmer in nearby Wallace Township on Milford Road. His mother was Louise Peterson. He had a brother Jackson, who was four years older than him, and a younger sister Nancy, according to the 1930 Census.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwOv_4o2kDQv3pjD4T8glpKNvkPCeFrtINYK4at1uP_EWkd1LPQY9sBbotCVcOP6lTa1m71ax7wcQ8L4OAeTQyMYy-I_zZjuSDSfoqQsdbjDcX-0sEyfBwEuGvwL-kArnq6hfI9BuB_8I/s1600/deathcert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="828" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwOv_4o2kDQv3pjD4T8glpKNvkPCeFrtINYK4at1uP_EWkd1LPQY9sBbotCVcOP6lTa1m71ax7wcQ8L4OAeTQyMYy-I_zZjuSDSfoqQsdbjDcX-0sEyfBwEuGvwL-kArnq6hfI9BuB_8I/s400/deathcert.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Alexander was electrocuted on 12 July 1937. He was cremated just two days later.Mal states, in her book, that the Meyer family never revealed the final resting place of Alex's remains. His death certificate, as seen above, indicates his remains are in the Fairview Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Glenmoore.<br />
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Helen Moyer was buried on 23 February 1937, at the Hepzibah Baptist Church on Strasburg Road. Ironically, Edgar Rice, victim of another horrible crime, is also buried at Hepzibah.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">© Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2019</span><br />
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<br />Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-26376411072190269662019-03-03T12:46:00.002-05:002019-03-03T12:46:34.668-05:00My O'Flaherty Search Continues<span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Setting aside the to do list this </span><a class="twitter-hashtag pretty-link js-nav" data-query-source="hashtag_click" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SundayMorning?src=hash" style="background: rgb(245, 248, 250); color: #4a913c; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">#SundayMorning</a><span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to research my Irish female ancestors, beginning with my great grandmother Catherine </span><a class="twitter-hashtag pretty-link js-nav" data-query-source="hashtag_click" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OFlaherty?src=hash" style="background: rgb(245, 248, 250); color: #4a913c; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">#OFlaherty</a><span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It is after all </span><a class="twitter-hashtag pretty-link js-nav" data-query-source="hashtag_click" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IrishAmericanHeritageMonth?src=hash" style="background: rgb(245, 248, 250); color: #4a913c; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">#IrishAmericanHeritageMonth</a><span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #14171a; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span class="twitter-hashflag-container" style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #14171a; display: inline-block; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a class="twitter-hashtag pretty-link js-nav" data-query-source="hashtag_click" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WomensHistoryMonth?src=hash" style="background: transparent; color: #4a913c; text-decoration-line: none;">#WomensHistoryMonth</a><a dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WomensHistoryMonth?src=hash" style="background: transparent; color: #4a913c; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="" class="twitter-hashflag" draggable="false" src="https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags/IWD_WomensHistoryMonth_2019/IWD_WomensHistoryMonth_2019.png" style="border: 0px; height: 1.25em; padding: 0px 0.05em 0px 0.1em; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: -0.2em; width: 1.25em;" /></a></span><br />
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Catherine O'Flaherty<br />
Catherine was born on 2 August 1880 to Dennis and Martha (Durkan) O'Flaherty in Phoenixville, Chester County, PA. This is confirmed through various records and family members, including my grandmother (her oldest child. Her marriage application however notes she was born on 2 October in 1885.<br />
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She was the youngest of eight known children. Her siblings (in birth order) are:<br />
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<ol>
<li>James - 1868 to 1870. Twin to Mary Theresa.</li>
<li>Mary Theresa - 1868 to 1945. Twin to James. Married Patrick Rogers. They had five children. Through Ancestry.com, I have connected with one of her descendents. </li>
<li>Hugh - 1869 to 1947. Married Katherine Dee. They had six children.</li>
<li>Michael - 1871 to 1904.Married Margaret McQuade. He died just two years after they married, leaving no children.</li>
<li>Dennis - 1871 to 1894. At only 21, he died unmarried.</li>
<li>Margaret - 1877 to 1895. At 19, she too died unmarried.</li>
<li>Martha - 1879 to 1897. Martha too died unmarried at age 19. She died of consumption.</li>
</ol>
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Back to my Catherine ...<br />
The 1880 Census was conducted in June 1880, thus Catherine does not appear on it. Her father, Dennis, is a 45 year old white man born in Ireland and now working in the Iron Works in Phoenixville. Martha, her mother, was a 41 year old white woman, also born in Ireland. She, like meany women the, was "keeping house". Her siblings listed were Mary (age 12), Hugh (age 11), Michael (age 8), Dennis (age 7), Maggie (age 3), and Martha (age 1).<br />
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Since Dennis - her father - died in 1894, I had to switch to searching for Martha. I found her, and Catherine, in the 1904-05 Boyd's Chester County, PA Directory. It shows them, along with Hugh, living now at 203 Emmet Street in Phoenixville. Catherine's brother Michael is living on his own at 212 South Street. There is one other Hugh listed living in town at 353 Hall. Side note: The 1902 City Directory lists widow Martha and Hugh living at 203 Emmet, and Michael living at 212 South. There is no mention in 1902 of Catherine or the Hugh on Hall.<br />
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By 1910 (the date of the census is 16 April 1910), Catherine was the only one left at home with her mother at this time. Martha reveals she had 10 children, only three of whom is still living. (The three were Mary Theresa, Hugh, and Catherine). It also states that she immigrated in 1870. (See note on side about that.) Catherine (spelling her name Katherine) is 23 and is a sewer at at shirt factory. The census enumerator also incorrectly states that both of Catherine's parents were born in Pennsylvania. They were both born in Ireland.<br />
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Within just a few days of that census, Catherine would become Mrs. Martin J. Welsh. The story - as my grandmother and some of her siblings told it - was that Martin played on a baseball team up in Shenandoah (Schuylkill County, PA) where he had lived with his parents. His team came down to play in Phoenixville and there he and Catherine met. I don't recall anyone mentioning how long the courtship was or how they actually met each other. The marriage application lists both Martin and Catherine living in Phoenixville. In any case, they met and on 21 April 1910 were married in Phoenixville, presumably at St. Mary's of the Assumption Roman Catholic Church. The parish is right down the street from where Catherine lived with her mother. It was the first marriage for both. Under occupation, he lists he is a laborer, while Catherine states domestic.<br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181a1c; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;">Ancestry.com. </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #181a1c; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;">Pennsylvania, Marriages, 1852-1968</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181a1c; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"> [database on-line]. </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181a1c; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;">Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.</span></i></div>
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Just 10 years laters, in the 1920 census, Martin and Catherine - both listing their ages as 35 - now reside on Marshall Street. He is a laborer in the Iron Works and she is at home. And no wonder she is at home! They already have five children. They have also lost three children at this point, although the census does not account for them. The five surviving are:<br />
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<ol>
<li>Mary Rose - my grandmother</li>
<li>Joseph Martin</li>
<li>Leo Francis</li>
<li>Raymond Charles</li>
<li>Gerald Aloysius</li>
</ol>
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The 1930 census, provides a little more info on Catherine and her parents. Until now, her parents birthplace was simply listed as Ireland. Now, in 1930, it is listed (and Martin does the same for his parents) as "Irish Free State".<br />
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The Irish Free State was comprised of 26 of Ireland's 32 counties. Since I already knew both Catherine's parents and Martin's parents were Catholic, this only slightly narrows down their ancestral homes.<br />
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Back to the census ...<br />
Catherine and Martin now have six children. Since the 1920 census, they had two children actually: James and Loretta, both born in 1921. James died the same year, although I do not know the circumstances.<br />
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On 14 August 1933 at 10:50 EST, Catherine became a widow. Martin's death was ruled accidental. He died from "injuries received while engaged at work at the Phoenix Iron Co, due to falling on railroad tracks and being struck by a truck," according to his death certificate. Catherine was the informant.<br />
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In 1937 my Uncle Leo married Ruth Miller. All the siblings and Catherine posed for this photo below. I am extremely grateful to my cousin for providing me a copy of the photo. It is, I am told, the only photograph of all the siblings together. I include it here because of course Catherine is in it. The photo was taken at the wedding.<br />
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I have not yet found Catherine on the 1940 census records.<br />
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The war (World War II) stretched from 1939 to 1945. America tried to stay neutral until Pearl Harbor was destroyed on 7 December 1941. It was then that we joined the War - officially. In May 1942, construction began on the Valley Forge Army Hospital in Phoenixville. It was completed the following year and Catherine went to work there. She was a House Mother for the nurses there her health deteriorated. Catherine suffered strokes.<br />
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She died on 20 August 1949 at 2:40 a.m. EST at the Phoenixville Hospital, according to her death certificate. Loretta (now Loretta Kaba) was the informant on the certificate. The death certificate confirms much information but does not reveal any new information, aside from official cause of death.<br />
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Her birthdate is confirmed as 2 October 1885.Her parents are confirmed as being Dennis O'Flaherty and Martha Durkin. She was living on Vanderslice Street in Phoenixville, which I know from other sources to be Loretta and Stephen Kaba's house. Husband is confirmed as Martin Welsh. Her COD (cause of death) was cerebral thrombosis.<br />
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A cerebral thrombosis is a type of stroke that, according to John Hopkins University, occurs when "a blood clot forms in the brain's venous sinuses. This prevents blood from draining out of the brain." This results in the blood leaking into the brain, causing a hemorrhage. She suffered the cerebral thrombosis for two days, according to her death certificate. It was due to arteriosclerosis. Diabetes mellitus was listed as another condition she suffered.<br />
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She was buried at St. Mary's of the Assumption on 23 August 1949. She is there with her husband and one of her grandchildren, Mary Kathleen Still (Mary Rose's daughter).<br />
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© Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2019Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-33722106749219368492019-01-20T12:06:00.000-05:002019-01-20T12:06:14.131-05:00Found a Wife<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I found a wife! Not for me (my husband is work enough!) but for my Uncle Jim! Years ago, my great Aunt Helen (Still) Webster told me a story about my Uncle Jim (James Franklin Still) having a son. By the time we all came along, Uncle Jim was back East living with his brother/my grandfather (Lloyd Pierson Still). He spoke of working on ranches but never mentioned a wife or a child. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Searching on Ancestry.com today, I found a marriage record for James Still born 1910 to a Julie Riddle on 14 April 1931 in <span style="background-color: white; color: #181a1c;">Deep Creek, Routt, Colorado</span></span></div>
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The 1930 US Census shows Uncle Jim, obviously single, still living in East Marlboro, Chester County, PA. The 1940 Census shows him living in Clark Township, Routt County, Colorado. The 1940 Census also reveals he lived there in 1935 as well but now his father, Pierson George Still, has moved out with him and Uncle Jim is single. In fact, it shows that the two of them are living by themselves on a farm. </div>
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I found land records for Uncle Jim, dated 15 September 1942 in Routt, Colorado. He received 649 acres on which to homestead. Whatever happened to that homestead land? I'll trace the land another time. For now, back to Julia ...</div>
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Julie Riddle is not easy to confirm. So, when I am stuck, I found timelines help.</div>
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1930 - Uncle Jim was still in Chester County, PA, so they had not yet met.</div>
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1931 - On 14 April, Uncle Jim and Julia Riddle were married. </div>
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1940 - He is single in Colorado; she is married in Missouri as a hired hand with an 8 year old son!</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">In both the 1930 and the 1940 Census, Julia is a servant</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> or hired hand to Jack and Pear Eckstine. It would appear that when Jack moved from CO to MO, Julia went with him and, at that point, took her son with her. Uncle Jim stayed in CO. </span>The 1940 Census is the last available census at the moment, so tracing Julia and her son Billy Joe Still forward must find other sources. The 1950 Census will not be released until April of 2022.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Billy Joe Still - my second cousin (Ancestry says he is my 1st cousin 1x removed) - was born 3 August 1931 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He attended <span style="background-color: whitesmoke; font-size: 16px;">Creighton High School, in Creighton, MO.</span> </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Social Security records show he dies in February (what is it with my family and February?) 1990. He died in Albany, Gentry County, Missouri. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">© 2019, Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman</span><br />
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Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-31703810139607667222018-06-17T07:27:00.002-04:002018-06-17T07:27:57.300-04:00Family Day at Historic Huguenot Street<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Today (Sunday, 17 June) is Family Day at <a href="https://www.huguenotstreet.org/" target="_blank">Historic Huguenot Street</a>.. Admission is free and includes the historic house tours and exhibits. Tours will be done on a first come first serve basis with a limit to 12 people per tour. You are welcome to bring a blanket and bagged lunch and have a picnic on the grounds. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqR-WxiQf0HImhRlJYxkectBRus6C6CnEWCLEtscNJ69dbSVqgmtfk-7XLShV8OafSY0I3gJ66QBPo8z4c4tAA0Yg5g-dJBsM67BMpjKziMsMOin57FJWOepWLNnRArdAPFpSvlhATLaU/s1600/Deyo-LR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqR-WxiQf0HImhRlJYxkectBRus6C6CnEWCLEtscNJ69dbSVqgmtfk-7XLShV8OafSY0I3gJ66QBPo8z4c4tAA0Yg5g-dJBsM67BMpjKziMsMOin57FJWOepWLNnRArdAPFpSvlhATLaU/s1600/Deyo-LR.jpg" /></a><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Learn about the families who founded New Paltz, including Pierre Deyo. The Pierre Deyo House, built in 1692, is one of the house on the tour.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">We went awhile back, not on Family Day but just a regular day. My husband is descended from Jacobus "James" Deyoe (1760-1819) and Annatje "Hannah" Walker (1764-1835). The Deyoe and the Deyo families are of the same family. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Those interested in tracing their family lineage to one of the 12 lines may also be interested in this (from a March 2018 press release):</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thanks to a grant from the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Historic Huguenot Street (HHS) has digitized records from the Reformed Church of New Paltz dating back to the 1680s and early 1700s. Two volumes of records, consisting of over 100 pages, document the community’s first marriages and baptisms, revealing the growth of the town and the social relationships between the French and Dutch settlers during the early colonial period. </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">“These records contain illuminating information, and scanning them supports their long-term preservation,” said Josephine Bloodgood, Director of Curatorial and Preservation Affairs. “Prior to the digitization, access to the books was limited to those able to visit the HHS Archives in-person. Now scholars, researchers, genealogists, and general audiences from around the world can discover and study their contents.” </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Both volumes have been digitized and uploaded online in their entirety, courtesy of the Reformed Church and through the efforts of HHS staff members and interns. The documents have been uploaded to Hudson River Valley Heritage, a digital library that provides visitors with free access to search and browse historical materials. The records can be accessed by searching for “first register” and “second register” at <a href="https://www.hrvh.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/hhs">hrvh.org/hhs</a>, as well as by searching for names that appear within.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Historic Huguenot Street encompasses 30 buildings across 10 acres comprising the heart of the original 1678 New Paltz settlement. Seven are stone houses which date to the early eighteenth century. Historic Huguenot Street was founded in 1894 as the Huguenot Patriotic, Historical, and Monumental Society to preserve the nationally acclaimed collection of stone houses. Since then, Historic Huguenot Street has grown into an innovative museum, chartered as an educational corporation by the University of the State of New York Department of Education, that is dedicated to protecting our historic buildings, preserving an important collection of artifacts and manuscripts, and promoting the stories of the Huguenot Street families from the seventeenth century to today.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">© Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2018</span></span>Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-66324346442676597962018-05-25T11:44:00.001-04:002018-05-25T11:44:36.217-04:00Memorial Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Memorial Day is is a day set aside in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country's armed forces. While I am appreciative of everyone who has served - both in war and in peace - this weekend is for those who died while serving ... like my Uncle Paul.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Paul Kurenda - Paulie as Baba always called him - died while serving in World War II. He had been serving in Europe and came down ill so the Army sent him stateside, first to South Carolina then to West Virginia then finally home to die. He passed away 11 August 1944 at the Valley Forge Army Hospital in Phoenixville, Chester County, PA. His official cause of death was "tuberculosis, pulmonary, acute, military, bilateral." He was just 22 years old when he died.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;">His
obituary was published in the now-defunct Coatesville Record.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;">Coatesville Record<br />
August 12, 1944<br />
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PFC. Paul Kurenda, aged twenty-two years, of 1047 Rock Run, died last night in
Valley Forge General hospital after a long illness. He was taken ill while in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region> where
he served with the army for one year after training in this country. Brought
back, he was treated at hospitals in <st1:city w:st="on">Charleston</st1:city>,
<st1:state w:st="on">S.C.</st1:state> and Martinsburg, W. Va., before being
transferred to the <st1:place w:st="on">Valley Forge</st1:place> institution.<br />
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Funeral services will be held on Monday morning at two 0'clock with High Mass
at Holy Ghost Greek Orthodox Catholic church. Interment will be made in
Ukrainian cemetery.<br />
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PFC Kurenda, who worked as a welder at Lukenweld before entering the service,
is survived by his mother, Mrs. Frances Kurenda, of Rock Run; and three
sisters, Mary, wife of Andrew Sokso, RD 1; Catherine, wife of John Yuzwick,
Rock Run; and Anna, Wife of Joseph Ruczhak, Rock Run.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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While his obituary does not include it, Baba & Gigi had told me that Uncle
Paulie had developed gangrene in Europe and that his death was due to that. <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gangrene" target="_blank">Gangrene</a>
- according to dictionary.com - is "</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">necrosis</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">or</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> death of soft tissue due to obstructed circulation, usually followed by
decomposition and </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">putrefaction."</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">So this weekend, my thoughts - as they often are - are with my Uncle. May His Memory Be Eternal.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">© Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2018</span></span>Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-54246955311848346022018-03-12T15:40:00.000-04:002018-03-12T15:40:17.050-04:00Baptism Records DiscoveredBaptismal records for four of the O'Flaherty family were found on Find My Past recently by my cousin's husband (Thank you, Ed!). His wife is descended from my 2nd Great Aunt Mary Theresa O'Flaherty Rogers. I do tend to rush into talking when I'm excited about a new discovery or new documentation so let me back up a moment.<br />
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Patrick O'Flaherty and Martha Durkin are my 2nd great grandparents. That is to say, they are my great-great grandparents. They married here in America, settled down in Phoenixville, Chester County, PA and had eight known children. </div>
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Those children are:</div>
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1. James</div>
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2. Mary Theresa</div>
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3. Hugh</div>
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4. Michael</div>
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5. Dennis</div>
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6. Margaret A</div>
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7. Martha M</div>
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8. Catherine <-- my great grandmother</div>
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Today, I am going to talk about four of them: Mary Theresa, Hugh, Martha, and Catherine.<br />
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Mary Theresa, born 31 March 1868, married Patrick Rogers in 1891, at the age of 23. Patrick was born in Ireland and had immigrated in 1885. They had five children and lived in Philadelphia, where Patrick was a fireman boiler (according to the 1900 census). After her husband passed in 1935, Mary Theresa lived with her son, Joseph, who was also a fireman for the City. Mary Theresa passed on 1 May 1945, at the age of 77.<br />
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Cousin Ed found her baptismal record at St Mary's of the Assumption Church in Phoenixville. Well, he found the record on Find My Past but she was baptized at the church. Hers is probably the more difficult to read, in my opinion, due simply to the handwriting. While I cannot make out her male sponsor, her godmother was Anne Durkin. </div>
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Hugh was born 31 March 1869, exactly a year after his elder sister. He married Katherine Dee and they had six children, one of whom sadly was stillborn. His baptism record (below) confirms his parents, date of birth, and date of baptism. Note the spelling of Dennis! I've seen Atty with Martha's name before on other records. His sponsors - in the Roman Catholic tradition the sponsors should both be Catholic as well. In addition, sponsors were someone you essentially entrusted your child to in the event of your passing, so they were generally someone close, like a family member. I have never seen a connection before with a Patrick Bradly or Maria Lynch. The baptism records also note the priest who performed the Sacrament of Baptism.</div>
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Martha was born two years later in 1879. She too died young, on 27 November 1897, at just 18 years of age. She never married or left home either. Neither her nor Margaret's death notices gave a cause of death. Both girls are buried at Black Rock Cemetery though.</div>
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Catherine is my great grandmother. She was the youngest of the O'Flaherty clan. She was born 2 August 1880. She married Martin Walsh (over time changed to Welsh). They had 10 known children, though one was stillborn and two died in infancy. She remained in Phoenixville, surviving her husband. She died 20 August 1949. Her baptism record below lists a Jacob Durkin as one of her sponsors. </div>
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Family - please add your comments, recollections, or questions, either here in the comments or email or Facebook me and I will research, confirm, and post the answers! Thank you again, Ed. Now ... off to track down Jacob Durkin and Anne Durkin, as well as immigration records for everyone.</div>
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© Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2018.</div>
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Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-66540524683670235812018-02-23T06:50:00.000-05:002018-02-23T06:56:00.219-05:00My DadDaddy passed on 2 February. We buried him last Saturday - the 17th. Almost a week now. Still raw. But I will start writing again. It's been too long. For now ... his obituary, as published on the Wilde Funeral Home's website, is as follows:<br />
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Joseph P. Ruczhak, Jr., 75, of Christiana, PA, passed away on Friday, February 2, 2018 at the Brandywine Hospital. He was the husband of the late Barbara Still Ruczhak who died in 2013. They shared 45 years of marriage. Born in Rock Run, he was the son of the late Joseph and Anna Kurenda Ruczhak.
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Joe was an area resident all his life and a 1960 graduate of the Coatesville High School. He served with the US Army in Vietnam. He was an UT Inspector at Lukens Steel Company/Arcelor Mittal. He retired in 2009 with 48 years of service. He was a member of Our Lady of Consolation Church.
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He is survived by two daughters: Noreen Ruczhak of Christiana and Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman and her husband Glenn of Lancaster, three grandchildren; Anna and Zorina Eckman of Lancaster and Mary (Eckman) Soanes and her husband Ashton of Mount Alto, PA, two great grandchildren; Sasha and Celia Soanes. He is also survived by a brother John Ruczhak and his wife Anne of Coatesville.
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A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, February 17 at 11 a.m. at Our Lady of Consolation Church, 603 W. 2nd Avenue, Parkesburg, PA followed by Interment at St. Malachi Chapel Cemetery, Cochranville, PA. A viewing will be held on Saturday morning from 10 to 10:45 a.m. at the Wilde Funeral Home, 434 Main St. Parkesburg, PA.
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In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in his memory to the Wounded Warrior Project www.woundedwarriorproject.org
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Online condolences can be posted at www.wildefuneralhome.com</div>
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Wilde Funeral Home in Parkesburg did a great job. I just want to thank everyone there.</div>
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© Genealogical Gems, 2018. All Rights Reserved.</div>
Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-5840723562694467232017-05-29T07:17:00.002-04:002017-05-29T07:17:38.795-04:00Memorial Day<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Memorial Day is a time to remember those who died while serving in our nation's military. There are three men buried in the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Cemetery (Valley Township, Chester County, PA) who were Killed In Action. They are: Andrew Buckle, William Grycky, and Paul Kurenda. Vichnaya Pamyat.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">© Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2017</span></span>Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-54190332342429471902017-01-05T06:54:00.000-05:002017-01-05T06:54:00.495-05:00Photo A Day Challenge - Siblings<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Today's Genealogy Photo A Day Challenge is "Siblings". This photo is of two of my grandmother and her siblings and their mother! </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguevs_CSfoTs9r5xI-Ko1nAbDrsufCDqPEAeV_1OGgtdAljas2HImPw3BkKJEqwjERPO7554HzIpOhB604OwgvVb6mi1jDF30aQ9mFlE-DrJn3zVGsBbgUld9VnpCCsl_rLkU0rCyeTOE/s1600/sblings.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguevs_CSfoTs9r5xI-Ko1nAbDrsufCDqPEAeV_1OGgtdAljas2HImPw3BkKJEqwjERPO7554HzIpOhB604OwgvVb6mi1jDF30aQ9mFlE-DrJn3zVGsBbgUld9VnpCCsl_rLkU0rCyeTOE/s400/sblings.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">My cousin gave me a copy of this, which is believed to be the only photo of all of them together. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">From left to right then: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Uncle Joe, my grandmother Mary, Uncle Gerry looking awesome in his uniform, Uncle Reds (given name was Raymond), my great grandmother Catherine O'Flaherty Welsh, Aunt Loretta, and Uncle Leo. The photo was taken at Uncle Leo's wedding in 1937.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Tomorrow's prompt is "Cousins".<br /><br />(c) Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2017</span>Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-90515751685997121492017-01-03T07:04:00.003-05:002017-01-03T07:04:21.541-05:00Tombstone Tuesday: Onifer Romanko<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Onifer Romanko and his wife Rosalie are buried at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Cemetery in Valley Township, just outside Coatesville, Chester County, PA. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHMS4Rgnm0jCt2FnM75C-mdHp8iuKQQ2FRChSwhTdqAdw913ybZqipfxcKRGOs1LfeD_NoFLSSMlxF0a-v0Y-s89yJfdsPRuRdJU-LZbhpmIbL5EF-kOrwzs8Aw63Vg6KBb95PHQGTMQo/s1600/071110+049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHMS4Rgnm0jCt2FnM75C-mdHp8iuKQQ2FRChSwhTdqAdw913ybZqipfxcKRGOs1LfeD_NoFLSSMlxF0a-v0Y-s89yJfdsPRuRdJU-LZbhpmIbL5EF-kOrwzs8Aw63Vg6KBb95PHQGTMQo/s400/071110+049.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Onifer is my great grandfather's uncle. I first "found" Onifer on the passenger list for my great grandfather (Panko Hruszczak). Panko had listed his Uncle Onifer as the person receiving him in Coatesville. From other records, I believe Onifer arrived in Coatesville himself in 1901. My goal is to determine when exactly he came over and where he actually came from! </span></div>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Tombstone Tuesday is a genealogical prompt of GeneaBloggers.</span></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">(c) Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2017</span></span></div>
<br />Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-31582878931780626112017-01-03T06:08:00.000-05:002017-01-03T06:08:22.530-05:00Photo A Day Challenge - Childhood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_neY_vVPvLOL0sLunBIQXTVGsrtaOkCmZ72OCSljuq5ygPjDPZFcbFrCInthzLY0tNFRlBA-ypraYNkZBELUx7uiGRrD0dBxKpxE36T1h8mdGQMeyJ89G0yhP9QR54NL-SHxOn5Ptt-o/s1600/PopPop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_neY_vVPvLOL0sLunBIQXTVGsrtaOkCmZ72OCSljuq5ygPjDPZFcbFrCInthzLY0tNFRlBA-ypraYNkZBELUx7uiGRrD0dBxKpxE36T1h8mdGQMeyJ89G0yhP9QR54NL-SHxOn5Ptt-o/s320/PopPop.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Today's Genealogy Photo A Day Challenge is "Childhood". This photo is of two of my cousins (Ken and Beth) and I (in the white shirt) with our great grandfather, Pierson George Still.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ken is two years older than Beth and I. She is a week older than me. So, much of our childhood involving the Still side of the family includes our great grandfather. He was 90 when he passed in 1977, just two months shy of his 91st birthday.<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Tomorrow's prompt is "Oldest & Youngest".</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(c) Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2017</span></span>Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-32410280270974400722017-01-02T09:59:00.001-05:002017-01-02T12:22:07.714-05:00Photo A Challenge A Day - Baby<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2FMDnragF0rQrBqsszowPHF-TsC64fRmgC32x67PALIFZD-ocU3o6x7PfzHvwE8JFd7DNWhTDNBU4MtAUJDOQSYpZGBkOKdcSAyVlK1WMqMnO0fBEXK8omv06v1IHZOhZN5LzEaDpNI/s1600/WP_20161225_12_24_18_Pro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2FMDnragF0rQrBqsszowPHF-TsC64fRmgC32x67PALIFZD-ocU3o6x7PfzHvwE8JFd7DNWhTDNBU4MtAUJDOQSYpZGBkOKdcSAyVlK1WMqMnO0fBEXK8omv06v1IHZOhZN5LzEaDpNI/s400/WP_20161225_12_24_18_Pro.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
Today's Genealogy Photo A Day Challenge is "Baby". So, If you caught yesterday's "New" photo of my adorable new granddaughter, you can probably guess who is being featured again today!<br />
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That's right, this excited Baba is showing off little Sasha again today! This photo was taken Sunday morning at my Dad's. That's him holding his great-grandchild! To be honest, not sure who was more adorable here: Sasha or my Daddy!<br />
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Oh - just an interesting tidbit. My mom passed in 2013 but her birthday was 13 June. Sasha was born in 2016 on ... 13 June!<br />
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Tomorrow's prompt is Childhood, so I'm not sure I can justify Baby Sasha tomorrow. You may be stuck with a photo of me or my kids! In the meantime, share your Baby photos.<br />
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(c) Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2017<br />
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<br />Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-17435141992516897132017-01-02T09:48:00.000-05:002017-01-02T09:48:12.983-05:00Join me in this genealogy photo challenge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
You are invited to join me in this Genealogy Photo A Day Challenge, put forth by StorybookAncestors.org.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitULcjW4vda80jD8_sHOdVyze4kDABsTYV3yi9ZcsE_zkdZdP1VQgNmW8sONwa2W-sjsVZWHiGI0lVHWj0jMvzgVTeSiP8vt9VEouUuNWMro1dyPErLtx7zN1IiZFZpvZ3yCT8kJ1E2kg/s1600/Photo+Challenge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitULcjW4vda80jD8_sHOdVyze4kDABsTYV3yi9ZcsE_zkdZdP1VQgNmW8sONwa2W-sjsVZWHiGI0lVHWj0jMvzgVTeSiP8vt9VEouUuNWMro1dyPErLtx7zN1IiZFZpvZ3yCT8kJ1E2kg/s400/Photo+Challenge.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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(c) Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2017</div>
<br />Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509313250337592845.post-8994426222035488982017-01-01T17:17:00.000-05:002017-01-01T17:17:40.741-05:00Photo A Day Challenge - NewStory Book Ancestor developed a Genealogy Photo A Day Challenge for January 2017. Today's prompt is "new". In my very humble opinion, what could be more new than MY NEW GRANDBABY! I may be biased here but look at her! Isn't she the cutest little baby?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBi6RUrl1ArwXFFHb_W6dxRIAgGkyIS3i1Bg0bQwO47_HY1OkrkXPAwHk7irHznlAVR0gHB8RtWBIANf-mCpObEIbnhfgxKbksRHByRUAeUQeymdqNul7okVZdr9ldAwCd1wPruIwdK14/s1600/WP_20161206_12_49_24_Pro+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBi6RUrl1ArwXFFHb_W6dxRIAgGkyIS3i1Bg0bQwO47_HY1OkrkXPAwHk7irHznlAVR0gHB8RtWBIANf-mCpObEIbnhfgxKbksRHByRUAeUQeymdqNul7okVZdr9ldAwCd1wPruIwdK14/s320/WP_20161206_12_49_24_Pro+%25282%2529.jpg" width="254" /></a></div>
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(c) Genealogical Gems, 2017Genealogical Gemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00360698341057632480noreply@blogger.com0