Genealogical Gems

Working on genealogy goals for the New Year. Thinking of concentrating efforts on my immigrants and ancestral homelands. There are a few (on Mom's side) that I am still not certain of yet. Daddy's side was actually easier, probably since I am only third generation American on his side so I only have four direct immigrants (my great grandparents). Mom's however ... Frances & John Kurenda My known immigrants are: Daddy's side: Panko Hruszczak - from Prusy, Sambor, Galicia Bessie Matys - from Fraga, Rohatya, Galicia John Kurenda - from Tatary, Sambor, Galicia, Poland Frances Skrabalak - from Temeszow, Poland Mom's Irish lines: Mary Kilpatrick - my great grandmother Michael Walsh - my 2x great grandfather Anna Keating - my 2x great grandmother Dennis O'Flaherty - my 2x great grandfather Martha Durkin - my 2x great grandmother I got my AncestryDNA results back earlier and would also like to confirm which of my lines is my European Jewi...

Last Sunday I had a great time at the PA Renaissance Faire dancing with the band Tartanic (pictured below for no other reason than the drummers are hot!). After their set, I had a chance to chat with them – one in particular - about tartans. I still had a few questions about them, like which one can I wear if I have several Irish lines.    The Scottish Register of Tartans states a restriction of one of my ancestral tartans is that it may only be worn by those with that surname. Does this mean that since my maiden name is (clearly not Irish) Ruczhak, that I can not wear my ancestral tartans?       My grandfather’s mother was a KILPATRICK, born in Ireland . My grandmother was full Irish. Her grandparents – our immigrants – were WALSH, O’FLAHERTY, KEATING, and DURKIN. My DNA results from Ancestry.com show that I am 35% Eastern Europe, 29% Great Britain and 17% Ireland . I also have 14% Scandinavia, 3% Western Europe , 1% Italy/Greece and a tra...

Twenty-two years ago today my maternal grandfather, Lloyd Pierson Still, passed away. May His Memory Be Eternal. My grandfather was born on 24 March 1914 to Pierson George and Mary Kilpatrick Still. His mom immigrated from Ireland . His father came from a long line of Chester County farmers and land owners. In fact, I have not yet found my Still immigrant. His mother died in childbirth when he was just three, leaving his father to raise two boys on his own. A housekeeper was brought in by name of Edith Maltby. I know little else of her. The family lived in East Marlborough, Chester County . I have no clue how my grandparents actually met. I’ve asked several cousins and am hoping one of them heard a story or recalls something. On 21 October 1939 he married my grandmother, Mary Rose Welsh of Phoenixville. They had three children: Aunt Kitty (Mary Kathleen), my mom (Barbara Lorraine), and my Uncle Tom (Thomas Garrett).   In 1940, according to the Census, he was ...

This stone has been covered here before. It names my great grandfather Pierson George Still, his wife Mary Kilpatrick Still and three of their children. I chose this one today because today – 17 February – is the day Mary Kilpatrick Still, my great grandmother, and her stillborn child died in 1916. They are buried together at the Old Doe Run Presbyterian Cemetery in East Fallowfield Township , Chester County .   Mary was born to James Kilpatrick in Ireland on 12 November 1884. She was one of seven children who all immigrated around the same time and settled near each other in the Main Line area (near Philadelphia ). Her two brothers returned home to Ireland . Her sisters married and settled in the Eastern US . Mary met Pierson Still while he was working as a blacksmith on the Main Line and she was a domestic for a family there. They married in 1908. They had two girls – Margaret Nora and Dorothy – who died in infancy; two boys – my Uncle Jim and my grandfather Lloy...

Birthdays Happy birthday this week to Francis Stuczynski. May God grant you all Many Years.    Memory Eternal Today is the 136 th anniversary of the passing of John W. Deyoe and 142 years since Amelia Kunkle Eckman passed away. My cousin Deborah Sammons also passed on this day in 1974; she survived only a few hours. John (1826-1879) is hubby’s 2 nd great uncle; he is the son of John W. and Mary Schemerhorn Deyoe and husband of Rachel Caroline Huggins. Amelia (1852-1873) was the first wife of Aldus John Eckman, hubby’s great grandfather. She died of complications relating to childbirth and is buried with the son – Ulysses – who did not survive long.    Monday is the 94 th anniversary of the passing of Martha Durkin O’Flaherty, my 2 nd great grandmother. She is the daughter of Patrick and Abyan Murphy Durkin and is my immigrant ancestor of that line.   Franklin Still passed away 84 years ago Tuesday. He was my 2 nd great grandfather. He w...

Pierson George Still is my great grandfather. I thought it appropriate to feature him this week since yesterday was the 38 th anniversary of his passing away. His stone is a simple one. He is buried with his wife and three of their four children. My grandfather is the only one to have married and is buried elsewhere. Pierson and the others are buried at Doe Run Cemetery in East Fallowfield, Chester County . The cemetery is across the street from the Doe Run Presbyterian Church.   Pierson was born 16 March 1886 in Unionville to Franklin and Sarah Jennie Van Horn Still. He built the house where my uncle’s family still lives in Unionville. A simple, yet comfortable, house. He lived out West to Clark , Colorado , for awhile with his son, my Uncle Jim. He passed on 12 January 1977 in Kennett Square . He had been living with his other son Lloyd and his wife (my grandparents).  I remember fondly him living at my grandparents’. We kids just loved him. He was a b...

Nora Kilpatrick Beattie is one of my great grandmother's (Mary Kilpatrick Still) sister. There were five sisters and two brothers who all came over, though not all at the same time. I have not yet been able to pinpoint and document their exact place of birth. Instead, I know only they were from Ireland and they were Protestant. They all settled originally in around the Philadelphia/Main Line area. Nora first shows up in America in the 1910 Census. She is listed, at that time, a servant to Harry and Alice Riley, a young couple with two children. Harry Riley is a poultry farmer and they live on Valley Road in Tredyffrin, Chester County. Nora's age is recorded as 29. She is listed as the family nurse. The Riley family employs two other servants - waitress Catherine Ayer and Nora Jane, a cook - also from Ireland and a gardener from Italy named Carlo Angelonia. The 1910 Census asks about immigration. Nora, according to the census, immigrated in 1902. Ten years later, Nora is...

I never knew my Aunt. Her name is Dorothy Helen Still. She was born 17 February 1913 to my great grandparents: Pierson Still and Mary Kilpatrick. I am sure her family was excited to receive her and felt blessed, having lost their first daughter just three years before. She joined my Uncle Jim (James Franklin Still) in this small family. Sadly though, she died less than a month later on 8 March 1913 of Pertussis. Pertussis is also known as Whooping Cough, an infection best known for its tell-tale coughing spells that end with an almost dramatic whooping gasp for breath. She was buried the following day at the Old Doe Run Cemetery. The Cemetery is across the street from the Old Doe Run Presbyterian Church on Strasburg Road, in East Fallowfield, Chester County. She shares a plot with her parents and siblings, with the exception of my grandfather (who is buried with his wife/my grandmother elsewhere). There is one other child - a stillborn - who was buried wit...

Today - St. Patrick's Day - seems like the perfect day to post about my immigrants, specifically my Irish immigrants. Michael WALSH believed to be from Dublin. An aunt had told me once that the family were haberdashers there. Once here, they settled in Shenandoah, Schuylkill County working in the coal mines. Anna KEATING Believed to be from County Mayo. She was born in 1855 and came here with her siblings when she was five. Her parents are assumed to have stayed in Ireland. The Keating siblings settled in Ringtown, near Shenandoah. She married Michael Walsh. Michael and Anna had six children. One of whom was Martin Joseph Walsh, my great grandfather. At some point the Walsh family moved to Phoenixville. My grandmother mentioned once it had something to Martin playing baseball. In Phoenixville, which is in Chester County, he married Catharine O'Flaherty. She is the daughter of Dennis and Martha Durkin O'Flaherty. Dennis O'FLAHERTY Dennis was born in 1839. ...

Mary Kilpatrick Still is my great grandmother and is hard to find information on since she was not here all that long. 12 November 1887 - born in Ireland (as per Chester County marriage records ) 1907 - Immigrated (as per 1910 Census) 5 June 1909 - Married Pierson George Still in Mortonville (as per Chester County records ) 1909 - 1st child Margaret Nora Still born (appears on 1910 census but did die in infancy) 5 September 1910 - 2nd child James Franklin Still born 1912 - 3rd child Dorothy born 1913 - Dorothy dies of whooping cough 24 March 1914 - 4th child (my grandfather) Lloyd Pierson Still born 17 February 1916 - died in childbirth (child stillborn) February 1916 - buried at Doe Run Presbyterian Cemetery in East Fallowfield, Chester County, PA My "Mystery" is where exactly Mary Kilpatrick was born. I had been told County Mayo but have not found any documentation to prove or disprove that. I also am still searching for immigration information. I have sear...

Seeing as it's Veteran's Week (I know I made that up but doesn't it sound better than just one day?), I thought I would look through some tombstone photos I had and choose a vet to honor today. Well I feel so bad - Sunday when I wrote of my family's vets, I omitted my Uncle Jim! James Franklin Still served in the US Army during WW2. He was born 5 September 1910 to Pierson George and Mary Kilpatrick Still in Unionville, Chester County, PA. He was the oldest son. Pierson and Mary had had a daughter - Margaret Nora Still - the year prior but she had lived only two months. In 1913 his parents had another daughter - Dorothy - who died within her first months as well. James' brother Lloyd Pierson Still - my grandfather - was born 24 March 1914. He lived a full life. Their mother passed two years later - in 1916 - due to complications of childbirth. So Pierson raised James and Lloyd on his own with help of course from the family and a housekeeper, Edith Maltby. On...

This year I set 10 genealogy related goals for myself. The first of which was to find my maternal great grandmother on a passenger list from Ireland to the US . So far, she remains elusive. What I do know: Mary is the daughter of James Kilpatrick. He stayed behind but Mary and her six siblings came to the United States . They were: Margaret, Martha, Theresa, Nora, James and John. Mary was born on 12 November 1884 in County Mayo , Ireland . She came here and found employment near Philadelphia on the Main Line . That is where she met Pierson George Still, a blacksmith from Unionville. They married in 1908. In 1909 they had a daughter Margaret who sadly only lived two months. The next year she bore a son, James Franklin Still, who lived to be 68. Uncle Jim was a character!   In 1913 another daughter – Dorothy – was born but also passed that same year. The following year my grandfather Lloyd Pierson Still was born. Like Uncle Jim, he lived a full life, passing at age 79. In Feb...

The Surname Kilpatrick: Kilpatrick is an Ulster surname, according to Ulster Ancestry ( http://www.ulsterancestry.com/irish-surnames.html ). The surname itself is translated as “servant of Patrick”. The surname can be found in Ulster as early as 1296 with Stevene de Kilpatric del counte in Dunfreiss. Many of the Ulster Kilpatricks come from East or West Kilpatrick in Dumbartonshire.