Genealogical Gems

Everyone 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. My genealogical goals are really five areas I want to focus on. This year, they are: Matys line. ... nothing specific I just felt called to focus on that line this year. 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? Where is Michael Walsh? ... what happened to him? where is he buried? Anna Keating ... how did she get from Ireland to Ringtown? What happened to her siblings? How did she get from Ringtown to Shenandoah? O'Flaherty line ... How did they get here? When? Where in Ireland did they come from exactly? Who are Dennis' parents? Any siblings? What are your goals -...

Setting aside the to do list this #SundayMorning to research my Irish female ancestors, beginning with my great grandmother Catherine #OFlaherty . It is after all #IrishAmericanHeritageMonth and #WomensHistoryMonth Catherine O'Flaherty 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. She was the youngest of eight known children. Her siblings (in birth order) are: James - 1868 to 1870. Twin to Mary Theresa. 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.  Hugh - 1869 to 1947. Married Katherine Dee. They had six children. Michael - 1871 to 1904.Married Margaret McQuade. He died just two years after they married, le...

Baptismal 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. 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.  Those children are: 1. James 2. Mary Theresa 3. Hugh 4. Michael 5. Dennis 6. Margaret A 7. Martha M 8. Catherine <-- my great grandmother Today, I am going to talk about four of them: Mary Theresa, Hugh, Martha, and Catherine. 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...

Today is Soul Saturday. It is a day when Orthodox Christians pray for the peaceful repose of those who have Fallen Asleep in the Lord. It is a day that calls us to pray that God forgives your loved ones any sins they may have committed and that He grant them rest among His saints. As I sat here this morning and considered how to apologize and explain my recent absence from pretty much the entire social world for the past month, I noticed a Church friend had posted about Soul Saturday on her Facebook page and I remembered that today was in fact a Soul Saturday. So, how does this tie in with my disappearance? To be honest, my energy has been drained. February is always a difficult month for me. It’s my birthday month and I hate that. Three years ago, it was also the month my mother passed away. She died on the 5 th at just 69 years. Her cousin – “Aunt” Nonie (Naomi O’Flaherty Catanese) died a few days later. This year, on the 11 th , we were just sitting down to dinner when I ...

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...

Edward O’Flaherty, a Civil War Veteran, died Saturday, 9 December 1922 in Franklin , PA. While I cannot connect him to my O’Flaherty line, I am fascinated by his obituary. It was published in the News Herald, out of Franklin , on Tuesday, 11 December 1922. His obituary lists his parents, immigration information, employment, children and of course his wartime information. It is truly a gem.   His obituary reads: Edward O’Flaherty, in his 76 th year, Civil War survivor and one of the most prominent of the early day business men of this city, died at 6:30 o’clock Saturday evening at the family home, 240 Washington avenue . Death was due to locometor ataxia, which had confined him to his bed for the past 23 years. During that time he had been wonderfully patient and cheerful. Until so weakened by the disease that he was not able to use his hands any longer he spent much of his time making wooden and paper toys for the youngsters in the neighborhood, all of whom were great ...

I finally found (documented) the death date and cause of my 2x great grandfather's death. He died of inflammation of the stomach on 20 April 1896 in Phoenixville, Chester County. He was 60 at the time. An Ancestry.com hint led me to a couple related trees. Most have no documentation whatsoever and some have some glaring mistakes (of course that assumes that I am right!). One tree I have noticed over time has much the same information I do but did not document everything. I emailed him and asked about the source. Last night he returned my email with the source (Chester County Archives) and the web link. I had looked through this database several times but his last name was spelled differently. The archives/indexer had dropped the O of O'Flaherty. Thank you, Ed! Ed was awesome and now I can head over to the Archives on my next free day and look up his actual death record! © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

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...

I feel as though I have fallen down a bit on the job, so to speak. I wanted to write a little about family members who were celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, anniversary of deaths, and other important days. However, I just never seem to get that done. So today, I am playing catch up and trying to work ahead! Saturday was my 23rd anniversary. We were married in 1992 at Our Lady of Consolation RC Church in Parkesburg (Chester County) by Father George Schneider. It was also my husband's cousin's 28th birthday. I remember feeling so bad that Devin had to share his 5th birthday with us. I am sure that was not what any five year old wanted to do on a beautiful August afternoon but he is a great kid and really seemed to enjoy being with everyone. Sunday - yesterday - was my cousin Sharon's 35th anniversary. It was also the 10th anniversary of the death of Sharon's father (my Uncle Reds)'s second wife, Margaret Glebe Welsh. I have to admit I do not recall Sharon...

Happy birthday wishes today go out to Denise O'Flaherty Coblentz and Wendy Mellinger Miley!    

In cleaning recently I came across a photo I took years ago. The photo was taken 23 years ago. It is that of my 2 nd great grandmother Martha Durkin O’Flaherty, her son Hugh, his wife Katherine, and great granddaughter Agnes.    I had this photo, like I said, for years and – until I pulled it out today for Tombstone Tuesday – did not realize exactly what I had. Awhile back my cousin asked me to find some information about her sister Agnes. Agnes only lived a few hours so I had never heard of her before then … or so I had thought. Here, I’ve had a photo of Agnes’ tombstone all these years.    On the tombstone, I notice that Katherine is spelled without the E on the end. I am not sure what the stain is in the photo. I have a feeling it was water poured onto to read it better (I was still pretty new to tombstone photos then). It did make the writing clear just not pretty.   They are buried together in Phoenixville, Chester County. I do not recall i...

This week, my family both celebrates and remembers. Birthdays Happy birthday this week to my sister, Noreen! Hope your birthday is a … HOOT! Today is our cousin Sue Still’s birthday as well. May God grant you both Many Years.    Memory Eternal Ten years ago today my sister (technically hubby’s sister) Wilma Lee Eckman LeMon passed. She was only 52 when she passed. She was the daughter of Frank Eckman and Dorothy Deyoe and the wife of William LeMon. They have three children.  She was a great friend, one of a very few I feel safe confiding in. She is deeply missed. She is pictured at left here with Dad (her father, Frank, that is). The picture was taken in my parents' front yard during our wedding reception in 1992. Today we also remember my husband’s 4 th great grandmother, Catherine Bumberger Herr. She passed 135 years ago at the age of 88. Catherine was the daughter of Michael Bumberger and Elizabeth Hawk. She married David Herr in 1808 and they had seven...

Dennis O’Flaherty is my 2 nd great grandfather. He was born about 1839 in Ireland and died in Phoenixville, Chester County before 1902. He married Martha Durkin in 1867 or before, and they had eight children.   That just summed up my knowledge of Dennis O’Flaherty. Today I am using the Census Records to pinpoint some more information about him.   1870 US Census Dennis, 31, works at a rolling mill in 1870. Hattie (Martha) keeps house. She is 30. At that time, they had two children: Mary, 2; and Hugh, 1. Living with them was 24 year old Ireland born laborer Patrick Hannegan. Dennis states he could not write. Martha could not read or write.   1880 US Census Dennis and Martha O’Flaherty are living on King (sp?) Street in Phoenixville, Chester County . The Census was taken on 7 June 1880. At that time, Dennis, 45, worked in the Iron Works. Martha was 41 and kept house. Both were born in Ireland . Their children are listed as Mary, 12; Hugh, 11; Mic...

Birthdays Happy birthday to Teddy Ruzchak! May God grant you Many Years. Teddy’s father Theodore and my grandfather were brothers.   Memory Eternal Today is the 209 th anniversary of the passing of John Jacob Eckman. He is hubby’s 4 th great grandfather. He was born in 1756 to Johannes Peter and Mary Magdalena Bushong Eckman. In 1782, he married Catherine When. They had seven children together.    Jane W. Still Lewis is my 3 rd great aunt. She passed away 86 years ago Monday. She was the daughter of George David and Sarah Bing Still. She married Benjamin Franklin Lewis, to whom she had one child, Sarah Lewis.   Margaretta Still, born in 1836, she was too was the daughter of George David and Sarah Bing Still. Like Jane, she is my 3 rd great aunt. She married Thomas Naylor. She had four children.   My 2 nd great uncle Hugh O’Flaherty passed away 68 years ago Tuesday. He was the son of Dennis and Martha Durkin O’Flaherty, who both immigrated...

Birthdays Happy birthday to Steven Leroy Peters, Shayna LeeAnn O’Flaherty and John Schlichter. May God grant you all Many Years.    Steven is my fourth cousin once removed. He is descended from my fourth great uncle and Civil War Veteran Benjamin Franklin Vanhorn. Shayna is my third cousin once removed. She is descended from Hugh O’Flaherty, my second great uncle. John is my second cousin once removed. He is descended from my Uncle Reds (Raymond Welsh), my great uncle. Memory Eternal Today is the 71 st anniversary of the passing of Darius James Eckman. I’ve written about him recently in a Tombstone Tuesday prompt. He is my husband’s second great uncle.   Tuesday is the 105 th anniversary of the passing of Albert Eckman. Albert is the half second great uncle of my husband. His mother is the son of my husband’s second great grandmother (Elizabeth Winter) by her first husband (Samuel Eckman).    Jane Ann Way passed away 104 years ago on Wedn...

Birthdays Happy birthday, Merle Peters, Matthew Smith, Issac Webb and Shannon Wheatman. May God grant you all Many Years.    Memory Eternal Today is the 20 th anniversary of the passing of my Aunt Helen (at right with her sister). Helen Mae Gould Still, daughter of Franklin Still and Sarah Jennie VanHorn, was one of the first to encourage me in this research that has become more like an obsession. She was born on the family farm in East Fallowfield in 1903 and lived there her entire life. She was the wife of Elwood James Webster.   Today is also the 39 th anniversary of the death of Marie J. Rogers Angell. She is a granddaughter of my 2 nd great grandparents, Dennis and Martha Durkin O’Flaherty. Her parents are Patrick Rogers and Mary T O’Flaherty. Marie married Truman Angell and they had three children. She died in 1976 in Philadelphia .   Little Ulysses S Eckman was just 18 days old when he died in 1873. On Tuesday, it will be 142 years since...

Birthdays Happy birthday this week to Beth Garris, Abigal Buckley, Dennis O’Flaherty, and Angele Sammons! This Saturday (Valentine’s Day) would also have been Uncle Tom (Still)’s birthday. He is my Godfather, mom’s brother, and Beth’s father. May God grant you all Many Years.   Valentine's Day   Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!   Memory Eternal Today is the second anniversary of the passing of Naomi “Aunt Nonnie” O’Flaherty Catanese. She was born in 1934 to Dennis and Naomi Souder O’Flaherty. She was the oldest of six children. She married Dominic Catanese, to whom she had five children. She passed on 8 February 2013. That’s her brother Dennis mentioned above in the birthday session. Monday is the 113 th anniversary of my 3x great grandfather Chrispin Pierson VanHorn’s passing. He was born 21 September 1839 to George Washington and Jane Dudbridge VanHorn. He was the oldest of seven children. He married Maria Rice, with whom he fathered six c...

This week begins today with the birthday of a famous children’s author, A.A. Milne. He was born in 1882. He is the author of Winnie the Pooh. Tomorrow (Monday) is a US day of observation, recalling Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birth in 1929. Last week’s 52 Ancestors theme had him in mind with the theme “ Remembering the King .” The themes though are simply loose guidelines and I instead talked about Elvis and my Daddy! Wednesday is National Hugging Day so grab a family member and hug away! Birthdays Happy birthday this week to Chip Pelikoski, Stacey O’Flaherty and Diane Buckley McKiernan! May God grant you all Many Years.    Memory Eternal Monday (19 January) commemorates three who passed. Alice K. Eckman Dupal passed four years ago. Maria Herr Barr passed 199 years ago.    Alice is my husband’s 4x cousin 1x removed, or at least that’s what FTM tells me! Alice is the daughter of Ross, son of Cyrus. Cyrus is the son of Mahlon, son of Henry. It i...

Margaret Flear passed on 21 April 1954. Her Funeral Card was in among some items one of my cousins has but none of us could place her, although the name sounded familiar.  A quick search on Ancestry.com and not only did I find her but I placed her in the family! The first document I found was her death certificate. It revealed that she died in Philadelphia at Memorial Hospital. She lived on Olga Street in Philadelphia with her husband, Charles J. Flear. Her COD (Cause of Death) was "intestinal obstruction" which she suffered from for four days. That was caused by a "carcinoma descending colon metastasis liver mesenteric nodes" which was due to obesity. The death certificate also shows that she had an operation on 12 March 1954 to treat the carcinoma. There was no autopsy, as was normal since she was under a physician's care at the time of death. The attending physician was Mary R. Curcio, MD. The funeral director was William P. Koller and she was to be...

Dennis O'Flaherty was born in Ireland around 1839. He immigrated to America however nothing is known of his parents or birthplace. Once here he settled in Phoenixville and, at some point before 1868, married Martha Durkin, said to be from County Mayo in Ireland. Tracing them through the Census Records offers a little insight into the family. Dennis and Martha had eight children. In March 1868 Martha gave birth to twins: James and Mary. A son Hugh was born in 1869. The 1870 Census The 1870 Census shows only Mary and Hugh with their parents. Hence, James passed before 16 July 1880 (the day the census was taken). Martha's name is listed as Hattie, which would simply be a nickname. Dennis worked in the Rolling Mill. A laborer named Patrick Hannigan lived with them as well. The census confirmed that both Dennis and Martha were born in Ireland. It also revealed that neither of them could write and that Martha could not read! The 1880 Census Dennis is working at the Iron W...