52Ancestors 52Weeks – Namesake

 name·sake

/ˈnāmˌsāk/

noun

noun: namesake; plural noun: namesakes

a person or thing that has the same name as another.

In my grandfather’s Moore family, there is the name NELSON that has been brought down through generations.

The first was Horatio NELSON Moore born in 1804 the first son of Tristram and Thankful (Foster) Moore in Moore’s Mill, New Brunswick, Canada.  Strangely, the day Horatio (1804) died in 1825, Thankful Moore gave birth to another son, her 12^th child. She and her husband name this boy after the first son, Horatio NELSON Moore.  It was the custom of the times to name newborns after a previous child who had died.

The name, Horatio Nelson Moore came from Admiral Horatio Nelson a British naval officer who fought in the Napoleonic wars. He was born in Norfolk, England in 1758 and died in 1805.

Admiral Horatio Nelson was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. He was shot by a French sniper and must have been easy to recognize as he wore his full uniform and all his medals.

After Admiral Horatio Nelson died, he was still loved by the British people, they named streets and parks after him.  They erected a statue in Trafalgar Square memorializing him. 

The next time NELSON was used in the family was for my grandfather, John NELSON Moore born in 1889 in Savannah, Georgia.  He was the grandson of Horatio NELSON Moore born in 1825.

John NELSON Moore (1889) named his son, John NELSON Moore in 1925 in New York.

John NELSON Moore (1925) named his sons, Michael NELSON Moore and Timothy NELSON Moore.

Timothy NELSON Moore then named his son Ben NELSON Moore.

We have the NELSON name down to the 5th generation after the original Horatio NELSON Moore in 1825.

Thankfully the name Horatio went out of fashion after 1901 so they carried the Nelson name forward instead.

52Ancestors 52Weeks - Military

Blogger Amy Johnson Crow has challenged us with writing about an Ancestor once a week for the year 2019.  She will give us prompts to get us started.  This week's prompt is Military.

Today is Memorial Day where we remember those who have served in the Military to keep our country free!

Several members of my family have served in the Military and I am very proud of them.  Early on we had Benjamin Foster who was involved with one of the first naval battles in Maine during the Revolutionary War.  Both of my 2^nd Great Grandfathers were in the Civil War. John Counts was in Savannah, Georgia and Horatio N. Moore was in Mobile, Alabama.

I probably have relatives in the First World War but haven’t found the records yet.

My father, James Mathews and his brothers, Tom and William all served in the military during WW 11.  My father was in the Navy and was stationed stateside, New York City and Washington D.C.  The other two were in the Army and served overseas.

My cousin William Mathews Jr. also served in the Army during the Viet Nam War.  I do not have a photo of him in uniform though.

Towards the end of the Viet Nam War my brother Kevin was in the Marines.  He also was trained and served stateside.

              

  

William Mathews, Army   William Mathews, Dad    James Mathews, Navy

Thomas Mathews, Army

Kevin Mathews, Marines

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks – Road Trip

Blogger Amy Johnson Crow has challenged us with writing about an Ancestor once a week for the year 2019.  She will give us prompts to get us started.  This week's prompt is Road Trip.

I had been researching the Moore family for many years and found them in New Brunswick, Canada and Savannah, Georgia.

My husband and I travelled all over the country on motorcycle and were always looking for interesting rides.  We decided one year to go to Savannah, Georgia.  I went well prepared.  I had several addresses where the Moore family lived in Savannah and the cemetery where some of them were buried.

Since the Moore family lived in Savannah from 1880 to 1910 there were many changes and not all addresses had houses.  Some were parking lots and one was a business office.  The church, St. John’s is still there.  The Moore children were baptized in that church.

St. John the Baptist Church

We went to the Laurel Grove Cemetery; Aisle 16 Lot 2439.  We started down a long row heading towards the plot and I was so discouraged, there were no headstones, until we got down to the Moore plot.  Hooray, a little fence around several headstones. Horatio and his wife Mary (my 2^nd Great Grandparents) were buried there as were 2 daughters and their families.  It was very exciting to me, not so much my husband though.  We didn’t stay long because it was very hot and buggy.

Entrance to Laurel Grove Cemetery

It was a fun road trip to ride and walk through the streets I knew my Grandfather roamed as a small child.  His parents, Tristram Moore and Genevieve (Counts) were married in Savannah.  Genevieve was born in Savannah, December 1864, the month General Sherman marched through Savannah during the Civil War. 

Savannah Street Scene abt. 1900

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks – At Worship

Blogger Amy Johnson Crow has challenged us with writing about an Ancestor once a week for the year 2019.  She will give us prompts to get us started.  This week's prompt is At Worship.

When I think of worshiping, I think of the priests who serve and help the parishioners.  I have had several priests in my family.  This priest, Father Ronan Callahan was born Jerome Callahan to Walter and Rosalie (Tierney) Callahan on 22 May 1923.  He was my Mother, Ruth Moore Mathews’, first cousin.  I only met him a couple of times because he was a Passionist Priest and served around the world.  His obituary follows giving the particulars of his life.

WEST HARTFORD – Father Ronan Callahan, a Passionist priest, seminary professor and overseas missionary, died at St. Mary Home on Sept. 9, 2015. He was 92.

He was born and named Jerome F. Callahan in 1923, the second son of the late Walter S. and Rose (Tierney) Callahan. He was the brother of Robert Callahan of Farmingdale, N.Y., and the late Walter Callahan.

Father Ronan grew up in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn. He attended St. Augustine High School in Brooklyn and graduated from Farmingdale High School in 1941. He studied at Manhattan College in the Bronx, N.Y., and graduated from Cathedral College of Immaculate Conception Preparatory Seminary in Brooklyn in 1944.

He then entered the Passionist community. After completing the novitiate at St. Paul of the Cross Monastery in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1945, Father Ronan studied theology at St. Michael Monastery in Union City, N.J. He received a Master of Arts degree in theology and was ordained a priest in 1951. He then studied philosophy at the Angelicum in Rome from 1952-54; the University of Ottawa, Canada; Laval University in Quebec, Canada; and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He received a Carnegie Fellowship at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana in 1968.

Father Callahan taught philosophy at the Passionist Monastic Seminary in Jamaica, N.Y., from 1954-70. He also taught at St. Joseph College in West Hartford from 1964-68 and held membership in the American Catholic Philosophical Association. In 1970, he embarked on a missionary career with the Passionists in the southern Philippines. He taught philosophy at Notre Dame of Marbel University in Cotabato, served as consultor to the bishop, was chancellor of the Diocese of Marbel from 1975-90 and ministered as a prison and hospital chaplain. He was president of the Philosophy Association of the Visayas and Mindanao in the southern Philippines and received numerous awards for public service.

After returning to the United States, Father Ronan taught at Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell from 1993 until his death. Several years ago, he was awarded an honorary doctoral degree by Holy Apostles Seminary. He also served in local leadership at Holy Family Monastery in West Hartford during that time period.

For more than a dozen years, Father Callahan helped out with Saturday and Sunday ministry at St. Catherine Parish in Broad Brook, where he quickly became a beloved pastoral servant and popular preacher.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Sept. 14 at the Holy Family Monastery chapel. Burial followed at Holy Family Cemetery.

(The Hartford Courant - Saturday September 12, 2015, GenealogyBank.com)

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks – Out of Place

Blogger Amy Johnson Crow has challenged us with writing about an Ancestor once a week for the year 2019.  She will give us prompts to get us started.  This week's prompt is Out of Place.

I have written about this William Mathews the actor on my blog before but thought it fit perfectly with this week’s challenge.

My grandfather’s family Mathers/Mathews all could be found in the New York City area.  Mostly Manhattan and Queens.  I was looking for William Mathers/Mathews born in May of 1890.  He was the son of James Mathers/Mathews and Cecelia O’Brien. 

This person was a mystery I couldn't find anything about him after 1940 or when and where he died.  I had found him in all the Census records available, I had a picture of him, and knew that he was a dancer on Broadway. William was first living with his parents in Manhattan and then after 1910 he lives with his grandmother, until she dies in 1933.  He continued to live in that same house in Richmond Hill, Queens, New York with his Aunt Katie Morris and cousin Bunny.

William Mathers/Mathews about 1935

I had decided to search for him after many years. I searched on Ancestry.com.  When I searched for William Mathews a WW11 Draft Registration card was indicated to belong to him.  I almost passed it by because it was from Saranac Lake, in upstate New York.  All I ever knew was he lived in Manhattan and Queens most of his life.  I looked anyway in this Out of Place area.  It was definitely him.  He gave his  closest relative as Catherine Morris in Queens.  The only new thing about this Draft Registration document was that he was living at the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital in Saranac Lake, New York.

WW11 Draft Registration

Ancestry.com

I did some research on the hospital and found that it was for people in the entertainment industry who had contracted Tuberculosis (TB).  According to several books and articles I have read on the subject, the clean fresh air was supposed to help cure the body of TB.  They had special porches on all the houses (which they called cottages) all screened in with long deck chairs where the patients would lay all day.

I contacted the public library in Saranac Lake and the librarian found this patient card from the hospital.  It indicates he was in the hospital in 1946.

REPORT OF A CASE OF

TUBERCULOSIS

FULL NAME

William Mathews

PRESENT ADDRESS Will Rogers Memo.

Former Address

94-39 111^th St.

Richmand Hill, L.I.

Age—55 occupation _stage__hand__

Incipient? Advanced? Far Advanced?

T.B Pos. Present  P-3 Plus Absent

Has patient been instructed as to disposal of

sputum and all other means of prevention ?

yes

Saranac Lake, N.Y.___6/24/1946

Geo Wilson

M.D.

Attending Physician

It is very important to check every clue and hint even if you think they never would have been in that Out of Place area.

52Ancestors 52Weeks – Brick Wall

Blogger Amy Johnson Crow has challenged us with writing about an Ancestor once a week for the year 2019.  She will give us prompts to get us started.  This week's prompt is Brick Wall.

I have several Brick Walls.  They are people I have not been able to find where they were born, married, or died.  Many of the Brick Walls also include finding where they immigrated from in Europe. Some I will find the information when the records come on line because I can’t travel to the country where the records where registered.

The one Brick Wall that is particularly frustrating is my Great Grandfather, Tristram Anderson Moore.  He was born in Canada in 1851 and travelled with his family to Alabama as a young boy.  The family moved to Alabama to be near his father’s sister Emily Moore Williams.  As Tristram grew older he worked for Emily’s son, Frank Williams.  Frank had the largest Cypress Lumber Company in Louisiana.  Tristram worked on one of his boats delivering wood.

This picture is of Tristram (2^nd from left in back) about 20 years old working in the Southern Music Company store in Savannah, Georgia.  The family moved there when Tristram’s father, Horatio, got a job with the Chickering Piano Company in Savannah. In 1885 Tristram married another employee of the Southern Music Company, Genevieve Counts.  They seemed to have a happy life with 6 children, Mary, John, Bessie, Wilhelmina, Tristram (called James) and Francis.  They lived in several different places in Savannah during this time which was very typical of people who rent rather than bought homes.  Sometime between 1900 and 1910, Tristram leaves the family.  He is in the 1900 Census but not in the 1910.  The story that has been passed down through the years is he died at sea.

Apparently, he deserted the family and went in search of adventure on the high seas!  Several thoughts come to my mind when I hear that.  First, it is true.  Second, they divorced, and it was quite a big deal if someone divorced.  Third, he just left and never came home so she made up the story of him going to sea and dying.

I have looked at the records available in Alabama and Georgia of deaths for Tristram A. Moore and have found none.  I have checked for him in the census records in several southern states, nothing.  I have looked for records of seaman dying at sea but haven’t found any.  I have looked with all the possible name variations that he used: Tristram Moore, Tristram A. Moore, Tristram Anderson Moore, T. A Moore and Tris Moore.

I have checked many records for the Williams family in Louisiana in case he was living with them but didn’t find him. 

One day I hope to find an answer to my Brick Wall question, what happened to Tristram Anderson Moore?

52Ancestors 52Weeks - In the News

Blogger Amy Johnson Crow has challenged us with writing about an Ancestor once a week for the year 2019.  She will give us prompts to get us started.  This week's prompt is In the News.

The historical newspapers are a wonderful place to look for and find information on relatives.  You find birth, marriage and death announcements, when someone is visiting from out of town and people coming off ships.  There are also articles with more personal accounts of people’s lives.  One such account that I found for Owen J. McDonald, my husband’s paternal great grandfather, was very interesting.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle – 4 Apr 1883 Wed – Page 4

The article is from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 4 April 1883.  The headline reads Behind a Cloud - Disappearance of Wealthy Butcher. Apparently, Owen McDonald owned a butcher shop in the Washington Market.  Every Sunday he would go and do his accounts while it was closed.  On Sunday, 25 February 1883, he went as usual from his home on 19^th Street, Brooklyn to Washington Market (Most important NYC wholesale produce market between 1880-1910 located in what is now known as TriBeCa) 

Washington Market 1890

He didn’t return home.  Now it is April and there has been several sightings, in a bar, in a railroad station, and in New Jersey, but he hasn’t come home. The article gives a complete description. Owen was 40 years old, with light sandy hair slightly mixed with gray.  He wore sparse side whiskers and small mustache.  He was dressed in a dark overcoat, dark mixed pants, laced shoes, stand up collar.  He also had on a scarf and was wearing a white shirt. When he was spotted in the railway station, he had on his work cap and not his fedora that he wore going to work.

The article hinted that he might have been insane as his two sisters had some insanity issues and possibly one of his daughters. The article indicated that he was loved by everyone, had a great business and so many people were out searching for him.

I have checked the newspapers from April 1883 to his death in 1896 and have found nothing telling if he ever was found or what happened to him until his death.  The death certificate dated 28 November 1896 states that he died in Bellevue Hospital of Emphysema and is buried in Calvary Cemetery.

This article was wonderful and frustrating at the same time.  I learned about his relationships with friends and family, a complete description of him and how he ran his business but not what happened to him while he was missing.  There was never any hint through family tales what happened either.  Very interesting.

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks – Large Family

Blogger Amy Johnson Crow has challenged us with writing about an Ancestor once a week for the year 2019.  She will give us prompts to get us started.  This week's prompt is Large Family.

My great grandparents, William John Mathers and Mary McCrudden Mathers, had 9 children 7 who lived to adulthood. My grandfather, William Mathers/Mathews was the youngest child and only 1 of 2 boys.  The second oldest, James was born in 1868 and my grandfather was born in 1884 quite a difference in age. William John Mathers was a shoemaker and in the 1880 New York Census he lived at 226 W. 28^th Street, New York City and had his wife and 7 children living above his shop.

When the children got married and had children, they all stayed very close.  They lived within several blocks to each other in New York City.  The grandchildren of William Mathers and Mary McCrudden Mathers were 32 in number.  The families got together for every special occasion.

Their Children were-

Mary Jane – Married Joseph Flanagan and had 12 children

James – Married Cecelia O’Brien and had 1 son

Catherine – Married Patrick Morris and had 2 daughters

Ellen (Nellie) – Married William Hickey and had 6 children

Ann – Married William White and had 2 daughters

Theresa – Married William Rudolph and had 5 children

William – Married Mary (Mamie) McGuigan and had 4 children

The grandchildren were born between 1890 and 1924.  Grandma, Mary McCrudden Mathers was alive for all their births, she died in 1933.  Unfortunately, Grandpa, William John Mathers only lived until 1902.

Even though William and Mary had 7 children and I think that is a large family, their oldest daughter, Mary Jane had a larger family.  Mary Jane Mathers and Joseph Flanagan had 12 children, their oldest was born in 1890 and their youngest was born in 1914.  The amazing thing is their youngest who was born in 1914 lived until 2015.

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks – Bachelor Uncle

Blogger Amy Johnson Crow has challenged us with writing about an Ancestor once a week for the year 2019.  She will give us prompts to get us started.  This week's prompt is Bachelor Uncle.

My only Bachelor Uncle was Thomas F. Mathews oldest brother of my father, James R. Mathews.

Thomas F. Mathews Age About 3

Thomas was born 16 October 1909.  He was the first child born to William Joseph Mathews and Mamie McGuigan Mathews.  They lived at 316 E. 73^rd St. in New York City when he was born.  Thomas lived at that address until sometime between 1925 and 1930.  William Mathews’ brother-in-law, Patrick Morris died in 1925 and William with his family moved in with the Morris family to help. 

Thomas F. Mathews About 1930

Thomas lived in Queens, New York the rest of his life.  He lived with his parents until he entered the Army in 1942 during WW II. When he returned from the war, he worked with asbestos covering pipes.  He also worked at the New York Times Newspaper part time at night. He would get the newspaper from the printing press and prepare it for distribution.  He was following in a tradition that started with his father and continued with his brothers and nephew.

Thomas F. Mathews in the Army 1943

He was very close with his sister, Catherine Mathews Hurley (Kay).  I am sure he was a help to her after her husband died and she had 5 children to raise by herself.

In later years he went to live with his sister, and she took care of him when is was disabled due to diabetes. Thomas was a good friend to all and loved to get together with friends at the local pub.

Thomas died 13 August 1970 in Richmond Hill, Queens, New York.

Thomas F. Mathews with sister, Kay Mathews Hurley

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks – In the Courthouse

Blogger Amy Johnson Crow has challenged us with writing about an Ancestor once a week for the year 2019.  She will give us prompts to get us started.  This week's prompt is In the Courthouse.

My father-in-law, Thomas N. Murphy had a cousin named Ellen (Nellie) McDonald Fitzgerald. Ellen married Michael Fitzgerald and they had a son Gerald. When my husband and I were first married we took a ride with his mother, Mary Glessoff Murphy out to Port Jefferson, New York.  It was and still is a very cute town with many shops and places to eat.  While there my mother-in-law said that Aunt Nellie had a house right up the street and she pointed it out.

Many years later when I was working on the genealogies of the Murphy and McDonald families I wondered if I could find out anything about that house in Port Jefferson and Aunt Nellie living there.

I went to the Suffolk County Courthouse and looked for the deeds of the houses on the street in Port Jefferson.  By this time, I wasn’t exactly sure which of the houses on that street was the one Aunt Nellie lived in.  I had to look through several different reels of film, first to find the lot number for each address, then the actual deed itself.  I think I checked every house on the street and the neighboring streets but didn’t find her name on any of the deeds.

I think she probably rented the house each summer. She did live in Brooklyn her whole life and probably wanted a cooler place for the summer.

That was my experience in the Courthouse.

52Ancestors 52Weeks – Family Photo

Blogger Amy Johnson Crow has challenged us with writing about an Ancestor once a week for the year 2019.  She will give us prompts to get us started.  This week's prompt is Family Photo.

The Tierney Family Photo.

This family photo came into my possession after my grandmother died in 1980.  My grandmother, Isabel C. Tierney Moore is the girl in the middle in white.  I was told by her son, my uncle, John Moore that the women seated on the right is my grandmother’s Aunt Kitty. Aunt Kitty never married and didn’t have any children of her own.

This photo would have been taken sometime late 1900 or 1901.  The girl on the right in white was born August 1898 and looks to be about 2 or 3.

The two girls dressed in black in the middle, left to right are Frances (Frankie), and Mary (May).  The three girls in white from left to right are Rosalie, Isabel and Alice. These are the sisters that I grew up knowing.  I have not been able to find names for the girl in black on the left and the two boys on the right. The only boy in the Tierney family was John and he died in 1896.

Aunt Kitty (Katherine Delaney) was in the photo because her sister, Margaret the mother of the girls died in February 1900 and the father died in 1901.  She took over the care of all the children.   I do know that Aunt Kitty’s other sister Alice died in 1896 so possibly these are some of her children too.

I am always asking relatives if they know any more about the picture.  It is the only one that I have of my grandmother as a child and would love to know more about it.

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks – Love

Blogger Amy Johnson Crow has challenged us with writing about an Ancestor once a week for the year 2019.  She will give us prompts to get us started.  This week's prompt is Love.

This week the challenge is Love, but being it is the week for Valentine’s Day I will write about Valentine Glessoff Zito.

Alfred Zito & Valentine Glessoff

Valentine’s birthday was 27 June 1907, so not on Valentine’s Day.  She was born in Newark, New Jersey. Were they just thinking she was their Valentine and professing their love for each other? Or was it a family name? Valentine’s parents, Ivan and Alexandria were both born in Russia.

The name Valentyna is a popular Slavic name for girls, meaning healthy and strong.  I believe this was why they named their second girl Valentine (Americanizing the name).

Valentine was my husband’s Aunt, sister to his mother Mary.  Valentine lived a full and happy life.  She married Alfred Zito (Freddy) in 1929 in Brooklyn. They had one daughter, Jacqueline born in 1945.  Valentine was called Aunt Val or DeeDee by her nieces and nephew.  When her sisters started having grandchildren, they also called her DeeDee.  She was a second grandmother to all the grandchildren.  She would come to visit and play games, swim in the pool, cook and reorganize cabinets and closets.  She was always busy.  She worked for many years for the Town of Oyster Bay in the Clerks office and was very involved with the Republican Party of Nassau County.  Valentine’s daughter, Jacqueline married in the 1980’s when Valentine was in her late 70’s.  Jacqueline and her husband George then had 2 sons.  They were the love of Valentine’s life.  She spent every spare minute of her day with the boys and I am sure they returned the love.

Valentine lived until she was 94 and enjoyed every day of it.  She died 20 January 2001 in Hicksville where she lived for over 50 years

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks – Surprise

Blogger Amy Johnson Crow has challenged us with writing about an Ancestor once a week for the year 2019.  She will give us prompts to get us started.  This week's prompt is Surprise.

This week’s challenge is Surprise.  Many years ago, I searched and found the Mother’s name of my husband’s grandfather.  Thomas J. Murphy’s mother was Honora Quinlan.

One of the first things I check when I am looking at a new family is the Census Records.  The records put the family together at a particular time and place.  I knew Thomas J. Murphy was born about 1877 from family and then his death certificate.  The 1880 Census would be the first census he was enumerated.  I found the family in 1880 in Brooklyn at 517 Court St.  The family consisted of John, the head of household, his wife Nora (short for Honora), Mary, Patrick, Thomas and Maggie.  Also, in the household was Mary Quinlan, mother-in-law of John.  This was how I found the maiden name for Honora/Nora.

I then found Honora’s siblings, Jane, Margaret and Michael.  Many years later more documents became available on-line.  The wills of people who died in Brooklyn were digitized and I started checking everyone to see if they had a will.  I wasn’t going to check the Quinlan’s or Murphy’s at first figuring they were not a rich family, but I checked anyway.  I found the will of Honora’s sister Margaret from 1904, (she never married so was still Quinlan).  This was a surprise at first that someone in the family had a will at all.

The most surprising thing about the will was that she left her estate to her sister, Honora, and her BROTHER, Alexander!   Not once in all the years and documents I had found, did it mention this brother. Margaret’s sister Jane died 8 years before her so was not mentioned in the will. Her brother Michael also died before her in 1879.

It pays to check out all new databases you never know what surprises you will find.

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks – In the library

Blogger Amy Johnson Crow has challenged us with writing about an Ancestor once a week for the year 2019.  She will give us prompts to get us started.  This week's prompt is In The Library.

This week’s challenge is In the Library.  The last 20 years I have volunteered at the local Family History Library.  I help everyone who comes in and have learned so much from each person I have helped.  When I first started there were three volunteers and we worked together with the patrons and on our own families.

One day I had come in with a new Internment List from Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, New York.  It was for my grandfather, William Mathews’, oldest sister, Mary Jane Mathews Flanagan.  Mary Jane was the only one of the siblings to be born in Ireland.  She was born in 1864 in the parish of Urney which includes parts of Tyrone and Donegal.  The Mathews, or at that time they were Mathers, family lived in Sion Mills, Tyrone.

Mary Jane Flanagan died 29 September 1916 and was buried 2 October 1916.  The internment list for Section 34, Range 7, Plot 0, Grave 14 includes the following names –

·        Katherine Flanagan         8 Jan 1905           11yrs     Born in New York

·        Nell Flanigan                     25 Feb 1907        10yrs     Born in New York

·        Mary J. Flanagan              2 Oct 1916          48yrs     Born in Ireland

·        Joseph Flanagan               28 Aug 1935       61yrs     Born in United States

·        Bernadette Connolly       13 Oct 1939        2yrs        Born in United States

·        James Connolly                 3 Aug 1962         64yrs     Born in United States

·        Anna Connolly                  23 April 1983      84yrs     Born in New York

I was showing this list to Anne one of the other volunteers when she said that the name and date for James Connolly was the same as her brother-in-law and he had a sister Bernadette who died young.  We then started checking the family tree and found that her brother-in-law was my third cousin. Anna Connolly was James’ mother who Anne new personally too.  We were both surprised, amazed and very happy to find the connection. 

52 Ancestor 52 Weeks – I’d like to Meet

Blogger Amy Johnson Crow has challenged us with writing about an Ancestor once a week for the year 2019.  She will give us prompts to get us started.  This week's prompt is I’d like to Meet.

I’d like to Meet Emily Caroline Moore, the sister of my 2^nd Great Grandfather, Horatio Nelson Moore.

Emily Caroline Moore was born Christmas Day 1820 in Moore’s Mill, New Brunswick, Canada, the tenth of 14 children.  Emily married Charles Williams who was from Kennebec, Maine but had moved to New Brunswick.  They married 1 September 1842 and moved from New Brunswick to Anson, Maine.

I have a lot of information on the woman and feel she was a very interesting, caring, strong, and family-oriented person.  Through all her travels and problems, she wrote back to family members in Canada.  Many of the letters have been saved and I have transcripts. The letters were from 1856 and then 1878 through to 1892.

In one letter Emily said that after careful consideration and because of her husband’s poor health, they decided to move south to Alabama around 1845.  The following years found them in various places in the state, Shiloh where their second and third children were born.  Then in Spencerville where another child was born.  They also lived in Nanafalia, Citronelle, Marion and Mobile.

Several family members also moved to Alabama and visited frequently with each other.  In 1861, Emily’s husband, Charles died leaving her with 3 children, their first son George died around 1850. During the Civil Was many of the women lived together with their children while the men were in the service. As her children grew, they became very busy with their businesses. Her son Frank Williams became the owner of the  largest lumber company in Louisiana. He employed many of the family in his company. Emily Caroline Moore Williams died 23 March 1906 in Patterson, St. Mary’s Parish, Louisiana where she had been living with her son Frank.  She is buried with her husband in the Pine Crest Cemetery, in Citronelle, Mobile County, Alabama.

I would love to have visited with her in her home and had tea.  I would love to hear the stories of all the family.  Some of her letters describe what she is viewing out her window, the scenery, the animals and the children playing.  I would love to hear how they decided on Alabama and exactly how they transported themselves from Canada.