While I was taking the introductory course (online) in genealogy from Boston University, it was pointed out that you can't always take things at face value when you are searching for information about your ancestors. There are a few reasons for this. People don't always remember facts and stories correctly; some information passed down may … Continue reading Just Because Something Is Written In Stone
Genealogy
Up On The Roof
While listening to Spotify a few months ago, a James Taylor cover of “Up On The Roof,” by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, began playing. To me, the song is quintessentially about New York. As luck would have it, I was putting together flash drives of old family photos for my siblings at that moment … Continue reading Up On The Roof
Share this:
Memorial Day Remembrance: Sidney Kelly and Sons in the Great War
Note: Sidney John Kelly, Sr. was my great grandfather. My mother is the daughter of Sidney Kelly, Sr.'s youngest son, Bernard L. Kelly. What follows was brought together from source documents I have acquired from the National Archives, The Naval History and Heritage Command, and the library system of the National Defense University, specifically the … Continue reading Memorial Day Remembrance: Sidney Kelly and Sons in the Great War
Share this:
2019 was a Challenge, I am looking Forward to 2020
I was looking at my blog this morning, thinking it was time to dust off my brain and get back to writing. 2019 was a challenging year, personally and professionally. I had to confront, head-on, some old demons, deal with a minor medical issue and adjust to a promotion at work for which I did … Continue reading 2019 was a Challenge, I am looking Forward to 2020
Share this:
Family Genealogy: Anthony Cooke and the Photo of BFD Ladder 10
When it came to me, it was a copy. It was probably a copy of a copy. At some point, my maternal great-uncle, Edward O'Connell, sat down and drafted several pages of notes on the Cooke, Boyle, O'Connell, and Kelly families. I am not sure what his motivation for doing this may have been. When … Continue reading Family Genealogy: Anthony Cooke and the Photo of BFD Ladder 10
Share this:
I am getting back to work here
I have not posted on the blog since last summer. In the interim I have been working on my other blog. If you know about that blog, you know about it. If you don't, let's just say I do not want to cross contaminate between the two blogs. This is the lighter of the blogs, … Continue reading I am getting back to work here
Share this:
Addressing My Past
If you know anything about me, you will know I like to research and discover things about my ancestors. I do because, until a few years ago, I did not know all that much about them. Either side of the family was pretty much a mystery except for the O'Connells. For me, the O'Connells were … Continue reading Addressing My Past
Share this:
The names have been changed to confound the researcher…
It has frustrated me that, while doing genealogical research, I have been unable to make the leap across the pond to Ireland with any of the many family lines in my pedigree that should lead me there. I have been working the Flood, Kelly (seemingly heading to the Isle of Man), O'Connell, Cooke, and Gaynor … Continue reading The names have been changed to confound the researcher…
Share this:
The Perils of Disproving Family Legends
I am knee-deep in genealogy paperwork this weekend. A package from the National Archives containing the military records of my great-grandfather, Sidney J. Kelly, Sr. spilled over 100 photocopied pages across my table that probably have not been disturbed since the 1920's at a time when his widow was seeking assistance with pensions and death … Continue reading The Perils of Disproving Family Legends
Michael's Monologue 