Easter 2010

Yesterday was Easter.  It was a beautiful, unusually warm day for Cincinnati in early April.  This year we did something a little different.  Instead of a formal sit-down dinner, Tom and Linda graciously agreed to allow us to come to their home and we all contributed various hors d'oeuvres and deserts.  It was wonderful.  The second generation includes some quite creative cooks and their contributions must be "healthy".  We all benefited.

A couple of the kids could not attend at this time, but Savannah, Mae, Ian, and John represented the "grandchildren".  We all missed Will and Quentin -- but then there is always Christmas when we will have yet another boy added to the mix, thanks to Chip and Lisa.  How my parents would have loved it!

We had an appearance by the Easter Bunny -- aka Don. The younger kids differed in their reactions, ranging from delight to fear.

Despite what is a less than stellar economy, the whole family seems to be doing pretty well, and we are blessed with healthy, bright and joyful children and grandchildren.
(I can tell you as a parent that there is nothing more pleasurable than watching your children parent your grandchildren -- they seem to do such a great job)!

The day before the entire family got together, Roland, Liz and Ian came down from Columbus.  We decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and try out the newly-opened playground at Lake Isabella.  Ian loved it, as did we, and Bill (Pa-ga) got to introduce Ian to fishing.  I don't know who was more impressed with the minnow being put on the hook -- Ian or Zippy.




Perhaps at a later date I'll put together a photoshow of many of the pictures from that day and include a link on this post.  For now, I'll end with one last picture from the Lake Isabella playground.  I hope that all of my family and friends enjoyed their families as much as I did mine.

Today's My Birthday -- No Foolin'

I've always enjoyed the fact that I was born on the 1st of April.  April represents new beginnings after we're all tired of winter.  It usually coincides with Easter, as it does this year.  Everyone's on guard for "April Fools" jokes.

My mother was pregnant with me at the same time her sister, Evelyn, was pregnant with her first-born.  Aunt Evelyn was due April 18th.  My mother was due April 22nd.  This was going to be (to quote Joe Biden) a BIG DEAL!  I can tell you that being the oldest grandchild has its perks.  Although I was the 4th grandchild on my Dad's side, at least I had the good sense to be born female.  This picture shows me with Bill Hansen and Chuck McCafferty with our g-grandather, August Vonderheide.  We were all born between April and May.

The best story of all is that my mother feared she was infertile!  It took her six months to get pregnant -- and apparently, they were really trying!  Both parents, and Grandma Ryan, were absolutely convinced I was going to be a boy.  It had something to do with the way my mother was "carrying me".

So I "fooled" them on all counts.  Even the bus company newsletter where my Dad was employed at the time published my birth announcement noting that my Dad expected a boy.  I'm not sure if my Dad was at work when this happened, but the story I recall was that my mother called her mother to say she needed to get to the hospital.  Grandma was not about to fall for that April Fool's joke -- and told my mother that.  After all, Aunt Evelyn was due first!

I guess my mother was convincing, because she got to Bethesda Hospital and had me at 11:55 AM (if I recall correctly).  Chuck, Aunt Evelyn's first-born, was born on his due date.  I won!  There ended up being 25 grandchildren.  I was first and Kathy Ryan Busken was last.  Both Kathleens were bookends.

I can't end this post without saying that today I am 61 years old!  With my age comes the freedom to blog and do other things for my own entertainment and enjoyment.  I feel like this blog and my family history records will be my legacy.

I'm reminded every day what a blessing my life is.  About 12 years ago, I tried to buy some 10-year term life insurance.  My agent worked very hard trying to find a company, any company, that was willing to bet I would live to be 60!  That certainly got my attention.

So I write this with the joy that comes with having such a wonderful family.  My husband, Bill, has put up with me for 23 years.  I have THE BEST daughter in the world, Liz.  She has a wonderful husband, Roland.  They have given me the opportunity to be a grandparent to Ian, now 22 months old.  And best of all, I am relatively healthy -- it's all relative.




















Sunday will be Easter and I will get to spend it with my wonderful Jones family.  Due to facebook, I'm more in touch with cousins than I have been in years.  So I'm one happy Jones/Reed.

Thank you so much for reading along.  NO FOOLIN'!  And thanks, Mom, we did this together 61 years ago.

Dysentery and "Summer Complaint"

Thanks to the good people of the Special Collections Department of the St. Louis Public Library, I was able to document some of my speculation from yesterday.  When I was working on the Jones/Wainright history in Cincinnati, I became acutely aware of the problem of cholera in this and every other river city in the 1800s.  In one of the Wainright families, the father and the son were dead within days of each other due to cholera.

In researching this topic I learned what a significant problem this was because they didn't even understand what caused the illness at the time.  What was interesting is the fact that a black man had the answer, but was ignored.

Secondly, a Cincinnati black made a suggestion that, if followed, would have ended the cholera crisis. Charles Hammond, the Daily Gazette's editor, stated: It is an old saying that in every emergency "even the weak may give some help." Mr. Henry Boyd, a man of color, has suggested that the source of cholera is in the water, and that it may be removed by boiling all the water we use and letting it cool again before used. This is a very simple process which can produce evil to no one. Even our country friends of the market may boil and bottle their water, before they come to the city, and if the theory be well, bring it with them and incur no risk.

The above quote is from a great article that summarizes what was going on in Cincinnati and up and down the river during this period.  If you want to know more, you can "google" the Cincinnati Historical Society and search for the article by Carter, Ruth C.  It is called  "Cincinnatians and Cholera: Attitudes toward the Epidemics of 1832 and 1849." Queen City Heritage 50 (Fall 1992): 32-48.

Unfortunately, the record they had for Richard Ryan listed his age as 5 years, 8 months.  "Our" Richard would have been 8 years old if he died in 1865 so I will have to continue to look for him elsewhere.  Several of the people listed on the Death Record for St. Louis in 1865 died of "summer complaint" -- the common name for what we now call cholera.

The Death Record did exist for Hugh Matthew, however. He died of "dysentery" in 1870.  Dysentery is defined in an online dictionary as "an inflammatory disorder of the lower intestinal tract, usually caused by a bacterial, parasitic, or protozoan infection and resulting in pain, fever, and severe diarrhea, often accompanied by the passage of blood and mucus".

My thoughts go to the people of Haiti who are trying to survive the recent earthquake and deal with the lack of safe drinking water -- a problem all too common around the globe.  A few years ago I was working on a project with the Greater Cincinnati Water Works.  They provided me with a graph of the number of illnesses and deaths in Cincinnati from typhoid before and after they started treating the water and eventually adding chlorine.

I realized that I have to look up words like "summer complaint", "dysentery" and "typhoid".  We take it for granted that we will not lose family members to something so preventable.  I need to remind myself to be aware of opportunities to make a difference for others dealing with this curse.

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Ryans in Evansville

The question still remains -- why Evansville?  At that time in our American history there was a lot of "chain migration".  One or two brave members of a family would "test the waters" in America.  If they were successful, they would encourage other family members to join them in the new land.  City neighborhoods were often filled with other immigrants having the same heritage, language and customs.

The 1850 U.S. Census lists 8 Ryans living in Evansville, IN.  Michel, age 55. lived with his wife Margarett, age 50, and daughter Margarett, age 20.  Another married couple, Thomas (40) and Dorothy (39) also lived in Pigeon Twp.  Patrick, age 22, lived in a boarding situation as did Hugh, age 24 and Mary, age 14.  I have not been able to determine any relationship among the Ryans but know that Patrick and Mary were witnesses to Hugh and Mary Ellen's wedding.  They are clues to family relationships that may prove helpful in the future.

When Julie Jones and I visited Evansville last fall to research the Ryans, we saw this artist's rendering of what Evansville would have looked like in the 1850s.  Like Cincinnati, Evansville is located on the Ohio River and was very dependent on the steamboat trade of the time.

Working as a "brickmaker" must have been grueling, back-breaking work.  While in Evansville, Julie and I searched the City Directories.  By the 1860s, Hugh was working as a clerk at the E & CRR Freight Office.  Additional Ryans can now be found living in Evansville. most within a few blocks of 6th & Sycamore.  Many were employed by the railroad as switchmen and baggage masters. Others are listed as draymen and laborers.

In the 1860 Census, Hugh and Mary Ellen are listed with three-year old, Richard, and one-year old, John.  (For some reason, Mary, age 7, is listed at the bottom of the page and not with the rest of her family).  When I wrote to the Diocese of Evansville for baptismal records, I found that Mary was born on March 26, 1853.  Their second child, Mathew, was born on August 12, 1854 and apparently died before the 1860 Census.  Hugh was born on May 6, 1861 and my g-grandfather, James Hugh, was born September 27, 1862.

By about 1864 the evidence shows that the family probably relocated to St. Louis, Missouri.  There is a Death Record for a Richard Ryan, age 8, buried in the Mount Holy Trinity Cemetery.  St. Louis, as well as all river cities, were suffering greatly from cholera epidemics at this time.  I wouldn't be surprised if this "plague" was responsible for the deaths of Richard, Mathew, and Hugh.

Here is a sad description of the cemetery:

Holy Trinity Catholic Cemetery ([aka Poor Man’s Catholic Cemetery; New Breman Cemetery] N. Broadway and Taylor, adjoining O’Fallon Park, mostly poor, burials moved to Calvary; 1864-1908) (aka Mt. Holy Trinity)

Based on the 1880 Census, the family must have moved to Iowa following Richard's untimely death.  Both Margaret and Ellen are listed in the 1880 Census as being born in Iowa.  Their time in Iowa was short, as Hugh Matthew died in 1870 back in St. Louis.  He also was buried in the "Poor Man's Catholic Cemetery".

By the age of 40, Mary Ellen, was the young widow with five children ages 3 - 17.  The 1870 Census lists the value of Hugh's estate as $250. 

Life was hard.  I can't even imagine the suffering on so many levels.  It's got to get better.

Hugh Mathew Ryan and Mary Ellen McInerney

Hugh Mathew Ryan was the first member of our clan to settle in the United States.  I was able to locate two references to his immigration to the United States.

According to this record, Hugh arrived in the port of New York by way of Liverpool on May 2, 1849 -- just after the height of the Potato Famine.  He sailed on the ship Constitution.  I am not sure if he was the first member of his family to arrive here, but he is listed in the 1850 Census in Pigeon Twsp,, Vanderburgh Co., Indiana.  This township is part of present-day Evansville, IN.  The Census also includes a reference to 14 year-old Mary Ryan living in the same residence.  I've always assumed that Mary was his younger sister.  The Census, completed in August, states that Hugh is 24 years old and that he is employed as a "brickmaker".

Today I found an 1850 Census document for Mary Ellen and her family.  It had alluded me before because of how McInerney was spelled. As so often happens in genealogy,I discovered that some of the assumptions I had about when she came to the United States were wrong.  The first three children of Matthew and Margaret were born in England.  The next three were born in Pennsylvania.  The remaining children were born in Indiana.  Later census documents showed that they had two additional children for a total of 11. Since Mary (Ellen) was born in England abt.1830 and the next child was born in Pennsylvania in 1833, we can conclude the family emigrated in the early 1830s.

Matthew Mcinnery
Age:	52
Estimated birth year:	abt 1798
Birth Place:	Ireland
Gender:	Male
Home in 1850 (City,County,State):	Pigeon Ward 6, Vanderburgh, Indiana
Family Number:	154
Household Members:	Name Age Matthew Mcinnery 52 Margarette Mcinnery 45 Lawrence Mcinnery 25 Michel Mcinnery 23 Mary Mcinnery 18 Matthew Mcinnery 17 Bertholomew Mcinnery 13 Johanna Mcinnery 10 John Mcinnery 7 James Mcinnery 5 Thomas R Mcinnery 3 Ellen Mcguire 80 Martin Muhler 32 Laurence Link 26 Anthony Porthouse 19 John Murphy 20 Henry Garvin 22

Source Citation: Year: 1850; Census Place: Pigeon Ward 6, Vanderburgh, Indiana; Roll  M432_176; Page: 375B; Image: 283.

A couple of other interesting facts emerged.  Every one of the men in this household over the age of 17, with the exception of the father, was employed as a brickmaker.  That was the occupation also listed for Hugh Ryan and is probably partially responsible for how the young couple met.  I cannot decipher the occupation of the father, but he had assets of $4000 -- a good amount of assets for that time period.  I think it is possible that Ellen McGuire is Mary Ellen's grandmother.  Seventeen people comprised this one household.

I am not sure what attraction Evansville, IN had for these new immigrants, but I know that there was an Irish Catholic community in Evansville and that the 1850 Census listed eight Ryans.

One of the joys of my search for Ryan roots was locating a copy of the Marriage License for Hugh and Mary Ellen.   Since they got married on May 4, 1852, I was able to determine that my Irish ancestry in this country begins with them.  The Church record of the marriage lists Patrick and Mary Ryan as witnesses.  I know Mary was Hugh's younger sister, at least they shared a residence, but who was Patrick?

I was able to contact the Diocese of Evansville in an effort to identify marriage and baptismal records for Hugh, Mary Ellen and several of their children.  They were very helpful.  I asked them to identify what church in the Evansville area served the Irish Catholic population.  I was told that it was most likely Assumption Church and a check of their records bore that out.  Here is a picture of the church, which at one time served as a cathedral.  Unfortunately, it was torn down to make room for the Evansville Civic Center.

So who were these people?  What do we know?  How did they support themselves? Did America live up to its reputation as "The Promised Land"?  Let's explore together.

Pallasgrean

We know "our" Ryans came from Pallasgrean.  If you want to "google" it, you will find that it has several spellings.  The most common variations are Pallasgreen, Pallas Grean (with a space between the two parts of the name) and Pailís Ghréine in Gaelic.  Wikipedia describes the town this way:

Pallasgreen or Pallas Grean (Irish: Pailís Ghréine) is a village in East County Limerick, situated on the Limerick–Tipperary N24 road. The name means "the Stockade of Grian," referring to an ancient Irish Goddess of Love, who is associated with the a nearby hill of Nicker.

The town currently has a population of less than 400 people.  It shares a border with County Tipperary.  I think it is safe to say that the population of this community in the 1850s suffered greatly from the effects of the Potato Famine.  I was able to acquire a copy of a local history called Pallasgrean in the 1920s by Michael O'Dwyer -- the town historian who died in 2002. Even in 1920  Pallasgrean was grim.  There seemed to be more than a little bit of drinking in Pallasgrean.  He included a picture of the Village Pub.

Of course, today Pallasgrean looks like a quaint, modern town with up-to-date amenities. You can get a feel for the village by checking out the town's website: http://www.pallasgreen.com

If Bill and I actually get there in the fall, we will add some current pictures to this post.

Setting the Scene

When my mind's eye visualizes Ireland, a place I hope to visit in the next year, I think of lots of green, rocky shorelines, and pastoral farmlands -- often with sheep dotting the landscape. Everyone I know who has been there cannot stop talking about the beauty of the place. My daughter told me when she traveled there that she had this immediate sense that she was "home".  She said that she felt like she looked like the people, and they like her.  What could possibly have prompted our ancestors to leave such an idyllic place?  We all know the answer -- starvation is a great motivator.

Recently PBS aired a series called Faces of America moderated Henry Louis Gates, Jr.  He was profiling the Irish family history of Stephen Colbert.  Stephen Colbert's family came from County Limerick (as did ours). Click on this segment to find out about the Potato Famine:        A Very Sad Period in Irish History

The program went on to say that there was actually intentional starvation of the "paupers" of Co. Limerick.  Families were offered free passage to the United States, but only if the entire family agreed to be relocated.  The policy was a sort of Final Solution for the underclass. The book Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt depicts the depths of poverty experienced by many in our homeland.

We are fortunate in our family to have a family history.  The original was written by Hugh Mathew Ryan "for his wife, Mary Ellen Ryan (nee McInerny)".  I have found McInerney spelled with many variations in different sources. The copy I inherited from my mother has a handwritten note that says the history was copied by Hugh's daughter, Margaret, on November 30, 1884.

Some things are ambiguous.  For instance, the first line refers to "Hugh Mathew Ryan" and says that he died of old age on September 8th, 1855, in County Limerick, Ireland.  (Throughout these posts, I am going to take the liberty of correcting some of the obvious misspellings from the document I have).  Right underneath this statement, it discusses Mary Ellen Ryan, wife of Hugh M. Ryan, and says that she died on July 2nd, 1902.  It was actually July 3rd, 1903 in Cincinnati.  What I wouldn't have given if Hugh had included the name of his mother.

The next GREAT clue came from a notebook I inherited from Grandma Ryan. Her notebook has the best clue of all -- it says that Mr. Mathew Ryan died of old age Saturday, September 8, 1855 Seat of Parish of Green, Lemirick (sic) Co., Ireland.  Her spelling matches the spelling used in the original.  One of the interesting observations here is that the father is referred to as "Mathew" and not "Hugh Matthew".  Having the name of the small town is fantastic!

Her notebook goes on to discuss a Jeremiath (sic) Ryan, son of Mathew Ryan, who enlisted in 1855.  This seems to imply that Jeremiah is the brother of "our"  Hugh Matthew.

Luckily for genealogists, you can still get service records.  Here is the copy of the record for Jeremiah that totally supports Grandma's notes.

I thought I had it made.  I knew Hugh Mathew's name,  I thought his father's name was Mathew, I had the name of a probable brother, and I knew they came from Pallasgrean (multiple spellings) in Co. Limerick. My excitement was premature.  In the next post, I will tell you what I learned about Pallasgrean.

The All-American "Stew" or Hungarian Goulash

When I first started putting together this family history last spring, I had to make a decision about which of my mixed family lines I should address first.  It only made sense that since I was a Jones, I should start with  my paternal lines.  Besides -- they were an interesting group and I had a lot of information.  They were mainly English, with some Irish thrown in beginning with Norine and a little "Pennsylvania Dutch" compliments of Elizabeth Kinley (Alexander Jones' wife).  

From time to time one of my cousins on the "Ryan" side of the family would ask me when I was going to write something about the Irish.  My mother's sister, Evelyn, married a McCafferty.  Her brother, Jim, married a Cunningham.  I guess that definitely makes those two families more Irish than anything else -- but I love to needle Uncle Jim about his own mother's German roots.  Can you say "Vonderheide"?

I am fascinated by my all-American, Cincinnati mixed ancestry.  I actually believe it is a good thing to mix up the genes a little bit.  So I present to you Exhibit A -- my beautiful grandson -- Imre "Ian" Varga.  He is wearing his "Kiss Me I'm Irish" shirt.  I asked my daughter, Liz, if the people at his daycare have difficulty thinking of him as Irish.  (Ian's father, Imre "Roland", grew up in Venezuela and is of Hungarian descent). She told me that, in fact, the teachers refer to Ian as their "little Irish boy" because of his reddish-colored hair, bright blue eyes, and his clear preference for all things green (or "geen" as he pronounces it).

His name should be a dead give away that there is more to this story.  In fact, Ian's heritage is a mix of German, English, Irish, Swiss, Hungarian and Romanian -- and that's the ancestry we know about. Imre is a common Hungarian name and the name given to the first-born son of the first-born son for several generations in his father's family.   How about that for the "family of man"!

So my blog postings are going to go in a new direction.  I am going to begin discussing my maternal lines, beginning with the Irish.  It's an interesting story -- and one I am still working to unravel. Come along with me and share the trip.                                                                                                              

Don Kramer and Rosemary Breving - Through the Eyes of a Six Year Old

Once upon a fairy tale time, I got to play the role of princess.  My cousin, Rosemary, was dreaming of her wedding.  I remember being at her house on Kinmont and being shown a 8 1/2 x 11 picture of her "prince".  She told me that they were going to get married as soon as he got back from Korea.

As a kindergartner at the time, this is what I took away from that experience: (1) this was the first time I realized anything about war and that it took loved ones away from us, (2) this was the first time I had seen what "young love" looked and felt like -- especially the anticipation, and (3) I was going to get to be in the wedding.

I remember my dress. I remember a bridal shower we had at our home. During the shower, the "ladies" asked me to show them how I was going to walk down the aisle. That was probably the first time I realized how totally uncoordinated I was but I sure enjoyed being the center of attention. I remember a ride in a limousine with the rest of the bridal party to the reception in the Golf Manor Municipal Building.

It was a fairy tale -- and one of my earliest childhood memories that will stick with me forever. Don and Rose got married on April 23, 1955.  They will soon be celebrating their 55th Wedding Anniversary!  I'd say that's quite a milestone in anyone's book.  Note to Rose and Don -- you still have four more years before you can claim the 59 years of marriage that Pop and Norine enjoyed.  I'm looking forward to your 60th!

Don and Rose went on to become the parents of four children. Pictured are Donna, Mary Beth, Julie and John.  They are grandparents of eight -- five girls and three boys. What a great family -- and Happy Birthday, Rose!

Margaret Ann Jones and Anthony Scardina

Margaret Ann, the youngest of five children, was born on January 22, 1928.  She had to be a very welcome surprise.  Norine was 43 years old when she Margaret Ann arrived on the scene.  There was a gap of eight years between my Dad and his younger sister.  It is no wonder that she was treated like a princess.

When the cousins got together, Rose told us that until she came along, Margaret Ann was always dressed in either blue or white because she was "dedicated to the Blessed Virgin".  After Rosemary was born five years later, Margaret Ann was suddenly allowed to wear red.  The picture on the right is Margaret Ann as a flower girl in her big sister, Edith's, wedding.  I love her curly hair!

Margaret Ann was the apple of her father's eye.  Apparently, Margaret Ann was so used to being treated as a princess that as the flood waters were coming up and the rest of the family was trying to move items to the second floor, Margaret Ann had to be asked if she thought she could help.  I recently "extracted" this fuzzy picture from a video shot in 1957 -- the sentiment is clear even if the picture is not.

Margaret Ann was the beauty of the East End -- no doubt about it.  I'll have to find out from her children what the occasion was for this picture.

She caught the eye of the East End "hunk", Tony. (Note to Scardinas:  I know you've got some great pics of your Dad.  Send them to me so I can replace this one).


Several years ago my brother, Tim, was working with a company that was taking down homes that had suffered severely from yet another Ohio River flood.  The people of the East End are not exactly welcoming to "outsiders".  One of the neighbors was giving Tim a hard time until he found out that Tim's father grew up on Eastern Ave.  As they continued the conversation, Tim was surprised to find out that the house they were taking down was the boyhood home of Tony Scardina.

 

I recognize the three Brevings in this wedding picture, but I will wait for the Scardinas to help me identify all members of the wedding party.  What a handsome couple they made!

Tony worked as a delivery man for Ruebel's delivering bread to local stores and delis. Sue reminded me that he was also an avid golfer getting four hole-in-ones.  But most importantly, Tony was the father of five beautiful children.

 

Starting with Jeanne on the left and moving in a clockwise direction, Patty, Susan, Tony and Nan are pictured.

Patty loves to tell the story that whenever they visited "my branch" of the family, her mother would make us out to be the "perfect" family with everyone washing and drying the dishes, etc. without complaint.  We were always held up to them as the "model".  

As a member of that branch, however, I can tell you for sure that there is nothing like the Scardinas.  When Margaret Ann was on her own, blind, and needing assistance from her children, I was impressed to find out that all five kids took responsibility for her daily care by way of a schedule they would FAX to each other.  You can't be around the Scardinas without laughing.  They are a joyous bunch, filled with stories and a unique view of catering to their mother as they grew up (thinking that was the norm).  I'm so happy that social networks like facebook are now available making it possible for all of us to "reconnect".

I hope that this post is the beginning of the conversation about the Scardina branch of the Jones family.  For now, let me leave you with a picture of Margaret Ann in 1957 holding her newest pride and joy -- Nan.