Ireland-- June 30, 1922

   
      Ninety one years ago, the disastrous bombardment of Dublin's Four Courts building began.  By the next day, June 30th, the Public Records Office was in flames.  A member of the anti-treaty forces, who tragically had stored their ammunition  inside the office, described what he saw, "fluttering up and down against the black mass were heaves of white paper; they looked like hovering white birds.  A half burnt volume fell at my feet."

Genealogy on TV

    I recently wrote a blog about the return of Who Do You Think You Are to the airwaves.  The Irish show I mentioned in that blog, Genealogy Roadshow, has now signed a contract with the American production company, Krasnow Productions.   Their version of the show will air on PBS beginning September 23rd.  The show is very successful in Ireland, where it's in it's second season, no doubt because in the words of Irish producer Philip McGovern, " Everybody wants answers to questions about their own histories to help make sense of their lives today." In their announcement, PBS had this to say about the new show--

     “GENEALOGY ROADSHOW is an engaging, innovative program that reveals the bigger picture of our nation’s past, present and future,” said Beth Hoppe, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager of General Audience Programming for PBS. “With a diverse mix of stories in each episode, GENEALOGY ROADSHOW appeals to Americans interested in learning about their family histories. It also shows that no matter one’s heritage and background, everyone has a place in history.”

      I'm excited about this show, because as the American producer Stuart Krasnow recently said, "It's rare and wonderful when one can produce a show in which literally everyone is qualified to be a part of it."  These won't be the episodes produced in Ireland, it was only the format of the Irish show that was sold to an American production company.  While I wasn't able to get the viewer at RTE, (Ireland's National Television and Radio), to play this program, hopefully in the future we will be able to watch the Irish episodes online.  In the meantime, you can read about them here http://www.rte.ie/tv/genealogyroadshow/programmes.html

     While we're on the subject of RTE, their website is well worth checking regularly.  This site is where you can listen to Famine Echoes , and view some of their TV shows.  One I enjoyed was an episode of The Gathering.  This one stars Fionnula Flanagan and can be viewed here http://www.rte.ie/player/us/show/10156318/
Across the bottom of the screen it reads 4 days remaining.  I guess that means you only have 4 days to watch this, which I really hope you will.
 

Funeral Card Friday/Michael O'Hara

     This funeral card from 1934, is that of my great, great Uncle Michael O'Hara, alias Michael O'Hora.  The O'Hora surname was used til around 1925.

 

     Michael was born in Aurelius, NY September 23, 1858 to James O'Hora and Maria McGarr.  He moved with his parents to Littleville, NY when he was nine years of age.  He was a farmer and livestock dealer in addition to operating a threshing business.  He died after a short illness at the family farm in Littleville.

This is the only photo I have of Michael.  He is the one on the far left wearing the hat.  Doesn't he look alot like Uncle Joe from Petticoat Junction?

Uncle Joe from the TV series

Thankful Thursday/Return of Who Do You Think You Are

     Today I'm thankful one of my favorite shows is returning to television.  Dropped by NBC, the all new, Who Do You Think You Are, produced by Lisa Kudrow, will air at 9 p.m. July 23rd on the former Learning Channel, (TLC).  I say former because these days not much learning is going on, their main offerings seem to be Toddlers and Tiaras, 19 And Counting and Honey Boo Boo.

     However, come July they will have at least one quality show worth watching,  But you know what would make it even better?  Loose the celebrities.  It's not that I have anything against celebrities, but I'm not particularly starstruck, (with the possible exception of Johnny Depp), and I don't think most family historians are either.  I did not watch the old show because I was excited about who might turn up in Reba McIntyre's family tree.  I wanted to see research techniques and the discovery of obscure records, I wanted to see a good genealogical mystery solved. 

     I can't help thinking each of the individuals chosen to participate in the show had the wherewithal to hire a dozen genealogists on their own if they were really interested in their ancestors, and they certainly didn't need the show's sponsors to fly them to their family's homeland.  I for one would find it much more compelling to follow a family historian who struggled with a brick wall for years be interviewed and then watch the show's genealogists work with him or her to find the answers.

     A few months ago I received an e-mail about a similar show being produced in Ireland, inviting people to do just that, write in describing your research and what you'd like to find out about your family, with a view to selecting subjects for the series; which of course I did.  Unfortunately, the film crew will not be showing up on my doorstep anytime soon, but I still like that concept better.

     Having said that, it's still a favorite show, and I will be watching when the new series premiers, or rather watching online the next day since in a fit of annoyance over the crappiness of said shows like Toddlers and Tiaras, I cancelled my cable subscription.

     

Church Record Sunday/McGarr Sisters

     I've written about my McGarr ancestors of Ballyraggan, Kildare before so I'm just going to show you the church records of the three oldest McGarr sisters today.  If you want more background you can find it here.  The oldest daughter was Catherine.  She married John Hore in Baltinglass, County Wicklow Ireland.  I don't have an image for that marriage, only a transcription from the IFHF website:

 29-Jan-1845
Parish / District:    BALTINGLASS      County. Wicklow    
 Husband     John    O'Hara       
 Wife     Catherine    McGra
Denomination:     Roman Catholic    
Witness 1   Peter  Hara        
Witness 2     Bridget  Donohoe

     Note the bizarre spelling. I'm sure it's them however, Peter was John's older brother, and Donahoe was Catherine's mother's maiden name.  Also, the couple's daughter Mary Hore was born in February of the following year.  I rented the Baltinglass film from the LDS to assure myself the transcription at IFHF was correct, (you can't be too careful).  

     The first failure of the potato crop, a harbinger of the devastation yet to come, occurred eight months after Catherine and John were married.  Shortly after their daughter's birth, they emigrated and settled in Aurelius, New York near Auburn. 

     The next McGarr daughter was Maria, who is my great, great grandmother.  She also came to Aurelius.  Maria  married James, the brother of John" O'Hara" at Holy Family RC Church in Auburn, New York in 1852.  The O'Hara/Hore family was from Ricketstown in County Carlow, just across the border from Ballyraggan.

 

McGarr Hore Wedding

     The other sister to come to America was Bridget.  She married at Holy Family in 1854.  Her husband was Martin Kinsella who was also a native of Kildare.  The Anastasia Farrell who witnessed the marriage was a cousin of Bridget Maria and Catherine.

    

McGarr Kinsella Nuptuals

      Maria and Bridget along with their families, eventually moved westward to Shortsville, New York  near Rochester.  From all newspaper accounts they were respectable wives and mothers.  Catherine was a little different.  Perhaps it was circumstances -- her husband died and left her with a large family, but Catherine strayed from the path a bit; it seems '94 was a particularly bad year--

Auburn Weekly Bulletin
1894 --Catherine O'Hora and daughter Kate, Seneca St.,  arrested for keeping a disorderly house, and the latter for disorderly behavior. [What constitutes a disorderly house?  I'm not sure, but I would love to know.]

1894-- Catherine O'Hora was interrogated over chicken theft.  William Travers and John Shea were arrested at her home in Seneca St. [These were Catherine's grandsons, sons of her daughters Ann and Mary respectively, who were both deceased by that time]

     It's interesting that only the three oldest daughters of Daniel McGarr came to America.  The two youngest daughters, Sarah and Anne, married in Ireland, and the two sons, Richard and John, who were the last born in 1839 and 1842, disappear without a trace.  I cannot locate a marriage or death for them in civil registration records though of course those didn't include Catholics until 1864.  If they died in childhood there would be no record of it since the Church was pretty lax about death records.  Sarah and her husband Thomas Hughes took over the lease on Daniel's farm, so I have a sad suspicion they may have perished in one of the epidemics when the famine hit, they were quite young at the time.

    

Genealogy For Kids

    

     I have been trying, unsuccessfully, to get my kids interested in genealogy for years.  They tolerate my obsession with the subject in the same way they do all my other eccentricities...they humor me.  But I can tell their hearts just aren't in it, I see their eyes glaze over as I prattle on about great, great, great Grandma McGarr's fatal case of consumption, or the importance of land records.  Which begs the age old question, are great genealogists born or made?

     I say it's both.  Some of us, like myself, have been interested in the past for as long as they can remember.  Others come to it later in life as more free time becomes available and still others much later as their own mortality becomes a real concept.  I've never been one to let things take their natural course, ha, not if I can do something to alter that course to fit my own desires.  It may be too late to force,  interest my kids in family history,
though Lord knows I tried, but now I have grand-kids.  To that end, my grandchildren all receive a copy of the award winning book, Black Potatoes, by Susan Bartoletti on their 11th birthday.

     Yeah, it's kinda depressing, but it tells the story of the Irish famine in terms a kid can understand and it's not overly morbid.  After all, this is a huge part of their family's  history, the reason we all are here in the US of A.  After that it's a short leap to begin telling them about the generation that came over from Ireland, about their trip, where they lived, what they did, what their children's lives were like.  Another one that looks interesting is, The Great Ancestor Hunt, The Fun of Finding Out Who You Are, by Lila Perl.

     There are other books out there too, for the still younger set.  I did a quick search at Amazon and found these titles; Me And My Family Tree, by Joan Sweeney, and The Kid's Family Tree Book, by Caroline Leavitt, and many others.  As always I advise checking the used books option.

     So get moving peeps, there is a whole generation out there that needs our guidance!



.

    

Demons of Genealogy

   When I was in high school in the 70's, the big fad in my part of the globe was Ouija boards. My friends and I all had one, until my Mother, who bought the thing for me in the first place, decided they were dangerous and tossed mine out.  Which brings me to this post's subject.  

     I have come to the conclusion there is no earthly way to determine the origins of my great, great Grandfather James White.  After searching for years I am certain no obituary or news article holds the answer, I've found them all.  I am all but positive his parish in Ireland, whichever one it may have been, does not have records going back far enough to include his birth, there's nothing in his death certificate, so what's left?  I can't help wondering, wouldn't it be great to call Grandpa White on the Ouija board? 

     By the way, I'm not suggesting it would be a good idea for you to try this, good Lord, I don't want to be responsible for endangering someone else's immortal soul. 

     Upon googling Ouija boards, I found some really scary stuff about possessions and hauntings  supposedly linked to somebody fooling with one.  And while I don't remember being possessed by demons in high school, I'm pretty sure my Mother would disagree.  


     I've never seen anything linking genealogy and otherworldly intervention, and there are no message boards for supernatural family history.  I checked just to see if anyone else was thinking along those lines, (I still can't believe I'm the only one).  I also googled my go-to website in spiritual matters, Catholic Answers, which had this to say, "The Ouija board is far from harmless.  The fact of the matter is, the Ouija board really does work, and the only "spirits" that will be contacted through it are evil ones."

     Terrific, they tell me it works, then they tell me not to use it.  In the end, I don't really believe it would be a good idea or that anything useful would be gained from using one.  And to tell you the truth, the whole demonic possession thing kinda freaks me out.  Still, wouldn't it be great to ask Grandpa White where the heck he came from?