Marguerite Luella Hogan Burns, RIP

Yesterday was the 22nd anniversary of Mom's death.  Her wake was on Mother's Day.  Extremely fitting!

May she rest in peace.

5th cousin to my Grandmother's Cat

Well, the DNA is back on Colette's spit test!  We sent our DNA into 23andMe to see what we could find out about our relationship.  We do have a bit of DNA in common.  We were categorized as 3rd to distant cousins.

If we follow the information we have, I am about 7 generations from the common ancestor and Colette is 5 generations, so I guess that would be distant! We might be 3rd cousins twice removed.  Colette and my grandfather were 3rd cousins. There are still a few lose ends to clear up.  Anyway, it's the Herlihy name that is the connection.

Handwriting Analysis...

The above is a sample of the handwriting of Sarah Jane Lewis Thompson Spencer.   Phil Cowen, a Thompson descendant, sent me the scan.  I have previously written about Don Burgett's kindness in contacting me about the letters and he provided me with transcriptions of this letter and 2 others by the family.  Thanks to both Phil & Don for this wonderful piece of our family history.

James Sheehan Obit

     This is the James Sheehan married to Mary M. Doyle.  I have written about this family previously.  The story is that they emigrated from Ireland with help from Bridget and Michael Hogan.
     The obituary appeared in the St. Paul Dispatch on March 9, 1922.

Sheehan--James, in St. Paul, March 8, 1922 in his seventy-first year.  Family residence 486 Rice. Survived by his loving wife, Mary, Patrick C., John J., James W., Joseph M., Alphonse N. and Mrs. Alphonse Arcand of White Bear and Mrs. Chamberlain of Kuna, Idaho.  Funeral from Kessler & McGuire's parlors, 115 West Tenth street.  Friday, 9:30 A.M.  Services at Cathedral at 10 A. M. Interment, Calvary.  Chicago, New York, St. Louis and Kuna, Idaho papers please copy. 

Now perhaps I will be able to find his wife's death date if she is buried in the same plot.

Why do people do what they do?

     Thanks to the Mormons and FamilySearch, I found the date of the marriage of Eliza Frances Burns.  She was the daughter of the immigrant generation--Timothy Burns and Eliza Barry.
     On her marriage license, it says that she was from Ramsey County.  She was married in Ramsey County and not at St. Thomas.
     On the record it also says she was married by an Episcopal priest.  Now that is surprising! Perhaps that is why the marriage was performed in St. Paul.  Did some relatives attend?  I couldn't find an account of it in the newspapers.
     After her marriage she lived in Chicago. She died there in 1904.