Two Words: Gratitude & Happiness

Timothy James Blaha and Erin Maureen Boedeker were married on August 16, 2014 at the Shrine of St. Joseph in St. Louis, Missouri. 

 Erin is the daughter of Jack & Mary Ellen Boedeker of Edwardsville, Illinois. 

 A miracle took place at The Shrine of St. Joseph.  The altar is called of The Altar of Answered Prayers.

 The celebrant was Father Tom Meyer.  He was Erin's family pastor at her home parish when she was growing up.

 Tim kissed his bride!

The Boedeker Family plus a new one!

Erin's maternal grandmother, Mrs. Wurth, sisters and maids of honor Sarah and Kristin, Kristin's husband Mike and ring-bearer son Matty.  Erin's parents Mary Ellen & Jack.

Erin and Tim Blaha.

Mr. & Mrs. Blaha

Stella and Matty made it down the aisle just fine.  Stella wasn't willing to make the long trip back!

The Blaha Men:  Matt, Tim, Jim and Michael.

Stella & her mom, Armida

Tio Mic and Stella taking time to smell the roses.

Michael, Jim, Kay, Matt & Stella

Tim told the guests that 2 words had been going through his mind all day:

Gratitude & Happiness

The bells rang in joy.

May many blessings and much happiness be yours, Erin & Tim!

(Hey, Erin--sometimes you get top billing!!)

More DNA fun...a Galvin Match

When first working on the family tree, I talked to Ma about her relatives.  One of the things that Ma told me was that her grandfather, John G. O'Connell, used G as his middle initial because Galvin was his mother's maiden name.

Courtesy of Kathy Finn

Along with that information, she shared info about the the Maurice Gallivan/Galvin family.  Ma said that Maurice was John G. O'Connell's uncle. Maurice and his family also immigrated to the USA.  They first lived in Mendota, Dakota, Minnesota.  They later moved to St. Paul.

One of Maurice's daughters (see right)  lived in Derrynane township, as did John G. O'Connell.  Kate Galvin O'Leary was buried in the cemetery of the Church of St. Thomas, Derrynane.

A family that was "related", but not clearly stated how, was the family of Kate Galvin Maloney.  Ma and Lucille both remember this family visiting.  I think I told the story before about Ma thinking about Kate's kids' names.  One daughter was Mary.  She was called Ray.  Ma said she wondered what Thomas' nickname would be.  Contact with one of the relatives clarified  that Mary's name was Mary Rachel--and probably the source of the nickname.  Anyway, research showed that Kate Galvin Maloney was the child of Thomas Gallivan/Galvin and Margaret (Peg) O'Leary.   At the time of the baptisms' of several of their children, it was recorded that they lived in Glouria, Ballydonohue, Kerry.

Sheila Allen Healy, Galvin descendant

Now, the DNA match.  When in Ireland recently, I visited Sheila Allen Healy and she gave up some spit for the sake of the family tree.  We have been in contact since about 1998 when we first met her after visiting the Galey Cemetery.  We met 2 workers there that pointed us her way.  Sheila's mother is Catherine Galvin, daughter of Thomas Galvin (son of Thomas and Peg) and Margaret Long.

As it turns out, Kate Galvin Maloney is Sheila's great aunt.

When the DNA came back on 23and me, my dad matched Sheila on 7 segments and was predicted to be her 2nd to 3rd cousin.  If it is worked out on paper, it is more likely that they are 3rd cousins twice removed.

I was beginning to wonder if the Galvin info was accurate.  How could I have doubted Ma? She was correct as usual. Another recent match on 23andMe also shows a Galvin match.

Now, how to find John G.'s mother's name? Can't find a record with a Galvin-O'Connell marriage or baptism that fits!

Three Funerals and a Wedding...

It's been a tough year in Lake Wobegon.

The Burns family has lost 3 and gained one.

Patrick Thomas Burns, son of Ann Mary O'Connell and George F. Burns, died on June 23, 2012.
Anita F. Wood Burns, wife of John G. Burns died February 20, 2013.  My dad, Richard G. Burns, died February 28, 2013.

Whew!

When you read in an obituary, "will be sadly missed", it is so true.

I liked to hear the stories of Uncle Pat baking cookies and giving them to people whether they liked it or not.

If you had to pick only one word to describe Nita, it would be "hospitality".  Or gracious.  Or faith-filled.

Besides being in the Burns family, being faith-filled people is one thing they all had in common. There is no doubt that faith and family were most important to all three--and probably it is safe to say in that order.

Yesterday was a tough day and a wonderful day. We celebrated the marriage of Daniel Blaise Burns and Rachel Ann Rother.  It had to be a bittersweet day!  If we believe in the communion of saints, we are all one and together no matter our state.

Congratulations to Dan and Rachel. Thanks for putting a bright spot in this long year and long winter!  The sun shone, too!  You must have had someone pulling for you!

Finding Mary Ann Pyles...

Mary Ann Pyles was the wife of John G. O'Connell.  The family lore is that she was an orphan.  Today, I think I eliminated one possible record for her.

In the 1850 Federal Census for Scioto Conty, Ohio, there is a Mary Piles living with William E. Crabtree and wife Matilda. In this census, Mary Piles' age is given as 10.  Close enough to the 1842 given in other records to make this Mary a possibility.

Further digging on the internet, however, gave more info about William E. Crabtree.

Generation No. 9
9. WILLIAM EDWARD9 CRABTREE (EDWARD E.8, WILLIAM7, JAMES B.6, WILLIAM H5 CRABTREE I, THOMAS JR.4 CRABTREE, WILLIAM (THOMAS)3, WILLIAM2, JOHN1) was born September 10, 1804 in Jefferson County Ohio134,135, and died December 24, 1882 in Scioto Co. Ohio136,137. He married (1) MATILDA JEFFERIES 1823138. She was born June 21, 1801 in Ohio138,139, and died March 16, 1857140,141. He married (2) MARY PYLES (BROWN) December 28, 1862142. She was born 1836142,143, and died 1915144,145.
Notes for WILLIAM EDWARD CRABTREE:
(Coming from Dewey Crabtree) William E. very small man probably four feet five inches with light har and blue eyes. Family saying that he had the bluest eyes anyone had ever seen. He owned around 3 thousand acres of land at one time in addition to a general store at a place called Molly‘s corner (located on 776 Scioto County and Glade Road). He had a lot of compassion for poor people and he often took them groceries when they were in need. In the fall he would take a gunny sack and go into a shoe factory in Portsmouth. He would fill up the sack with shoes and distribute them to the poor children in time for school. Donated land for Providence Church and Cemetery. 
1850 Census Scioto twp. Jackson Co. Ohio Page 353 B. September 24, 1850 J.M. Laird 104-108
Wm E. Crabtree 45 MW Farming 5,000 Ohio
Matilda 49 49 FW Ohio Mary Pyles 10 FW OH
1860 Census Scioto Twp, Jackson Co. Ohio Page 49 June 21, 180 James Nelson 347- 345
Willliam Crabtree 54 MW Grocer 4 ,000 1500 Ohio
More About WILLIAM EDWARD CRABTREE: Burial: Providence Cemetary146,147
More About MATILDA JEFFERIES: Burial: Providence Cemetary148,149
Notes for MARY PYLES (BROWN): was a young orphan whom William E. and Matilda raised. Mary was named in his will dated Oct. 18,1881 along with his three sons and his granddaughter, Sarah Crabtree.

So, onward.  Mary Piles does appear in the 1860 Federal Census in Brown, Delaware, Ohio.  She is living with the Thomas McDonald family and is listed as "servant". John G. O'Connell & Mary were married in April, 1861.

  In the St. Mary's Church records, McDonalds appear several times as sponsors to John G. & Mary A. O'Connell's children.

DNA Trail...

     I recently got the results of my Geno 2.0 DNA test.  This test gives results for distant ancestors and since I am female, it only gives mitochondrial DNA.  
     I already knew from Thomas' test at FTDNA that the haplogroup for our matrilineal line was J--J2a1a1a2. There is an interesting book written by Bryan Sykes entitled The Seven Daughters of Eve. 
     The "daughters" refer to the 7 haplogroups to which the mitochondrial DNA of Europeans can be traced. Sykes created a story to explain each haplogroup and its migration out of Africa. J or Jasmine as it is referred to, moved out of the Middle East toward Europe about 8,500 years ago, bringing agriculture with it.
     The test makes comparisons between the typical percentages of ethnicities in European populations and the individual (me).  I completed a survey of my known ancestors and their geographical origins.  My largest pool was British.  The typical makeup of that group is 49% Northern European, 33% Mediterranean and 17% Southwest Asian.
      For our line the results were:  43% Northern European; 37% Mediterranean; 18% Southwest Asian and 2% Native American. This last result was a bit of a surprise. 
     I went to a program sponsored by Irish Genealogical Society International and the speaker gave an overview of DNA & genealogy. I ran this result by her, wondering how far back this might be--she said, "think 1700s".  I then found information on the Geno 2.0 website saying that 2% Native American would mean that the DNA was introduced about 5 or 6 generations back.  
     Our matrilineal line is Hogan-->Morehead-->Grandelmyer-->Thompson-->Lewis-->unknown.
     Sarah Jane Lewis was born about 1822 in Tompkins County, New York.  Nothing is known of her mother.  Her father's name was likely John Lewis.  A John Lewis was with her & her family in the 1850 Federal Census in St. Paul, Minnesota Territory. 
     More digging to do!