Talking with the dead

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I was trying to get this blog post out sooner but then I realized (besides my lack of time this time of year) that this would be better fitting during the holidays when most people celebrate their faith, traditions or customs and remember those that are no longer with us. I wonder if by merely remembering them in the holidays past, we are communicating with them.

The Long Island Medium would probably say yes. In fact, I took my mom to see her in October. I knew I had a spiritual experience there although I don’t practice a religion. I really felt she talked with the departed and brought comfort and closure to so many people that night. Will their holidays be a little lighter this year after that experience? I hope so. What do you think? What experiences have you had of a supernatural kind like that that helped you to find peace with losing someone? Every time we think or dream of a person, look at the clock at the same time out of habit, have a light that flickers at a certain moment, is that a sign from the dead?

One tidbit I’ve shared on my personal Facebook page is the connection I’ve felt between my grandmother, her sister (my Great Aunt) and my now 2-year old daughter. After having our first daughter through IVF, we were a bit shocked when we found out I was pregnant with a second while in the urgent care suffering from an upper respiratory infection. This day we also heard the news of my Great Aunt’s passing. Aunt Margaret was like a surrogate Gramma to me as mine passed when I was 13 on Thanksgiving Day. Growing up I always felt it was hard to be thankful on Thanksgiving Day when my Gramma was taken from us on that holiday. Cutting this story to the quick, my daughter was born later that year (12 days earlier than her December due date) on November 28th, the same date as my Gramma’s passing. This year of course the day fell again on Thanksgiving. A birthday celebration with this new little life has brightened even the saddest of memories of loss. I am a firm believer that if you pay attention and are open to it, signs and communication come from the dead.

As a genealogist, I feel like I am in constant touch by bringing stories to life from the grave. It’s the untold relationships and stories that I stumble upon that enrich my own family search or provide insight and clarity to others. I welcome you to post replies sharing signs you’ve received or other amazing events that have occured and how they’ve brought you closure and closer with the dead. Have a wonderful holiday season and Happy New Year!

Celebrating Oktoberfest in my tree!

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My personal family tree is quite built out, extending in some cases tens of generations. However, as is the case in some families, I am actually estranged from my biological father’s family including him. It’s ok, I’ve moved on! That part of my tree for some time has lacked “shaky leaves” on ancestry.com or any potential leads as I knew very little about that side or any maiden names. What I could recall since childhood was the German name Eichler (my paternal grandmother’s maiden name I thought) which for me helped define my “mixed bag of ethnic make up” of being part-German. When asked about my ancestry, I would say “I am Irish, Scottish, French and German”, in the order of what I believe the percentage of that makeup is.
In my own tree research I tend to focus on the brick walls and uncovering interesting nuggets of historical significance or colorful stories. I haven’t tended to the other side of the tree so it in itself hit a brick wall. If it weren’t for my mom bringing to attention an Eichler obituary from back home, I might not have done anything until I had some spare time—that would be a while.
At first I couldn’t understand how the obit fit in, was she my grandmother’s sister or Aunt? My mom shared another surname Nash that I vaguely recalled hearing. Once I plugged those names in to my tree on ancestry.com, those shaky leaves started appearing. I kept checking and verifying each new discovery. Coupled with an online historical newspaper site I use frequently, I was able to piece together the Eichler history and what I found was amazing.
The first Eichler immigrant came from Neustadt, Prussia (where it’s wine not beer being celebrated!). This Eichler (my 3rd great grandfather) married a Barry from Ireland and started both a family and a family bakery in Utica, NY. With my penchant for pastries and cake (and celebration of wine), this explains a lot. {Quick historical note for family still in NY, the bakery was on Bleecker Street in the location where Chanatry’s eventually built their first grocery store.}
From the Eichler/Barry union came a son who married a Servatius. It was tracing the Servatius line back that I discovered additional immigrants from Prussia and Baden (Schrempf married Servatius). Familiar to my New York family (those old enough to remember ), the John J. Servatius Sons wallpaper and paint (hardware) store at 1036-38 Whitesboro St.Columbia Square was this family’s economic contribution to Utica.
So as I wrap up another October, it’s been quite exciting to learn about a previously unknown family tree branch and be able to honor all that is German (perhaps only 25% or so) in my DNA. I will raise my my glass of wein as I celebrate our own October fest of Halloween and candy!
What interesting discoveries have you made recently about your family?

Data driven crazy…by Google

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That’s me currently. I’ll admit, I do love research and technology. It’s the behind the scenes data and interconnectedness that amazes and perplexes me. Sure I hit roadblocks like any other genealogist, but the ones I am finding myself up against lately are of a technology nature as it relates to starting my business.

I get asked pretty regularly, how’s your website traffic, what’s your reach? I just assumed I could go into my web hosting service and see the data. It must be buried pretty deep because I couldn’t find anything and the support boards weren’t any help either. Time to spend some time and do this right.

Google Analytics was the recommendation I found at every turn. What, it’s free?! I’m sure the catch is that Google has access to my data in my website, maybe more. I can deal with that, I think… So I pulled the GA switch this weekend. From there, I went to my Facebook company page and figured what the heck, let’s promote this page and I created a paid ad with a fixed budget not the crazy $5 per day. I set up target audience demographics, interests etc… I thought, this is way too easy. And it really was! I downloaded both the Facebook Insights and another analytics app that pulls in the GA data. Now, I’m hooked. I can tell in an instant how many unique visitors, what’s my bounce rate and how long they stay on each page of the website. Just plain cool.

Google has some cool technology typically so I thought I would check out the Google Glass tour that started in Durham, NC. This proved to be an underwhelming experience compared to all of the great tech endeavors Google has been part of. After waiting in an hour long sun-baked line with my children (2 under the age of 5) and our caregiver, it was finally our turn to see what the buzz was about. I put the Google Glass on, it kept trying to find a connection. It didn’t understand my commands, or actually my question “Ok Glass, where am I?” until it was my last moment with this contraption. Finally the screen above my right eye displayed the words “Durham NC” and then showed me on a map. Hmmm, do I need a small piece of glass monitor over my right eye to show me where I am? Perhaps I should have asked how to say “good evening” in Japanese. As a genealogist, the most practical purpose i considered this Terminator type eye piece would provide was the ability to take photos of graves and dictating what was being viewed. I could easily pull out my iPhone for this and as far as pics, the $1500 current pricetag of Glass would more easily translate to a new Nikon.

While I continue to build my business, I will be keeping stock of the steps and technology along the way. Watch out there could be a lecture in my future! In the meantime, I wonder how many new visitors liked my Facebook page or visited my website while I wrote this? Ok Glass, where am I?

Business cards, logos and QR codes – OH MY!

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QR code!

QR code!

Finally, I’ve settled on a business card design, and what would a modern day business card be without a QR code? Yep, I did that too. I seem to be teaching myself the ropes of starting up a business as I go. I’ve designed a website, figured out how to link it all up to social media channels and all because I am a cheapskate! I even farmed out my brand logo to a pool of designers and the winning submission came from India. I believe I can write a book now on how start up a new business on a shoestring budget. Stay tuned…

Most of these business details I wanted to put into place as preparation for the Rootstech conference I will be headed to in February of 2014 which is being held in Salt Lake City, UT. This is a very large conference combining genealogy resources and technology. I will have the exciting opportunity to spend an evening at the Family History Library and hopefully find new treasures to complement my current research. When I look back at my younger self I never thought I would ever be excited to spend an evening in a library!

Now, back to the QR code as I probably should have explained that bit. It’s that black and white digital image found on a lot of products, kinda like the UPC code but this is square and might make your eyes cross if you stare at it too long :-). You can scan the code with your smartphone if you have a QR reader app. Scanning this code from my business card will launch the mobile version of my website myancestrysteps.com for a virtual user experience. I’ve placed the image into the top of this post so you can scan for yourselves… Also up top is a tiny link to preview the new business cards. Enjoy and thanks for all of your support!!

By Way of Casino

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“When was the last time you did something for the first time?” my Director at my day job asked me recently. It didn’t take me long to answer because the month prior, I had embarked on a solo trip to Tampa, Florida to meet a Sullivan cousin for the first time.

 I had found out she was a living relative over a year ago and gathered the nerve to call her one day while my mom was visiting. The beginning of the conversation was peppered with a few awkward silences while I shared what I knew about her family and asked her questions. Following that conversation I emailed her some newspaper clippings and photos I had. I felt I really needed to convince her I was a genuine family member and build trust.

 Over the next several months we communicated through emails only and I gained many of her memories and stories in response. Then this year we started discussing how we could possibly meet. Now, she’s a busy lady and travels often to visit her kids and grandkids. She’s a widow with a full social calendar and I’m a mom of 2 who works a full-time job, how could we make this work??

 I grabbed a long weekend in April and ran the dates by her with only a week’s notice. She was free! I guess I was headed to Tampa!

 The last call I had with her, I described what I would be wearing as she offered to not only pick me up at the airport but invited me to stay at her house. I tried to get her details beyond a cell number but she couldn’t decide if she’d leave her hair white or color it and the only photos I had of her were of when she was a child. She was now in her 70s. Good thing she was finally able to ID me because when you land in Florida looking for a 70 year old woman, well you’ll see them everywhere.

 We had an instant rapport and literally spent each waking moment out of the 4 days I was there, talking.  I never had a chance to write anything down because we were so engaged in conversation. My main hope out of the visit was to end the mystery of what my great grandfather John W. Sullivan looked like. I felt strongly she would possess a photo that I would just know was him. Unfortunately there was a bag of pictures she once located and could not find again. Each morning she woke early looking for them. I had no time to be disappointed because our visit was so special.

 During the car ride to her house from the airport I learned a lot about her independence and interests and how she enjoys driving to visit family in Colorado, New York and Virginia.  When I shared that I prefer to fly if going that far, I asked her how she breaks up the long trips and makes them enjoyable. Her response, “I travel by way of casino!”. I knew then that she was a real firecracker.

 When we got to her house, I learned that she and her husband had raised 6 children together (2 were his, 2 were hers from previous marriage and 2 they had together). They met as neighbors on the same street she still lives on. I got to meet her daughter and son-in-law the first night. No doubt they wanted to check me and my motives out, so I treated them to dinner at the Olive Garden—I insisted.

 Mornings were spent chatting poolside under the lanai and eating Costco cinnamon crunch muffins, days  (and most nights)were spent sifting through photos and documents while I feverishly scanned them with my new wand scanner or took photos with my iPad. I listened mostly to stories about her husband and his family and the grandkids because she was young when our shared relatives passed away.

 We spent Saturday, my first full day there walking through a boardwalk area of St. Petersburg and then walking and laying on the beach. We both got burned but luckily didn’t peel. We clearly were not paying attention, just gabbing.

 Once back at the homestead, she started rifling through her casino “frequent gambler” cards and said there were specials going on at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino and we should head there that night. Game of choice (after my own heart), slots. I too acquired my frequent flyer card and got enough points to almost purchase my girls gifts at the Hard Rock shop, almost.

 The next morning I attended Catholic church with her, just fitting into her weekend routine. Later her daughter and son-in-law came over and we all headed to an Earth Day event where local greenhouses, growers and landscapers sell their goods directly. I enjoyed more time with the family and we even took photos of us cousins.

One of the photos was taken near a wall where her late husband kept a growth chart on everyone who entered the house (including a pet turtle!). I started to wish we lived closer and could do these things together more. That night I introduced my host to the Macaroni Grill only a few miles from her house. She’d never been there before and was excited to have so much for leftovers!

Monday morning was our last chat by the pool. We spent each day watching this sting ray-looking pool cleaner move about the pool yet never once swam in the pool!

 We waited until the last possible moment to leave for the airport.  I snuck back into my room and left a postcard note from North Carolina, as she had mentioned she collected post cards when I was about to board my initial flight to Tampa. With a gift of children’s song CDs for my kids and my heated up leftovers, we were off. She waited with me while I ate last night’s dinner and I only headed to my gate when I really had to. It was as if we didn’t want the weekend to end.

 I realized that stepping out of my comfort zone to take this trip, never once felt uncomfortable. I still treasure my first meeting of a newly discovered cousin and we’ve stayed in touch ever since. I hope she’ll visit my family and me someday but until we get a nearby casino, I will have my memories.

 

Back in the Sullivan saddle…

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It’s been a long time since I’ve either had the time to post or exciting story to post. I am still short in the time department, but I have had a significant find and wanted to share it out with the family.

John William Sullivan was my great grandfather and by most accounts a family deserter and minstrel man. I recently uncovered more truths about him which has provided a newfound respect for the man that I didn’t have before. This respect was for his military career. I wanted to fill in gaps of time that I couldn’t locate him in between census records. I took a shot at the 1900 census one last time because we did know he served during the Spanish American War due to gravestone info. I scrolled down the long list of John Sullivans (and there are many!) and saw location Washington Barracks, Washington DC. Well, anything was possible!

I clicked the record open and it read like a most obvious piece of information. John W Sullivan, check. Binghamton, NY, check. 7 Sherman Place, CHECK! I found him! He was in the federal census as a private and residing at the Washington Barracks which is the Marines HQ in D.C. It has been home to other arms of the military who were preparing for deployment. This record also listed what I needed to truly confirm, Battery M, 7th Regiment, Field Artillery. Now I had what I needed to move forward.

Over the Christmas break last year, I sent away for his possible military records. Everything came up zilch except for a file number provided and direction to write to the Dept of Veterans Affairs. I waited on that and am so glad because of the new info I found.

Battery M, 7th Field Artillery was an additional regiment to the Army due tothe declaration of war with Spain as our military strength was at a deficit. This particular regiment was sent to Puerto Rico to fend of the Spaniards. Google it, there’s some interesting info out there. In one of the books published about the war, I did learn that this regiment was renamed, read on…

I couldn’t understand why his gravestone was incribed (don’t laugh) “15 Bat F Art”. Along with having the incorrect year of death 1930 (actual 1929), I could never reconcile this regiment with the SpanAm war. I learned from an online copy of a book published about the war that this regiment had been renamed to the 15th Battery Light Field Artillery. Check! Digging deeper I went back to a file I kept in my ancestry.com shoebox of an enlistment record.

I read it again in disbelief that my great grandfather’s occupation was listed as jockey and he was 5′ 4″ (huh my Grampa was so tall!) but according to my mother’s historical account from her own research a long time ago, John’s brother Thomas owned a racehorse so this could make sense here. This record not only provides enlistment details, but discharge details as well. His regiment was listed as the 7th and then as 15th, perfect!

His discharge details require some deciphering though. It appears he ended his service Dec 15 1902 and was discharged from Angel Island, CA still as a Private but in fair condition. Could this also mean he served during the Phillipine Insurrection?? I have yet to determine it but it would appear as the reason he was in California at all.

There are several return from post records in 1900 to go along with the census. He was in and out of Walter Reed hospital from May-Aug that year. I don’t know the reason why. Once released from service in 1902, he appeared in the Binghamton city directories from 1903-1906 with USA as occupation a couple of years and then as a shoeworker. In 1907 he was removed to Rochester.

I do have newspaper clippings in 1904 of his time with the Binghamton Minstrels and York State Minstrels.

He surfaces between 1905-1908 in Syracuse newspaper clipping as having attended Valentines parties where he would be mentioned with a certain Mary Thompson whom he eventually marry. He (along with Mary) was also mentioned in stories about the shoeworker union strikes at the time and eventually left for Rockland, MA to work the booming shoe factories there.

Mary also went to MA, but to Brockton as her twin sister Sarah had moved there with new husband Frank in 1909. There they were shoeworkers and in October 11, 1911 Mary and John wed in Brockton. They returned soon after as my grandfather John Edward was born in Binghamton in 1913.

They didn’t stay together very long after their return however they both were shoeworkers at Endicott Johnson. He went on to be part of the EJ Minstrels and various other mintrel shows (Holy Name Minstrels) as a hoofer and singer in blackface. He moved to Elmira, NY for a while where he registered for the draft in 1918 for WWI. Occupation this time, bartender.

I can’t be sure now if he actually was drafted for WWI or not, but at least I have more concrete information to send with my request to the VA. I can’t locate him in any city directories after this time either. in 1921 he is still performing in minstrel shows.

The trail ends with his passing in Albany, NY in 1929 at St. Peter’s hospital. His funeral was held at his sister Nellie (Sullivan) Ryan’s home. He is buried in St. Patrick’s cemetery in Binghamton.

I can’t wait to discover more and hopefully gain new information from the VA. But in the meantime, I am glad to be back in the saddle like my great grandfather and get this info out to the family.

 

 

Friend or foe?

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Today I am back at Duke University’s Bostock library to hopefully uncover information that will help fill in some leaves on the family tree and provide a general idea as to when my ancestors arrived.
After my unsuccessful last attempt at finding the microfiche which held the Binghamton City Directories, these helpful library folks tracked down the microform (totally different shape and size and material!) that held the 1857-1860 records I was looking for.
I got a quick goosebump chill as I headed down to where the microfilm readers are, anxious as to what I would find. I encountered this machine, the ST Viewscan and wondered if it would be my friend or foe today. I’ve never touched anything like this before and consider myself research challenged when it comes to more ancient technology ;-). I’m hoping to add the photo but the blog is not allowing it.
There was nothing too exciting in what I found other than potentially confirming a family member. However, I now know what they did for a living and know where they lived and potentially see how the Sullivan and Lynch families got together just from living on the same street. More to piece together now!

As long as I’m here…

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…I may as well blog.

I am sitting in Perkins library at beautiful Duke University after canvassing the campus looking for this place. I paid my 5 bucks to park, asked a student for help finding the library and was happy to escape the 90 degree heat when another kind student swiped her card to let me in.

I knew where I was headed once I got in as I called earlier in he day to confirm they had what I was looking for, the city directories for Binghamton, NY years 1857-1860. I was on a mission, I found the rows of cabinets and the correct drawer with ease. I did not find the microfiche with the catalog number I was searching for. After several unsuccessful pulls of other nearby drawers (that doesn’t sound right?!), I was still out of luck. The reference person assisted but she too couldn’t locate it. Hopefully I will get an email from the person who manages the fiche. It just figures really that this one item that’s probably rarely accessed has gone AWOL.

What am I hoping to find in the fiche? Perhaps some answers as to when my original Sullivan ancestors arrived here, what they did for a living, were there other family members I don’t know about? One thing about ancestry research is that you have to constantly confirm what data you learn of through any resources you can find and this is a very tedious process. But seeing as this is the first time I’ve had to travel (15 minutes from home) to secure this knowledge, I’ve done pretty well so far!

I hope I get an email tomorrow about the fiche’s location, but for now I’ve at least enjoyed some quiet alone time which is priceless even if I did have to pay 5 bucks for it!

 

Memorial Day – Michael Sullivan in the Civil War

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Folks are enjoying the 3 day weekend, time by the pool or off to the beach. I’m enjoying it all too, but having started this family research quest a few years ago, I have a new appreciation for those who serve or served this country. Several men in the family have served in different war times but the story of my great great grandfather’s brother Michael Sullivan is of the utmost significance to me.

He enlisted in the Corcoran’s Irish Brigade in 1862 in Binghamton NY. He was a mere 19 years old, the same age as many of today’s soldiers who are serving in the middle east. This was a particular group of Irishman who had recently emigrated and were led by Michael Corcoran who was set free from court martial to join federal forces against the confederacy. Why he was being court martialed had a bit to do with his disrespect toward the Crown of England, but I will leave it to you to secure your own history lesson.

I sent away for Michael Sullivan’s enlistment record and discovered he was already married and had a child while he was serving in the Union army. Long story short, Michael did not make it home from the war and his widow Mary remarried another Civil War soldier Orville Benton who raised Michael’s son William as his own (including a name change to Benton). I am researching the son William and hope that when the 1940 New York census is complete and available online I will learn more.

Michael served is the 155th infantry Company F. They saw several battles and Michael survived most but was wounded at the Siege of Petersburg in Virginia. He was taken as a prisoner of war at Ream’s Station. His final days were spent in the Salisbury NC confederate prison. He eventually died from his wounds and the horrible conditions of the over populated prison. His resting place is a mass grave for Union soldiers in Salisbury and the prison was burned to the ground. He never made it back to Binghamton to be buried in the Sullivan plot along with his mother and brothers Dennis and my great great grandfather Thomas.

Being a transplant in North Carolina from New York and being truly oblivious (until my time here) about the Civil War, I did not fully recognize or appreciate the toll of these battles and the true importance they played in shaping our history and what is now the future state.  Our modern issue over acceptance of gay marriage is reminiscent of the emancipation of slaves, a tortured minority. This war elevated an issue to all consciousness and conscience and the result was a true awakening of what civil rights was about. It seems to me that if this country can move past slavery, then gay marriage too shall come to pass. I just hope it’s in my lifetime not in my children’s.

More about the 155th:

https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/155th_Regiment,_New_York_Infantry

More about the battle at Petersburg:

http://www.nps.gov/pete/index.htm

More about Ream’s Station:

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/ream-s-station.html

A mother’s day treat!

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I recently came across a tree on ancestry.com that had a distant relative on it; my tree also had this person. Sure I did Google searches to find out more info for this possibly living relative, but I contacted the person who owned this tree and she gave me the phone number of the person who is a second cousin once removed. Well I waited for the right moment to contact this woman in her early seventies while my mom is here for Mother’s Day weekend. We called together both excited and nervous about opening this door.
She picked up, I asked if she was the person I was calling for, she was. I won’t divulge her name but she is a living descendant of the Sullivan family of which my mom and I are also from. She was cautious with info, having me present her siblings’ names before truly opening up. She is a very sweet woman and seemed thrilled with what I knew and the memories I conjured up for her. The one connection we both shared the most info on was her grandpa.
Her grandpa was the captain of the fire department in Binghamton NY for decades. There are many heroic stories about his rescues and dedication to his work that I have found. This granddaughter told me he was the first paid firefighter in the town. She recalled him living with her family in his later life and his being the only person in the house with a radio. She and her siblings used to sneak in his room to listen and upon hearing his footsteps would retreat under his bed where he found them every time.
I have sparked something in her now and she’s reached out to her other 2 living siblings to look through photos and other memories,
Today was a great chat with a sweet person but really opened up a new path to my family research. I look forward to what we can share together. I think we made each other’s Mother’s Day!