Wordless Wednesday: The "Surrey" With The Fringe On The Horse

Ed Doucette and Gertie Wirth in a photo dated 1913. They were residents of Vilas Township (Langlade county, WI) and friends of  my maternal grandparents, Harley and Alma Polar Space.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture: I Speak From Experience

Does the road wind up-hill all the way? Yes, to the very end. Will the day's journey take the whole long day? From morn to night, my friend.  Grantland Rice


Smallest Leaf has graciously extended the deadline for the latest Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture in order to include a contribution by a family researcher with a french Canadian maiden name searching her Irish family history. Go raibh maith agat

The latest Carnival  is a return to genealogy and asks us to "Speak From Experience."

Have a time-saving suggestion that helped you blaze ahead in your Irish research? Let us know how you did it. Have some personal failures you can share with us to save other researchers the same fate? We'll be grateful to hear your story. Want to recommend a particular type of record to shed insight on the Irish family tree? A certain repository or library, or way to organize your research? Let us know - tell us the tip and give us the story behind it. How did it help (or not help) you and why do you recommend (or not recommend) it?

I have posted about my Little family history and have come to categorize this line of research as my favorite brick wall. The place where I spend a warm summer afternoon - sitting on top of a stone wall; feeling the warmth of the stones and the breeze on my face, looking at the place where my Irish ancestors were born. The problem is - I have no idea where in Ireland this wonderful place is. So we continue the uphill climb.


"But first, Are you experienced?" asked Jimi Hendrix. If it isn't the destination but rather the journey of Irish family research then, yes, I am experienced. My lessons, which have yet to come together, remind me of a mismatched tea set: functional but not much to look at.

Irish Children Naming Patterns: a tradition that a large number of Irish families followed in the 1800’s and 1900’s, My great-grandfather had six siblings and naming patterns have been my road map for culling lists of possible Little and Gallagher family connections.:

1st son was named after the father’s father
2nd son was named after the mother’s father
3rd son was named after the father
4th son was named after the father’s eldest brother


1st daughter was named after the mother’s mother
2nd daughter was named after the father’s mother
3rd daughter was named after the mother
4th daughter was named after the mother’s eldest sister



Did you know ... it was not unusual for a mother-to-be to journey to her parents' home village to give birth to her baby? When searching documents it means, a child appearing on a census record may not have been born in the village of the record at the time of the census. The family could have immigrated to the village after the child was born, prior to the census being taken, or the mother may have returned to her parents' home to give birth. At any rate, a record search in locations beyond the census recorded place of residence should be considered.


Did you know ... English translations of Irish village and town names have taken on different spellings over the years? During the early 1900s map surveyors traveled throughout Ireland, translating Irish place names into English, which can cause considerable confusion when trying to place of birth, marriage or baptism if you don't take this bit of information into consideration.




Don't bother trying to locate your Irish ancestors ...  all birth records were destroyed in the Dublin Four Courts building fire during the Irish civil war in 1922. The Truth?? All Irish civil registration of birth, marriages, and deaths has survived intact. Although birth records were destroyed in the Dublin Four Courts fire, copies of the same birth records were kept in Counties' records offices throughout Ireland.



What family researcher doesn't dream of the day they not only make the leap across the pond but find themselves sitting on the stone fence next to the sign post of the village I can call my ancestral home.

Tombstone Tuesday: Frances Facer and Cyrus Little

Today's edition of Tombstone Tuesday chronicles my paternal great-grandparents, Cyrus Austin Little and Frances Dazie Facer. They are buried in the Aniwa Cemetery located off of Hwy 45 in the township of Aniwa, Shawano county, Wisconsin.

Cyrus Austin Little was the son of Andrew Little and Mary Ann Gallagher; my Irish ancestors who remain my favorite brick wall. Cyrus was born 22 Feb 1856 in Pickering, Ontario, Canada. The youngest of Andrew and Mary Ann's eleven known children who immigrated to the United States prior to the 1880 census where the family is found living in Port Huron, St Clair, Michigan. It is here Cyrus married Francis Dazie Facer on 15 June 1892.

Francis was born 8 Feb 1875 to William D. Facer and Elisabeth Hornby in Port Huron. Francis Dazie was the third of William and Elisabeth's seven children; all of whom, with the exception of Frances's brother Burton Wellington Facer, died during the numerous epidemics during the 1870s and early 1880s.

Around 1892, Cyrus and Frances Dazie have immigrated to Aniwa, Wisconsin. Accompanying the couple are Frances's brother Burton, Frances and Burton's father (a widow for the third time) William D. Facer, Cyrus's sister Elizabeth and her husband George Goldrick and bachelor siblings Robert Little and Mary Little (affectionately referred to as Crazy Aunt Mary). Land and tax records lead me to conclude that George Goldrick was responsible for the Facer and Little family exodus from Michigan as he began purchasing land for logging purposes and is found paying taxes to show he and Elizabeth were residents of the area.

Cyrus and Frances Dazie would not begin their family until the birth of their first known child, William D. Little in 1893; my grandmother, Mildred Eileen, in 1899 and her sister Florence Elizabeth in 1907.

Cyrus died at the age of 77 in 1933; Frances was 73-years old at the time of her death in 1948. Their graves are adjacent to the Goldrick and Bergeron family plots.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Birthday Mom

Shamlessly using Wordless Wednesday blog prompt to wish my Mom a happy birthday a day early with a photograph taken on her very first birthday a few years ago. I love you, Mom.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Tombstone Tuesday: Forest View Sewing Circle

Located in the northeast corner of the Town of Peck cemetery in Langlade county, WI, this flower planter sits as a monument to the Forest View Sewing Circle. The group, like so many other rural traditions is becoming a thing of the past.

The Town of Peck cemetery was formerly known as Badger Cemetery; originally the site of the Badger School. Situated at the corner of several boundaries, as the boundaries of the townships changed, Badger school and later Badger cemetery can be found listed in the townships of Ackley, Peck and Vilas.

My maternal grandmother, Alma Polar Space, was a long-time member of the Forest View Sewing Circle. How I wish I had the chance to ask Gram about the Sewing Circle. Fortunately I was able to glean some information from Gram's sister Leona. The group met usually once a month and worked on a sewing project; during the war they made the usual clothing items for the soldiers. There was always a social hour; sometimes an afternoon of visiting and then lunch was served.

While making the traditional Memorial Day visits to the area cemeteries, this year someone placed a floral memorial in the Forest View monument urn. I'm certain I heard my grandmother laugh.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Follow Friday: Blind Pig & The Acorn

I am constantly amazed at the number of talented and creative bloggers - on my list of inspirational bloggers is Tipper Wilson Pressley, author of Blind Pig & the Acorn.

Music, food, creative and well written stories about the rich heritage of Appalachia - did I mention Giveaways??

Treasure Chest Thursday: Baaaa

My contribution for this Treasure Chest Thursday blogging prompt is as old as I am.

Don't bother checking my Facebook page to see if I've inadvertently listed my year of birth ... I'll save you the trip: 1953

At the time of my birth, my Dad was serving in the U.S. Navy, stationed in Japan while my mother (and eventually yours truly) were at her parents outside of Antigo. I'm convinced this is the reason I am so drawn to this piece of property, which my husband and I now own. Call it good vibrations, feng shue, karma ... whatever it is, it was where I spent my first few weeks of life and apparently it made an imprint on my life.

To mark the occasion of the birth of his first child, my Dad ordered flowers, pink and white carnations, and they arrived in this lamb vase.

Fast forward some 19 years later to the arrival of my first child and the new father, fulfilling a promise he made to the new grandmother, arrived with carnations for the new mom in the appropriate color (in this case, blue and white) in the lamb vase. Following it's first appearance in 19 years, the lamb vase and its blue and white bouquet made two more encore appearances.

Maybe this year we'll celebrate my birthday with a sentimental vase filled with pink and white carnations.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Almost Wordless Wednesday: The Jones Sisters

Sisters Alma Loretta Jones (left) and Agnes Josephine Jones, photograph taken probably in Winchester, Winnebago, WI, circa 1870s

Daughters of James H. Jones (b. 1821 England) and Esther T. Clarke (b. 1828 NY). Alma Loretta born 14 April 1866 in Winchester, WI, she died on her 75th birthday, 14 April 1941 in Woodward, OK. Nursing was her life's vocation, "Jonesy" followed her bachelor brother Charles Jones, a pioneer of the territory that became Oklahoma.

Agnes Josephine Jones born 7 July 1864 in Winchester, WI, and died 21 April 1954. She married Charles Finley Polar, 10 March 1884 in Neenah, WI. The couple had seven children, naming the third of their four daughters, Alma Loretta, who would become my grandmother.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Tombstone Tuesday: Margaretta Shankle Space

Margaretta Ann Space, otherwise known as Margaret Ann and as M.A. Space, was my second great grandmother.

Born 17 April 1828, possibly in Union County, PA, she was the oldest known daughter of Jacob Shankle and Rachel Click.

Margaretta married Zephaniah Allen Space on 19 Nov 1847 in Armstrong County, PA. The couple had two children: Allen Zephaniah (my great-grandfather) born in 1848 and Sarah Etta in 1853. Both children were born in New Bethlehem, Clarion County, PA.

Shortly after Allen's birth, Zeph traveled to northern Wisconsin to Jenny Bull Falls; a new settlement where investors from Clarion county were beginning to harvest the huge tracts of pine. Zeph and Margaret immigrated to the area shortly after the birth of Sarah Etta. Zeph and Margaret were employed at one of the early hotels but it wasn't long before they established their own hotel. Initially called The Clarion they later changed the name to The Eagle House. The couple played an important role in helping to establish Jenny as one of the important places along the Wisconsin River.

The couple divorced in 1877 after almost 30 years of marriage. Margaret continued to run The Eagle House with the assistance of Allen, who was now married to Nancy Ann Stone. Sarah Etta had married prominent businessman and politician Myron Hawley McCord. Zeph relocated to an area of the county that was just beginning to be settled, eventually starting a new life with his second wife, Harriet Fryer, and eventually another daughter, Olive.

Margaret proved to be a shrewd businesswoman in her own right. At the time of her death in November 1904, among her holdings, she owned all the property along the Wisconsin River in the city of Merrill. Margaret's will indicated her wish that upon her death, this property was to be sold and given to her granddaughters.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Sharing Memories (Week 27): Childhood Pets

Lorine at Olive Tree Genealogy counts down week 27 of Sharing Memories - A Genealogy Journey with the blog prompt of childhood pets. A topic near and dear to my heart as almost all creatures great and small have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

During their childhood, my parents shared their lives with dogs and cats. My father speaks fondly of Spike, the German Shepard who would (with a bit of coaxing from my dad and his siblings) climb a ladder into the hay loft in the barn - and jump to the ground. As a child my mother immortalized her terrier mix, Bingo, in a painting that is a family treasure. I cannot help but smile at the thought of my mother as child, making clothes for her cats, dressing them up and pushing them around in the doll stroller.

Our first dog was a terrier mix we named Sammy. My memories of  him are of a dog fiercely protective and, knowing what I know now about dog behavior, definitely an alpha. Whenever we would visit my maternal grandparents on their dairy farm, my grandfather delighted in having Sammy 'round up the cows.' He had a natural ability to herd, nipping at the heels of a cow who refused to move and instinctively knowing to duck to avoid a hoof to the head.

While scanning these photos, I noticed for the first time, that I had written on the back of this photo: November 7th 1965 Sammy died. He had run away from home and was hit by a car. Funny how I had not thought about that morning, looking down the street and seeing him laying on the side of the road until now. We buried him in my mother's flower bed in the backyard. A number of years later my family named another of 'our' dogs, Sammy, I like to think in tribute to Sammy number one.

It was a number of years before my parents added a dog to our family. It wasn't that neither of them didn't want a dog because they are animal lovers and it certainly wasn't because my sister Lisa and I didn't bring it up whenever we could. Think Ralphie in The Christmas Story and his not-so-subtle hints about wanting a Red Rider BB gun.

One night my Dad came home from work carrying a fluffy ball of apricot poodle puppy. To say it was a surprise is an understatement. The entire house erupted into unabashed joy. We still recall that moment when Dad brought Kila home, Mom burned the Hollandase Sauce and Lisa, holding the puppy exclaimed, "Dad! I thought we'd never get a dog!" It was agreed the as yet unnamed dog would sleep in the room Lisa and I shared with the stipulation that the dog would not sleep on the bed. Of course from that moment on I don't think Kila ever slept on the floor.

This was the first (and last) dog my parents had that was registered with the AKC. We spent days contemplating what to name our new puppy. Looking at the pedigree Lisa and I decided the name Kila was perfect and while my parents initially had reservations the name must have grown on them (or could have been their four daughters began calling the puppy Kila and decided they were going to lose that battle). Someone really wanted to name the poodle Pierre and combined with the regal sounding name of our street (we were the only house on the one block street) we ended up with Tequila Pierre of Yorkshire.

Another wonderful childhood dog ... he endured being dressed up in just anything and everything we thought would look adorable on him. He was a wonderful companion and traveled with us on family vacations: camping in the Black Hills of South Dakota as well as Estes Park Colorado. Our confirmation, graduation and wedding photos all include Kila, he was a gentle funny dog who loved root beer and running through sprinklers. It's no wonder Hollandase Sauce conjures up happy memories of Tequila Pierre.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Wordless Wednesday: Bob & Alice

Another family treasure in my life: Forrest "Bob" Space and wife Alice Friebel Space, affectionately known to me as Uncle Bob and Aunt Alice. My mother's favorite uncle and aunt and a sentiment passed down to the rest of the family. Uncle Bob died unexpectedly of a heart attack while visiting my grandparents in 1962; Aunt Alice continued to remember my parents birthday, and mine, with birthday cards until her death a year ago this past May.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Wordless Wednesday: Luss, Scotland

 

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Tombstone Tuesday: Just Me!

Prepartions for our traditional Memorial Day cemetery visits this year included: bug spray (check), grass clippers (check), flowers (check), scissors (check) and in prepartion for this week's Tombstone Tuesday, camera (check, check and doubl check).

My contribution to Tombstone Tuesday is the grave of Stanley "Pete" Gunderson (1913-1993) located in the Hogarty Cemetery in the village of Hogarty, Marathon county, WI. For as long as I have been a regular visit to the Hogarty Cemetery, the grave of Stanley Gunderson has fascinated me. The top photo is a close up of Mr. Gunderson's grave; the bottom photo is an overall view.

Next week I'll post the adjacent grave who I assume is the spouse of Stanley Gunderson as it has a similiar theme. Note to self: check out the Gunderson families in the surrounding area just to satisfy my curiosity!

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski