Ancestors we are drawn to....

Are any of you doing a family tree? I have been searching for my 2nd Gr Grandmother who was a black sheep in the family and have been praying for her while I search. But today on February 22 I felt drawn to her niece and started a quick search. I found the death certificate of her little son, Claude, who burned in a house fire at age three and his birthdate was February 22! Today! Does my long ago family know I am praying for them and want me to know about and pray for this little guy? I hope so! They were practicing Catholics so I'm hoping this little one was baptized and anointed in the Church. But please pray for little Claude, his mother Georgina, and especially my 2nd Gr Grandma Agnes . (I was told by her hometown there is a rumor she was murdered and her body was never found so I would really like to disprove this and find her grave if I can.)

 

Prayers said. How heartbreaking that little Claude passed in that fire.

 

Yes, poor child!

Praying.

A second cousin of my mother's has done extensive genealogy. He found Daniel and Rebecca Boone in our family tree.

 

Wow!

 

How very sad about the little lad dying like that. I'm sure that he would have been baptised because back then babies were baptised very young, because so many died in infancy. I think it should be said that if you don't want your heart broken, don't do genealogy! A contact of mine once said that when she got a death certificate in the mail stating that the ancestor died young, she sat down at the kitchen table and cried. I've had a few occasions like that too - my gt-grandmother (whom none of us ever knew) was whipped by her second husband. She divorced him. Earlier, she had lost her children in another divorce, because she hadn't the means to provide for them. I always wanted to know what became of her. She might have died in the Spanish flu, I can't be sure. Although I'm British, this is an American line and Sarah was born in Texas and raised in Arizona when the Old West was in full swing. It was a very harsh life for women. Sarah was divorced three times (that I know of). In one case the husband simply abandoned her with two little girls - she would have had four children in her house at the time (having got one of her sons back). The poverty must have been dreadful. That family wasn't Catholic and doesn't seem to have had the comfort of faith.

Another terrible moment was when my cousin unearthed details about a gt gt uncle who disappeared from the record in his teens. Turns out he died at Stonyhurst of appendicitis. The details of his excruciating death are in the school magazine, including the line that his mother, who had to come over from Ireland, was an example of Catholic motherhood in her dignity. As he lay dying, Louis had told his confessor that he would have liked to become a priest.

Our family has never produced a priest (that I know of).

 

These are beautiful stories, even though bitter sweet. Thank you for sharing them.

 

Interesting, I have ancestors with the last name of Murray. I have been working on genealogy for 50 years and hope to wrap it up this year. With ancestry.com I have made amazing discoveries. If you are looking for info in the United States much can be found from the census lists. My English ancestors go back to the 1400's, a couple were Rectors in old England. Some were Puritans, one was born on the Mayflower. Three Revolutionary War soldiers, one Minute Man, one in Valley Forge with George Washington. One War of 1812, lots of very large families. 10 to 13 kids, several married twice. My great great great Grandfather's first cousin was Nancy Hanks, Abe Lincoln's mother. The Hanks all came from a little town in England and were very industrious people, starting a silk factory in Massachusettes planting mulberry trees. The knew a good export! About four Civil War Soldiers, all from the north. One was captured in Gettysburg, sent to Andersonville prison in Georgia and survived. Another made it home from the war and died two weeks after he got home. My Irish great grandfather fought in the NY 147th, he was born in Kerry Ireland. They were famine Irish, that is my Catholic connection. His son, my grandfather was a farmer and deer hunting guide in upstate NY and was shot by one of his friends when hunting. He did not survive, but in the woods as he lay dying he asked for a Priest and not a Dr. He left a wife with five daughters and my dad on the way. The kids all ended up in a Catholic orphanage in upstate NY, Ogdensburg. Two Priests came out of the Haley family, one is still living in upstate NY. If you google his name Father Philip Allen you will find great stories about him. I feel like my ancestors are trying to get my attention this year! Many children died young, one ancestor on the census records said 'insane', I wonder if she had epilepsy or something like that. They were hearty people with a strong faith and work ethic. I have been to Ireland twice trying to find their origin, found my grandmother's family Hanlon in Mullingar, just learned about that this year. I NEED to go back . But I don't like flying anymore . . .and it's too far to swim. So we'll see. I could write so many stories about them.

 

You have really uncovered your family. What a great family.

 

This is a picture of my great great grandfather, Henry Probart Young with his sister, you can see the resemblance to Abe Lincoln.

 

Have you gotten the feeling your ancestors are trying to get your attention? I have felt it so strongly this past year, so much that I have been praying for my ancestors.

 

Definitely a strong resemblance.

 

Yes, I have been aware of my ancestors for some time. Yes, I have been praying for my ancestors! But I also feel as though they are praying for me.

 

Well on a lighter note, our oldest son decided to do the dna ancestry test to see where my husband's family originated. He was showing me the paperwork when he got it and at the very bottom it said "neanderthal". Well, I laughed my head off and told my husband I married a cave man! ha! See you never know what is going to show up when you go digging for your roots! We have had lots of laughs over that, his sisters didn't see the humor in it though!

 

Yes it has been like a treasure hunt but sometimes I just sit down and cry! You get to finding about a relation and begin know them somewhat and then you start to find all the huge sufferings they go through and it can be hard.

 

The reason I need to continue this is because I have many stories of my 2nd Great Grandmother but I don't remember what ever happened to her in the end and my mother and grandmother who knew about her are dead. For over a year I've gone through all the records available, and now just hoping some other family tree branch will have more information. When I went to her town's historical society for help (she was prominent figure there) they told me the rumors were that she had been murdered and her body never found. However I can't believe this as I'm SURE my grandmother or mother would have mentioned it. So anyway, I keep searching. I would like to find her grave site and get it in our family record before I die. She caused her own family much pain I know in her life BUT she made one very brave decision: to have her child and give that child up to a Catholic Orphanage and in her own words: "to let the good and holy Nuns raise her". Because of this decision I am here and I was brought up Catholic. She kept in touch with her daughter but her story was only passed down my mother and me. Now I am the last to know about her so am praying BACKWARDS for her conversion and healing and trying to find her grave as I said.

 

Oh yes, one of my ancestors murdered an Indian woman. This was pre Revolutionary war times. He was so angry because there was a raid on his farm and his wife and children were brutally hatcheted by an Indian raid. So he was out for revenge. I have a newspaper accounting of how he was arrested, tried in court and sentenced to be hung. But he made an arrangement to apologize to the Indians and pay them $1000 in restitution. So they let him live. And my great grandmother got pregnant in 1900 at the age of fourteen by her nineteen year old schoolteacher. He high tailed it out of state when he found out she was pg, the police caught up with him and brought him back to town to face charges of rape. The baby, my grandpa was born in Dec. In January there was a little article in the newspaper that read, "The problem of George Young and Olive York has been settled. They are now married." The marriage lasted 72 years! Yup, you never know what you find out. Our ancestors had troubles, drama, love, hurts, wars, famines, hardships. They say times change but people don't . . .life is an incredible journey.

 

Very much so. I have been doing ancestry for some time now.I have a great grandfather that I have been drawn to. Very strange feeling, but I found myself very attached to him for some reason, I new nothing about him nor could I find much about him. With a name like John Murphy there isn't much to go by. Census can only tell me he showed up one day in upstate NY. I know where he lived but nothing about him. I have alot of my grandamother pictures, but I would not know if he is anyone in the pictures. I prayed for him every day. Then after awhile out of the blue someone else reached out to me from NYC and said we were related by dna. She sent me a picture of her great grandmother. She said she was a Murphy but that is all she new. I rummaged thru all my old photos again, and wouldn't you know I found a picture of a man that looked just like this other person's great grandmother. I was then able to piece alot of the photos together. Still very strange, I am still very drawn to him, in a comforting way.

 

Wonderful.