Halloween

Happy Halloween, everybody!

I hope that everyone is having a happier Halloween than the one our relatives had exactly 89 years ago today, when Patrick Mulvaney was admitted to St. Peter's Hospital in Brooklyn due to gangrene of the foot; he died a week later, on November 8. His parents were James Mulvaney and Bridget Rothwell.

I'll transcribe the death certificate, which arrived this afternoon, in its entirety when I have time, but as rent must be paid before the banks close today, I'll have to make that my first priority at the moment.

Mulcahy family pictures

This is a picture of Papa as a policeman. He was in the 70th precinct, if I'm not mistaken, but someone please correct me if I am.

This is Papa's mother, Mary Ann Madigan Mulcahy.

Mulvaney family pictures

My mom sent me these, which I believe were scanned by either Joseph or John Griffin a few years ago. The one above has Julia in the middle, in a polka-dot dress, surrounded by her grandkids. Nan is the littlest one in front, with the doll, with her cousin Florence to her left. The other girl is Joan, and behind Joan is her brother Donald. The boy with glasses is George Kessell. In the back row on Julia's left is Grace Mulvaney Jones, and in front of Grace is Steve Kessell. On the far right, with the tie, is Tom Mulvaney.
This is Julia Mulvaney, again in the polka-dot dress, surrounded by her kids. I can identify Nana in the back row, and James is the man in the front row, which means I'd assume that Thomas is standing next Nana in the back. Auntie Mae is second from the left, to the right of Julia, and Grace is on the far right. As far as dates go for these pictures, and I assume they were taken the same day, I'm going to guess somewhere in the area of 1935 or just before? Can anyone tell for sure how old Nan is in the first one? I can't think of any other way to date them. Also, does anyone recognize the house in the background? Where were they?

This is Patrick Mulvaney. He looks like a young man, so the best I can say is late 1800s, early 1900s.

(In the top two pictures, Florence, Joan, Donald, and their father James were identified by Donald's daughter Maureen, whom I stumbled upon on ancestry.com when I noticed that her family tree had our (shared) Julia Toner Mulvaney on it! The wonders of technology and genealogy! Betty and John helped with everyone else.)

Papa's Promotion to 2nd Lieutenant

Earlier this week, John Griffin (Jr.) sent me this scanned image of the document that promoted Papa (Joseph Eugene Mulcahy) to 2nd Lieutenant. It's dated June 1, 1918. Remember from the article I posted below that he and two of his brothers, James A., and Matthew V., enlisted in April, 1917, after their father Michael Mulcahy died in January 1917. Papa was, according to that article, in the Sixty-seventh Company, Sixth Replacement Regiment, Camp Gordon, GA. (The article lists him as a 2nd Lieutenant, so presumably it was written after June 1, 1918.)

1920 census - Mulcahy family

This faint and slightly difficult to read (as always, click on the image to enlarge, although this one will still be faint and slightly difficult to read) image is of the 1920 census. The Mulcahy family is living at 85 Luqueer St., and they're the first family on the page. Michael Mulcahy, father, isn't listed - he died in 1917. The head of the household is Mary, his wife, and all of her children are listed: James A., Matthew V., Joseph E., Michael F., Mary V., John A., Gerard E., and Vincent A. You can remember that in the 1930 census, James, Mary, Gerard, and Vincent were all still living in one apartment at 85 Luqueer St., none of them married or with children, as far as we can tell, while Matthew was living in the next apartment with his wife and kids, and Joseph (Papa) was living at 648 83rd St., recently married to Nana. Between 1920 and 1930, we've lost track of Michael and John. A Margaret appears on the 1910 census (which I'll post soon), but as she'd be 30 by 1920, I assume she'd left and gotten married, and as I have no idea to whom - though someone else might - she's untraceable, for me. John and Michael I could try to find.

In 1920, only Gerard and Vincent - who were 11 and 12 - had been in school within the previous year. John, at 16, and Mary, at 18, the two next youngest, had not. Mary Ann Madigan Mulcahy, the mother, lists no employment, but all of her kids work, apparently in only 2 industries between them. James, Matthew, and Papa all have occupations of either "mail clerk" or "clerk" (Matthew) for a "Railway" or "R.R. Off." (again, Matthew's is the one listed in different format. Perhaps he worked for a different company, or in a different capacity, or...?) Michael and John list their industry as "tool office" - John's occupation is "clerk," but I can't read the first part of the description, and I'm not sure what Michael's says: "[something]-maker."

Clearly, speculation and guesswork increases as you go back in time.

1920 Census - Mulvaneys at 270 Van Brunt St.

This is the 1920 census, showing the Mulvaney family at 270 Van Brunt St. Julia gives her age as 50 (yielding an approximate birth year of 1870), and says she's widowed. Only Veronica and Harold have attended school in the past year. James is a fireman for the city, Grace a salesgirl at a stationery store, Mary (this is Auntie Mae, right?) does clerical work at a drug store, William has no job, and Thomas is a helper at a shipyard. (This is interesting to me because Betty and John have said that Harold died because he was hit in the head on the pier while working at Todd Shipyards - it seems he eventually followed his older brother into a shipyard job.) Another thing I noticed is that William, at 18, has "no" listed for both whether able to read and whether able to write. Why would that be? Nana has no answer listed for either, but at 10, perhaps her reading and writing abilities were not quite so fluent as to warrant a "yes," but not quite so bad as to warrant a "no"? If you scroll through the page, most of the people who have no response in the reading and writing columns are school-aged children.

1930 census - 85 Luqueer

This is a copy of the 1930 census for 85 Luqueer St. in Brooklyn. It's the house where Papa grew up, as well as the house where his mother, Mary Ann Madigan grew up. We believe it was built by her father, Matthew Madigan. On this census, both of Papa's parents, Michael Mulcahy and Mary Ann Madigan Mulcahy, have already died, and he is living at 648 83rd St., with Nana. They're newlyweds. In the house at Luqueer St., though, are several of his siblings - James, Mary, Gerard, and Vincent are all living together in the first apartment (listed as family 52), while the next family at the same address, presumably the next apartment in the building, is his brother Matthew Mulcahy with his wife Catherine and their sons Gerard, Matthew, and Eugene. As Gerard was one brother and Eugene was Papa's middle name, all three boys have family names from their father's family, it seems.

John Griffin and John Griffin visited the house at 85 Luqueer St. this fall:

John Sr.'s caption reads:
"The house on left that Betty & Your Nana's Great-Grandfather, Matthew Madigan, built for his family, the modern looking building was originally eight stables that later became garages and to the right of that structure are two more identical houses he built and rented. Their original family home is now a four family building."

(I believe that if you look closely, you'll see John in a blue shirt near the bottom left!)

Wills for Probate

Joseph Griffin sent me a copy of Julia Mulvaney's probate notice from the NYTimes. I meant to post it with the post on her death, but couldn't figure out how. I guess you can't post PDFs, so I've had to transcribe it:

"Wills for Probate
Kings
Mulvaney, Julia (Oct. 10). Estate, $4,493 personal. To sons, James J. Mulvaney, 41-45 57th St., Woodside, and Thomas P. Mulvaney, 1,074 71st St., and daughters, Grace Kessell, Freeport, L.I., and Veronica Mulvaney, 324 82d St., one-fifth interest each in a specific building and loan association; Mary Daniels, 43-23 41st St., Long Island City, executrix, one-fifth interest in a specific building and loan association, insurance and residue."

Why is Nana listed as Veronica Mulvaney? Hadn't she and Papa been married almost 10 years by the time Julia died in 1938? Was Julia living with Nana before she died? The address given as her residence on the death certificate matches the one given for Nana here.

(for the record, I'm going to try in the future not to let my imagination run wild like I did in the second half of the post about Julia, below.)

Battle of Bergen Beach Won: Horse Sense Did It, Cop Captain Says

By I. Kaufman

Victory came yesterday to the entrenched residents of Bergen Beach in their Battle Against the Galloping Horse.
It wasn't that the Bergen Beachers-tenants and homeowners alike-were against the saddle horses of the riding academies in their vicinity, or against the riders. All they wanted was to have the riding done elsewhere than over the streets of their six-block-long and two-block-wide community on the edge of Mill Basin. There, they said in a petition signed by 150 Beach citizens, the saddled steeds ofttimes went out of control and became a menace of life and limb of man, woman and child. With the Spring horseback riding season approaching they wanted something done about it.

Something, finally, was, although twice before the people had tried to get help from the nearby Vanderveer Park Police Precinct, 1844 Brooklyn Avenue.¾and twice the police captain whom they were about to meet for this purpose was transferred to points far away.
The victory came, when did, suddenly.

New Captain Acts
Not much more than 24 hours after the transfer of Capt. John Langton the new precinct commander, Capt. Joseph E. Mulcahy, took the matter in hand, swiftly and decisively.
Driven by Patrolman William Kearney, he called at the home of Mrs. Mildred Schinelli, at 2258 E. 72d St., in the heart of Bergen Beach. Word spread swiftly around the colony that he was coming and a sizable delegation of mothers and fathers, children and grownups met him. They told him some of their hardships and he already knew of others. He then and there announced that the free galloping through the Bergen Beach streets would be stopped.
He said that it had already been arranged, not by putting anybody in jail, but by friendly, mutual arrangement. He has spoken to the riding academy owners, he said, and they had agreed to co-operate.
From now on, he said, the riding would be along a laid-out bridle path along E. 69th St. and then Avenue X, the Mill Basin Shore front. The local Hopalong Cassidys¾at so much an hour¾would keep off Avenues U, V and W and E. 70th to E. 75th Sts., inclusive. Signs would be posted along the bridle path to guide the riders and, beginning this morning, a police patrol car would be there to snforce the directions. The riding academies themselves, in addition, would post their own patrols for the same purpose.

‘Horse-Sense’ Solution
“I am very pleased,” said Captain Mulcahy, coining a pun, “with the approach of everybody concerned to this problem. Horse sense solved it.”
Bergen Beach, too, was pleased.
“We are grateful to the Brooklyn Eagle,” Mrs. Schinelli said, “for the help it gave us in drawing public attention to our trouble.”

[Photo info: from: http://catalog.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/search/XSEARCH=mulcahy&m=k&
SORT=R

CALL # NEIG 0083
AUTHOR McNamara, C. E., photographer.
TITLE At "peace" talks [picture] / C. E. McNamara.
PUB INFO [Brooklyn Eagle], 1951.

DESCRIPT 1 photographic print : b & w, gelatin silver ; 8 x 10 in.
NOTE On verso: date stamped: Mar 3, 1951.; photographer's stamp.
Title from caption on verso.
SUMMARY Caption: "At 'peace' talks--Bergen Beach residents head report by Police Capt. Joseph E. Mulcahy of the Brooklyn Ave. station on latest developments in fight to keep horses off certain streets in area. Seated, left to right, are Mrs. Mildred Schinelli, chairman of the resident's group; Mulcahy, Mrs. Harry Crouse, and Peter Plaia. Looking on are, left to right, Mrs. P. Trautman, Mr. and Mrs. E. Birkner, Mrs. C. Romano, William Hickey and Frank Cannizzaro."
CITE AS: Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection.
NOTE Brooklyn Eagle.
INDEXES Folder: Bergen Beach: General
SUBJECT Civic leaders.

Community life.
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
Bergen Beach (New York, N.Y.)
GENRE Gelatin silver prints.
Photographic prints.
NOTE Series title: Locations]

(Courtesy of Joseph Griffin)

October 10, 1938

So, I had these great, organized, well-planned out ideas to post things in reverse chronological order, from most recent to most ancient, so that things would eventually be laid out in an order that makes perfect chronological sense when viewed from the most recent to the oldest post.

Nevermind all that.

A few weeks ago, I sent away to the NY Municipal Archives for the death certificates of Julia and Patrick Mulvaney, Nana's parents. Julia's arrived this afternoon. I don't have a scanner, but I'm transcribing it for my own records, so I'll post it here, as well. It contains lots of information I didn't know, though it may not be new to all of you.

[Bureau of Records - Department of Health - Borough of Brooklyn]

Certificate of Death
[1938 October 12 PM 12:27]

Certificate No. 19700
1. Place of Death: Borough of Brooklyn 324 82 St., Private residence
2. Full name: Julia Mulvaney
3. Residence (usual place of abode): 324 82 St., Brooklyn

Personal and Statistical Particulars
4. Sex: Female
5. Color or Race: White
6. (Marital Status): Widowed
7. Date of birth: [blank]
8. Age of decedent: 68 yrs.
9. Occupation
a. trade: Housewife
b. industry: Own home
c. date decedent last worked at this occupation: June, 1936
d. total time spent in occupation: 45 years
10. Birthplace: USA
11. How long in US (if of foreign birth): [blank]
12. How long resident in City of New York: [blank]
Parents of Deceased
13. Name of father of decedent: Richard Toner
14. Birthplace of father: Ireland
15. Maiden name of mother of decedent: Mary Cullen
16. Birthplace of mother: Ireland

17. Informant: Thos. Mulvaney, son

Medical Certificate of Death
18. Date of death: October 10, 1938
19. I hereby certify that I attended the deceased from Aug. 1936 to October 10, 1938. I last saw her alive on Oct. 10, 1938: death is stated to have occurred on the date stated above, at 3:45 PM.
The principal cause of death and related causes of importance were as follows:
chronic hypertensive cardio-vascular disease (duration 2 1/2 years)
chronic thyrotoxicosis (duration 2 1/2 years)

Other contributory causes of importance:
cerebral embolism (duration 10 days)

Name of operation: [blank]
Date: [blank]
What test confirmed diagnosis? [blank]
Was there an autopsy? No

Signature: Charles Stern, MD
Address: 454 43 St., Bklyn

21. Place of Burial: Holy Cross Cemetary
Date of Burial: October 13th, 1938
22. Undertaker: Joseph Redmond, John Redmond
Address: 476 73 St.

Funeral Director's Certificate

I hereby certify that I have been employed, without any solicitation on my part or that of any other person, as undertaker to dispose of the remains of Julia Mulvaney by Thomas Mulvaney of 324 82 St., Bklyn, who is the son and the nearest surviving relative or next of kin of the deceased. This statement is made to obtain a permit for the burial or cremation of the remains of the deceased.
Signature: Joseph Redmond
Business address: 476 73rd St.
Permit No.: 219
If another undertaker in your employ is to take personal charge of the work in the care, preparation, or other disposal of such dead human body, give his name: John J. Redmond
State License No.: 192

Physician's Supplementary Certification
(Required in Connection with Telephone Application for Removal Permit)

If death has not been contributed to or caused by homicide, suicide, accident, acute or chronic poisoning, abortion, puerperal sepsis, or any suspicion of of those conditions, and the funeral director desires to obtain removal permission by telephone, the physician will execute the following certification:--
I hereby certify that the death of Julia Mulvaney who died on Oct. 10, 1938, at 324 82 St., Bklyn has not been contributed to or caused by any of the conditions mentioned in the above list.
Personal signature of physician: Charles Stern
Address: 454 43 St., Bklyn


I didn't try to use block quotes again, as last time I did that was the formatting nightmare two posts below, but hopefully it's easy enough to tell where the certificate begins and ends. It gets awfully clinical and distasteful towards the end, doesn't it?

Keeping in mind that death certificates tend to be the least reliable of vital records, because they are filled out by someone other than the person they are about (in other words, it's much less likely than a child or grandchild will accurately name the parents of the deceased on a death certificate, than, say, that the parents of a newborn will accurately name themselves on a birth certificate), what I learned from this (I'm deciding to trust Thomas Mulvaney) were most specifically Julia's parents' names, Richard Toner and Mary Cullen.

If Julia was 68 when she died in 1938, her birth was around 1870, which is in keeping with the age she gives on all the census records I've found her on (I never have come across the 1930 census for the family). However, when I search census records for Richard Toner in NY, with wife Mary and daughter Julia, the only records I come up with that seem even possible are these, from 1860 and 1870:



These two families are clearly the same, but their Julia is a full 19 years older than ours should be. She may even have already left home by the 1870 census, right around when our Julia should be just being born. I've heard a story or two about a Mulvaney woman lying about her age, but I would think that 19 years would be stretching it.

First, I want to ask whether anyone already knows the names of Julia's parents and siblings, and can let me know whether all this conjecture is misplaced.

Second, I'm going to let my imagination run wild for a minute. There's an older woman living in the home during both census years (she ages more than 10 years in the interim, though, so there's no guarantee that she's the same person). Her name is listed as Julia Toner in 1860, and I would assume that she's Richard Toner's mother. In this census, young Julia is listed, 9 years old. The older woman is listed as Judith Toner in 1870, and a toddler is listed, baby Judith. Assuming for a moment that she is the same woman, it seems possible that her name IS Julia, and that the census taker misheard Julia for Judith that day - in which case it's possible, I suppose, that little 2-year-old Judith could actually be Julia, too - and she'd be about the right age to be our Julia.

That of course, leaves the problem of having 2 daughters named Julia in the same family (and we'd have to hope that Occam's Razor doesn't apply to genealogy) - it could be explained any number of ways (Julia 1 died and they named the baby after her; Julia 1 got into some trouble, named the baby after herself, and left it with her parents; etc.) all of which are possible, and none of which are particularly likely.

It could also be, of course, that there were multiple Richard and Mary Toners in NY at the time, and that more than one of them had a daughter named Julia, and that our Toner family was skipped by the census that year. Or that I just haven't found them. Or that one of you will post a comment to the effect of "Thomas Mulvaney must have been mistaken. Julia's parents were named Bob and Sue," and I'll feel a little silly. Does anyone have any facts, documents, stories, opinions, or wild conjecture similar to mine to add to the story?

Brooklyn Eagle

This is the link the the Brooklyn Eagle's online archives. The time period that is currently online spans 1841-1902; later issues aren't available yet (though they're on microfilm at the Brooklyn Library, if you're so inclined). I've found several items that seem to refer to our Mulcahys and Mulvaneys (I haven't been able to pinpoint anything that seems to necessarily be a related O'Hara or Quinn), but be warned - there are quite a few Mulcahys and Mulvaneys running around Brooklyn at the end of the 19th century. Play around and let us know what you find!

http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Skins/BEagle/Client.asp?Skin=BEagle

Mulcahy Family Information

This is the information that got me started on my genealogical treasure hunt. My mom got it from Uncle Joe, and he got it from a cousin, and I transcribed what was written exactly, so all references, say, to "my grandfather" refer to the author/Joe, Betty, and Nan's grandfather. At the bottom is my transcription of a newspaper article about Papa and his brothers enlisting in the Army during WWI after their father died. If I can scan the copy of this article that I have at home, I'll upload that, too.

[From Uncle Joe:]
Laurie,
Enclosed is all the information I have on the Mulcahy family. The material which
begins “my grandfather” was written by my first cousin, so Michael Mulcahy is my and Kevin’s mom’s grandfather and Kevin’s great-grandfather. I hope this helps!
Joe

My grandfather
Michael Mulcahy
married Mary Ann Madigan
DOB:
POB: Palas Green, Limerick, Ireland
Died: January 20, 1917, Brooklyn, NY
His brothers and sisters were:
a) James Mulcahy married Molly _______
He came to the US and went to Chicago and became a policeman. He then left Chicago and came back to Luquer St. in Brooklyn where he and his family. He had daughters Margaret and Mary.
b) Patrick Mulcahy (he married Catherine Mahr)
He came to the US and stayed with Michael Mulcahy on Luquer St. in Brooklyn. He worked in Michael’s bar in Brooklyn and was subsequently fired by Michael. Patrick liked to drink and didn’t like to work to [sic] hard. He had the following
known children:
1) Margaret Mulcahy
2) Cathleen Mulcahy
3) James Mulcahy (worked for US [?])
4) John Mulcahy
c) John Mulcahy
Stayed in Ireland.
d) Johanna Mulcahy
Never married. She stayed in Ireland.
e) Catherine Mulcahy
Came to the US and stayed at Luquer St. She then went back to Ireland and lived in Tipperary. It is believed she married a man by the name of McMann.

Michael Mulcahy (my grandfather). His father was James Mulcahy and he married Margaret Ryan. My grandmother Mary Ann [Madigan] Mulcahy used to call my great-grandfather James Mulcahy “The Raine Druid” because he had red hair. Michael Mulcahy owned two bars in Brooklyn which he lost after they changed the beer.

My grandmother (married Michael Mulcahy)
Mary Ann Madigan (Mulcahy)
DOB: 1868
POB: Lake St. Manhattan
Died: April 11, 1927, Brooklyn, NY
Brothers and sisters:
Margaret Madigan (DOB 1872)
James Madigan (Youngest of the three. He never married.)
Her father was Matthew Madigan. Her mother was Margaret Sullivan. They were married in St. Peter’s Church in Manhattan. They lived in Manhattan in the only house that had a tile roof.

My great-grandfather, Matthew Madigan
Was born in Kilrush County Clare.
He was in the trucking business in New York and he also worked for a drug
company. Matthew Madigan married twice. His first wife was Margaret Sullivan.
His second wife was Johanna Roche. From his second marriage they had one child,
Loretta Madigan.

Loretta Madigan married Joseph Rickett and they had three children:
Gene Rickett (priest)
Joseph Rickett (priest)
Elizabeth Rickett (lives in New Hampsire)

Matthew Madigan had problems with the authorities in Ireland, so he went to England where he worked as a policeman for two years before he came to the US. He had no known brothers and sisters in the US.
My great-grandmother, Margaret Sullivan
Was born in Cree County Clare. She had the following brothers and
sisters:
Bridgett Sullivan (Consodine)
Nora Sullivan (Crowe)
Conn Sullivan
James Sullivan
Margaret Madigan, my grandmother’s sister, married _______ Roche and had three children:
1) Marge Roche
2) Frank Roche
3) Margaret Roche

[Also included: copy of newspaper article about the Mulcahy brothers]:

Mulcahy Brothers Enlisted Together
Three of Family of Seven Boys in Government Service
Mother Proud of Sons
Heeded Country’s Call After Father’s Death

Mrs. Michael Mulcahy, of 85 Luquer Street, has already given three out of her family of seven boys to the service of the country. The boys are James A., 27 years old, now in France with the Twenty-first Field Artillery, Battery C, Matthew V., 25 years old, in present at the Gunners’ School at the Navy Yard, and Joseph E., 21 years old, a second lieutenant of the Sixty-seventh Company, Sixth Replacement Regiment, Camp Gordon, Ga. They enlisted together in April, 1917, four months after the death of their father.
All of the boys were born in Brooklyn and all were educated in the schools here. James Mulcahy was graduated from St. Francis’ Parochial School and was employed at the Robins Dock until he left with his company. Matthew studied two years at St. James’ High School and then became a freight tracer at the Grand Central Station. Joseph is a graduate of St. Bernard’s School, and had studied two years at Commercial High when he entered the employment of Bochmand & Co., Twentieth st. and Fourth ave., Manhattan.
Five weeks ago, Mrs. Mulcahy says she received a card stating that James had arrived safely on the other side and she says they all write they are bing [sic] “treated fine.” The family is well known in South Brooklyn.

Nana and Papa's Honeymoon

This is the passenger manifest of the ship Nana and Papa were on when they returned from their honeymoon to Bermuda in 1929. It's dated October 22, 1929, and as far as I know, Nana and Papa were married October 12, 1929. This is the list of U.S. citizens - immigrants were presumably on a different page of the manifest. The ages given are 23 and 33, and birth years are 1906 and 1895, for Nana and Papa, respectively. Their address is still 648 83rd St., Brooklyn.

Nana and Papa in 1930

This is a picture of the 1930 census. Nana and Papa, Veronica and Joseph Mulcahy, are listed on lines 85 and 84. They give their ages as 24 and 33, respectively, and are living at 648 83rd St. You can see that Papa's occupation is listed as "Police Officer." Nana says that both of her parents were born in NY, while Papa's mother was, but his father was from Ireland. (I believe the field reads "Ireland Free State.")

*click to enlarge image

Welcome!

I've been doing a good deal of basic genealogical research lately, mostly online through Ancestry.com. I've concentrated a good deal on the Mulcahy/Mulvaney side of the family, so for now, that's what I may be focusing on. This is, more than anything else, because it's a lot easier to figure out which Veronica Mulcahy is Nana when there's only one of her than to figure out which Mary O'Hara is Grandma Molly when there are hundreds of them. I have found some O'Hara/Quinn records of course, and I will post them so you can see them. (Gatto/Lanzilotto records are much harder to come by, as they're in Italy only a generation or two back, but I do have some 1930s census records - I'm not completely biased towards the Irish.)

I'm not so confident in everyone's interest in this stuff that I think you'd all want individual e-mails from me every time I come across someone who might be somehow related to us on some census, but I did think that some of you might have some general interest, so I'm creating this blog. This way, you can all check in any time you're interested in what new family history we may have discovered. (I also intend to make this blog private as soon as I figure out how - I think it's unlikely that someone will use Patrick Mulvaney's 1850s birthdate to steal anyone's identity or defraud any of us, but it can't hurt to be cautious. I may have already done this by the time I link you.)

The best way to do genealogy is to start at the most recent, with what you know for sure, and move backwards to what you're learning for the first time, so what I post will begin with the most recent records available (generally the 1930 census records, sometimes things more recent than that), and move backwards through the stuff I already know to what I'm learning for the first time.

Another big purpose of this blog is for us all to learn more. If I post something about Nana or Papa, and you have any information to add, please LET ME KNOW! The more information we have, the more stories we know, the more the past comes to life.