tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3065789520818439542024-02-19T02:52:11.933-05:00Small-leaved ShamrockTracing my Irish roots in the Pennsylvania Coal RegionLisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.comBlogger268125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-27829871678794382992017-06-02T23:51:00.000-04:002017-06-02T23:51:05.164-04:00A decade has flown for Small-leaved Shamrock!<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Téann an saol thart mar a bheadh eiteoga air." - Irish Gaelic saying meaning <i>Life goes by as if it had wings</i></blockquote>
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Ten years ago today I created an account on Blogger.com, started a couple of blogs, and put out the word to the world that I was tracing my family tree and planning to share my family's stories with anyone who happened to click over.<br />
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I didn't know it at the time.<br />
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I thought I was reaching out to a few cousins who might read my blogs and be fascinated by our shared history. But it didn't quite go that way. The world found me, and my humble little blogs opened up connections that I had not expected.<br />
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Up to that point, my genealogical research project had been primarily a very personal project - a hobby that I pursued quietly on my own. The start of my blogs introduced me to other genealogists and a world of connections that have enriched my life and enhanced the search for my roots in a great many ways.<br />
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On this 10th anniversary of the date I started my blogs, I want to shout out to all my fellow geneabloggers who took the brave (or foolish!) step to jump out into the internet with their family stories! You continue to inspire my spirit and enliven my personal research journey.<br />
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I also want to give a round of applause to all of my family members - distant and not so distant - who made the effort to read my blogs, share what they know about our family, and spread the word to more cousins. Your interest in my work helps ensure that our ancestors will not be so quickly forgotten, but will become part of the collective memory of many more branches of our family tree.<br />
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It is a joy to see the way the stories I have shared on these genealogy blogs continue to touch others - those within my family (both in the United States and in my ancestral homelands), and those outside my family (wherever the internet can reach). Just yesterday a friend informed me that within a lesson on blogging in an online genealogy course she was taking, she found my familiar <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><i>Small-leaved Shamrock</i></a> listed as one of two blog examples. I continue to be surprised at where I find mention of my work and who has stopped over for an online visit.<br />
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For much of the past decade, I have not given the attention I had hoped to my genealogy blogs. But they have patiently remained waiting in the wings, ready for the time when I mosey back over and give them some new material. During this time, the stories I've shared have continued to receive new readers, many of whom I've connected with. I have spent the past several years using the genealogy time I have available to educate myself on research standards and to apply those standards to the work I thought I had done so well early on. The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.<br />
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My blogs continue to be an incredible resource for me - a easily accessible reminder of the work I have done on various family lines, the social history of the regions from which my ancestors emigrated, the questions I still want answered.<br />
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If you are new to <i>Small-leaved Shamrock</i>, here are a few highlights: some of the most popular articles and some of my personal favorites.<br />
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<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-long-and-stormy-passage-1823-sea_11.html" target="_blank">"The long and stormy passage": The 1823 sea voyage of Patrick Cowhey and a spirited Irish </a><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-long-and-stormy-passage-1823-sea_11.html" target="_blank">priest</a></li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2015/03/mother-to-15-widow-at-38-my-discovery.html" target="_blank">Mother to 15, Widow at 38: My discovery of the photograph of my quietly heroic great-great-grandmother</a></li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2013/12/one-hundred-and-twenty-years-ago-today.html" target="_blank">One-hundred and twenty years ago today: The death of Ann Cowhey, 1893</a></li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2009/11/death-comes-in-threes-sorrows-of.html" target="_blank">Death comes in threes: The sorrows of Margaret Foley Cowhey, 1891-1895</a></li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-horrifying-end-and-heros-farewell.html" target="_blank">A horrifying end and a hero's farewell, November 1892</a></li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2008/02/crossing-potomac-with-william-soldiers.html" target="_blank">Crossing the Potomac with William: A soldier's story</a></li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2013/07/seeing-double-twins-in-family-and-need.html" target="_blank">Seeing double! Twins in the family and the need to study genealogical records with a careful eye</a></li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/search?q=provenance" target="_blank">The provenance of a hairbrush: Thievery and the family historian</a></li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2008/03/irish-women-in-america-our-grandmothers.html" target="_blank">Irish women in America: Our grandmother's stories</a></li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2012/10/coal-region-catholics-story-of.html" target="_blank">Coal region Catholics: The story of Pottsville's Church of St. Patrick</a></li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2011/03/st-patricks-day-miracle-for.html" target="_blank">A St. Patrick's Day miracle for the Irish/Hungarian genealogy blogger</a></li>
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Thanks for making a visit - I hope you find something here that inspires your own search for family history.<br />
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If you have an interest, stop over to the other two blogs I also started ten years ago: <a href="http://100inamerica.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">100 Years in America</a> and <a href="http://tierneyhistory.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">A Light that Shines Again</a>. You can also find more about my work at my website: <a href="http://smallestleaf.com/">smallestleaf.com</a>.<br />
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There is an Irish blessing that begins:<br />
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"May there always be work for your hands to do...". </blockquote>
If you are a genealogist, that is certainly a given, and one of the reasons why I hope to keep these blogs going for many more years to come.Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-56327451467880020502015-06-10T04:02:00.001-04:002015-06-12T18:48:33.361-04:00All I Really Needed to Know About Genealogy I Learned in KindergartenWell, not exactly. But it got me off to a great start!<br />
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If you are in the Philadelphia area on Thursday, June 18, please join me at the Third Thursday meeting of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. I'll be presenting a back-to-basics look at the genealogical research process using Robert Fulgham's well-known essay and examples from my search for my Pennsylvania roots.<br />
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<a href="http://smallestleaf.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/3rd-thurs-jun.jpg" rel="https://genpa.org/events/june-third-thursday-all-i-ever-really-needed-know-about-genealogy-i-learned-kindergarten" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="3rd thurs jun" class="alignright wp-image-277 size-full" src="http://smallestleaf.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/3rd-thurs-jun.jpg" height="406" width="550" /></a></div>
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"And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK." - Robert Fulgham</blockquote>
We’ll step back and look at some genealogical basics, with a light-hearted but serious eye toward improving the quality of our research process, and finding joy in the genealogical journey as we do! I hope you’ll come out and join us!Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-65482884513447480622015-06-03T16:11:00.000-04:002015-06-03T16:19:37.544-04:00News for Smallest Leaf: a new website and a new book!This week I celebrate my eighth anniversary of blogging here at <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Small-leaved Shamrock</a>, <a href="http://100inamerica.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">100 Years in America</a> and <a href="http://tierneyhistory.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">A Light that Shines Again</a>. It has been slow-going at times, but I've stuck with it and look forward to many writing years ahead.<br />
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I am thrilled today to announce my brand new website and blog at <a href="http://smallestleaf.com/">smallestleaf.com</a>. I have decided to pair my interest in <i>genealogy</i> with my other favorite hobby - <i>poetry!</i> - and use my website to share both.<br />
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Many of you have known me as a genealogy blogger for many years, but you may not have known of my love for poetry. Tales from my family tree are a regular source of subject matter for my poems, along with world history, nature, faith and the writing life.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5lgKx6l3rGbKmphYDINu9mwDSAvYGMIlhyphenhyphenMgU7pdBSDZkDfD9ep-KV500rzJfCv4QeEDShmoxmiHpvLst4tK4CQiEkW8qSeIoK38O96uuwNGSMGU_BOcE5VHLuBmlCjMF4Oo14hmxSFI/s1600/Smallest+Leaf+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5lgKx6l3rGbKmphYDINu9mwDSAvYGMIlhyphenhyphenMgU7pdBSDZkDfD9ep-KV500rzJfCv4QeEDShmoxmiHpvLst4tK4CQiEkW8qSeIoK38O96uuwNGSMGU_BOcE5VHLuBmlCjMF4Oo14hmxSFI/s200/Smallest+Leaf+cover.jpg" width="171" /></a></div>
<a href="http://i2.wp.com/smallestleaf.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Desktop3.jpg"></a>I have just announced the upcoming publication of my first collection of poetry: winner of the Eakin Book Award given by the <a href="http://poetrysocietyoftexas.org/" target="_blank">Poetry Society of Texas</a>. You’ll find the title familiar. I feel a bit like the Irish mother who gives her firstborn a name that has been in the family for generations. My poetry collection is entitled (surprise!): <em><b>Smallest Leaf</b></em>. You can read more about my new book on the <a href="http://smallestleaf.com/?slide=103">Poetry</a> page at my website.<br />
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Thanks to all of you readers who have followed me over the years! I hope you'll stick around for what's to come. Happy reading!Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-29709611671615883982015-04-09T11:30:00.000-04:002015-04-09T11:30:52.734-04:00When it is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and you discover that your ancestors' unit served at GettysburgBells will be ringing across the nation this afternoon at 3:15 Eastern time as we commemorate the re-union of the United States of America with the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to Union General Ullyses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse 150 years ago today on April 9, 1865.<br />
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But bells are ringing for me <i>this morning! </i>I've just made an exciting genealogical discovery: my 3rd-great-grandfather James McGonigal's unit (162nd Regiment, 17th Cavalry) served at the battles of Chancellorsville and ...<i>Gettysburg!</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Private Levi F. Hocker of the 17th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment (in which my 3rd-great-grandfather served) in uniform with pistol and sword. Image from <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.33458/" target="_blank">collection of Library of Congress</a>.</td></tr>
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It's a long story, but James McGonigal is on a branch of my Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Irish family tree that has been more difficult than others for me to trace. Until recently, I have focused on his daughter and grand-daughter and their families, and have still not been successful at finding key documents about their lives.<br />
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Because of this difficulty, I had all but ignored the little research I had done on Irish immigrant coal miner James McGonigal and his wife Mary of St. Clair, Pennsylvania, preferring instead to work through the more recent generations until I was satisfied with my conclusions there.<br />
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A month ago I delved back into this family and made the discovery that James was indeed a Civil War soldier, serving at the senior age of 43. (Two of his neighbors aged 44 were denied the opportunity to serve due to being "over age". See St. Clair Civil War registry below) .<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2PsEcnk8ALydwaEwLU29LJGNwks-pORBZiQ2WQo9CZDDT2_SVFFxPbkjpcN8ux5fKLomZ9Cs4Ag74jK-_rcAqDhHzxgyXS9F0zdxwuN3X-Ykxst5qV9nXtA4K2bUvHEmtM56sN2LG2oV6/s1600/1863+McGONEGAL,+James,+Civil+War+registry+-+1863.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2PsEcnk8ALydwaEwLU29LJGNwks-pORBZiQ2WQo9CZDDT2_SVFFxPbkjpcN8ux5fKLomZ9Cs4Ag74jK-_rcAqDhHzxgyXS9F0zdxwuN3X-Ykxst5qV9nXtA4K2bUvHEmtM56sN2LG2oV6/s1600/1863+McGONEGAL,+James,+Civil+War+registry+-+1863.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Civil War registry of the residents of St. Clair, Pennsylvania. James McGonigal (spelled McGonegal) is listed last.</td></tr>
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I ordered James McGonigal's pension file from the National Archives in Washington D.C. four weeks ago. It arrived pretty quickly - just a few days ago. I was eager to learn more about this branch of the family, and was very disappointed when I opened the digital file on the NARA CD and found that they had sent me the pension file for <i>the wrong soldier</i>.<br />
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Knowing that I would have to wait another month for James' file to arrive, and eager to know more about this man's service as I was thinking of today's 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, I did a little digging online this morning and learned the name of and the actions engaged in by James' regiment.<br />
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<i>The History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-65</i> by Samuel P. Bates tells the details of the activity of the <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/aby3439.0004.001/1019?page=root;sid=911e4bc59548b644ea9bfe344104b328;size=100;view=image;q1=Seventeenth+Cavalry" target="_blank">162nd Regiment, 17th Cavalry</a>. The book speaks glowingly of their efforts during the war, including their four hour resistance of the advance of the Confederate troops into Gettysburg on July 1, 1863 under the command of General John Buford as they awaited aid from additional Union troops. Their efforts were critical to Union success at the Battle of Gettysburg, as they had arrived before the Confederate Army became well organized, and were able to establish a solid presence on much-desired high ground south of the town.<br />
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As Cavalry General Alfred Pleasanton later wrote in <i>Conduct of the Civil War, Supplement, Part 2</i>, <i>Pleasanton's Report</i>, page 9:<br />
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"To the intrepidity, courage and fidelity of General Buford and his brave division, the country and the army owe the field of Gettysburg." - General Pleasanton</blockquote>
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It is inspiring to learn more about the valiant efforts of these cavalry men in the face of what would become such a grievous battle and one of the turning points of the Civil War. I look forward to learning more about my ancestor James McGonigal's role in the cavalry during those historic days.<br />
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And as the bells ring today throughout the nation - in Appomattox, in Philadelphia (the Liberty Bell), at the Statue of Liberty, and in national parks, cemeteries, battlefields, municipal buildings, schools and churches throughout the nation this afternoon, I'll be ringing my own bells - and thinking of James McGonigal and his brave companions.</div>
Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-50659938265442431352015-03-17T13:38:00.000-04:002015-09-13T09:18:39.159-04:00A St. Patrick's Day tribute to the Church of St. Patrick, Pottsville, PAAs early as 1827, its parishioners were meeting in each other's homes. By 1838, they had moved into their first real church structure - a log cabin, and then on to building a conventional church. This structure would serve the parish well, but would last only fifty-three years, when it was torn down to make room for the larger limestone exterior Church of St. Patrick that still stands today.<br />
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I wrote about the history of the parish previously within my article <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2012/10/coal-region-catholics-story-of.html" target="_blank">Coal region Catholics: The story of Pottsville's Church of St. Patrick</a>. There was no shortage of photographs of the current church for me to choose from, and I decided to use some that I had taken myself during my visit to Pottsville the previous year. I was particularly interested, however, to see the church building that had served the parish from 1838 to 1891, since my family had arrived in the area in 1840 and so many of the rites of passage of those early ancestors and their families and friends had taken place in that church.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_FKHALxGan0bl2sMlVxyE8VLujJq8xyDR_1oI_pmCeOaa1qWqH1BHzLTjXT-cpc3MQXmCl_p1EFIFCp58a-8WKrNZ5cPmU8HcEgFOjvkm4KDWiDWb8MVYdIqQasnyzX_8U44YodAbpTqm/s1600/Exterior+of+Church+of+St.+Patrick+1838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_FKHALxGan0bl2sMlVxyE8VLujJq8xyDR_1oI_pmCeOaa1qWqH1BHzLTjXT-cpc3MQXmCl_p1EFIFCp58a-8WKrNZ5cPmU8HcEgFOjvkm4KDWiDWb8MVYdIqQasnyzX_8U44YodAbpTqm/s1600/Exterior+of+Church+of+St.+Patrick+1838.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church of St. Patrick, Pottsville, 1838-1891 <br />
(This church was torn down to make way for the current structure)</td></tr>
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I was able to find and include a photo of the 1838 church's exterior within my article (see above), but what I really wanted was to see <i>the inside</i> - the interior of the church in which my great-great-great-grandparents had stood when they baptized their children, the place that was the center of family worship - where they prayed at Mass each Sunday, where they said their final goodbyes at Requiem Masses prior to making the walk up the hill to St. Patrick's Cemetery to bury loved ones who had passed.<br />
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I was thrilled when I discovered that there was, indeed, a photograph of the interior of that second Church of St. Patrick! The photo, dated sometime in the 1880s, was taken by renowned "photographer of the mines" George M. Bretz who worked in Pottsville from 1870 to the year of his death in 1895. His photographic images of the <a href="http://contentdm.ad.umbc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/georgebretz/id/109/rec/1" target="_blank">interior of the second Church of St. Patrick</a> along with many photos of Schuylkill County mines and other scenes, can be found online within the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Digital Collection. (Start at the landing page for the <a href="http://contentdm.ad.umbc.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/georgebretz" target="_blank">George Bretz Collection</a> if you are interested in viewing these images.)<br />
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Below is the interior of the Church of St. Patrick as it looked sometime during the 1880s. It is a beautiful church and the parishioners must have been sad to see it torn down, despite having a new, larger and also beautiful church built on its site.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_aewCy2emrj3jSbsO-R9mZPuUtUtMhLX2N-lpzZRr3RleoUAW3ptUm2MxOcWSR50MnA2lrJ57V4hG180eMPuqRHkO5ZIHGpSBiQKlQfNOPSZMQWUExy7Qf9Hbr3foXEsfYaPYjXolVcv/s1600/St.+Patrick's%2BChurch%2C%2BPottsville%2C%2Bphoto%2Bby%2BGeo%2BBretz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="491" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_aewCy2emrj3jSbsO-R9mZPuUtUtMhLX2N-lpzZRr3RleoUAW3ptUm2MxOcWSR50MnA2lrJ57V4hG180eMPuqRHkO5ZIHGpSBiQKlQfNOPSZMQWUExy7Qf9Hbr3foXEsfYaPYjXolVcv/s1600/St.+Patrick's%2BChurch%2C%2BPottsville%2C%2Bphoto%2Bby%2BGeo%2BBretz.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It was before this altar in the second Church of St. Patrick that my great-great-grandparents Margaret Foley and William Cowhey were married in 1878. It was a second marriage for William, age 43 (who had lost his wife Catherine to consumption, and brought five children into his second marriage with Margaret). The young bride, at age 21, was embarking on a life as a mother to William's first five children and later ten more of their own.<br />
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I was very happy to find the details of William and Margaret's marriage within William's Civil War pension file. Among the many pages within this file (circa 1890s), was a <i>Record Proof of Marriage of Widow to Soldier. </i>Signed by then pastor Rev. F. J. McGovern, it attested to the extract from the registry of St. Patrick's Church indicating that William and Margaret had been married by Rev. A.J. Gallagher on February 23, 1878, witnesses Maurice Ryan and Clara Kitchen. This is a true family treasure, particularly since the church itself has been unable to provide access to the listing of this couple's marriage within their registry. Below is the page documenting that day 137 years ago when my great-great-grandparents were joined in marriage at the altar of the second Church of St. Patrick in Pottsville.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguP6UUlBj9IFoItshCx9H7wS58ikNXL_rcGTTzFjcbcBgRUI3ki25yWugz2CEQPTs5ssJSp4R3bq7OZfHzHyF0FSMZ0cU1ZNe2-wC9c6mwWKKk5kxNLPti8lWXiXGm4oD36xOiBRE_XgLJ/s1600/COWHEY,+William+&+Margaret,+Marriage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguP6UUlBj9IFoItshCx9H7wS58ikNXL_rcGTTzFjcbcBgRUI3ki25yWugz2CEQPTs5ssJSp4R3bq7OZfHzHyF0FSMZ0cU1ZNe2-wC9c6mwWKKk5kxNLPti8lWXiXGm4oD36xOiBRE_XgLJ/s1600/COWHEY,+William+&+Margaret,+Marriage.jpg" width="564" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>William and Margaret (Foley) Cowhey</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>Marriage at a Glance</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Married: </b>23 February 1878 at <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2012/10/coal-region-catholics-story-of.html" target="_blank">St. Patrick's Catholic Church</a> in Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., PA </li>
<li><b>Children of William and Catherine (Regan) Cowhey:</b> Anna (b. 1866), Margaret, (b. 1868) William F. (b. 1871), John J. (b. 1874), Richard (b. 1876)</li>
<li><b>Children of William and Margaret (Foley) Cowhey:</b> Mary (b. 1878), Ellen (b. 1880), Elizabeth (b. 1881), Thomas (b. 1883), Ambrose (b. 1884), Clara (b. 1886), Charles (b. 1887), Blanche (b. 1889), Lena (b. 1891), Isabella (b. 1892)</li>
<li><b>Duration of Marriage:</b> 14 years ending at William's death on 17 November 1892</li>
</ul>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>William Cowhey</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
1834-1892<br />
<b><i>Life at a Glance</i></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
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<ul style="text-align: start;">
<li style="text-align: left;"><b>Name at birth:</b> William Cowhey</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><b>Parents: </b>Patrick and Ann Cowhey</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><b>Siblings:</b> John (1832-1836), William (1834-1892), Ann (1837-1864), Ellen (1840-1898), Thomas (1842-1899), Elisabeth (1844-1845), Johanah (1844-1846), John (1846-1920), Michael (1846-1855) </li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><b>Born:</b> 29 April 1834 in New York City, NY</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><b>Died:</b> 17 November 1892 in Cressona, Schuylkill Co., PA at age 58*</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><b>Buried: </b>St. Patrick's No. 3 Cemetery, Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., PA</li>
</ul>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Margaret (Foley) Cowhey</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
1855-1912
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>Life at a Glance</i></b></div>
</div>
<ul>
<li><b>Name at birth:</b> Margaret Foley</li>
<li><b>Parents: </b>Patrick Foley and Margaret Graham</li>
<li><b>Born:</b> 10 August 1855 in Port Carbon, Schuylkill Co., PA</li>
<li><b>Died:</b> 5 October 1912 in Mount Carbon, Schuylkill Co., PA at age 57</li>
<li><b>Buried: </b>St. Patrick's No. 3 Cemetery, Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., PA</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>More here at <i>Small-leaved Shamrock</i></b><br />
<b>about William and Margaret (Foley) Cowhey</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>William</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: start;">
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-horrifying-end-and-heros-farewell.html" target="_blank">A horrifying end a hero's farewell, November 1892</a>*</li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2013/06/150-years-ago-today-william-cowhey-sees.html" target="_blank">150 years ago today: William Cowhey sees his first action in the Civil War</a></li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2013/01/on-this-date-in-1862-i-william-cowhey.html" target="_blank">On this date in 1862: "I, William Cowhey, do solemnly swear..."</a></li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2011/06/civil-war-150-cowhey-brothers-volunteer.html" target="_blank">Civil War 150: The Cowhey brothers volunteer for the Union</a></li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2008/05/1892-pottsville-train-explosion-how-why.html" target="_blank">The 1892 Pottsville train explosion: How and why?</a>*</li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2008/02/crossing-potomac-with-william-soldiers.html" target="_blank">Crossing the Potomac with William: A soldier's story</a></li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2007/06/riding-rails.html" target="_blank">Riding the rails: The life and death of William Cowhey</a>*</li>
</ul>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Margaret</b></div>
<div>
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2015/03/mother-to-15-widow-at-38-my-discovery.html" target="_blank">Mother to 15, Widow at 38: My discovery of the photograph of my quietly heroic great-great-grandmother</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2010/01/family-treasure-at-national-archives.html" target="_blank">Family treasure at the National Archives: 19th-century birth records and more</a></li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2009/11/death-comes-in-threes-sorrows-of.html" target="_blank">Death comes in threes: The sorrows of Margaret Foley Cowhey, 1891-1895</a>*</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu1ddmLoYZP_NHL0YcVdpB9QNTrflx4Gi4X4XVfqZL7QxxM_2zWUYWrLmD6YKaC2obH__FG78IzvnOofrWORrJf2rIHfqDJFTRLN2N5v3-oRgKIXklLMbQ29bU5KytlO2bCS8aWtLIdroC/s1600/52ancestors-2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="105" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu1ddmLoYZP_NHL0YcVdpB9QNTrflx4Gi4X4XVfqZL7QxxM_2zWUYWrLmD6YKaC2obH__FG78IzvnOofrWORrJf2rIHfqDJFTRLN2N5v3-oRgKIXklLMbQ29bU5KytlO2bCS8aWtLIdroC/s1600/52ancestors-2015.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<i>This article is included as part of the <a href="http://www.nostorytoosmall.com/posts/announcing-52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-2015-edition/" target="_blank">52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge</a> organized by Amy Johnson Crow. The theme for Week 11, in which this article falls, is "Luck of the Irish". [Note: Hat tip to Donna Pointkouski of <a href="https://pastprologue.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">What's Past is Prologue</a> for the summary format I've used at the end of this article.] Find more stories of my family's ancestral churches visit my <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/smallestleaf/churches-of-my-ancesors/" target="_blank">Churches of My Ancestors Pinterest board</a>.<br />
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</i>Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-91362872094883291812015-03-14T09:02:00.000-04:002015-03-19T13:28:27.255-04:00Mother to 15, Widow at 38: My discovery of the photograph of my quietly heroic great-great-grandmotherMargaret Foley was 21 when in 1878 she married <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-horrifying-end-and-heros-farewell.html" target="_blank">William Cowhey</a>, age 43, at <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2012/10/coal-region-catholics-story-of.html" target="_blank">St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Pottsville, Pennsylvania</a> and walked into the world of motherhood. She immediately inherited his five children: Annie, Margaret, William, Joseph and Richard. The children were ages 11 down to 2, and had lost their mother, Catherine (Regan) Cowhey, to consumption the previous year.<br />
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Margaret and William went on to have ten children of their own together: Mary, Ellen, Elizabeth, Thomas, Ambrose, Clara, Charles, Blanche, Lena and Isabella. In all, there were fifteen children born to William within a twenty-six year span - a very big family.<br />
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Margaret has long been one of my personal heroines. Not only did she become an instant mother of five at a young age, but she also suffered the grief and <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2009/11/death-comes-in-threes-sorrows-of.html" target="_blank">loss of her husband in a terrible accident, and the loss of several children who died young</a>. By the time she was only 38, she was a widow left with eight children to care for under the age of sixteen. Margaret and William had been married only fourteen years.<br />
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It is only fitting that in March - Women's History Month and the month of St. Patrick - I would take the time to honor this brave Irish-American great-great-grandmother of mine. I was pleasantly surprised to realize, also, that today the Catholic Church celebrates the life of St. Matilda, patroness of large families, widows, and the death of children. She is perhaps the best patron saint I can think of for Margaret (Foley) Cowhey.<br />
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Five years ago I wrote a draft for a blog post which I never published. It started out:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"No photograph is known to exist of my great-great-grandmother, Margaret (Foley) Cowhey, yet I have an image in my mind of what she might have looked like. I picture her wearing the black uncomfortable shoes and long skirts of women of her generation. On her feet for many hours each day, she feels the constant pull of little hands on her skirt - little ones needing attention. Her hands are worn by the toil of 19th-century women's work..."</blockquote>
I was thrilled just a few days ago when I made a discovery: a photograph of Margaret circa 1901! A cousin had posted a Cowhey family photograph on her Ancestry tree (<i>thanks, Linda!</i>), labeling a few of the family members. When I compared her photograph with one taken thirty-plus years later, I was able to make some conclusions about family members in the 1901 gathering, and have determined with great certainty that Margaret is pictured. I believe Margaret (Foley) Cowhey is the woman seated in the black dress.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-RImKt2dGDgCLXC9dUfarDN-MG9jYjDi1Qsqfd9KQBTP9M_i0GpcUhLrYNUxrru0hDzmGPZ5Z5OkQTjcQCcIliMrMFvMHSHdZ_lymsJaggFdboTzwDXDnEeeUQC64HbvjnZtPZaR-NHx/s1600/COWHEY+Family,+c.+1902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-RImKt2dGDgCLXC9dUfarDN-MG9jYjDi1Qsqfd9KQBTP9M_i0GpcUhLrYNUxrru0hDzmGPZ5Z5OkQTjcQCcIliMrMFvMHSHdZ_lymsJaggFdboTzwDXDnEeeUQC64HbvjnZtPZaR-NHx/s1600/COWHEY+Family,+c.+1902.jpg" height="515" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here she is, widow and matriarch of a huge family (only a small portion of whom are pictured) at the ripe old age of 46. Margaret would live only one more decade, dying of kidney disease at the age of 57. Her obituary reads:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Death of Mrs. Margaret Cowhy </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Mrs. Margaret Cowhy, a well-known and highly respected resident of Mt. Carbon, died at her home, at that place, Saturday afternoon after a long illness, death being due to a complication of diseases. Deceased was a former resident of Pt. Carbon, that town being her birthplace. She is survived by three sons, Thomas, Ambrose, and Charles, and four daughters, Mrs. Julius Stockel of Georgetown, Del., Mrs. A. Brown of Phila., and Mrs. Wm. Rodgers of Jersey City, N.J. and Miss Blanche at home.</blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Margaret (Foley) Cowhey</b><br />
1855-1912</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>Life at a Glance</i></b></div>
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<ul>
<li><b>Name at birth:</b> Margaret Foley</li>
<li><b>Parents: </b>Patrick Foley and Margaret Graham</li>
<li><b>Born:</b> 10 August 1855 in Port Carbon, PA</li>
<li><b>Married:</b> <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-horrifying-end-and-heros-farewell.html" target="_blank">William Cowhey</a> 23 February 1878, <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2012/10/coal-region-catholics-story-of.html" target="_blank">St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Pottsville, PA</a></li>
<li><b>Stepchildren: </b><i>Children of William from first marriage to Catherine (Regan) Cowhey:</i> Anna (b. 1866), Margaret, (b. 1868) William F. (b. 1871), John J. (b. 1874), Richard (b. 1876)</li>
<li><b>Children:</b> Mary (b. 1878), Ellen (b. 1880), Elizabeth (b. 1881), Thomas (b. 1883), Ambrose (b. 1884), Clara (b. 1886), Charles (b. 1887), Blanche (b. 1889), Lena (b. 1891), Isabella (b. 1892)</li>
<li><b>Duration of Marriage:</b> 14 years ending at William's death on 17 November 1892</li>
<li><b>Died:</b> 5 October 1912 in Mount Carbon, Schuylkill, PA at age 57</li>
<li><b>Buried: </b>St. Patrick's No. 3 Cemetery, Pottsville, Schuylkill, PA</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu1ddmLoYZP_NHL0YcVdpB9QNTrflx4Gi4X4XVfqZL7QxxM_2zWUYWrLmD6YKaC2obH__FG78IzvnOofrWORrJf2rIHfqDJFTRLN2N5v3-oRgKIXklLMbQ29bU5KytlO2bCS8aWtLIdroC/s1600/52ancestors-2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu1ddmLoYZP_NHL0YcVdpB9QNTrflx4Gi4X4XVfqZL7QxxM_2zWUYWrLmD6YKaC2obH__FG78IzvnOofrWORrJf2rIHfqDJFTRLN2N5v3-oRgKIXklLMbQ29bU5KytlO2bCS8aWtLIdroC/s1600/52ancestors-2015.jpg" height="105" width="200" /></a></div>
<i>This article is included as part of the <a href="http://www.nostorytoosmall.com/posts/announcing-52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-2015-edition/" target="_blank">52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge</a> organized by Amy Johnson Crow. The theme for Week 11, in which this article falls, is "Luck of the Irish". [Note: Hat tip to Donna Pointkouski of <a href="https://pastprologue.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">What's Past is Prologue</a> for the summary format I've used at the end of this article.]<br />
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</i>Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-15281963960475811272015-03-11T18:14:00.000-04:002015-03-14T08:39:59.632-04:00"The long and stormy passage": The 1823 sea voyage of Patrick Cowhey and a spirited Irish priest"In early nineteenth-century Ireland, the Reverend Jeremiah O'Callaghan refused the sacraments to a dying man until he recanted his alleged usury, an incident that eventually got the priest banished to the wilds of northern Vermont," writes Charles R. Geisst in his book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812244621/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0812244621&linkCode=as2&tag=100yearinamer-20">Beggar Thy Neighbor: A History of Usury and Debt</a>.<br />
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Fr. O'Callaghan was a strong-willed priest on a mission. His determination to rid society of the sin of usury (monetary loans that he thought the church should consider unethical) led him to leave Ireland where he took up his cause first in New York, then in Rome. The end of his efforts, which were not taken seriously, resulted in him being sent to act as first pastor to a remote group of Catholics in Vermont.<br />
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My interest in Fr. O'Callaghan began not because of his campaign against the errors of capitalism, but because of the description he wrote of his first voyage to New York. It turns out that the priest made the same journey on the same ship in 1823 as my great-great-great-grandfather Patrick Cowhey, and the difficulty of the voyage led him to write about it. Fr. O'Callaghan makes mention of the experience within his 1824 book explaining the reasons behind what became his life's campaign <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=jeremiah+o%27callaghan+usury&fq=dt%3Abks&dblist=638&qt=sort&se=yr&sd=asc&qt=sort_yr_asc">Usury or Interest Proved to be Repugnant to the Divine and Ecclesiastical Laws and Destructive to Civil Society</a>.
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja4hW6fBvOd-68zuVm2saY_4mR4o3C2m_zdWSj6iGB59o1O7_7H537LF5bS6JbZZodeZj-JVVmd2Ft-4yDewnmIMji2ES_oj99mv5hg4-IwvstNmkpGoMn9kYSlrOrnwbqdts-UkBFgPp2/s1600/COWHEY,+Patrick+-+O'Callaghan's+1835+printed+book+mentioning+1823+voyage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja4hW6fBvOd-68zuVm2saY_4mR4o3C2m_zdWSj6iGB59o1O7_7H537LF5bS6JbZZodeZj-JVVmd2Ft-4yDewnmIMji2ES_oj99mv5hg4-IwvstNmkpGoMn9kYSlrOrnwbqdts-UkBFgPp2/s320/COWHEY,+Patrick+-+O'Callaghan's+1835+printed+book+mentioning+1823+voyage.jpg" height="215" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 1835 printed edition of Fr. O'Callaghan's book</td></tr>
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Here is the priest's description of the voyage:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"In expectation that America, the garden of liberty, would grant what had been denied me in Ireland, that is, power to pursue my clerical office, <b>I sailed from Cork by the ship William, on the 6th of March, 1823, <i>[some texts indicate the 8th of March]</i> and after a boisterous passage, made New-York the 23d April.</b> Visiting my old friend, Rev. John Power, of Skibbereen, Ireland, who for some years dignified the pulpit of this city. Several days elapsed in recounting our mutual adventures, putting and solving spiritual questions, and grieving for the distress and gloomy prospects of mother Erin. <b>As soon as my constitution, that had been broken down by the long and stormy passage,</b> was retrieved at his hospitable table, he presented me to Dr. Connelly, bishop of that city..."</blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A famine ship during a storm</td></tr>
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It was a great surprise to find this description of my ancestor's voyage to New York, particularly since I have not even been able to locate a picture of the Ship William. After discovering Fr. O'Callaghan's words about his negative experience on the ship, I took another look at the passenger list. There was the familiar document that I had viewed many times, with its arrival in New York from Cork, Ireland on April 26, 1823. But now I saw something I had not noticed before. Listed in the second row, several names above 15-year-old Patrick Cowhey, was another name now newly-familiar to me: "Rev. Jer. O'Callaghan".
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Passengers on the Ship William arriving in New York, April 23, 1823</td></tr>
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<b>Patrick Cowhey</b><br />
Abt. 1807-1871</div>
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<b><i>Life at a Glance</i></b></div>
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<ul>
<li><b>Name at birth:</b> Patrick Cowhey (possibly <i>O'Cobhthaigh</i>)</li>
<li><b>Parents: </b>Unknown</li>
<li><b>Born:</b> About 1807 in Ireland</li>
<li><b>Siblings:</b> Unknown</li>
<li><b>Immigrated:</b> Departed Cork aboard the Ship William between 6 and 8 March 1823; arrived in Port of New York on 23 April 1823</li>
<li><b>Married:</b> To Ann (unknown maiden name) about 1831, probably in New York City</li>
<li><b>Children:</b> John (1832-1836), William (1834-1892), Ann (1837-1864), Ellen (1840-1898), Thomas (1842-1899), Elisabeth (1844-1845), Johanah (1844-1846), John (1846-1920), Michael (1846-1855)</li>
<li><b>Duration of Marriage:</b> About 40 years ending at Patrick's death on 7 March 1871</li>
<li><b>Died:</b> 7 March 1871 in Pottsville, Schuylkill, PA about age 64</li>
<li><b>Buried: </b>probably at St. Patrick's Cemetery, Pottsville, Schuylkill, PA</li>
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<i>This article is included as part of the <a href="http://www.nostorytoosmall.com/posts/announcing-52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-2015-edition/" target="_blank">52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge</a> organized by Amy Johnson Crow. The theme for Week 10, in which this article falls, is "Stormy Weather". Most of this article was previously published <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-long-and-stormy-passage-1823-sea.html" target="_blank">here at Small-leaved Shamrock</a>. [Note: Hat tip to Donna Pointkouski of <a href="https://pastprologue.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">What's Past is Prologue</a> for the summary format I've used at the end of this article.] Find more stories of my ancestors' journeys on my <a href="http://pinterest.com/smallestleaf/voyages-of-my-ancestors/" target="_blank">Voyages of My Ancestors Pinterest board</a>.
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</i>Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-76110644652662195122015-02-08T12:12:00.000-05:002015-02-13T22:49:56.289-05:00It's official! My PA roots go back prior to the Civil War<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's official! The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania has accepted my application for their First Families of Pennsylvania lineage society. My Keystone State roots go back to 1840. That makes me a "Keystone and Cornerstone" member.<br />
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I've always been proud of my PA roots. I've never lived there, I wasn't born there, and I've not spent nearly enough time visiting, yet I love the state of Pennsylvania and now I have the official certificate showing one reason why!<br />
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As I mentioned in my <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2014/11/first-families-of-pennsylvania.html" target="_blank">earlier post at the time I mailed my application</a>, I combined all my research into this line of my family into eighty-three final pages, including sixty-five pages of documentation and a sixteen-page summary of the generations and sources I used to document them. All in all, I compiled documentation for six generations of my family spanning 174 years back to 1840 in Pennsylvania. Not bad for a spare-time genealogist!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Documentation for the two earliest generations of my Cowhey family members in Pennsylvania.</td></tr>
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Above is a screenshot I took of the pages within my application including genealogical documentation for just the earliest two generations of the Cowhey family in Pennsylvania:<br />
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<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/search/label/Patrick%20Cowhey" target="_blank">Patrick Cowhey</a> (c. 1807-1871)</li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/search/label/Anne%20Cowhey" target="_blank">Ann Cowhey</a> (c. 1812-1893) - Patrick's wife</li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/search/label/William%20Cowhey" target="_blank">William Cowhey</a> (1834-1892) - Patrick and Ann's son</li>
<li><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/search/label/Margaret%20%28Foley%29%20Cowhey" target="_blank">Margaret Foley Cowhey</a> (1855-1912) - William's 2nd wife</li>
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If you are a cousin of mine and we are connected through Patrick & Ann's family tree, please contact me and I'll give you details about making your own application to the First Families of Pennsylvania.<br />
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Good news! I've done the hard work for you (finding proof back to our earliest ancestors in PA). Now you just have to connect the pieces in later generations, send in your application and - <i>voila!</i> - you, too can be an official First Families of Pennsylvania member. Please let me know if you'd like help with the process. I'd love to have some cousins join me in celebrating our Pennsylvania roots in this way!Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-26618125389058558842014-11-04T10:44:00.000-05:002014-11-05T09:48:19.952-05:00First Families of Pennsylvania application - check!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My application consisted of eighty-three final pages, including sixty-five pages of documentation and a sixteen-page summary of the generations and sources I used to document them. All in all, I presented my research into six generations of my family spanning 174 years back to 1840 in Pennsylvania. Not bad for a spare-time genealogist!<br />
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It has been a joy to trace my roots in Pennsylvania and it will be an honor to see my ancestors included within the <a href="http://genpa.org/" target="_blank">Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania</a>'s official list of <a href="http://genpa.org/first-families/first-families-pennsylvania" target="_blank">First Families of Pennsylvania</a> within the designation "Keystone & Cornerstone: 1791-1865".<br />
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I always love to visit Pennsylvania, but it will be even more special to step onto the soil of the Keystone State once I receive word from GSP that my application was accepted and my family is enrolled within their list of First Families. This is one package that was sent to Philadelphia "from Texas with love", for sure!Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-14289595335016818602014-03-17T17:59:00.000-04:002014-03-17T17:59:27.986-04:00A St. Patrick’s Day miracle for the Irish/Hungarian genealogy bloggerYou may be thinking, “It’s a miracle! Finally a new blog article from Lisa!” <br />
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Though this very well might be a small miracle, there is a real miracle I’d like to share with you in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. It is a documented phenomenon that occurred over three centuries ago that is still remembered and celebrated today. It is close to my heart for a very special reason, as you’ll see when you read on. <br />
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I first posted this article three years ago, but really wanted to share it again this year. Happy St. Patrick’s Day from Smallest Leaf!<br />
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As a Catholic and a mother, I often look to Christ’s mother, Mary, for inspiration. She is the perfect example of womanhood. Her life has provided encouragement to women for many generations, including my own and my beloved ancestors’ (on both the Irish and Hungarian/Croatian sides of the family). <br />
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In many places throughout the world, Mary is remembered by a special name or title, or honored with a particular statue or painting containing her image. There are countless “names” for Mary. I thought I had heard of most of them. <br />
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I was surprised to come across a new title for Mary recently that I absolutely could not believe. As the descendant of Irish and Hungarian ancestors, I was thrilled to discover the<em> Irish Madonna of Hungary</em>. The story behind this title of Mary involves a beautiful painting, two European cities a continent apart, and a documented miracle that is as surprising as it is inspiring. <br />
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The village of Clonfert in County Galway, Ireland could not hide from the troubles facing the island during the middle of the 17th century. Oliver Cromwell was imposing his will on the Irish people – often brutally – and many, particularly church leaders, were displaced, persecuted, or killed. Among those was one Irish bishop by the name of Walter Lynch. As history tells us, Bishop Lynch was forced to flee his native Clonfert to Galway city. After the attack and capture of Galway, he was pursued to the island of Inisbofin, and then escaped to mainland Europe. He was in Austria by 1655 – four years after fleeing Clonfert. While in Austria, the good Bishop met the Bishop of Győr, Hungary, who offered him the opportunity to continue his ministry within the Győr diocese until the time when Bishop Lynch could safely return to his homeland. <br />
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Sadly, Bishop Lynch, who was making plans to return to Ireland, passed away in Győr in the year 1663, twelve years after leaving Clonfert. During his travels as an exile, the Bishop had carried with him a painting of Mary and the child Jesus (shown below), which he had saved from the Clonfert cathedral. Before his passing, Bishop Lynch had placed the picture in the care of the Bishop of Győr, who put it on display in the Győr cathedral.<br />
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Thirty-four years passed with the painting housed in the Győr cathedral. The Hungarian faithful venerated this beautiful image of the Madonna, and felt sure that Mary’s intercession on their behalf had ensured their recent victories over the Turks. By the year 1697, Hungary was enjoying newfound peace. Unfortunately, that same year, Ireland was beginning to face one of its greatest trials: the outlawing of the Catholic faith, the confiscation of its churches, and the banishment of all Catholic clergy from the British Isles. <br />
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As historical accounts tell us, on the feast of St. Patrick on March 17, 1697 a miracle occurred in Győr. According to the account of a priest who witnessed the event, “…the picture of the Blessed Virgin in the cathedral began to weep copiously.” Additional details recorded indicate that this “weeping”, or “bloody sweat”, went on for several hours, and that witnesses of various denominations were unable to attribute the occurrence to any natural cause. Eventually, word of the miracle spread throughout the city. It was witnessed by thousands, many of whom signed a document indicating their presence at the time of the miracle. These included the imperial governor of the city, mayor, councilmen, the Bishop, priests, Protestant ministers, a Jewish rabbi and many more. A linen cloth used to soak up the liquid is still on display today in the cathedral. The inscription on the case reads: “This is the true cloth which was used to dry the blood, which this picture shed in this church on St. Patrick’s Day 1697.”<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The linen cloth on display in Győr Basilica today<br />
(Image thanks to <a href="http://www.gyor.egyhazmegye.hu/index.php?t=st&id=9">Győri Egyházmegye</a> - Győr Diocese)</td></tr>
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The beautiful image of the <em>Irish Madonna of Hungary</em>, also referred to as the <em>Consolatrix Afflictorum</em> <em>(Consoler of the Afflicted)</em>, remains in the cathedral to this day, framed in silver above the altar. For over three centuries, it has played a special role in drawing together the two nations of Hungary and Ireland. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidDBsRZAf291OtQIhgAt18fjXgHs-SYl5X_q-KpnXrcLt3ltQFCwYLXFNQql-PzMxY2BELmESiXxtnCfIVVQRAH5DuGkQQV0CXC6AuVkCoI_Yq1zbLIZ-AYLznYVeTlp0IvcYtkXSOt-z6/s1600/oltar_kicsi_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidDBsRZAf291OtQIhgAt18fjXgHs-SYl5X_q-KpnXrcLt3ltQFCwYLXFNQql-PzMxY2BELmESiXxtnCfIVVQRAH5DuGkQQV0CXC6AuVkCoI_Yq1zbLIZ-AYLznYVeTlp0IvcYtkXSOt-z6/s320/oltar_kicsi_n.jpg" width="261" /></a></div>
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Every March 17 since 1947 (the 250 year anniversary of the miracle), even during the Communist regime, Hungarian priests have made a pilgrimage to the Győr cathedral and visited the <em>Győri Könnyező Szűzanya (Győr Weeping Virgin Mary)</em> or <em>Ír Madonna (Irish Madonna)</em>, as they call the painting in the Hungarian language. <br />
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</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qbt6io86o3QEKvqIXnLBgZLhAhYJ3SFaDJKv5yMNF8rNKhx81zsk6OBsZy4yAcXAQiCejL8hnByJT1GFl6kxXTFRhD0vkVW92ouyFtAzArH-0m6CRcCkwWw6uIyJZG-X-RnvD4vn1lvB/s1600/Hungarian+priests+pilgrimage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qbt6io86o3QEKvqIXnLBgZLhAhYJ3SFaDJKv5yMNF8rNKhx81zsk6OBsZy4yAcXAQiCejL8hnByJT1GFl6kxXTFRhD0vkVW92ouyFtAzArH-0m6CRcCkwWw6uIyJZG-X-RnvD4vn1lvB/s320/Hungarian+priests+pilgrimage.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hungarian priests in procession at Győr Basilica<br />
(Image thanks to <a href="http://www.gyor.egyhazmegye.hu/index.php?t=st&id=9">Győri Egyházmegye</a> - Győr Diocese)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div>
Other special celebrations occur regularly for Hungarian lay Catholics to honor Mary’s weeping image in Győr, and there is even an annual Croatian-speaking celebration. Irish Catholics, too, regularly make pilgrimages to the Irish Madonna of Hungary. The year 1997 (the 300-year anniversary of the miracle) saw a special exchange as the Irish Clonfert Bishop John Kirby was presented a copy of the painting by Győr Bishop Lajos Papai on his visit to the city.</div>
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</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvGBhUsJ3QMMZ1Z7agecgbsqduWDFztGBIKJbMFixmgpwDsBmhyphenhyphenHGbB2Levfthh9c7YiHPdM730MIdkQCl31ZqLSUzj80yXdTqRTfax3VuOEmeod59w_QtAiNgx6y2q97m87zuOXXBJSo/s1600/Two+Bishops+meeting+in+Gyor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvGBhUsJ3QMMZ1Z7agecgbsqduWDFztGBIKJbMFixmgpwDsBmhyphenhyphenHGbB2Levfthh9c7YiHPdM730MIdkQCl31ZqLSUzj80yXdTqRTfax3VuOEmeod59w_QtAiNgx6y2q97m87zuOXXBJSo/s320/Two+Bishops+meeting+in+Gyor.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Győr, Hungary's Bishop Lajos Papai giving a copy of the <br />
painting to Clonfert, Ireland's Bishop John Kirby<br />
(Image thanks to <a href="http://www.hitvallas.hu/regi/hitv05kulon/hitv05ext03en.html">Hitvallás</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As Clonfert’s Bishop John Kirby wrote, “The kindness shown to Bishop Walter Lynch has led to an unusual link between the small Irish rural diocese of Clonfert and the large Hungarian diocese of Győr centered in a big industrial city. It has shown us the value of friendship and the way that the consideration shown to a refugee can deepen the understanding between peoples who might otherwise never have known each other. The history of the painting has an even deeper message. It reminds us of the faith and trust in the intercession of Our Lady that existed both in Ireland and in Hungary 350 years ago.”<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LqALk948aD8S-LIhOWraWFEY_BKkZ9rsrQO3djaPrl2d2XyDtZD5fhLTVqT5BpsGMuj18eEhLh6NLqs8L7k0kYWDAM-jj4ydsVJ-lEi8YKnXGwLVnV2HhEP_R9eLb44FS5GKoCiNphaK/s1600/450px-Bazilika_homlokzat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LqALk948aD8S-LIhOWraWFEY_BKkZ9rsrQO3djaPrl2d2XyDtZD5fhLTVqT5BpsGMuj18eEhLh6NLqs8L7k0kYWDAM-jj4ydsVJ-lEi8YKnXGwLVnV2HhEP_R9eLb44FS5GKoCiNphaK/s320/450px-Bazilika_homlokzat.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Basilica of Győr today </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Where were my Irish and Hungarian ancestors 350 years ago? I haven’t determined that yet, but it is interesting to imagine the possibilities knowing the history of the time.<br />
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As you may know, Catholics like to choose patron saints for themselves. I think it’s pretty obvious that Mary, the <em>Irish Madonna of Hungary</em>, is the ideal patron saint for this Irish/Hungarian genealogist! I hope that Győr’s <em>Weeping Virgin Mary</em>, the <em>Consoler of the Afflicted</em>, will smile down on my efforts to continue the search for ancestors on both sides of my family tree: those from Bishop Lynch’s beloved native Ireland, and those from Hungary, the country that welcomed him with open arms. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1_EvwswBEoQgerV2TakB8vXDf744sx5aDd2Zg3EjYh1x8NFPIzLkvTLzmQ6XxS3KAvRLKG8NQMQmk0D5RIWpSpGAuydFaGJVwJacDsy3kvDSwQuHs4qJ-KjL4ZiFq-IdlJL7DzSZOtUB2/s1600-h/Irish_clover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1_EvwswBEoQgerV2TakB8vXDf744sx5aDd2Zg3EjYh1x8NFPIzLkvTLzmQ6XxS3KAvRLKG8NQMQmk0D5RIWpSpGAuydFaGJVwJacDsy3kvDSwQuHs4qJ-KjL4ZiFq-IdlJL7DzSZOtUB2/s200/Irish_clover.jpg" height="98" vt="true" width="100" /></a></div>
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If you'd like to read more about the history of the <em>Irish Madonna of Hungary</em>, check out the following websites and books:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.hitvallas.hu/regi/hitv05kulon/hitv05ext.html">Hitvallás (Creed) 2005, a Győri Egyházmegye folyóirata (the online magazine of the Diocese of Győr) - special online issue in the 350th anniversary year of the painting's arrival in Győr</a> (website in Hungarian and English)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=3052">The Irish Madonna of Hungary</a> by Zsolt Aradi from <u>Shrines to Our Lady Around the World</u> published in 1954 by <em>Farrar, Straus & Young</em> (webpage in English)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.gyor.egyhazmegye.hu/index.php?t=st&id=9">Győri Egyházmegye</a> (Győr Diocese) (webpage in Hungarian)</li>
<li><u>Szomorúak vigasztalója : a győri könnyező szűzanya - az ír madonna</u> by Hetény János, Kiss Tamás, Szabó Béla (book published in 2009 in Hungarian; German and English translations available - see <a href="http://www.kkmk.hu/?page=helyism/konyvajanlo/archivum/20090902/ajanlo">this book review in Hungarian</a>)</li>
</ul>
<span class="keyvalue"><em>Note:</em> This article is cross-posted to my Hungarian genealogy blog, <a href="http://100inamerica.blogspot.com/">100 Years in America</a>. Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!</span>Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-57948854781338166172013-12-22T03:45:00.000-05:002013-12-23T04:02:11.893-05:00"Don't blow the tall white candle out...": A song for Christmas EveChristmas Eve is a magical time. The waiting of Advent is over and the celebration of the Savior's birth is about to begin.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0TER2nWQAI0NFA8k2KAB95JhsZnBUirE339rruF_3SfsEvCb9aETj_ZwnRj-xCyByjjbuWr2DgJaeXg8rX0S1SyqTdzv-AKLFm0jlPCqew0nlFcz8ujONulFOaPJdYizSqN25Ra4Pswsm/s1600/Candle+in+the+window.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0TER2nWQAI0NFA8k2KAB95JhsZnBUirE339rruF_3SfsEvCb9aETj_ZwnRj-xCyByjjbuWr2DgJaeXg8rX0S1SyqTdzv-AKLFm0jlPCqew0nlFcz8ujONulFOaPJdYizSqN25Ra4Pswsm/s320/Candle+in+the+window.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Malene" target="_blank">Malene Thyssen</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One beautiful way that the Irish have traditionally kept this holy night is with the lighting of a candle in the window. The warm light from its glow acts as a welcome to all so that no one should be without shelter.<br />
<br />
Offering hospitality to others by way of a lighted candle is a tradition as old as ancient Ireland. In more recent centuries during times of persecution in Ireland, the candle offered a welcome to priests that the home was a safe haven and that Mass could be offered there. On Christmas Eve, the candle also symbolizes the willingness of the household to welcome the Holy Family, so that the Infant Jesus and his family would not again be turned away. One Irish belief held that Joseph, Mary and Jesus still wandered the world, seeking a place of refuge from Herod.<br />
<br />
The words of <i><b>The Kerry Christmas Carol</b></i>, written by Sigerson Clifford, admonish us to be sure to provide a welcome for the Holy Family on this special night before Christmas. Below are verses two and seven. I've placed the full version of the song <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2007/12/sing-of-christmas.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 85%;">Verse 2</span></i></div>
<i><div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #006600;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #006600;">Ná múch an coinneal ard bán,</span></i></div>
<span style="color: #006600;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #006600;">Ach fág é lásta go geal.</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #006600;">Go mbeidh siad cinnte ar aon</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #006600;">go bhfuil fáilte is fiche roimh cách</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #006600;">Sa teach ar an Oiche Nollag naofa seo!</span></i></div>
</span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #990000;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #990000;">Don't blow the tall white candle out</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #990000;">But leave it burning bright,</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #990000;">So that they'll know they're welcome here</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #990000;">This holy Christmas night!</span></i></div>
</span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 85%;">Verse 7</span></i></div>
</span><span style="color: #006600;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #006600;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #006600;">Ná cur ar an ndoras ach an laiste anocht!</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #006600;">Agus coimead na gríosaigh beó -</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #006600;">Agus guí go mbeidh siad fén ar ndíon anocht</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #006600;">Agus an domhan 'na chodladh go suan.</span></i></div>
</span><div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #990000;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #990000;">Leave the door upon the latch,</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #990000;">And set the fire to keep,</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #990000;">And pray they'll rest with us tonight</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #990000;">When all the world's asleep.</span></i></div>
</span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #990000;"><br />
</span></i><br />
Tim Dennehy, who <a href="https://soundcloud.com/timdenn/01-the-kerry-christmas-carol" target="_blank">has recorded <i>The Kerry Christmas Carol</i></a>, has also written a song of his own to be sung in welcome of the Holy Family on Christmas Eve.<br />
<br />
Tim has taken a traditional Irish prayer of welcome and added additional verses and a refrain. His song, <i><b>An Nollaig Theas</b></i>, begins as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #006600;">Dia do bheatha 'dir asal is damh gan riar</span></i></div>
<i><div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #006600;">Dia do bheatha id' leanbh, id Fhlaith gan chiach</span></i></div>
<span style="color: #006600;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #006600;">Dia do bheatha ód' Fhlaithis go teach na bpian</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #006600;">Dia do bheathasa 'Íosa.</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #006600;">Dún do shúil a Rí an tSolais, dún do shúile ríoga</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #006600;">Dún do shúil a Shaoi an tSonais, dún do shúile síoda.</span></i></div>
</span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #006600;"><br />
</span></i><br />
Translated to English, the words are:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #990000;">God's greeting to you untended 'tween ox and ass</span></i></div>
<i><div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #990000;">God's greeting to you Child and Prince serene</span></i></div>
<span style="color: #990000;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #990000;">God's greeting to you from heaven to the hour of pain</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #990000;">God's greeting to you dear Jesus.</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #990000;">Close your eyes oh King of light, close your regal eyes</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #990000;">Close your eyes oh fount of happiness, close your silken eyes.</span></i></div>
</span></i><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #990000;"><br />
</span></i></div>
You can find the rest of the lyrics to the song on <a href="http://www.sceilig.com/an_nollaig_theas.htm" target="_blank">Tim Dennehy's website</a>.<br />
<br />
If you choose to light a candle in your window this Christmas Eve and would like to follow Irish tradition, remember that it requires that the candle be left burning throughout the night. Oh, and it must only be blown out by one having the name of Mary! Or was that the youngest child in the family? Actually it might have been <a href="http://cowhampshire.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2007/12/11/3382311.html">the youngest child who would, of course, be named Mary</a>.<br />
<br />
No matter. As long as you get the candle in the window I think any Irishman or woman would be feel welcomed at your home on Christmas Eve, not to mention Mary, Joseph and the Infant Jesus.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: 85%;">This article previously appeared here at Small-leaved Shamrock as part of Thomas MacEntee's </span></i><i><span style="font-size: 85%;">GeneaBloggers Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2008/12/candle-in-window-on-christmas-eve.html" target="_blank">2008</a> and <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2009/12/candle-in-window-on-christmas-eve.html" target="_blank">2009</a>. I've republished it this year in celebration of <a href="http://www.footnotemaven.com/2013/12/fms-tradition-of-blog-caroling.html#comment-form" target="_blank">footnoteMaven</a>'s Blog Caroling event. Merry Christmas to all!</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image thanks to <a href="http://www.dochara.com/">DoChara.com</a>.</span></i>Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-35178028878263762012013-12-20T00:00:00.000-05:002013-12-20T00:00:08.093-05:00One-hundred and twenty years ago today: The death of Ann Cowhey, 1893It was just five days before Christmas in the year 1893 that Ann Cowhey left this life. Her obituary says she died at home and was in her 90th year. Other records indicate she may have been closer to eighty. If she did as some of her great-granddaughters were known to do, she may have underestimated her age when she had the opportunity.<br />
<br />
Ann's obituary also states that she was a "lifelong resident of East Mt. Carbon". I know that to be untrue. She and her husband started their family in New York City. More than likely Ann (whose maiden name I have not yet determined) also immigrated to New York from Ireland, <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-long-and-stormy-passage-1823-sea.html" target="_blank">as did her husband Patrick (who came to New York City at age 15)</a>.<br />
<br />
Patrick and Ann resided in New York City's fifth ward and more than likely attended Old St. Patrick's Catholic Church on Mulberry Street. (The city registry listing their firstborn son's death at age 4 in 1836 indicates that he was buried within St. Patrick's cemetery. Unfortunately, the church could not find any sacramental records for the family.)<br />
<br />
After living in New York City, Patrick and Ann arrived in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania with their two surviving young children. They spent the rest of their lives there and Ann gave birth to six more children (<a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2013/07/seeing-double-twins-in-family-and-need.html" target="_blank">including two sets of twins</a>). Of the four children who survived her, however, only one remained with her in Mount Carbon at the time of her death: her youngest son John.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">~</span></div>
<br />
I was privileged a couple of years ago to have the chance to hold in my hands <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2013/07/seeing-double-twins-in-family-and-need.html" target="_blank">the family Bible that first belonged to Ann</a>. In this Douay-Rheims translation Catholic Bible published by Edward Dunigan in New York in 1844, she and other family members chronicled the births, marriages and deaths of many Cowhey family members. The year that her husband Patrick (and therefore she) became a naturalized U.S. citizen is also handwritten into the Bible. This book is a true family treasure: a small tangible glimpse into the life of my 3rd great-grandmother.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJAkTN3ipH6qGtN5xvmrAhFnomWCsFALa2AhBOUK1u32PTgaEOkGYnOnNogO2GBbBeP7hzi90K9qfOqL4oIPbwNNT4oxL5r6yvombWkBai6gR778MY9RI1QZlf5zOMnVONF-gppzxX0h2q/s1600/COWHEY,+Ann+-+Family+Bible+cover.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJAkTN3ipH6qGtN5xvmrAhFnomWCsFALa2AhBOUK1u32PTgaEOkGYnOnNogO2GBbBeP7hzi90K9qfOqL4oIPbwNNT4oxL5r6yvombWkBai6gR778MY9RI1QZlf5zOMnVONF-gppzxX0h2q/s400/COWHEY,+Ann+-+Family+Bible+cover.JPG" height="400" width="335" /></a></div>
<br />
On this, the 120th anniversary of Ann Cowhey's death, I'd like to share copies and transcriptions of the three newspaper announcements that appeared in the <i>Pottsville Republican Herald</i> at time of Ann's death:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWKJi-XAZRV-XbubsQ4zV4-nZsdLaJfZ1ghMd8pct9Rr9J2HmviyZ3cEN0ZnIrdFIs13CQM8yVn07zY6emH20et59eehgNzogcJSpup5BA3XBBwQYxaQegf8PpzVQL_5odPKrcqh-KjFm6/s1600/COWHEY%252C+Ann+-+Death+%2526+funeral+announcement%252C+Dec.+20%252C+1893.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWKJi-XAZRV-XbubsQ4zV4-nZsdLaJfZ1ghMd8pct9Rr9J2HmviyZ3cEN0ZnIrdFIs13CQM8yVn07zY6emH20et59eehgNzogcJSpup5BA3XBBwQYxaQegf8PpzVQL_5odPKrcqh-KjFm6/s400/COWHEY%252C+Ann+-+Death+%2526+funeral+announcement%252C+Dec.+20%252C+1893.tif" height="145" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Announcement of Ann Cowhey's death (published December 20, 1893)</td></tr>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
COWHEY - At East Mt. Carbon, on Wednesday morning, December 20, 1893, Mrs. Ann Cowhey, in her 90th year. Funeral on Saturday morning. High Mass at St. Patrick's church, at 9:30. Interment in No. 3 cemetery. Friends and relatives respectfully invited.</blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHBXCCrWiNR0qMp1jwuN-c9nnX1OT7iCGXobJrRSz7SyXOlzADQ7Ff5ASLrz2kKs8H5RpBowVqsq18LfI1bWB_tbKU86zDol4VOm8vhbk_gbp9TU8lcsg03HepLUm5Qm0HOHFRjqedwZ_V/s1600/COWHEY,+Ann+-+Obituary,+Dec+21,+1893.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHBXCCrWiNR0qMp1jwuN-c9nnX1OT7iCGXobJrRSz7SyXOlzADQ7Ff5ASLrz2kKs8H5RpBowVqsq18LfI1bWB_tbKU86zDol4VOm8vhbk_gbp9TU8lcsg03HepLUm5Qm0HOHFRjqedwZ_V/s320/COWHEY,+Ann+-+Obituary,+Dec+21,+1893.jpg" height="229" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obituary for Ann Cowhey, age 90 (published December 21, 1893)</td></tr>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Mt. Carbon Briefs. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Mrs. Ann Cowhey, a lifelong resident of East Mt. Carbon, died at the residence of her son, John Cowhey, yesterday, in the 90th year of her age. The deceased has been ill for some time, and her old age enfeebled her, so that she was unable to leave the house. She leaves to survive her two sons and a daughter, viz: John, the Pinedale Park hotelkeeper; <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2007/07/surprise-surprise.html" target="_blank">Thomas, at the Soldiers' home, Dayton, Ohio</a>, and Mrs. Charles McWilliams, of New Haven, Conn. Another son, Engineer <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-horrifying-end-and-heros-farewell.html" target="_blank">William Cowhey, was killed at Connor's Crossing</a> by the explosion of an engine about a year ago.</blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfPgFljOg4arV7UzjwfZHDrM3lzj-LbT0uKMrSvwkuZWjlb1sIH6O6fpf0tmDgIPs1ESOnCKOA3sS9LW1wb3A-iUZV-oxuIP-2eaQn8b8g5Bx-e2m6bLwbVOAz8fuvkCr25LX7R8eSRkmc/s1600/COWHEY,+Ann+-+Funeral+description,+Dec.+26,+1893.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfPgFljOg4arV7UzjwfZHDrM3lzj-LbT0uKMrSvwkuZWjlb1sIH6O6fpf0tmDgIPs1ESOnCKOA3sS9LW1wb3A-iUZV-oxuIP-2eaQn8b8g5Bx-e2m6bLwbVOAz8fuvkCr25LX7R8eSRkmc/s320/COWHEY,+Ann+-+Funeral+description,+Dec.+26,+1893.tif" height="178" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The funeral offerings were two sheaves of wheat." - Ann Cowhey's funeral description (published December 26, 1893)</td></tr>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Deaths and Funerals.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The funeral of Mrs. Ann Cowhey took place Saturday morning from her late residence at East Mt. Carbon, at 9:30 o'clock. Requiem High Mass was celebrated at St. Patrick's church by Rev. F. J. McGovern. The floral offerings were two sheaves of wheat. The pall bearers were Thomas Dobbins, Jere Sullivan, Michael Sullivan, John McCarthy, Ed. Brehony and James McGovern. R.A. Waldron, funeral director.</blockquote>
Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-62747671551946859322013-12-15T18:01:00.000-05:002013-12-15T18:01:03.609-05:00On Christmas bazaars, ping pong tables and a pleading daughterIf you are reading this because the title intrigued you, you may be surprised to learn that this article is about Christmas ornaments. More specifically, it is about a woman, her dedication to the year-round crafting of such ornaments, and her grown daughter's desire to be the recipient of some of those creations.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfFbqY39fxAAdfSqX5BJS3ElF9w1o0vb0w9rihwLkKo8xJhpN_fwqxvq9oILRER-d1Rn2Tk0yf4rosQ70V_hxb2U_zSH2JQcT1-72g-e6z5e8D94YobabcSbz-Opwtqcmkav-xtaSkaghC/s1600/Nana's+felt+ornaments.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfFbqY39fxAAdfSqX5BJS3ElF9w1o0vb0w9rihwLkKo8xJhpN_fwqxvq9oILRER-d1Rn2Tk0yf4rosQ70V_hxb2U_zSH2JQcT1-72g-e6z5e8D94YobabcSbz-Opwtqcmkav-xtaSkaghC/s640/Nana's+felt+ornaments.jpg" width="403" /></a></div>
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Let me begin by introducing the woman herself (my Nana): Anne (Cowhey) McCue. When our story begins Anne is in her sixties and in ill health. She has raised her children to adulthood, though one still lives at home. She has more time on her hands than she has had for many years. Although she finds some days challenging because of her physical state, Anne has taken on a monumental task for herself: to design, craft, and sell loads of felt Christmas ornaments to raise money for the church bazaar at her parish: St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Massapequa (Long Island), New York.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anne (Cowhey) McCue, 1978</td></tr>
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Anne takes regular walks at the local mall, hiding a small sketchbook in her purse. Whenever she sees a character or other design that she thinks would make a good ornament, she takes a few minutes to sketch it, watching over her shoulder for clerks who might not appreciate her "stealing" an idea. She sketches figures of all kinds, including newly popular characters (this is before the age of the internet, so she can't go look Ziggy or the Hobbit up online when she decides to make them into felt ornaments).</div>
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Before too much of each year goes by, Anne's brainchild design ideas have been crafted into touchable felt ornaments. Where to store all these treasures while they await the annual parish bazaar? Her solution is her basement: on top of the ping pong tables that take up residence down there. Visiting grandchildren who love to play ping pong get ousted certain months of the year when the ornament population is high. The church bazaar takes precedence!<br />
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Speaking of visitors, one visitor and great admirer of Nana's ornaments is her eldest daughter. Whenever she is in town during peek ornament season, she enjoys taking the steps down into the basement to admire her mother's work. Walking around the ping pong tables, she admires the many characters, mentally choosing the ones she'd like for her own Christmas tree. But her wishes are in vain - her mother has dedicated herself to raising money for the church bazaar. Quantity counts, so the ornaments must remain in inventory!<br />
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Over the years, Anne's daughter is able to procure a very small collection of her mother's ornaments: sweet little winking mice, teddy bears, Santas, puppy dogs, even a Nativity ornament. Her collection, which is just a small sampling of her mother's work, is a family treasure enjoyed by herself and her children each year as they set up their Christmas tree many states away from Nana and her ornament workshop.<br />
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Anne McCue died in 1985 at the age of 71. Yet Nana is still fondly remembered in a special way each year at Christmas in my household and the households of other family members who were lucky enough to receive a few of her ornaments. When I unpack Santa (pictured above) each year, I can't help but think of Nana and wonder whose Christmas trees might also be graced by some of her handiwork and who might have benefitted from the church funds raised because of her valiant effort to fill a basement with Christmas cheer in the form of felt ornaments.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nana with some of her larger hand-crafted friends</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; text-align: center;">~</span></div>
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As Nana's eldest grandchild, I had the privilege of getting to know her better than many of my siblings or cousins. (Here I am with Nana and Mommy on my second birthday. Notice me eyeing the cake.)<br />
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Not only did I have the joy of getting to know Nana, but since I was old enough when she began making her famed Christmas ornaments, she spent some time teaching me how to make them. I made a handful of her designs with her help, and even created a few new ones myself. I still have some of Nana's unfinished ornaments in the box in which I keep my little treasured collection. Maybe someday I'll take up ornament-making again and finish the work she started. But I can't imagine filling up even one ping pong table-full (not without a team of little elves!).<br />
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<em><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span></em><span style="font-size: 100%;"><i>This article is part of a series written in celebration of the Advent and Christmas seasons. It will be included as part of the <a href="http://adventcalendar.geneabloggers.com/christmas-recipes-5-december-2013/" target="_blank">Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories 2013, Day 9: Christmas Crafts</a> and <a href="http://adventcalendar.geneabloggers.com/christmas-tree-decorations-15-december-2013/" target="_blank">Day 15: Christmas Tree Decorations</a><span id="goog_646711612"></span><span id="goog_646711613"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a></i><i>. For more Advent and Christmas memories here at </i>Small-leaved Shamrock <i>(going back to 2007), </i><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/search/label/Advent%20Calendar%20of%20Christmas%20Memories" target="_blank"><i>scroll through these articles</i></a><i> or stop by <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/smallestleaf/" target="_blank">my Pinterest page</a>. Visit </i><a href="http://adventcalendar.geneabloggers.com/preview-advent-calendar-christmas-memories-2013/" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">this preview</a><i> for more details about the GeneaBloggers Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories and to get</i></span><em><span style="font-size: 100%;"> some inspiration to get yourself in the holiday spirit!</span></em>
<em><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span></em>Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-60683216243419363362013-11-25T12:08:00.000-05:002013-11-25T21:36:28.705-05:00"Clearing the Wreck: Around the Scene of the Locomotive Explosion", November 15, 1892News traveled fast in 1892 of the train engine explosion that killed my great-grandfather. By the next day, details of the accident were published in the <i>New York Times </i>and various other city newspapers throughout the country. Yet, the most detailed coverage can be found within the local paper: the <i>Pottsville Daily Republican</i>.<br />
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Two weeks ago on the 121st anniversary of this horrible accident, I published <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-horrifying-end-and-heros-farewell.html" target="_blank">an article describing the event and sharing details of my great-great-grandfather William Cowhey's funeral, which was fit for a hero</a>. Within this article and one last Monday, I have shared with <i>Small-leaved Shamrock</i> readers the two articles that appeared within the <i>Pottsville Daily Republican</i> two consecutive days after the accident. I have transcribed them for easier reading. This second article appeared on page 1 of the paper on Tuesday, November 15.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <i>Pottsville Daily Republican</i> ran this article on page 1 the day after the accident, Tuesday, November 15, 1892. The three scans above overlap slightly, but by enlarging them you can read the text of the full article which I've also transcribed below.</td></tr>
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CLEARING THE WRECK </blockquote>
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Around the Scene of the Locomotive Explosion. </blockquote>
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AWAITING DOBBIN'S RECOVERY! </blockquote>
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The Inquest Will Not Be Held Until He Is Able to Testify - His Conditions Improving Slightly - Particulars Coming Out Slowly. </blockquote>
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John Day, a well preserved man of over 70 years of age who ran an engine for over thirty years and has worked on the railroad ever since [1862?], was the watchman on duty Sunday night where the engine exploded on the Reading railroad, at Conner's, a small station three miles south of here, whereby five men were killed outright and one very probably fatally scalded. Day says it was 12:15 when engine 563 pulled up and stopped just south of his watch-box, where the wagon road between Cressona and Schuylkill Haven crosses the railroad, and sorted out a long string of cars onto the side track. Owing to difficulty experienced in getting out some bent coupling pins they laid there fully twenty minutes, after which they started north again for Palo Alto with the balance of the train but they had trouble starting and they made very poor headway, and he judges that they had allowed the steam to run down. They made several starts and stops before they could get by his place, and when they had gone beyond it a little over 100 yards, they stopped again, and immediately thereafter the explosion occurred. </blockquote>
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He was [?] stunned himself and greatly bewildered and when he was starting to go up to the head of the train, brakeman Dobbins came running to him with his clothes all afire and crying to him to help him extinguish the fire on his person. Day aided Dobbins in tearing off the burning clothes, afterwhich at his request he gave Dobbins some water with which he washed the dirt out of his eyes and from his face and hands. Dobbins said to him: "They are all killed; oh, see if you can't help Harry Allison." By this time men came running up from the Mine Hill junction dispatcher's office and the Schuylkill Haven railroad yards, and after sending out flagmen to stop all trains search was made for the victims of the catastrophe. Cowhey and Moyer were found on the south bound track just above his watch-box, where they had dropped after being blown against a wall of rock several hundred feet high. Engineer Allison and his fireman, Mackey, were found underneath the engine, and Kendricks, the conductor of the ill-fated crew, was blown several hundred yards into a field to the east of the tracks. Before the accident the engine was headed north, and by the force of the explosion it was turned upside down the tracks on top and heading to the south, virtually making a back somersault to the east of the track. The cylinder head and front of engine were a hundred feet still further south. </blockquote>
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The explosion occurred directly beneath the long iron bridge of the Lehigh Valley and Schuylkill railroad which crosses the Pennsylvania railroad, turnpike, canal, the junction railroad river, valley and Reading tracks at a height of about 50 feet. This bridge was not injured in the least. </blockquote>
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The bodies of the victims were gathered together and taken into Day's watch-box and after being viewed by the Coroner were sent to their late homes. The faces of all but one were unrecognizable and their identity was disclosed by the clothing and bodily appearances alone. </blockquote>
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At six o'clock last evening all evidences of the wreck had been cleared away excepting the frame of the immense boiler and fire box, which was lying along-side the track. Company officials were early on the ground and thoroughly examined into the cause of the accident, and this was made plain late yesterday afternoon when they loaded up the crown sheet and sent it to Palo Alto. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
On the crown sheet is unmistakable evidence that the explosion was caused by low water as the iron is badly burned to a deep blue color and the marks show just how high the water was. Friends and all railroad men, after seeing this, acknowledge that there was no other cause. It is thought that in the excitement in trying to get the bent coupling pins out and shorten the delay on the siding as much as possible, that unintentionally the water was allowed to get low. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Day says that Dobbins told him that when the engine stopped, at Allison's request, he had got down on the tank to get a bucket of water with which to extinguish a fire that had started on the jacket, and that Allison had just started his pumps. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
THE VICTIMS.<br />
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Harry C. Allison, the engineer of No. 563, was a native of Panther Valley, a short distance west of Cressona, where he was born about 44 years ago. He early went to railroading, and was one of the most careful of the many engineers in the employ of the company. He was a Union soldier during the Rebellion, and was a member of Gowen Post No. 23, G.A.R., and Seneca Tribe No. 41, I.O.R.M. he leaves a widow and a married daughter, the wife of Bert Nimbleton, to mourn his loss. His only son was buried a little over a week ago. His funeral will take place on Thursday afternoon from his late residence, 606 Bacon Street, Palo Alto. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Charles J.C. Mackey, fireman, resided at Port Carbon. He was about 28 years of age, and leaves a widow and one small child. He was a prominent and active member of the following organizations: W.C, No. 134, P.O.S. of A; Grant Commandery, No. 36, P.O.S. of A; Golden Rule Castle, K. of P.; Schuylkill Lodge, I.O.O.F., No. 27, and of the Port Carbon Band. He was the efficient secretary of the latter organization. </blockquote>
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Charles H. Kendrick was also a resident of Port Carbon, and was about 32 years of age. He, too, leaves a widow and four small children to mourn his loss. He was the conductor of the ill-fated train. </blockquote>
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William Cowhey resided at Mt. Carbon, and was in his 59th year. He was twice married. Four grown up children blessed by that union survive him. His second wife he leaves a widow, with eight small children ranging from 14 years to an infant of but a few months old to mourn his sudden death. The deceased was a soldier on the Union side in the late rebellion, and a prominent member of Gowen Post No. 23, G.A.R. </blockquote>
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William H. Moyer is a native of Summit Station, on the S. and S. R.R., where he was born about twenty-six years ago. He engaged as a railroader about five years ago and removed to Palo Alto three years after accepting the employment as fireman. He leaves a widow and two small boys, aged 4 years and 19 months respectively. His funeral will take place on Wednesday. Interment will be made at Summer Mountain cemetery. He was a member of the Summit Station Lodge of the I.O. of O.F. </blockquote>
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THE SCENE OF THE EXPLOSION. </blockquote>
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The explosion occurred immediately under the overhead bridge of the L. and S. V. railroad. The engine 563 was of the L class, which are used to draw freight. Although she was running north the force was so great that she was lifted completely from her frame and turned southward, in the opposite direction. Everything about her has been shivered to pieces and she was, to use a "railroaders" term, "turned completely inside out." The railroad track for a short distance was also torn up. It is truly wonderful when the wrecked condition of the engine is taken into consideration that the bodies of the victims were not more badly mutilated. Excepting Cowhey and Moyer, whose bodies and faces were somewhat battered, the others were not so badly mangled or defaced. </blockquote>
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THE CORONER AT THE SCENE. </blockquote>
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At four o'clock this morning, Deputy Coroner, Dr. H.G. Weist, of Schuylkill Haven, was aroused and immediately summoned a jury. The Coroner B.C. Gulgin, also appeared as early as possible and they with the jury viewed the scene of the accident. No testimony will be taken for a day or so to await the condition of the injured man, Michael Dobbins. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The jury consists of Messrs. Hock, Fry, Greisinger, Jones, Brown and Brennan. </blockquote>
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The steam crane which is used to remove debris and other material in the event of a collision or any other accident on the railroad, was broken a few days ago, and the wreck crew was therefore very much hampered in removing the wreck. The wreckers under Yardmaster Wm. Sabold worked very faithfully notwithstanding their great drawback. </blockquote>
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A THEORY </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Reading railroad has been very unfortunate during the past year, with the number of explosions of locomotives which have occurred. One old railroader this morning assigned the following as the prime cause why these engines have exploded. He said in substance the crews are compelled to run their engines at a very high pressure to draw the very heavy trains which are put behind them for the past year. That to keep up the great pressure of steam and the quantity used the fires are forced and the exterior of the boilers are burned out, and something must give way, he added.</blockquote>
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<i>This article has been posted in honor of the 121st anniversary of William Cowhey's death on November 14, 1892. I have also shared it as part of <a href="http://geneabloggers.com/daily-blogging-prompts/amanuensis-monday/" target="_blank">Amanuensis Monday</a>, a Geneabloggers Daily Prompt dedicated to the transcription of important documents such as this newspaper article detailing the accident that took William Cowhey's life.</i></div>
Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-76293271564015099752013-11-19T18:41:00.001-05:002013-11-19T18:41:46.340-05:00"Last full measure of devotion...": Honoring the 150th Anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"...It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." </blockquote>
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- Closing words of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863</div>
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Abraham Lincoln's iconic Gettysburg Address, given 150 years ago today in honor of the dedication of the battlefield cemetery that would become <a href="http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/national_cemeteries/Pennsylvania/Gettysburg_National_Cemetery.html" target="_blank">Gettysburg National Cemetery</a>, lives large within the historical conscience of our nation. So it should. It is a brief and simple message, yet its beautifully written call to honor the dead and continue the work of preserving the nation for which they died still has the power to stir patriotism in Americans today.<br />
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On this anniversary of the address I have enjoyed reading many tributes to Lincoln and his carefully crafted speech. I could not help but be inspired again by his stirring call "to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought [at Gettysburg] have thus far so nobly advanced".<br />
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Why do his words continue to reverberate throughout history? Lincoln's speech was pure poetry, as <a href="http://hankeringforhistory.com/the-gettysburg-address-poetry/" target="_blank">Grant Oster at <i>Hankering for History</i> has explained so well</a>:<br />
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"Because of its brevity and poetic flow, the Gettysburg Address has become one of the most repeated speeches to date."</blockquote>
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"If you listen and analyze the speech, it is poetic – from start to finish. With its conciseness and abundance of literary devices, Lincoln’s speech would contain many characteristics of common day poetry, such as: allusion, alliteration, antithesis, grammatical parallelism, and repetition."</blockquote>
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As a dedicated historian and a great lover of poetry, I pause to celebrate the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's brilliant speech. May his words continue to echo down the centuries, stirring new generations to take up his call to preserve the memory and continue the work of those who gave their lives for this nation's freedoms.<br />
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Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-56310166494205113212013-11-18T00:00:00.000-05:002013-11-18T00:00:01.690-05:00"Terrific Explosion! Another Reading Locomotive Blown Up", November 14, 1892News traveled fast in 1892 of the train engine explosion that killed my great-grandfather. By the next day, details of the accident were published in the <i>New York Times </i>and various other city newspapers throughout the country. Yet, the most detailed coverage can be found within the local paper: the <i>Pottsville Daily Republican</i>.<br />
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Last week on the 121st anniversary of this horrible accident, I published <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-horrifying-end-and-heros-farewell.html" target="_blank">an article describing the event and sharing details of my great-great-grandfather William Cowhey's funeral, which was fit for a hero</a>. Within this article and an upcoming one next week, I would like to share with <i>Small-leaved Shamrock</i> readers the two articles that appeared within the <i>Pottsville Daily Republican</i> two consecutive days after the accident. I have transcribed them for easier reading. This first article appeared on page 1 of the paper on Monday, November 14.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <i>Pottsville Daily Republican</i> ran this article on page 1 the day of the accident, Monday, November 14, 1892. The three scans above overlap slightly, but by enlarging them you can read the text of the full article which I've also transcribed below.</td></tr>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
TERRIFIC EXPLOSION! </blockquote>
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Another Reading Locomotive Blown Up. </blockquote>
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FIVE OLD RAILROADERS KILLED! </blockquote>
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Another Fatally Injured - Gathering Up the Mutilated Remains - Sketch of the Victims - A Big Loss Entailed Upon the Company - Details of the Occurrence. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
It is our sad duty today to chronicle another explosion of a locomotive of the Philadelphia and Reading railroad company, which occurred this morning near Conner's Crossing, about three miles south of this place in which five strong able bodied men were blown into eternity, and one seriously if not fatally scalded. </blockquote>
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The ill fated engine was known as one of the L class and was No. 563. </blockquote>
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The killed are the following: </blockquote>
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HENRY C. ALLISON, of Palo Alto, aged 44 years; married, leaving a widow and a married daughter; engineer of the ill-fated engine. </blockquote>
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CHARLES J. C. MACKEY, of Port Carbon, aged 28 years; married, leaving a widow and one small child; fireman of the ill-fated engine. </blockquote>
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CHARLES H. KENDRICK, of Port Carbon, aged 32 years; married, leaving a widow and four small children; conductor. </blockquote>
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WILLIAM COWHEY, of Mt. Carbon, aged 59 years; married, leaving a widow and twelve children. Engineer of locomotive No. 73. </blockquote>
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WILLIAM H. MOYER, of Palo Alto, aged 26 years; married, leaving a widow and two small children; fireman of engine No. 73. </blockquote>
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The injured man is: </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
MICHAEL DOBBINS </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
of Mt. Carbon, single. Badly scalded, and unconscious. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The ill-fated engine, with a large draught of empty cars and manned by Engineer Allison and Fireman Mackey, were on their way from Port Richmond for Palo Alto, and after arriving near the overhead bridge of the Lehigh and Schuylkill Valley R.R., a short distance this side of Conner's Crossing, the locomotive exploded with the above horrifying results. </blockquote>
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THE CAUSE A MYSTERY. </blockquote>
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It is difficult, yes, impossible, at this time, if it ever can be done, to give the true cause of this very disastrous explosion. Michael Dobbins, the only surviving witness up to noon, lay suffering and unconscious at the residence of his parents at Pinedale or East Mt. Carbon. The attending physician regards his condition so critical that he has placed the patient under chloroform to alleviate his sufferings and has refused any to see him excepting those in attendance upon him. </blockquote>
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Persons who were in close proximity, however, say that the train stood still at the time because the engine had run out of steam. The blower had been put on to accelerate her steaming up and it was during this process that the boiler exploded. Dobbins alighted prior thereto and evidently it was to this cause that he escaped being hurled into the future, as were the rest of his more unfortunate companions. </blockquote>
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Cowhey and his fireman, Moyer, had just returned from a trip from Reading, for which place they left about 10 o'clock yesterday morning. They had, shortly prior to the accident, taken their engine, No. 73, and placed it into the round-house at Cressona. After their return trip, and, as was their custom, they went to the office at Schuylkill Haven to board the first engine north bound, so that they could ride to their respective homes, which they, however, never reached alive. Their bodies, with the other victims, now lie cold in death, with the bereaved widows and orphans gathered about their biers, whose only support and heads of families have gone forever. The scene is heartrending. </blockquote>
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THE VICTIMS.<br />
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Harry C. Allison, the engineer of No. 563, was a native of Panther Valley, a short distance west of Cressona, where he was born about 44 years ago. He early went to railroading, and was one of the most careful of the many engineers in the employ of the company. He was a Union soldier during the Rebellion, and was a member of Gowen Post No. 23, G.A.R., and Seneca Tribe No. 41, I.O.R.M. He leaves a widow and a married daughter, the wife of Bert Nimbleton, to mourn his loss. His only son was buried a little over a week ago. His funeral will take place on Thursday afternoon from his late residence, 606 Bacon Street, Palo Alto. </blockquote>
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Charles J.C. Mackey, fireman, resided at Port Carbon. He was about 28 years of age, and leaves a widow and one small child. He was a prominent and active member of the following organizations: W.C, No. 134, P.O.S. of A; Grant Commandery, No. 36, P.O.S. of A; Golden Rule Castle, K. of P.; Schuylkill Lodge, I.O.O.F., No. 27, and of the Port Carbon Band. He was the efficient secretary of the latter organization. </blockquote>
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Charles H. Kendrick was also a resident of Port Carbon, and was about 32 years of age. He, too, leaves a widow and four small children to mourn his loss. He was the conductor of the ill-fated train. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
William Cowhey resided at Mt. Carbon, and was in his 59th year. He was twice married. Four grown up children blessed by that union survive him. His second wife he leaves a widow, with eight small children ranging from 14 years to an infant of but a few months old to mourn his sudden death. The deceased was a soldier on the Union side in the late rebellion, and a prominent member of Gowen Post No. 23, G.A.R. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
William H. Moyer is a native of Summit Station, on the S. and S. R.R., where he was born about twenty-six years ago. He engaged as a railroader about five years ago and removed to Palo Alto three years after accepting the employment as fireman. He leaves a widow and two small boys, aged 4 years and 19 months respectively. His funeral will take place on Wednesday. Interment will be made at Summer Mountain cemetery. He was a member of the Summit Station Lodge of the I.O. of O.F. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
THE SCENE OF THE EXPLOSION. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The explosion occurred immediately under the overhead bridge of the L. and S. V. railroad. The engine 563 was of the L class, which are used to draw freight. Although she was running north the force was so great that she was lifted completely from her frame and turned southward, in the opposite direction. Everything about her has been shivered to pieces and she was, to use a "railroaders" term, "turned completely inside out." The railroad track for a short distance was also torn up. It is truly wonderful when the wrecked condition of the engine is taken into consideration that the bodies of the victims were not more badly mutilated. Excepting Cowhey and Moyer, whose bodies and faces were somewhat battered, the others were not so badly mangled or defaced. </blockquote>
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THE CORONER AT THE SCENE. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
At four o'clock this morning, Deputy Coroner, Dr. H.G. Weist, of Schuylkill Haven, was aroused and immediately summoned a jury. The Coroner B.C. Gulgin, also appeared as early as possible and they with the jury viewed the scene of the accident. No testimony will be taken for a day or so to await the condition of the injured man, Michael Dobbins. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The jury consists of Messrs. Hock, Fry, Greisinger, Jones, Brown and Brennan. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The steam crane which is used to remove debris and other material in the event of a collision or any other accident on the railroad, was broken a few days ago, and the wreck crew was therefore very much hampered in removing the wreck. The wreckers under Yardmaster Wm. Sabold worked very faithfully notwithstanding their great drawback. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A THEORY </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Reading railroad has been very unfortunate during the past year, with the number of explosions of locomotives which have occurred. One old railroader this morning assigned the following as the prime cause why these engines have exploded. He said in substance the crews are compelled to run their engines at a very high pressure to draw the very heavy trains which are put behind them for the past year. That to keep up the great pressure of steam and the quantity used the fires are forced and the exterior of the boilers are burned out, and something must give way, he added.</blockquote>
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<i>This article has been posted in honor of the 121st anniversary of William Cowhey's death on November 14, 1892. I have also shared it as part of <a href="http://geneabloggers.com/daily-blogging-prompts/amanuensis-monday/" target="_blank">Amanuensis Monday</a>, a Geneabloggers Daily Prompt dedicated to the transcription of important documents such as this newspaper article detailing the accident that took William Cowhey's life.</i>Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-7251855318190325792013-11-14T18:53:00.000-05:002013-11-17T07:34:06.123-05:00A horrifying end and a hero's farewell, November 1892He was only fifty-eight years old, but some would argue that he had already led a full life. Born on April 29, 1834 to Irish immigrant parents Patrick and Ann Cowhey in New York City, William Cowhey had spent the latter part of his childhood in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. He worked on the canals until the Civil War broke out, then <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2008/02/crossing-potomac-with-william-soldiers.html" target="_blank">served along with his younger brother Thomas</a> as one of <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2011/06/civil-war-150-cowhey-brothers-volunteer.html" target="_blank">the initial three-month volunteers for the Union in Schuylkill County's Company I, 16th Regiment</a>. Following this short term, <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2013/01/on-this-date-in-1862-i-william-cowhey.html" target="_blank">he re-enlisted in Battery L, Fifth U.S. Artillery</a> and served for most of the duration of the war, <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2013/06/150-years-ago-today-william-cowhey-sees.html" target="_blank">seeing action in the 2nd Battle of Winchester</a>. After his discharge, William became a prominent member of the <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2007/07/grand-army-of-republic.html" target="_blank">G.A.R. veterans' organization (Grand Army of the Republic)</a> for the duration of his life.<br />
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After the war, William married Catherine Regan. The couple had five children before Catherine's untimely death from consumption in the lungs in October 1876. As a 44-year-old widower with five young children, William was quick to marry again. He and 22-year-old <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2009/11/death-comes-in-threes-sorrows-of.html" target="_blank">Margaret Foley</a> wed in St. Patrick's Church of Pottsville on February 28, 1878. They went on to have <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2010/01/family-treasure-at-national-archives.html" target="_blank">ten children of their own</a>. William supported his family by working for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad.<br />
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By the year 1892, William Cowhey had worked his way up from fireman to engineer. In the dark just after 2 a.m. on November 14, 1892, he had just hopped aboard another engineer's engine no. 563 in Cressona to get home to Mount Carbon after his shift had finished when two minutes into the ride the train's boiler exploded as they passed through Conner's Crossing just north of Schuylkill Haven. The horrifying blast sent William and four other railroad men to their deaths (with one more later dying from his injuries). William was killed instantly as his body was thrown onto rocks and according to the newspaper report, all of his bones were broken.<br />
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The accident was written up in <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2007/06/riding-rails.html" target="_blank">local newspapers</a> and city papers throughout the nation, including the November 15, 1892 <i>New York Times </i>(which I've <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2008/02/november-1892-pa-train-explosion-makes.html" target="_blank">transcribed here</a>).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLV_uziUZ4nGsDImhVY9K7qZ91FdU7Wmnd-g1fzsZO448doV6AE3wGn-VI5ZjJ4_NnkIxSpuD6oTB1p-OzAruYDo0hbpTMJMUev-khZNbyFFWLEpAkKIAtXWdarAuZ8SCLYp5ppjSEn0tY/s1600/COWHEY,+William+NY+Times+article+Nov+1892.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLV_uziUZ4nGsDImhVY9K7qZ91FdU7Wmnd-g1fzsZO448doV6AE3wGn-VI5ZjJ4_NnkIxSpuD6oTB1p-OzAruYDo0hbpTMJMUev-khZNbyFFWLEpAkKIAtXWdarAuZ8SCLYp5ppjSEn0tY/s640/COWHEY,+William+NY+Times+article+Nov+1892.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
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For details on the possible cause of the accident, see <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2008/05/1892-pottsville-train-explosion-how-why.html" target="_blank">The Pottsville train explosion: How & why?</a>. Though its passengers did not, Philadelphia and Reading engine no. 563 survived the blast. Here is its photograph circa 1930s (it's wooden cab was replaced by a metal cab):<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjmW9zKFnigEhvnmsKAI5OpolA-R03PmdxA-rZ3GjGEj5_yHXr9c9q853rt9D9vfQbU_qjAMDzp77HFxeSqzEs7O0lYFh19pMeUHKPa8CCUmzBoJ0nJoFv8SAE9F3370N4JE0YSQDpSjg/s1600/COWHEY,+William+-+Reading+engine+no.+563.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjmW9zKFnigEhvnmsKAI5OpolA-R03PmdxA-rZ3GjGEj5_yHXr9c9q853rt9D9vfQbU_qjAMDzp77HFxeSqzEs7O0lYFh19pMeUHKPa8CCUmzBoJ0nJoFv8SAE9F3370N4JE0YSQDpSjg/s400/COWHEY,+William+-+Reading+engine+no.+563.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks to Ronald Bailey for this photograph from the collection <br />
of the archives of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The accident occurred at Conner's Crossing, where a huge viaduct (trestle bridge) built in 1890 allowed Lehigh Valley Railroad train tracks to cross over the valley below where two other rail lines passed: the Pennsylvania Railroad on the west, and the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad on the east (on which engine no. 563 was travelling northward to Pottsville).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiydwPk5HvVAVmu4bVtfXRi7WyetLoVSQBNV1d3YtAzEU9F0yeNa-RS4SDPk2JYYMgd2xDToYiQqv0a9gGg1kK0J5a4cIWd6yz5YivbvFwsIu2zr-_CMmCddQgr0nI0qXa4ePchGu20UPoI/s1600/Conner's+Crossing+photo+by+William+Rau+-+viaduct+spanning+PA+RR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiydwPk5HvVAVmu4bVtfXRi7WyetLoVSQBNV1d3YtAzEU9F0yeNa-RS4SDPk2JYYMgd2xDToYiQqv0a9gGg1kK0J5a4cIWd6yz5YivbvFwsIu2zr-_CMmCddQgr0nI0qXa4ePchGu20UPoI/s400/Conner's+Crossing+photo+by+William+Rau+-+viaduct+spanning+PA+RR.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Conner's viaduct showing rail line passing below. Photographer William Rau.<br />
Photo thanks to Jim Bohrman's <a href="http://onetechy.wix.com/lvrr#!conners-trestle" target="_blank">Lehigh Valley Railroad, Pottsville Division website</a>. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYyqtviLpMwste7Je9IJXOluYlVCew9iDlh67qZgquhiqdPHLl9LxtYSslXXrAupAxXr4iqEYWD9-P_JvQxF-314GlVTxGe2cR3m_I9RiJ6dB-7yUDNv3OyGwOsnLWC4sYkcBUq6ATxyfI/s1600/Conner's+Crossing+photo+by+Lew+Hoy+-+westward,+1953.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYyqtviLpMwste7Je9IJXOluYlVCew9iDlh67qZgquhiqdPHLl9LxtYSslXXrAupAxXr4iqEYWD9-P_JvQxF-314GlVTxGe2cR3m_I9RiJ6dB-7yUDNv3OyGwOsnLWC4sYkcBUq6ATxyfI/s400/Conner's+Crossing+photo+by+Lew+Hoy+-+westward,+1953.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Conner's viaduct looking westward, 1953. Photographer Lew Hoy.<br />
Photo thanks to Jim Bohrman's <a href="http://onetechy.wix.com/lvrr#!conners-trestle" target="_blank">Lehigh Valley Railroad, Pottsville Division website</a>. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The huge viaduct was dismantled in 1953. The remains of one of the brick piers that formed the base of the structure still stands, perhaps a fitting monument to William Cowhey's life on the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, and his death at its hand.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUUG5OY802laRLAygFslHnklrYz0rZYrS-oIplTX5E1V4sbdjZdHhSJ3fM3g2FEGlyniYliJI5e2FgNlbTKN-gj7wFYyiUK7mCtf1SXkXOXn4TXWW5Z-IHUVTKvWSWSDQcUBR0TrQJOf3Y/s1600/Conner's+Crossing+remains+of+brick+pier+by+Cressona+Mall,+Route+61.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUUG5OY802laRLAygFslHnklrYz0rZYrS-oIplTX5E1V4sbdjZdHhSJ3fM3g2FEGlyniYliJI5e2FgNlbTKN-gj7wFYyiUK7mCtf1SXkXOXn4TXWW5Z-IHUVTKvWSWSDQcUBR0TrQJOf3Y/s400/Conner's+Crossing+remains+of+brick+pier+by+Cressona+Mall,+Route+61.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This surviving brick pier of the Conner's Crossing viaduct was part of the east side<br />
of the great structure. It is located in what is now the parking lot of the Cressona Mall<br />
on Route 61. Photo thanks to Jim Bohrman's <a href="http://onetechy.wix.com/lvrr#!conners-trestle" target="_blank">Lehigh Valley Railroad, Pottsville Division website</a>.</td></tr>
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The day after the explosion, November 15, 1892, the <i>Pottsville Daily Republican</i> ran the following announcement of William Cowhey's upcoming funeral. I have transcribed it below.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjENyNu75Z-ucOJoLgiJmrQcGGv0S3u1TOo8PxVMogFXrAiPgFZBtSp1OmZjaQSETBIHCp2JaZ9jgyGW-cJWbqKGyn40qNFUdWCfHo_2GebBcANn89szn3KFuaZkGAAiwBLwY0JhQPqYGSR/s1600/COWHEY,+William+-+Funeral+announcement,+Nov.+15,+1892.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjENyNu75Z-ucOJoLgiJmrQcGGv0S3u1TOo8PxVMogFXrAiPgFZBtSp1OmZjaQSETBIHCp2JaZ9jgyGW-cJWbqKGyn40qNFUdWCfHo_2GebBcANn89szn3KFuaZkGAAiwBLwY0JhQPqYGSR/s320/COWHEY,+William+-+Funeral+announcement,+Nov.+15,+1892.tif" width="320" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The funeral of William Cowhey, who was killed by the explosion at Connor's on Monday morning, will take place from his late residence, East Mt. Carbon, on Thursday morning at 9 o'clock, to proceed to St. Patrick's Church, where a Requiem High Mass will be celebrated at 10 o'clock. The deceased leaves a wife and twelve children to survive him. William Cowhey, the dead engineer, enlisted in the first three months' service in Co. I, 16th Regt., Capt. Joseph Anthony, and when his term of service expired re-enlisted in Battery L, Fifth U.S. Artillery, serving three years. He was a member of Gowen Post No. 23, G.A.R., who will attend his funeral."</blockquote>
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Two days later, November 17, 1892, the <i>Pottsville Daily Republican</i> detailed William's farewell: a funeral deserving of a hero complete with distinguished guests from several states and members of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) as pall bearers.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4kaKEOHzl3rdnvNkxCmSZPXixkKNaLRdOK3o6RmnmLvsbNiEvsplUaB03_3hNH0_wmW6GdL1AbMtVdaCT9YMVkMFYi4V0v4sstPLGJWIsfTjpLS1rDs6VaAoaeodBEZkXWY4Gnf9QMXTS/s1600/COWHEY,+William+-+Funeral+description,+Nov.+17,+1892.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4kaKEOHzl3rdnvNkxCmSZPXixkKNaLRdOK3o6RmnmLvsbNiEvsplUaB03_3hNH0_wmW6GdL1AbMtVdaCT9YMVkMFYi4V0v4sstPLGJWIsfTjpLS1rDs6VaAoaeodBEZkXWY4Gnf9QMXTS/s320/COWHEY,+William+-+Funeral+description,+Nov.+17,+1892.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The funeral of William Cowhey, of East Mt. Carbon, one of the engineers killed on Monday morning by the explosion of locomotive 563 at Connors, took place this morning at 9 o'clock. A large delegation of Gowen Post and Guards was present as an escort to the remains. The funeral cortege proceeded to St. Patrick's church, where a Requiem High Mass was celebrated by Rev. W.A. Duffy, the rector of the church. The attendance was very large, including friends from New Haven, Conn.; New York and Washington, D.C. The pall bearers were: N.W. Buck, James Madison, Abraham Kuhn, Abraham Nagle, members of Gowen Post; James Vail and Matthew Kerber. The cortege was under the supervision of Commander Samuel Holmes of Gowen Post. The floral offerings consisted of an anchor, wreath and two sheaves of wheat. The interment was made in No. 3 cemetery."</blockquote>
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It is hard for me to imagine <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2009/11/death-comes-in-threes-sorrows-of.html" target="_blank">the suffering endured by William's wife Margaret</a>, his children, family and friends caused by such a horrific tragedy. It is heartening to see how the town came together to mourn his loss.<br />
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The report of the funeral that was published in the newspaper described the three floral offerings that decorated William's funeral: an anchor, a wreath and two sheaves of wheat representing the hope of eternal life. May God's peace be with the soul of my great-great-grandfather. Requiescat in pace, William Cowhey.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">~</span></div>
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<i>This article has been posted in honor of the 121st anniversary of William Cowhey's death on November 14, 1892. I have also shared it as part of <a href="http://geneabloggers.com/daily-blogging-prompts/thriller-thursday/" target="_blank">Thriller Thursday</a>, a Geneabloggers Daily Prompt dedicated to thrilling stories of our ancestors including accidents such as the one that took William Cowhey's life.</i>Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-57551666594277785532013-07-12T10:50:00.000-04:002013-07-12T10:50:45.138-04:00Seeing double! Twins in the family and the need to study genealogical records with a careful eyeAbout fifteen years ago I was thrilled to connect with a Cowhey family cousin who sent me a typewritten family tree that another cousin had created. It listed, among other names, our shared immigrant ancestor Patrick Cowhey and his wife and children. At the end of the list of nine children: <i>twins! </i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69szGVLJi-f_GLXTVLGOK1DyTmYsArUqiZ7NXZz5dNhe-PW_WOPjytih2j_oDpsxD3DgapQP9Qb8SacR0DKXSpavaaAi05KfBIMTfRbiWf01VPsjRwsMIazj_9opaxqcO4UKYxXdZusMF/s1600/COWHEY,+Patrick+&+Ann+-+incorrect+typewritten+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69szGVLJi-f_GLXTVLGOK1DyTmYsArUqiZ7NXZz5dNhe-PW_WOPjytih2j_oDpsxD3DgapQP9Qb8SacR0DKXSpavaaAi05KfBIMTfRbiWf01VPsjRwsMIazj_9opaxqcO4UKYxXdZusMF/s400/COWHEY,+Patrick+&+Ann+-+incorrect+typewritten+tree.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This typewritten family tree provided valuable clues to the <br />Cowhey family's story but turned out to have many errors.</td></tr>
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I had heard the rumor through my grandmother that twins supposedly "ran in the family", so this was an interesting bit of information. I had also heard about the existence of a Cowhey family Bible. How I would love to find that someday! What clues it might hold to our family's history!<br />
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Fast-forward to a couple of years ago, when I had the chance to meet the son of the cousin who had sent me the family tree. We had corresponded for quite a few years, so it was a joy to finally meet in person. As he walked up the path to meet my family and I on the grounds of the guesthouse where we were staying, I noticed that he was carrying something under his arm. It turned out to be a dream come true for me: the supposedly long-lost family Bible. We took some photos that day, and after our visit he took the Bible home and scanned the record pages for me.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Zyy7jpW2vue-6cc9W-d7NoWDkGQOVV9Q6jFKDtvx8MxkzkW87t3bZTR-fe_8IQpwnfOD_gLDDr9uLGliWRMAFgGftiHfUhJpRdYmJIoWKCYspnp72H0qyhvxzPc0Z4RsiVZGJOabva7p/s1600/IMG_1565-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Zyy7jpW2vue-6cc9W-d7NoWDkGQOVV9Q6jFKDtvx8MxkzkW87t3bZTR-fe_8IQpwnfOD_gLDDr9uLGliWRMAFgGftiHfUhJpRdYmJIoWKCYspnp72H0qyhvxzPc0Z4RsiVZGJOabva7p/s400/IMG_1565-001.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ann Cowhey's Bible: this treasure has been in the family since the 1840s</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Births, deaths, marriages, even the date of naturalization of our immigrant ancestor! This family Bible was more than I could have hoped to find! What a family treasure.<br />
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I've looked over the images of those pages many times since I received them, and have intended to write a series of blog posts about them and the Bible itself. With my excitement for this discovery, you'd think by now I would have each page memorized! Imagine my surprise when a few weeks ago I realized that I had missed a very important piece of information that was hiding right before my eyes on the page listing the births of Patrick and Ann Cowhey's children.<br />
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I had read this page many times, but as I transcribed what I read there I made a new discovery. If you look at the list of the children's names and birth dates, you can see that beginning with the second child, William Cowhey, the birth year is listed on the line below. In some cases, this makes it look as if the birth year for the previous child actually applies to the child listed below. When I had input this data into my genealogy software, I must have accidentally put the wrong birth year for daughter Elisabeth Cowhey.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU9PK7S-1joHIN9FMAYMNBnlT9KzNukcA9QDAN1l3XEzlpS5lbmWyRlLMKocaShIg6gPBj68K_5cxIc2D78vNptGSBduCXgLacVgHltMNvBQ8QZc_gTiUT9MW5INV9iOJZOgblnKtyFiLd/s1600/COWHEY,+Ann,+Family+Bible,+Births+1832-1846+(children+of+Patrick+and+Ann).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU9PK7S-1joHIN9FMAYMNBnlT9KzNukcA9QDAN1l3XEzlpS5lbmWyRlLMKocaShIg6gPBj68K_5cxIc2D78vNptGSBduCXgLacVgHltMNvBQ8QZc_gTiUT9MW5INV9iOJZOgblnKtyFiLd/s400/COWHEY,+Ann,+Family+Bible,+Births+1832-1846+(children+of+Patrick+and+Ann).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patrick and Ann Cowhey had nine children. <br />Sadly, only five would live until adulthood. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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When I looked more closely as I transcribed the entire page, I realized that Elisabeth and Johanah were born on the same day of the same year: twin girls born two years before their twin brothers John and Michael!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsJXvp89OM0XL3tov8FOjvL21pk7UKzO43GPsbM8JPTC08Bp7uGppuNAKE5wuLVnTshsRehpgOpT9kHpzgu3XhlUMVCkDX1f_PCUFD2mt37_EO8hSgeh9w6zRYpxXen450ISeJ3bLBhk07/s1600/COWHEY,+Ann,+Family+Bible,+Births+1844-1846+(twin+girls).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsJXvp89OM0XL3tov8FOjvL21pk7UKzO43GPsbM8JPTC08Bp7uGppuNAKE5wuLVnTshsRehpgOpT9kHpzgu3XhlUMVCkDX1f_PCUFD2mt37_EO8hSgeh9w6zRYpxXen450ISeJ3bLBhk07/s400/COWHEY,+Ann,+Family+Bible,+Births+1844-1846+(twin+girls).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By not taking the time to transcribe the Bible's list of births in its entirety, <br />I had completely missed the fact that two sets of twins had been born <br />within a two year period. </td></tr>
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The creator of the handwritten family tree had made a similar mistake and missed this fact also. Partly because we weren't looking for another set of twins (<i>and would never have imagined it!</i>), and partly because we didn't take the time to carefully transcribe the complete record at one time, we had missed this amazing discovery entirely.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">~</span></div>
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Sadly, Ann Cowhey never had the chance to see her two sets of twins playing happily together. By the time the twin boys were born, both twin girls had passed away. Elisabeth died at age 6 months in April 1845. Johanah died at age 1 year in October 1846: two months before the births of her twin brothers, Michael and John. Of all four twins, only John would live past childhood. After the deaths of several of her other children in adulthood, and the move out of state of one of her daughters, John was the only one of her children remaining with her at the end of her life. He never married. He and his mother Ann shared a home in the years before she passed away in 1893.Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-22951274214206672412013-07-03T18:54:00.003-04:002013-07-03T18:54:26.511-04:00Gettysburg's 150th: "Every name a lightning stroke to some heart"On my first trip to Gettysburg several years ago I was struck by the incredible number of monuments: tributes to men who fought to save the Union during the south's first (and only) invasion of a northern state.<br />
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Gettysburg now lives in our memories as a field of death: a place where 11,000 men lost their lives and another 40,000 were wounded, captured or missing. Spend time poking around this small Pennsylvania town today and you'll see:<br />
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Large, towering monuments -</div>
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Small, humble monuments -</div>
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Monuments on roadsides -</div>
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Monuments on walking paths -</div>
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Monuments tucked within forested hideaways -</div>
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The military units and men of all titles who fought on what is today considered hallowed ground around this little Pennsylvania town are memorialized in numerous ways. It is touching and sobering to drive and walk around Gettysburg, trying to gain a grasp on what this place must have suffered during that horrible battle 150 years ago today.</div>
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I had long admired the towering State of Pennsylvania monument: the largest stone tribute on Gettysburg's battlefield. It was an honor to be able to see it up close and climb to the top. </div>
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It was at the end of a long day of driving around the battlefield and reading many stone inscriptions, that I found on this large monument a tribute that touched me in a special way. Under the archway, just to this left of the statue of General Andrew Curtin (below)...</div>
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is this plaque -</div>
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It reads:</div>
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TO THE LOYAL WOMEN<br />WHO THROUGH FOUR YEARS OF WAR, ENDURED<br />SUFFERING AND BEREAVEMENT </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
THIS TABLET IS DEDICATED<br />IN GRATEFUL RECOGNITION OF THEIR PATRIOTISM </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
BY THE MEN OF PENNSYLVANIA<br />WHO SERVED IN THE ARMY AND NAVY OF THE UNITED<br />STATES DURING THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.</blockquote>
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As a wife, mother, sister and daughter myself, I can only imagine the suffering that the women in my own family must have undergone as the watched their sons (and brothers) go off into service in those early days of April 1861, and waited anxiously for their return. (In <a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/2013/06/150-years-ago-today-william-cowhey-sees.html" target="_blank">the case of my great-great-grandfather</a>, that return would come almost four years later). It was gratifying to see this meaningful though humble tribute to the women in my family and to countless other women who stayed behind as they watched the men in their family go off to serve their country.</div>
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As the Gettysburg <i>Compiler</i> newspaper wrote so eloquently about those killed and wounded during this horrific battle:<br />
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“Every name… is a lightning stroke to some heart, and breaks like thunder over some home, and falls a long, black shadow upon some hearthstone.” - July 7, 1863</blockquote>
For the men who died 150 years ago on Gettysburg's fields, and for the women who felt "a lightning strike to their hearts" and the falling of "a long, black shadow upon their hearthstones", let us always remember July 1 through July 3, 1863, and the war for which they gave so much.<br />
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Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-53674915304301949752013-06-15T22:00:00.001-04:002013-06-15T22:00:36.428-04:00150 years ago today: William Cowhey sees his first action in the Civil War<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Everything was quiet [at Winchester] until Saturday the 13th of June 1863. The weather was fine and balmy. We wished we were at home to help the farmers plant corn; something else turned up."</blockquote>
Thus wrote <a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8662821" target="_blank">Union private Lorenzo Barnhart</a> of Company B, 110th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The "something else" that suddenly "turned up" for himself and his fellow Union soldiers is now known to history as the Second Battle of Winchester: a three-day conflict that resulted in a devastating loss for the greatly outnumbered Union forces. This was part of the Gettysburg campaign: the Confederate attempt to invade the north for the first time (and what would be the only time). The Confederates greatly outnumbered the Union boys in blue: about 19,000 to 6,900. By June 15, the Union forces had been routed, paving the way for what would become the infamous Battle of Gettysburg.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNLp0MAp7SI2sPH7cq3TDAC4n5OBi35w5RgAihIZA1Ibz1iO4e2wwN-0iVj-kZ6rzHxIednd6iFX7NX2ETM2bC9vD9Z9cPXwt6XBtNrKkKePD9Sykp2zPB71hfujzXF3ZFcQM8Qrd0pgf/s1600/Winchester,+Virginia's+Taylor+Hotel+during+the+Civil+War+-+Confederates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNLp0MAp7SI2sPH7cq3TDAC4n5OBi35w5RgAihIZA1Ibz1iO4e2wwN-0iVj-kZ6rzHxIednd6iFX7NX2ETM2bC9vD9Z9cPXwt6XBtNrKkKePD9Sykp2zPB71hfujzXF3ZFcQM8Qrd0pgf/s400/Winchester,+Virginia's+Taylor+Hotel+during+the+Civil+War+-+Confederates.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Virginia's town of Winchester was, according to the <a href="http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Winchester_During_the_Civil_War#start_entry" target="_blank">Encyclopedia of Virginia</a>,<br />
"the most contested town in the Confederacy during the American Civil War, <br />
changing hands more than 70 times." (This drawing depicts Jackson's Confederate<br />
Army in Winchester in 1861. The building is the Taylor Hotel which would later<br />
serve as Union Army headquarters during the 2nd Battle of Winchester.) </td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">~</span></div>
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This weekend is the 150th anniversary of the Second Battle of Winchester, and it has special significance to me. My great-great-grandfather Private William Cowhey served for three years in the Union army within Battery L, 5th U.S. Artillery. This battle was the first time his regiment saw action in the war, and it was not a pretty sight. When the three day skirmish was over, Confederate General Richard Elwell had lost only 270 of his 19,000 men, but had captured 300 wagons, hundreds of horses and twenty-three artillery pieces. The Union forces had lost close to 5,000 of their greatly outnumbered 6,900 men and the rest had been sent running for their lives.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-1WdDc8O7aB-gyMkBpjJTAk59kgp2LczH2BRcMA88qPuNTEIZNOx5U-JsjitFZiO8KMfSH5ZEALPW5ASx7XedIZhm2pZJhdQXZ_8bMKejhzA5LDESVsO7FF2Ostd86JNVtrP08HnfyEO/s1600/Second_Winchester_Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-1WdDc8O7aB-gyMkBpjJTAk59kgp2LczH2BRcMA88qPuNTEIZNOx5U-JsjitFZiO8KMfSH5ZEALPW5ASx7XedIZhm2pZJhdQXZ_8bMKejhzA5LDESVsO7FF2Ostd86JNVtrP08HnfyEO/s400/Second_Winchester_Map.jpg" width="397" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sketch of the 2nd Battle of Winchester by <a href="http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/maps/hotchkiss/essay.pdf" target="_blank">Jedediah Hotchkiss</a></td></tr>
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It was a disgraceful moment for the Union. As a result of the defeat, Union General Robert Milroy was relieved of his command. The men under his charge had scattered in different directions, many of them heading to Gettysburg. There they would play a role in the most critical turning point of the war. Many would be numbered among the dead within that battle, which was to be the cause of more casualties than any other in the Civil War.<br />
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William Cowhey did not go on to fight at Gettysburg. Along with the other survivors from Battery L, 5th U.S. Artillery, he moved on to Camp Barry and served in the defense of Washington D.C. for a year from July 1863 to July 1864. Later he moved on to other action, including the Third Battle of Winchester (also known as the Battle of Opequan) in September 1864. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1Bb6w9d1jwkQknv5pU4Ohnp4XStjphtccltAYWTyAqvrIJ_7HAKBNIVLQhjUlD_6BkTaaZoRuWFXCJLlCxM0CgJiE2cNU0WW-Kj6aD2VKaPmhdgRoGIlPz_2xajhU7ANaDmbpb-MzSLg/s1600/COWHY,+William+-+Declaration+of+Recruit,+1862.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1Bb6w9d1jwkQknv5pU4Ohnp4XStjphtccltAYWTyAqvrIJ_7HAKBNIVLQhjUlD_6BkTaaZoRuWFXCJLlCxM0CgJiE2cNU0WW-Kj6aD2VKaPmhdgRoGIlPz_2xajhU7ANaDmbpb-MzSLg/s400/COWHY,+William+-+Declaration+of+Recruit,+1862.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Cowhey's "Declaration of Recruit" that he signed as <br />he enlisted in the Army's 5th Artillery at age 28 in January 1862.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">~</span></div>
<br />
Below are a few more excerpts about the Second Battle of Winchester from Private Lorenzo Barnhart's diary.<br />
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About Saturday, June 13, 1863 -<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"We did not know what force was coming against us out on the Winchester and Strawberry Pike. We were ready for them. Our pickets engaged them. I was on the picket line myself. It was the first engagement we ever were in, and we seen how they fought. We matched them at their own game. They kept hid behind Cedar and Pine bushes and Field rock and stumps..." </blockquote>
About Sunday, June 14, 1863 -<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"...My company B of the 110th was sent to guard a battery of canons...Everything was quiet on Sunday the 14th. The boys were laying on the parapets in the sun. We came to the conclusion the confederates had all went to Church to get Religion, but they were only fixing to kill all of us. There was a pine mountain off about a quarter of a mile [to the west]. All at once, Oh! here came a shower of shot and shell. The boys tumbled off the parapets like turtles drop off a log into the water. The pine mountain fairly blazed with canon. They sent showers of shot and shells at us. We could not reach them with our small rifles. It seemed they let loose about 50 or 60 canons. [We] could do nothing to them. They shot our little guns wheels off, and upset them. Then they ceased firing off the pine mountain, and our officers gave us orders to fix bayonets and [get] our guns loaded, and watch over the fields in front of us. We would see the confederate infantry come out of the brush, out of a ravine. We would get to shoot only one shot, then use our bayonets and club with our guns. They came in desperate order. We gave them a volley low down in their legs. They dropped out of ranks. We made large gaps in their lines, but they did not stop for they closed the gaps shoulder to shoulder. They had been in such scraps before. They gave us a volley, then came onto us with bayonets and a yell like Indians..." </blockquote>
To read more visit <a href="http://www.frontierfamilies.net/family/2ndwintr.htm" target="_blank">this webpage about the 110th Ohio Volunteer Infantry: Letters, Accounts, Oral Histories</a>.Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-16680249155593954492013-03-17T09:42:00.000-04:002013-03-17T09:42:38.305-04:00"...take a shamrock from your hat and cast it on the sod..."The Irish have long been known for their love of poetry. One of the most popular of Irish verse which some say could serve as the national anthem of Ireland itself, is the poem entitled "Wearin' of the Green".<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNRGM001so2ELTUNCRv1jvGWTBzvJanD4AMVF9SdMkxIVErn-T2VcOey_SlwI6dyWV7tjVVkJXuiJyoCmNg11lvseadNwTRzUzmksh_nTlnx4kt4JhCaHJtEjCN3qFoI_7C4H0BGmEbLm/s1600/O,+Wearing+of+the+Green+music.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNRGM001so2ELTUNCRv1jvGWTBzvJanD4AMVF9SdMkxIVErn-T2VcOey_SlwI6dyWV7tjVVkJXuiJyoCmNg11lvseadNwTRzUzmksh_nTlnx4kt4JhCaHJtEjCN3qFoI_7C4H0BGmEbLm/s400/O,+Wearing+of+the+Green+music.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The poem, which dates back to about 1798 and was written by an unknown poet, strikes a chord in the heart of any true-blooded Irishman.<br />
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Here is the poem - an inspiring historical tribute to the Irish soul. You may notice that the last two verses have a different tone to them (one more of resignation). These were written later than the first. </div>
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May this poem give you a little more understanding of what the Irish have endured and stir in you a greater love for Erin as we celebrate the feast of St. Patrick - wearin' our green, of course!</div>
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<strong><span style="color: #006600; font-size: 130%;"><em>The Wearin' of the Green</em></span></strong></div>
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<em>O Paddy dear, an' did ye hear the news that's goin' round?<br />
The shamrock is by law forbid to grow on Irish ground;<br />
St. Patrick's Day no more we'll keep, his colour can't be seen,<br />
For there's a cruel law agin the wearin' o' the Green. </em></div>
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<div>
<em>I met wid Napper Tandy and he took me by the hand,<br />
And he said, "How's dear ould Ireland, and how does she stand?"<br />
She's the most distressful country that ever yet was seen,<br />
For they're hangin' men an' women there for the wearin' o' the Green. </em></div>
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<em>Then since the colour we must wear is England's cruel red,<br />
Sure Ireland's sons will ne'er forget the blood that they have shed,<br />
You may take a shamrock from your hat and cast it on the sod,<br />
It will take root and flourish there though underfoot it's trod. </em></div>
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<em>When law can stop the blades of grass from growin' as they grow,<br />
And when the leaves in summer-time their colour dare not show,<br />
Then will I change the colour, too, I wear in my caubeen<br />
But 'till that day, please God, I'll stick to wearin' o' the Green. </em></div>
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<em>But if at last our colour should be torn from Ireland's heart,<br />
Her sons with shame and sorrow from the dear old isle will part;<br />
I've heard a whisper of a land that lies beyond the sea<br />
Where rich and poor stand equal in the light of freedom's day. </em></div>
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<em>O Erin, must we leave you driven by a tyrant's hand?<br />
Must we ask a mother's blessing from a strange and distant land?<br />
Where the cruel cross of England shall nevermore be seen,<br />
And where, please God, we'll live and die still wearin' o' the green!</em> </div>
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<i style="font-size: small;"><br /></i><i style="font-size: small;">For more good reading on this feast day of the world's most famous Irish saint, visit <a href="http://www.tierneyhistory.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">A Light That Shines Again</a>, the <a href="http://irishheritagecarnival.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture</a>, or </i><i style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/smallestleaf/" target="_blank">my Pinterest page</a></i><i style="font-size: small;">. </i><br />
<i style="font-size: small;"><br /></i>
<i><span style="font-size: small;">Want to work on tracing your Irish roots? Visit my </span><a href="http://small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com/p/irish-genealogy.html" style="font-size: small;" target="_blank">Irish genealogy page</a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i><i><span style="font-size: small;">or my article at <a href="http://catholicgene.wordpress.com/author/smallestleaf/" target="_blank">The Catholic Gene</a> entitled <a href="http://catholicgene.wordpress.com/2012/03/17/seeking-the-flock-of-st-patrick-researching-catholic-ancestors-in-ireland/" target="_blank">Seeking the Flock of St. Patrick: Researching Catholic Ancestors in Ireland</a>. </span></i><br />
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<i>Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!
(Ban-ock-tee na fay-lah paw-rig ur-iv) </i><br />
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<i>Happy St. Patrick's Day!</i>Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-86450588419725976942013-03-05T00:00:00.000-05:002013-06-02T21:51:12.957-04:00"The long and stormy passage": The 1823 sea voyage of Patrick Cowhey and a spirited Irish priest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812244621/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0812244621&linkCode=as2&tag=100yearinamer-20" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCaPuqG59aicSwkYz1o_4S826RSAwtEQuw2TWwtd57hUupnwzF1DShCYSCUdvOFuRyLOCWXtk337_JspMfeVlz4e601HA0FtEqySpteGFtMsEaQD770NR7Ita8T65L4cI1MRtVW_YwKAgS/s200/Beggar+Thy+Neighbor+by+Geisst.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
"<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">In early nineteenth-century Ireland, the Reverend Jeremiah O'Callaghan refused the sacraments to a dying man until he recanted his alleged usury, an incident that eventually got the priest banished to the wilds of northern Vermont," writes Charles R. Geisst in his newly-published book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812244621/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0812244621&linkCode=as2&tag=100yearinamer-20">Beggar Thy Neighbor: A History of Usury and Debt</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Fr. O'Callaghan was a strong-willed priest on a mission. His determination to rid society of the sin of usury (monetary loans that he thought the church should consider unethical) led him to leave Ireland where he took up his cause first in New York, then in Rome. The end of his efforts, which were not taken seriously, resulted in him being sent to act as first pastor to a remote group of Catholics in Vermont.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">My interest in Fr. O'Callaghan began not because of his campaign against the errors of capitalism, but because of the description he wrote of his first voyage to New York. It turns out that the priest made the same journey on the same ship in 1823 as my great-great-great-grandfather Patrick Cowhey, and the difficulty of the voyage led him to write about it. Fr. O'Callaghan makes mention of the experience within his 1824 book </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16.363636016845703px;">explaining the reasons behind what became his life's campaign</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px;"> (which was reprinted other times and under additional titles): </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=jeremiah+o%27callaghan+usury&fq=dt%3Abks&dblist=638&qt=sort&se=yr&sd=asc&qt=sort_yr_asc">Usury or Interest Proved to be Repugnant to the Divine and Ecclesiastical Laws and Destructive to Civil Society</a>.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja4hW6fBvOd-68zuVm2saY_4mR4o3C2m_zdWSj6iGB59o1O7_7H537LF5bS6JbZZodeZj-JVVmd2Ft-4yDewnmIMji2ES_oj99mv5hg4-IwvstNmkpGoMn9kYSlrOrnwbqdts-UkBFgPp2/s1600/COWHEY,+Patrick+-+O'Callaghan's+1835+printed+book+mentioning+1823+voyage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja4hW6fBvOd-68zuVm2saY_4mR4o3C2m_zdWSj6iGB59o1O7_7H537LF5bS6JbZZodeZj-JVVmd2Ft-4yDewnmIMji2ES_oj99mv5hg4-IwvstNmkpGoMn9kYSlrOrnwbqdts-UkBFgPp2/s320/COWHEY,+Patrick+-+O'Callaghan's+1835+printed+book+mentioning+1823+voyage.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 1835 printed edition of Fr. O'Callaghan's book</td></tr>
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Here is the priest's description of the voyage:
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">"In expectation that America, the garden of liberty, would grant what had been denied me in Ireland, that is, power to pursue my clerical office, <b>I sailed from Cork by the ship William, on the 6th of March, 1823, <i>[some texts indicate the 8th of March]</i> and after a boisterous passage, made New-York the 23d April.</b> Visiting my old friend, Rev. John Power, of Skibbereen, Ireland, who for some years dignified the pulpit of this city. Several days elapsed in recounting our mutual adventures, putting and solving spiritual questions, and grieving for the distress and gloomy prospects of mother Erin. <b>As soon as my constitution, that had been broken down by the long and stormy passage,</b> was retrieved at his hospitable table, he presented me to Dr. Connelly, bishop of that city..."</span></blockquote>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KYxgk2Rin1khHQi9edvelo6RmMb0lybmh-6PzVO4sE09VaGB3JJw3gOEsxoXVQE4aQpwp6JRk29khbEHD3Ra7sA4sc3t75_WvsGzpPuJP0gDojFoCqFhw8wkiChU5CoywRcRLpXJfQJO/s1600/Famine+Ship+in+a+storm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KYxgk2Rin1khHQi9edvelo6RmMb0lybmh-6PzVO4sE09VaGB3JJw3gOEsxoXVQE4aQpwp6JRk29khbEHD3Ra7sA4sc3t75_WvsGzpPuJP0gDojFoCqFhw8wkiChU5CoywRcRLpXJfQJO/s200/Famine+Ship+in+a+storm.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">A famine ship during a storm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">It was a great surprise to find this description of my ancestor's voyage to New York, particularly since I have not even been able to locate a picture of the Ship William.
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">After discovering Fr. O'Callaghan's words about his negative experience on the ship, I took another look at the passenger list. There was the familiar document that I had viewed many times, with its arrival in New York from Cork, Ireland on April 26, 1823. But now I saw something I had not noticed before. Listed several names above 15-year-old Patrick Cowhey was another name, now newly-familiar to me: "Rev. Jer. O'Callaghan".</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px;"></span>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRcUNaVFXrF3NJQJpHZFjMfckXIi2INSG0Z9TxqiTifahRRxM_it6wHdQ4-88PgMOjgejycx7Ypk4MCj9miDbtp8o4n-jMSctx6wx_aZKeZVljVJkPPh-ClVdsGIwm5ZdT7ocqxt2ST_od/s1600/COWHEY,+Pat+&+Ellen+-+shiplist+1823.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRcUNaVFXrF3NJQJpHZFjMfckXIi2INSG0Z9TxqiTifahRRxM_it6wHdQ4-88PgMOjgejycx7Ypk4MCj9miDbtp8o4n-jMSctx6wx_aZKeZVljVJkPPh-ClVdsGIwm5ZdT7ocqxt2ST_od/s400/COWHEY,+Pat+&+Ellen+-+shiplist+1823.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Passengers on the Ship William arriving in New York, April 23, 1823<br />
(Click on image to enlarge)</td></tr>
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<i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"><br /></i>
<i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">This article was written in celebration of the anniversary of this voyage that brought my Cowhey ancestors to America. Tomorrow, March 6, 2013, is the 190th anniversary of Patrick Cowhey's and Rev. Jeremiah O'Callaghan's departure from Cork, Ireland on the Ship William. Find more stories on my <a href="http://pinterest.com/smallestleaf/voyages-of-my-ancestors/" target="_blank">Voyages of My Ancestors Pinterest board</a>. </i><br />
<i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"><br /></i>
<i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">I have also posted this article as part of GeneaBloggers' weekly blogging prompt <a href="http://geneabloggers.com/daily-blogging-prompts/travel-tuesday/">Travel Tuesday</a>. Visit Thomas MacEntee's <a href="http://geneabloggers.com/">GeneaBloggers blog</a> and also see his <a href="http://pinterest.com/geneabloggers/travel-tuesday/">Travel Tuesday board on Pinterest</a> for more family history journeys.</i>
Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-32097032558985791762013-01-30T00:00:00.000-05:002013-01-30T00:00:05.229-05:00On this date in 1862: "I, William Cowhey, do solemnly swear..."<div class="tr_bq">
It was on this date in 1862 (one-hundred and fifty-one years ago) that my great-great-grandfather enlisted in the U.S. Regular (Union) Army 5th Artillery. He (along with his brother Thomas) had served three months of volunteer service beginning in April of 1861. William Cowhey would go on to serve out this additional three-year term and receive an honorable discharge in 1865, about three months before the Civil War came to a close.<br />
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The document below (William's recruitment contract dated January 30, 1862) is important to me for several reasons. Not only is it the document that set him off on his three years of service to the Union during one of the most trying times in our nation's history, but it has his personal signature, lists his place of birth, lists his occupation before the war, and also describes several of his physical features.<br />
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Before I had this document in my possession, I knew that William had been born in the state of New York, but could only guess that he might have been born in New York City. This provided confirmation.<br />
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I was also interested to learn that he had been employed as a boatman before his term of military service. After the war, the railroad was his employer.<br />
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It was also fun to see that he had the dark hair, light eyes, and short stature that are so common within this branch of my family tree. Now, if only I could find a Matthew Brady portrait of him!</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9j5Xv2PBLRMSYfQIG0m4rfyvqmDUXj_VUobdsbVeqL3lCXtxZznu0YCuYReHgy5NmDMgrpqEs8pEwKHfqcy5868MnuNMhojIlhRgS6WDo_O10ptfciY5Wi2uUA9sFfrgVicWz6e14kKs1/s1600/COWHEY,+William+-+MSR+Recruitment+contract,+Jan.+30,+1862.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9j5Xv2PBLRMSYfQIG0m4rfyvqmDUXj_VUobdsbVeqL3lCXtxZznu0YCuYReHgy5NmDMgrpqEs8pEwKHfqcy5868MnuNMhojIlhRgS6WDo_O10ptfciY5Wi2uUA9sFfrgVicWz6e14kKs1/s640/COWHEY,+William+-+MSR+Recruitment+contract,+Jan.+30,+1862.jpg" width="531" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Cowhey's recruitment contract dated January 30, 1862 is part of his <br />Compiled Military Service Record from the collection of the National Archives<br />(Click to enlarge)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Here is the text of the recruitment contract as I have transcribed it:<br />
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"State of <span style="color: blue;"><i>Pennsylvania</i></span>" </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Town of <span style="color: blue;"><i>Pottsville</i></span>" </blockquote>
<blockquote>
"I, <span style="color: blue;"><i>William Cowhey</i></span>, born in <span style="color: blue;"><i>New York City</i></span> in the State of <span style="color: blue;"><i>New York</i></span> aged <span style="color: blue;"><i>twenty-eight</i></span> years, and by occupation a <span style="color: blue;"><i>boatman</i></span> do hereby acknowledge to have voluntarily enlisted this <span style="color: blue;"><i>thirtieth</i></span> day of <span style="color: blue;"><i>January 1862</i></span>, as a soldier in the Army of the United States of America, for the period of three years, unless sooner discharged by proper authority: Do also agree to accept such bounty, pay, rations, and clothing, as are, or may be, established by law. And I, <span style="color: blue;"><i>William Cowhey</i></span>, do solemnly swear, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the United States of America, and that I will serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies or opposers whomsoever; and that I will observe and obey the orders of the President of the United States, and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to the Rules and Articles of War. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
"Sworn and subscribed to, at <span style="color: blue;"><i>Pottsville Pa.</i></span> this <span style="color: blue;"><i>thirtieth</i></span> day of <span style="color: blue;"><i>January 1862</i></span> before <i><span style="color: blue;">A.V.</span> </i>[<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>unsure of surname</i></span>] <span style="color: blue;"><i>Capt. 5th Arty. Rectg. Off. </i></span><i style="color: blue;">William Cowhey </i>[<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Signature of William Cowhey</i></span>]</blockquote>
<blockquote>
"I certify, on honor, that I have carefully examined the above named Recruit, agreeably to the General Regulations of the Army, and that in my opinion he is free from all bodily defects and mental infirmity, which would, in any way, disqualify him from performing the duties of a soldier. [<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>signed</i></span>] <span style="color: blue;"><i>John I.</i> </span>[<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>unsure of surname</i></span>],<span style="color: blue;"> <i>Asst.</i> </span>[<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>unsure of title</i></span>]<span style="color: blue;"> <i>USA</i></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
"I certify, on honor, that I have minutely inspected the Recruit, <span style="color: blue;"><i>William Cowhey</i></span> previously to his enlistment, and that he was entirely sober when enlisted; that, to the best of my judgment and belief, he is of lawful age; and that, in accepting him as duly qualified to perform the duties of an able-bodied soldier, I have strictly observed the Regulations which govern the recruiting service. This soldier has <span style="color: blue;"><i>grey</i></span> eyes, <span style="color: blue;"><i>black</i></span> hair, <span style="color: blue;"><i>dark</i></span> complexion, is <i style="color: blue;">five </i>feet<i style="color: blue;"> four</i> inches high. [<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>signed</i></span>] <span style="color: blue;"><i>H.V.</i></span> [<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>unsure of surname</i></span>] <span style="color: blue;"><i>Capt. 5th Arty.</i></span> Recruiting Officer"</blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><b>Key to Transcription<br />
</b><br />
Black = pre-printed on form<br />
<span style="color: #3333ff;">Blue</span> = handwritten<br /><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: 85%;">Red</span><span style="font-size: 85%;"> = not in record; my notes</span></span>Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-91249838253266679482013-01-23T02:24:00.000-05:002013-01-23T02:25:30.340-05:00It is hard to say good-bye to these dear womenThis month, within the span of a week's time, I lost two very special ladies: my beloved Aunt Barbara and my dear Great Aunt Molly.
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjXpdns275dJKAS3Cojfp9F3A4O0P21_QC04fK7g-1IhKRZ36JMTFvdZW6FIUvMf0cD2uZDI5AMMyFBdVNuEtt9Ia7-9ouK7SAE-3-UDm_anT8c4GngA1aC1kV1p5konn1U4Nn_v8nESSl/s1600/Aunt+Barbara.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjXpdns275dJKAS3Cojfp9F3A4O0P21_QC04fK7g-1IhKRZ36JMTFvdZW6FIUvMf0cD2uZDI5AMMyFBdVNuEtt9Ia7-9ouK7SAE-3-UDm_anT8c4GngA1aC1kV1p5konn1U4Nn_v8nESSl/s200/Aunt+Barbara.jpg" width="170" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barbara</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8cJEt3uFN_gO1ErniqsktfIz8ml06Szy3gGuYhKh056sFnGSFn5ucH7rl8Sa-dt-uP5_AKATj2eH4s_jrTsWcAVqrcWlRjPyOLWNys09PmEYhoUz4FtOG1SLa8HJlE32P-DMJfsIhyphenhyphenGzm/s1600/Great+Aunt+Molly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8cJEt3uFN_gO1ErniqsktfIz8ml06Szy3gGuYhKh056sFnGSFn5ucH7rl8Sa-dt-uP5_AKATj2eH4s_jrTsWcAVqrcWlRjPyOLWNys09PmEYhoUz4FtOG1SLa8HJlE32P-DMJfsIhyphenhyphenGzm/s200/Great+Aunt+Molly.jpg" width="189" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Molly</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It is hard to say good-bye to these women.<br />
<br />
They each lived many states away from me, and that has been the case for most of my years (with the exception of my early childhood and a few years about a decade ago when I had the joy to live close to one of them). Yet, they each figured largely in my life in ways that they may not have even realized.<br />
<br />
First as a child, then as a young lady and a grown woman, I have often looked to the women in my family for inspiration and example. I have gained courage for my own life through their stories, their struggles and their vibrant personalities. They have walked ahead of me on the journey through girlhood into adulthood, but we share so much - the same larger than life ancestors who have helped to shape us; the same struggle to make sense of and to find courage for the challenges in the life of a woman.<br />
<br />
I have often been inspired by the stories of women ancestors that I never had the chance to meet, yet these dear aunts have touched me in a special way. Both had lively personalities, a great sense of humor, and unrelenting strength of will which gave them the ability to overcome their own personal difficulties. I will remember Barbara especially for her warmth, openness and honesty. I will remember Molly for her delightfully spunky personality. I have been blessed that my life crossed paths with each of theirs, if even for short time, and that I have had the gift of their sweet and strong influences over the years.<br />
<br />
Rest in peace, sweet ladies. You are both very dear to my heart.<br />
<br />
<i>(This tribute to my aunts Barbara and Molly has been cross-posted over at my blog <a href="http://www.100inamerica.blogspot.com/2013/01/it-is-hard-to-say-good-bye-to-these.html">100 Years in America</a>.)</i>Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306578952081843954.post-45217292687327133372012-10-04T08:58:00.001-04:002015-10-05T13:16:14.029-04:00Coal region Catholics: The story of Pottsville's Church of St. PatrickOne-hundred and eighty-five years ago this month a small group of Catholics gathered for Mass in a private home in the new town of Pottsville, Pennsylvania. On that date, October 27, 1827, these families made the decision that it was time they had a church - and they would build one.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltqGxdBmP4QUauN5P5GqWjaVuszIfBeeTn2QWwrmatpx6l9C9QW_rMvrvbUiV2641HCkOsz3FSXqyWrUodPOqtHIt5ZXaS7vcLQkWpJDI2_F99UGbps81ATX66QyGoR4yW4AF6Eo0iiy4/s1600/IMG_8794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltqGxdBmP4QUauN5P5GqWjaVuszIfBeeTn2QWwrmatpx6l9C9QW_rMvrvbUiV2641HCkOsz3FSXqyWrUodPOqtHIt5ZXaS7vcLQkWpJDI2_F99UGbps81ATX66QyGoR4yW4AF6Eo0iiy4/s320/IMG_8794.JPG" width="213" /></a>This was the genesis of today’s Church of St. Patrick: the first Catholic church in the lower anthracite coal region; the first between "John Potts and the coal mines" and the New York state boundaries to the east and to the north. It would become the mother church in which many other area Catholic parishes found their beginnings over the decades.<br />
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The area was originally home only to the Shawanese, Hanticoke and Delaware Indians. Just a trickle of European immigrants had come into the area before 1824: by that date, there were only five houses. But in 1825, the opening of the Schuylkill Canal to Mount Carbon provided a way for coal to be transported out of the area to major markets, and Pottsville's boom began. Waves of immigrant families (many of them Catholic) came to settle in the area to work the mines and perform all the labor that went along with its processing and transportation. By 1826, the year before the founding of the Church of St. Patrick, the population had reached 2,000.<br />
<br />
Though the group of families gathered for Mass on October 27, 1827 had made the decision to build their church, they found that getting the project started was not an easy task. They learned that John Potts (namesake of Pottsville) had a plot of land at a bargain price that was located "way up in the woods at Fourth St. and Mahantongo Road" (now in downtown Pottsville). They could not, however, come up with the $150.<br />
<br />
At the time Fr. John Fitzpatrick, a Jesuit priest, was serving Catholic families in the area by traveling the approximately fifty-mile journey by horseback from Goshenhoppen, Bally, Berks County (about an hour and a half drive today). He offered to advance the money for the purchase of the land. A log church was built at a cost of $1,000, although it wouldn't be until 1833 that the parish finally had a resident pastor.<br />
<br />
Only a short time after that first pastor's arrival, the parish saw the need for a larger church. They built the new one over the old one, and once the new one was completed they dismantled the original log church contained inside it. The second Church of St. Patrick was dedicated on September 29, 1839.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ32OkSf0kcrdS7cEr3rBKKofJNTRf3C7Y7lU-LfDK40oEA6_r1ehSIndAV5Gru_gqzudiT64xCuD45NZiySM2q_qDhsTTvVbi41U1-DPgvXKHizu3JfKNc79jZOAzdNkRj7WqwyTkdk4b/s1600/Church+of+St.+Patrick+1838+-+exterior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ32OkSf0kcrdS7cEr3rBKKofJNTRf3C7Y7lU-LfDK40oEA6_r1ehSIndAV5Gru_gqzudiT64xCuD45NZiySM2q_qDhsTTvVbi41U1-DPgvXKHizu3JfKNc79jZOAzdNkRj7WqwyTkdk4b/s400/Church+of+St.+Patrick+1838+-+exterior.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The second Church of St. Patrick was built in 1838-1839. <br />
It was demolished in 1891 to make way for the current church building.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: large;">~</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZgEuBLK30wvMHMHxygbYzA2c_G3zTxt3eGFj8CPR3EHanXC4RgT8I-DbW6n9MnH_Nl2y2jr-hlZik13mDv5KkMaYlEjL6GZpYoLUkNIRB_pGociqJg3OS0_hbv2kornY1H4_dqSh55KE/s1600/St.+John+Neumann.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZgEuBLK30wvMHMHxygbYzA2c_G3zTxt3eGFj8CPR3EHanXC4RgT8I-DbW6n9MnH_Nl2y2jr-hlZik13mDv5KkMaYlEjL6GZpYoLUkNIRB_pGociqJg3OS0_hbv2kornY1H4_dqSh55KE/s200/St.+John+Neumann.jpg" width="146" /></a></div>
In 1854, Bishop (now canonized saint) <a href="http://catholicgene.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/st-john-neumann/">John Neumann</a> of Philadelphia proposed a division of his diocese with the establishment of a new Diocese of Pottsville, and hoped he could be transferred to this rural region and out of the "very cultural world of Philadelphia"* from which he was serving 145 churches and 200,000 Catholics throughout much of Pennsylvania and New Jersey and all of Delaware. It was not to be.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">~</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvA0KKqOSQJasHZ32aVvl8TdPUBn60TmEALD5UOV9whzLWq18YUAfkDM7zkcO1itd5JyUKgtZ-OKl1zhMxifbWMAqLzcQJOuX6Qqxmz_2PwbMDhLyfJoPiK5HhgoEJAJlCv2SmR6LtP7Qq/s1600/St.+Patrick's,+Pottsville+-+Postcard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvA0KKqOSQJasHZ32aVvl8TdPUBn60TmEALD5UOV9whzLWq18YUAfkDM7zkcO1itd5JyUKgtZ-OKl1zhMxifbWMAqLzcQJOuX6Qqxmz_2PwbMDhLyfJoPiK5HhgoEJAJlCv2SmR6LtP7Qq/s320/St.+Patrick's,+Pottsville+-+Postcard.jpg" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A vintage postcard of the<br />
third (and current)<br />
Church of St. Patrick,<br />
completed in 1892<br />
<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sixty years had passed since the building of the second church, with many pastors making their home at St. Patrick's. By 1889, it was time again to consider the construction of a much larger church. The project was begun by the new pastor, Fr. William Duffy, yet finished under the guidance of Fr. Francis. J. McGovern, a native of Mount Carbon who became pastor after Fr. Duffy's death in 1892.<br />
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The third (and current) Church of St. Patrick has an exterior of Avondale limestone with window trimmings of Indiana Limestone. For over a century now, it has had a commanding presence on Mahantongo Street and within the town of Pottsville.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRBVKCd0wMMTsYhir0HfhGR2AZD9CZ-FFr2XHUpSfnWKoyWcVRBqMeVg6rc6w1NsEfb7XifajS6zwsrKpW5a3y4wQ57qVvh7-GNUPuRlJly5e_m0_ppVk7TeZa0b6fEtcOzlIrRch2QON/s1600/IMG_8770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRBVKCd0wMMTsYhir0HfhGR2AZD9CZ-FFr2XHUpSfnWKoyWcVRBqMeVg6rc6w1NsEfb7XifajS6zwsrKpW5a3y4wQ57qVvh7-GNUPuRlJly5e_m0_ppVk7TeZa0b6fEtcOzlIrRch2QON/s640/IMG_8770.JPG" width="427" /></a></div>
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The church is actually directly connected to the Yuengling Brewery, as you can see in the photograph below, and it is difficult to get a clear photo of the church without the brewery, vehicles, or electrical lines in the way.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCLe4ybP1DcLVQqdKeJU9jH_O7fjIwSe_r72zCOinR51rq6FYh9OUWO7aGQvmnfKLlIgoirPxzx2FrvIjUA7368yy2b0wEvzOqATEQ0itpE_pFPSKO4h43U1NZUUGV4PwbhCwEI7gqAQm7/s1600/IMG_8773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCLe4ybP1DcLVQqdKeJU9jH_O7fjIwSe_r72zCOinR51rq6FYh9OUWO7aGQvmnfKLlIgoirPxzx2FrvIjUA7368yy2b0wEvzOqATEQ0itpE_pFPSKO4h43U1NZUUGV4PwbhCwEI7gqAQm7/s400/IMG_8773.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The year 1892 was not the last time St. Patrick's saw change. Since the church's origins in 1839, a rectory, a convent and a school have also been added and remodeled. During 1969 and 1970 the church building itself underwent a badly needed renovation. Its steeple was restored, its exterior was modernized, and the interior of the church was completely reconstructed, with a new sacristy, oratory and underground crypt added.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">~</span></div>
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Many of my family members have walked through the doors of the Church of St. Patrick on many occasions since first settling in the Pottsville area in the middle of the 19th century. Under its steeple, they pronounced their vows in the sacrament of Matrimony, the baptized their babies, and they lived out their lives of faith by attending Mass - no matter how hard the trip or inclement the weather.<br />
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The occasions that have touched my heart the most, however, have been the funeral processions I have read about in my ancestors' obituaries. They carried the coffins of their deceased loved ones' through the doors of the Church of St. Patrick for a Requiem High Mass as they said their last goodbyes before burial up on the hill at Pottsville's St. Patrick's Cemetery.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_UOl8L4FOT-_5E2a57MMyjDC9joKYMZrOKjuUMCA_ejmAbZBqfhZx98QpKUPNGonqpeSad7RP6MgvRnuBBozxh9824uwrDSfDtOME1Y8RDzFFNscrklMFm9YdcD-kaj0sOyyhdq8AmOH/s1600/St.+Patrick's+Cemetery+No.+3,+Pottsville.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_UOl8L4FOT-_5E2a57MMyjDC9joKYMZrOKjuUMCA_ejmAbZBqfhZx98QpKUPNGonqpeSad7RP6MgvRnuBBozxh9824uwrDSfDtOME1Y8RDzFFNscrklMFm9YdcD-kaj0sOyyhdq8AmOH/s400/St.+Patrick's+Cemetery+No.+3,+Pottsville.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Patrick's Cemetery No. 3 overlooks the city of Pottsville</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyPR5PUQodayFXQJOq4U3Oeix7Y8A8Q1spRDBHAKSS7QZlBbViK5su5CL4vO9Vwg5YjQ9SFCf7a4kL-0OaIQTfq471Yss2gcCyvRv0WeE9a0Gqya58cH5tallFgqnZQ9vcKO6NSMT60Gby/s1600/IMG_8795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyPR5PUQodayFXQJOq4U3Oeix7Y8A8Q1spRDBHAKSS7QZlBbViK5su5CL4vO9Vwg5YjQ9SFCf7a4kL-0OaIQTfq471Yss2gcCyvRv0WeE9a0Gqya58cH5tallFgqnZQ9vcKO6NSMT60Gby/s640/IMG_8795.JPG" width="427" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">This article was largely based on a history of the Church of St. Patrick written by <a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=sterner&GSfn=margaret&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=52915134&df=all&">Margaret Condron Sterner (1917-1981)</a>. For more information about St. Patrick's and other historic churches of Pennsylvania, you might enjoy reading <u>Diocese of Allentown: A History</u> published in 2011.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Words of Saint John Neumann taken from his letter to Alessandro Cardinal Barnabo, prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith.</span></i><br />
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<a href="http://catholicgene.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/share-your-familys-doors-of-faith-at-the-catholic-gene/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ezzT-pUrXwY4yqN4etHLADVu-z-CioIZ6J-GoWT84kXfeHut4gqcEvXAuj6Jx2a4wU2ozyhUvvzlUC8rlDMmgHs2CFyWgWa1vfdhXnDAritIxrjiTxSIAiMkuXgeUFxyolP6jlBSHQgq/s200/Doors+of+Faith+at+The+Catholic+Gene.jpg" width="153" /></a></div>
This article is part of the "Doors of Faith" series on our ancestors' Catholic parishes. Visit <a href="http://catholicgene.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/share-your-familys-doors-of-faith-at-the-catholic-gene/">The Catholic Gene</a> to learn how you can share photos and stories of your family's "Doors of Faith" in honor of the upcoming Year of Faith 2012-2013.Lisa / Smallest Leafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16811771280872197611noreply@blogger.com6