Nuts From the Family Tree: Surname Saturday: First Try!

A funny thing happened on the way to my starting a regular Surname Saturday post here. It all started with a post about cousin bait which you can find here: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/01/cousin-bait-strategy-needed.html.

And by the way, there's been a nice community response to it, of which I'm glad because the more we can help each other the better:) Anyway, the ever-helpful Randy Seaver commented and revealed the process by which he generated the list of ancestors for his regular Surname Saturday posts. I printed out what he had to say and tried to do likewise so I too could be off and running with fabulous content with which to lure the elusive cousins.

He said to create an ahnentafel report (ancestor table) and then start with ancestor 1, next week go to ancestor 3, then 5, 7, 9.... in following weeks OK, I'm lost! I'm so dyslexic and number phobic that I froze like the proverbial deer in headlights. Wait, they're odd numbers, right? I printed out my ahnentafel report and then a chart hoping that it would help me visualize the task at hand. 1,3, 5, 7, 9, 11. I'll make a list.

But no time because I was off this morning to a very special event put on by the San Diego Genealogical Society featuring David E. Rencher, FamilySearch Chief Genealogical Officer, and I really need to learn all I can about that wonderful and vast resource. Hey, I thought, maybe I could catch Randy for a half-second because he said in one of his writings that he would be there. I found a seat next to a pile of papers and settled in. This was going to be good, I thought with a bit of a grin. Oh, there's Randy, and he's walking right over here, and he's sitting down next to me and that's his pile of papers!! Goodie!!

Randy was nice enough to explain it all and once he did, it took all of two seconds out of a New York minute, and he did it so even I could understand it! Hey, this is easy and after the first one, which is my Dad and Mom, it all follows the women! Cool!

Here's a link to one of Randy's Surname Saturday posts: http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/12/surname-saturday-clark-england-to.html

So here goes launching my very first Surname Saturday! Calling all Kelly cousins: come and get it!

1. Diane K. Weintraub (me)

2. Francis Patrick Kelly 1916 - 2007
3. Virginia Williams Kelly, living and loving it!

4. John Lee "Lee" Kelly 1892 -1969
5. Helen Gertrude Zeller 1894 - 1985

8. Francis Patrick Kelly 1854 - 1923
9. Christiana Eckhart 1861 - 1932

16. John Kelly 1829 - 1891
17. Bridgit Cockrane 1830 - after 1910
John came to the United States, met Bridget and married here. We know where he's burried but Bridget's grave eludes us. We'd love to find it.
They married 21 June 1848 in Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland and had eight children: Mary Ann Kelly 1849 - ?, Francis Patrick Kelly 1854 - 1923, #8 above, Catherine Elizabeth Kelly 1857 - ?, Michael Kelly 1859 - 1909, Margaret Kelly 1862 - ?, Theresa Kelly 1860 - ?, and John Kelly 1872 - ?.

32. John Kelly 1800 - ?
33. Bridget Brown about 1800 - ?
Mom tracked down the parish records for this family in Ireland in the Clonmacnoise Parish. We got permission from the parish priest, then went over to the building on the corner and climbed the long set of wooden stair to the room where people were entering the records in a database. Mom copied all that was available, chatted the the workers and found out that we'd come all that way to learn that the old parish records were burned in a parish house fire. More's the pity. We still hold out hope that other records besides those of the church will eventually become known to us.

This is a short list and one of the shortest to come. The records end for us with the tragic parish fire in the little town of Shannonbridge. But never mind. As I found out at the seminar today, more and more records are coming online everyday.

Here are some of the photos in the Archive associated with this family line.