Happy Valentine’s Day!

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I thought I share a card that my maternal grandmother gave my grandfather, many, many, years ago.

My Revolutionary War Patriots

In honor of Independence Day, I thought I’d write a post about my ancestors who are Revolutionary War patriots.

Robert Parks

Robert PARKS is the patriot I went in under for membership to National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR).  His service is listed as a private serving under Captain Benager Leffingwell.  Below is a muster roll from 1777; it is the only one I have found for him.

Robert is my sixth great-grandfather.  He was born 4 December 1737 in Voluntown, Connecticut and died in 1810 in Windham, Connecticut.  Following is my direct line to him (in bold):

1. Me
2. Joseph CAHILL (1945-1989), m. Jean MILLER (living)
3. Joan Garrison McMAHON (1927-1980), m. John Francis CAHILL (1922-1984)
4. Emma Jane GARRISON (1901-1970), m. John Ward McMAHON (1902-1962)
5. Sarah Jane MULLIGAN (1870-1947), m. James Manly GARRISON (1861-1909)
6. Sarah Norton WEBSTER (1828-1894), m. James MULLIGAN (1812-1879)
7. Betsey PARKS (1801-1856), m. Calvin Price WEBSTER (1802-1856)
8. Robert PARKS (1776-1863), m. Mary “Polly” Wheeler SMITH (1781-1844)
9. Robert PARKS (1737-1810), m. Elizabeth HALL (?-?)

Jonathan Webster

Jonathan WEBSTER took the Oath of Fidelity in October 1777 at Glastonbury, Connecticut.  Jonathan in my seventh great-grandfather.  He was born 5 October 1705 in Hartford, Connecticut and died 14 November 1781 in Glastonbury.  Following is my direct line to him (in bold):

1. Me
2. Joseph CAHILL (1945-1989), m. Jean MILLER (living)
3. Joan Garrison McMAHON (1927-1980), m. John Francis CAHILL (1922-1984)
4. Emma Jane GARRISON (1901-1970), m. John Ward McMAHON (1902-1962)
5. Sarah Jane MULLIGAN (1870-1947), m. James Manly GARRISON (1861-1909)
6. Sarah Norton WEBSTER (1828-1894), m. James MULLIGAN (1812-1879)
7. Calvin Price WEBSTER (1802-1856), m. Betsey PARKS (1801-1856)
8. Aaron WEBSTER (1775-1823), m. Sarah NORTON (1780-1823)
9. Ashbel WEBSTER (1733-1801), m. Rachel PRICE (1737-1813)
10. Jonathan WEBSTER (1705-1781), m. Mabel RISLEY (1718-1871)

Solomon Norton

Solomon NORTON is apparently my sixth great-grandfather, although I have not been able to prove this through actual records.  According to NSDAR, he is a patriot, having served as a private under Captain Bostwick in New York.  There are three members listed that have gone in under his supposed daughter Sarah, but again, I have not proven this connection through any records.  By all accounts, Solomon was born 12 May 1751 in Farmington, Connecticut and died after 1837 probably in Villanova, New York.  Following is my direct line to him (in bold), assuming Sarah is his daughter:

1. Me
2. Joseph CAHILL (1945-1989), m. Jean MILLER (living)
3. Joan Garrison McMAHON (1927-1980), m. John Francis CAHILL (1922-1984)
4. Emma Jane GARRISON (1901-1970), m. John Ward McMAHON (1902-1962)
5. Sarah Jane MULLIGAN (1870-1947), m. James Manly GARRISON (1861-1909)
6. Sarah Norton WEBSTER (1828-1894), m. James MULLIGAN (1812-1879)
7. Calvin Price WEBSTER (1802-1856), m. Betsey PARKS (1801-1856)
8. Sarah NORTON (1780-1823), m. Aaron WEBSTER (1775-1823)
9. Solomon NORTON (1751-after 1837), m. Sarah REXFORD (1757-?)

A big salute to all those who have served or are currently serving our country.

Also, a reminder that anyone can access the NSDAR’s Genealogical Research System to search for patriots.   Celebrate the 4th of July by doing a little research on your Revolutionary War patriots.

Saturday in the Attic – 06/19/10

My mom gave her dad this card on Father’s Day.  Given the handwriting, she was probably pretty young.

Saturday in the Attic – 05/22/10

This is a card the my grandmother, Joan Garrison McMAHON made when she was a child.  I found it in her baby book.

Saturday in the Attic – 05/08/10

This card was given by my mom to her mom on Mother’s Day.

 

Saturday in the Attic – 02/13/10

This is a Valentine’s Day card from my grandmother, Marie ROTTMAN Miller, to my grandfather, Harold MILLER.

Wordless Wednesday – 12/23/09

Wordless Wednesday – 12/16/09

A Christmas Gift

The theme for the 19th edition of Smile for the Camera is:  The Gift.

It is the holiday season and a time for giving. So give Smile readers the gift of sharing, sharing a family photograph. It can be a gift given or received, it can be the gift of talent, it can be the gift of having the photograph itself. The interpretation of gift is yours. Admission is free with every photograph!

With all the Christmas craze, and people vying to get that perfect gift, I thought I’d share a fun little story and photo.

My dad was always a last-minute Christmas shopper…not Black Friday for him.  And by last-minute, I literally mean Christmas Eve.  So, late on 24 December 1983, my dad went to Zayre to purchase the “big” toy of the season, a Cabbage Patch Kid.  He waited all night to get one.  The photo below is me with Grandma Miller and the Cabbage Patch Kid I named Jill.

Wordless Wednesday – 11/25/09

A Miller Thanksgiving (1958)

Saturday in the Attic – 08/01/09

 

My grandfather, Harold Leslie MILLER, would be celebrating his 91st birthday come August 4th.  To honor his memory, here is a birthday card my mom sent to him when she was a child.

Saturday in the Attic – 06/20/09

Since Father’s Day is tomorrow, I thought I’d go through the old greeting cards and see what I could find.  Here’s one that was given to my grandfather, Harold MILLER, from the family dog, Buff.  Cute, isn’t it?

Wordless Wednesday - 04/22/09

 

~~Happy Earth Day~~

Saturday in the Attic - 04/11/09

In honor of Easter tomorrow, I thought I'd share my Easter basket.

My paternal grandmother made ceramics.  She made this for me for my first Easter, which was on 10 April 1977--just two weeks after I was born.

P.S. Check out the handy Easter date calculator!

Saturday in the Attic - 03/21/09

In honor of my birthday next week, I thought I'd share another greeting card.

This card was given to my family upon my birth in 1977.  It's from from Jim and Ruth (Ruth is my first cousin twice removed on my mom's side).  It's one of my favorites, as anyone who knows me, knows I love elephants.

Saturday in the Attic - 03/14/09

In honor of St. Patrick's Day and the Irish in me, I thought I'd share a St. Patty's Day card.

This card is from my dad.  The copyright on the card is 1988, so it's pretty likely that's the year I received it.  It would be the second to last St. Patrick's Day my dad would celebrate, as he died in October 1989.

What Exactly is the Significance of St. Patrick's Day?

It's time for the 12th edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, the theme for this edition is a parade of all things Irish.

Growing up, we always celebrated St. Patrick's Day with corned beef and cabbage, all the while wearing our green apparel. Until now, I had no idea who St. Patrick was, or what the significance of the day was. I did some digging to learn about this person, this day, and essentially, more about my Irish heritage.

St. Patrick, Who Was He?

St. Patrick is believed to have been born at the end of the fourth century in Britain. When he was sixteen, he was taken from his home by Irish pirates. He was held prisoner in Ireland for six years, working as a slave. During this time, we relied heavily on his Christian faith and prayed every day.

He escaped captivity and returned home to Britain. He spent more than fifteen years in religious training, after which he was ordained. St. Patrick returned to Ireland as a missionary. It is believed that he founded 365 Christian churches throughout Northern Ireland.

Each source I read indicated a different year of St. Patrick's death. But all sources note the 17th of March as the day. Most sources point to the later half of the fifth century as the year.

St. Patrick's Day

The 17th of March signifies St. Patrick's death and has been celebrated as a religious holiday for over a thousand years. On this day, Irish folk would observe the holiday by heading to church in the morning and celebrating in the afternoon. Oddly enough, St. Patrick's day occurs during Lent, so the "no-meat" rule does not apply for the celebration.

Today, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in numerous way in several countries, by Irish and non-Irish.

So What's With the Corned Beef?

The Irish would traditionally feast on Irish bacon and cabbage. Corned beef came into play when the Irish in New York were looking for a cheaper alternative. Corned beef is now the staple for Irish-Americans.

And What About All That Green?

It is believed that the color blue was long associated with St. Patrick and St. Patrick's Day. It is likely that the color green became associated with St. Patrick's Day merely because green is the color of the Irish, and is the color of the shamrock.

I remember when I was younger, my dad said that we could also wear orange. To this day I never understood why. My guess would be that it's because orange, like green, is in the flag of Ireland.

Conclusion

So that's what I learned today and it's only the tip of the iceberg. To learn more, check out the sources I used (below).

---

Photos

1. Statue of St. Patrick, by Pierre, permission under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license.

2. Chicago River St Patrick's Day 2008, photographed by Mathprog777, permission under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license.

Sources

1. History.com, "Saint Patrick's Day," website.

2. St. Patrick's Day, website.

3. Wikipedia, "Saint Patrick's Day," website.

4. Wikipedia, "Saint Patrick," website.

Weekly Genealogy Blogging Prompt #7

Prompt - Share your holiday traditions. How did you spend the 4th of July? Did the fire truck ever come to your house on Thanksgiving? Share your memories of all holidays, not just the December ones.

With Easter just around the corner, I thought I'd share some stories and photos of Easters past.

Every year when I was younger, my mom would make hard-boiled eggs (at least a dozen, sometimes two dozen).  She'd set out four mugs, usually the multi-color Tupperware mugs, each filled with vinegar and one of the four food coloring colors.  Then, with our Tupperware egg holder-scoop thingy, we'd dip the eggs in a mug and viola, a colored Easter egg.

Mom would get up early on Easter Sunday to hide the eggs.  Then when I got up, it was off to search for them.  Sometimes they were easy to find.  Sometimes they were in the same special place year after year.  Mom was also pretty creative; sometimes the eggs were in plain sight, yet hard to find.  When I would get frustrated if I couldn't find them, we'd play hot-and-cold until all the eggs were found.

Then it was off to nana and papa's house for more egg hunting and Easter supper. 

My cousins and I would search high and low to find all the eggs.  It was always a mad dash to the classic hiding spots like the mailbox and under the big brass floor candle holder. 

We'd sit down to a wonderful ham dinner with all the fixings. 

Easter was definitely one of my favorite holidays.  A lot of fun and great food!

 

 

Photos:  Above right, me and mom, Easter 1979; above left, me and dad, Easter 1979; below left, me and nana, Easter 1984; below right, me with mom and dad, Easter 1984.

   

 

Saturday in the Attic - 02/14/09

Happy Valentine's Day!

In honor of the holiday, I thought the following find would be appropriate.

This is a Valentine's Day card that my grandmother gave to my grandfather in 1960.