It seems to me people start Halloween the first of October. They claim it has overtaken Christmas as the best holiday of the year. Approximately 100 countries celebrate Halloween but just what are we actually celebrating?…

At exactly noon on November 18, 1883, American and Canadian railroads begin using four continental time zones to end the confusion of dealing with thousands of local times. The bold move was emblematic of the power shared by the railroad companies.

The need for continental…

Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (1888 – 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. Born in a Broadway hotel room in Longacre Square (now Times Square), in the Barrett Hotel. He was the son of Irish immigrant actor James O'Neill, Rosbercon, County…

In the late 1700's, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board was folded down from the wall and used for dining. The “head of the household” always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Once in a while, a guest (who was almost always a man) would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the…

His great grandparents were Dennis Harrigan, (born 1781 in Cork) and Catherine Driscoll (Cork).

His grandparents were Dennis Harrigan Jr, (born 1832 in New Brunswick, Canada) and Catherine Ahearn (born in Canada, father from Cork).

His mother was Catherine Helen Harrigan (born 1873 in Stillwater, Washington, Minnesota).

He was Harry…

After posting the DNA and genetic explanation of red hair - here is a list of famous people. Note the people from the bible. Genetics (our cellular makeup)has always been with us, of course, we know that, but hair color was noted many years ago by historians. We all carry genes from our ancestors of long ago. If you search hard enough, you will find a picture of all of these people on the internet with red hair - Google Images. Those who were living before cameras-were painted from…

Where does red hair come from?  There is a lengthy and complex discussion of the red hair genetics here. Be sure and read the comments (everybody has an opinion and is an expert!) Within this…

There was no punctuation until the 15th century. This explains A LOT!

Professor James J. Ryan II was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1903.  In a most literal sense, Professor James Ryan earned his nickname. A professor in the University of Minnesota’s mechanical engineering department from…

Those of you who are searching for your heritage – perhaps a little study of Irish Septs may help. If does not open, let me know and I will email you one.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~larkin/documents/IrishSeptsVol1.pdf

Descendants? yes and no. He had 6 children - 2 died under age 1, daughter died age 24 - not married, son who was Brig Gen. married was always in the military and away - one distinct 1900 census in the Philippines, one stray document with the McClernand surname but others seem to have changed name spelling. One daughter (the eldest) married Wirt Butler and she died at age 24  - and there are Butler descendants. Have looked at all know sources for trees - no children ever show up past…

General John Alexander McClernand, born May 30, 1812, Kentucky, self- educated lawyer at age 20 and private in Blackhawk War with Abraham Lincoln as his Captain. Son of Dr. John, immigrant from Antrim, Ireland and Fatima Cummins (her ancestors were part of the Jamestown…

Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Sshe was the daughter of Carmen Louise (née LaPorte) and John Watson Slaton, both of whom were waiters. Dorothy Lamour was of French Louisianan, Spanish and Irish descent. Her parents' marriage lasted only a few…

If your great grandfather listed his occupation as a hostler – what did he do?

The word is spelled "hostler" in American English, but "ostler" in British English. It traces to c.1386, meaning "one who tends to horses at an inn"—and also, occasionally, "innkeeper." It is…

New genie class started and participant is descended from a McSweeney. Have looked into this and found they come from a Gallowglas Sept. First I have heard Gallowglas. Article on Wikipedia very informative.  Anyone want to blog on this and in 1800 where would the McSweeney Clan be living?

When a "family detective" starts researching  “Royalty” connected to one’s family, there arises  women known as “Mistresses” and “Concubines”.  Most Kings had them. Do you know the difference in these terms or “titles”?

A concubine can be part of a harem, or a…

Mary Harris "Mother" Jones (1837- 30 November 1930) was an Irish-American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent labor and community organizer. She helped coordinate major strikes and co-founded the Industrial Workers of the World. Mary…

Back before there were affordable and reliable alarm clocks, the occupation of a knocker-up made a few pence a week in England and Ireland by using a long, lightweight stick, often bamboo, to tap on their clients’ upper floor windows and wake them up so they could get to…

Have you ever had the occasion to visit a cemetery and noticed headstones that had coins left on them?  Here are some interesting reasons for the ‘tokens’ being left behind.

The Ferryman

By far the most popular…

Confusion over the term "family crest" probably arose from an understandable abbreviation of the terminology in heraldry for an important part of a coat of arms. One of the most respected sources for heraldry information is Fairbairn's Book of Crests of the Families of Great…