Happy Graduation Day!

My boyfriend Bryon graduates from Albany Law School today.  I am so proud of him!

Surname Saturday-Sullivan

I decided that I am going to talk about a surname on my family tree every Saturday.  My primary surname is Sullivan.  It is believed that the Sullivan came from Southwest Ireland in the area called Munster.  My great-grandfather, Daniel Joseph Sullivan was born in Cappanacus, County Kerry in 1872.  He immigrated to Boston in 1873 and he married Sarah Corr in April of 1899 at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Cambridge.

Daniel and Sarah had six children; Henry, Belle, Edith, Daniel (my grandfather), Charles and Sally Ann. Sarah died of the influenza in 1919 and Daniel died in 1950. My grandfather married Catherine Donahue in 1946 and passed away in 1990.

Family Photo Friday

Okay, it's only alliteration phonetically but oh well.

Publish Post

This photo was taken Easter 1982 and it consists of the five oldest Crowley grandchildren (I am bottom left).  I was about three and a half when this was taken.  Clockwise from top Peter MacKinnon, Daniel Sullivan (my brother,) Lisa MacKinnon, Heather Crowley and me.

Family Vacations and Travels

I am going to post a photo and a story from travels in my history into the past.  I am going to start in the past that so new that it is still in the present. Until I get to Maine for a visit, it will likely that my photos will be more recent.  When I go to Maine, I will break out the family albums and the scanner.  There will be some revenge on relatives in the form of facebook tag.

Last weekend I went to NYC.  I have lived in Albany for 20 months and have yet to be in the city.  I am not a fan of Albany.  While I had been to NYC twice, I have not been there properly since I moved to Albany 20 months ago, except for a BBQ in Queens.  I wanted to get out of Albany, so Bryon and I took a day trip down to NYC.  We drove down to Croton-Harmon and took the Metroland North into Grand Central.

Old Glory

We then went to Rockefeller Center

We went to the Top of the Rock

We went to Canal Street but I did not take pictures.  Canal Street was a fun and overwhelming experience.  We then went to McSorleys.  McSorleys are amazing.  It has been in continuous operation for over 150 years and they haven't changed a thing.  You can only order beer in even numbers and there are only two kinds, light and dark.  

Enjoying a dark beer.  Light beer is good but dark is better.

This is the wishbone collection.  Urban legend has it that during WWI and WWII soldiers would leave a wishbone when they left and took it down when they returned.  The wishbones up there represent the soldiers that did not make it home.

After McSorleys, Bryon had the great idea to take Tipsy Kerry to a dish store called FishsEddy.  It was awesome.  Lots of random dishes.  Surprisingly I did not break anything nor spend lots of money.

We then went to Little Italy and had Vodka Pizza and Cannolli.  Bryon then took me to a Five Guys (I was saying "NO MORE FOOD.") and in the back of the Five Guys was a staircase with a secret bar.  Here is a view from Bleeker Heights Tavern.

Revivalism at it's best.

I decided it is time to revive my genealogy.  I have been tracing my boyfriends genealogy extensively on ancestry.com but it is time for me to expand out.  As far as career, I decided I hated going to school Health Information Technology.  I may be switching to Business Administration.  I have hopes that I can combine Business Administration with my History degree and finally get a genealogy business off the ground.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Happy Birthday Grandma!  We miss you down here!

Catherine Ann Donahue Sullivan 

May 3,1914-November 19, 2004

A Decade Coming-The Legacy of Sarah Corr, part 1

I finished all my finals for my online classes yesterday and I rewarded myself by playing with ancestry.com

I started getting interested in genealogy when I was in 7th grade (1991-1992) after having a school assignment.  This was a year after my Grandpa Sullivan passed away.  I can't help but wonder how much more information I would have about my family had I only I had a couple more years with my grandfather.

I did know a little bit about my Great Grandfather Sullivan, who passed away in 1950 but my great grandmother, Sarah Corr was born in Ireland and died in March 1919.  Her death certificate said a problem with her kidneys though my grandfather always swore that they flu killed her (the epidemic of 1918 which was the same strain as last years Swine flu.)  That was all I knew.

When I was just out of college in 2001-2003, I was living in Southern Maine and would routinely go to Massachusetts (Boston area, about a two hour drive)  to chip away at my family history.  I would take what I could get, an obituary here, a census record there. I went to the Archdiocese Archives (the record is currently at my parents in Maine so dates are appoximate) and learned my great grandparents married in April 1899 at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Cambridge, MA and that Sarah Corr lived at 11 Dana St in Cambridge.  There was also a Corr listed as a witness.  Sarah was listed as a domestic.

I went to the Cambridge Public Library and picked up the city directory of 1899.  Don't know why I thought I could find any clues but on the first page there was listed Rev. Edward Abbott, 11 Dana St.  I think found articles about her employer.

I asked my grandmother (who met my grandfather in 1944 and obviously never met her mother-in-law) and all she could tell me was that we were related to the former police chief of Lexington, MA.  So I knew we had cousins out there.

Then a decade later, I find them on ancestry.com!