Fiske’s Law of Genealogy in action

This article charmingly states “Fiske’s law of genealogy: ‘Genealogy is finding the person who has done all the research.'”

Well, this has been a particularly lucky summer for me, as I have been contacted by not one but TWO cousins who have done just that!

Leo Hart, whose grandfather’s grave stone is pictured here, has shared a wealth of material pertaining to our TIERNEY origins in and around Dysert, County Clare. This includes material from another genealogist cousin whose mother was in the US for some years as a housekeeper for her great-uncle, Rev. Michael M TIERNEY (mentioned here), and who then returned to Clare. Most breathtaking is a photo of the gravestone of John TIERNEY and his wife Bridget MARKHAM TIERNEY (my ggggrandparents), taken by Leo in 2003. That stone was erected by Rev. Michael, who apparently spent all of his career (1874-1914 or thereabouts) in Iowa, ministering to communities which seem to have been largely composed of other immigrants from County Clare.

Jan Branham contacted me because of my “brick wall” post on John KELLY, also her brick wall. (If you’ve been wondering if genealogy blogging is worth the trouble, wonder no more — the answer is yes. Your audience can be just you and Google’s search spider, until someone goes looking for the information *you* have!) Jan is revisiting the graves in Union City, Indiana, and together we are going to take aim at the brick wall and tear it down, stone by stone.

Finally, Junel Davidsen, CG, (not a cousin of mine as far as I know) has been helping me accumulate the probate papers and related laws and lawsuits surrounding the estate of Julia Anna TIERNEY of Dayton Ohio, mentioned here, so that picture is coming clearer.

Progress, under the covers

If you’ve wondered why I haven’t been blogging or updating my genealogy database, it’s because my laptop was stolen (argh!) from my office (double argh!). While, yes, my data is all backed up, we’re waiting for the insurance before we go acquire a replacement. I’m using the one-before laptop (the one that amazingly survived a coffee spill) but it’s a Powerbook G4 and cannot run Parallels, and therefore cannot run TMG. Its disk is also too small to restore everything that was on the lost machine, so I have to pick and choose.

Frustrating, to be sure, because I have received a veritable mass of material from the wonderful Janice Cantrell, archivist of the Archdiocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend (Indiana), covering the careers of Rev. (Robert) Emmett KELLY (and giving his death date!) and his nephews, Rev. Thomas Emmett DILLON and Rev. John Edward DILLON. Even better (and more unexpected, to say the least) she has given me a pointer to the possible whereabouts of Rev. Michael TIERNEY (Lott TIERNEY‘s brother) in Iowa. Next stop: writing the archivist of the Diocese of Sioux City.

I didn’t think to restore my electronic copy of Evidence Explained last night, which was silly, since I much prefer to include correct citations with my photographs. Nonetheless, I’m doing the genealogy happy dance now, and will do it again when I can share this all with you!

Spring Genealogy Workshop in Sonora CA, 28 Mar 2009

The Tuolumne County Genealogical Society is hosting their annual Spring Genealogy Workshop this year on Saturday, 28 March, 9a-3p, at the Main Library on Greenley Rd in Sonora.

I attended last year and was pleasantly surprised by both the level of attendance and the juiciness of the presentations. I spent quite a while with a kind volunteer from the local Family History Center trying to find Lott Tierney in the 1880 census, and got a library card that allows me to use Heritage Quest at home. I drove an hour over the hills and it was well worth it. It was very useful for the beginner I was, and even the experienced will be able to find something they haven’t thought of before.

Tombstone Tuesday: Edward Joseph Kelly, Jr (1915 – 1917)

Kelly, Edward grave marker, St Mary’s Catholic Cemetery, Union City, Randolph, Indiana, USA; photograph by Suzanne Stamper-Youmans, 23 Apr 2008. Digital copy privately held by Jean Marie Diaz, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Linden, California. 2009.

Little Edward Kelly is buried here with his aunts, uncles, and grandparents, but his family moved to Dayton within a few years after his death, and his parents are buried there in Calvary Cemetery.