Progress Report – Mohrman and Doolittle

The cold call I made to someone I hoped to be a relative of Beldon Mohrman was returned. That is the good news. The bad news is this person is not a relation, though he took the time to check with his brothers to see if they knew anything about a Beldon Mohrman of San Diego, and he would also keep looking. 

On a more positive note, as I turned my attention back to the Tucker line, I had a note from a descendant who gave me the married name of Evalina Doolittle b: 1875; d: June 1930. Lena, as she is later referred to married Frank Leishear and with that information I was able to find her obituary as well as the obituary for her mother, Mary Jane (Tucker) Doolittle Dickens.  I also now have the name of her daughter who married Harry G. Lanterman.  The Leishears lived in Elmira, New York. I can now learn more about the story of Lena and her husband Frank.

Stepping Outside My Comfort Zone

This month has tested my comfort zone.  The subtitle for this blog post could be, “Doctors, Dentists and Genealogy.”

I am someone who practices natural medicine, so I have a difficult time with western doctors who have little training/understanding in diet, nutrition, exercise, and natural forms of keeping well. I think I have finally come upon a woman doctor who at least respects my beliefs.  But it is always nerve wracking to make that call to schedule an appointment.

Then there was dental work to be done. Putting that off as long as I could, August was the month to get it done. I am happy to report everything went well!

On to genealogy - the Nunn family line continues to frustrate me.  With each step forward I am faced with another roadblock to circumvent.  This week I stepped outside my comfort zone and made a cold call to a gentleman age 65+ with the surname of Mohrman in the San Diego, CA vicinity. There was no answer - was he at home but didn't recognize the 540 area code? Is he away on vacation? Is he skeptical of a caller asking about family - his or maybe not his. Does he know this family but has no interest in genealogy research? Ba humbug!!

A shy person by nature, cold calling is very difficult for me do. If I want to learn about Beldon Mohrman's wife Mildred, I have to go outside my comfort zone. From Beldon's obit, I learned his sister was Nellie Entwhistle.  Searching Entwhistles in the San Diego area, I find they all have unlisted phone numbers.  So to the keyboard I went writing to the oldest on the list explaining my research with the goal of ascertaining whether Mildred Nunn Mohrman was our Emilie Nunn born 1897.   

And so my genealogy journey has provided yet another life experience and I suspect there will be many more before I'm done.  Will keep everyone posted as to any progress on finding Mildred Mohrman. 

Still Searching Beldon and Mildred Mohrman

Thanks to the diligent searching of a San Diego, CA Genealogical Society volunteer I received this death notice for Beldon Mohrman.  There was no obituary, nor was there an obituary for his wife Mildred. I wish to find out if Mildred (Nunn) Mohrman is our “Aunt Millie” aka Emilie Nunn born 1897 in Manhattan, New York.

The obit does provide some clues giving me names of Beldon’s siblings.  The volunteer also told me I can request an “informational” copy of the death certificate from the San Diego County Recorder’s Office, which will provide parents name, funeral home, burial place and name of informant.

I wonder why this man who served in the military and held public office in San Diego did not have an obituary.  That is a clue as well.  And so the search continues.

St. Joseph’s Home/Peekskill – Searching Eddie and Kathy Brown

The March 2011 blog post on St. Joseph’s Home in Peekskill, New York continues to receive the most views and comments. Although my grandfather and his siblings were there in the early 1900s, many residents of that home in the mid 1900s are now searching for friends made at that home.

A recent comment posted was directed at Carmen Velez, who had commented earlier.  The request was for information on Eddie and Kathy Brown.  I passed the request to Carmen followed by an informative phone conversation with her last evening.

Carmen explained that when children got to the eighth grade, the nuns tried to place the children with local families so they could attend public school in Peekskill, or the children were sent to the Kennedy Home in the Bronx, St. Vincent’s, or group homes in the city until their schooling was finished. 

“Volunteer” families were also enlisted to take St. Joseph Home children over weekends.  Sometimes this created a strong bond between the children that to today, as in Carmen’s case, still remains.

In 1995 Carman organized the first alumni reunion for St. Joseph’s and Kennedy Home residents. That reunion was held in New Rochelle, New York. In 1996, 250 people, residents of those two homes from 1929-1979 were in attendance.  Her database of alumni continues to grow and now each year the first Saturday in April, the reunion is held on the grounds of St. Joseph’s Home in Peekskill.  If you want to keep apprised of the alumni events, join their Yahoo! group.

To answer the question on Eddie and Kathy Brown, they are not part of the alumni network, though not due to lack of Carmen’s dauntless search for them.  Carmen remembers there were four Brown children, and she has a photo of herself with Eileen, Patrick, Eddie and Kathy Brown.  Carmen doesn’t know what happened to them, though wonders if they went to a family that could take the four children.  If anyone would like to speak with Carmen I can forward her phone number if you send me an email.  You can also connect with her at the Yahoo! group website.

Actress Rosie Perez was a resident of St. Joseph’s Home and she has recently written a book about her growing up years that includes her time in Peekskill.

I applaud Carman and her brother Fran for their work on keeping the St. Joseph's Home alumni group growing. This should indicate to the Sisters that their archives are valuable and should be kept for future family researchers. 

Conlon Family

The San Diego Genealogical Society provides random acts of genealogical kindness and for a small donation will do lookups for those searching in their geographic area. So while I wait for the obituaries of Belden and Mildred Mohrman, I did some work on the Conlon family.

The Mohrmans and the Conlons are not related. But they are part of the monograph I am ready to publish on my grandfather Harry J. Nunn.  Or at least I hope the Mohrmans are!  I hope these obituaries will lead me to descendants who will know enough about Mildred to ascertain whether she was our “Aunt Millie” aka Emilie Nunn b: 1897 and Harry’s sister.

The Conlons are cousins of Harry’s wife, Mary Agnes Doyle.  The cousins are Edward, George, Lawrence and Mae Conlon.  I have found this family difficult to research.  I do not know the parents’ names or what happened to them. To find the answer to that question I wrote to the New York City Department of Records for Edward’s birth certificate and received the dreaded “Not Found” letter.  I may have to break down ($$) and request Mae’s birth certificate.

Something happened between Mae’s birth in 1902 and 1909 as in 1910 Edward and George are shown living in the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum for Boys, Sedgewick and Kingsbridge Road in the Bronx. 

I cannot find Mae or Lawrence during this time. By 1920 Edward, George, Lawrence and Mae lived with the Doyles in their Manhattan apartment. 

In 1940 Mae is married to John Harrington, Lawrence lived in an apartment on East 101^st Street and Lexington, working for the Sanitation Department. Edward married Elizabeth E. [Unknown] b: 1894. Edward worked as a civilian clerk for the police department, and George lived with Edward and Elizabeth working for a delivery company as a helper on their trucks.

And so while waiting for my obits I was able to add a little more detail to the story of the Conlon family even if many questions are yet to be answered.

I guess that is what genealogy is all about – there is always more to be done.

What’s Cornhole?

To answer a comment on my last blog I need to explain the game of Cornhole. I was introduced to this game while in Florida last winter.  It takes a bit of hand/eye coordination, and some folks get the hang of it much quicker than others!

According to the American Cornhole Association website, “It has been called many things, Corn Toss, Bean Bag, Bean Toss, Soft Horseshoes, Indiana Horseshoes, but to many of us born and raised in Kentucky and the southern part of Ohio, the game is passionately referred to as Cornhole. 

It has been said that the game originated in Germany in the 14th century, and then was rediscovered in the hills of Kentucky over 100 years ago. 

The truth is, who really knows, but the game is great fun for all ages and can be played anywhere! 

Cornhole or Corn Toss is similar to horseshoes except you use wooden boxes called cornhole platforms and corn bags instead of horseshoes and metal stakes. Contestants take turns pitching their corn bags at the cornhole platform until a contestant reaches the score of 21 points. A corn bag in the hole scores 3 points, while one on the platform scores 1 point.”

The wooden platforms used at the reunion were specially made with a photo of the camp on them.  Very classy. 

Cornhole is an inexpensive game, easily portable, and right for all ages. 

MakiPalooza Family Reunion

Official MakiPalooza 2014 tee shirt
"Because we don't look nearly as crazy next to our relatives"

This reunion wasn’t the first.  While my hubby’s grandfather Emil Maki (1885-1978) was alive there were annual family gatherings over Memorial Day weekend that coincided with his birthday. Emil’s five children and their families would gather round for an afternoon of fun, games and of course great food. 

Gen X in training for their turn at hosting a family reunion

Occasionally there would be another family get-together during the summer at Emil’s youngest daughter’s cottage on Seneca Lake.  Besides the usual laughter, chatter and picnic, family members had a chance to enjoy the lake.

Alas, those gatherings became less after Emil passed and as his children aged and then faded away.

One of the last Maki family gathering with Emil's children
Mecklenburg, New York

A few years ago the baby boom generation hosted a gathering at the Baptist Church hall in Newfield, NY.  Although great to see everyone, the gathering didn’t have the same ambiance as in the past when kids could run in the yard, and we would feast on Uncle George’s barbeque chicken. 

Many years has passed until this summer when the Gen X family members took charge and hosted a hugely successful reunion week on the shores of Lake Champlain.  The setting was spectacular, the food delicious, and games of CornHole keep everyone laughing as beanbags flew through the air to yells of success and groans of defeat.  From 4:00 to 8:00 we were serenaded by the lovely voice of American Idol Season 9 contestant Ben Bright. He sang happy birthday to several of us … including moi.

Our immediate family has grown and with marriages and partnerships we had at least eleven surnames representing nationalities including Finland, Ireland, England, Poland, and the Virgin Islands. It was rewarding to see millenials who met for the first time and immediately became best friends.  

Another MakiPalooza reunion is scheduled for 2016, and I know everyone is excited to get together again.