Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

There is still plenty I have yet to learn about my paternal third great grandmother's life before she married Charles Miller in Lisbon, St. Lawrence County, New York in 1842. The Geddes family bible gives both her given name and nickname: Ageness (Nancy) Geddes, as well as mentioning she was a native of Belfast, Ireland and was born in 1815. "Agnes Nancy Geddes," photo, undated; database with images, Family Search (https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/171969200?p=52592885&returnLabel=Agnes%20%22Nancy%22%20Geddes%20(L69W-35P)&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.familysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2Fmemories%2FL69W-35P : accessed 10 Feb 2024); user-submitted photo by robertwaynerace1, 8 Apr 2023. I found it curious to see her formal name spelled in that way, rather than the modern take of Agnes (which was embossed on her cemetery marker); though the bible was not the only place in which I've seen that spelling for an Irish woman carrying that name. And in one of ...

  JANUARY 06, 2021 I’m challenging myself this year with the #52Ancestors project, where I tell a story about a different ancestor each week, for 52 weeks, based on prompts set by professional genealogist and host of the “Generations Café” podcast, Amy Johnson Crow. Charles Henry Miller, ca. 1870s, St. Lawrence County, New York or Boone County, Iowa. Week 1: Beginnings   If there’s one subject in my ancestral tree who knows about starting fresh, it’s Charles Henry Miller. Charles was born circa 1798 in Ireland. Though considered a native of Belfast, it’s thought the family originated in Ballinasloe and were uprooted to Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, not much is known of his time there. It’s claimed he was married with three children, two boys and a girl, whom, as of yet, have gone unidentified. The reason for the mystery relates to his religious, and somewhat controversial, affiliation.   Those familiar with Ireland’s history, are well aware of a tense and torrid relati...