Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

There's about a million "Eddies" in my family tree, which automatically puts me off in terms of researching any of them, because on the surface, they already don't seem very unique or interesting. However, at this point in my genealogy journey, I should definitely know better. Everyone has a fascinating story to tell, even if their name isn't as glamorous or one-of-a-kind. Eddie Dean is one of those cousins who I didn't think twice about when I initially saw his leaf dangling on my maternal branch. But in 2009, I travelled to Oklahoma for a family gathering and learned little nuggets of info here and there on my mom's Dean side from three of my great aunts, Frances, Sheila, and Thelma. I was curious about their brother, Raymond, who had passed away long before I was even born. From what I gathered, Raymond had had a wife and two sons. And yet, I found it odd that I did not know this great aunt of mine or her kids (who would be around my mom's generatio...

  OCTOBER 31, 2021 In January of 1920, the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution went into effect. It established the era of Prohibition, which had been spurred on by the temperance movement; the thought being, that decreasing the sale of liquor would, in turn, decrease nationwide poverty. While the actual act of drinking was not illegal, store and bar owners were no longer allowed to sell and distribute liquor, wine, spirits, or beer. This change definitely impacted local businesses that had previously made a portion of their profits from the sale of alcohol. Making up for that potential lost income could result in other nefarious activities. Week 38: Fun and Games John C. Eggenberger photo, undated. My great grandfather, John C. Eggenberger, ran a small grocery and confection shop during this time in Ottawa, Kansas. And it would appear he took it upon himself to dabble in this type of illegal behavior. John C. Eggenberger in grocery store, Boone, Iowa, ca. 1905. It’s u...

  MAY 02, 2021 As far as I know, there is only one ancestor in my direct line that has had a major run-in with the law, and it was quite a shameful event, so I’d rather focus on my 2nd great granduncle’s brush with the prison system. Week 18: Crime and Punishment The eldest son of my 3rd great grandmother, Margaret (O’Keeffe) Boyce was first only known to me as William T. Boyce. Other than being aware that he was born circa 1864 by the 1870 and 1880 US censuses that he appeared on, I didn’t really have any other info on him. It wasn’t until this past year that I took note of the fact that William was born several years prior to any of his siblings, and more importantly, even though he held the Boyce surname on the censuses, his birthdate appeared to have fallen previous to his parents’ marriage date in 1868. I knew his mother, Margaret, had been married once before to a papermaker in Wheeling, West Virginia. Originally, I believed her 1st marriage to have ended quickly and before a...

  NOVEMBER 15, 2020 When blight struck the Ireland countryside’s crop between 1845 and 1852, families that were deeply affected and starving, scrambled to survive and find ways to protect their loved ones. Many felt compelled to leave their homeland behind and emigrate to the States and elsewhere. One such family included my KEEFFE ancestors, hailing from Lismonihis, County Cork. John Gregory Crace, oldest known photo of an Irish potato famine survivor, 1853, County Waterford, Ireland; The Sexton Collection, The Irish Potato Famine exhibition; Kathy Armstrong, “Who is the Irish man in this rare 164-year-old photo?,” Independent.ie ( https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/who-is-the-irish-man-in-this-rare-164-year-old-photo-35691822.html : accessed 15 Nov 2020). Unfortunately I have not yet uncovered any photos of my Irish emigrant ancestors, nor do I expect to, as photography was quite expensive and still rather new during that period of history. However, I have stumbled acro...