Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

There’s nothing I love more than staring down a photograph of an ancestor, examining every minute detail, from the location of where it was taken to the era in which it was captured. But there’s one thing that captivates me the most about each one, and that’s the fashion! For the most part, my ancestral tree is filled with superbly, fine-dressed folks whom I share so much admiration for, for the sheer reason of getting all dolled up just to leave their house! In this day & age, you’ll hardly see me donning much more than joggers and a sweatshirt. So I have to tip my hat (pun intended) to all the generations that came before my lazy millennial crowd. John C. Eggenberger and his kids (left to right) Alta, Raymond, Louise, and Vera, Ottawa, Kansas, circa 1920, original photo in possession of Sandra Vallo. In fact, my grandmother, Alta (Eggenberger) Foltz, is one whom I’ve always thought extremely photographic. The camera took kindly to her on most all occasions.  Harry and Alta Fo...

Continuing my work on the Keeffes of Cork, the following is a log of information on the family I’ve uncovered over the past couple of years from record groups overseas. I hope to discover plenty more when I travel to Dublin later this year and get a chance to research in the National Archives and National Library of Ireland. Here is a recap of the discoveries made on this side of the Atlantic: Catching Up With the Keeffes During COVID . As to information I’ve gleaned from Ireland’s resources of late, one of the most beneficial was by an Irish local. The site IrelandXO functions as a message board and information hub for the public to reconnect to their Irish roots. Mostly managed by volunteers, the website’s mission is to seek out the Irish diaspora worldwide, knowing full well that millions of natives left the island in the mid to late 1800s and settled in all parts of the world.  I posted a query on one of the virtual boards in regards to the exact location of Lismonihis in Cou...

When one imagines staying on a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with the beach at their fingertips and palm trees canvassing the horizon in front of picturesque, cotton candy-colored sunsets, it's likely not to be in the thick of a world war. However, my grandmother, Edna Arlene (Dean) Millhouse, could recount just such a memory. Edna Dean on Tinian Island, 1945. During World War II, she utilized her training as a registered nurse to serve in the U.S. Army as a 1st Lieutenant. Edna Dean during World War II. While part of her service remained shoreside at Newton D. Baker General Hospital in Martinsburg, West Virginia, one of her wartime assignments brought her to the island of Tinian, part of the Northern Mariana Islands to the east of the Philippines and mainland Japan. Edna Dean in between her parents, Beatrice and Chester Dean at Newton D. Baker General Hospital. After Saipan was invaded, Tinian became the next target for the marine forces. The name Jig Day was ...