We Remember: Elizabeth Paulus (Nana)

Elizabeth Paulus Cheney (born Elizabeth Charlotte Paulus)
Born: November 23, 1919, Morris, New Jersey
Died: December 16, 2009, Randolph, Morris, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Grandmother (aka Nana)

Sometimes when you lose a grandparent, you see it coming and have time to prepare. I think those times are easier. But other times, it is sudden. And those times are harder.

Elizabeth (Betty) Paulus Cheney - aka Nana - died suddenly. She had a stroke two years ago today. I am still very sad and I miss her a lot. What makes it particularly hard is that I thought she had many more years ahead of her. Though she was 90 years old, she seemed to be in great health.

I looked forward for her to a time when she would no longer have to care for her husband (my PopPop) who was / is suffering from dementia. I looked forward to a time for her when she could do things for herself. She loved to travel but gave that up. And she loved to quilt, but found little time for it. But more than that, I assumed she would be around to see Becky and me start a family. I assumed I had so much more time with her, and I do feel that I took that for granted.

But I don't want this post to be all sad. We can take comfort in the life she lived. And we can celebrate the person she was. She lived to be 90 years old. Because she lived an hour away, she was able to watch us (her grandchildren) grow up. And she lived to know that two of her grandchildren were married (though she was unable to attend the weddings).

I remember Nana as a doting grandparent - although definitely more affectionate when were younger. She called me her boyfriend, which is less weird than it sounds. I recognized it as her way of saying how much she adored me.

But really, most of my memories of Nana revolve around the kitchen and food. When we visited, she spent much of the time cooking the big dinner we would have. But while cooking she would buzz in and out of the kitchen, sitting to talk, then buzzing back to do some more preparations. Later she would buzz back to talk some more.

And those that wanted more quality time with Nana, or those that wanted to learn more about cooking, would spend time with Nana in the kitchen. My wife is a great cook and is always trying to learn more. And she spent a lot of time with Nana, learning and also just getting to know her.

I would also spend some time in the kitchen. I offered to help sometimes, but rarely did she take me up on my offer; she had everything well under control. I would also try to learn some secrets or some recipes. But since she mostly cooked from memory, I often left empty-handed.

Truth be told, not all people who spend a lot of time in the kitchen are great cooks. But Nana definitely was an excellent cook. Her apple pie is the best I have ever had and I don't think I come to this conclusion through sentimentality. The apples were the perfect softness and the flavor sweet, but not candy or fake sweet.

Also, her Thanksgiving dinner was a marvel. She cooked the stuffing inside the turkey, which you aren't supposed to do anymore, but she knew what she was doing. And everything was delicous; the potatoes, gravy, turkey, yams. Everything. And all of this was done with the energy of someone many decades younger.

As a child of the depression, there is one trait of hers that stands out that came from that time. I remember the few times in college I tried calling on the phone to talk to her and PopPop - probably to wish a happy birthday. They wouldn't let me stay on the phone longer than a minute or two. At first, I thought maybe they didn't want to talk. It took my father to explain that they thought the call was costing me a lot of money. Even my father had difficulty convincing them the calls were cheap and that they could talk for a while.

Finally, the image I am left with - the person I see when I close my eyes - is someone vibrant and full of energy. She died after her 90th birthday, but she had not slowed a bit (at least in my memories). And her mind was still sharp as a tack and current. When my wife and I shared pictures of our wedding, she looked at every picture and soaked it all in. There was the spark in her eyes when you talked to her that showed how much life was still there. 

That's what I'll remember. A vibrant person. A great cook. A doting grandma. 

Arthur Leary - Catholic Education Superstar

Rt. Reverend Monsignor Arthur Michael Leary
Born: December 15, 1903
Died: May 19, 1968
Relation to Author: Grand Uncle
Brother of Helen Keenan (nee Leary)

Monsignor Leary's obituaries referred to the major role he had in state and national Catholic curriculum reform. However those references were not specific. In this post, we'll look at what Monsignor Leary did to change curriculum in Catholic schools at that state and national level.

First, let's get some historical context. In 1938, Pope Pius XI gave Catholic University in Washington, DC a special assignment on the anniversary of its golden jubilee (which seems like being given a special homework assignment on your birthday). The Pope was concerned about, "the global spread of theories and doctrines that he believed undermined Christianity." The Pope's directive, given more detail by the United States Bishops, "instructed the University to prepare materials of instruction in citizenship and Christian social living for use in the Catholic schools of the United States."

Monsignor Leary, in an interview with the North Country Catholic, said all of this work at revamping Catholic school curriculum was necessary because,

The strong secular spirit of American education during the nineteenth century had somewhat affected our Catholic school system. Our schools did not measure up to the Catholic ideal that religion and philosophy are the unifying forces of a sound educational system.

The commission at Catholic University began its work in 1939. You can see the results of the work by Catholic University here. The commission's work had three areas: an information service (public relations, press, periodicals), an elementary school curriculum called Guiding Growth in Christian Social Living, and textbooks and Basal readers for students. The curriculum (3 volumes) was produced between 1944 and 1946 and is described this way:

The materials they created are the first general curriculum offered to Catholic schools for their use in developing ideals of Christian doctrine for daily living [emphasis added].

While the commission was carrying out its work, Monsignor Leary was there at Catholic University studying for his master's degree. I have no evidence however that he worked on the curriculum while there. (I'll inquire to get a definitive answer.) Monsignor Leary graduated in 1943, after which he was named Secretary of Education for the Ogdensburg diocese.

In 1947 Monsignor Leary began working with the five upstate New York dioceses to develop and implement a single Catholic school curriculum across the dioceses using Guiding for Growth as the framework. Each summer the dioceses held workshops to develop the curriculum for their schools. Monsignor Leary, in describing how extensive the curriculum was, said in the same interview referenced above,

Text books for social studies, English, etc. are written by Catholics for Catholics and with a thoroughly Catholic spirit. In this way the teachings of the Popes and our entire Catholic philosophy are brought to the student not merely in religion but in every subject.

So Monsignor Leary had a major role in completely changing the curriculum of the five upstate dioceses. But he did not stop there; he continued his work nationally, serving at the National Catholic Educational Association, where from 1949-1951 he was National President of the Catholic School Superintendents (his name is listed if you follow the link), a group within the NCEA. (Note that two years after serving as president, in 1953, Arthur Leary was awarded the honor of Domestic Prelate with the right to the title of Rt. Reverend Monsignor almost definitely due to this education work.)

I might have more on his national work if I can get a hold of this book, but in the meantime, we can assume that as President of Catholic School Superintendents, he continued to promote / facilitate the complete revamping of curriculum in dioceses across the country with Guiding for Growth as the model.

In case I haven't done a great job of making this sound as big as it is, let me summarize. While Monsignor Leary was serving as secretary of education in Ogdensburg, catholic schools were undergoing a major change in their education model. For the first time, their entire curriculum would be one developed by Catholics - no longer relying on outside institutions and models - in order to instruct students according to Catholic values. And Father Leary had a major role in New York State and across the country in implementing this new model under this brand new paradigm.

150 Years Ago - Camp Malone

Judson Cheney
Born: May 11, 1838, Hopkinton, St. Lawrence County, New York
Died: September 29, 1864, Chaffin Farm, Virginia
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle

I wrote on November 12 that Judson had enlisted in the army on that date 150 years ago, thus beginning his action in the American Civil War. After enlisting, Judson's next step was to go to camp with the regiment in Malone, where he stayed until the regiment mustered in to the army and traveled to Washington, DC. Here is how William Kreutzer (author of a book describing his time in the 98th Regiment, from which I am drawing heavily draw from) describes the scene: 

In each camp the men were drilled daily in the School of the Soldier and of the Company, according to the Tactics of Hardee, as promulgated by the general Government...

The rendezvous at Lyons and Malone created excitement throughout the counties. The war feeling ran high, and a disposition to sustain the Government against an armed rebellion was universal... A few arms were procured for drill and guard duty. These, with the uniforms, made a wonderful change in the appearance of the men, and gave them some of the characteristics of a standing army. The companies, while in line, appeared like organized bodies. Men came for miles, bringing their wives and children, to "see the soldiers drill."

All of the supplies Judson and the rest of the volunteers needed (clothing, quarters, blankets, knapsacks, subsistence, medical attendance) were provided by the state.

According to Kreutzer, the 98th Regiment had 10 companies (3 from Lyons and 7 from Malone) and a total of 910 men (872 enlisted, 38 officers). James McPhearson says this was the typical size of a regiment - both for the Union and Confederates - during the Civil War: 1,000 men organized in 10 companies. 

Kreutzer says that this regiment was similar to the other volunteer regiments in the state. But he does say this about the Franklin County volunteers:

"A large proportion of those from Franklin County were farmers and lumbermen; and to march, to dig, to build roads and bridges, to endure hardships and exposure, fatigue and privations, was their element."

We can assume that Judon is included among the men Kreutzer is talking about since his occupation on the 1860 census was "farm laborer".

J.J. Keenan & Mary Leary

James J. Keenan
Born: March 21, 1865, Helena, St. Lawrence, New York
Died: September 28, 1955, North Lawrence, St. Lawrence, New York
Relation to Author: Great Grandfather

Mary Leary Keenan
Born: March 1, 1870, New York
Died: December 16, 1951, North Lawrence, St. Lawrence, New York
Relation to Author: Great Grandmother

The above pictures feature my great grandparents, James Keenan and Mary Leary. The pictures don't have years on them, so I don't know when they were taken. But clearly it was early, as they are both young - and handsome. Since the pictures came as a pair, I guess they were taken sometime close (maybe within a couple years) to their wedding, which Census records tell us was in 1894, when James was 29 and Mary was 24.

James Keenan was born as the Civil War was ending (spring of 1865). He spent his life as a dairy farmer and lived to be 90 years old. His wife, Mary Leary, was born five years later in 1870 and lived to be 81. James and Mary lived together in Lawrence, St. Lawrence County, New York. 

Mary and James were both of Irish descent. Both of Mary's parents were born in Ireland. James' father was born in New York (his grandparents were from Ireland) and his mother was born in County Cork, Ireland.

They both lived long lives and therefore saw a lot of American history. Living between 1870 and 1950, they witnessed the Gilded Age with its second wave of industrialization and machine politics, progressivism, rise of labor unions, women's suffrage (19th Amendment), transcontinental railroad and westward expansion, peak years of immigration, World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II.

We Remember: Hubert Keenan (Grandpa)

Hubert Keenan
Born: March 20, 1907, St. Lawrence County, New York
Died: November 14, 1984, North Lawrence, New York
Relation to Author: Grandfather

To be honest, I don't have many memories of Grandpa. He died when I was 4 years old. I remember the act of visiting him in the hospital before he died, but I don't have a picture of him in that memory. And I remember the funeral and afterward, the feelings of confusion about the idea of death.

The one visual image I do have is of him in the cushy rocking chair that used to sit by the front door at the house on Desmond Street. And maybe I have an image of him at the head of the table (in front of the window) at dinners.

Though I don't have many memories, I do have some pictures, like the one above. I have always loved these pictures - probably because I don't have many memories. This is me and grandpa in the rocking chair I previously mentioned. I am 15 months old (which probably means it was taken at Thanksgiving - one of our usual North Country visiting times), which means the picture is from 1981.

So for me, the pictures substitute for solid memories. But there are many in the family that do have strong memories of him. If you want to share your memories of Hubert / Hub / Grandpa, let me know (and I'll include it as a guest "We Remember" post). In the meantime, enjoy the pictures (bonus below where Hub has a big smile and I am squirming).

150 Years Ago - Judson Enlisted

Judson Cheney
Born: May 11, 1838, Hopkinton, St. Lawrence County, New York
Died: September 29, 1864, Chaffin Farm, Virginia
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle

Judson Cheney enlisted to fight in the Civil War on this day 150 years ago.  He joined the 98th Regiment, Company G, NYS Volunteers, in Malone, Franklin County, New York.

Judson enlisted during the Union's effort to recruit a major army for a protracted war. At this point, the war had been going on for seven months (starting with the attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861). The battles of Bull Run (7/21/1861) and Wilson's Creek (8/10/1861) that summer convinced most in the north that the war would not end quickly, though the Battle of Shiloh the following spring (April 6-7, 1862) would be the first sign of how long and brutal this war was really going to be.

Between Sumter and Bull Run, the North added only 75,000 troops for 90 day enlistments, expecting this to be a short engagement. But just days after Bull Run the Union decided to prepare a large army, with Lincoln signing a bill to enlist 500,000 men to three-year terms. 

So during the late summer and fall of 1861, the states (on behalf of the federal government) were recruiting and preparing troops and appropriating funds to purchase equipment and supplies. All of the logistics of raising an army of this size took until the end of the autumn and Judson was a part of the last efforts to meet Congress's and the President's enlistment goal.

Judon's regiment was organized around Malone (as well as Lyons in central New York). Although he was living in Hopkinton in St. Lawrence County, I assume he chose not to join the regiment in his county (60th NY - being raised in Ogdensburg) because Hopkinton was closer to Malone in Franklin County (20+ miles) than it was to Ogdensburg (40+ miles).

So here began Judson's service in the Civil War. This blog will spend the next three years following his experiences (and then the enlistment of his brothers) in real time (using a book about the 98th Regiment as the primary source). We'll see where he fought, where he marched, the conditions he endured, and how the war progressed.

Father Art at St. Elizabeth's

Rt. Reverend Monsignor Arthur Michael Leary
Born: December 15, 1903
Died: May 19, 1968
Relation to Author: Grand Uncle
Brother of Helen Keenan (nee Leary)

I have an exciting post on Father Art coming soon. In the meantime, enjoy this picture of him from June 21, 1960 - taken at St. Elizabeth's Church in Elizabethtown, New York.

A Science Paper?

Francis Gilman Blake
Born: February 22, 1887, Mansfield Valley, Pennsylvania
Died: February 1, 1952, Washington, DC
Relation to Author: Great Grandfather In-Law

In Francis Gilman Blake's biographical memoir, it says this:

It was not by accident that as a boy he roamed the woods and developed an enthusiasm for nature, particularly for birds; or that he took a year off between college and medical school to spend the winter in a log cabin in the Maine woods, for he was a born naturalist and he published, at the age of 15 (with his brother), his first scientific paper, on an ornithological subject. It appeared in The Auk in 1902.

I think this is what they are referring to (from the Auk 1902):

A Winter Record for the Flicker (Colaptes auratus luteus) in Berkshire County.--In 'The Birds of Berkshire County,' by Dr. W. Faxon and Mr. R. Hoffmann, the latest autumn date for this species is given as October 24, and the earliest spring record as April 10. We observed at Williamstown on December 12, 1900, a single bird which may have been wintering, and on April 6, 1901, the first Flicker arrived.-- Francis G. and Maurice C. Blake, Brookline, Mass.

If this is what they are referring to, I'm not sure I would call it a scientific paper. But it is impressive for a 15 year old and did contribute important information for the birding world. And, as an amateur birder myself, a correct identification can be very difficult and requires a lot of knowledge and confidence.

The Fire: The Community Mourns

The Fire
November 24, 1927
North Lawrence, New York
Home of Walter and Ida Leary

In the previous post on the fire, I talked about the community's response to help the Learys. In the same article (from the Potsdam Courrier Freeman on 10/30/1927), it talks about how the community mourned the loss. I want to quote the article because I think it really shows how big of an event this was.

The funeral of the unfortunate victims was held Saturday morning and was very largely attended... Many people could not gain entrance to the church but remained outside until the close of the service... People were present from all of the surrounding towns. All business places were closed during the services.

The truth is, I am forever trying to wrap my head around this event. And this article is helping me see the scope of the tragedy - to really understand that is was one of the worst tragedies in the area ever. 

But my family persevered. Arthur went to seminary. Catherine went on to teach. Helen had a family and Barry had a family. And I can assume that the parents, Walter and Ida, took joy in watching their children succeed and getting to know their grandchildren and in the case of Ida, her great-grandchildren.

Also, in case you want to see the actual newspaper articles referenced in these two posts, you can find the article on the front page here and the continuation on page 3 here.

Cathleen Leary: More WAC

Catherine Leary
Born: October 7, 1907, North Lawrence, St. Lawrence, New York
Died: February 29, 1988, Plattsburgh, Clinton, New York
Relation to Author: Grand Aunt Since I found out about Catherine Leary's service in the Women's Army Corps I have had two questions: What did she do; and where did she serve? I now know where she served: Dayton Beach, Florida, and Camp Sutton near Charlotte, NC (in Monroe, Union County, NC). She received her training for promotion to Liuetenant at Fort Des Moines. So now I know she wasn't among the WAC that served overseas. Next I need to find out what she did.

Also, I want to post this picture of Catherine Leary in her WAC uniform. The resemblance to my mother's side of the family is remarkable. Plus, she does look like my memories of her when I knew her in the mid-1980s.

Book Report: Public Health in the Town of Boston

Public Health in the Town of Boston: 1630-1822
by John B. Blake (Born: 1922, Died: 2006)
c. 1959, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Distributed in Great Britian by Oxford University Press, London
Relation to Author of this Blog: Grandfather-in-Law

John Blake received his Ph.D. in American history from Harvard University in 1954 and studied uner renowned historian Arthur Schlesinger. The book reviewed here was taken from his Ph. D. dissertation. This is the only book he published, going on instead to become chief of the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine.  

John Blake chose to study Boston for a time frame that spanned colonial, revolutionary, and post-independence and ending when Boston became a city. The town of Boston was, as other large towns and cities in the US and Europe were, dealing with epidemic illnesses like yellow fever and smallpox. At the beginning of the time period, the causes for these illnesses were unknown. We are therefore able to witness the public's attempts to figure out the causes and then debate solutions to protect the public from the illnesses. 

The book alternates between two aspects of public health - two types of solutions for the illnesses - at that time: quarantine and inoculation for illnesses that were thought to spread through contagion; and sanitation issues to deal with illnesses that were thought to be related to environmental factors.

Most readers will find the chapters covering the history of inoculation more captivating than sanitation issues (with my father being one possible exception). I was surprised to learn how early the idea of inoculation came out. And through the book we witness the intense debates over the safety of inoculation at a time when people didn't fully understand what it was really doing and why it was working. With hindsight, and helpful guidance by the book's author, we can see who was right. From there we can draw lessons about how we should think about similar public health issues in our time.

The sanitation issues, though not quite as captivating, are necessary for the discussion of public health. When the book starts, government is not very involved in daily life. However, we can see a shift as people realize that environmental factors can affect public health and therefore necessitate a public solution. The public solutions go so far as to regulate where butchers and tanners can operate and how private citizens are required to maintain their own property (gasp!).

Before I end this post, I want to take a small detour. Those of you who are reading this post likely knew John Blake - or are close to someone who did. So let's take a minute to think about the work he did to write this book. In order to tell this story, John Blake had to pour over town meeting minutes and local publications for all of the years the book covers. That is no small feat and I imagine requires a dedication that surpasses what other writers of history (thinking of the pop-history writers we know about today) endure. 

And I am grateful he did it. The result is an interesting book about the earliest examples of public health policy that changes from inactive government to more active government to deal with the very serious problems of the times.

Picture: Mary Clare Leary

Mary Clare Leary
Born: November 10, 1905, North Lawrence, New York
Died: November 24, 1927, North Lawrence, New York
Relation to Author: Grand Aunt
Sister of Helen Leary KeenanAbove is a picture of Mary Clare Leary - older sister of Helen Leary Keenan. As you may remember, she died in the fire with the three young girls. 

This picture was apparently taken in 1926 - the year before the fire. If the picture was taken in the summer, as it appears to be, she would have been 20 (turning 21 in November of 1926). At the time of the fire, and probably at the time this picture was taken, Mary Clare had been attending St. Lawrence University.

I'm really happy that this picture exists. It is tragic that she died young - before even graduating college. But at least we have this picture to think of her. 

Picatinny: Margaret Williams Paulus

Margaret Williams Paulus
Born: Nov 4 1887, Neath(?), Pennsylvania
Died: March 4 1972, Succasunna, Morris, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Great Grandmother
Mother of Elizabeth (Betty) Paulus Cheney

Margaret Paulus (nee Williams) was born in Pennsylvania in 1887 to Robert Williams and Elizabeth Williams (nee Thomas), who were both immigrants from Wales. She married Frederick Paulus - the son of immigrants from Germany. At the age of 56 and then again at age 64 Margaret went to work for Picatinny Arsenal.

I am guessing that part of the reason Margaret worked at this late age was because of the early death of her husband, who died on March 12, 1934 at the age of 47. Before working at Picatinny, Margaret worked at Van Raalte Hosiery on Myrtle Avenue in Boonton, New Jersey - from 1926 through June of 1943. So she was working before her husband died, but it seems she might have continued because of the loss of his income. How Social Security played into her decision is unclear to me - maybe something for a future post.

Margaret Paulus' first stint at Picatinny was from June of 1943 through October of 1945. She started as a senior laborer making $4.80 per day ($62.68 in today's dollars) and ending as a shop inspector making $0.87 per hour ($10.92 in today's dollars).

Her second stint was from March 1951 through February 1957. Margaret worked as a machining inspector / machine tool inspector / machined parts inspector - inspecting inert components with a starting pay of $1.40 per hour ($12.17 in today's dollars) and ending at $1.96 per hour ($15.76 in today's dollars).

To get a sense of the work she performed, here are the duties from a job description for the Machining Inspector:

Inspects metal parts manufactured by the Arsenal metal shops. Inspections performed cover a great variety of grenades, fuzes, boosters, primers, rockets, and shells, as well as numerous small components parts such as lock assemblies, rotors, firing pins, springs and other items which are internally assembled into the major components. From completed lots selects samples in accordance with Standard Sampling Plan and performs inspections visually and by the application of gages and precision measuring instruments, such as micrometers, verniers, calipers and dial indicators.

Margaret's time at Picatinny ended in October of 1945 ostensibly because of the end of World War II. Though the termination notice does not spell this out explicitly, it seem obvious since notice was received September 24, 1945, only 22 days after victory over Japan. The personnel records show her being terminated in 1957 due to a reduction in force, but it doesn't explain why there was a reduction at that time and I can think of no obvious historical reason.

As you can see, I included her wages in today's dollars. I think it puts it into perspective better. After all, seeing that she was paid $0.87 per hour seems ridiculous and gives the wrong impression. And just to add a little more perspective, $10.92 per hour is roughly $22,700 for the year (assuming 40 hours per week and 52 weeks). 

Before They Were Grandparents

Helen Leary Keenan
Born: November 4, 1909, North Lawrence, New York
Died: May 1, 2004, North Lawrence, New York
Relation to Author: Grandmother

Hubert Keenan
Born: March 20, 1907, St. Lawrence County, New York
Died: November 14, 1984, North Lawrence, New York
Relation to Author: Grandfather

My mother has a collection of old pictures from her side of the family. I have started scanning them and will be posting them on this blog from time to time.

I think it is fitting to start with this picture of Helen Keenan (nee Leary) and Hubert Keenan - my grandparents - because it is one of my favorites. I just love this picture. I love seeing them in their youth. I knew them when they were much older, of course. And to see them so young, vibrant, and happy is amazing. 

While I don't have a date or location for the picture, they look to be about the same age as in their wedding picture (coming soon to this blog) so I would guess the picture is from sometimes around 1937. If anyone has better information, definitely let me know. Otherwise, just enjoy!

New Feature: 150 Years Ago

As you know by now, some of my (our) ancestors on the Cheney side fought in the American Civil War. And since the country will be recognizing the 150th anniversary of the war over the next four years, I will do the same thing here. This blog will mark the events that our ancestors participated in by featuring posts on the 150 year anniversary of when they actually happened. 

I'll start with Judson Cheney and his enlistment 150 years ago this November and follow him through his death at Chaffin's Farm. In 2014 I'll follow Justice Cheney's unfortunately short tenure in the war and in 2015 follow Jesse Cheney as he witnesses the end of the war. 

The events (and therefore the posts) will be spread pretty far apart, but that should give me time to do some research and include some good detail and information. 

The Next Generation (continued)

Brooks, my nephew was born recently. He is the second in the next generation of Cheneys. He is joined by Eamon - the two cousins are the same age and we assume will share many adventures.

Brooks was born in New Jersey - at Morristown Medical Center and will be living in Chatham - a suburban town with good schools that is a 45 minute train ride outside of New York City. His mother is an attorney and his father is a technical engineer (working for Major League Baseball Network - how cool!).

To give you a sense of the world Brooks is being born into: The governor of New Jersey is Chris Christie, an outspoken and brash Republican (and major Bruce Springsteen fan) who is battling the teachers unions in order to help deal with the states' budget deficits. He has repeatedly said that he will not run for president in 2012, but has been asked often because he is a prominent and popular national Republican. Depending on what happens in 2012 (ie if Obama wins reelection), he is considered likely to run in 2016.

On the day Brooks was born, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal featured stories about Steve Jobs resigning from his post of CEO Apple - seemingly because his health is preventing him from fulfilling his duties. Also, rebels broke through into Triploli, signaling the end of Muammar Quaddafi's regime in Libya. The Libya revolution is part of an "Arab Spring" with protests, uprisings and revolutions in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Bahrain, Yemen, and Tunisia.

More importantly, Brooks was born between two significant natural disaster events: an earthquake on August 23, 2011 and a hurricane (Irene) on August 27-28, 2011. Both affected the New York / New Jersey area, although the earthquake was minor - only a 5.8 on the Richter scale at it's epicenter in Virginia. The hurricane caused some flooding, as I am sure his parents will tell him about all the time when he is older.

There are two big issues in domestic politics right now: government debt (which I think is getting more attention than it needs - it is a long term problem not a short term one) and jobs (which isn't getting as much attention as 9% unemployment deserves).

Barack Obama is president and faces reelection in November 2012; his approval ratings are currently declining. The Republican primary field is shaping up, with Rick Perry (three-term governor of Texas), Mitt Romney (former governor of Massachusetts), and Michelle Bachmann (third term Congresswoman from Minnesota) the current front runners. Other candidates include Newt Gingrich (Speaker of the House during Clinton's administration), Rick Santorum (anti-gay former Senator from Pennsylvania), Herman Cain (anti-Muslim owner of Godfather's Pizza), and John Huntsman (former governor of Utah and former ambassador to China in Obama's administration).

The Fire and the Community

The Fire
November 24, 1927 (Thanksgiving)
Residence of Walter and Ida Leary
North Lawrence, NY

Died in the Fire
Arthur Leary (brother of Walter Leary) - Born: ABT 1867
Mary Clare Leary - Born: Sept 10, 1905
Evelyn Leary - Born: Feb 13, 1914
Rita Leary - Born: July 10, 1916
James Walter Leary - Born: Jan 31, 1920
Esther Leary - Born: Feb 27, 1918

Survived
Walter Leary - Born Jan 5, 1874; Died July 19, 1960
Ida Leary - Born Sep 1, 1878; Died Jan 7, 1981
Arthur Leary - Born Dec 15, 1903; Died May 19, 1968
Catherine Leary - Born Oct 7, 1907; Died Feb 29, 1988
Helen Leary Keenan - Born Nov 4, 1909; Died May 1, 2004
Barry Leary - Born Mar 2, 1912; Died Nov 29, 1969


I feel pretty comfortable assuming that all of the grandchildren of Helen Leary Keenan have at least heard the fire mentioned and probably briefly described. We all probably know the general story; it happened in the morning on Thanksgiving, the four youngest - Evelyn, Rita, James and Esther - and the second oldest - Mary Clare - died in the fire along with Helen’s uncle (her dad’s brother) Arthur. We also probably remember hearing that Mary Clare was found with the three young girls and that Jimmy, the youngest boy, was at the window but walked back into the fire.

The obituary of Walter Leary in 1960 says the following about the fire 33 years later: “The family received aid from all over the North Country after their plight. This fire is still considered one of the worst tragedies ever to occur in this area.”

I think these two sentences capture the two big aspects of this tragic event; how this affected our family and how the community responded. In this post I want to cover the community response.

Here is a quote from a Potsdam Courier Freeman article on the fire (Nov 30, 1927) regarding the community response.

The entire North country has moved swiftly in response to an appeal for members of the family. Prominent men from 16 different towns gathered in the stricken village Friday afternoon to render what aid was possible. In less than a moment $500 [author's note: this is $6,492 in today's dollars] was subscribed before the better plan was adopted of opening a subscription in each of the towns so that all who cared might contribute. About $2,000 was pledged up to yesterday [$25,968 in today's dollars].

The fund was opened by R.H. McEwen, former North Lawrence resident, and now Ogdensburg banker, with a check for $100 [$1,298 in today's dollars].

An organization meeting was held in the town hall in Winthrop Saturday night when representatives from the surrounding towns gathered to lay plans. Rev. Father Jacques of the St. Lawrence church, North Lawrence was named treasurer. Malone, Massena, Potsdam, Nicholville, Brasher, Wintrop and St. Regis Falls were represented.

In Potsdam Sunday morning the ministers brought the matter to the attention of the congregation and asked for help. A canvas was made Monday afternoon at 4 o'clock by the district Boy Scouts. The work will be continued for several days and checks may be made to Allan L. Gurley of Potsdam.

The women of Winthrop will provide furniture for one bedroom for the family.

Women and girls named Helen will contribute specifically for Miss Helen Leary and those named Katherine will aid Katherine Leary both of whom were sleeping on the ground floor of the house when the fire broke out. They escaped with Mr. and Mrs. Leary.

Aid for the two remaining sons will be provided by all Sunday school classes composed of boys in the North Country. The other son [Arthur] was in New Jersey when the fire occurred.

My first thought is how amazing it is that the community responded in this way. I want to believe that this type of generosity still exists, but I wonder if it is possible in an age of increased urbanization and the decline of the small community. Either way, the article shows that the community rallied to offer what they could to help a family that experienced one of the worst tragedies ever in the area.

Obituary: Jean Adams Blake

Jean Adams Blake
Born: April 22, 1924, Albany, New York
Died: August 23, 2011, Frederick, Maryland
Relation to Author: Grandmother-In-Law

Jean Adams Blake (born: Jean Place Adams) died earlier this week. We are all very sad at the loss and miss her already. However, we are comforted by the fact that she lived to watch her 8 grandchildren grow-up and to meet her great-grandson, Eamon Blake Cheney in July.

In the future, I hope to have some posts remembering Jean Blake, but in the meantime, here is her obituary from the Frederick News Post (published Wednesday, August 24 2011).

Mrs. Jean Adams Blake, 87, died of a stroke on August 23, 2011, at Frederick Memorial Hospital. Her husband, John Blake, preceded her in death in 2006. She is survived by four children and their spouses: Catherine Blake and Frank Eisenberg; John Blake and Bette Loiselle; Ann Blake and Ian MacDonald; Jim and Nancy Blake. She is also survived by eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild [Eamon Blake Cheney].

Born on April 22, 1924, in New York, Jean Blake graduated from Vassar in 1945 and was married on April 2, 1949. She lived in Washington D.C. for many years, where she worked at the Naval Observatory before retiring with her husband to a tree farm near Wolfsville. In 2005 she moved to the Buckingham's Choice retirement community near Buckeystown.

Memorial services will be private. Donations may be sent to the Residents Assistance Fund at Buckingham's Choice, 3200 Baker Circle, Adamstown, MD 21710.

Father Art: An Intro

Monsignor Arthur Michael Leary
Born: December 15, 1903
Died: May 19, 1968
Relation to Author: Grand Uncle
Brother of Helen Keenan (nee Leary)

Arthur Leary, the second oldest of Walter Leary and Ida Elizabeth Leary (nee Barry), was a Monsignor in the Catholic Church. To the family, he was known as Father Art. In future posts, I'll look at his work in the church. But here, I am going to introduce him and give an overview of his life.

Monsignor Leary began his post-high school education at Potsdam Teachers College, graduating in 1922. After teaching in public schools for 6 years, he got a bachelor of science degree from Fordham University in 1928. He entered Wadhams Hall Seminary in Ogdensburg, New York (which closed in 2002 due to low enrollment - a sign of changed times) the same year. After one year he transferred to Louvain Seminary in Belgium and was ordained in July of 1934.

When he returned to the US he would spend the rest of his career, excluding getting his master's degree, in the Ogdensburg Diocese (there are 196 diocese in the US). Just to give you some flavor for the diocese, it was created in 1872 out of the Albany diocese and covers 12,000 square miles including Lewis, Jefferson, St. Lawrence, Franklin, Clinton, and Essex Counties plus parts of Herkimer and Hamilton Counties. In 1949 it had 118,682 Catholics, 154 parishes, and 171 priests including Father Art.

Arthur Leary's first job after being ordained was as vice principal of St. Mary's Academy in Ogdensburg. He was named principal in 1936. In 1939, Father Art was transferred to St. John's Church in Plattsburgh, New York where he was principal of St. John's Academy. In 1943 he received a master's degree from Catholic University in Washington, DC. After receiving his master's degree, Father Leary was named Secretary of Education for the Ogdensburg diocese.

In August of 1953, Arthur Leary was awarded the honor of Domestic Prelate with the right to the title of Rt. Reverend Monsignor by Pope Pius XII. On April 14, 1959, Monsignor Leary was named pastor of St. Mary's Church in Massena, New York (which I believe was the biggest parish in the diocese).

The work that most interests me, and will be the focus of further posts on Father Art, is his education work. His obituary said that as Secretary of Education, he was instrumental in updating curriculum for the Catholic schools in upstate New York and had a major role nationally as well. I'll be exploring that in the future.

Off the Farm

3rd Great Grandfathers (known)
John Keenan b. 1785, Antrim, Ireland; d. 1871, New York; oc. Stone Mason?
John (Jack) Leary b. unknown; d. unknown; oc. unknown
Cornelius Leary b. 1799, Ireland; d. unknown; oc. Farmer

2nd Great Grandfathers
Bernard J. Keenan b. 1829, New York; d. 1891, New York; oc. Farmer
Patrick Leary b. 1831, Ireland; d. unknown; oc. Farmer
Denis Leary b. 1835, Canada; d. unkown; oc. Meat Market?
Michael Barry b. 1839, Kerry, Ireland; d. unknown; oc. Farmer

Great Grandfathers
Walter Leary b. 1874, New York d. 1960, New York; oc. Dairy Farmer
James J. Keenan b. 1865, New York; d. 1955, New York; oc. Dairy Farmer

Grandfather
Hubert Keenan b. 1907, New York; d. 1984, New York; oc. Dairy Farmer

Census records tell me that most, if not all, of my male ancestors that lived in America on my mother's side - my grandfather through my 3rd great grandfathers - were farmers. I say most, if not all, because there are three of whom I cannot confirm (and as best as I can tell, the 5 great grandfathers not listed were born and lived in Ireland).

While the Keenan, Leary, Leary, and Barry households were farming - from as early as 1821 through 1960 - the rest of America was moving off the farms and into the cities. The graph below shows how fast the decline was. But we can also put it into perspective by looking at how much of the labor force were farmers while each generation of my ancestors were farming.

Source: Growing a Nation; The Story of American Agriculture. http://www.agclassroom.org/gan/timeline/farmers_land.htm

In 1790, before any of my maternal ancestors arrived, 90% of the labor population were farmers. In 1850, when Cornelius Leary is farming (and possibly John Keenan, too), 64% of the labor force were farmers. When my second great grandfathers (possibly excluding Dennis Leary) are farming in 1880, 49% of the labor force is farming. And in 1920, when James J. Keenan and Walter Leary - my great grandfathers - are dairy farmers, 27% of the labor force are farmers. By the time Hubert Keenan gives up farming around 1960 after his heart attack, with none of his children continuing in farming, only 8 percent of the labor population were farmers.

In 2000, when Hubert Keenan's children and grandchildren are spread across the country (having left behind our ancestral (if not actual) home of Franklin and St. Lawrence counties in norther New York State), working as (or retired from jobs as) managers, teachers, nurses, lawyers, engineers, technicians, accountants, analysts, etc - but no farmers, only 1.9% of the labor force are farmers (source: USDA).

For 200 years, many families in America moved away from farming - moving out of rural areas and into the cities. My maternal ancestors held on much longer than most, but in the end, we too moved off the farm.

*Note: Additional details and background will now be posted in the comments section.

Note the Functionality

Just a note on some additional features on the blog. On the top of the blog, you might notice that there is a header with links to other pages. Each of these other pages have additional features that I think add to this blog.

First, there is a page listing my history sources - aka Works Cited. I have this for two reasons. First, for transparency purposes - so that my readers can see which sources I am using when I include historical context with the genealogical information. I have also included it so that my readers can do further reading.

On a related note, my sources for my genealogy information are either from the research my father and uncles have done or, as often as possible, from what I have found on Ancestry. (I am debating whether to include more details on that in the comments - your thoughts are welcome.)

There is also a page showing my family tree - pedigree style (aka, just the parents). I have included this as a reference for my readers in case my descriptions of how a particular person is related to me is confusing.

Finally, I have added a page that shows two google maps I have made. The maps are of important genealogical sites for the Cheney / Keenan family and the Eisenberg / Blake family. I'll update the maps with new locations as I find them. But feel free to suggest sites I have not yet included. And more importantly, feel free to click on the maps or the links and explore them.

Edward Eisenberg and DuArt

Edward Eisenberg
Born: October 23, 1921, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey
Died: October 17, 2010, Naples, Collier County, Florida
Relation to Author: Grandfather-in-Law
Paternal Grandfather of Rebecca Eisenberg

I met Edward Eisenberg one month before Becky's and my wedding in 2009 (and one of the biggest joys of our wedding was that Edward and his wife Gloria - Grandpa and Grandma - were able to attend the wedding). We visited Edward and Gloria at their home in Naples, Florida. As a new acquaintance, I was able to ask Edward about his life story. He told me about the many different jobs he had.

When asked what his favorite job was, he said quickly and emphatically that it was working at DuArt. Located in midtown Manhattan, New York, DuArt was / is a film processing lab for motion pictures - perhaps the premier film processing lab for motion pictures on the east coast.

When filming a movie, the film negatives from a day of shooting were sent to DuArt for processing (motion picture film, like still camera film, needs to be developed from the negatives). After processing, the developed film (I think they call this the "dailies") was sent back to the film crew (director, producers, etc) to review the day's shooting. This all had to happen quickly so that the film crew could watch the dallies and make decisions about the next day's shooting.

Edward talked about retrieving the negatives from the airport (the negatives having flown in from the picture shoot from somewhere on the East Coast), having them processed, then sending them back for review by the director and staff. He loved the job and I can see why. To know you are involved in movie-making, at a time when Hollywood was probably even more glamorous than it is now, must have been terribly exciting.

Unfortunately, there is still a lot I don't know. The conversation with Edward was pretty general. So I don't know exactly when he worked there, what specifically he did, and what movies the studio worked on while he was there. I will see if I can get that information.


DuArt is still in operation today, providing picture and sound support. From their website:

Picture: Since 1922, DuArt has been a leader in the field of moving image post. From black and white to color, from 16mm and 35mm to Red Camera workflows, from nitrate film to Blu-Ray and file-based delivery, we enjoy being present at the creation.

Sound: From our own sound printing process in 1929 to the 7.1 audio of today, the path to great sound has always led to DuArt. We provide sound design, mixing, scoring, dubbing for localization, and digital restoration services that are second to none; our highly skilled audio staff crafts the sound for your project to the highest standard.

So they have changed with the changing technology to continue to support the industry. But one thing has changed - Du Art has gone digital. Gone are the days of traditional film processing, as Edward knew it.

Keenan Pre-Famine Immigration Updated

Source: Historical Statistics of the United States 1789-1945

In a previous post I speculated about why the Keenans came to the US when they did. I want to update you with some more details and to say that after doing some more research, the picture is still mostly the same.

First, as you've noticed, I have attached a graph showing immigration from Ireland to the US from 1820 through 1880 (In future posts I'll include a graph that goes all the way to 1940). You can see how it starts small during the 1820s and 1830s and then peaks during the famine years of 1850s. I think this puts in perspective even more how the Keenans were very early (1821) compared to the bulk of Irish immigration.

Second, I have been reading parts of Coming to America (Second Edition): A History of Immigration and Ethnicity in American Life by Roger Daniels. It identifies three different periods of Irish immigration: pre-famine, famine, and post-famine. When talking about reasons for immigration pre-famine, the author does indeed say it is a result of overpopulation following the Napoleonic Wars.

This book only talks about it from the perspective of available land and doesn't explicitly talk about food prices, as the Irish history books did. But I think it is still presenting the same picture. Basically, Ireland was becoming overpopulated and in an agricultural society, this means that there isn't enough land available for families to grow enough crops to make a living.

The Napoleonic Wars and the associated increased food prices meant that the reckoning of overpopulation and smaller and smaller plots of land could be postponed - in other words, families could divide up and pass on smaller plots of land but still make money to sustain themselves. But after the war, prices stagnated or declined and so suddenly farmers found their plots weren't enough to survive, or if they were, would not be enough to divide and pass on to their children.

Daniels says that emigration was the only solution to the overpopulation (since industry was nonexistent at the time). And he says that the people that left would have been low income, but not the poorest of the poor. If this is right, the Keenans were poor enough to want to leave, but not so poor that they couldn't afford to leave. So they sought out a new country with land aplenty.

Works Cited:
Coming to America (Second Edition): A History of Immigration and Ethnicity in American Life by Roger Daniels

We Remember: Helen Keenan (nee Leary)

Helen Keenan
Born: November 4, 1909, St. Lawrence County, NY
Died: May 1, 2004, St. Lawrence County, NY
Relation to Author: Grandmother

To me she was Grandma. When I was born, she was approaching her 71st birthday and would live to be 94. I was her 15th grandchild and though there were lots of us grandchildren, I never felt like she was bored of us by the time I came along. I knew she loved us and loved the times we visited. Though we lived six hours away, we visited probably 3 times each year, which meant we were able to know her pretty well.

I remember most her humor; she was easy to laugh although not goofy or silly. She enjoyed talking to us kids. She smoked in moderation - or should I say in secret, at least from the grandkids. And I remember her always working on a crossword. I also remember cards - playing cards was a serious but fun activity at grandma's house.

Two particular card game memories stand out. First, was a game with many of the grandkids - maybe around Grandma's 90th birthday. The game was so competitive, it resulted in one of us (I won't mention any names) using one of the more egregious curse words (I'll give you a hint, it starts with the letter 'f'.) Of course, grandma didn't flinch and laughed as all the grandkids - most of whom were well over 25 - held their breath.

The other game was with just grandma and my two siblings. We seemed to play all afternoon - so distracted were we that the sun set and we didn't turn on any lights. I could never remember the name of the game, but a quick internet search tells me it was Michigan Rummy. I still remember the green tray and the penny antes and the excitement when one of us collected a bit pot. And I remember that grandma was equally happy at our happiness.

While those two games stand out, there are countless others that blend together into general warm memories. She never turned down a game of war or poker. Grandma was sharp mentally until the end (though aging and sickness definitely weighed on her). She loved us, she was proud of us. And I sure miss her.

The Next Generation (No, Not Star Trek)

My goal for this blog is to blend genealogy and history - to write about family and the amazing lives each generation has lived. And this month, this family added another generation; Eamon, my son, was born. Let's talk a bit about the world he is entering.

Eamon was born, and will spend at least the first two years of his life, in New York City (born at Lenox Hill on the Upper East Side but will be living in Harlem). The Mayor is Michael Bloomberg, who is serving his third term - which is having some rough patches at the moment - and the Speaker of the City Council is Christine C. Quinn (Eamon's dad's boss). His Congressman is none other than the Harlem legend, Charles Rangel, who faced some ethics issues, but was re-elected in 2010. The governor is the newly-elected Andrew Cuomo.

At the national level, Barack Obama is president and since the Republican congressional victories in 2010, he has moved to the center and made some compromises. The big issue for discussion now (after health care legislation and financial reform were passed during Obama's first two years) is on long term budget deficits.

Internationally, the US bombed to protect citizens in Libya, is slowly leaving Iraq, and is starting to debate how much longer to stay in Afghanistan. The world is still reeling from a significant recession caused by excessive consumer debt and a housing bubble (in both Europe and the US). Israel and Palestine are no closer to a peace deal. But north Africa and the middle east are witnessing pro-democracy demonstrations.

The cover of the NY Times on Eamon's birthday covers the downfall of the president of the Ivory Coast and budget negotiations between Congress and the President. The National Geographic for his birth month talks about the Inca, a volcano in the Congo, ocean acidification, the High Line park in NYC, and Crimea.

The question is how much of this will be meaningful 20 years from now when (if) Eamon reads back on it. Will the democracy demonstrations have led to lasting change? Will history record a deal on long term budget deficits?

Politics aside, Eamon is also entering into a time of rapid - exponential even - improvements in technology. We now have smart phones replacing cell phones; we have the iPad, the Nook and the Kindle. Digital cameras get smaller and add new features (Eamon's mom's SLR camera is already obsolete) and personal computers get faster.

We also talk a bit about occupations on this blog. And as far as I can tell, his options are unlimited. While many generations back, all we see is agriculture, more recently there is good variety. His grandparents occupations include: a doctor, lawyer / judge, engineer, and librarian. His aunts and uncles occupations include lawyers or technology. And his parents are a teacher and a government policy analyst.

This is an exciting time, and we look forward most to just getting to know him, but also to seeing how he interacts in this world.

The Youngest, But Also the First

Bernard Keenan
Born: November 7, 1829, Hogansburg, New York
Died: April 8, 1891, Hogansburg, New York
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grandfather

Bernard Keenan was the first of my direct Keenan ancestors to be born in the United States. He was the youngest of John Keenan and Elizabeth Hammill's 9 children. John and Elizabeth were both born in County Antrim, Ireland and of their children, 5 were born in Ireland and the other 4 were born after the family emigrated from Ireland in 1821.

As the first in my direct Keenan line born in New York, I think it is worth considering the world he was born into. In 1829, Andrew Jackson was sworn in as president and the next year would sign the Indian Removal Act, sending Native American tribes east of the Mississippi to west of the river. Four years before Bernard's birth the Erie Canal opened, connecting the interior of the country (great lakes region) to the port cities of the east coast.

So Bernard is born during a period of transition. The American Revolution and War of 1812 are long behind and the Civil War is more than 30 years away. And while there was seemingly enough land for John Keenan's family in upstate New York, clearly there were enough land troubles in other parts of the country to make the Indian Removal Act popular.

We Remember

I want this blog to be about more than dates and names, census records and pedigree charts. I want it to be about the lives people lived and the events they participated in. As such, I think it is fitting that on anniversaries of the deaths of our loved ones, we write about who that person was. So look for the We Remember feature on the blog.

And please, if you want to contribute a guest post about someone in our family (this includes Cheney, Keenan, Blake, Eisenberg and all associated lineages), let me know; it would make a welcome addition to the blog.

Bowling Alone? Not Barry Leary

Barry D. Leary
B: March 2, 1912, St. Lawrence County, NY
D: November, 29 1969, St. Lawrence County, NY
Relation to Author: Grand Uncle
Brother to Helen Keenan (nee Leary)

Robert Putnam, a professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School, achieved some widespread fame for a book called Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. The thesis, which you can read more about in this article, was that civic participation has been declining. Enrollment in everything from Elks Clubs to bowling leagues was/is down, with no corresponding increase in modern civic groups.

Say what you will about the thesis and the data backing it up, but what we can say is that Barry Leary would be a great anecdote to prove Professor Putnam's point. His obituary lists the following (in addition to his full time job as a Electricity Planner for Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation):

- Communicant in the St. Lawrence Catholic Church
- President of Northern New York Volunteer Fire Chiefs Association
- First Assistant Chief, North Lawrence Volunteer Fire Company
- Member of the Advisory Board of the Civil Defense of St. Lawrence County
- Area Representative, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation Credit Union
- Board of Directors, McCavanaugh Hunting Club
- Director, Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce
- Member, Holy Name Society, St. Lawrence Catholic Church
- Honorary Member, Potsdam Volunteer Fire Department
- Past Exalted Ruler of the Malone Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks

It is an impressive list. Where did he find the time? Especially considering he died, sadly, at the relatively young age of 57. Looking at the list and summarizing, we can say he was actively involved in the church, volunteer fire fighting, hunting, and brotherhood / charity (Elks).

The question to my readers is this: do you prove Putman's point or refute it? In other words, are you a joiner?

Should I Pay $100 for My History?

I stumbled across this the other day: National Geographic has the Genographic Project to research the human journey. It includes a kit you can purchase to test your DNA and get a long term genealogical history. The website has this to say:

Your results will reveal your deep ancestry along a single line of direct descent (paternal or maternal) and show the migration paths they followed thousands of years ago. Your results will also place you on a particular branch of the human family tree.

I can't decide if I should get the kit. The problem is that the kit costs $100. However, it could tell me some fascinating things about my past, which I would of course share.

I'll probably end up getting the kit; it is too tough to resist. But I'll wait until the money I spent on the Ancestry website is further behind me. After all, the next generation of Cheney / Keenan / Eisenberg / Blake etc is on the way and I need to conserve my resources a little better.

Grant's One Regret, Justice Cheney's One Life

Justice (or Justus) Cheney
DOB: May 11, 1835, Hopkinton, NY
D: June 3, 1864, Cold Harbor, VA
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle
Brother of 2nd great grandfather, Jesse Cheney

In a previous post I noted that Grant said his one regret was the early assault at Cold Harbor. I also said that Justice Cheney was wounded at Cold Harbor and died from his wounds. What wasn't clear at the time was whether Justice was part of that attack. I now know that in fact he was - and at the very front.

In this diagram, from Cold Harbor: Grant and Lee, May 26-June 3, 1864 by Gordon C. Rhea, we see only the forces that were part of the early morning June 3rd attack. And if you look closely, you can see "7NYHA" out in front of all others on the Union side (right). That is Justice's regiment - the Seventh New York Heavy Artillery.

Just let that sink in. Justice Cheney, the author's 2nd Great Grand Uncle, was in the regiment in the very front of the attack that lost so many lives and years later would be Grant's one regret. And this wasn't a grizzled veteran; he had joined the regiment just one month earlier.


I plan to read Rhea's book (he is considered the preeminent historian on Grant's Overland campaign and therefore the book the authoritative account of Cold Harbor). I have seen enough on Google books to know that there is good information on the Seventh NY Heavy Artillery. I will summarize in future posts.

She was WAC

Catherine (Kay) Leary
Born: 10/7/1907, North Lawrence, NY
Died: 2/29/1988, North Lawrence, NY
Relation to Author: Grand Aunt (mother’s side)
Sister to Helen Keenan (nee: Leary)

Over 150,000 American women served in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) during World War II. Members of the WAC were the first women other than nurses to serve within the ranks of the United States Army.*

Before starting this project, I knew very little about Catherine Leary beyond fuzzy but happy memories of games of Go-Fish with Aunt Kay-Kay. I may have remembered that she had been a teacher, but I certainly did not know that she had served in the Women’s Army Corps.

As America prepared for World War II, leaders in government debated about how women could best aide the war effort. During World War I, women supported the effort overseas - mostly as nurses. Many complained though that women lacked official status and therefore basic protections afforded to men working overseas; women had to secure their own quarters, were not afforded legal protection or medical care, and upon returning home received no disability benefits or pension.

Unfortunately, when Congress passed a bill creating a role for women in World War II - the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) - it did not afford women legal protection, benefits, or overseas pay. And it created the Corps as a separate entity to work with the army. Even this bill was controversial though, stirring debate about whether women should be encouraged to leave the home. The bill easily passed in the House but received a close vote in the Senate (38-27). The bill was signed into law in May of 1942.

But as the war progressed, the role of women and the WAAC would change and women would receive the protections they sought. Legislation would change the WAAC to the WAC - from a separate unit to work with the Army, to a unit of reserve forces and part of the Army of the United States (AUS) in July of 1943, to a part of the United States Army in 1946. The WAC lasted until 1978 when it was finally disbanded and women entered basic training with men.

Catherine Leary joined the effort on March 20, 1943, just before legislation changing the WAAC to the WAC. All WAAC women were given the option of transitioning to WAC or leaving. While 25 percent returned home, Kay and a very many others stayed on.

Kay joined at the age of 35. By that time, she had a Masters degree and had been a teacher for 13 years. This made her significantly older than the average WAC volunteer who was 25 years old, but more educated since most had high school diplomas (most of the first officers were college educated). As many women, especially the most educated, were teachers at the time, this was one of the groups the WAC sought to recruit from.

Originally, the roles for women were mostly clerical, but would expand to include a list almost too long to name but included, “weather observers and forecasters, cryptographers, radio operators and repairmen, sheet metal workers, parachute riggers, link trainer instructors, bombsight maintenance specialists, aerial photograph analysts, and control tower operators,” to name a few. They also served in most theatres, including “North Africa, the Mediterranean, Europe, the Southwest Pacific, China, India, Burma, and the Middle East.”

In later posts, we’ll hope to explore Kay’s actual roles in the WAC (through oral history and personnel records) as well as where she served.

Sources:
*THE WOMEN'S ARMY CORPS: A COMMEMORATION OF WORLD WAR II SERVICE, By Judith A. Bellafaire, CMH Publication 72-15. http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/wac/wac.htm

Picatinny: Family Job Machine

Margaret Paulus (nee Williams) b. 1887; d. 1972
Russel Shultz b. 1909; d. 2007
Edna Shultz (nee Paulus) b.1911; d. 1995
Frederick Paulus, Jr. b.1913 d. 1984
Margaret Paulus (nee Webber) b. 1915; d. 2002
Alvin Paulus b. 1915 d. 1995
Bruce Cheney b. 1917
Elizabeth Cheney (nee Paulus) b. 1919; d. 2009


What do the above 8 people have in common? Besides being family, they all worked at Picatinny Arsenal in Morris County, New Jersey. Of the Paulus family - parents (Margaret and Friedrich) and their four children and their spouses - only two did not work at Picatinny Arsenal (Friedrich Paulus; and Lee Paulus, nee Vanoli - married to Alvin Paulus).

Picatinny Arsenal, founded in 1880 as a powder depot (starting in 1749 it was used as a forge and during the Revolutionary War was manned by Hessian prisoners and served the Continental Army), the Arsenal would become a major location for munitions storage, production, development, and training. During its height in World War II, when my ancestors worked there, the arsenal employed 20,000 people.

You'll notice that 4 of the above mentioned are women, and Picatinny hired 10,000 women. In fact, it was one of the first plants to use women for tasks such as, "machine operators, smokeless powder workers and carpenters."

While ultimately the work would prove safe, the explosion of 1926, which killed 19 people, injured 38 others, and destroyed all buildings within 3,000 feet, must have made workers 15 years later a little nervous.

The explosion was caused by a lightning strike to one of the magazines that stored 670,000 pounds of munition which then caused a second magazine with 1,600,000 pounds of TNT to explode. Damage was estimated at $1,265,000 and the WPA would spend $2,953,920 to rebuild during the 1930s. Congress would authorize another $8 million during World War II and in 1945 another $7 million.

In future posts we'll learn what our relatives did at the Arsenal, starting with the matriarch, Margaret Paulus (nee Williams). And we'll see that some worked there longer than others.

Sources:
Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey; Images of America Series. by John W. Rae, Aracdia Publishing, Charleston, SC. 1999.

A Marriage in World War II?

Bruce Judson Cheney
Born: October 28, 1917, Dover, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Grandfather

Elizabeth (Betty) Charlotte Paulus
Born: November 23, 1919
Died: December 16, 2009, Randolph, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Grandmother

Marriage: May 23, 1943

This won't be a long post. I just find it interesting to know that Betty Paulus and Bruce Cheney (aka Nana and PopPop) were married during World War II. As my very smart wife says, life goes on. And that is good to know.

It is good to know that people were still getting married despite the uncertainty of the war at that time - the allied invasion of France (D-Day) was one year away and in the Pacific the battle of Midway, a turning point, was one year passed but getting to victory against Japan was a long and hard two years away.

While one might say that American civilian and military deaths were far less than European and Asian countries, it still must have been a trying time. I'm glad there was still time for those at home to live their lives.

I expect to spend a good deal of time on World War II, since it directly impacted many of our ancestors. In future posts, I'll look to learn and write about the people that stayed home and those that served and what their world was like.

Trusting in God Persevere

I bought a key chain in Belfast (which I still use) with the Keenan coat of arms. It says the following on the back about the origins of the name Keenan:

This is the anglicised version of the Gaelic MacFhionnain meaning "son of Fhionnain" from "Fionn" meaning "fair". The census of 1659 lists the variant MacKeenan as a principla name in the barony of Ardee, Co. Louth. Some were historians to the MacGuires of Fermanagh between 1345 and 1508. The motto for Keenan is "Trusting in God persevere".

I don't know much faith to put in this, since it is a key chain from a tourist spot in Belfast (where we found info on a fantastic black cab tour). But then again, it does seem to track pretty closely to something else my uncle found. And I like the idea that we were historians.

Hail to the Chief - the Physician-in-Chief

Francis Gilman Blake
Born: February 22, 1887, Mansfield Valley, Pennsylvania
Died: February 1, 1952, Washington, DC
Relation to Author: Great Grandfather In-Law

Learning about an ancestor - or in this case your wife's ancestor - is made much easier when someone else has already done the research and synthesized it for you. Such is the case with Francis Gilman Blake. So esteemed was he that the National Academy of Sciences published a "biographical memoir" of Dr. Blake (available here to download as a pdf). After reading it, I understand why.

His curriculum vitae is almost three pages long, but here are some of the highlights:
- 1913 M.D. Harvard Medical School
- 1918-1919 World War I, Active Duty - Pneumonia Commission
- 1921-1951 Chairman, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine
- 1941-1947 Dean, Yale University School of Medicine
- 1941-1946 Consultant to the Secretary of War and President of the Board for the Investigation and Control of Influenza and other Epidemic Diseases
- 1943 World War II expedition to New Guinea to study scrub typhus fever
- 1946 Awarded United States of America Medal for Merit, the highest civilian honor, for work on scrub typhus fever

Although all the accolades and achievements listed above are amazing, the real beauty of the biography is how much we can learn about Dr. Blake as a person (information I lack when looking at most other ancestors). The author says Dr. Blake was a very talented clinician, clinical investigator, teacher and administrator. The memoir gives examples of how he excelled in each of these areas and I plan to explore that more in another post.

As I am undertaking this genealogical research, I see that there are a few different categories of historical individuals. First, there are the many people that participate and make their small but meaningful contributions to their world. Second, there are the very few that receive recognition (fairly or not) for major impacts on their world. Finally, there are those that make a major impact on their world but receive less recognition. Dr. Blake falls into this last category.

In future posts, I will explore Dr. Blake's abilities as a teacher, administrator and clinician. I will also delve into his role during the Pandemic Influenza of 1919 and his role in the overall expansion of our knowledge of infectious diseases.

It's Not What You Think

John Keenan
Born: 1784, Cross Keys, Country Antrim, Ireland
Died: 1871, Hogansburg, St. Lawrence County, New York, USA
Relationship to the author: 3rd great grandfather

The Keenans – the author’s maternal grandfather's line – came to America in 1821 from County Antrim in Northern Ireland. As this is 20 years before the potato famine, it begs the question as to why they made the trip when they did.

If we look at Irish history – particularly history of Ireland in the north (Ulster) – we know that much of the legal discrimination against Irish Catholics was in the past by 1821. The laws that punished Irish Catholics from the early 1700s (the Act of Settlement, the Penal Laws, and Preventing Growth of the Popery) were reversed in the late 1700s (Catholic Relief Acts). Although there was still not full political participation, things seemed to be looking up.

In addition, there was no major violence to speak of right around that time. There was violence aplenty in the 1600s as Britain fought to bring all of Ireland under control and after as Ireland tried to free itself, culminating in The Battle of the Boyne (1690), but that is well behind them. The rebellion of 1798 by Lord Edward Fitzgerald in Dublin had an parallel effort in County Antrim led by Henry Jo McCracken. Both rebellions were defeated and left 30,000 dead. But that was 20 years prior to John Keenan and family leaving Ireland.

If we accept that it wasn’t discrimination or war, then what was it?

Emigration to the United States around 1820 was light compared to what it would be during and after the potato famine. In 1821 only 1,518 Irish left for the United States. Although that number would have an annual peak in the 1820s of over 12,000 (1828), this pales in comparison to the more than 37,000 that would leave Ireland in 1841 or the 221,000 in 1851.

So what led the family to leave with such a small number of Irish that year? The best bet is the search for more farmland. Ireland was seeing rapid population growth starting in 1770 of roughly 12 percent per decade. This was putting a strain on the limited land available. For the first fifteen years of the 19th century, farmers could divide land to their heirs without losing money as the Napoleonic Wars kept demand for grains high which lead to steadily increasing prices. When the Napoleonic Wars ended, prices stagnated or fell. This meant parents could not divide their land among their children and might find it hard to survive on the land they currently had.

America on the other hand had plenty of land in 1820. It won a war of independence then survived some growing pains by enacting a new Constitution (1787), bought land from Napoleon to expand west of the Mississippi River (1803), and fought a second war with Britain (War of 1812) whereby they maintained independence and pre-war borders. In 1820, America was settling down and there was no obvious violence expected in the immediate future (and as we know nothing would happen until 1860).

With land disappearing in Ireland and opening up in America, it makes sense that some Irish decided to emigrate. It is interesting to think that our ancestors were part of that small group (50,000 total during the 1820s) that left before things would get really bad.

In future posts, we’ll spend some more time looking at life in Northern Ireland before the Keenans left. We can look more at Elizabeth’s armies conquering Ireland, King James’ actions following that, and the hated Oliver Cromwell. We’ll also look at the Keenans’ life in New York after their arrival.

Justice at Cold Harbor

Justice (or Justus) Cheney
DOB: May 11, 1835, Hopkinton, NY
D: June 3, 1864, Cold Harbor, VA
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle, brother of 2nd great grandfather Jesse Cheney

Justice Cheney was born and lived in the north country of New York State – Hopkinton, St. Lawrence County, NY. The census of 1860 list Justice living with his parents and working as a farm laborer. On December 18, 1863, at the age of 28, he enlisted in the Civil War and on December 29, 1863 he mustered out from Malone, NY.

On May 9, 1964 Justice joined Company G, 7th Regiment, NY Heavy Artillery. The records of Justice's service after joining are incomplete, but the US Army concluded that he did not live a month after joining the company. The army has concluded that Justice Cheney died from injuries suffered at Cold Harbor on June 3, 1864.

The battle of Cold Harbor came 3 years after the beginning of the war and 10 months before Lee’s surrender at Appomattox (April 9, 1865) and Lincoln’s assassination (April 14, 1865). At this point in the war, General Grant, newly installed as General-in-Chief of the United States Army that spring, was trying to get around Lee’s right flank (Both Armies were in Virginia - with Lee’s army facing the Atlantic Ocean and Grant’s army facing the western United States), so he could destroy Lee’s army, then move on to Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, and end the war.

Grant fought the battles at Wilderness, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, then Cold Harbor – collectively known as Grant’s Overland Campaign – with this goal in mind. Grant was not successful and after Cold Harbor, both forces moved on and met at Petersburg. Here, both sides dug in and fought for 10 months. The trenches at Petersburg would be a preview for World War I.

It is often noted that more Americans died during the American Civil War than in any other conflict – which considering the magnitude of losses during more modern wars illustrates just how bloody our civil war was.

Cold Harbor stands out to me as one of bloodier battles in a very bloody war (estimated casualties for all 12 days are as many as 15,000 for Union Army and as many as 5,000 for the Confederate Army*). In Cold Harbor, the confederates were dug in. They say Grant threw three corps at the Confederates in seven minutes. In those seven minutes the confederates shot 7,000 men (this number is disputed by Rhea**).

Ward’s Civil War book notes that the charge at the beginning of Cold Harbor was the only mistake Grant admitted to. “If I had it to do over again, I don’t believe I’d make that charge at Cold Harbor," said Grant***.

It is not uncommon to hear that soldiers had a sense of foreboding before battles that would turn out to be devastating in the Civil War. Both Civil War and Atlas of the Civil War say soldiers at Cold Harbor felt that foreboding and pinned notes to their backs so they could be identified and family notified.

Apparently Justice never did this since the record on him is a bit unclear. The company muster rolls for the summer of 1964 have Justice marked as absent starting at the end of June. One roll marks him as injured, another notes that he was missing since Cold Harbor. The Roster for the 7th Artillery Regiment says Justice was injured at Cold Harbor and then absent during future rolls. The army concluded, and reasonably so far as I can tell, that Justice died from injuries sustained at Cold Harbor.

Thanks to Gordon C. Rhea’s book Cold Harbor: Grant and Lee, May 26-June 3, 1864, we know a good deal about the New York 7th Heavy Artillery Regiment’s role in the battle on June 3. In future posts, we’ll explore that role in the overall thrust of the battle. After that, we’ll look to see what that regiment did before Cold Harbor.

*The Civil War Battlefield Guide, Second Edition. Kennedy, Frances H. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 1998.
**Cold Harbor; Grant and Lee, May 26-June3, 1864 by Gordon C. Rhea. Louisiana State University Press, 2002.
***Civil War; An Illustrated History by Geoffrey C. Ward. Alfred A. Knopf, Publisher, New York.

Three Cheney Brothers and the End of the American Civil War

Justice (or Justus) Cheney
DOB: May 11, 1835 (or 1839), Hopkinton, NY
Deceased: June 3, 1864
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle

Judson Cheney
DOB: May 11, 1838, Hopkinton, NY
Deceased: September 29, 1864
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle

Jesse Cheney
DOB: May 7, 1849 (or 1848), Hopkinton, NY
Deceased: October 1, 1929
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grandfather

In the Spring of 1864 the American Civil War was in its last year and three Cheney men (you’ll see that I use the term men loosely – one was still a boy) played their part. Before I get to each man in subsequent posts, and their specific lives (and deaths) in the war, I want to set the stage for the last year of the war.

In the previous year (1863), Lee’s Army of Virginia invaded the north and was soundly defeated at Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863). He retreated to Virginia where there were smaller battles around the Rapidan River in the fall of 1863. In March of 1864, President Lincoln made Ulysses S. Grant General-in-Chief of the United States Army.

The fighting in 1864 – that the Cheneys would contribute to – continued around Virginia as Grant sought to capture Richmond and finally defeat Lee. In the spring and summer, Grant tried to get around Lee’s flank. In the fall, and through the winter and following spring of 1865, the two armies would settle into trench warfare around Petersburg, Virginia before Lee’s final surrender in April of 1865.

Grant earned the reputation of a butcher – of a general that cared little about the lives of his soldiers and would use the North’s troop advantage to win the war - in part due to the battles of 1864. Whether this is fair or not, it is true that there was much bloodshed in 1864 as the war finally moved to its conclusion.

As we will see in future posts, two Cheneys died in this last year (one in the flanking campaign and one in the trenches) and one entered the war late and was present for Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse.

President Lincoln, in his second inaugural address (March 4, 1865), reflected on the bloodshed during the war:

Fondly do we hope -- fervently do we pray -- that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."

He spoke these words one month before Lee surrendered and five weeks before his own assassination. The war was soon to pass away. But two Cheneys were already dead.

I wonder if you agree with Lincoln; I’m not sure I do. Were His judgments true and righteous? Maybe society as a whole – even those that opposed it – should pay for such a terrible scourge as slavery. Maybe. Or maybe people that did not own slaves (this includes Union as well as many Confederate soldiers) or did not condone slavery should not have had to give their blood by the sword to repay the blood drawn by the lash.

Whether it was fair, just, or righteous, that was in fact what happened. Two Cheneys died – and many hundreds of thousands more. They paid with their blood and thus ended a horrible institution.

In future posts, we’ll learn more about each of the Cheneys – how they lived and how they died. We’ll learn where they came from, and which battles they fought in.

Oh How They Lived

Welcome. I have started this blog to celebrate my (our) ancestors. I believe that all of us, and all of those before us, have lived miraculous lives and done things that are amazing and interesting. Though few of us are descended from prominent figures like John Adams, Frederick Douglass, or Eleanor Roosevelt, everyone has contributed to the events of their times and their stories are fascinating. My goal is to do some research (or perhaps more often, use the research of others) and tell the stories of my ancestors.

The idea for this blog came from hearing some of the oral history of my family and seeing bits and pieces of the genealogy that my father and my uncles (maternal and paternal) collected. With each story I heard and each record I saw, my thirst for more information grew. I was getting a glimpse, but I wanted a full picture.

For example, I have a grand uncle that was a monsignor in the Catholic Church. But I don’t know what exactly what that means – what authority did he have and what things did he do?

In another example, I know the battles in which my relatives died during the Civil War. But I don’t know what other battles they fought in and where those battles fit in the overall thrust of the war.

I also realize that there is so much that my relatives did that I don’t even know about yet. I only recently learned, as I started this project, that my grand aunt was in the Women’s Army Corps. But I don’t know what she did, nor do I know anything about the Women’s Army Corps.

And then beyond individuals and individual events, I don’t know a lot about the world people lived in. What was Ireland like when my ancestors came over to America? What were my great grandparents’ lives like?

So I have embarked on a research project to fill in the gaps between what I know, and what else I want to know to get a fuller picture. I will learn by reading what my father and uncles have already found and searching for new information. I will also read about the historical events around those records. Finally, I will ask you all to tell me what you know and remember.

As I go along and learn, I will publish short pieces about our ancestors on this blog. I recognize that wading through 1920s census records is not everyone’s idea of a good time. I hope that by telling an interesting story, I can make genealogy more accessible to everyone in the family.

So thank you for joining me on this project. I only hope that I can inform and entertain you – and do justice to the amazing lives our ancestors lived. They struggled, they celebrated, and oh how they lived.