Margaret's missing middle name

It was many years ago that I learned the name of my great-grandmother, Margaret Tierney. Although I first spelled it wrong on the paper pedigree chart after questioning my grandfather about the names of his parents and grandparents, it was exciting as a budding new genealogist (and quite a young lady) to add another new surname to my family tree. This one had such a nice Irish ring to it.

It would be many years later before I would learn Margaret's middle name. Vital records, cemetery records, obituaries, and other resources provided me with only her first name or her first name and middle initial "H". But although I made many guesses, I was no closer to finding out Margaret's middle name - until I read it in the newspaper!

Thanks to the help of a friendly librarian in the town where Margaret and her husband were married, I found a newspaper announcement about their wedding in 1911. There in the Quincy Patriot Ledger, was Margaret's long-missing middle name!


The announcement reads:

"Miss Margaret Helen Tierney and George William McCue were united in marriage on Wednesday evening at St. John's Parochial residence, Quincy by the pastor the Rev. John J. Coan. The bride was attended by Miss Katherine Berry of Braintree and the best man was John T. McVay of Boston. A reception followed at the home of the bride's mother, Mrs. Katherine Tierney on Gay Street, Quincy. Mr. and Mrs. McCue left on a two weeks trip to New York, Philadelphia and Washington. On their return they will reside at 11 Leslie street, Dorchester."

How exciting to finally find Margaret's middle name, not to mention all the news about the beginning of my great-grandparents' married life together: wedding party, reception, honeymoon, and all!

This article has been contributed to the "I read it in the news!" edition of the Carnival of Genealogy hosted by Jasia of Creative Gene.

Getting to know "A light that shines again"

It has been more than a year since I began sharing my family history on my three blogs: my Irish side of the family here at A light that shines again (with an emphasis on my Boston and Quincy, Massachusetts immigrant ancestors) and Small-leaved Shamrock (with an emphasis on my Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania roots) and my Hungarian/Croatian side of the family at 100 Years in America.

Read Getting to Know “100 Years in America” for a little more background on me and my interest in family history.

Here at A light that shines again the focus is about my Tierney, McCue and related families; the history of the Boston Irish; and Ireland itself, particularly County Tipperary. I have a special interest in the Great Famine of the mid-19^th-century since my Boston-Irish immigrant ancestors’ lives were impacted so greatly by that painful time in Irish history. I began this blog to focus on these aspects of Irish and Irish-American history, and my family’s story in particular. Their “sacred memories” are what inspires me to continue to write, as Christopher Pearce Cranch wrote so poetically:

“…Nor less should we forget the worthy sons
And daughters who through centuries lived and died
Unknown to fame. The muse of history shuns
Their buried records. Gathered side by side
In yonder burial ground, they leave no signs
Save in half-obliterated lines
That tell their birth, their death. Yet not in vain,
Fathers and mothers, were your humble lives;
Each in its turn an influence that survives,
A light that shines again
In sacred memories, and in hearths and homes,
Vital as greater names that gild historic tomes…”

To get a further introduction to A light that shines again, you might enjoy reading the following. Inspired by Terry Thornton's "Getting to Know You" challenge, I've listed what I've chosen as the "brightest", "breeziest" and "most beautiful" articles here at A light that shines again.

Brightest (my best work): "The city where a century ago he came unwanted, he has made his own..."

Breeziest (best light-hearted article): Sad news: there is "no Irish at me"

Most beautiful: The death of memory

I choose not to write too much about myself on my various family history blogs. The preservation of the stories of my family's deeper history is usually my focus. However, you can learn a little more about me at The view from my corner of the world. Thanks for reading. I appreciate your comments, so please write!

"September Surprise": Hurricanes in history

I was amazed to hear that the remnants of Hurricane Ike (which devastated much of Galveston and Houston, Texas and surrounding areas last week and is still causing havoc), had also caused deaths, damage and power outages as far as Ohio.

Then, I read about the "September Surprise" hurricane of 1938 which buffeted New England, bringing 121 mile an hour winds to the Boston area and causing at least 600 deaths. It seems not too many Americans are safe from hurricanes.

To all those who suffered loss from Hurricane Ike and/or are still dealing with frustrations caused by lack of electrical power, here's a reminder that you are not alone. It is startling to learn how many have suffered greatly from hurricanes over the course of history, particularly before the advent of modern forecasting methods. Here's hoping that you will all be moving swiftly on the road to recovery very soon.

To read more about the hurricane of 1938, see Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities' Mass Moments Hurricane Devastates New England: September 21, 1938, PBS American Experience's The Hurricane of '38, or The Long Island Express: The Great Hurricane of 1938. Midge Frazel also has a webpage of resources for educators entitled Failure to Predict: The Lessons of the Great Hurricane of 1938.

For an interesting look at the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, see Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History. You might also be interested in the Galveston County Daily News' website The 1900 Storm.

Set some goals for your Irish family tree

Fall is fast approaching. It's that time of year again: a time for fresh starts and new beginnings.

Plan to join us for the Back to School edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture. It's less than two weeks away!

Here are the details:

Have Irish heritage in your family history? Make a plan to further investigate the Irish side of your family tree and share your goals with us. Here are some ideas:

• Work back a few more generations on one branch of your Irish family tree


• Find naturalization papers that give the county of origin for an immigrant ancestor


• Find the townland in Ireland where your immigrant ancestor was born


• Get in touch with other relatives who share the same Irish genealogy

Instead of (or in addition to) focusing on genealogy, want to learn more about Irish heritage or culture in general? Choose a topic or task that interests you, and let us know how you plan to learn more about it this coming year. Give one of these a try:

• Take up Irish baking


• Learn more about and enjoy Celtic music


• Take up or set out to watch Irish dance


• Learn the Irish language


• Plan a trip to Ireland or a place where Irish culture resides

Set some goals for the new school year and share them with us, whether you've begun working on them or not. Hopefully we will all inspire eachother in our quest for Irish family history and in our attempts to make the culture of Ireland more a part of our lives.

Don't forget to share your plans with us by Monday, September 22 in order to be included in the 8th edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture. The carnival will be published Thursday, September 25.

Never participated in a blog carnival before? For a step-by-step tutorial, see Miriam Robbins Midkiff's How to Submit a Post to a Carnival on the Bootcamp for Genea-Bloggers blog.

Boston Archdiocesan Archives to reopen January 2009

If you're researching your Catholic ancestors in the Boston area and are in a hurry for records from the Archives of the Archdiocese of Boston, you're out of luck. The archives will be closed temporarily while relocating from Brighton to Braintree. Limited services will resume by January 5, 2009. For updated information, see the Archdiocese of Boston Archives webpage.