A Crime to be Catholic, Part 1

It's no secret that the Catholic Irish and Protestant English/Irish have been butting heads for centuries, but I really didn't understand the depth of the persecution until very recently. Heck, I most likely still don't grasp it fully, but I did receive a bit of a wake up.

For Lent I made the pledge to recite my rosary daily.  I have a very old family rosary that was passed on to me (which I blogged about previously), and this was the rosary that I would use to pray. I really didn't know much about it apart from that it was passed down through our ancestor William Quirk.  It was obviously hand-carved and the date 1816 was carved into the back.  There had been some various people that tried to help me discover the origins of the rosary, but as I didn't even know the origins within Ireland of William Quirk, I have had to take everything with a grain of salt.  Placing the rosary in a specific location doesn't lock in where William is from, but it could be a clue.  Either way, I still didn't know much about it.

So I typed in "19th century Irish rosary" into a Google search and came to a site called the RosaryWorkshop.com.  There as I scrolled down the page was a crucifix that looked almost exactly like mine...including a carved date on the back!

It was called a Penal Cross, so the first thing I thought of (before reading just a little further) was "Did this mean one of my ancestors was a criminal?"  Talk about adding some spice to my Irish line!  The answer was no...and yes.  An explanation, because heaven knows I needed one!

I have no proof that William Quirk or any of his family were criminals, but they were guilty of criminal actions.  What were their crimes?  They were Catholic, and apparently this at one point, became a crime punishable by death.  They couldn't pray openly so they prayed in secret and this is where the Penal Cross comes into play.

A Penal Cross was usually attached to a chaplet (one decade of a rosary) and a metal ring on the opposite end.  The ring would be slipped over the person's thumb and the Penal Cross and chaplet were concealed up the person's sleeve.  They would pray a decade of the rosary and then move the ring from their thumb to their index finger and then so on as they completed each decade.  This is how they kept track of where they were in their prayers.  The Penal Cross was designed with shortened "arms" of the cross because if they were any longer they would break off.

Many of these Penal Crosses/Chaplets were purchased during a pilgrimage to Lough Derg in County Donegal and the date on the back of the cross was to indicate the year of the pilgrimage. I don't know if this goes for all Penal Crosses and my research is certainly incomplete.  I would find it difficult to believe that these crosses only were received/purchased if you made a pilgrimage.

Some differences with my rosary and the chaplets I've found...well, my obviously Penal Cross doesn't have the symbols that often come on the front of the crucifix.  This doesn't mean that it wasn't a Penal Cross (it obviously is...at least obviously to me) but it's not "typical".  Also on the back of the cross I do have a cross carved onto the top of an "H" and then the date, but the "IHS" is not there...just the "H" and frankly it doesn't appear that the "I" and the "S" were worn off.  My Penal Cross is attached to a 5-decade rosary...not a chaplet and it is missing a center and the first 5 beads that should be just above the cross.  I have no idea why it's different.

So more mysteries attached to the rosary.  While I didn't concretely locate it's origins, it did open my eyes to what my ancestors had gone through.  While on RosaryWorkshop.com I read the following and tears ran down my face:

"In 1726 the Lord Chancellor, Richard West, declared that: 'The law does not suppose any such person to exist as an Irish Roman Catholic'.  The right to vote was removed from Catholics by act of Parliament in 1727.  Other Penal Laws included the closure of Catholic schools (which forced education of Catholics underground) and the barring of Catholics from entering a profession, the army, or attending Catholic worship - however they were required to attend Anglican service." (http://www.rosaryworkshop.com/MUSEUM-Hunt-Penal-Rosaries.html)

I knew there was hatred, and I knew that the majority of the Irish Catholics were the poorest and worked the land.  That the rents were raised and they were run off the land and left without means to exist, but I didn't realize that through legal means that it had made it illegal to be Catholic and to force them to even pray in a church not their own.  I gripe about my church often enough (especially right now with the whole birth control garbage going on), but this really made me appreciate how strongly my family had to have felt about their faith.  They were persecuted for it and gosh darn it they weren't going to give in.  No English-made law was going to keep them from their faith.

Even though this rosary isn't a Penal Chaplet, the Penal Cross on it reminds me of what they went through to keep their faith despite great odds.  Somehow saying my prayers on this rosary has taken on a deeper meaning.

UPDATE:
Since I originally began writing this post, I have been in contact with some wonderful people at Lough Derg.  Lough Derg made my week by telling me that this is indeed a Lough Derg Penal Cross.  You can be sure that I will be putting a pilgrimage on my to-do list when I get to finally visit Ireland!  Thank you, thank you, thank you to Prior Mohan and Maureen!  If you would like to find out more information about Lough Derg you can check out their website by clicking here.  You can also LIKE them on Facebook here!

Follow Friday - Impressions of My Soul

A dear friend of mine just started a blog.  It's not a genealogy blog, but it's awesome nonetheless!  Shel has such a wonderful and positive outlook on life and her blog is sure to lift your spirits! Please head on over and check out Impressions of My Soul and follow and support a new blogger!

I guarantee that you will be inspired!

Those Places Thursday - Pilgrimages to Lambeau Field

The Atrium entrance to Lambeau

It sounds silly, I mean no one is going to Lambeau Field to worship or anything, but to Packers fans from all over, getting to Lambeau Field is a pretty big deal.  Getting season tickets, well, that's a huge deal.

The Green Bay Packers have an extraordinary history, heck the trophy awarded to the Super Bowl winner is named after former Green Bay Packer coach, Vince Lombardi.  Lombardi is looked at as an inspiration to football fans and players everywhere.  Heck, one of my nephews is named Vincent if that tells you about Packer love!

One of the many businesses with Packer pride

I’ve been to Lambeau several times.  My husband is originally from Green Bay and every time we go home to visit a trip to Lambeau Field is on the schedule (and a Packer game if they’re playing).  Green Bay exudes Packers.  Almost every business has something Packer in the store and Packer gear among kids and adults alike is a clothing staple.

Want to go to a Packers home game?  Well, unless you know someone with season tickets or find a dealer authorized to sell tickets for season ticket holders that aren’t going to the game that weekend, you’re pretty much out of luck.  The Packers games have been sold out since 1960.  So if you want to go and live in the vicinity, best sign up for season tickets, but…

Getting season tickets is no easy matter.  You will wait decades, or even your entire life without getting season tickets.  It used to be that you could will someone your place on the waiting list if you died, but no more.  Luckily, you can still will your tickets to someone so it’s possible to keep them in the family!

In front of Lambeau with Benjamin

 To illustrate how long it takes, and how important it is, to get season tickets, after our first son was born we flew to Wisconsin from Hawaii to have Benjamin baptized in my husband’s church…and then we drove to Lambeau Field and put his name on the waiting list for season tickets.  After our second son was born, we drove from Tennessee to Pennsylvania to have Daniel baptized in my church and then a few days later drove to Wisconsin to see family…and to go to Lambeau and put his name on the waiting list for season tickets.  Benjamin was born in 2001 and his number on the waiting list the last we checked is 47560.  Daniel was born in 2006 and his number is 68529.

I mentioned earlier that almost all stores have something cheering the Packers on inside, but lets talk about the city.  The McDonalds restaurants are GREEN & GOLD!!! 

A Green Bay McDonalds

You’ve seen signs up north that tell you not to park on this side of the street due to street sweeping or plowing?  Well, in Green Bay you see street signs that say “No Parking Day of Packer Game”!

A very unique sign

Many streets, particularly near Lambeau Field, are named for popular/famous Packer players and coaches, and Brett Favre owns a steakhouse near the stadium!

Well, speaking of Brett Favre what Packer fans had heartache about (apart from him being just a first class drama queen) was the fact that he didn’t retire (you know…the final time he retired) straight from the Packers.  His last team that he played for should have been the Packers, and the silliness that went on (and the reasons were many, varied, and complicated) should never have happened.  He should have gone out gloriously, and not gone out with a text of his genitals!

Despite the Favre-drama and how upset fans were at his bumping around to other teams, what they support

fully is Aaron Rogers.  Not only is Rogers a 1^st class quarterback, but that’s what Packer fans do.  They support their team.  They don’t support their team when they’re winning.  They support their team whether they’re winning or whether they’re having a terrible season!  Packer fans don’t walk out of football games.  They stay to support their team, not what you see when you watch other teams play…they’re losing and the stands empty.  Nope…not for my Packers.  Die hard fans, always. 

Lambeau isn’t a covered stadium either, and as you might expect, it snows in Green Bay, so after it snows the fans come out to shovel the stands and get the stadium ready for the game.  They come out in droves to shovel!  In fact earlier this year the stadium had to turn away hundreds of people because there were just too many of them!  There were even some fans that drove more than 3 hours so they could shovel.  It was like they were waiting for Black Friday Holiday deals outside Walmart.  They waited for the stadium to open and to be among the people selected.  Sure they get paid, but they do it because they are fans!

Going to a game is an all-day affair….OK…most of the day affair.  You first have to find a place to park.  There simply isn’t enough room at Lambeau to park (and it’s expensive!), but if you drive around (or know the right people) you can find parking near the stadium.  Lambeau is right next to a residential area.  Quite literally there are homes across the street from the stadium!  People rent out their lawns for anywhere from $10-$25.00+ dollars per car to park.  I don’t know what it does to their lawn, but do the math…if you fit 10+ cars on your lawn each time the Packers play, that’s a nice chunk of change!

Outside Lambeau after signing Danny up for tickets

So we park on a friend of a friend’s lawn and then we tailgate.  Sometimes it’s just sandwiches, and sometimes it’s much more, but a tailgate is required…even if it’s 5 degrees!  You dress for the game.  You bundle up in the winter.  Seriously bundled up!  Then you head in about 45 minutes to and hour prior to kickoff so you can get through security, get a tasty beverage and get to your seat.  After the game you go back to your car and chill out for about an hour until the traffic clears before even attempting to head home.

The Packers aren’t owned by one person.  They are owned by the fans themselves.  In fact, as I type this, the last day to purchase stock in the Green Bay Packers is coming to an end.  Perhaps we’ll purchase a couple shares before midnight.  If not, we’ll wait for the next stock option.  How much are shares going for?  $250!  It’s one of the ways that this non-profit organization raises extra funds.

I'm not originally from Green Bay, but as I've blogged before, I've whole-heartedly married into a Packer family and am a die hard fan.  I love the passion the fans have as well as the sense of humor.  This DirecTV ad makes me laugh.  It's very spot-on.  The hand-made sweater.  The priest sitting in the room with her and the team rivalry (although they would have been more on target had it been a Bears fan that moved in).

Wordless Wednesday - The Unknown Collection

This is a photo from an album of unknowns.  All I know is that it belonged to ancestors in my Quirk line. I'd love to think that it's a photo of family members.  Who?...well, I have no idea.  Kellmer's studio was in Hazleton, Pennsylvania.

Tuesday's Tip - Inputting Data on the 1890 U.S. Census

1890 U.S. Federal Census

Holy cow!  I haven't posted one of my U.S. Census forms since September 5th!  I knew that I had been distracted, but I didn't realize how distracted until seeing that!  Well, I should have been done by now, but still, we're a month away from the 1940 census is released and I should be able to get them all up easily by then.  The last census I posted was the 1880, so onward...

For most of us the 1890 U.S. Federal Census isn't available.  The majority was damage by a fire in the U.S. Commerce Building in 1921.  The records of just over 6,000 people survive.  Why is the loss of the 1890 census so significant to us in our research?  Here's a perfect example...

You are trying to figure out the parents of Melanie Beaty (made up name).  Melanie was born in 1881 and by the 1900 census she is married to George Quirk (another fake name).  You think that her parents were William and Dorris Beaty, but the only census you could check to see if she's with William and Dorris would be the 1890 census...and it's gone.

It doesn't matter if you're researching backward in time or forward (researching collateral lines, perhaps), the problem still exists.  Does this mean that you can't find out more about Melanie?  Does this mean that you'll never figure out if she is the daughter of William and Dorris?  No, but you obviously won't be finding it out from the 1890 census.  We love the U.S. Federal Census.  It's like a warm, cozy blanket and we love keeping it handy, but just because the majority of us can't find our ancestors in it doesn't mean we're at a genealogical brick wall.  We use other sources all the time (or at least we're supposed to be) so why wouldn't we now?  Even if we did find Melanie in a census it's our job to ensure we've got the right Melanie by seeking out other sources and discovering if our theory makes sense.

Ancestry.com has a 1890 Census Substitute that you can check through if you are looking for someone and, like most of us, don't have them in the surviving 1890 census.  Check it out.  You can see the various sources that compile their "census substitute".  But keep in mind that there are so many other places to check besides the 1890 Census or the Census substitute.  Yes, 1890 was before mandatory records were set by the federal government for registering births, marriages and deaths, but that doesn't mean that your state or county didn't have those records.  Know the church your ancestors went to?  That's gold waiting to be mined!  Everything non-census related that we would normally look in is fair game as a replacement.  It doesn't mean that we won't sadly reflect on the 1890 census and wish that we still had it, but it's not the end of days either.

I haven't really referred back to Ancestry.com for many of the posts that I've done, but they do have some very good tutorials about getting around the loss of the 1890 census, so I'll break from tradition and refer you there now!

-Blazing New Trails: Reconstruction of the 1890 Census
-A Fire Destroyed the 1890 Census, but it Doesn't Have to Destroy Your Search
-1890 Census:  Your Next Steps and Alternate Sources

FamilySearch.org has tons of tutorials that can pretty much help you with anything in your research.  While I didn't find anything dealing with only the 1890 census that doesn't mean that I didn't miss something in my cursory search.  Here's the link to the Family Search Learning Center.

Now for those of you that have won the figurative jack-pot and do have someone in the 1890 census, well, I'm incredibly jealous, but this post is for you.  I've never used this census and I can tell you it really made my mouth water.  As usual, I've kept the spreadsheet I've created as close to the original as I could while still making it visually useful.  Also, when you view the spreadsheet in Google Docs it's not going to look quite right, but once you download it, the sheet will be 2 pages and look very close to the original.  The sheet has been protected to you can only make changes in the open boxes.  This means that you just need to hit the "tab" key to move to the next box and you won't have to worry about accidentally erasing the worksheet! If you've got any suggestions to make the form more functional, please let me know!

Until next time have fun tending those roots!

You can check out the other census forms I've posted by clicking on the following links:
   -1790
   -1800
   -1810
   -1820
   -1830
   -1840
   -1850, Schedule 1
   -1850, Schedule 2
   -1860, Schedule 1
   -1860, Schedule 2
   -1870
   -1880

And now you've got census forms that you can input data into and save to your computer!

Sunday's Obituary - John Thomas Sonni

John and Rose Sonni nee Trunzo are my step-father's uncle and aunt.  As the obituary says, he was born in Italy and married Rose in 1918.  He was about 25 years her senior and had his first child with Rose when he was around 48 years old!

Indiana Evening Gazette (Pennsylvania)

According to the 1930 US Census (which was difficult to find them in since the enumerator spelled their surname as "Sowni".  Luckily, Plumville is only 13 pages long so they were easy to search for) John came to America in 1912 and Rose came in 1898.

Always good to note that Indiana (as mentioned in the obituaries) is in Pennsylvania.

"John Thomas Sonni, a resident of Plumville and vicinity for the past 37 years, died at 2:25 a.m. today in the Indiana Hospital where he had been a patient for several weeks.

Born in Italy June 24, 1871, he was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Sonni.  He was a member of the Sacred Heart Church of Sagamore; member of the Indiana Lodge Sons of Italy since 1918; member of UMW of A Local 473, Sagamore.

He married Rose Trunzo in 1918, who survives with these children:  Mrs. Kenneth (Kathryn) Clements of Harrisburg;  Rudolph Sonni of Hummelstown; Mrs. William (Eleanora) Zentner of Lucernemines; Samuel and Eugene Sonni of Plumville.  Nine grandchildren also survive.

Friends will be received at his late home in Plumville after 11 a.m. Friday, March 11.

Funeral arrangements, in charge of Bowser Funeral Home, Plumville, are incomplete at this time."

Indiana Evening Gazette 12MAR1955

"John Thomas Sonni, a resident of Plumville and vicinity for the past 37 years, died at 2:25 a.m. today in the Indiana Hospital where he had been a patient for several weeks.

Friends are being received at his late home in Plumville.

Requiem High Mass will be celebrated in the Sacred Heart Church of Sagamore at 9:30 a.m. Monday, March 14, sung by the Rev. John Cavanaugh.  Interment will follow in St. Bernards cemetery, Indiana.

The Rosary will be recited at the home at 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

Bowser Funeral Home, Plumville, is caring for arrangements."

Those Places Thursday - No Longer the Follower

Can you see me?  I certainly look different back then (Hint: the red hair is there, albeit dark red)

I seem to be walking down Army Memory Lane quite a lot recently, but it was a big part of my life.  A part I want to share with my children and their children as well.

I joined the Army as a Private First Class (PFC), and after a year or so of believing that I wanted to be an officer, I came to realize that I wanted to be a Noncommissioned Officer.  A sergeant.  I eventually got to my promotion board (that's another post which I plan to do in April) and then on to the Primary Leadership Development Course (PLDC).  I was stationed in San Antonio, Texas when I needed to go to PLDC, so I was sent to the nearest Army post which happened to be Fort Hood (ironically enough where I am now!).

I was a little scared when I went.  I had a horrible fear of failure.  I wasn't afraid of the academic learning.  I could do that, no worries.  I was afraid of the practical, field-work.  I was stationed at a unit that didn't go to the field.  While it was a great assignment to gain some very good technical experience in my job it wasn't the best job for gaining tactical experience, and that's what a good portion of PLDC would be about.

I guess I was a little insecure with my experiences, but I had great leaders and they prepared me well. I was at PLDC from the end of January to the end of February 1999.  There were three moments that stand out in my mind from my short four weeks at this school.  The first was during our field exercise. It was pretty cold out so the cadre set up fire barrels and we stood around the fire in the dark with coffee made from our MREs.  We held our canteen cups over the fire to warm it up.  It sounds like a silly, trivial thing to remember, but it was a lot of fun being able to take some time and just talk with classmates.

The second was on the last day of our field exercise.  It was the day that we were heading back in for recovery.  We had gone well over 24 hours without sleep and we were tired.  My cadre called me over and told me that I was the Honor Graduate for the class.  I just stood there and stared straight ahead and said, "Huh?"  The words weren't making sense to me.  My brain wasn't working.  They repeated it and I just said "Oh.  OK."  They told me to head back to my tent.  Like the obedient Soldier I was, I did just that.  I sat there outside my small tent with my M16 in my hands and just stared at the grass in front of me.  I stared and the grass STARTED TO GROW!  I am not joking, my mind was so tired and I was so out of it that I actually was hallucinating.  I started giggling and then a couple cadre members (after asking what I was giggling about) told me to go to sleep.  I did and it wasn't until I woke up an hour or so later that what they told me sank in.  I was Honor Graduate.  That was the #2 graduate in a class of about 100 (the #1 person was called the Distinguished Honor Graduate).  I was excited.  I hadn't let my unit down.  My fear of failure was for nothing...or at least it drove me to succeed.

The last significant memory I have of PLDC was graduation.  My Battalion Commander, the acting Sergeant Major, and my Platoon Sergeant were coming to the graduation.  There may have been one or two other minions that came out with them, but I was excited that these leaders (mostly my Platoon Sergeant, who was so awesome!) were going to be there, and I was giving the commencement speech.  There were technically 2 graduations and the way they split the graduations up, the Distinguished Honor Graduate was giving the speech in the afternoon graduation so I was giving the morning speech.  Why was this memorable?  Because the speech was written by the NCO Academy and my Battalion Commander thought I had written it and she congratulated me for giving such a great speech.  Why does this stick out?  Well, I despised my Battalion Commander and saying something along the lines of, "Thanks ma'am, but I didn't write it." just to make her seem foolish is a highlight any day of the week.  You'll discover the reason for my animosity toward this woman in the April post I alluded to.  It should be a pretty good one.

The picture at the top of the post was just of the students in my actual classroom.  Sure we had about 100 Soldiers in the PLDC "class," but we had to be separated into groups so they could teach us better.  I had fun with these Soldiers, but sadly, I don't remember their names.  Even though their names elude me right now, they were a significant part of that experience that was PLDC.  We shared experiences and supported each other during our time at school, and that school, for most of us, was the final obstacle we had to go through to become Sergeants.  No longer the followers, but expected to be the leaders.  No pressure though....