Medical Monday - Breast Cancer in the Family

Bridget Barrett nee Farley's cause of death

I don't know of anyone in my family that has had breast cancer. At least I didn't. I found the death certificate for my 2nd great grandmother, Bridget Barrett nee Farley, and on it was her cause of death..."exhaustion from cancer of breast."

According to this she was diagnosed in January 1905 and she didn't die for a year and a half. I don't know how they attempted to treat cancer in the early 20th century. I'm not sure that I really want to research that. It's pretty horrific even today when we have chemotherapy and radiation treatment and surgery. 

During that time that she had cancer she actually went to Philadelphia for eye surgery. I wish I knew what was wrong with her eye(s). Not because it's really important, but I wonder if it was really severe...whatever it was. Was it so severe that it needed to be done? Would she have been blinded without it? Or was it minor and had it done believing that she was going to beat the cancer? Was the cancer so advanced that it caused this problem with her eyes? That's why I would like to know. 

The Plain Speaker, 28APR1905, pg5

Of course I sit here comfortably in 2015 and look back at medicine in the early 1900s and cringe, but I'm sure at the time they probably felt about their medicine the same way we feel about ours. What will my descendants think of our medicine in another century? Will they look at our cancer treatments and think they're barbaric and primitive? I hope so, because if they think that at least they'll have something better.

The Plain Speaker, 09MAY1905, pg5

Walter Barrett went to visit his mother in Philadelphia after the surgery. Those things aren't really reported in newspapers today. As a researcher I'm glad that they were reported. If they hadn't been I wouldn't have known about her having this surgery. This courage that I can at least hope some of which has passed on to me and mine.

These sorts of articles make family history more personal. More than just dates and names. They give us stories.

Walter was also the informant on Bridget's death certificate. Patrick, her husband, died two years after her. I don't know why he wasn't the informant. Perhaps he was too grieved. I imagine they all were.

Excerpt from Bridget Barrett's death certificate

I've seen far too many death certificates for my ancestors that have no parental information on them. It can be frustrating...very frustrating. On Bridget's I've got her parents listed as Hugh and Alice Farley nee Fagan. While I have to take it with a grain of salt (this is second-hand information after all), I do see a pattern in the names. 

Bridget and Patrick had six children: Edward, Mary (my ancestor), William, Hugh, Walter, and Alice. According to Patrick's death certificate his parents were Edward and Mary. Bridget's parent were Hugh and Alice. Their children were named after their parents it would seem.

These were all the revelations I got from Bridget's death certificate and those two small clippings. I have no obituary for her yet. Newspapers.com hasn't added the Hazleton papers for 1906. I'm hoping that 1906 isn't one of the years permanently lost. I found out where in Saint Gabriel's cemetery she and Patrick are buried this summer and I was finally able to create FindAGrave memorials for them. I just seems like an obituary would help to close out the story.

I take this time to remember someone that must have been a strong and brave woman and I'm proud to be your granddaughter.

Sunday's Obituary - Edward Lee

Image has been adjusted to remove yellowing

"Edward Lee Passes Away.

Rope Breaks, Car Comes Down - St. Patrick's Day Parade.

(Handwritten - Jan. 19 - 1904)

Edward Lee, aged 81 years, one of the oldest and best known citizens on this side, died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. William Quirk, at Jeanesville last night about 7 o'clock.  The deceased was in perfect health up to Monday.  He partook of his Monday dinner as usual, but shortly after while lying on a couch he was stricken suddenly ill with what looked like paralysis and he was unable to utter a word from the time he was taken ill until he died.  Mr.  Lee was born in county Cabin (sic), Ireland, and emigrated to America about fifty-seven years ago.  He resided in New York and Nesquehoning previous to locating in Jeanesville.  His wife preceded him in death about sixteen years ago.  He was a man who was well liked by every person.  He was very active notwithstanding his advanced age and was a great lover of base ball.  During all of last season he witnessed every game that was played at Park View and was first among the spectators on the ground.  He was a great favorite of the children and often he could be seen with a crowd of little ones about him as they listened to the tales he used to relate.  He enjoyed a large circle of friends and all will be sorry to hear of his death.  He is survived by one daughter, Mrs. William Quirk, with whom he resided for the past number of years."

For those of you that have done Irish genealogy research or are familiar with Ireland, you'll know that there is no County Cabin, but County Cavan.  In Irish Cavan is spelled Cabhán.  You don't really hear the "b" in the pronunciation, but perhaps there was some miscommunication when relaying the information for the obit.  Edward, given the time of his birth in Ireland, would have most likely known Irish.  Spelling wasn't necessarily as important as it became over time and who knows how well Edward was educated.  I could hypothesize for hours, but the bottom line is they got that bit wrong in the obit.  I have no proof that Edward was from County Cavan, but this does give me a starting point when trying to continue his line.

The obituary also gives me an approximation for when he came to America, although still trying to find an immigrant by the name of Edward Lee is no small task.  Knowing that he lived in New York and Nesquehoning before Jeanesville will help as well.  A bit disappointing that no mention of his parents were made or any other brothers and sisters in America or Ireland.  Disappointing, but not surprising.  Almost as equally disappointing is that his grandchildren were not mentioned in his obituary.  They were adults and many were living together.  I blogged about the individual children of William and Mary Quirk nee Lee here.

Image has been adjusted to remove yellowing

This clipping was regarding Edward's burial in Saint Gabriel's cemetery.  It was in a scrapbook (see note below) and was obviously torn.  Not too surprising since it was clipped in 1904.    Not much information here except where he was buried and a bit about the funeral.  Still, it would be nice to have an untorn copy.  Sadly, the local newspapers from this period are gone.  At least in microfilm.  The local library has an enormous gap...which covers almost 2 decades of family members that I really want to know more about.  Next step is to contact the local newspaper and see if they have copies.  Sadly the local paper was bought out a few years ago by a larger non-local company.  Hopefully, they will be as helpful as they had in previous years. Fingers crossed there.

Edward Lee.  One of the first people that I learned about when starting out on my genealogy research over a decade ago, and I never posted his obit.  Shame, shame on me, but better late than never.  Rest in peace to my 3rd great grandpa.

NOTE:  Attached to the inside cover of an old family photo album that was passed on to me were newspaper clippings.  None of the clippings had the name of the paper that they were taken from, but it's safe to say that they most likely came from the local Hazleton area papers (The Standard Sentinel, The Plain Speaker, or the Standard-Speaker).

Sunday's Obituary - A Genealogical Angel Sent Me This

Hazleton Standard Speaker - 20SEP1986, pg2

About 6 weeks ago I received an email out of the blue from a cousin across the pond.  She had come across my blog and sent me several pieces of information and this obituary for my cousin Rev. Msgr John Brown was one of them.

Finding his obituary was on my To-Do this for the next time I was home and this cousin kept me from a year-long wait and I will forever be grateful.

I'm told that her mother and aunt knew John Brown well and that he visited Ireland frequently.  Not only did she give me this obituary, but she gave me a location for the Browns in my tree.  County Donegal I had long suspected, which she confirmed and gave me the city/town of Knockletragh!

My cousin and I are still trying to figure out our common ancestor.  Sadly, this happens all too frequently...her mom and John knew how they were related, but neither of them are around to ask about the connection anymore.  Nevertheless, a cousin she will be to me and perhaps someday, we'll figure it out together and bridge that great blue ocean!

"Rev. Msgr. John Brown dies in North Carolina

Rev. Msgr. John A. Brown, who resided at and was chaplain of St. Joseph-of-the-Pines, N.C., died Thursday morning at the hospital.

Born in Hazleton, he was the son of the late Charles and Anna (La Grande) Brown.

A 1928 graduate of St. Gabriel's High School, Hazleton, he studied at Mount St. Mary's College and Seminary, Emmittsburg, Md.

He was ordained into the priesthood on May 22, 1937 at St. Peter's Cathedral, Scranton, and was assigned to serve in the Diocese of Raleigh, N.C.

His first assignment was as assistant rector at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Raleigh, N.C.  He was then appointed pastor at Sacred Heart Church, Pinehurst, N.C., and also served as vice chancellor and secretary to the late Bishop William Hafey.

In 1959, he was appointed first pastor of St. Eugene's Parish, Ashville, N.C.  While at St. Eugene's, he was elevated to Domestic Prelate with the title of Right Reverend Monsignor by Pope Paul VI.  He remained at St. Eugene's Parish until 1969 and then returned to the Pinehurst area, where he became chaplain at St. Joseph's hospital.  Again he was named pastor of Sacred Heart, Pinehurst, and remained there until beginning a leave of absence in September 1976.

He was Dean of the Ashville Deanery and later of the Pinehurst Deanery and had served as a Diocesan consulter (sic).

Following his retirement in 1978, Brown resided at St. Joseph hospital, where he continued to be chaplain until his death.

Preceding him in death were four sisters, Mrs. Marian Gallagher, Mrs. Genevieve Hooper, Mrs. Helen Cassidy, Anna Brown, and one brother, Charles Brown.

Surviving are two sisters, Mrs. William (Gertrude) McLaughlin, Utica, N.Y.; Mrs. Perry (Ester) Engle, Elizabeth, N.J.; one brother, Leo Brown, Cumberland, Md., and 11 nieces and nephews.

The funeral will be held Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. from the Joseph B. Conahan Funeral Home, Hazleton, with a con-celebrated Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. in St. Gabriel's Church.  Interment will follow in the parish cemetery.

A viewing will be held Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the funeral home.

A prayer service and rosary will be recited."

You can read more posts about John Brown, by clicking the following links:

   -Tombstone Tuesday - Who is the Rt. Rev. John Brown?

  -Sunday's Obituary - Thomas Joseph Brown Sr (John Brown is listed as a survivor to my great grandfather)

  -Amanuensis Monday - A Well-Known Hazleton Baseball Player (John Brown listed as a deacon at Neil Brown's funeral)

  -Amanuensis Monday - A Great Reason to Transcribe...

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!

Upcoming Events at the NEHGS!

I got an email from the New England Historic Genealogical Society the other day and they've got tons of really great stuff coming up!  I'm seriously jealous that I'm too far away to attend!  If you are lucky enough to be within driving distance of the society, head on over and take advantage of what are sure to be some great programs!  Not within driving distance?  They've got some great trips planned too!

So here it is right from NEHGS:

June New Visitor and Welcome Tour

Make plans to start your genealogy with this great tour.  This program begins with a thirty-minute introductory lecture and will be followed by a tour of the NEHGS library and its vast holdings.

June 1, 2011 from 10:00am-11:00am

99-101 Newbury Street

Boston, MA 02116-3007

Come Home to New England

Dubbed as one of the society's most popular programs, "Come home to New England," is a fun-filled week of family history discovery and education.  This program features research, individual consultations, interesting lectures, group meals, and other exciting activities.

June 13, 2011 9:00am - June 18, 2011 5:00pm

NEHGS

99-101 Newbury Street

Boston, MA 02116-3007

Talking Back to your Ancestors:  Reweaving the Family History

Dr. Barbara B. Reitt will describe what she learned in a four-year search for truths long hidden by the family and what compelled her to respond to her late father's memoirs by researching and writing a biography of his grandmother.

June 22, 1011 6:00pm - 7:00pm

99-101 Newbury Street

Boston, MA 02116-3007

A Tour Through Ireland and Irish History

Please join NEHGS as we explore our Irish immigrant ancestors' native land, the rolling hills of Ireland.  We will discover spectacular scenery, and enjoy legendary Irish hospitality in internationally renowned hotels and restaurants and elegant private homes.

[OK...I'm seriously bummed that I'll be on vacation and can't do this.  I would take this trip in a heart-beat!  It sounds fabulous!]

July 5, 2011 5:00pm - July 15, 2011 5:00pm

Ireland

Please email education@nehgs.org if you wish to be place on a waiting list for the event.

Weekend Research Trip to Albany, New York

Join NEHGS as we explore the vast resources of the New York State Archives.  The weekend includes individual consultations, lectures, and a group dinner.

July 13, 2011 3:00pm - July 17, 2011 11:00am

Albany, New York

English Research Tour

Discover the wealth of information available in London's repositories as NEHGS returns to London in 2011.  Participants will take part in two group dinners, consultations, and guided research tours through the Society of Genealogists (SOG) and the National Archives (UK).

September 25, 2011 3:00pm - October 2, 2011 12:00pm

London, United Kingdom

Like anything you see?  To learn more go to AmericanAncestors.org/Event.  You can register online or print the registration and mail it off to:

NEHGS, Education  & Tours

Attn: Joshua Taylor

99-101 Newbury Street

Boston, MA 02116-3007

If you have any questions you can call 2-888-296-3447 or email education@nehgs.org

Even if you can't go to the programs or on the trips, be sure to check out the great stuff on the American Ancestors website!

Treasure Chest Thursday - An Ancient Irish Rosary

This rosary has been in my family since before my ancestors swam over from Ireland. OK...they took a boat, but I'm sure it was a long, hard journey for them!  The rosary was William Quirk's, my 2nd great grandfather. Now William was born around 1842, so if the date refers to when it was carved or to commemorate an event, it most likely belonged to his father or mother.

William was Irish-born. What I don't know is if any of his family came over with him or if he made the journey alone...still looking into that one! Perhaps the rosary was a gift from a family member before he made the trip. A piece of the family to take with him on his long journey from home.

My sisters and I all have the utmost affection for this particular piece of family history. It's probably the oldest thing our family has. It was passed on to me by my mother several years ago and it spends the majority of it's time in our fire-safe.