GeneaBabble

If John McCain becomes president then I will forever have to hear the question, “Are you related to the president?”  See, the surname McKean is pronounced the same as the Senator’s surname, despite what that guy from Spinal Tap says.  Somewhere along the way it got mutilated into all sorts of spellings, from McCain to McKane to McKeen.  This happens to a lot of surnames and can make research a real pain in the butt!

As to whether I’m related to John McCain or not: I don’t know.  I haven’t bothered to check for any relationship, although I’m sure our lines meet up somewhere.  By the time you get that far back, however, does it really matter?  We’re all related in some way!

So, I just moved a few blocks away from my old house and I have decided that moving is one of the ultimate evils of mankind.  If I ever have to move again I will simply leave everything where it is and buy new stuff for the new location.  Among the usual muscle aches and general frustration I managed to smash my head into a doorway while carrying a box upstairs.  I believe it has caused some brain damage, but you would never be able to tell anyway…

The only good thing about moving is the great stuff you find!  I’ve found old photos of my ancestors that I never knew I had.  Many of them are from the early 20th c. and fortunately someone had the foresight to write names and dates on the backs of some of them.  Some, however, are unidentified.  I don’t know how to identify them since anyone who knows who they are is probably dead!

Also, I have many letters written back and forth between my dad and his parents.  It’s really neat to have both sides of a correspondence for once.  I hope to find some time soon to put them in chronological order and learn more about my dad’s life.

One thing about moving is getting rid of all the junk you’ve collected over the years.  The only problem is I kept finding myself saying, “Would my grandchildren want to see this for their genealogical research?”  I love all the strange tidbits I have, like my grandparents report cards.  In the end, though, I threw most of the junk away.  Unless I smash my head into something again, fall down the stairs, or get hit by a rampaging elephant I should have plenty of time to collect new junk for the grandkids to ponder.

So, I’ve been going through my dad’s old letters. I haven’t really been reading yet, but just sorting them into different “categories.” Anyway, I happened to notice a certain name mentioned in a letter from my grandmother dated Feb 22, 1964:

That Ed Masley nearly burnt to death the other day. His house got a fire and he was in there. I guess he wanted to die. He called the fire department but still stayed in the house. He was just sitting in there with the doors locked.

This probably won’t mean anything to anyone who hasn’t been to Cedars in downtown Youngstown, OH, specifically the men’s room. There is related the story of Ed Masley and Greg Miller. This is a family friendly blog, so I won’t go into detail. Anyway, there’s my random, useless discovery for the day.

I read a lot of genealogy news each day (RSS feeds are great), but this one item I came across is important not only to genealogists, but to everyone.

Over the past year, we have had three changes in our family tree, and a fourth due in a couple of months. Two brothers welcomed new grandchildren; my youngest brother’s wife is expecting her second child; and our dad, John “Jack” Murray, the creator and author of the monthly “Timelines” column, passed away on what would have been his 88th birthday last Friday morning.

As a true lover of genealogy, he left us with a detailed family story, a rich history of our ancestry complete with charts, historical documents and an extensive collection of family photographs dating back to the mid-1800s.

But with all his organization and research, some questions I never thought to ask will remain forever unanswered, for he is the last of his generation. [Read the full article - No, really, read it!]

It is so important to remember that our loved ones will not always be around. Once they’re gone you can’t ask them any more questions. We are busy people. We think, “I’ll ask him about that tomorrow. Right now I have to…” What if tomorrow never comes? Is all this crap that we fill our lives with really more important than family? Why do we waste so much time in useless activities that we think are important (most of them aren’t - trust me) rather than with our families and friends?

My father passed away in March, 2004. He was the one who got me interested in genealogy. I got a great deal of information from him. I am glad to say that before he died I was able to find out a lot about our family that we didn’t know. However, there’s so much that I wish I would have asked him. I always wanted to hear all of his stories about growing up in a small town in Iowa. He earned four Master’s degrees, a ThD and a PhD, but I never talked to him about his experiences in college. I always figured I’d have more time. I didn’t.

Genealogy is so much more than collecting names, dates and facts. It’s the stories of the lives of our relatives. It’s history that, if special care isn’t taken, will be gone forever. It is our duty to preserve this for ourselves, our family, and most importantly, future generations.

Please, folks, take time out of your “busy” schedules and spend more time with your family. We are, after all, genealogists. Isn’t family what it’s all about?

[Note: I mean it! Read that article! It’s got some good information on preserving family history.]

Just a quick post out of frustration. I’ve been looking for the father of my gggg-grandfather (Robert McKean) for about 5 kajillion years now and I’m pretty sure Robert just popped into existence out of nowhere sometime around 1770. He was one of the first pioneers of Mercer County, PA and I’m almost positive he was born in Westmoreland County. Actually, this is a relatively easy problem, I’m sure, and I’d probably figure it out easy enough if it were for a client. I’d probably find the answer to my problem if I could get to Westmoreland County, but I just can’t find the time. Besides, I just feel like whining right now!

Anyway, finding Robert took a while, but sure was interesting! See, my dad was born in IA and ended up here in NE Ohio when he took a job as a professor at Youngstown State University. It turns out that my family originates from Western PA about 30 miles away! That was really cool to find out. I even found where Robert and his wife are buried and got some nice photos. It’s in a tiny graveyard on the side of the road out in the country.

OK, enough about me! Hopefully I’ll have something useful for you guys soon. I’m drawing some maps which I’d like to show off as well, so be on the lookout.