Genealogy

Wednesday morning we were fortunate to hear from faculty member Ms. Perkins about her own genealogical research. Her shortcomings and successes both, experienced over the course of years, helped us to learn about how to best approach our own inquiries into our respective families' pasts.

Here are a couple photos from time spent in our classroom making calls to parents and grandparents as we put together our family trees on ancestry.com!

This morning, we each presented our findings to the class, using a "pedigree" view of our family tree as a visual aid on ancestry.com. Here are some interesting facts we learned about our backgrounds:

• William can trace a line back to the birth of a (many "greats") grandfather, named Richard Kimball, in 1595! He left England for America in 1634. Other descendants emigrated from the Isle of Skye. If you have an ancestry.com account, check out the Kimball Family Tree.
• Nick Gates discovered his great-great-great grandfather George Wallace was born in Ireland in 1809- Nick never knew he had any Irish heritage! Check out the Gates Family Tree.
• Suki's paternal great-great-great grandfather started Armstrong Flooring in Pittsburgh. It began in a two-man cork cutting shop and the first deliveries were by wheel barrow. He was the son of Scotch-Irish immigrants from Londonderry and his company survived through the Civil War, factory fires, and financial panics! See more of the Smith Family Tree.
• Izzy discovered she has majority Scots and German heritage with a little French-Canadian mixed in. On ancestry.com she was able to view the WWI draft card for her paternal great-great-grandfather! Take a look at the Munro Family Tree.
• Malachy is related to Grace Kelly and Charlemagne. We have royalty among us! In addition, he is second generation Irish on his paternal side. Check out the Burke Family Tree.
• Jillian's Irish roots derive from both her grandmothers' lineages. Jillian's two grandmothers have a lot in common, including Irish parents, mothers named Helen, and having lived in Charlestown their whole lives! In addition, her maternal great-grandparents emigrated from Donegal, Ireland. Take a look at the Doherty Family Tree. 
• Nick Flannery's paternal great-great grandfather, Thomas Deehan, was in the liquor business with the Kennedys. In Doris Kearns Goodwin's book, The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys, she includes a copy of a letter from Joseph Kennedy Jr. recommending that he get in touch with Deehan to make gin for the Harvard commencement while Prohibition was in effect. Kennedy called him the best gin maker in Boston! Check out the Flannery Family Tree.
• Kim's mother's maiden name is McCarthy and her line emigrated from Ireland. During her research, Kim found her grandfather's obituary and learned that he founded Merrimack Urology and was the Chief of Surgery at Lowell General Hospital! Take a look at the Neyman Family Tree.