When I began researching my paternal line, I asked my aunts and uncles about Jane and got the typically reply that they “did not know much about her.” Jane was mentioned as a sibling to my grandfather Charles Brown, though it was uncertain whether she was his full sibling. Jane lived in North Central PA and a few times an aunt or uncle paid her a short visit while passing through, such as the time my Aunt Mazie went up to Lock Haven to get married. They did not see Aunt Jane much, so aside from the names of her children, my aunts and uncles gave little detail about Jane. One vague comment I recall was one of her houses had a dirt floor in the kitchen, which suggested Jane lived a simple life with modest means. With little information to start, I turned to the census and other documents to solve some of the ambiguity surrounding Jane. Continue reading
McGarvey
New Year’s Resolutions
Each New Year, many people make resolutions of habits they wish to change or goals they hope to accomplish. Among my resolutions, I always include some genealogy tasks I’d like to complete. In the past organizing my information has often been on my list; last year, I finally organized and filed many of my paper files, so finding documents should be easier. With the start of 2022, I have begun compiling my list of objectives for the new year. Here are a few of the genealogy items I would like to accomplish during this coming year. Continue reading
Census Through the Years: William H. Allen
My grandfather Charles Brown had several half siblings including William Henry Allen. William was the eldest son from the marriage of my great grandmother Margaret McGarvey and her first husband Valentine Allen. Family stories about my grand uncle William are not known, perhaps due to the age gap between the brothers or that they lived in different parts of the state. Nevertheless, I have had to speculate about his life from records like the census. Continue reading
Chasing McGarveys
Tracing my great-grandmother’s parentage seems as elusive as finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Neither my father nor his siblings could tell me much about their paternal grandmother; before my dad was born, the family moved from Lycoming County where she lived. Most of his siblings were young when their grandmother died so they knew little about her. The older siblings never mentioned any memory of her. Some thought her maiden name was McGarvey, but they were not certain. It was not until I began researching my family tree, that I discovered any information about my great grandmother. I learned her name was Margaret McGarvey and she was most likely the daughter of James McGarvey and Rebecca Thomas. Continue reading
Relatively Speaking Blog 