The memorials I've created are tributes to members of my own family. These people were important to me, and I loved them... even those who made me want to cry. Whenever there was a situation developing that needed to be addressed in some way, Mom would shift into what I referred to as "crisis mode" and I would get "the call." I didn't request that assignment, I was born into it.

Over the years, I asked questions, acquired details, made memories, and I am happy to find this website where I can document and share these lives. My perspective is almost always two fold... I have seen the good, and I have seen the questionable. It's fair to say that everyone has their challenges. Why else would God have given us free will? We make our choices, we are responsible for what happens... and we are answerable only to God. With His help, we see the lives around us through understanding and love. Eventually, we reconcile ourselves to the facts and make amends accordingly. If someone you love passes away before they come to that point, then prayers you offer for them are even more important.

This is an emotional journey. And it involves looking for "needles in haystacks." Census information is amazingly valuable but notoriously unreliable as well. Messy penmanship and inaccuracies in responses make the job of searching a challenge. I'm so grateful to the people who invested time and effort to create a memorial for a member of my family. This is a hobby, but it can feel like a job.

Occasionally, I may find myself unexpectedly drawn to someone who is not related. In that case, I’ll either create an appropriate memorial or link the already existing memorial to other members of that person's family. It’s simply a tribute to someone who touched my heart, and a way to help someone else find answers about their own ancestors.

For instance, the very young Albert Jurgensmeier of Nebraska was an endearing little boy as well as a good student. When I complete memorials for his immediate family, I’ll describe what I found in Nebraska that brought Albert to my attention.

Please don’t be offended if you discover your loved one’s memorial has been created by a stranger. Several of my own family members’ memorials were originally created by Find a Grave members who I don’t know. Heartfelt thanks to each of you who have transferred management of a memorial to me. Some of these Find a Grave contributors have added thousands of names! That will never be me. Genealogy is more work than I ever realized, and I’m content to make slow but steady progress adding my own family.

Why am I doing this? Simply because I actually knew and loved, or at least met, most of these people. Their lives had value, and many of the challenges they faced are likely to be repeated by future generations. One day, it might help another person to better understand that we all inherit good and bad from people we never met. We all encounter personal problems. I believe it’s important to recognize that the reason you retain memories for a lifetime is to share those memories.

My Family Tree is as Irish as it can be without still being firmly planted on the Emerald Isle. On my Mother's side, I'm a twig on the Lucid/Hall/Gallagher and Monahan branches of the Tree. On my Father's side, I am a twig on the Mullins/Ferrick/Feerick*/Gillen and Carney/Hurley branches of the Tree. The Hurley transplants came from Roscommon County, Ireland. The Feericks were from the town of Ballinrobe, County Mayo, Ireland.
BALLINROBE, COUNTY MAYO:
http://www.historicalballinrobe.com/
ROSCOMMON:
http://www.leitrim-roscommon.com/index.shtml

*I use the two spellings of the Ferrick surname interchangeably since there is evidence for each variation, and I'm tired of trying to decide who's right and who's wrong. My Irish ancestors were fond of using the same given names for their children.... Anna, Annie, Nellie... over and over. They're scattered across the Family Tree like dandelions on the lawn! These were surely wonderful ladies, but was there some kind of rule I'm not aware of? It’s hard to differentiate one twig from another when they're all named Annie! For now, I'm just trying to make sense of it all. Eventually, I will post more of my old Gillen family photos. Hopefully, one day, I'll find a message here from a relative who has interest in helping me identify the folks in these old photos.

In September 2014, during transfer of management of the memorial for James Michael Monahan, James' wife and children became linked to Mr. Robert Ray Fisher! Mr. Fisher is not a relative, and this was probably just a glitch in the transfer process. (It might have been caused by the odd coincidence that James Michael Monahan and Robert Ray Fisher share nearly identical dates of birth and death.) I've corrected the cascade of errors resulting from all those incorrect linkages. I hope someone in the Fisher family will come along and replace any family details that might have been deleted as a result of this glitch in the system, and perhaps they will tell the story of the loss of such a very young man. There are many more Fisher memorials that were added by Dr. James M. Owston. Search the Fisher name on his contributor's page here... ( http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=mr&MRid=47059231 ).

I have found this website to be a helpful means by which to deal with the sadness of losing members of the family. It has provided a sense of continuing connection to those people who touched every phase of my life in some way. We all inherit traits and features from people we have never met. I'm hopeful these memorials might one day provide someone who’s curious about their ancestors a surprising means by which they can “meet” people whose DNA will forever be present in each new leaf on the Family Tree. A simple memory that seems insignificant today could be quite a gift to someone years from now.

The memorials I've created are tributes to members of my own family. These people were important to me, and I loved them... even those who made me want to cry. Whenever there was a situation developing that needed to be addressed in some way, Mom would shift into what I referred to as "crisis mode" and I would get "the call." I didn't request that assignment, I was born into it.

Over the years, I asked questions, acquired details, made memories, and I am happy to find this website where I can document and share these lives. My perspective is almost always two fold... I have seen the good, and I have seen the questionable. It's fair to say that everyone has their challenges. Why else would God have given us free will? We make our choices, we are responsible for what happens... and we are answerable only to God. With His help, we see the lives around us through understanding and love. Eventually, we reconcile ourselves to the facts and make amends accordingly. If someone you love passes away before they come to that point, then prayers you offer for them are even more important.

This is an emotional journey. And it involves looking for "needles in haystacks." Census information is amazingly valuable but notoriously unreliable as well. Messy penmanship and inaccuracies in responses make the job of searching a challenge. I'm so grateful to the people who invested time and effort to create a memorial for a member of my family. This is a hobby, but it can feel like a job.

Occasionally, I may find myself unexpectedly drawn to someone who is not related. In that case, I’ll either create an appropriate memorial or link the already existing memorial to other members of that person's family. It’s simply a tribute to someone who touched my heart, and a way to help someone else find answers about their own ancestors.

For instance, the very young Albert Jurgensmeier of Nebraska was an endearing little boy as well as a good student. When I complete memorials for his immediate family, I’ll describe what I found in Nebraska that brought Albert to my attention.

Please don’t be offended if you discover your loved one’s memorial has been created by a stranger. Several of my own family members’ memorials were originally created by Find a Grave members who I don’t know. Heartfelt thanks to each of you who have transferred management of a memorial to me. Some of these Find a Grave contributors have added thousands of names! That will never be me. Genealogy is more work than I ever realized, and I’m content to make slow but steady progress adding my own family.

Why am I doing this? Simply because I actually knew and loved, or at least met, most of these people. Their lives had value, and many of the challenges they faced are likely to be repeated by future generations. One day, it might help another person to better understand that we all inherit good and bad from people we never met. We all encounter personal problems. I believe it’s important to recognize that the reason you retain memories for a lifetime is to share those memories.

My Family Tree is as Irish as it can be without still being firmly planted on the Emerald Isle. On my Mother's side, I'm a twig on the Lucid/Hall/Gallagher and Monahan branches of the Tree. On my Father's side, I am a twig on the Mullins/Ferrick/Feerick*/Gillen and Carney/Hurley branches of the Tree. The Hurley transplants came from Roscommon County, Ireland. The Feericks were from the town of Ballinrobe, County Mayo, Ireland.
BALLINROBE, COUNTY MAYO:
http://www.historicalballinrobe.com/
ROSCOMMON:
http://www.leitrim-roscommon.com/index.shtml

*I use the two spellings of the Ferrick surname interchangeably since there is evidence for each variation, and I'm tired of trying to decide who's right and who's wrong. My Irish ancestors were fond of using the same given names for their children.... Anna, Annie, Nellie... over and over. They're scattered across the Family Tree like dandelions on the lawn! These were surely wonderful ladies, but was there some kind of rule I'm not aware of? It’s hard to differentiate one twig from another when they're all named Annie! For now, I'm just trying to make sense of it all. Eventually, I will post more of my old Gillen family photos. Hopefully, one day, I'll find a message here from a relative who has interest in helping me identify the folks in these old photos.

In September 2014, during transfer of management of the memorial for James Michael Monahan, James' wife and children became linked to Mr. Robert Ray Fisher! Mr. Fisher is not a relative, and this was probably just a glitch in the transfer process. (It might have been caused by the odd coincidence that James Michael Monahan and Robert Ray Fisher share nearly identical dates of birth and death.) I've corrected the cascade of errors resulting from all those incorrect linkages. I hope someone in the Fisher family will come along and replace any family details that might have been deleted as a result of this glitch in the system, and perhaps they will tell the story of the loss of such a very young man. There are many more Fisher memorials that were added by Dr. James M. Owston. Search the Fisher name on his contributor's page here... ( http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=mr&MRid=47059231 ).

I have found this website to be a helpful means by which to deal with the sadness of losing members of the family. It has provided a sense of continuing connection to those people who touched every phase of my life in some way. We all inherit traits and features from people we have never met. I'm hopeful these memorials might one day provide someone who’s curious about their ancestors a surprising means by which they can “meet” people whose DNA will forever be present in each new leaf on the Family Tree. A simple memory that seems insignificant today could be quite a gift to someone years from now.