It is Spring Break and I have this entire week off of school and Tennis & Tutoring which feels like an amazing gift. I had these visions of getting all this yard work done and then I would be so ahead of schedule as we moved into April and May. Well, Mother Nature had another plan, one of giving the Utah earth much needed moisture. We have had such a mild winter, very little snow so this is good. It is simple so beautiful and quiet as the snow falls down outside my window. It makes me just want to stay in and complete all the indoor projects. Right before I got out of bed this morning, I went through the items on my list that I wanted to accomplish today. Then I made the mistake of getting on the internet and searching for information on some of Joe’s relatives. Here’s the thing, I have this feeling that there are ancestors out there that want me to find them. It’s a persistent gnawing feeling that keeps surfacing since my angel visitation, which by the way, has become so incredibly sacred to me that I rarely tell anyone about it and only those who I know will understand the experience.
But last night, I started to search for Joe’s McCarthy relatives, his maternal line, and found a few names and clues to other names so after I dressed in my workout clothes this morning, I sat down at the computer, intending just a minute. Somehow, a minute turned into three hours. I did find some incredible information, really I feel like a detective because when you are looking at these records, which by the way, they are remarkable and because of the hard work of others, I can look at census reports, immigration records, prison records, birth and death reports. It’s simply amazing! I keep calling Joe to tell him more information and funny thing, when I do this research, it is like I am making friends with these ancestors! One particular find was Denis McCarthy born in Ireland in 1816. That’s all I have a name and a year but then when I searched him, apparently in Ireland they kept really good prison records, his name came up with all these violations. I’m hoping McCarthy is a common name in Ireland and happily I found out there is more than one Denis born in 1816. Actually, there are three Denises who immigrate to the U.S. during the middle 1800s, hopefully leaving their crime-ridden lives behind them. None, however belong to us, as our Denis most likely immigrated to Canada and I’m sure is innocent of any crimes! Back to the violations in Ireland, though, those range from stealing potatoes, yes it was the potato famine, to murder. It also seems like a lot of Denises went to prison for stealing a shirt, stealing a meal or throwing rocks at buildings.
It is quite a thrill when you find a name and something clicks- either names match or birth dates or place, it is addicting! Anyway, I’m off to exercise feeling grateful that I can!
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