I'm intrigued by the family history project. I'm looking for trends throughout the years--traditions, values, choices, and experiences that occur throughout generations. I knew my grandparents quite well, and have been getting to know my great grandparents via research.
Florence Joseph
Family lore tells us that he was a man who enjoyed reading and a man who struggled with alcohol addiction which created some havoc in his family. He married Mary at a young age. They had my grandmother Helen, and then several years later they had two sons, Joe and Francis. Family stories say that Florence Joseph's family did not like his wife--some say that they felt she was beneath them since her family represented newer Irish immigrants while Joe's family represented what some call the lace-curtain Irish--Irish with deeper roots in the United States. Joe's father appears to be a scalawag who suffered from alcohol addiction as well--he appears to have been an energized sculptor who enjoyed playing cards and getting involved in politics. Mary's dad was a local police officer--so it could be that the sculptor and police officer's families did not respect each other because of how they lived their lives rather than their immigration differences. Joe's sister, Agnes, never married, graduated from Clark University and worked for the United States Forestry department under Gifford Pinchot, the "father of American forestry." Family pictures of Joseph show him to be ill-at-ease. He was a lanky, bald-headed man who does not show much joy in his photos. My grandmother used to tell me that he read to her, and there's a picture that shows the two of them reading together. My grandmother ended up being a voracious reader who, according to her, read every book in her little local public library on Grafton Street in Worcester. Later, her terrific ability to read, led her to a good job at Dennison in Framingham, MA. Though my grandmother's early life with her dad's troubles were difficult (she had to quit school in eighth grade to work to support the family), pictures of her during her twenties as a young employed woman show her to be very happy and engaged in life. Later, she married a good man, Peter Paul Pratt, and had five children who all went on to have good lives, families, and careers.
Mary
Mary married Joseph at a young age. It appears that they were pregnant with my grandmother at the time. Later, according to records, they married at least one time more at a fancy hotel in Boston. Pictures of her throughout time and with her family show her to be a happy person with a good spirit. My dad recalls her as a very nice person. Recently he told the story that when the family would drive their old Ford to Nantasket Beach, she would sit in the front seat with my grandfather, her son-in-law on the drive down. On the trip, they would stop and enjoy a cold beer. She lived with my father's family in her later years. Her dad was a police officer. She had a few sisters and one brother. Mary's early marriage years appear to be tough years. Records show that she lost three babies near birth or just after birth after the birth of my grandmother, Helen, and before her son Joseph was born.
Bridget D.
Bridget came to the United States as a twenty-something woman. Family stories say that she was supposed to get on the boat to Australia, but the boat to the USA came first so she hopped on. This kind of spunky decision illustrates a free-thinking spunk that threads throughout the generations in my family. Bridget came from a very large family. Some of whom probably did end up in Australia since my family history search shows links to that continent. Bridget had many relatives in the Worcester area. Some were priests associated with Holy Cross College. Bridget married Michael in Worcester in 1895. She soon had four children, Johnnie, Jimmy, Mabel, and Catherine. The photos of Bridget's family demonstrate happiness and good care. The children are dressed beautifully and appear to enjoy music, theater, and studies. Her children were successful students in school. Johnnie went to Holy Cross College, Columbia and later taught math in New Jersey. Jimmy was a reporter who once roomed with Ray Bolger, the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz. Jmmy worked for a longtime at the Fitchburg Sentinel and lived for some time with his parents and his sister Catherine. A family friend like my mom remember Jimmy as a friendly, fun-loving man. Mabel, my grandmother, had a mind of her own--she was a smart woman who appears joyful and fun-loving as a young women. She later married Connie and had six children: Neal, Bobby, Jack, Maureen, Betty, and Paul. She worked at Denholm's, a department store, for a while. Bridget and her husband, Michael, owned a saloon in Norwich, CT for some time. Later, during prohibition, they moved back to Worcester. Michael worked as a teamster and mechanic. They were cloe to Bridget's brother, Dan, and his family. Dan owned a store on Vernon Hill. Both Bridget and her husband, Michael, died in 1930, the year my mom was born--they both died before my mother was born in August.
Michael
I can find little information about Michael's early life. Family lore tells that his father was enlisted in The Civil War and that the family on that side has long roots in the United States. Some of Michael's records say he was born in Norwich, CT and some say he was born in Ireland. There were many Michael Shea's in Norwich at that time, so it is difficult to figure out which Michael Shea is my great-grandfather.
Michael worked in the liquor business, owned a saloon, and worked as a teamster, driver, and mechanic. When he died, he lived on Worcester's Vernon Hill with his son Jimmy and his sister Annie, known as Auntie Mame to the family.
Since I cannot find much information about Michael as a young man, I have a few suspicions. One is that his mother died, and his father remarried. Another is that he was orphaned and had to live on his own in a boys' home or with another family. I am still trying to figure that out. After he married, it is easy to follow his life, and pictures show him to be a good man with a good family.
Valentine (Waltenty) Prachniak
Family stories say that Valentine came to the United States for a vacation and stayed. My research shows that he was probably from the Lomza, Poland area--in Lomza, the Poles were often oppressed by Russians which led to the emigration of many. When Valentine got his job at Wyman Gordon Company in Worcester, his boss told him that his name was now "Frank Smith" so many records of his life are under that name. Valentine's parents were Matthew and Mary Prachniak. He married Petronella Michotweski (spelled in many different ways on records) in Webster, MA in 1894--there was a vibrant Polish community in Webster. Together they had five children including four sons: Joseph, Francis (Frank), John (Jack), Peter Paul, and one daughter, Anna. Anna became a Sister of the Immaculate Conception, a convent started by the maverick Monsignor Bonjowski in New Britain, CT. Anna rose to the Mother Superior of her order. In that role, she traveled and worked with Cardinal Cushing in Boston. She taught the Mayor of New Britain, CT and others how to speak Polish. Valentine and Petronella, according to family lore, helped to start the first Polish Catholic Church in Worcester known as St. Mary's or officially as Our Lady of Czestochowa. Valentine and Petronella were amongst early Polish immigrants to the United States. The Polish immigrants faced a bit more challenge since they did not speak English, yet their tight communities by way of Catholic parishes created a strong community.
Petronella
It has been difficult to research Petronella's story. Her parents' names were Matthew and Amelia Michotewski (spelled in many different ways). They appear to have been apart of the strong Polish community in Webster, MA. Petronella appears to have been a good mother who cared well for her family. Her sons' stories show them to be spirited. My times with my Papa (Peter Pratt) and Aunt Anna (Sister Mary Innocenta) were happy times with these spirited, loving relatives. I am not really sure where Petronella's family was from in Poland--their life in Webster suggest they are also from the Lomza region of Poland, yet their names suggest that they may be from another area of Poland. I will do more research. Later in her life, Petronella married for a second time after her husband died. She married a man named Gedman, and died Petronella Gedman.
Bridget F
Bridget immigrated to Boston. She studied with Fanny Farmer and worked for a wealthy family in Brookline, MA. When she married in 1899, family lore says that she had the chance to walk through the wealthy family's front door in her wedding attire. She married Daniel Lucey known to us as Papa Dan. I have not been able to find a picture of Bridget yet. I know that she and Daniel owned several houses on Barkley Street and later lost those houses during the depression. Bridget had three children, my grandfather Cornelius, and my aunts Betty and Catherine.
Daniel
Daniel was a spirited man who died just before I was born. He lived to almost 100. In his later years, my mom recalls that he could often be found hanging out in Crystal Park in Worcester. She would sometimes help him sew buttons on his clothes when she saw him there after her days at St. Peter's High School. Dan lived on Oread Street for a long time. Family stories say that because Dan's dad died young, Dan lost inheritance to the family property and that's what made him decide to move to the United States. Many of his relatives also came to the United States. His mother later remarried and had more children. Dan struggled with alcoholism and would go on "toots" as my mother recalls which were essentially binges. When people tell stories of Dan, they always tell those stories with a smile--he was a beloved man.
As I think of my great grandparents, I notice a lot of strength--they had to be strong to live their lives, lives that included moving across the sea and across continents for most of them. In some cases they were uprooted by political events--for the Polish relatives, it was the oppression by Russian government, and for some of my Irish relatives, prohibition greatly changed their livelihoods. Their strength, to a large degree, for both the Irish and the Polish came from the strong sense of community they had in their neighborhoods and at their parishes. The Irish on Temple Street near St. John's Church, sometimes referred to as Green Island, and on Vernon Hill helped each other live well while the Polish in Webster and also near Kelly Square and Vernon Hill did the same.
When I meet new immigrants from Worcester now, many live where my relatives lived 100 years ago, and have similar tales to tell.
I'm sure I'll add to these stories in days to come as I research more, but this is a start of my story--a story that started long before I was born, and even long before these great-grandparents were born. My research of their pasts speak of village life in Ireland and Poland, farming, mountains, political strife, family traditions, and some serendipity and surprise such as a long-past ancestor who appears to be the victim of a shipwreck which found her landing safely in Ireland, a long way from her African-Spanish roots.
I look forward to the project's continuation in the years to come.