Fix Congress

Fix Congress

Posted on by jack

The full title is Restoring the Consent of the Governed: How Americans Can Hold Congress More Accountable for Serving the National Interest by Bill Bridgman. The title and subtitle are a mouthful but it does summarize the book nicely.

The book is neither long nor expensive. I think it is interesting, well done, and important. The problem it addresses is one I think most Americans can agree with. There is wide spread agreement that the U.S Congress is just not doing a very good job. Continue reading “Fix Congress”

Is Marie Greer really Maria Dresher ?

Is Marie Greer really Maria Dresher ?

Posted on by Jack

I was looking at the John Greer and Julia Hopkins Family of New York again and noticed a coincidence or maybe not.

I had noted a daughter Marrie born around 1909 who seems to have died in childhood, I assume the name is actually Marie or maybe Mary or Maria and it was just written with two “r”s in the 1910 census when she was less than a year old. I had assumed Marie Greer died young because she did not appeared in the 1915 New York census or any subsequent census records. Lottie is still Lottie Greer in the 1910 census.

But the 1915 census shows the daughter Lottie as Lottie Dresher with 2 daughters Maria Dresher (age 6) and Rita Dresher (age 2). Lottie and her daughters are living with her mother. Continue reading “Is Marie Greer really Maria Dresher ?”

Lucy Greer Collins born 1859 Sligo Ireland

Lucy Greer Collins born 1859 Sligo Ireland

Posted on by jack

Lucy Greer Collins was probably born about 1859. Lucy Greer was probably born in Sligo town, Sligo, Ireland to Matthew Greer and Ruth Allingham of Glencar in County Leitrim.

I had not known of Lucy’s existence before finding an abstract of a New York City marriage record listing parents Matthew Greer and Ruth Aligan (a common misspelling). Continue reading “Lucy Greer Collins born 1859 Sligo Ireland”

What part of “any person” does Justice Roberts not understand ?

What part of “any person” does Justice Roberts not understand ?

Posted on by Jack

Today the Supreme Court ruled by a 5-to-4 vote that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. In his dissent Justice Roberts suggested that there was nothing relevant in the Constitution. How about the 14th Amendment?

Amendment XIV
Section 1.

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

What part of “any person” does Justice Roberts not understand? I know Justice Scalia has trouble with concepts such as “all persons” or “any person” but I thought Justice Roberts was better.

#TheNewTen and #NewerDollars

#TheNewTen and #NewerDollars

Posted on by Jack

I just got back from Ireland and Northern Ireland and I see one of the discussions in the U.S. involves replacing Alexander Hamilton on the ten dollar bill with a woman (see #TheNewTen on twitter). And there are several woman candidates but we haven’t settled on one yet.

Well, I don’t think the ten dollar bill is the right place for at least 2 reasons. I also don’t see a clear reason to pick one of the suggested women over the other suggestions for this honor.

First to the ten. Alexander Hamilton was one of the Founding Fathers. He never became president but is very important. He probably had more to do with getting the country off on a sound financial footing than anyone else. For this reason, it seems that keeping him on a bill is appropriate.

If we are to free-up a bill to honor a woman, I’d suggest the twenty dollar bill is more suitable. Continue reading “#TheNewTen and #NewerDollars”

John Greer in Folsom Prison

John Greer in Folsom Prison

Posted on by Jack

As mentioned before I’ve been filling in some details on collateral relatives in hopes I’ll find something that gives me some insight or additional direction on my more direct line. More specifically, I’ve been looking at the John Greer and Julia Mary Hopkins family of New York City.

I’ve previously written about two sons Charles John Greer and Horace A. Greer.

Now I add a third son with legal trouble, John J. Greer. I do not know what the J is for. It seems very probable that this is the same John J. Greer that was in Folsom Prison (Folsom, CA) in the 1940s. Second degree burglary put Greer in Folsom. His prior record included prison stays for theft and counterfeiting in New York, Connecticut, Atlanta (GA), and Lewisburg (PA).

If this sounds familiar to anyone, I’d be eager to hear and glad to share any information.

Matthew Greer, son of John

Matthew Greer, son of John

Posted on by Jack

This is about Matthew Greer. But there are 3 people in my family tree named Matthew Greer and so I specified above that he was the son of John Greer.

This Matthew Greer lived at home, first with his parent and then his widowed mother. In the last record I found on him, he was living with his mother in the 1925 New York census. Then the trail went cold. I could not find him in subsequent census records or in any type of record. Continue reading “Matthew Greer, son of John”

Help with Irish research

Help with Irish research

Posted on by Jack

These tips will point you in the direction of some good resources. In your case, some may be helpful and some not so helpful.

1. Maybe someone has already done a good bit of work on your family but you don’t know it. Perhaps a third or fourth cousin you don’t know. Or there might be some people searching the same surname who are not closely related but may have some advice. One way to check that out is my surname page (not ready yet) . Another option is to use Google or some other search engine to find the names that interest you. Be creative in your search terms!

2. There are also mailing lists where you get emails on a topic which could be a surname or an interest such as Irish genealogy or even as local as Co Limerick genealogy. Maillists work by sending a copy of each message to posted to all subscribers. Some lists are very small and some are large. Continue reading “Help with Irish research”

The Forgotten Room

The Forgotten Room

Posted on by Jack

The Forgotten Room: A Novel by Lincoln Child was an enjoyable book.

The opening chapter got my attention. Then I thought the next part was just interesting enough to keep me turn pages. Since I read this on my Kindle Fire, I kept touching the screen to advance to the next page. This would be about 20% of the book or about 60 pages since the hardback is a bit over 300 pages. Continue reading “The Forgotten Room”

The Burning of Cork

The Burning of Cork

Posted on by jack

1920 was a bad year for Cork. Well, a bad year for Ireland. But this is about what happened in Cork.

Ireland was fighting the British for its independence and the fighting in Cork was intense. The Burning of Cork by Gerry White and Brendan O’Shea is a rather detailed account of that fighting. Continue reading “The Burning of Cork”

Shipwreck off Ireland 1822

Shipwreck off Ireland 1822

Posted on by jack

Before getting to the shipwreck off Ireland, let me tell you where I read about it. After all the shipwreck is old news and there’s no rush in getting to the story.

I live just outside West Chester, PA and I signed up for emails from a downtown West Chester business association. Even retired guys try to keep up with what is happening locally. Continue reading “Shipwreck off Ireland 1822”

Wolfe Tone in America

Wolfe Tone in America

Posted on by jack

Theobald Wolfe Tone, better known as Wolfe Tone, was co-founder of the United Irishmen and an Irish revolutionary of the late 18th century.

At first this political movement attempted to unite the both the Protestants and Catholics of Ireland and sought reform to the parliament to give the all Irishmen more rights. After several years the leaders of the United Irishmen realized reform was impossible and sought revolution to gain independence for Ireland. Continue reading “Wolfe Tone in America”

War on Science

War on Science

Posted on by Jack

There seems to be a war on science. I am a scientist so my bias is to believe something is probable when most reputable scientists in the relevant field say it is true.

Sure, science gets is wrong once every now and then but not very often. Science is a self-correcting process and mistakes are normally discovered pretty quickly. I suppose a betting man would lose a lot of money by betting against something that most scientists agree with. Continue reading “War on Science”