Ideas, Opinions, Genealogy, and Book Reviews
I had posted this months ago but thought I would update it. This website will give useful (but limited) information for those of us doing Irish genealogy research. The Calendars of Wills and Administrations, 1858 – 1922 at the National Archives of Ireland can be searched via a simple form. Continue reading “Calendars of Wills and Administrations, National Archives of Ireland”
For fans of Jimmy Fallon or Bruce Springstein or anyone who enjoys a good parody, see Gov. Christie Traffic Jam on youtube.
I saw My Country, ‘Tis of Thee: My Faith, My Family, Our Future by Keith Ellison on Netgalley and it sounded interesting so I thought I would give it a try. I’m glad I did. I think it was not only fascinating but is an important book. It is certainly important Continue reading “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee: life and politics of Congressmen Keith Ellison”
I came in ignorance. But found a good book anyway. In fact, I found what seems to be a good series. Let me explain.
I had heard of Nero Wolfe. I never Continue reading “2 Nero Wolfe Mysteries by Robert Goldsborough”
I read All Standing: The Remarkable Story of the Jeanie Johnston, The Legendary Irish Famine Ship by Kathryn Miles because of an interest in Irish Genealogy. And then thought I should review this book since I enjoyed it and that is one of the things I do here. So that is how the book review got here and why it is listed under both Book Review and Genealogy.
I guess I should make clear than this is not a genealogy book but rather a history book about one of most important important events to Irish Genealogy.
I read the paperback version of the book and that runs to 214 pages excluding reference, acknowledgements, prologue and that type of thing. The book also comes as a hardback (if you want to spent a bit more) and a kindle version if you want to spend a bit less).
The ships the Irish traveled on to emigrate from Ireland during the potato famine were often called coffin ships because so many passengers died during the voyage. The Jeanie Johnson was an exception. It made many round trips between Ireland and North America carrying passengers one-way and cargo on the return voyage without losing a single passenger.
Although the Jeanie Johnston was called a lucky ship, this record was not just a matter of luck. The Irish passengers were usually malnourished and weak before beginning the journey. Conditions on the ship were not great and many succumbed to disease. But conditions on the Jeanie Johnson were better than usual and even more unusual was the presence of a ship’s doctor to care for the passengers. So the words remarkable and legendary in the subtitle are appropriate.
The book is about much more than the Jeanie Johnston. There is quite a bit on the Irish potato famine or the great hunger. And the inadequate relief efforts. The English who were in charge at the time did very little but did get around to apologizing about 150 years later.
There is also quite a bit about Tralee, the home port of the Jeanie Johnston and home of the owner. And a good bit of general information about ships of the time and the hazards they faced. Then whole story is interlaced with the stories of some of the passengers.
Unlike many history books which can have a tendency to bore you with too many detail, this is a lively history that reads well and quickly. I think in part that is because there is sufficient background to understand why this ship was so remarkable and then there are the remarkable stories of the ship and one of the families that traveled on it.
The latest scandal involving Governor Christie, George Washington Bridge traffic and The Port Authority of NY and NJ (aka Bridgegate or Bridgeghazi) raises several questions. Although the current focus Continue reading “Gov Christie and the Port Authority of NY and NJ”
It seems the government is not able to meet its own standards. AmeriCorps, the federal community service program, provides health insurance. But this health insurance does not satisfy the requirements of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare).
An article in the New York Times explains this sad story.
I had written last month about bills to Strengthen Social Security which were bottled-up in committee. And sad to say but that is still the case.
The Strengthening Social Security Act of 2013 was introduced in both houses of Congress (S. 567 sponsored by Senator Tom Harkin and H.R. 3118 sponsored by Representative Linda Sanchez). The Senate bill was introduced last March and has been in the Committee on Finance since then. The House bill was introduced in September and remains with the House Education and the Workforce Committee.
The Strengthening Social Security Act of 2013 bases Social Security COLAs based on the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E). This would be a better index as it is designed to account for the different spending patterns as we enter our senior years.
The bill also addresses some long-term problems to strengthen Social Security.
Much of the present talk around social security today involves cutting benefits. In my opinion this is not the way to go.
I think we need to talk about this. A good first step to my way of thinking would be to get these bills out of committee and allow debate on the floors of congress.
Perhaps a non-political panel would come up with additional ideas and be more willing to discuss long-term solutions. I would guess that most of these people have political opinions but I also think since they don’t have to worry about being re-elected, they might be more willing to consider ideas which don’t necessarily match-up with the ideas of their party.
I’m categorizing this post as genealogy but it is more about history and I don’t have a history category. I’ve been researching several families in New York City (NYC) and have run across some really good historical maps and some interesting blogs.
The New York City public library has digitalized many historic maps as well as other materials. Although many do not appear to be of the resolution you would like for reading detail, the is a window that lets you zoom in and move the map.
In addition, the David Rumsey Collection has a wonderful collection of digitalized maps that you should be able to view on your computer. The nice thing is that although the map you see at first may not seem to have the resolution you need, you can zoom in on any area. The is also a 1852 map of NYC that is combined with a Google map of the current city. Check it out!
There are several blogs that have good information on New York City history. Some of the pictures are amazing. Some specialize in a certain area. Others are more general. I’ll be adding to this list as I find more.
See the NYC links tab.
I just ran across this on GenealogyBank as I was looking for one of my Reidy families.
There was a short article in the Boston Herald in 1923 saying that the body of Edward Reidy, age 22 and the son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Reidy of 14 Alberta St in North Cambridge, was found in Alewife brook.
I’ve been delving into New York City history today. Yesterday I found out I had made a wrong assumption in my genealogy and I figured today I should figure out what really happened.
Early this year I wrote about my great grandfather William Ready. He died of injuries resulting from a case of reckless blasting on Christmas eve 1895. I had just always assumed the blasting had something to do with creating the New York City subway system.
I was wrong. Continue reading “Reckless blasting in New York City history 1895”
On the sidebar, I mentioned that I am doing a free trial of Amazon Prime now. So I thought I would share my experience so far. Continue reading “Free trial Amazon Prime”
OK, it is not the whole title. The title is – Without Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed – a bit too long for a reasonable headline.
Much to my surprise, I liked this book quite a bit. But I’m getting ahead of the story so let me begin where this book ended up on my Kindle. Continue reading “Without Their Permission by Alexis Ohanian”
There is a series of dystopian novels called The Hunger Games. There are quite a few examples of dystopian fiction. Some are better than others. But we seem to have our own real-life version in Black Friday and other shopping frenzies. The term Shopping Games came to mind …
Katie Reidy, the daughter of my great grandfather William Ready (or Reidy), was born in New York City on 11 October 1895.
She died on 25 July 1896 of whooping cough in her family’s tenement apartment at 303 E 110th St. Continue reading “Short Life of Katie Reidy”