A “Blue Devil”: Joseph Aloysius Downey

As much as I enjoy researching the family histories of other people, my greatest satisfaction comes from exploring my own family’s history. It is especially satisfying when that research helps answer questions that may have been left unanswered for decades. This is one of those times. James Downey (1847- c. 1910) was born in IrelandContinue reading “A “Blue Devil”: Joseph Aloysius Downey”

When Harry Met Myrtle

I use this blog as a chance to explore, and help others discover, the lives of people in their families and communities. It is fun, and therapeutic, for me to spend my free-time researching and writing about people whose lives may not have received any attention at all until now. This time I continue myContinue reading “When Harry Met Myrtle”

The First Bentz Family

One of the joys of conducting research into one’s own family is the discovery of stories and people that you never even knew existed. Sometimes we don’t know about them because they may have lived during a period, or in a place, with very poor records. Occasionally we never hear of them because they areContinue reading “The First Bentz Family”