Another Tidbit about Jack

 Today was better. I can stay upright for about 20 minutes, and then need to lie down for a while again. My brain doesn't feel like it's running on all cylinders yet. I can almost see enough to read.

I have learned a very interesting tidbit about Grandpa Leary (Dad'a adoptive father). You may remember that he was a second-generation Irish farmer.

This info comes from a book written about a settlement about 6 miles from where Jack lived, but this was apparently significant enough news that it made it into the book. On June 10, 1906 (so this was before they adopted my dad), "Someone stole all Mr. O’Leary’s fowl and chicks, Buff Orpingtons, a large English breed." It doesn't say how many chickens.

This is what Buff Orpingtons look like.

There nust have been a local chicken rustler since a week later, at a farm about 4 miles from the Leary's, another 40 chickens were taken. It's not like the sudden appearance of 60+ dressed chickens for sale in that rural area wouldn't be noticed. You have to wonder what happened to them. Were they butchered and quickly carted to a city?

Anyway... I think this is an amazing little detail from Jack's life as a farmer.

See The Jack that Built the House

Seven Sisters

It's nice that the title has a familiar ring to it. Seven Sisters roses, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, the seven stars in the Pleiades, the seven sisters colleges in the Northeast...

But thanks to Diane Nelson, my "new" friend from Interlaken (who found Ada for me a few years ago), I really do know seven sisters. OK, I only know (knew) two of them, but I now know who they are.

Remember Jack, my dad's adoptive father? Here he is with Grandma Leary, his wife, and my dad at about age 14. So the picture is from about 1918.



The day I hiked with Diane this summer, we were just talking about things and people I remembered from the home town. I was commenting that I know absolutely nothing about Jack O. Leary. But I did remember that we often visited the Beach and Sager families.

Diane can't resist a good knotty puzzle. She immediately began hunting for Jack's obituary. It turns out that Grandpa Leary, Jack, was from the next village south. He had seven sisters. Two of them lived in my home town, and we visited them regularly. I called them Aunt Rose (and Uncle Guy), and Aunt Cora (and Uncle Levi). But I had no idea they were actually related (not by blood, but by adoption). Children called adult family friends aunt and uncle all the time. I don't think I have a single picture of any of these people (although, now that I say that, there is a suspicion I might have a picture of Cora and Levi somewhere).

Dad particulaly liked Cora and Levi. They were farmers, and Dad always said they were very kind to him as a boy. My fictional character of Cora is partly based on this Cora- in looks, not by interests.

Anyway, here is the list, as much as Diane could put together.

My adoptive greatgrandparents: John and Rosa O'Leary came from Ireland and lived in Covert, NY. This confirms my long-time speculation that Jack was second-generation Irish.

Children:
Sarah b. 1863; d. Aug 9, 1915; m. Sylvester Neal
Bridget b. about. 1865
Johnie/John/Jack b. September 1866; d. Feb 9, 1943; m. Frances Bullivant; adopted Ray
Margaret/Maggie born about. 1867; m. Jack Dempsey (Washington DC)
Mary A. b. about 1869; m. Bert/Burt Murphy; son Earl
Rose Ellen b. July 25, 1871; d. Jan 16, 1953; m. Guy E. Sager; grandson Don (deaf)
Theresa b. ?; m. Charles VanVleet
half sister Katherine Alcora/Cora b. 1880; d. June 16, 1963; m. Levi Beach

So, the children spanned 18 years, and I suspect Cora was a Leary with a different mother. Perhaps Rosa was just tuckered out from all those kids, and died.

Just to make it look more like a family, here are the kids' names in order: Sarah, Bridget, Johnie (grandpa Leary), Maggie, Mary, Rose Ellen, Theresa, Cora. The name Alcora is new to me, but it turns out to be a girl's name with Scottish roots- surname Alcora seen in the late 1800s. Social Security shows no one with that first name in the past 100 years! So, perhaps John's second wife was Scot. Other than Cora, the rest is a standard collection of Irish names. Top o' the evenin' to ya!

I edited, I worked on some other stuff, I walked to town to do errands.

See The Jack that Built the House

A Few More Family Goodies

 
These pictures are connected only by virtue of being found in the same box, and they are relatives of mine. I think this one has to date from about 1947. This is my mom, Catherine Leary with Dad's son, John, my half brother. They are sitting on the steps of the house I grew up in, the house that Jack built.



And here's Jack, Dad's father. Date of the picture is unknown. Jack is the one on the left. I have no idea who the man in the suit is. Hopefully, someone savvy about old cars can help date the picture. Has to be before 1945, because that's when Jack died.



Finally, this is the oldest of the pictures. It has to be from about 1910-1914. The boy in the middle with the dog is my father, Ray Leary. I think he looks no younger than 6 and no older than 10. I have no idea who the other children are. Perhaps I should get serious with a magnifying glass and the schoolhouse picture I have of Dad. Maybe some of the faces will match. And this is, again, the house that was torn down before I was born, the house Dad grew up in.



In other news: I wrote all morning and edited all afternoon. I got a lot done, but boy is my brain tired.

See Back to Jack

Family - Dad's Adoptive Parents

 
Came across another old box of pictures today. Most of them not labeled. Shaking my head. I'm really sorry to not know who these people are. Are they relatives or just friends?

I have identified a few and am guessing at a few. You get one of each today.

I am relatively certain this is Jack O. Leary (changed from Jack O'Leary), who adopted my dad when he was four. However, I think this picture must be from Jack's youth, possibly before he was married. I don't know if he was a first generation Irish immigrant or perhaps second, since he chose to make the "O" a middle initial.



Now, we get into nearly complete speculation. I think this may be his wife, my Grandmother Leary. She was local to the area I grew up in and her maiden name was Frances Bullivant. In all the identified pictures of her she is much older and heavier. However, the mouth of this woman is the same, and the photographer's studio was in Trumansburg, the next town over. She had many friends in that town, as evidenced from an autograph book. So... I'm temporarily sticking my neck out. If I find out differently at any time, I'll edit this.

I can hardly reconcile this picture with how I remember Grandma Leary, but everyone starts out young!



I'll show you a few more pictures that I was able to identify in the coming days as I need something for the blog.

In other news: I wrote in the morning, and spent most of the afternoon in an extremely frustrating series of service chats and calls with Amazon. Problem not resolved. What else is new. I did manage to get a little bit of formatting done, and Omer and I went to pick out one of my Christmas presents. I'll share that another day, as well.

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