Today, 22 February 2021, is our great-grandfather Martin Garvey’s 158th birthday. Happy Birthday Great-grandpa Garvey! To find his place on your particular branch of our family tree, start with knowing that Martin was the father of Loretta Garvey Kay, and grandfather of Marjorie Kay Whalen. Great-grandpa Garvey was born in…
Kendall Whalen and Marjorie Kay’s 75th Wedding Anniversary
Whalen-Kay A lovely winter wedding was solemnized on Saturday, January 5th, when Miss Marjorie Ann Kay, daughter of Mrs. Howard Kay and the late Mr. Howard Kay of Youngstown, N.Y. became the bride of Mr. Kendall C. Whalen of Sackets Harbor, N.Y. The wedding took place before the immediate families…
Kendall Charles Whalen’s 1923 Thanksgiving Composition
Among the treasure’s given to me by our dad, Kendall Charles Whalen, is his 5th grade composition book. In it are all the usual English exercises taught back then: capitalization rules, some spelling and vocabulary words, the proper form for writing a letter, and, of course, the age-old “What I…
We are Mayflower Descendants — Who Knew???
Our Pilgrim Ancestors Every once in awhile, the people at Family Search, the free online genealogy platform I use to both research and record our family tree, will send along discoveries they have made for us regarding our ancestors. This week they sent a doozie! Those of us in the…
Loretta Garvey Kay, 7 September 1896 – 13 September 1981
Our maternal grandmother, Loretta Garvey Kay, was born on the United States’ very first Labor Day, 7 September 1896. That is 124 years ago today. And this year, her birthday again falls on Labor Day. There is a funny mix-up associated with Grandma Kay’s birthday. She celebrated it on the…
Mom’s Baked Beans
Margie Whalen was known for her baked beans. If some ladies group was holding a dinner, someone would always say, “Marge, you bring the baked beans.” They were the beans to have. Shortly before Mom passed away, a friend came over specifically to ask for her recipe. Mom told her…
Mom’s 100th
Today, September 4, 2019, would have been our mother’s 100th birthday. Marjorie Ann Kay Whalen had a short life–she died just weeks before turning 50–but a full one. She was a wife, mother of six, a part-time bookkeeper, and a registered nurse who later taught nursing. It is difficult for…
Happy Birthday Janet Turner Stamps
Today is my mother-in-law Janet Lucille Turner Stamps’ birthday! She was born on May 3, 1924 in Orwell, NY to Frank E. and Ethel Turner Dawley. Janet graduated from Oswego College and subsequently taught in several schools in New York State, including on Long Island and in Williamstown and Camden,…
Leta Mary Clarke Whalen
Today is our grandmother’s birthday! Leta Mary Clarke Whalen, daughter of Elizabeth Maxon and George R. Clarke, was born 147 years ago today on January 19, 1874 on Maxon Road, Town of Hounsfield, Jefferson County, New York. Grandma Whalen lived 91 years, passing away on October 29, 1965 in Watertown,…