Today is our parents’ 73rd wedding anniversary. Kendall Charles Whalen and Marjorie Ann Kay were married January 5, 1946 in St. Peter’s Catholic Church rectory, Lewiston, New York. They were married in the rectory rather than the church proper because in those days couples entering “mixed marriages,” such as a…
Happy 106th Birthday Kendall Charles Whalen
Happy Birthday Dad! We love you always!
Corporal Ray C. Whalen, 1894-1918
Corporal Ray C. Whalen, Sackets Harbor, New York In this 100th year of his sacrifice, we honor Sackets Harbor’s Corporal Ray C. Whalen. Corporal Whalen was the son of Charles and Leta Clarke Whalen and brother of six. The last of Corporal Whalen’s siblings, lifelong residents of Sackets Harbor, passed…
100 Years Ago Today
Genealogy lives in a time-free zone. Suddenly the wall between past and present collapses and the researcher and her ancestor are unexpectedly conversing. That happened to me today, May 9, 2018/1918. September 29, 2018 will be the 100th anniversary of our Uncle Ray C. Whalen’s death. That date is also…
Genealogists (and Historians) are the Nicest People in the World
I had the pleasure this week of hanging out with several of my favorite kind of people–genealogists. If you are reading this you already know they are among the most dedicated people in the world and certainly among the nicest. First and foremost, I just got off the phone with…
Aunt Gladys and Aunt Ella
We’ve had 2 more birthday anniversaries recently. Our Dad’s sisters, Gladys Whalen Stoddard and Ella Whalen Hyde, were each born in this month. Aunt Gladys on March 24, 1893 and Aunt Ella on March 30, 1896. These girls were 19 and 16 when my dad was born; by the time I…
Clean Up Days
Genealogy can be a messy subject! I’ve spent the past 2 days sorting through boxes and notebooks containing family group sheets, handwritten notes, interview write-ups, newspaper clippings, photos, how-to articles, maps, and all the other stacks of ephemera connected with doing genealogy the way we did it before computers came…
Happy Birthday Anniversary, Grandpa Frank Turner
Yesterday, March 17, 2018, would have been Frank E. Turner’s 127th birthday. Grandpa Turner, as he is known in our family, was a patient guy with a good sense of humor. Everyone of his grandchildren speaks wistfully and fondly of him. I knew him well before I was part of…
A Clarke-Whalen Wedding Anniversary
Happy anniversary Grandma and Grandpa Whalen! We’ve had many Gm and Gp Whalen’s of course, but this particular anniversary message regards Leta Mary Clarke and Charles Clarke Whalen, married 136 years ago today. Grandma Whalen mentioned her anniversary in her 1937 diary listing. “Tuesday, March 16, 1937 Married 45 yrs…